Chapter 38: The First Secret Plan (2)
Chapter 38: The First Secret Plan (2)
Translation: Godtl
Chaos erupted from the early morning.
"Serena disappeared?"
Still half-asleep while smoothing down her disheveled hair, Penelope felt as if icy water had been dumped over her the moment she received Manager Ritz's message. She bolted out immediately.
When she arrived at the workshop by carriage, Jurgen and the Lenoir Workshop employees were already gathered with grim expressions, deep in conversation.
Penelope practically sprinted to insert herself between them.
"What happened?"
"W-well, you see..."
The workshop employee explained the circumstances in near-sobs until his teammates, unable to bear it any longer, half-pushed him aside to suggest he take a break.
Serena, who had said she was heading straight home, had vanished without a trace.
Even the Lenoir family's butler confirmed no one had seen her coming or going.
Penelope's eyes narrowed as she listened to this point.
She had anticipated something like this to some degree.
Brighton had burned down the general store and sent the Undertaker.
She had assumed that bastard Rex would also resort to force if needed.
The Lenoir family were baronets—nominally aristocratic, but not powerful enough for the Grey Council to hesitate targeting.
That's why she had hired bodyguards from the Adventurers' Guild for Serena, but...
"The bodyguards? Where were they? What were they doing?"
"W-well, they were with her the whole time, but it was dinner hour..."
"She moved without saying anything, so there was nothing we could do."
"You call that an excuse?"
Penelope pressed them rapidly, her voice not raised but sharp as a recited verse.
"What kind of bodyguard takes their eyes off their charge to go eat? This won't be taken lightly."
To Jurgen, Penelope might be an endearingly clumsy young lady,
but the Penelope of rumors was a terrifying noble on par with—or even above—the Grey Council.
The bodyguards turned pale.
"What are you doing? If your client's gone missing, shouldn't you at least pretend to be searching instead of standing around here?"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"W-we'll request backup immediately!"
Penelope barely held back the urge to curse aloud.
After paying such exorbitant fees, who knew they'd be this useless!
No.
The timing of the abduction coinciding exactly with the bodyguards' absence was too unnatural.
They might have been bribed.
That was something she would investigate thoroughly later to hold them accountable.
"Jurgen, what do you think?"
"Seems we were underprepared, indeed."
"Exactly, who would've thought they'd cause such a scene right in the middle of the city...?"
"My lady...! Lady Rosemore...!"
Just then, the employee who had been sniffling earlier rushed over and grabbed Penelope's sleeve.
"Please... Lady Penelope, please find our young mistress... I know we should've protected her properly... But she's frail and easily frightened..."
Snot and tears streamed down his face as he pleaded, behaving far younger than his age. It seemed he believed Penelope was the only one who could save Serena.
"Please, I beg you... You're... you're our Lady Serena's friend, aren't you...?"
"..."
Friend.
A friend...?
Truthfully, Penelope wasn't sure if Serena was really her friend.
Before Penelope had given her cola, Serena had been just another stranger.
Though they'd occasionally crossed paths at various social events, they'd never exchanged a single word.
Perhaps Serena had even badmouthed Penelope behind her back like everyone else.
And if not for the cola, Serena would likely never have approached her first.
Even afterward, they'd only stuck together out of mutual interest—Penelope couldn't recall ever having a heartfelt, serious conversation with her.
Wasn't friendship just the stuff of fairy tales anyway?
"Miss Penelope, what do you intend to do?"
Objectively speaking, Serena wasn't indispensable at this point.
She only knew fragments of the secret plan, so there was no risk of critical information leaking.
Even if Rex extracted core technology from Serena, Belheim had promised to "handle the aftermath" as long as they won the market share war.
Funding wouldn't be an issue either—a workshop more skilled and larger than Lenoir's would take on Y&P's commissions.
The handover might be slightly concerning, but they could simply transfer the existing work to another team.
"It might sound heartless and cold, but this is a time-attack game with an enormous amount of money at stake."
If they wasted time and lost the war against Keystone Company, Penelope and Jurgen would be buried under a mountain of debt.
The gentle beast Belheim would take everything from Y&P Trading Company as per the special contract clause.
They wouldn't be starting from zero—they'd have to claw their way back up from the abyss.
Rather than focusing on the kidnapping, moving to the next step was the rational decision.
But the truly bizarre thing here was...
"What are you asking? Of course we have to save Serena."
Even as these possibilities flooded his mind relentlessly...
Not for a single moment did his heart waver toward the option of "abandoning Serena."
"That's an immediate answer."
"Thank you...! Thank you, Lady Rosemore...!"
Why was that?
Perhaps it was because of how Serena had rejoiced as if it were her own achievement when the cola factory was first completed.
"Hwaaaaah...! Hwaaaaaaah...!"
"Thank goodness... We did it... And it turned out so wonderfully..."
"Hwaaah, uwaaah... I was so worried... What if something went wrong...?"
"I'll go to Rex. You stay put at the hotel, Jurgen. It'll be trouble if you get targeted too."
"Are you sure about going alone?"
"What's with you? I'm a 5th-Rank Alchemist. And that thug Rex must've picked up a thing or two from Brighton."
"Understood."
"Have your workshop employees spread out and search as much as possible. Check the villa, under the sofa at home—she might be sprawled out asleep somewhere."
"Y-yes...! Thank you again, truly...!"
After giving her orders, Penelope immediately boarded her carriage and headed straight for Rex's mansion.
The employees scattered in all directions, rushing off to search for any trace of Serena.
"...Haah."
Left alone, Jurgen let out a deep sigh and tapped his leather bag.
He'd brought it just in case, but it seemed he'd have to rely on Viche's power for this incident.
—Fwoosh
The bag's zipper opened on its own, and shadowy tentacles stretched out like someone waking up from a nap.
"Viche, will you help me?"
[Candy?]
"Of course, I'll give you plenty of candy. And cola too."
[Cola!] [Cola!]
Viche waved its tentacles like cheer sticks, overjoyed.
Normally, Jurgen would have laughed, but today, he couldn't muster a smile.
"Do you remember Miss Serena's scent?"
[Mhm!] [Sandalwood] [Mint] [Iris]
"Can you track her?"
Viche, who had been answering excitedly, suddenly peeked up at Jurgen like a wary puppy from the bag's opening.
Viche's sense of smell was superior to that of a trained hound.
If it focused solely on scent, it could track a target dozens of kilometers away from just a whiff of their lingering presence.
[Viche] [Tired]
"I'll give you lots and lots of candy."
[Tired] [Yaaawn]
But Viche had always detested using its olfactory abilities.
Perhaps that was why it doused itself in perfume until its nose went numb.
Even now, the moment tracking was mentioned, it was already radiating reluctance, wasn't it?
Jurgen, too, didn't want to force Viche into tracking unless absolutely necessary.
He wanted to respect Viche's will.
[Sleepy]
Just as Viche was about to slink back into the bag...
Jurgen reluctantly spoke.
"Viche, it's a mission."
[Mission?]
"That's right. A mission."
Viche, who had been about to laze around, paused and formed letters with its tentacles.
[Okay] [Boss]
"Thank you, as always. Track Serena's scent for me."
[Target confirmed] [Tracking initiated]
Eyes and mouths sprouted densely from the bag's opening.
A small mouth gaped open and began inhaling particles from the air like an air purifier.
[This way]
Then, it extended a tentacle like a dowsing rod, pointing the direction.
"..."
Jurgen knew full well that the turmoil in his chest right now stemmed from regret and guilt.
That this whole situation was half due to complacency and negligence.
That if he had prepared more meticulously, he could have prevented it from the outset.
That if he had, he wouldn't have needed to call it a "mission" and force Viche into something it hated.
He knew all of it.
"I'm furious beyond words."
Jurgen would save Serena.
And he would hold those involved in this incident accountable.
Penelope had come to Rex's mansion.
After forcibly extracting information from his underling—who had half-heartedly tried to threaten her—she barged into the dining hall.
"Well, well. If it isn't the mother of our cola?"
Rex greeted Penelope with narrowed, snake-like eyes.
From morning, he had been devouring bloody lamb drenched in generous amounts of mint sauce.
"Who the hell dares to barge in here?!"
"A reckless bitch with no sense of fear!"
"Boss! Just give the word! I'll take care of her!"
The subordinates lined up behind Rex raised their voices, each trying to flaunt their loyalty, but—
"Shut your mouths."
At Penelope's command, they immediately clamped their lips shut, only glaring at her with wide eyes.
Even these thugs had ears to hear and eyes to see.
Their opponent was the infamous second daughter of House Rosemore, a name whispered fearfully in the underworld.
Still, they did their best to maintain ferocious expressions, staring her down to prove they weren't intimidated.
"I'll keep it short."
Penelope sat roughly across the unnecessarily long table and spoke.
"Give Serena back."
For anyone else, such bravado might have been enough to cow them, but Rex only snorted in amusement.
"Since when does a noble lady have such a foul mouth? Who the hell is Serena?"
"Need me to burn this den of thugs to jog your memory? Hand her over now, and I'll pretend this never happened."
"Hey now, little lady. I get you're pissed about your business going down the drain, but don't throw a tantrum at the dinner table."
Rex had already concluded that Penelope's notoriety was overblown.
Influence in the Grey Council? Nonexistent.
The cautious Chairman Marcus had persuaded the other directors, and Rex had reluctantly played along.
Family protection? None of that either.
House Rosemore wouldn't lift a finger unless Rex directly harmed Penelope.
Otherwise, wouldn't they have retaliated when she tried to sabotage the cola business?
Her being a 5th-Rank Alchemist? No issue.
Rex had spent years cultivating the Jet Black Group in the Demon Realm.
A band of 57 ruthless outlaws.
Among them were five 3rd-Rank Knights, one 4th-Rank Knight, one 5th-Rank Alchemist, and—most crucially—a priest from The Cult.
If she resorted to unjustified violence, Rex was prepared to counter with overwhelming force.
In this world, justification was everything.
"Of course, my influence stretches across the city. If you show some sincerity, I might even help you find this 'Serena' or whoever."
"Cut the bullshit."
Serena's abduction.
Rex had indeed ordered it.
But there would be no evidence.
He had sent his most meticulous men.
A hitman would soon be dispatched to the bribed bodyguard as well.
By now, Serena was likely stuffed in a crate and hauled off to the Jet Black Group's hideout—Rex's main force.
This was both an attack on Y&P's weakest link and a scheme to extract their technology.
"No, I'm being serious here."
If he could just string Penelope along—her only weapon being empty bluster—that was fine.
By then, the collaborator sent by The Cult would have already wrung the information out of Serena.
No—
Did he even need to rely on the collaborator?
That girl had looked fragile as glass.
She might have already spilled everything by now.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. No need to get heated. Dialogue, peace, harmony—aren't those lovely words?"
Of course.
Not that Serena would ever be returning home.
Intercepted on her way home, Serena was immediately gagged.
A thick sack, not a single ray of light piercing through, was pulled over her head.
Her wrists and ankles bound, unable to utter a single word, she was shoved into a crate and hauled away to gods-know-where.
A textbook method to ensure the captive remained disoriented.
"Hng...! Hff...!"
In the jolting darkness, Serena never stopped thinking.
Tears kept flowing, her breath coming in ragged gasps from sheer terror, but if she let her thoughts stop now, she knew the fear would suffocate her.
What in the world is happening?
Most likely, Rex from the Grey Council is involved, right?
A wave of intense regret crashed over her.
She never should have gotten involved in something this big.
Her damned desire for social status had blinded her.
In the underworld, when whales fight, it's only natural for small fry like Serena to get crushed to pieces...
Sniffle...
But there was still hope.
The fact that they hadn't killed her outright meant Serena still had some use left.
How many hours had passed?
By the time the feeling in her limbs had gone numb and drool began trickling past the gag—
Clang!
The crate was roughly pried open.
"Mmmph! Mmmph—!!!"
Strong hands yanked off the sack covering her head and the gag stifling her screams.
"Sorry, little lady. Must've been suffocating, huh? Normally, this wouldn't take so long. Ugh, damn it, got your spit all over me."
"The hell's up with those customs bastards working so hard these days?"
"Look at her—eyes all puffed up like a goldfish. Must've been sobbing for hours, huh?"
Inside what looked like a crude shack, two rough-looking men and a woman greeted Serena with vicious grins.
Their outfits and gear unmistakably marked them as adventurers.
Which meant this had to be inside the Labyrinth Demon Realm.
If they're adventurers doing something like this...
Ah. Outlaws.
No wonder they looked so shady.
Outlaws connected to Rex... So I've been taken to their hideout...
A wave of dizziness hit Serena so hard she nearly blacked out on the spot.
Just as pirates dump bodies into the sea, in Nortaris, they toss them into the Demon Realm.
Both methods share one thing in common—the corpses vanish without a trace.
Before panic could fully consume her, Serena blurted out in a frantic rush:
"P-please spare me...! I—I'm covered by kidnapping insurance! If you negotiate with my family, you could get at least a thousand Crowns! No, maybe even two thousand!"
"..."
"..."
The Jet Black Group members fell silent for a moment at Serena's desperate plea—then burst into uproarious laughter.
"Pfft—HAHAHA! You think we brought you here for pocket change like that?!"
"Nobles really have no sense of reality, do they?"
"Hey, hey, her old man's a first-generation noble. A baronet's barely even a noble."
The woman with a scar near her eye perched on the crate and stroked Serena's cheek.
"Adorable. Almost feel bad for you. Just so you know, sis isn't doing this out of spite."
Serena, timid as she was, had a sharp sense for reading people.
At the very least, she could tell this woman didn't genuinely pity her.
Her gaze was closer to a wildcat toying with a mouse.
"You don't like pain either, do you, Serena? Why don't you start by telling sis everything you know about the manufacturing process? Do that, and I'll even hire you as my maid."
"..."
The situation was dire.
She'd already been dragged into the heart of the Demon Realm—the enemy's den.
It wasn't like Jurgen and Penelope, with whom she'd built no grand friendship, would come rushing to her rescue.
If she were in their shoes, she'd have given up on herself too.
If she obediently handed over the techniques, she might survive by becoming this criminal's servant...
Watching Serena's internal struggle, the outlaws swallowed back snickers.
It was downright hilarious—this spoiled noble brat, who lacked both backbone and guts, pretending to agonize over protecting her pride.
"I-I'll... I'll tell you...!"
Would you look at that.
Not even a minute of hesitation before betraying her allies to save her own skin.
"Good girl. Sis'll take good care of you from now on."
Not like it mattered. The moment they extracted the techniques, they'd hand her over to those End Cult freaks anyway.
She'd probably throw a fit, crying 'But you promised!'—what a sight that'd be...
"...Did you really think I'd say that, you idiots?!"
—was the answer that came instead, shattering their expectations.
"Y-you think I'd actually—actually believe you'd keep your word?! D-do you even know how terrifying Penelope and Jurgen are?! And since when do sewer rats like you—you criminals—get to order a noble around as your maid?!"
Every outlaw stood there, stunned.
"I don't care! K-kill me if you want! Whether I die like this or like that—do whatever! But listen well! Y-you won't die peacefully either!!!"