Chapter 345: ???? Years Old (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 345: ???? Years Old (4)
The evening of the day Lady Miren of the Pedrima Ducal House came for her interview.
"Here it is, Brother."
Alon received a book from Nangwon.
It was a book with a black cover that felt incredibly ancient.
Taking it quietly, Alon expressed his gratitude to Nangwon.
"Thank you."
"It’s nothing, Brother. I couldn't even find the actual object for you."
Alon shook his head as he watched Nangwon, who was scratching his head and laughing. If it hadn't been for him, Alon wouldn't have found even a small clue, let alone the Blind One’s jewel.
"No, if you hadn't moved, I wouldn't have been able to find even this book."
"…It makes me beyond happy that you rely on me so much, Brother."
As Alon repeatedly expressed his thanks, Nangwon’s eyes grew moist, and he gave a clear, touched smile.
"You probably want to check the contents of the book, so I’ll be on my way now."
"…Leaving already?"
"Yes, I have a few things I need to take care of."
Things to take care of?
Alon started to ask but swallowed his words and nodded instead. Even if he looked like a boy—aside from the peculiar trait of his inverted eyes—he was the head of an information guild. He certainly had a lot of work.
"I see."
"Call me whenever you need help again!"
Nangwon disappeared, still wearing that touched expression.
Watching him go, Alon felt a strange emotion behind his expressionless face. He wondered if his simple thanks had really been that moving. He decided he should express his gratitude more often and lightly brushed his hair back.
Soon, he opened the book in his hand and began to read. After some time had passed...
"What are you doing, Marquis?"
He turned his gaze at the sound of Evan’s voice.
"I was reading a book."
"Ah, is it that? The Blind One’s jewel thing?"
"How did you know?"
"I heard Nangwon was going to deliver a book today. So, did you get any information?"
In response to Evan’s question, Alon finished reading the very last page and closed the book.
"I did, but it’s a bit vague."
"In what way?"
Alon stared quietly at the book. Although it was quite thick, there wasn't much he could actually read. Most of the pages were so discolored that they were illegible.
However, it didn't matter much. The information he sought was inside.
The problem, however, was the location of the jewel.
"It says the Blind One’s jewel was handed over to his closest friend."
"A friend?"
The Blind One’s friend.
"…I think I know why you find it vague, Marquis."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
Evan pondered for a moment before speaking again.
"That Blind One guy, he’s on the side of the Sins, right?"
"He is."
"Then wouldn't his friend also be a Sin?"
Alon let out a low hum. He had obtained information that was helpful in its own way, but it was difficult to find out anything further from here.
However, he soon decided to shake off the negative thoughts. In the end, he had obtained information regardless. He had established a direction for how to find the jewel.
"The Blind One’s friend…" Alon muttered quietly.
* * *
The next day.
"Whew—"
Alexion, who had been processing work in his office from morning until well past lunch, finally finished his tasks and let out a deep sigh.
He pulled out the interview sheets he had kept in his drawer. It was the evaluation of Lady Miren of the Pedrima Ducal House, whom he had interviewed yesterday.
"Hmm—"
Alexion stroked his chin. Unlike the previous interview sheets where his opinion hadn't been properly reflected(?), this one was honestly inconsistent in many ways.
Although her scores weren't uniform, Miren had reached the score Alexion had set. In other words, she was among the candidates for the partner position that the Marquis would personally choose from.
Yes, based on the scores, she was.
Alexion recalled Miren during the interview. Every gesture, every movement of her hands and feet, exuded the dignity of a noble. Her manner of speaking was also incredibly refined. Her depth of knowledge was also quite impressive, even considering she was the daughter of a Duke.
‘There was nothing to deduct points for in the interview itself.’
Yet, the reason a dissatisfied expression appeared on Alexion’s face was because of the rumors.
‘…The things people are saying aren't exactly good.’
Of course, from Alexion’s perspective, he could just evaluate her outward appearance and move on. That was the extent of the orders he had received, after all.
However, once he received an order, he had no intention of handling it carelessly… though there had been some interviewees he couldn't do anything about. But that had been a matter of "survival."
"Ahem—"
Anyway, because of that, Alexion had secretly inquired with the guild for information on Miren. Surprisingly, the information guild had handed over the data to Alexion in less than a day.
‘No, it wasn't even a day.’
Alexion had requested the information the previous night, and it had arrived at dawn. In terms of time, it had only been a few hours.
‘I know the information guild is fast, but… I don't remember them being this fast.’
No matter how much information they already had on file, the information guild usually set a deadline of about a day. This was a fact known to anyone who used their services. It was strange that they had handed over the information so quickly.
‘And so much information, too…’
Alexion lifted the stack of documents remaining in the drawer. Dozens of pages were filled with rumors related to Lady Miren. And they were all of a quite unsavory nature.
"Hmm—"
Of course, he knew that not all rumors were true. However, the ones who gathered these were the information guild, and what Alexion had requested from them were rumors based on "facts." The information guild was usually very strict about following the client’s requests.
This meant that the contents in his hand were highly likely to be true.
Therefore...
‘I can't put someone like this as the Marquis’s partner—no, but she did pass the interview itself… Should I hand over these documents as well when I report to the Marquis?’
Just as Alexion was agonizing over it...
"…Lord Alexion?"
"What is it?"
"The young lady who had the interview yesterday is requesting to see you."
"Do you mean Lady Miren?"
"Yes."
"…I see. Where is she?"
"She is in the drawing room."
"I’ll head there."
Tilting his head at the secretary’s words, he rose from his seat and headed to the drawing room. Soon, he met Lady Miren.
"…?"
He saw a young lady who had become gaunt. He was momentarily taken aback by the dramatic change that had occurred in just one day, but Alexion soon bowed his head in greeting.
"Greetings, Lady Miren. Did you sleep well?"
A simple greeting.
He felt a sense of puzzlement once again. Usually, a response should have come back, but there was none.
Puzzled, he lifted his head and realized that she had been keeping her head bowed from the very beginning.
"?"
After finishing his unanswered greeting, he noticed a very faint muttering.
"—please—sorry—"
It was a sound so small that one wouldn't notice it without focusing.
"Pardon?"
Confused, Alexion took the liberty of stepping a bit closer to her. At that moment—
"I'm sorry I was wrong I didn't mean to I'm sorry for the blasphemy I'm sorry for the blasphemy I'm sorry for the blasphemy I'm sorry for the blasphemy I'm sorry AHHH—!!!!"
"Whoa!"
Her voice gradually grew louder until Miren dashed out of the drawing room like someone possessed.
Startled, Alexion froze in place, staring blankly at the door that had been flung open.
"What… what was that…?"
A few hours after he had calmed his pounding heart.
"…The young lady said she would withdraw from the partner candidates?"
"Yes. A maid came and said so."
"Did something happen at the villa yesterday?"
The secretary had suddenly brought the report. Alexion asked out of curiosity, but...
"As I reported yesterday, the young lady dismissed our servants on the grounds that she felt uncomfortable, so I don't think we can know the details."
"That’s right…"
There were no clues in the secretary’s answer. Naturally, the mystery remained.
Of course, from Alexion’s point of view, it wasn't a bad situation if a young lady who might have various problems withdrew from the partner position on her own.
However, the point was why she had suddenly ended up in that state and made such a decision.
As Alexion tilted his head repeatedly, his gaze suddenly shifted to one side.
"…?"
Silli, Yutia, and Line, whose faces were now somewhat familiar to him, were walking by.
Smile—
As if sensing Alexion’s gaze, they looked up for a moment and gave small smiles.
Just pure smiles. That was all.
After that, they bowed their heads slightly and disappeared somewhere...
That was the end of it, but...
"…."
For some reason, he felt like he knew exactly how Lady Miren had come to resign from the partner position.
Cold sweat ran down Alexion’s back.
* * *
Three weeks had passed since then.
The Palatio Marquisate still had many guests. In the case of Yutia Bloodia, it was under the pretext of church construction. Seolrang was there under the pretext of a vacation. Others were also staying at the Marquisate for their own respective reasons.
Thanks to that, in the beginning, slightly noisy things happened every other day. For instance, Seolrang being dragged somewhere by Yutia, a red moon suddenly rising over the Marquisate in the middle of the night, or Alon’s statue becoming more and more extravagant as time went by.
But by the time those disturbances were being accepted as a bit of a daily routine(?), the recruitment for the Marquis of Palatio’s partner had also come to an end.
Alexion, who had gathered a total of ten candidates, finally handed the interview sheets to Alon and lightly cleared his throat.
"Is this it?"
"Yes. I will give you a brief explanation starting now."
Although his own opinions hadn't been reflected in the interview sheets(?), he intended to add a few comments now.
Alexion, who was about to open his mouth after preparing himself, soon found himself at a loss for words.
"…!"
The reason was...
Hic—
Behind the window at the Marquis’s back, numerous gazes were all focused on Alexion.
Of course, their expressions weren't hostile. They were all smiling.
"…."
…The problem was that only their mouths were smiling.
Around that time, the Marquis, who had been quietly looking through the interview sheets, spoke his first words.
"…Eighteen?"
And so, Alon’s partner selection began.