At the end of the room, stood a young woman with a silver mask. But unlike the rumours, she did not look like Asura but a fairy from the moons. The moonlight shone lightly on her silver mask, and when she looked up at Creda, they were brown and bright with a tinge of cunning.
"Creda Hull. Come in and close the door behind you."
The voice was sweet and deep, scratching his ears. Creda shivered. The dull sound of the door closing seemed as if he was locking himself into a trap.
When Creda sat down in front of Lady Merveille, she asked a question.
"Creda Hull, why did you not stand up to the tyranny of Din Mallory?"
"…"
"Surely, you must have known that what he was doing was wrong. I have information that you saw him changing the accounts and was one of the witnesses to his bullying and abuse of powers."
Creda gulped. "It would not have changed anything. He was the one in charge. Complaining against him would just hurt everyone."
Lady Merveille smiled. "True, it would not have changed anything. But he was smart, wasn't he? He earned a lot over the past few years. Are you tempted as well?
"No, I could never even consider it."
"But if you had the power, would you? Be honest."
"Lady Merveille...I would not."
Libitina played with her fan. "Tell me, Creda Hull, what do you think is the purpose of a business?"
"…For you to get rich and get profit."
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Far from it. I prefer to see it as providing everyone with a way of life. Sure, you can say the lands belong to everyone. Technically, the Merveilles hold the land in the people's name, because we are nobles charged with the duty of managing the people in our fief.
"But there is a limit to what we can do. We provide the resources and livelihood, the people provide the manpower, the labour, the innovation, and the juice for success. It is not as if that owning a piece of land automatically makes you a rich man. There are other factors in play. We rely on each other for survival and growth and prosperity.
"Ultimately, I want any business I have to not only enrich the Merveilles, but also to serve and enrich the people operating the business. That is the purpose of a business. Din Mallory has corrupted the management in this land with his selfishness, but if I put you in charge, do you think you can live up to these expectations I have of you, Creda Hull?"
"No, I don't think so, Lady Merveille," Creda whispered, his heart beating wildly.
"Innocent and nice, just like a lamb," Libitina chuckled. "No wonder you stood by as the wolves feasted. But from now on, you don't have a choice to be an onlooker, anymore. More accurately, you can't. You need to grow into a wolf, Creda Hull. My wolf."
Creda Hull…Libitina understood that his character was benign and pure like a piece of white paper; it would be easier to instil in him the professional standards of morality and integrity from Libitina's original world that differed so much from the way Morobeauns currently think. It would be interesting to see how he would turn out in a leadership position after cultivation. Will he crumble or rise to the bar?
"I can see so many thoughts in your head, Creda Hull. What must it have felt like, when you watched Din Mallory and his fiends abuse your friends and colleagues? What must it have felt like, when he almost preyed on your younger sister?"
Creda Hull's eyes started to turn to hatred.
"Oh, don't you hate how powerless you are? But you can change things as they are now," Libitina moved her gaze away to the moon outside the window as she muttered distractedly. "At least, if your heart stays clear of wanting power, you can stay cleaner and purer than the others. If I grant you power, surely you would do well? Or will you become someone you hate? I wonder, like I wonder every other day, on how my meddling could change things."
"Peter," Libitina drawled, as she decided to entrust the lamb to Ellie to shorn off his wool and train him.
One of the guards entered the room. "Yes, Lady Merveille."
"Spread out the news about Din Mallory," Libitina ordered coldly, her patient voice now filled with an undisguised authority that made Creda shiver unwittingly and come to his senses. "Make sure that he will no longer be able to show his face in our fief or the surrounding fiefs that still want to maintain a relationship with us. Tell the judge that I am requesting the right to retrieve all the money he has embezzled; make him sell his property, businesses or anything worthy under his name, and inform Ellie to rescind all contracts made under his authority. For bad people like Din Mallory, we need to send a message."
She walked towards the stiff Creda who still sat motionlessly on his seat, placing a lotus hand on his trembling shoulder.
"Creda, I'll be leaving you in the hands of my capable servant. Please grow up quickly. Clean the house, and don't let the bad, bad people crumble it from inside out.
"I'll be relying on you…"