My eyes widened by the unexpected turn of events, I immediately approached Len and held his hand. His palms and fingers were callused, it was firm and offered a kind of reassurance– Ack, no! I stared at the part where he was smacked, it was slightly... very slightly red.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Surprised by my confrontation, the motherfucker rubbed his neck, "No... I..." He gulped. "I'm sorry."
I glared at him. "Even so!" My words came to a stop when I felt Len's signature pat on the head.
"It's alright. Your brother is being protective of you, don't fight. He must've been startled to have a stranger touch his sister."
Hah! See this? This is why Len's a thousand times better than you!
"That's right...Are you planning on visiting the children today? Remy has been fussing about how much she misses you."
"I was planning on visiting if I had the time after I finish the errand I was supposed to do."
"Oh..." He tilted his head, pondering the right words to say once again, "what are you supposed to do? Perhaps, I could be of help."
"Well," I lowered my voice, the two moved closer to me, bending their knees as to reach my eye level, "I'm planning on going to the 'Rivers Guild'. Do you know where it is, Len?"
I noticed the two men beside me flinch. Len crossed his arms. "What...is it that you need from that guild?"
"Info."
Mr. Yellow head face palmed himself.
"If you need information, I know a reputable information guild ran by the imperial family. The Rivers is small and unreliable."
"Nice, let's go to that place instead." Blondie quickly agreed and grabbed my wrist. Oh, so now you guys are on the same page?!
I shook his hand away and stubbornly said,"in any case, no. I want to go to the Rivers Guild."
Two reasons.
I have two reasons in wanting to go to the Rivers Guild instead of other places.
The first is the fact that while it seems like a small and insignificant guild, it is actually a powerhouse that only takes in VIPs. You can only get in if you have a personal invitation from the guildmaster or a referral from one of their trusted clients.
The second is the fact that the owner of this guild is none other than the second male lead! The second male lead! He was quite mysterious in the novel and only appeared a few times, helping Sienna when she needed materials to invent a holy artifact.
But to be completely honest, I just want to feel the thrill of being an important person again.
The guild was just as described in the novel. [Two storey, dilapitated and crowded. It was pathetic to the point that the rays of light managed to peek through the roof, papers that contained missions were pasted everywhere, and the mercenaries filled the whole room with their big bodies and chatter. It looked like an ordinary failing business on the outside and yet, they are capable to compete with the emperor's intel.] Sienna Harlowe, The sun that melts the snowy mountain, Vol. 1, Ch. 24
I put on my hood and so did Blondie. When we entered the room, the mercenaries—more accurately, the actors—stopped their noise and stared at us. I gulped and took a step forward, as soon as my foot landed, they returned to their cheerful talk.
Immitating the heroine's action, I sat on the chair sidewards, my right arm rested on the table. "Hey!" I moved my index finger, signaling the bartender to come closer, whispering in his ear I uttered their command, "Ine le pracio."
'Beyond the shadow', in other words, enlightenment.
The bartender gazed at Blondie and Len meaningfully, he smiled and said, "I shall guide you, miss."
'Only you will go.'
Before I could refute, Len put his hand on my back and leaned closer to my ear, "I will wait for you."
AH!!!!!!
"This man," I pointed at Len, "will stay. However, I will bring my knight with me."
"Miss."
I smiled at him, reaching out to my pocket, I swiftly handed him a bribe. A silver bracelet imbued with holy power. Special thanks to the honorable Sir Sorin.
At this time, where there have been no saints for 87 years and the priests' powers have weakened slowly, items that contains holy power are valuable. The bartender's trained eyes immediately noticed what it was.
"Let me guide you and your acquiantace, miss."
We followed the bartender. I glanced up at blondie, wondering how his expression looks, a lady like Raina who has no connections and never engaged in politics would not know this place. Would he be shocked? Suspicious? Confused? Contrary to my expectation, the dimwit looked annoyed, his eyes fixed on Len.
???
Why is this motherfucker so mad at the national treasure, sir Len?! What did he do to you?!
I pinched his arm, "stop glaring at Len."
The stairs creaked as we took our steps. I'm pretty sure it didn't look that high outside, but why does it seem like the stairs is endless?! I'm tired!
"Huff..."
Blondie tapped my shoulders and handed me a pouch. "Since you called me your brother."
I opened it and to my delight it was the bitter candy I desperately longed for! I ate one and hid the pouch inside my cloak.
"Sir, please leave your weapons behind."
'Thud'
'Thud'
'Thud'
A sword, two daggers and a chain fell to the ground.
What the fuck?! Who carries that much weapons?!
More than that, why is this place so fucking big and extravagant?!
The hallway was bright, paintings filled the white walls, and the grey carpet softened the sound of our steps. I glanced at Blondie, to which he returned my gaze. It seems as though we both felt it. This eerie and gloomy feeling that seems to warn us.
"Guildmaster." The bartender called out before opening the door. He motioned for us to get in.
Walking in, the room was much more extravagant than outside. Gold decorations left and right, taxidermies of rare animals, and even gemstones as big as Raina's fist.
I sat down on the cushioned chair that faced the grey partition. Behind this was the second male lead, Dante Bastian.
My eyebrow raised at his silence. Is it because I'm not the female lead? Where's the trademark 'I shall help you reach enlightenment'?!
"Well, where's my greetings?"
"Oh." He laughed amusedly. "Yes, where's my manners?"
Clearly not in this room.
"Welcome, dear customer. I shall help you reach enlightenment."
I nodded my head, that's more like it.
"And so, what does Lady Aillard wishes to know?"
Blondie tensed up and he rested his hand on my shoulder. What the fuck is wrong with him? It's normal for the guy to know my name, this is an intel guild.
"A list of commercial lands that will be sold in this year's auction."
"Ah, that's eas-"
"I'm not done yet. I want to know the amount that they are planning to bid on it."
"..." Dante laughed in amusement again, even hitting his thighs. "Hmm... Then, Lady Aillard, since this might put me in a perilous position, you must understand that the price won't be low."
"Naturally."
"Normally... I would have asked for gold, but let's do this instead. 3 more items imbued with holy power."
"Hah!" It's a quest that could've been easily done with 4 thousand gold but he's asking for something that could be considered priceless? In the first place, how is he so sure that I have other items?
Oh...
He must've deduced it from the fact that I gave the bartender a holy bracelet just so I could bring Blondie with me. Giving him such a valuable item for something so simple, I guess it was pretty overkill.
While I was thinking of what to say for his slyness, Blondie tapped my shoulders twice. I glanced at him and our eyes met in tacit understanding. He wanted me to lower the three items to two.
"One. In addition, find me a list of up-and-coming designers, oh, tailors too. You have connections with the Lars kingdom, yes?"
The Lars Kingdom was known for their luxurious fabric and textiles. It was further from the magic capital, Vendea kingdom, so imports there are hard to come by. I'm sure there are some in the black market, but I wouldn't dare dabble there. Not when the people who were found to be involved were severely punished by the male lead, Mr. powerful emperor.
Dante laughed as though I was saying something ridiculous. Now you know what I feel.
"Lady Aillard, I didn't peg you to be the humorous type."
I rolled my eyes, my legs crossing. "Because I'm not."
Silence ensued. Bored out of my mind, I propped my elbow, chin on my hand. It was unfair, really. He can see my face but all I can see is this damned grey fabric.
The male leads of this world are so overtly secretive. Azriel wears a mask, Dante hides behind a fabric. Let's not forget about Lucian who uses a disguise.
"Haha..."
"GuildMaster, I'm not here to joke. Don't laugh."
"Two. I'll direct you to a supplier in Lars."
"One."
"Lady Aillaird."
"One. You don't have to connect me to Lars."
"Hah... Alright. One it is." Dante quickly gave up. Good, at least he knows how to surrender.
I smiled and fixed my posture. My left hand reached out to blondie, who put a gold necklace in my palm. "Here you go."
"Eiya." He called out and the bartender entered the door.
Well, aren't they quite an efficient bunch?
He handed me a stack of papers with a normal smile, yet it was one that made me uncomfortable. Exchanging., he took the necklace and I took the papers. I flipped through the pages and skimmed through it.
Satisfied with the information, we went down to reunite with Len and left.
...
I chuckled, looking out the window. Staring at the Lady, knight, and hooded man as they left the building with a mocking smile on my lips. "What a funny sight. Someone who is supposed to be dead, a wanted man, and someone who will die. Fascinating, isn't it?" I turned around to face the communication orb. "Miss Mastermind?"
She glared at me, her beautiful orange eyes turning dark. Painful markings that ate on her flesh made themselves known, yet not once did she grimace nor wince.
"Is it the time to be laughing right now?! My plan has been foiled because of that idiotic girl! That Verena wench too, no matter when, she never fails to be a thorn!"
"Now, now... Let's calm down a bit. Apart from her unexpected survival, it doesn't really affect our goals does it? We just... have to do some minor altercations and it'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."
She closed her eyes, calming herself. Once her eyes opened, it was no longer as murky as earlier.
"Speaking of the idiotic girl you refer to," I took out the holy bracelet and necklace, it swayed back and forth as I dangled it in front of the orb, "I have a gift just for her. A perfect one for the Saintess."
Her eyes widened before it turning to crescents, her smile wide but contained a sadistic glint in them. "That's wo...ful! y-o sho... ave..." The communication orb started to become distorted, making it hard to distinguish what is being shown or heard.
"Oops." I immediately threw the holy items in a cabinet upon my realization. But it was too late. The communication orb no longer worked. I chuckled to myself, "she'll berate me for this."
I mean, how could I forget the fact that holy power and magic clash? Destroying each other.
"Well, this just means that I should go and do what I was asked to do. Deliver the holy items to my dear beloved Saintess."
To be continued.