The young woman did her best to stop crying. She soon forced herself to stand up and watch her uncle get carried away.
Rose, who had gone as far as killing an innocent, homeless man for her revenge, fully understood the weight of killing another person.
Just look at that crying and sneezing mess, there was even a dog looking at him with disdain. Could this slob have that much mental fortitude?
Her lover seemed to read her thoughts as he answered her unvoiced doubts.
"He's acting pitiful in hopes of minimizing his punishment. Of course, it won't work."
Rose widened her eyes in understanding and scolded herself for underestimating her uncle's cunning.
"..."
Until the end, Rose never got to know if her uncle was behind her father's disappearance. But he had still spread the rumors that could've caused her death, so she didn't feel too much guilt for framing him.
…
Of course, that was a lie.
Rosalind was doing her best to justify her own actions, but the sight of her uncle being dragged away for torture, and execution, would haunt her nightmares until her last breath.
Arnold knew that Sirius hadn't killed Alphonso Vitalis, his own brother. He was scum that defamed his niece and almost caused her death, but even that was a misunderstanding. Sirius wanted Rose to give up the failing business and sell her shop to him, and he was willing to pay a fair price for it, too.
Had the fat man known the consequences of starting that vicious rumor, namely Rose being arrested and killed, he wouldn't have done it in a million years. In the end, he just wasn't all that smart.
Just in case, Arnold had spent some time investigating Sirius Vitalis' personality and the reason behind Alphonso's disappearance. The latter aside, Sirius was greedy, but not evil.
So, Arnold needed to make him appear otherwise.
First, as 'Dio', he would tell Rose that her enemy was a greedy person, who had enough money to bribe the city officials. The smart young woman would, of course, think of her well-to-do uncle. After waiting for a few days for her mental state to crumble, he would deal the finishing blow using the Persuade and Flatter skills, convincing her that she would die if she didn't take action soon.
Had Rose taken the initiative to contact her uncle, he had also been ready to stop her and lead her away.
This was a web woven meticulously; from start to end, there was no escape.
…
A naked Rosalind stared at the clear, blue sky from her window.
She had tried to drown in pleasure and forget her pain, to no avail. Her lover was already gone; he would stay away from the shop for a week or two, in case the Inquisition or the city guards were watching.
In the meantime, her uncle would be executed. She stood to inherit all of his possessions, including one of the largest shops in Trafalgar Street, but Rose felt empty.
So what if she became the object of envy of many Merchants?
…In the end, she had just lost her last remaining relative.
Her mother died while giving birth to her; even her kind and gentle father was gone, and now she had condemned her uncle to death for revenge.
"For whom do I keep living…?"
Rose's puffy, tired eyes shed tears yet again. It would not be the last time that day.
At the same time, Arnold was leaning against the shop, carefully listening. Finally hearing her cry, he was relieved that she wouldn't harm herself.
No matter what, Rose was his first lover, and they trusted each other.
He knew that he was unworthy of that trust, but the young Merchant still hoped that she could recover and live a long life.
'Her shops will serve as my foothold in Porto's market once the Inquisition backs off. For now, I should use these few weeks to level up my Main Class.'
Arnold had a bold idea: why not use his Merchant skills to level up his Beggar Class?
Arnold had always thought that two of the Merchant skills, namely Persuade and Flatter, were insanely versatile. He had been using them with Rose to great effects, so why not use them to beg?
Taking into account the various XP modifiers, he had to select a good location and get sympathy from the audience.
The Cathedral was currently on hold.
The Grim Heir had an Evil alignment and was under the radar of an old hag there. The risk was too high.
His next best bet was the Governor's mansion, specifically the Governor's young daughter, Anna Trepana.
…
Porto, Governor's mansion.
Fredrick sighed as he looked at the mountain of documents awaiting his seal of approval.
His work had become more difficult again after the Santa Caterina left. Now that Porto's Merchant Class Holders weren't killing each other for space aboard the vessel anymore, they had gone back to their old habits of bribery and negotiations with the Governor. That is, with Frederick.
Dealing with them was always a pain in the butt.
He stared in the mirror. His short red beard was showing a few strands of white here and there, and his wrinkles seemed to have increased.
Unfortunately, he didn't feel like any of his sons were apt to take over as Governor of this messy, complex city. Only his daughter provided him some joy in this life, and showed some promise as his successor.
Frederick smiled and tackled the stack of papers again.
And a week later.
Arnold checked his System and laughed out loud for the first time in ages.
"Yes! Ahahaha!"
[Arnold Grim
Level 2
Main Class : Expert Beggar
Class lvl : 2
Skills : Beg, Brawl, Observe
Subclass 1 : Merchant
Class lvl : 0
Skills : Haggle, Persuade, Flatter, Mind Arithmetics
Alignment : Neutral Evil]
Shockingly, he had increased his level again!
Despite level 0 to 1 being the most difficult step, level 1 to 2 shouldn't have been this easy.
Other than his talent, Arnold had to thank little lady Anna for this. After a long four days in ambush near the Governor's mansion, Arnold saw the young girl come out and intercepted her. He had started spinning his web, so it was over for the poor girl.
The young man put on an award-winning performance, squeezing his Merchant skills for all their worth.
Something about his entire clan shunning him, being rejected by his fiancée and her family because he had no Class, swearing to make her eat her words, blabla. In the end, he failed and ended up changing careers to a beggar in Porto.
His spit was flying as he narrated this bullshit over three days. The excited little girl came back every day to listen, and the cunning Arnold squeezed her allowance and tears dry.
All that money and sympathy really got his XP going, and it would be strange if he hadn't leveled up.
Finally, today.
The Beggar felt that going any further might attract the Governor's attention and decided to end his 'life story'. He smiled as he parted ways with the kind little Trepana and her maid, 30 gold coins and a level richer.
"Oh and Mr. Grim, please come back soon with another story! Your imagination and delivery are the best I've ever seen, it beats going to the theater any day! You even take the time to come to my house, you're the best!"
Little Anna smiled mischievously and winked at Arnold.
Shocked, the young man turned back only to see her small back as the Governor's only daughter skipped to the mansion. Her maid, on the other hand, smiled and bowed to him.
"You may visit whenever, Young Master Arnold. Lord Frederick was friends with your late father, and regrets what happened to the old Republic."
The maid bowed again and left. Arnold walked away in a daze.
'I really should stop underestimating the heroes of the world. What did Azazel use to say? Hidden Tigers and something dragons?'
Arnold mocked himself.
"Even children are outsmarting me these days. Haaaah."
The young man fell into a depression because of a child.