Chapter 63
“Is this the Crotan Mercenary Corps by any chance?”
I asked playfully, but the mage’s lingering gaze stuck to me for a moment before he left the room. After all, it’s standard procedure at communication centers not to eavesdrop on a client’s conversation.
—…This is the Zaki Mercenary Corps.
“Oh, I must’ve made a mistake. Sorry about that.”
The blonde woman arched her eyebrows, looking confused.
“Well then, goodbye.”
The orb quickly returned to its transparent state, now only reflecting my expressionless face.
“…Huu.”
In truth, before embarking on my journey, I had anonymously submitted a request to the Zaki Mercenary Corps—to have someone tail me. It was aimed at Feyden.
It was a safety measure to judge whether he was someone I could trust. But now, facing the truth, I was filled with regret for submitting that request.
It was the first time I had someone who felt like an ally, and deep down, a part of me had wanted to trust everything about him.
‘So, it really is a world where there’s no one I can trust.’
Still, there was a small glimmer of hope.
In the original story, Feyden had a terrible personality, but he was someone who tried to stand on the side of justice. Was it too much to hope that such goodness might reach me as well?
I licked my lips, tasting the bitterness creeping in.
‘Maybe… maybe Feyden just needed to contact the mercenary corps for some urgent matter, something unrelated to the request?’
I forced myself to recall the moments when Feyden had shown me warmth, trying to reason my way into believing him. I wanted so badly to trust him.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized my justification was flimsy. What reason could he have to contact a mercenary group he’d quit, especially when it was so expensive to use the communication service?
It was clear. He must have accepted the request to tail me—the very one I had submitted.
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to contact the Zaki Mercenary Corps, nor for the woman on the other end to have been so startled.
“…This is depressing.”
In the end, I couldn’t deny the truth of Feyden’s betrayal, and I let out a long sigh.
I dragged my chair back with a loud scrape and stood up. The mage, who had been waiting outside, came back in.
“I know confidentiality is standard, but please keep this particularly secret.”
I placed three silver coins beside the orb and trudged out the door, making my way back to where Feyden and Ariel were waiting.
A light smile still graced my face, just as it had when I had first entered.
***
The reason I had come to this village, which was located right next to the capital, was to visit the bank.
If I kept the large sum of money I had received from Duke Ragnar in a standard account, it would only be a matter of time before shady characters caught wind of it.
That’s why I had asked Ribolto to help launder the money. With his control over a bank, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to manage. We also took care to create multiple accounts to avoid suspicion. Like I said, it’s a world where trust is scarce.
The more meticulous and prolonged the preparation, the better.
After confirming the balance in my newly laundered accounts and withdrawing a small sum, I stepped out of the bank. Across the street from the bank, two men sitting in front of a bakery, munching on bread, noticed me and stood up.
Feyden was gnawing on a loaf of bread the size of his forearm, while Ariel was nibbling delicately on a small cookie.
Despite their shared good looks, the two of them couldn’t have been more different from head to toe as they approached me.
“Here comes little miss moneybags.”
“Lady Estira, I’ve checked the stables. They say Holsta’s horses are known to be strong and reliable.”
The contrast between them was almost amusing.
We had already decided to buy horses, given Feyden’s suggestion that the next village was too far to travel on foot. But the closer we got to the stables, the more my face stiffened.
“Lady Estira? You don’t look well…”
When we reached the stables, Ariel stopped walking, concerned as he noticed my pale face. He bent down to meet my gaze, his eyes filled with worry as he searched my face.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
That was when Feyden, who had been walking ahead, turned around with a displeased expression.
“Unwell? Didn’t I tell you to rest…!”
“No, I’m not sick, but…”
Hiiiiing—!
At that moment, the sound of a horse’s whinny made me instinctively shrink my neck like a turtle. Ariel quickly stepped in to block my view of the horse, while Feyden let out an exasperated laugh.
“Are you scared of horses, Miss?”
“Hey, Potato. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of horses?”
Though they asked the same question, the tone couldn’t have been more different.
I ignored Feyden’s sarcastic remark and nodded slightly at Ariel’s warm, concerned face, still hiding behind him.
“I think so…”
“Hah, why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
Feyden placed his hands on his hips and looked down at me with a crooked smirk.
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