TNMN 38

Chapter 38

“I would like you to help me prove that Mr. Emil’s assassins came from the Imperial Palace.”

At Alosha’s request, Emil bit his lip with a troubled expression. The relaxed and alluring smile he had shown just moments before vanished, replaced by the cool face of a merchant.

“Lady Alosha, I am truly sorry… but that goes against our trading company’s primary principle. It is an iron rule of the Laos Trading Company not to become deeply involved in dangerous places, especially power struggles involving the Imperial Palace or the secrets of high-ranking nobles. We want to make money, not risk our lives.”

It was a clear refusal, but Alosha smiled leisurely, as if she had already expected it.

“I like iron rules. But for a merchant, isn’t there a principle that ranks higher than that?”

“Is there truly something more important than one’s life?”

“There is. A very large amount of money worth risking one’s life for.”

“Can you, Lady Alosha, afford to pay such a sum?”

He uncrossed his fingers and shrugged his shoulders.

“Not right now. But, I have a brilliant method that will bring astronomical profits.”

“Pardon?”

“You are aware that the Ducal House is in partnership with the O’Claire Trading Company, correct?”

“Is there anyone in the Empire who doesn’t know that?”

“How would you like the Laos Trading Company to take O’Claire’s place?”

At Alosha’s proposal, Emil’s pupils instantly dilated as he rapidly calculated the potential gains in his mind.

“…The Duke couldn’t have entrusted something like this to you, Lady.”

“He didn’t. However, I am saying I can create the opportunity for you to make it happen.”

“How?”

As if enjoying Emil’s bewilderment, Alosha leisurely leaned back against the sofa. The smile on her lips seemed far more bewitching and dangerous than the one Emil had worn moments before.

“It’s simple. The O’Claire Trading Company has been backing the Ducal House for far too long. That also means they know quite a bit about the Duke’s weaknesses and internal affairs. What would happen if such a company were to betray the Duke?”

Alosha paused for a moment and observed Emil’s reaction. Emil thought of the head of the O’Claire Trading Company and shook his head.

“There’s no way the head of the company would betray the Ducal House.”

It wasn’t that Emil hadn’t entertained the thought himself. Even though O’Claire was corrupt and used all sorts of dirty tactics, the one thing they never did was betray Duke Whistler.

“I will make it happen.”

“You, Lady?”

“While I am staying at the Duke’s residence, I will obtain and relay to you all the flows of goods and information concerning the Duke. The Laos Trading Company will use that information to do its utmost to undermine O’Claire’s standing and trust with the Ducal House.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, of course, what I relay will only be related to the O’Claire Trading Company.”

Watching Alosha casually utter such dangerously provocative words with an innocent face, Kyle and Emil’s eyes went wide.

Hearing this, Emil replied not with an immediate reaction, but with a quiet, thoughtful silence. However, his eyes moved more rapidly than anyone else’s, scrutinizing Alosha’s reaction.

“Lady… you are more frightening than I thought.”

“Since you’ve been watching over me all this time, you know better than anyone that I am a person of action, don’t you?”

Emil finally let out a low chuckle. He rose from his seat and approached Alosha once more. This time, it wasn’t the light flirtation from before. He politely bowed his back and paid his respects to Alosha.

“Very well. Our trading company will mobilize all means necessary to thoroughly investigate not only the Imperial Palace behind the assassins, but also the shadows of those who frequent it.”

“Good. I will relay the information I gather from beside the Duke through Kyle.”

Alosha smiled satisfactorily and pointed to Kyle, who was standing beside her.

If the compulsions of the original story were trying to push her out by manipulating the surrounding characters, she would simply rearrange the character placements before the main plot even began.

*’In the original, the Laos Trading Company sides with Daine and pressures Duke Whistler. But if I place Emil at the Duke’s side before the story even starts, I wonder how the original plot will unfold.’*

Just thinking about it made Alosha’s heart start to pound.

On the other hand, Kyle’s expression twisted miserably the moment Alosha pointed him out. He had become Alosha’s knight-guard out of gratitude, even though he had once been the Emperor’s agent, but being the messenger for this dangerous plan he had just heard was a completely different matter.

“Lady, unfortunately…”

“Oh my! Surely you don’t still think you need to be loyal to the Imperial Family, do you? You’ve become my knight-guard, after all.”

“That is true, but being your knight-guard is one thing, and being on the side that exploits the Imperial Family’s weaknesses is quite another.”

“It’s not about exploiting the Imperial Family’s weaknesses, but finding the ‘truth’. If the assassin truly was the Imperial Family’s doing, then the place you served used you as a shield to try and kill an innocent woman. Would you just stand by and watch that?”

“That is…”

Kyle hesitated. His troubled eyes flickered.

“Or is the Imperial Family so honest that you can vouch they would never send assassins to eliminate someone?”

At Alosha’s words, Kyle pressed his lips tightly together. He knew all too well what kind of place the Imperial Family he had served was. Hadn’t he himself infiltrated the Ducal House on their orders?

“There’s a saying: Karma. The present is the result of the past and the cause of the future.”

“…Karma.”

As Kyle muttered softly, Alosha’s eyes sparkled.

“If the Imperial Family has nothing to do with my assassination, then wouldn’t it be even better, as a misunderstanding would be cleared up?”

“That’s… right?”

“Then, wouldn’t helping me with what I intend to do not be a detriment to the Imperial Family, but rather a good thing?”

“Is that… so?”

Unable to form a normal judgment due to Alosha’s plausible words, Kyle felt like he was being swept up into walking a dangerous path with Alosha. However, with Alosha and Emil staring intently at him, he decided he had no choice but to back down for now.

“Understood. However, I will stop things immediately if I deem them to be wrong.”

Alosha turned her gaze to Emil, who had been watching this spectacle with great interest from the side.

“Then, shall we draft our contract?”

At Alosha’s words, Emil gulped. He had been watching her since the last time, and she was truly a tempting person. An innate talent for delving into people’s psychology and orchestrating the board. A confidence that didn’t waver even in front of that Duke Whistler. There was something about her that couldn’t be explained simply by being smart. Perhaps it was truly the blessing of the Goddess Saeybi at work, but a certain flow seemed to be gathering around Alosha.

While Alosha and Emil were drafting the contract, trading words back and forth, Kyle, who had been watching them, felt like crying.

“I truly don’t know if this is the right thing to do. Not only am I betraying His Majesty the Emperor, but I’m also getting involved in a power struggle to bring down a trading company…”

“Still, how fortunate.”

Emil, who had been reading the contract, looked at Kyle with a beaming smile.

“What is fortunate?”

“At least we aren’t the ones on the receiving end.”

As Emil said this, he glanced towards Alosha. Kyle, who had been sighing while looking at Alosha meticulously reading the contract, brushed his hair back.

“Alright, shall we sign now?”

Having drafted a satisfactory contract, Alosha looked at Emil with a contented smile. After signing the bottom of the contract with neat handwriting, Alosha handed one copy to Emil and kept one for herself. Taking the paper, Emil shook hands with her as a sign that the contract was complete.

With this, a dangerously thrilling alliance had been forged, one that would overturn a pillar of the Empire’s economy and the flow of the original story.

Meanwhile, the Whistler Ducal Residence was filled with a tense atmosphere and heavy silence due to the assassination attempt the previous day.

Standing by the window and looking down at the garden beginning to be veiled in shadow, Daine couldn’t contain himself and spoke first. His voice had lost its usual composure and was sharp like a honed blade.

“Has there been any word from Alosha?”

Sitting at his desk reviewing documents, Alexios answered calmly without stopping his pen.

“Yes, it seems she’s being treated like an honored guest, thankfully.”

“Hah, a honored guest? If she’s not in a prison, it must feel like a honored guest to you.”

Daine’s voice was laced with undisguised thorns.

Alexios let out a long sigh and put his pen down on the table.

“What exactly are you so dissatisfied about?”

“Do you think it’s possible not to be dissatisfied right now? Your sister is beside the most dangerous man in the Empire, and you’re just trusting a single letter from Alosha and taking no action.”

“Daine, while Duke Whistler is a dangerous man, Alosha didn’t go there as a hostage. She went to request protection.”

Daine strode over and slammed his hand roughly on Alexios’s desk.

“Protection? Does that even make sense? Duke Whistler stands in direct opposition to the Imperial Family and the Nokturn. Do you not realize that Alosha’s very presence there could be a huge risk?”

Even though he was known for his hot temper, he had been particularly on edge lately and had been revealing his anger specifically towards Duke Whistler. Alexios, not avoiding Daine’s furious gaze, spoke calmly.

“Then what should I have done? Our Nokturn family’s security was breached, and an assassin infiltrated and went precisely to Alosha’s room. Do you understand what that means?”

“…What do you mean?”

“It means there is a traitor inside the Nokturn family, or the one who sent the assassin knows our family as well as the back of their hand. Do you truly believe keeping Alosha in this house is safe in such a situation?”

At Alexios’s words, Daine muttered ‘But…’ and then pressed his lips shut, falling silent. Seeing Daine, who didn’t want to admit it, Alexios pressed his furrowed brow with his fingers.

“Alosha may have her naive moments, but she is an incredibly smart and wise child. It’s not that I can trust the Duke either, but right now, we need to focus our efforts on finding the one who sent the assassin.”

Daine bit his lip in frustration. His head understood that Alexios’s rational judgment was correct, but his heart was still seething with a foreboding feeling. After pacing for a long while, he proposed in a low voice, as if he had made a decision.

“Alexios, if you’re truly uneasy about your family, why not suggest seeking refuge with the Imperial Family? That would be the surest way.”

Alexios, who had been arguing logically just moments before, looked at Daine and opened his mouth slightly.

“Why are you like that?”

“Right now, I can’t trust the Imperial Family either.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you later… when things become clear.”

Even under Daine’s questioning, Alexios kept his mouth shut. His gaze returned to the papers, but his mind was too cluttered to read a single word of their contents.