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Chapter 122
How a Social Novice Makes Allies
Ferda had hung a black hood at the highest point of the castle.
It was a spot difficult for ordinary people to see with the naked eye, and an element not worth paying attention to.
However, to someone, it was a clear signal.
As proof, the Black Bandana came to find him.
Only three hours had passed since he hung it up.
Én̄ u m̌à
"I pay my respects to the Regent-nim. It's our first meeting since the Dandolo Company."
Garnet Swallow, who had introduced herself as the representative, had come in person again.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Does the head of an organization really get to wander around like this?"
"I may be called the head, but I'm no different from the other executives. Besides, for the time being, I'm keeping watch over the Valdrova Castle side... in that sense, congratulations from the bottom of my heart on the first phase completion of Hestia Village."
"Thanks."
Ferda and Garnet moved on to business talk.
W е̊ bn о.vе l̇ _Е̃ n u̇ḿ а̃
Garnet tilted her head after hearing Ferda's current situation.
"This is nothing but obvious gossip... Do you really have to catch them?"
"I must."
"Given the situation, we might have to poke the Imperial Household, so the cost will be quite high."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Doesn't matter."
"Hmm..."
Е.n̆ u mӓ
Garnet let out a stifled groan, then nodded.
It was truly trivial, but what's important differs from person to person.
"Understood. We'll investigate the source of that rumor as much as we can."
"Thanks. How much for the retainer?"
At that, Garnet held out her palm.
"No retainer needed. These small-time crooks are actually harder to catch, so if we succeed, you can pay us then."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
No confidence in catching a single small-time crook.
He took it to mean that gossip is that scary.
Because it means anyone could be the culprit.
"Let's do the reward upon completion. One more thing I'm curious about, may I ask?"
"Information has a retainer fee."
Thorough.
Е n̂u m̀а. і.d
Ferda handed over the money.
Garnet, confirming it was an appropriate amount, sent a confirmation signal.
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"We discussed countermeasures regarding the scandal with the Princess... can you verify how it went?"
He told Garnet exactly what Olivia had said.
As the leader of a secret organization, verification was necessary.
"Good thinking."
Ѐ ṅ um̂ а̌.ī d̀
Garnet showed a positive reaction.
"The commoners return to their livelihoods and forget quickly, and nobles get swept up in new trends. Leaving a small doubt in the flow to let it fizzle out is a noble-like way of handling things."
"Is that so?"
"On top of that, though unseen, it can also be used as a trap. If someone comes out determined to kill both the Regent-nim and the Princess, they'll come out with more meat on the bones. If that happens, it'll be much easier for us to catch them too. Either way, it's a good method."
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So there was that detail.
He thought he'd seen the big picture, but it was beyond imagination.
Ѐ nu.m̃ а̌.і ď
Had Olivia calculated all of this?
"Thanks for verifying."
"It's fine. If you have any other requests or commissions, please speak up."
"No separate request, I'll just take this."
Ferda handed over an envelope.
"What's this?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"An invitation to the Spring Festival."
"The banquet that's all the rage among nobles these days. Am I allowed to attend?"
"Since you'll infiltrate anyway, wouldn't it be better to submit a real one rather than create suspicion with a fake invitation?"
Garnet made a face like she'd been hit.
"I'll move so as not to stand out at the banquet."
Garnet tucked the invitation into her bosom.
Е n̆úm̃ а̂
"Since I got an entry ticket to a place where all nobles are watching, I should provide a service too."
"Service?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Looking at you, Regent-nim seems like a novice in high society. Am I wrong?"
Ferda gave a small nod.
Garnet smiled faintly.
"How a social novice makes allies."
Е̌ǹu m̂ а
The continent's top secret organization that lives by selling information.
She'd pulled out information that interesting.
* * *
After finishing his usual daily routine, Ferda called a man.
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"You dance well, don't you?"
A handsome man with a brown ponytail, Jed Swallow.
Е̂numа. і d̆
"Of course. If I couldn't dance, I couldn't pull off being a Swallow Tribe guy."
"Then can you teach dancing too?"
"That's a bit of a different area. Being good doesn't mean being good at teaching..."
"Of course I'll pay the lesson fee."
"I'll make the Regent-nim the Emperor of the Floor."
Jed giving a thumbs up.
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Ferda wondered if he could trust that sight.
"But you want to learn dancing? For the Spring Festival?"
Ferda nodded.
Jed tilted his head.
"The host doesn't usually have occasion to dance. Mostly just sit a bit then leave. Besides, the hostess won't be attending either..."
"Preparation for when I dance with the Grand Duke-nim."
Е́ n̊ ù m а
"Oh~. She's coming? I've never seen her, so I was curious..."
"That's still unknown."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Then isn't that counting chickens before they hatch?
Jed couldn't say that.
Because expectation was clearly swelling in his eyes.
Ferda started learning dance for Valdrova.
Ẽn̆uṁ а. i d
He'd heard from Ruri that Valdrova was preparing various things for the Spring Festival.
However, even Ruri wasn't certain about her attendance.
Didn't matter.
Just as Jed takes money and works, preparing for when Valdrova comes was Ferda's duty.
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Jed sat in the opposite chair and asked Ferda.
"Have you ever seen the Grand Duke-nim's face?"
Ѐn̄.ǔ m̆а̀
"Just once."
"How was it? Being pretty is a given, but what expression was she making?"
Expression, huh.
It didn't seem like it'd be a pleasant story, but he answered honestly.
"She was crying."
"Oh~."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Ferda raised his head, glaring at Jed.
Jed explained with a flustered look.
"Why look at me like that? This is a good thing."
"What is?"
"You said you saw her crying face for the first time, right? There's a superstition that if your partner's face is crying when you first see it, good fortune comes. If the next face you see is smiling, you'll grow old together."
"Spouting bullshit lies one after another."
Е̄ n.u m̃ а . і d̃
"It's true though..."
Muttering with an embarrassed expression, he casually unfolded the letter on the desk and read its contents.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Who knew so many people would be dying to get into a nouveau noble's Spring Festival. The Princess's help really is huge, huh?"
"Seems like a pretty remarkable situation."
"It's marvelous. Getting even one greeting letter would be lucky, but they're wailing asking for invitations to be sent."
For Jed, who'd seen such things countless times, this unprecedented situation was only astonishing.
Enum_а̄. і̆ d
"Let's see who's coming... keck."
"Someone you know?"
"There are. Young ladies who dumped me at balls..."
"Ladies?"
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Just how many had he dumped?
As Ferda glared at him, Jed widened his eyes and said.
Еn̂um̈a . іd̄
"Don't worry. I'm already collaborating with an expert, so even if we run into them, it'll be resolved smoothly."
Speak of the tiger and he appears - that collaborating expert barged in.
"Parryyyyy!!"
The person who entered the office making a frivolous sound was Penelope.
She walked in bouncing alone, seemingly excited about something.
"I heard you're throwing a party!"
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"Yeah."
"That Princess is coming too?"
"She's coming."
"Hehehehe..."
Ferda added.
"If you touch her, I'll crush your limbs, you confident?"
W еb n_o vе̂l̇ Eñ u mа
"Aaaaah...! Even if I like women, I'm not a bitch who can't tell shit from soybean paste? Right, Jeje?"
Penelope acting familiar.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Jed put his hand on her shoulder and said with deep eyes.
"You're exactly that kind of bitch."
"Haha, our Jeje is so mean, saying things he doesn't mean."
"I'd trust Malcolm before I'd trust you."
Е̃ num а̂ .і d
"You gigolo! Just curse at me properly!"
At Malcolm's mention, she flared up and they started bickering.
"Get out, you bitch. What safe place do you think this is to crawl into?! Ugh, gross. Where's the salt, salt!"
"What are you talking about?! I was summoned too, you know?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"The Regent-nim called you? Say something that makes sense. If that's true, I'll change my surname."
"I did call her."
Ẽ n û m ȧ. і̆d
He nailed it down to stop the pointless squabble.
"I don't care what you guys do, but you won't have a chance to enjoy the party."
"Huh? Then I can't hit on women either?"
Penelope drooping like a depressed dog.
Jed asked Ferda with an uninterested look.
"What do I need to do?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
How a social novice makes allies, taught by Garnet Swallow.
"Find the weaknesses of the young lords and ladies visiting Valdrova Castle."
"Weaknesses?"
"What kind of weaknesses?"
Ferda threw out keywords simply.
"Adultery."
Wе b n̂о̃.v̀ ѐl̆ Еn û mа̂
The Spring Festival gathers men and women.
Flowers overflowing with vitality tempt bees, and bees get bewitched.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Before you know it, a one-night fling is commonplace.
They call it youthful indiscretion and cover it up with unwritten rules.
That's why Garnet proposed this.
-If there's such a scandal, they'll perceive Ferda-nim as just a mere human too. They'll think a shameless person would turn a blind eye to such unwritten rules.
Ë n̆ ū m ȧ
But to Ferda, those unwritten rules were nothing but cowardly, ugly excuses.
Knowing Ferda's pure devotion, Garnet proposed a somewhat dirty method to him.
-For those who won't become allies, you must create reasons they have no choice but to become allies.
What nobles value is face.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
To save face, they'll align with Ferda's will.
They must be entangled that way.
W е̊bn̄ о v̈ e.l Е nũ m̃ а
Garnet emphasized that getting entangled in the first place was what mattered.
"Assuming the Spring Festival proceeds, scout locations suitable for secret meetings. And record all the adultery happening inside through recording magic orbs."
"A commission where even ten bodies wouldn't be enough. Understood for now."
The ones to be used as that trump card were precisely Jed and Penelope.
They could move secretly unlike others, and had experience bewitching people, making them suitable talents.
"I'll do it if you tell me to."
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Penelope said that.
Thinking it was backtalk, irritation reflexively rose, but it wasn't that.
"If there's no blackmail material, can I just make it myself?"
Penelope asked with sparkling eyes.
Ferda realized he'd overlooked one thing.
She was the daughter of Sitri, the Demon of Lust.
È n ǔ m̃ ã .іḋ
Troublemaker, airhead, whatever - what flows in her body is demon blood.
"Do it. I permit it."
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Ferda jumped into the terrible political circles of nobles.
So he needed to become even more terrible.
* * *
The cold spring wind melted in the warm sunlight, blowing coolly.
W̃е̊ ḃ ñо̌ v̈ е l̃_ Е̇ n̈ um_а
Flowers that bloomed in late winter bore fruit, embroidering the forest here and there.
In this land where the only threats were monsters, there were no hungry predators, so the women's gathering went smoothly.
'Spring...'
The season of new birth that comes at the end of death.
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For Valdrova, it was a season that made her sentimental.
She didn't like sentimentality.
Е n̂ù m_a. id
Because the end was always gloom.
That's why she moved her body without rest.
On that season's day when young ladies would go on outings, she immersed herself in the labor of carrying and stacking stones for the castle walls.
She preferred the reward of labor over sentimentality.
Lunchtime during her usual routine.
She was sitting among workers eating together in a circle.
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"That building we were building but stopped? They say it'll be used as the Alte Cathedral."
For the commoners' unity, Ferda had requested the Alte Order dispatch priests, and two weeks ago, a priest arrived.
"Is that new priest taking charge?"
"Probably."
"I didn't like that priest much..."
"Who would? We're trying to curse that desert minor god a bit, but he comes and preaches at us."
Е́ n̈ umа
"Didn't they say not to talk like that? Set! You have to say Set!"
"Set my ass. You've become the priest's dog!"
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They were the moderates pushed out by the radicals currently in power.
In other words, those who don't look down on the southern desert minor god and wish to get along.
Valdrova couldn't understand their rebellion.
'Peace is good, so why do they want to fight so much?'
Е̃ n̂ um̆ă
Is it no fun if they don't conflict with each other?
As always, Valdrova just silently listened to their story.
"Let's believe a little. This Spring Festival is with the south too, right? The south is active in exchange too, so don't provoke them unnecessarily."
"What kind of dogshit will happen is obvious without looking."
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He sneered, showing displeasure.
No one knew how the gathering made for exchange and harmony would turn out.
Еnům а̀
She also became curious about commoners' lives.
What events at the Spring Festival?
Besides just drinking, laughing, and chatting, is there something more?
'Curious but...'
She couldn't see.
Because that day she had to participate in the nobles' Spring Festival, not the commoners'.
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She heard preparation starts from morning, so no time to watch.
'A week from now...'
Time felt truly fast.
She'd started power control and dance practice for the Spring Festival, and now it's a week away.
'Dancing with Ferda-san in a splendid room.'
Excitement made her unconsciously tense up again.
Е̄ n u m ӑ .id̂
But thanks to training, it had reduced to near ordinary person levels.
'The stone's still intact.'
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What she held in her hand was a fragile stone.
It might hurt Ferda's hand a little, but she was confident the situation of unconsciously crushing it wouldn't happen.
"Come to think of it, the Empire side's in an uproar! Our Lord and the Princess are supposedly in that kind of relationship?"
At someone's topic, the workers' atmosphere froze cold.
Еn̈ uḿ а̊
Valdrova opened her ears wide and eavesdropped on that conversation.
"What nonsense are you spouting."
"A woman in the Empire said so. Said it was hot at the Grand Council even on the first visit. The Arken Empire's Princess has visited three times total including this procession. When has a Princess ever met someone of similar age three times or more? And in this procession, they were practically a married coup-"
A worker who couldn't stand it covered that mouth.
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"Hey! You're really asking for an early death! Don't go running your mouth about that anywhere."
"Why? Everyone in Hestia knows."
Е num̆а_.і̌ ď
"You idiot! Who doesn't know? You think they're keeping quiet in Hestia for no reason? What happens if the Regent's wife hears that story? Our Regent-nim would be a corpse!"
Valdrova's pupils shook like an earthquake.
The stone in her hand disappeared.
Instead, fine sand ground into particles was piled up.
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