The Arrow of Destiny Cuts Through the Night

#44

When the Gerold family members heard that Jersian had confessed first, they had a “of course” look on their faces. Seeing how he had carefully housed Kain in the annex and sent tailors and gifts, it was clear that Jersian loved Kain more.

But everyone understood it. They were people who grew up in the Marquis’s family, not easily impressed by ordinary looks and wealth. The moment they all personally encountered Kain Starchis at the mansion, they couldn’t doubt the fact that Jersian Gerold had fallen hard for him.

The elf they saw in person was an unrealistically beautiful and mysterious being.

Even now, sitting at the outdoor table, it was evident.

His tall stature that easily surpassed the chair’s backrest and his sleek body line. Even the way his fine platinum blonde hair swayed in the wind was beautiful, making people believe the saying that elves had monopolized God’s love.

It was then.

Young Jersian’s red pupils, sitting next to Kain, met their gaze sharply. Those who had been secretly stealing glances at Kain Starchis quickly turned their heads in other directions.

“Anyway, it’s really good to see,” Marchioness Elmerila Gerold said, looking at Jersian and Kain in turn.

“Jersian Gerold, you might be the first in thousands of years to get engaged to an elf.”

The Marchioness looked very satisfied.

“We used to have exchanges with them before. Living together on the continent, elves and humans weren’t as hostile to each other as they are now. Humans in the human realm, elves in the Fiokhim Mountains. It was never like this.”

She brought the teacup to her lips.

“It’s a good opportunity. If we can interact with them again, we’ll be able to do many things.”

“…”

What does that mean?

Jersian’s face stiffened slightly. Marchioness Elmerila had never talked like this before. Interactions with elves? Through Kain?

Jersian glanced at Kain Starchis sitting next to him. His face was calm, not even blinking at the Marchioness’s words. This wasn’t why he had agreed to get engaged to Kain. Absolutely not.

Unlike the flustered Jersian, the Marchioness continued to explain why she supported this engagement.

“Do you know what’s beyond the Fiokhim Mountains where the elves live? If we open that trade route, we can reach Harmens in just 3 days. Just collecting trade fees there would quickly become an enormous gold mine.”

“…”

Gold mine? Well, that might be true. If humans could cross the Fiokhim Mountains.

But can you really do that? Kain listened to the Marchioness’s expectant words with an indifferent face, inwardly giving a cold laugh.

Although he behaved docilely in front of Jersian, Kain was an elf to the bone who essentially didn’t like humans.

The Gerold family cousins sitting at the table showed great interest. Marcus Gerold, Hernin’s parent, stepped forward with greedy eyes.

“Indeed! Is that what you had in mind, Marchioness?”

“To create a trade route, we’ll need to build a road across the mountain range first. I’ll look into that.”

They all raised their voices at the mention of money, subtly trying to fill their own pockets.

Jersian frowned as he looked around at them. There was a reason why the Marchioness had easily given up on the relationship with the Tesena royal family. The Marchioness wanted what no one had ever achieved before – beyond the Fiokhim Mountains.

The peaceful tea party held in the beautiful outdoor garden of the Gerold family was now stained with people’s greed and curiosity. Marchioness Elmerila Gerold, who had created this whole situation, drank her tea with an unperturbed face.

Was this really her intention? He thought he had avoided the engagement with the Tesena royal family, but where he turned, there was an even bigger ambush.

Even though she’s the life-saving benefactor who saved my and my mother’s lives, why do I keep feeling like I’m being used?

It was strange. Should I harbor such feelings towards Aunt? Jersian, sitting right next to the Marchioness, lowered his head.

Suddenly, a white hand entered his view. It came towards Jersian’s hand resting on the chair and placed itself on top with a gentle weight.

“…Why?”

Jersian turned his head towards the owner of that hand. Kain Starchis was examining Jersian’s mood with an impassive face. He seemed completely uninterested in words like “interactions with elves” that had come from the Marchioness’s mouth. That was fortunate.

If Kain had been wearing a betrayed expression right now, Jersian wouldn’t have known how to cheer him up.

Just having his soft palm completely covering the back of his hand gradually calmed the tumultuous feelings in Jersian’s mind.

Come to think of it, this had happened before. Until now, Jersian hadn’t known that just having someone else’s warmth nearby could calm his anxious heart.

At the same time, Jersian became curious. If he really became Kain’s “destined partner,” would this daily turmoil of anxiety and tension be calmed? Could he brush off the past that had pulled him into a black swamp for years as if it were nothing? And if he asked Kain about these things, what would he answer?

But Jersian didn’t bother to open his mouth and ask Kain. He kept his seat until the end of the tea party, leaving Kain’s palm covering the back of his hand.

* * *

Finally, the day of Hernin Gerold’s birthday banquet dawned.

As planned, Jersian revisited Baron Basiz’s house with his knights before the main ceremony.

This time, he would not fail the mission.

Jersian had personally made efforts to ensure he wouldn’t mess up a mission he had failed once before. He created a smokescreen by sending a servant of the Gerold family ahead.

“Coming without notice like this! Please sit here for a moment. I’ll call the head butler.”

When the Marquis’s servant said he had brought an armful of return gifts from the banquet, the Baron’s servants beamed and received them, making a place for him to rest in the space used by the staff.

While he captured the attention of the Baron’s servants, Jersian and three knights quietly arrived at the head butler’s office located in the basement of the mansion.

Click, as a knight nervously turned the doorknob of the head butler’s room, naturally there was no response from inside. It meant no one was there now.

Everything was according to Jersian’s plan. The head butler was surely organizing the Marquis’s gifts and making a list to ensure other servants wouldn’t touch them.

When a thin piece of metal was pushed between the locked door, it opened easily with a creak. Then, the Baron’s head butler’s office, filled with complex papers, parchments, and used candles, came into everyone’s view.

A moment later, one knight raised a bundle of documents in a low voice.

“Young master, I’ve found it.”

What was densely written on the paper was the monthly salary details paid to the family’s knights. It also included the total amount operated by the Baron’s family and the budget given to the head butler.

They could increase the scale while avoiding the emperor’s eyes by understating the number of private soldiers to outsiders, and even not revealing the total number to the knights themselves.

But.

Jersian carefully read the first page of the document handed by the knight, then quickly flipped through it and nodded.

Salaries never lie. Even if there were secret ledgers besides this, the total cost flowing into the military force would inevitably include the truth.

If they could find out how much salary budget Baron Basiz was using for his knights, they could then calculate backwards to determine whether it violated imperial law or not. The rest was just a numbers game.

“Good. This is enough. Let’s leave quickly.”

“Yes.”

Outside, it was still daytime before sunset. It wasn’t the perfect environment to move while hiding, but the absence of the mansion’s owner and a few of his family members was enough. In the absence of superiors, the Baron’s servants were just keeping their posts while taking it easy.

Watching the discovered documents being rolled into a cylinder and put into a leather pouch, Jersian briefly scanned the servant’s room.

That’s when it happened.

There was one thing that caught his eye.

The wood grain crossing the desk was unnatural.

“Wait.”

Jersian moved the slightly misaligned wood grain like putting together a puzzle.

Slide – Click.

There was a light sound of unlocking. The head butler’s desk was a piece of furniture with a hidden drawer, specially made and commonly owned by nobles.

Due to the need for precise measurements, various materials, and difficult design, it costs an amount unimaginable to ordinary commoners. The fact that the head butler had such furniture meant that Baron Basiz had something very important but not usually examined in his possession.

Hearing the unlocking sound, Jersian lightly ran his fingertips over all the edges of the desk. When his fingertips touched the right corner of the desk, he felt a protruding mechanism. The moment he pushed it with his finger, the bottom of the drawer opened with a creak.

Inside, there was a single neatly placed paper. Flutter – Jersian carefully lifted it and looked down at it.

“…This is.”

Jersian’s face slowly hardened.