Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 47

Kellogg’s Mansion (3)

* * *

In the awkward silence that followed, the first to open his mouth was Kairus, who had finished collecting his thoughts.

“The garden is truly impressive. I heard it isn’t open to outsiders.”

At Kairus’s words, Irena smirked and answered.

“Rather than impressive, it’s just a pretty decent patio. There’s not much to see now since it’s winter.”

Kairus couldn’t help but laugh at Irena’s remark.

A small garden enclosed by walls was called a patio.

“What kind of patio has a pond and even a pavilion?”

Of course, since it was surrounded by walls, it could technically be called a patio. But Kellogg’s patio was too large for that name to suit it.

It was the same as holding a karambit-shaped blade with a length of about five meters and insisting on calling it a dagger.

“Is that so? Oh, right, I heard they also built a new conservatory. Even in winter, there should still be something to see.”

It seemed there was also a glass greenhouse built to cultivate plants that couldn’t grow naturally in the Valorn Republic.

The glass conservatory was quite a modern building, having been completed only a few months ago.

“If you’re going out to the garden sometime, take me with you as a bonus.”

“Shall I? I’d been planning to look around too since I heard the conservatory was finished. Come along.”

Irena readily agreed, and Kairus immediately followed her toward the garden, lost in thought.

“So they said Kellogg gained momentum after Featherwing disappeared.”

It seemed they had not just gained momentum but had taken hold of it firmly. Yet there was a decisive difference compared to Featherwing.

“They have no means of force.”

Featherwing was a house that, with just its name, made anyone think twice before daring to act rashly. But Kellogg was not like that. Kellogg was not a family that raised countless warriors.

The Kellogg family would have to find an answer to that in the shortest time possible.

“How is it? Impressive, isn’t it?”

Kairus nodded at Irena’s words as she walked beside him through the garden.

“This young lady might become that answer.”

In the end, the force that protected a family always began with one of its members.

If Irena became an excellent knight and enough time passed, she would become the strength that safeguarded the house.

And then Irena would pass on her experience and knowledge to some of Kellogg’s members, raising them as knights who protected the family.

Kairus was, in a way, stealing something from the Kellogg family while also giving them a gift through Irena.

There probably weren’t many cases where the saying “giving both the disease and the cure” fit so perfectly.

“Since it’s all something I’m doing without the person’s permission anyway.”

No matter what, the fact remained that he was a criminal. Kairus knew that well, so he stopped the pointless self-justification.

“It couldn’t have been easy to build a glass conservatory.”

At Kairus’s words, Irena nodded.

“This year, the International Expo is scheduled to be held in the Empire. They say the exhibition halls are also being constructed using cast iron and glass, just like this conservatory.”

An expo. He knew it as a colossal event held roughly once every five years. It was an opportunity to showcase the nation’s splendor without resorting to war.

Simply put, it was like a national pride contest. As long as it was something the country was proud of, it could be displayed in the space allocated at the exhibition.

“Traditional culture is fine, and cutting-edge equipment at the forefront of technology isn’t a problem either.”

There were no restrictions. Anything that could boast the greatness of the nation could be displayed.

Rare crafts and art pieces of immense value, impossible to acquire elsewhere.

Even masterpiece battle gear, which could never be seen under ordinary circumstances, would make an appearance.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Kairus glanced around the garden as he and Irena walked toward the conservatory.

“Irena. It’s been a while.”

And there, in the garden, they encountered another pair. A man in a suit and a woman wearing a modest dress.

“Jerry, brother.”

Irena bowed her head slightly to greet the man. At her greeting, the man smiled pleasantly.

“It’s good to see you looking well.”

“A man like air.”

That was the first impression Kairus received the moment he saw him. If the concept of harmlessness were a person, it would look just like that.

Jerry Kellogg was the eldest son, who would succeed Simid Kellogg as the family head if Simid were to die.

“There’s no way he’s simply a harmless person.”

The likelihood was high that he was fabricating this demeanor. In a family like the Kelloggs, the heir began their transformation into something else from the moment they were born.

A thorough reconstruction to become someone worthy of leading the house.

“Then, the gentleman standing beside Irena must be Mr. Dominic Randolph. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Jerry Kellogg.”

In other words, this man smiling blandly like clear water in front of Kairus probably had at least a dozen serpents coiled in his belly.

But what concerned him even more was the woman standing next to Jerry.

“Hello. I’m Vivian Citrie.”

When Kairus’s gaze turned to her, the woman bowed her waist slightly in greeting.

“She knows how to handle herself in a fight.”

Kairus could tell the moment he laid eyes on her. And the woman who introduced herself as Vivian Citrie had reached a similar conclusion.

She was concealing her true identity. He couldn’t yet discern her reasons or intentions.

However, Kairus had not come to this mansion with such righteous intentions that he could point that out openly.

“Likewise, it’s a pleasure. I am Dominic Randolph.”

Since they had met anyway, the four of them headed to the pavilion built over the pond in the garden. There, they exchanged handkerchiefs in a simple gesture.

“So… there was a silly rumor going around, and you happened to meet on the train coming to the mansion?”

Vivian was listening with a rather amused expression as Irena recounted how she and Kairus came to meet.

“That’s right. I suppose you could call it fate. If it hadn’t been for that ridiculous rumor, I wouldn’t have paid any attention to this guy.”

At Irena’s words, Vivian gave a small nod and then glanced sideways at Kairus.

Kairus noticed the gaze but kept conversing with Jerry without showing any reaction.

“Irena, if you believe every rumor you hear, you’ll end up in trouble sooner or later.”

Jerry said this and then turned his smiling face toward Kairus.

“Just look at Mr. Randolph here—contrary to the gossip, he’s remarkably intelligent and well-informed.”

Kairus could sense a slight doubt underlying Jerry’s voice. If he didn’t extinguish that tiny spark of suspicion quickly, there was no telling how far it might spread.

“My family is not like the Kellogg family. It would be wonderful if there were an environment where each person’s abilities could be fully realized.”

At Kairus’s reply, Jerry let out a thoughtful hum and nodded.

“I hadn’t considered that possibility.”

As the successor of the Kellogg family, Jerry would never be targeted just for being exceptional. The sheer might of the house itself was overwhelming.

But the Randolph family was a different story. If word spread that the heir was particularly outstanding, other families of similar standing would immediately start exerting fierce pressure.

“They don’t intend to strive to improve themselves, but they can’t stand to watch anyone else progress, either.”

For an instant, a cold glint flickered in Jerry’s eyes before it disappeared. Of course, Kairus did not miss that brief change of expression.

“It’s just another strategy, isn’t it? In the end, it’s all relative evaluation.”

At Kairus’s words, Jerry quickly returned to a mild expression and replied.

“That is true. It’s certainly a viable strategy for survival. I’ve learned something new.”

It wasn’t his true opinion. But if Kairus hadn’t seen that chill in his gaze moments ago, he might have mistaken it as genuine, so natural was Jerry’s performance.

It was true that he was quite a fitting candidate to carry on the family. If there was a problem…

As they talked, Jerry’s gaze shifted to Vivian.

“Completely smitten.”

Wrapped around her little finger. Vivian was certainly an attractive woman. It wasn’t only her outward beauty but also the way she spoke and her broad knowledge across various subjects.

It was certain that Vivian was the kind of woman men from established families like Jerry tended to favor.

“The problem is, it’s an artificial charm.”

It seemed that Vivian shared an interest in everything Jerry liked or cared about.

On the premise that their appearances suited each other’s tastes, even if about half their interests overlapped, a man and a woman would find each other very attractive.

But all of their interests matched?

A person couldn’t be like that. It meant that one of them wasn’t showing their true self.

“The reason is the question. The reason.”

Why would she go so far as to hide her tastes and interests just to please the other person?

That fundamental question remained.

And from what Kairus had observed, Vivian Citrie also seemed to be concealing the fact that she possessed skills comparable to a knight in an average order.

“If she were genuinely fond of Jerry as a man, why would she hide that she has the abilities of at least a Third-Class Decorated Knight?”

It was something to boast of to anyone, something that would inspire admiration. If she liked Jerry, she’d have every reason to present it as one of her appealing qualities.

In other words, she wasn’t concealing herself in order to impress Jerry. Vivian Citrie had some other purpose.

Just like Kairus did.

“Is the name Vivian Citrie even real?”

Kairus judged it was far more likely that Vivian Citrie was an alias. She had her own objective for approaching Jerry.

He felt a slight curiosity about when Jerry had first met Vivian, but Kairus decided not to ask.

That woman probably wasn’t very interested in what he planned to do, either. Since they each had their own goals and were both hiding their true identities, there was no need to provoke her.

Vivian thought the same.

“He’s a suspicious man.”

But as long as that suspicious man didn’t interfere with her mission, that was enough.

Once she completed her mission, she would return to the Imperial Security Bureau, and that would be the end of it.

There was clear evidence that an enormous amount of imperial tax funds had been embezzled from the Treasury. The problem was, there was no proof.

The physical evidence the National Tax Convoy had been trying to deliver had vanished.

It had become impossible to impose an official punishment. But of course, that didn’t mean the Emperor of the Empire intended to leave Simid Kellogg alone.

“The assassination of Simid Kellogg, and the retrieval of documents appearing linked to the tax embezzlement.”

Doing what could not be done in the realm of legality—that was one of the roles of the Valorn Security Bureau.

Kairus and Vivian each regarded the other with suspicion but judged there was no need to investigate further.

As long as their goals did not overlap, they would each finish what they had come to do and then leave.

“Just don’t get in my way.”

In truth, the two of them had something in common in their objectives.

Both needed to find out where the tax money siphoned by the Kellogg family had gone.

But at the same time, there was a curious difference.

Kairus, for his part, had no particular reason to kill Simid Kellogg.

On the contrary, considering his relationship with Irena, it would be better for Simid to remain alive. And in that, the Rose Garden, which wished to maintain the balance between the Empire and the Republic, was no exception.

But Vivian’s mission also included the assassination of Simid Kellogg. In fact, the assassination was the priority.

And slowly, evening was approaching, signaling the beginning of the party.