Chapter 9: Chapter 9

a while later, as luna rode the carriage back to the vincent territory, she checked the checks she received as an advance payment for a long time before hurriedly hiding her trembling hands behind her back.

‘can i really accept this money? that mountain of gold is worth this much?’

to think that even after buying several mansions in the most expensive city, there would still be money left over. it was an amount equivalent to tens of times the amount she had received from seira.

“why, is it not enough?”

far from being insufficient, she was afraid it was too much that she might lose it. nevertheless, luna casually replied without showing any hesitation. she couldn’t afford to underestimate the situation with the contract going back and forth.

“i have a lot of things to do in the future, so it’s far from enough. i hope the antares merchant guild can bring me great wealth.”

“don’t worry about that. i’ll shower you with a rain of money soon. if you want, i can give it to you right now,” the man answered confidently.

everything was going too smoothly. whenever it deviated from the original story, disasters always awaited. no wonder luna felt restless and her lips dried up.

“oh, by the way, you mentioned going to the capital?”

“…yes. i have something to take care of right away.”

“then prepare the documents and head to the capital. it might be inconvenient to go there and back.”

when luna couldn’t respond to that, the man added with a smirk.

“i’ll bring a lawyer for the notarization if you need. the merchant guild can do that too, if you wish.”

“…if you say so.”

it seemed like he had grasped luna very well in a short period of time, as he added a proposal that she would give such an answer.

“did you arrange the carriage and companions?”

“no, i’m going to find out and leave now.”

since she had come into possession of an excessive amount of money, she thought it would be fun to experience the luxury of traveling with a carriage and companions.

“then use the antares merchant guild’ carriage and mercenaries. we can’t just let go of the customers who will help grow our society. prepare the best carriage and horses from the merchant guild. also, choose mercenaries that young lady is comfortable with.”

“the merchant guild’s carriage and mercenaries? …you’re really being extremely nice to me.”

“because you are that much precious to us. personally, i like the young lady, and it’s rare to find someone who dislikes the young duke rordian. whether they were brainwashed or whatever, they think everything he says is right.”

the man’s words struck a chord with luna. even if they weren’t talking about the gold mine, both the man and luna shared a common dislike for fersen.

finally, luna accepted the man’s proposal and set off to the capital under the protection of the antares merchant guild, from head to toe.

it seemed that he had really planned to give luna special treatment. she had to calm her surprised heart when she was greeted with a splendid and comfortable carriage she had never seen before and horses that were fast and sturdy.

‘as soon as i get back, i’ll make my father quit his job and throw another check in seira’s face.’

she had said she would throw double the amount, but she would throw triple. then, no one would dare to disregard money.

she would buy several dresses, purchase a new mansion, and even buy a new carriage for her father, who rode in the duke’s carriage. she had never indulged in luxury before, but even after buying everything that came to mind, there would still be money left over.

and there would be more to come in the future.

with this, even if she continued to be at odds with seira, she could fill the mansion with knights and lead a prosperous life.

it’s possible to chase away fersen, who intrudes into the mansion so recklessly.

‘as expected, money is the answer…?’

money was what made her miserable, and money was what could make her live comfortably.

realizing this fact, luna felt annoyed and unnecessarily took out the check she had kept in her bosom.

* * *

a while after luna left the antares merchant guild, an unexpected guest arrived at the merchant guild.

“i heard the young baroness luna peils visited here.”

“who are you?”

“i am fersen rordian, the young lady’ close friend.”

fersen rordian.

at the appearance of a person who was no different from their enemies, the mercenary with the rank of captain asked for the name with an arrogant attitude, showing his displeasure.

“i don’t know. so please speak politely and leave.”

“you wouldn’t know. i have already confirmed that luna traveled with the antares merchant guild. it seems they have built quite a friendship.”

fersen had obtained the information from the coachman who drove luna. that’s why he was very uncomfortable. it was his close friend, luna, who had formed a friendship with these vile people.

“i don’t know anything about that. so if that’s all, please leave, lordian duke youngshik.”

as if to show that they would drive him away by force if necessary, the mercenaries rolled up their sleeves. other mercenaries who were engaged in conversation also revealed hostility by placing their hands on their swords at their waists.

luna didn’t expect fersen to receive a warm welcome, but she never thought they would so openly confront the successor of the duke.

fersen, in order to return luna, also placed his hand on his sword as if he would sacrifice anything by force.

“what are you doing?”

that’s when it happened. a blond man, who was coming downstairs after organizing documents, encountered a strange confrontation and asked with a cold voice:

“what’s going on here?”

the mercenaries quickly gathered around the man.

“captain! an uninvited guest has arrived!”

“…fersen rordian.”

the face that used to smile at luna like a flower now seemed like a mask, and the man’s expression turned icy. fersen clearly reciprocated the hostility.

“antes vincent. long time no see.”

“what brings you here? if you came to die, you’ve come to the right place. but i doubt that you, who considers yourself the most precious, came here to die.”

“i came because i’m looking for someone. i was just about to grab your subordinates who pretended not to know and find out.”

antes couldn’t hide a smirk at fersen’s response.

“to come all the way here… young baroness luna peils must have become dear to you.”

“don’t call her luna so casually. you’re not someone who has the right to call her that.”

“my boss gave me permission, so it’s none of your business.”

“…luna gave you permission?”

fersen shot antes a sharp gaze that was unexpectedly piercing.

it didn’t seem like the look of someone who simply thought of a friend, and antes stumbled over his words.

“of course. we spent several nights together.”

there was room for misunderstanding, but it wasn’t a lie.

during the few days it took to travel from the capital to vincent territory, they spent nights together in a ‘different’ carriage and a ‘different’ room.

“what? n-nights…!”

fersen, who had been responding with hostility until now, looked dumbfounded.

this caused antes to furrow his delicate brows.

they had always had this kind of conversation whenever they met, due to their unfavorable relationship, but this shocked expression was the first of its kind.

“no way, so…?”

in that moment, fersen recalled the words that seira’s friends had said to him. luna’s words that antes vincent was better than him. it couldn’t be true. he thought it was just something they said without any basis. but was it actually true?

he wiped his face with his palm and asked with a trembling gaze.

“so, does luna have feelings for you…? when did you two meet, you beggar!?”

this time, antes was the one whose head started to ache.

what nonsense was this? there’s no way he fell asleep in the middle of the conversation, but the conversation suddenly jumped up as if he had forgotten something.

caught in the uncontrollable confusion of the question, antes crossed his arms and replied, “luna said she had feelings for me? when?”

“so, is that why you intentionally brought her to vincent territory? because she has feelings for you? to spend the night together!?”

without answering fersen’s question, he retreated into his own world.

here it goes again. that crazy bastard who doesn’t listen to others. this was why he didn’t want to get involved in conversations with that son of a bitch.

fersen had his own firm principles and standards, and he had a habit of twisting others’ words to fit his own interpretations.

no, it wasn’t just sometimes, but every time. he had a knack for making any statement seem like the absolute truth, no matter what was said.

“antes, you damn devil…! what have you done to an innocent girl like luna!”

just like that, right now.

“you’re like a deaf dog. if you’re going to spout nonsense, then get lost.”

antes, who spoke in that manner, suddenly felt sorry for the dog. even dogs can communicate to some extent, but fersen couldn’t.

“i won’t move a step until you let luna go!”

as fersen drew his sword, as if declaring that he was invincible, antes, annoyed, considered grabbing fersen by the collar but quickly came up with a way to send him away in one fell swoop.

“she’s not here, so get lost.”

“not here?”

“yeah. why would i keep her here thinking there’s something to gain?”

to the surprise of the mercenaries, who were expecting a clash, antes answered quite obediently. fersen, upon hearing that luna wasn’t here, gritted his teeth and asked.

“then where did you hide her!?”

“lushan.”

“…lushan?”

it was an unexpected name. lushan was a distant resort city that took at least two weeks to reach by carriage from vincent territory. it was only then that the mercenaries realized antes’ intention and intervened, their faces filled with disbelief.

“captain! what are you saying!”

“she said it was a secret!”

“she said she wanted to take a break and go far away!”

though it was a rather awkward act, fersen’s eyes quickly flickered.

“it’s okay. she said she would stop by lushan and then move to another city. even if you go now, you won’t be able to meet her.”

but there was a problem.

“…that’s nonsense! luna wouldn’t have that kind of money.”

the issue was that fersen knew luna’s financial situation all too well.

lushan was a city far from the capital but being a coastal resort city, the cost of living near the water was quite high. while it was possible to go if she took the money she had in hand, luna’s thrifty nature made it unlikely.

it was only then that antes realized why luna had fearlessly descended to the peils territory.

still, he’s an aristocrat in his own right, but even a self-proclaimed best friend said that he had no money and implicitly ignored it.

even though he was a self-proclaimed close friend, he said that she didn’t have any money. how would others have felt about it, being subtly ignored?

that’s why she must have taken risks to somehow extract the buried gold in the territory. he thought that demanding an advance payment was one of the reasons.

‘to go to such lengths to dig for gold, it would be better to resort to strategic marriage.’

whether it was a man or a woman, a marriage of convenience was the best way to escape poverty. it was the easiest method.

even with the heir of the ducal family obsessed with her right next to her, she made the choice to find out where the gold is and mine it by hand.

how much she might hate fersen.

suddenly, a sense of camaraderie and pity welled up. thanks to fersen’s rampage, antes’ fondness for luna unexpectedly increased.

“i don’t want to mix words with trash like you.”

“…!”

becoming extremely displeased, antes swiftly snatched the sword that fersen had drawn. the beautifully crafted sword, enchanted with reinforcement magic, fit into his hand as if it was his own.

crack-

the fragment-like sword that descended from the rodrian dukes for generations had a legend that it was made from the fangs of a dragon and would never break.

antes effortlessly broke the sword with such force that it shattered in half.

“…!?”

“ah! mo-monster!?”

fersen’s knights were shocked and swallowed their breaths at the ease with which the sword was shattered, as if breaking a biscuit. antes threw the broken sword at fersen’s feet and coldly threatened with a chilling gaze.

“it was your choice to draw the sword first, so we’ll finish it with this today. next time, i’ll separate your neck and body like this, so get lost immediately.”

“…damn you.”

realizing that antes’ warning was genuine, fersen quickly picked up the broken sword and swiftly retreated from the scene. his actions seemed like that of a defeated protagonist running away from a villain, and antes muttered softly. he knew that the rumors would spread in the opposite direction in the outside world.

“calling you a monster! that damn bastard! captain, should we chase after him and cut off his tongue?”

“no, cut off his carriage instead. don’t let him go anywhere. rent all the carriages in vincent’s territory.”

as soon as antes gave his permission, the enraged mercenaries eagerly followed behind fersen.

“and prepare a carriage to go to the capital.”

“captain, where are you going?”

“yeah. there’s something i need to wrap up with an important guest. i’m also concerned about what fersen said.”

clearly, luna doesn’t even know who he is, but why did people say that she was interested in him?

although he thought there would be misunderstandings and misconceptions mixed in fersen’s complaints, he couldn’t help but want to confirm it somehow.