CH 101

After staring at her for a long time with an absurd expression, the guild leader made a puzzled face.

“Right? A romance of the century between a commoner and a prince, something like that. Ah. The young lady was a noble rather than a commoner… It might be a little different.”

The confident tone filled her with absurdity. What was this man saying now?

“It’s nothing. He is my boss, and I am a subordinate who serves him. I’m just a worker ant busy eating and living.”

“Ha… yes whatever…”

The face of the guild leader, who had been smiling the whole time, hardened slightly. With a slightly puzzled expression.

“Is it real?”

“Yes yes…”

Anyway, when there is a man and a woman involved, it’s always the same wherever you start talking about love.

“It’s just like family. Don’t misunderstand me like that.”

“Then let’s do that.”

He was a man who could not speak well.

“Anyway, you are a very rare person. From Count Adler to His Highness the Prince… The Archduke seems to be looking for you too.”

She already knew the Archduke was looking for her, but she didn’t think that even the head of the Verbena Guild knew about it. She blinked both eyes.

“How did you know that?”

“I even sell the information that Count Burkett asked me about you to the Archduke. For quite a lot of money.”

This… Should she be mad at him for selling her information? It was such a confident and calm voice that she had to ponder for a while.

“Trixie ran away without complying with the request, and Verbena does not forgive such a person. So I tried to figure out where you were, but you were difficult to find. Well, since you were in the imperial palace, it was only natural. So anyway, I took my own revenge.”

“Ah…”

“It was in my favor to be honest about things that didn’t need to be said, so I hope you don’t take it too badly.”

Well, Verbena was such a place. It’s her fault that she knew but didn’t have a way. She thought she had settled for that mistake, but far from that, the retaliation had already ended before she knew it.

“Anyway, I’ll just go in. The back of my head hurts to the point where I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Why is the back of your head?”

At her question, the guild leader took a step aside. He was much taller than her, so she couldn’t see the scenery behind him at all, but when he disappeared, she could see it clearly. Two men were standing at the parlor door, looking this way. The expressionless Leone and the tired looking Adler.

“Really, really, are you okay?”

“No, no. I raised him. That’s why he is chasing me. It’s fine.”

“That’s also interesting-“

“You have so many questions! Leone, we’re done talking.”

At her words, Leone immediately stepped forward. It’s not far, but it’s not that fast… Was it because the legs were long? In an instant, Leone stood in front of her.

“Distance.”

Leone placed his large palm on the guild leader’s stomach and pushed it behind him. The guild leader retreated without much resistance.

“Leone. Why did you come out?”

“So, don’t come. I was worried.”

“What is there to worry about? There is no place as safe as the imperial palace.”

It seemed that he was on edge because he couldn’t keep track of the Archduke’s movements. The other day, there was an attack by assassins. It’s not that he didn’t understand, but he didn’t blame him more.

“I’ll be worried about-“

Leone’s eyes turned to the guild leader. In the meantime, the guild leader’s eyes twinkled as he looked at her and Leone. Hearing Leone’s chilly voice, his eyes were shining like that… He really liked gossip.

“A lot, too.”

“No way. Because this is my friend so it’s fine. Do not worry.”

“Not that… okay. Trixie… okay.”

The head of the Verbena Guild, who appeared in the original work, was not a criminal under the Archduke. So he didn’t have to be very suspicious. It was before the original work even started, and since Leone had changed a lot, the contents must have been overturned, but in fact, the characters of the characters had not changed much. Adler, full of loyalty, the Emperor who neglected the duties of the imperial family in order to keep his chastity, and the mean Archduke. Sujeonno Guild Leader. So she thought it would be okay.

“Come in, everyone. There is still a story left.”

Adler opened the door and waited. They went back into the drawing room. The guild leader walked first and they followed. The moment when everyone went ahead and they followed behind. The moment when no one could see them closely. Leone’s big hand came down her arm and grabbed her hand. In that state, his hand was tight. Her hand was crumpled by so much force that it hurted a little.

“Le, Leone…?”

Leone’s face hardened as he looked up. He didn’t answer, and continued walking beside her. Entering the drawing room, Leone let go of her hand. Traces of his warmth and a little bit of wild power were left on his hands.

“Is it true that the reason the prince called me today is because of the Archduke?”

As soon as he sat down again, the guild leader opened his mouth.

“You are quick-witted.”

Adler nodded his head as if he liked it.

“Thank you for the compliment. Actually, I’m having trouble with the Archduke these days, so I’m investigating in various ways. I am ready to help the prince.”

It seemed that he was going to reveal the details of the revenge he mentioned earlier.

“Did the Archduke do anything?”

“Recently, I was doing a deal with the Archduke, and I bargained for a high price, so the Archduke must have been pissed off. This is also quite a loss. I lost a lot of colleagues.”

She looked at the face that looked quite Honam-type. It was clearly a bitter voice, but it was difficult to understand his intentions in his eyes. Somehow, she thought it was like the recent Leone.

“So, I always welcome any request related to the Archduke. Especially if it’s a request from His Highness.”

“Surprised. I thought it would be a bit difficult just to call you out.”

“Did you know that the fortress capital is full of stories about His Highness?”

“Roughly.”

“Well, it’s not that I just believe that things have become a hot topic. The Archduke looked pretty nervous. He came to buy information about Trixie-”

“No wonder!”

She quickly stopped the guild leader from trying to repent again, just like she did earlier.

“If he knew about me, did he buy my information somewhere? Is that the information guild next to Verbena? Which information guild is it, really? How did he know me?!”

She believed the words of the guild leader to some extent. Verbena, a guild tightly united under money, and its members cared for each other terribly. There was a description in the original work that everyone was in a similar situation who jumped into dangerous work for money and suffered. So, if the Archduke had touched the guild members, it was only natural that the guild leader would come out like that. As she knew the character of the original, she had a lot of faith. However, Leone and Adler wouldn’t believe the guild leader the moment they hear that he sold her information to the Archduke. She didn’t know if he would be kicked out while they needed manpower. So, she decided to keep it a secret.

“…Yes, the Archduke has been prowling around so much that I couldn’t help but hear the rumors.”

He also had a good eye. The guild leader immediately grasped the situation and accepted her lie.

“Anyway, seeing that nervous look, I guess I thought it was worth betting on His Highness.”

“…So, does this mean that it goes on that line?”

Leone asked with a cynical laugh.

“Yes, your highness. So that’s it. I will do everything you ask, please protect our guild.”

He was a very quick-witted person. To ask for a huge reward of guild protection before presenting or making noise on this side, and lying down unconditionally.

“Haha. I do everything you ask, and I won’t charge you for commissioning. Just protect… I will be grateful if you do not forget that in the future, me and our guild are the number 1 allies who have turned to Your Highness’s side in this Empire.”

“Are you prepared to come?”

Adler laughed. She was dumbfounded too.

“It’s been a while since I thought I wanted to do business, but in fact, it’s not like we can meet just because I contacted you two first… Thanks to Lady Trixie’s connection, I think it’s a relief that I was able to come running like this.”

“It’s true that I called to make a request.”

Leone said like a sigh.

“Why do I feel so uncomfortable?”

“I hear so many times that my impression is not trustworthy. It’s perfectly normal to feel uncomfortable.”

It was a strangely hoarse voice. It was understandable that Leone’s eyes were slightly ferocious. She rubbed Leone’s shoulder.

“Anyway, he is a necessary talent, Leone.”

Leone sighed and nodded. He eventually made a request to the guild leader even though he did look at him saying he didn’t like him. To sum up his request, it was simple.

‘Since I don’t know exactly what the Archduke intends to do, I will give you the list of attendees for the welcome ceremony. Investigate them, their servants, and all the rats that come and go that day, and spread the money. I’ll recapture them from here, so it doesn’t matter how much it costs.’

The request he gave to Verbena was broad and simple. Since it was almost like hiring all the guild members, the corners of the guild leader’s mouth soared into the sky. A big request comes with a big price.

“Knight. Are there spaces and manpower to hide and protect Verbena guild members?”

“It’s manpower, it’s enough to collect it. What is left for Your Highness is a private estate in a remote city, a villa. Instead, it will cost money to protect that number of people.”

“And since the request is not unusually large, you will have to pay the request fee in the end. It’s not like a request comes and goes once or twice.”

She didn’t think it would cost a small amount of money to run a guild, but he needed more people than he thought. While the calculator was running in her head, Leone opened his mouth as if it was nothing special.

“I will also sell a mine.”

One way or another, eventually the mine would be sold. Her mouth was open wide.