Chapter 60

Rickart knew.

He knew that he did not belong here and that these people were looking down on him.

An ordinary person might have been intimidated by their cold stares, but Rickart felt nothing of the sort. He neither shrank back nor hated them.

They all looked weak to him.

His only thought was, I won’t be staying here long.

Marie was not intimidated either, though her reaction differed somewhat from Rickart’s.

She had spent her entire life training in a family of swordsmen while being treated as an illegitimate child. Then one day, she had abruptly been informed that she had been formally recognized and ordered to enroll at the Academy.

She had gone from an illegitimate child to an Imperial Princess overnight.

Yet little had changed. She had merely been informed of her new status and had never once met her father, the Emperor, in person.

That was why Marie despised people who flaunted their status, wealth, or rank. She could sense exactly that in their gazes, and it displeased her.

Rickart merely swept his gaze over the people his age, while Marie stood straight and returned their contemptuous stares with equal contempt.

Perhaps they sensed the peculiar attitude and atmosphere surrounding the pair, because the other guests’ gazes gradually began to change.

Upon looking more carefully, they found that Rickart possessed a gentle yet powerful boyish charm, while Marie’s beauty was simply overwhelming. Her face alone seemed to eclipse all their expensive clothes and jewelry.

It almost seemed as though the reddish candlelight existed solely to illuminate the boy and girl.

Intending to look around the banquet hall, Rickart took Marie’s hand and began walking. Everyone’s eyes followed them.

Their confident strides were entirely natural rather than affected, and the other guests instinctively sensed dignity in them. The gazes that had once looked down upon them gradually faded, replaced by curiosity and subtle admiration.

However, some still regarded them with envy and jealousy.

Who did they think they were?

Weren’t they merely penniless beggars?

Why were they acting so important?

Every gathering had a group that took the lead, and someone within that group inevitably played the central role.

A group of boys and girls sat before the fireplace. Among them, a girl wearing a dark pink dress decorated with pearls rose with a fan in her hand and approached Rickart and Marie.

“Hello.”

Rickart had been examining the rare dishes laid across a table. He raised his head and looked at the girl.

She was cute, but only one corner of her mouth was raised in a subtle sneer.

“Hello.”

“This must be your first time attending a Gathering of Rising Stars.”

“Rising Stars?”

“Yes. This is a gathering exclusively for the children of Ernberg’s most influential families. ‘Rising Stars’ is therefore the perfect name for us.”

“I don’t know. It sounds a little childish.”

“Pardon?”

For an instant, the girl wondered whether she had misheard him, and one eyebrow twitched.

It was a random thought, but Rickart found it remarkably efficient how she moved only one facial muscle at a time—first one corner of her mouth, and now one eyebrow.

“If you will pardon my asking, young lord, what is your name?”

“I’m Ricky. And you, my lady?”

“My name is Regina. Those close to me call me ‘Cute Reggie.’ If you become close to me, I may grant you the honor of calling me Reggie as well.”

What?

What honor?

What was she talking about?

Rickart stared blankly at her for a moment, unable to understand what she meant.

Regina was not a name belonging to the hereditary nobility. Even at first hearing, it sounded like the name of someone from a merchant family.

Merchant families were nobles in their own way, but this was an era when they were clearly distinguished from the true hereditary nobility who possessed titles.

However, Rickart had not come here to compare social status, so he ignored it and continued the conversation.

“Are banquets normally this quiet? I thought people were supposed to eat, drink, and make noise at a banquet.”

Banquets had occasionally been held in Stormherz as well. They were not merely for entertainment but also served to strengthen the bonds between the lord and his vassals. They were important events.

Once the drinks began flowing, Rickart had even seen his usually stern father exchange crude jokes with his vassals. Because of that, this place felt strangely alien to him.

A knightly family was descended from warriors. Such families were conservative and placed great importance on discipline and honor, but warriors also knew how to celebrate wildly when the occasion arose.

Despite regional cultural differences, most martial families were similar. Whether they belonged to a count or a duke, houses that preserved the martial spirit generally behaved that way.

At Rickart’s words, however, Regina smiled triumphantly.

“Hohoho! Only country bumpkins hold such banquets. We are different. Shouldn’t nobles naturally preserve their dignity and refinement?”

“Not their honor and discipline?”

“Those are merely words that mercenaries like to throw around. Unfortunately, young lord, your clothing appears far removed from anything refined.”

Regina kept concealing sharp needles within her words.

Yet that manner of speaking had no effect on Rickart whatsoever.

Rickart understood perfectly well what she intended and the attitude with which she regarded him. However, he merely considered her insignificant, so he felt no anger.

“I’m aware that my clothes don’t suit this gathering. Had I been invited while I still had plenty of money, I would have dressed appropriately for the occasion. If my presence makes you that uncomfortable, I’ll leave.”

“Ohohoho! No, that will not be necessary. Extending charity to the wretched is another virtue nobles ought to uphold. Please take your time and enjoy yourself. Just don’t eat too voraciously—it’s unpleasant to watch. And if you happen to need money, depending on your behavior, I might speak to my father and have him lend you some.”

Believing she had successfully humiliated Rickart, Regina burst into laughter and became even more triumphant.

Rickart merely considered her a pathetic little brat. He did not even think she was worth answering.

Marie, however, had been listening beside him and could no longer tolerate it.

And she could tolerate an insult to Rickart even less.

“Pardon me, my lady, but you seem to harbor certain fantasies about the nobility.”

Marie stepped into the conversation.

Her visible gaze was cold, but flames raged beneath it.

“What do you mean? I don’t quite understand. There is no one here who isn’t a noble. Naturally, that includes me. And what family might ‘you’ belong to, my lady?”

Regina came from one of Ernberg’s foremost merchant families, so she confidently raised her chin.

But her family could not compare to Marie’s. Marie’s father was the Emperor, while her maternal family belonged to the Count Palatine of Hellraum.

It would never happen, but if their two families went to war, Marie’s side could exterminate a single merchant family with no more effort than pressing down a thumb.

Marie scoffed at the absurdity.

However, she saw no need to reveal her family merely to crush such small fry. Nor did she wish to.

“In my opinion, my family appears to be more distinguished than yours. We reveal our dignity and refinement without needing to adorn ourselves in expensive clothes and jewelry. How unfortunate. No matter how extravagantly one decorates the exterior, it cannot change the blood flowing through one’s veins. It’s rather amusing to hear someone from a mere merchant family speak of dignity.”

“...Wh-What did you say?”

“Moreover, Lady Regina, aren’t you merely a puppet of your family? Before long, the elders of your household will decide your fate and sell you off like a pig. Where is the dignity in that? I’m different. I’m free. Naturally, that includes the freedom to choose what I wear. Please stop taking out your insecurities, irritation, and frustration on other people. It’s pitiful to watch.”

If Regina concealed needles within her words, Marie seemed to be openly stabbing her with a knife.

The shock was so great that the raised corner of Regina’s mouth fell.

The other merchant children nearby covered their mouths, their expressions filled with astonishment.

Apparently unwilling to admit defeat, Regina tried to raise the corner of her mouth again, but it seemed as difficult as lifting a boulder. She wanted to retort, yet she could only stammer.

“Y-You... You called me... a-a pig? How rude...”

“Go home and quietly occupy yourself with needlework, you poor lady. It seems far more suitable for you.”

Marie utterly crushed her.

My mother used to sew every day too, Rickart thought.

Still, he did not take offense. The circumstances were different.

The tension had swelled like a balloon about to burst.

Then the voice of a grown man suddenly interrupted them.

“Sir Hero?”

Rickart turned and saw a middle-aged man wearing the broad hat favored by merchants.

“I don’t know whether I’m a hero, but I did come from the Beringen Guild branch.”

“Ah, goodness. My apologies. I thought you had not arrived. Why didn’t that fellow report this to me? I’m terribly sorry. I should have received you separately. Please, come this way.”

Something had evidently gone wrong.

It seemed they might have entered the wrong gathering.

“It was a pleasure speaking with you, my lady. And there’s nothing wrong with needlework.”

After saying this to Regina, Rickart followed the man with Marie.

The hall had been silent since Rickart and Marie first entered, and it remained silent now.

Despite the silence around her, Regina trembled as fury boiled inside her.

“I am Marconis, head of the Marconis Merchant Company. It was my responsibility to receive you properly. Please forgive me.”

The man who had invited Rickart spoke as he served expensive tea in a drawing room.

Tea could only be obtained by purchasing it from the distant Salaman people. It was not merely worth its weight in gold—it was genuinely more expensive than gold.

Rickart took a sip and detected an aroma unlike anything he had ever experienced.

It was difficult to describe. The tea was undeniably warm, yet it carried a refreshing coolness.

“Does the tea suit your palate?” Marconis asked with a genial smile.

Yet Rickart sensed something strange in that seemingly practiced expression.

“The aroma is unusual. I like it.”

“And you, my lady?”

“I like it too.”

“I’m glad. Unfortunately, the banquet has already ended. The place where you were just now is a social gathering. The children of Ernberg’s influential families meet there to become acquainted and, when necessary, find suitable partners. It seems you had an interesting time there as well...”

Rickart immediately realized that the man was lying.

By looking into Marconis’s eyes, he knew that the man had deliberately guided them to that gathering.

He could not determine the exact reason.

Had Marconis wanted to intimidate him first? To place him under pressure?

Perhaps he had thought that humiliating Rickart through those children before meeting him personally would give him the advantage during negotiations and other discussions.

It was a subtle tactic, but a shallow one.

That was why Rickart had no desire to exchange pleasantries with him for long. He was neither a merchant nor a negotiator.

“It was reasonably entertaining. But why did you invite me?”

“Hahaha! As expected of a hero, you’re refreshingly direct.”

Marconis laughed at Rickart’s straightforward manner and his attempt to go directly to the point.

Merchants normally spent considerable time talking around a subject as though their tongues had been coated in oil.

“First, I heard that you had begun a new enterprise in the city, so I wished to introduce myself. Your fame is so widespread that, embarrassing as it is to admit, I was also curious about you. Besides, adventurers’ guilds and merchants are naturally close partners, aren’t they?”

That was indeed true, so Rickart nodded.

Swords followed money, and whenever swords were swung, bloodstained money spilled forth.

That was how the world worked.

“So you invited me merely to introduce yourself. Unfortunately, I’m not much of a conversationalist.”

“Ah, not at all. There is still a second reason. In truth, this is the important one.”

“Go ahead.”

“Have you heard of the Ernberg Masons’ Guild?”

“Yes. I heard they’re quite famous here.”

“They are highly skilled, but they’re such rough people that they frequently cause trouble. We unquestionably paid them for the construction work according to our contract, yet now they have occupied the docks and are demanding more money. We may deal in money, but that doesn’t mean it springs from an infinite source, does it?”

Rickart stared down at his tea.

Money might not spring from an infinite source, but apparently, they still had enough to enjoy tea like this.

“So you want us to teach them a lesson?”

“Hahaha... That is a rather blunt way of phrasing it, but simply put, yes. Every day our ship remains unable to depart costs us ten gold coins. It has already been four days. What are we supposed to do?”

“What are you offering as the advance, the interim payment, and the completion fee?”

Rickart found it exhausting to converse with Marconis, who deliberately dragged out every statement.

Upon hearing Rickart’s question, Marconis took money from inside his clothes.

With a metallic clinking, he arranged two stacks of ten gold coins upon the table. Every coin had been polished until it gleamed.

Twenty gold coins.

“Twenty gold as an advance, ten as an interim payment, and thirty upon completion. Sixty gold coins in total.”

Naturally, they would need to draw up a separate contract, but deliberately placing the gold before Rickart’s eyes felt like a negotiation tactic.

Even so, sixty gold coins was an enormous sum.

It was equivalent to twelve hundred silver coins.

In the past, the bounty for capturing Hasphil, the leader of the Assassins’ Guild known as “He Who Saddens Mothers,” alive had been forty gold coins.

“We aren’t allowed to kill them, are we?”

“We are offering such a high payment precisely because the matter must be resolved without killing anyone.”

“All right. I’ll discuss it with my companions and contact you again. Thank you for the tea.”

“Pardon?”

Having heard everything he needed to hear, Rickart rose without hesitation.

Marconis blinked at him in bewilderment.

“I said I’ll contact you again. We’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

Regardless of how bewildered the man was, Rickart simply left the drawing room with Marie.

No matter how urgently they needed money, they could not enter a contract carelessly.

Upon leaving the mansion, they saw several people returning home in carriages. Many guests apparently spent the night at the mansion, though some chose to leave.

Rickart and Marie returned to the guild building on foot, just as they had come.

As they walked beside the river, they saw the lights from the docks, mansions, and surrounding buildings reflected upon the black water. The moon rippled upon the surface as though submerged in the river.

The scene possessed a certain charm, though it also felt eerie enough that an assassin might suddenly leap from the grass.

However, neither Rickart nor Marie felt afraid, allowing them to appreciate only the beauty of the river at night.

“That man gave you a bad feeling too, didn’t he?” Marie asked.

She had not seen through Marconis’s shallow trick as precisely as Rickart had, but she had also sensed that something was amiss.

“Yeah.”

Why had the boy stopped believing in love when he knew how to cherish another person’s heart?

The thought suddenly made Marie pity him.

“But wouldn’t it be awkward to make an enemy of him? We need to establish ourselves in this city, and he’s one of its influential figures.”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to see how things develop. Boribori and Ice went to the docks, so let’s ask them what the atmosphere was like there.”

“Okay.”

The two left the riverbank and walked through the city’s streets at night.

Not a single person passed them. Cities were exceedingly dangerous after dark, so everyone remained shut inside their homes.

The boy and girl continued through the deserted streets.

Tap, tap.

Step, step.

Their footsteps sounded exceptionally clear.

Rickart looked up at the Milky Way visible between the buildings.

Marie watched him from beside him.

This was as close as the distance between them would allow.

It caused Marie no small amount of pain, but she also felt grateful.

At least they could be this close.

At least she could reach him if she extended her hand.

Yet she did not take his hand now.

For some reason, Marie felt that the boy’s eyes looked sorrowful as he gazed at the night sky.

Others might see him as a genius swordsman, a terrifying enemy, a close friend, or a hero.

To Marie, however, the boy somehow seemed pitiable.

Because she was the only person who had knocked upon the firmly closed door to his heart, she could faintly sense what lay beyond it.

She admired him and thought him wonderful, yet at the same time, she felt that he needed someone to embrace and comfort him.

When they reached an underpass beneath which a canal flowed, however, they saw several dark silhouettes blocking the road.

Thugs?

Ordinary city delinquents?

As they considered the possibilities, someone stepped forward with a sharp click of shoes.

Then they heard a familiar voice.

“Nobles differ from commoners in more than dignity and etiquette. We also possess strength—otherwise known as authority. You didn’t truly believe that a lowly adventurer could insult a noble and escape without consequences, did you? I hope you aren’t quite that foolish.”

The voice belonged to Regina.

Rickart moved his hand toward the dagger at his waist.

Then he glanced at the canal beside the road and wondered whether dumping the bodies into it would dispose of them properly.

Before Rickart could do anything, however, Marie stepped forward.

“You really are annoying.”

Perhaps because Regina had interrupted their precious time together, Marie’s eyes no longer concealed her fury.

The sight made Rickart wonder for an instant whether he should stop her.

Of course, he himself had just been worrying about how to dispose of the bodies.