Chapter 9

THE THREE INEVITABLE COINCIDENCES (6)

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Translator: Rhyme_bean

Editor: SilverAndGold

Instant Weekly – Exclusive News! Earl Gordon sets up a salon because of the words, ‘Tired of the dresses I wear daily’!

Beth read the magazine with a pleased smile. After she had read what she wanted to read, she closed it and threw it into the fireplace. The magazines were really great – they could spend money on such absurd news.

This was also the reason why there were many press agencies. They wrote rubbish things line by line as they sacrificed trees and collected money at a nice pace.

A dress salon was exclusively built for a child who was only barely eight and was named ‘Petite Garden.’ The one and only one designer of the Salon, Dana trembled all over and stood erect next to the wall.

Claire also trembled but she still stood stuck to Beth. The only person that was relaxed there was Beth, who was a person from the last rung of the social ladder.

She brought out the Black Tea especially reserved to entertain the guests and enjoyed it without any concern. The scene was quite ironic.

“T-t-t-to me, thi-this biiiig shop……”

For the biggest building of the busiest main street of Earl Gordon’s fief, the rent must be a tremendous amount. Dana always thought that, even if she was to work all her life, it would still be impossible to acquire such a building. But a miracle suddenly happened and for a moment she felt dizzy.

“Th-the rrrent… here, …h-how will it b-be t-taken care of?”

“Will you faint, if I tell?”

Those words were enough to cause her heart to break and make her head dizzy. After she struggled for a while, Dana moved towards Beth and slowly sat on the same sofa as Beth.

“I thank you… for giving me… such a heavenly opportunity…”

“It’s nothing, because it will be Miss Brian’s skill which can really decide whether this salon lives or dies.”

Of course, her skills were already guaranteed so it was time to stop the current conversation and proceed to the most important point. Beth glanced at Claire who was nestled against her chest.

“Um?”

Claire, as if she felt an eye on her, looked up at Beth with her round eyes – there was no end to her loveliness. Beth felt a little sad as she petted her lovely little head.

“Young Miss, I got something really important to talk with Miss Briar, would you like to look around at the dresses?”

“I can’t hear the conversation?”

Maybe because of the anxiousness, she thought about the empty hallways in the towering mansion, which made Claire tightly clench onto Beth’s dress as she clearly showcased her anxious mood.

“Don’t be worried. I will always be by your side to protect you, my lady.”

“Uh um…”

Only then did Claire reluctantly loosen her tightly clenched hands from Beth’s clothes. With hesitant steps, she walked towards the dresses on display.

Dana watched Claire, but felt a sense of deja-vu she turned her head towards Beth.

“The young miss’ dress……”

“Don’t you think it looks similar to the one you saw before?”

The dress was the same as the one she wore when they met face to face previously. The newspapers circulated on the Earl’s fief always held articles that described how pampered and loved Claire was as she grew up. When it came to Dana, she felt as if she was brainwashed by such news.

Beth put her hands together and straightened her back as she looked straight at the woman who sat in front of her.

“What I am going to say is only because of my trust in Miss.”

Dana wouldn’t spill a word she heard here to the outside world. This assurance was not because of Beth’s trust in her character, rather because of how she was described in the original work.

“Y-y-yes.”

Beth sat straight, but Dana sat rather stiffly as her posture clearly showed her uneasiness.

“Young lady Claire was being mistreated all along. The articles released by the press are all pure lies.”

“.…….”

Dana couldn’t bring herself to say a word. Meanwhile Beth’s eyes travelled towards her Miss, who at some moment had gotten distracted by the dresses on display.

There was also a similar person among the people Dana was familiar with. That person was also unable to receive love from parents and almost died at the hands of their parents. After Beth disclosed Claire’s real situation to Dana, she seemed to see ‘that person’ in Claire. For this reason alone, Beth was sure that , Dana wouldn’t harm Claire.

Beth already knew the character setting of Dana from the novel, so she had already expected such a reaction from her.

“Then……”

Dana failed to open her mouth. There were many things she wanted to ask. But she couldn’t because if she had 10 questions, 9 of them were questions that could not be put forward.

With a bitter laugh, Beth looked at Dana.

“Miss Brian, you won’t talk about your own personal matters to others,  right?”

“.……..”

Dana had once met a man who was tormented by strange rumors, who almost lost his life because of them. She was the only person who didn’t believe in those rumors.

It was also because of that I was able to become friends with him.

It was not that Beth needed a silk designer, rather she finally realized implicitly that there was something Beth needed to get through her.

“W…what do you want me to do?”

“The things Miss Brian can do…….”

As if in a deep thought, Beth’s words trailed off. In truth, everything went as planned and there were only two things that Dana could do.

“Primarily, help Miss to stand at the zenith of the society after she becomes an adult.”

Dana’s dresses hadn’t become popular yet, but with the passage of time, the real value of her designs would begin to show. With her efforts, it was very possible for Claire to become a trendsetter in fashion. They would also get that much financial means to support that flow.

“As for the second thing, there is someone I want your help to be introduced to.”

“A person you want to be introduced to?”

“Yes.”

“Who…?”

Who might be that person? Was there a person among Dana’s circle who was needed by Beth?

Creak.

Before they could advance with the interrogation, they heard the sound of the Salon’s door opening. All that were present in the salon turned their gaze towards the door.

“This… it’s a little uncomfortable to be looked at by all of you.”

Even though he said ‘all’, there were only three inside. With his azure blue hair and a friendly smile, a guy walked into the salon.

“Hello. I am a friend of Dana Brian. I came to congratulate her for becoming a designer at the Salon under Earl Gordon. Am I disturbing you?”

The guy held a bouquet of white peonies in his arms and had a gentle smile on his lips. He seemed like a person who could easily win others’ favour. His droopy eyes seemed to shine brightly in the sunlight.

Beth shook her head. “You are not, it’s fine.”

He was that person.

The person Beth wanted Dana to introduce to her.

He was one of the largest stakeholders on why Beth wanted to make Dana Claire’s person.

Maybe Dana’s personal connection which made it possible to acquaint herself with this person was more important than the dresses she could make.

No…. In some ways it was not. There were only a total of three people that could make an introduction to him and converse with him. So this chance was more precious than a dress which was studded with hundreds of diamonds.

James.

The guy who showed a lovely and likable smile in front of others was the same person who almost died at the hands of his parents. And when he finally escaped from their clutches, he got caught in a web of strange rumors.

Only now had he barely come out of those rumors and started to live as a bright youth. When Dana had a hard time with her workshop, he appeared before her and offered his help.

Outwardly, it was like that.

Since he was really such a guy, Beth didn’t have to take such long steps to approach James. It really was a matter of celebration to escape from such family affairs. His advice, as a person who escaped from his family’s abuse, to Claire who also experienced a similar situation, was valuable.

Claire really needed a strength that could accompany her in the face of abuse and mistreatment.

James felt the conspicuous gaze of Beth, so he turned his head towards her and with a nod and greeted her.

“Are you the miss who founded this salon?”

“I am not, I am just a maid who is in charge of serving the young lady.”

Beth stood up from her seat and said with a slight bow.  “It seems that there was a crow crying in the morning.”

When she woke up that morning, she was only accompanied by the chirps and twitters of small birds. There was never a crow  – the words were said for effect.

“.…..”

But it didn’t mean that the words themselves were worthless.

They hinted about the information guild, The Desk Of Raven.

In that place, in order to exchange information, they needed to say this phrase.

“Where have you heard this piece of information?”

The likable smile on his face disappeared without a trace. With large strides, he walked in front of Beth and stood face to face with her.

Though he asked whether Beth was the young miss, from the bells that hung from her, he had already recognized her as a maid.

Her dress was neat and clean but the quality of the material was cheap. Her appearance was charming but it was not taken care of properly. Her hands were not like that of a noble lady and finally, her voice was not much soft.

Who gave the secret code to this woman?

With a twitch of his eyebrows, he watched Beth with a keen eye. Though the guy was much bigger than her, she gazed back at him without a tremor in her eyes, straight and sturdy.

The appearance of the head of The Desk Of Raven was never let out to the world. It was hidden as a top secret,  which was only known to the top executives.

But a maid he met for the first time knew about it.

James was not a light-hearted man. He was the head of a guild which could get all sorts of information in the whole Empire if they wished to.

“Please sit.”

Beth put on a show with a leisurely smile, as if she didn’t know what was in the man’s mind, as she pointed at the empty sofa. As if displeased with the proposal, he stared at Beth and finally sat down on the seat.

“How did you know it?”

“Know what?”

“About our guild’s secret code and my identity.”

Beth just looked at him without any change in her expression when she heard his question and  finally answered.

“You are asking for free information when you yourself run a business in trading information. It really is strange.”

“Your life is spared and that is your reward.”

“If you kill me, then the contract with Miss Brian will also disappear.”

“This…. doesn’t this young and cute miss know that, with my information and money, it’s not hard for me to set up a big workshop for Dana.”

“If you could really do that, you might have done it long before. The reason Dana was using the small workshop is not because you didn’t, rather, you couldn’t, isn’t it?”

Beth, who sat straight and with a small smile, leaned back against the sofa. With a slight raise to her chin, she seemed to contemplate on something.

“Also, I am not young and cute –  I am Beth.”

She was the first woman to look straight into his eyes without any expression of fear. Even his friend, Dana, was unable to look straight at him.

“Interesting.”

(wow so original -_-)

“It was not something I said to amuse you.”

“I am just complimenting you, just accept it.”

“If the one who hears it is not pleased with it, then it is not a compliment. A compliment is made to make the one who is being complimented happy, yes?”

James was tired of the people who flattered and fawned over him as they said that he was always correct. So Beth’s attitude, who nitpicked each and every word of his, rather pleased him. With interest filled in eyes, he looked towards Beth and asked.

“So what information do you wish to buy from me?”

“I want the location of a boy.”

“Who is it? When do you need it?”

“If you promise to find that person, I will disclose his identity. You can take your time. I only need it before the Deir’s festival two years from now.”

“If so, what can you offer me? Money? It seems to me that there is nothing worth with you that can be exchanged for information.”

Beth watched him speak with a sarcastic tone as her dry lips went up.

“I can provide you information that will be of the same worth as your work. It will be a piece of information that no one else can give to you.”

“So it is like that?”

“Of course.”

Beth gazed straight at James.

“I know when you will die, James.”

He felt Beth’s expression, who looked straight at him, as if to mock him, and laughed at him explicitly.

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