CH 59

~ 59 ~

“The people sitting on top only takes a matter of words to change everything, but how can she do that for people like us?”

“That’s what I am saying. But due to that, she also cancelled all of her requests this month….”

According to the Information Guild, this man was way too talented that people never stopped requesting. However, because his money at that time was spent on his sick family, he couldn’t afford creating new crafts.

In simpler words, he would not have done Hilvia’s request if it means to have a lot of money, despite the danger. He would have at least put a safety device to save himself.

“How can you not?”

The craftsman retorted as he removed the cloth covering the workbench.

“As you can see, it’s almost done. I did it a month’s shorter than expected.”

‘He didn’t have to be in a hurry though.’

He picked up the emerald craft with an unwilling grumble. The burdensomely colorful front work was blocking the space for the needle inside.

“How much time left?”

“A week, no, three days.”

“All right. However, the lady said she wanted to cancel, so what should I do…”

She stretched out her hand as if she was really feeling sorry. The craftsman began begging him if he could somehow the convince the Young Lady’s decision.

“How dare I do that.”

“Please. I don’t think you’re usually trusted enough to trust and leave debts, but please, please.”

“부탁드립니다. 부채까지 믿고 맡기실 정도면 보통 신뢰를 받는 게 아니신 것 같은데, 제발 부탁드립니다.”

The craftsman still begged, saying that his living would be bleak if this was cancelled. Psychke waited for him to fret, then pretended that she also had no other way, but to let go of his luck.

“Hooh…. I can’t help it.”

The craftsman raised his head.

“I will try to convince the Young Lady to change her mind. However, there is a problem.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know exactly what the lady wrote in the contract, so I don’t know what to say to her.”

“It is here.”

She only said her piece without expecting anything. She realized that the craftsman was really desperate then. He took the paper out of the padlocked box and held it in his hands.

It was the contract.

‘I never thought I’d see this.’

She hid her surprised feelings under an expressionless expression and read the content of the contract.

‘As expected, if there is a disturbance related to the necklace in the future, they will take responsibility for it and take it out.’

Hilvia’s signature remained at the bottom of the memorandum.

‘Tsk.’

It was a simple contract, but not stupid, she thought. Or perhaps that was not the case. Maybe, Lillian’s resources are far good enough to create this kind of contract? While clicking her tongue, her gaze averted to the date of the signature.

‘It’s the day after the day we met.’

Let’s see. Hilvia seemed to know a little as to why Lillian decided this necklace to be made.

‘It’s because of the money.’

What Hilvia’s experience was pictured in her mind. The day she was blackmailed by loan sharks. Hilvia would not have known until she arrived at the shop that the correspondence was a request to reproduce the poison needle necklace. Hence, she was shocked and left the store.

The next day, she must have fallen for Lillian’s sugarcoated words and signed with the craft shop again.

‘She must have said that she would not spend the money out of nothing. Hilvia must have given her a lot of money, then.’

Even if she doesn’t use this necklace, even if she tries to reproduce it, it’s a criminal act, either way.

‘Maybe she didn’t even think about that far because she was putting out the fire right away.’

Whatever it was, Psychke couldn’t comprehend and disagrees with this kind of action. In the first place, Lillian’s behavior was filthy. Why go through all this hassle just to reproduce Keitan’s necklace?

Which means, if Hilvia only gave up and reported the case to the Imperial Family, Lillian would have been dead.

‘Is there any other reason besides trying to frame me?’

She was a not person that can’t be killed unlike the emperor or Verndia. The Assassination Guild would accept any number of requests if one gave them money. Why bother making something like a poison needle necklace?

‘Was the story of Leas was that impressive?’

She pointed at the possibilities and pulled out her bag of gold coins. It was a stake of jewelry brought from Silkisia.

“This was originally a cancellation fee, but can I use this as a deposit and take the emerald for a while?

“Ah, whatever you want.”

“I will return it as soon as the persuasion is over. Until then, I hope you will not contact me even if it takes a little longer. If you force urging her, she will never change her mind.”

“All right.”

He didn’t worry that the Marquis of Esland would eat them off. The craftsman smiled brightly at the mere persuasion.

“Oh yeah. I’m just saying this to help you convince her.”

She was in the middle of preparing to leave, packing the emeralds out of sight. The jeweler secretly leaked information.

“Recently, rumors circulated that they found the real Keitan necklace in ‘Blue Moon’.”

“…!”

“For once, you should go with Young Lady. She asked me to make it like it was the beauty of the real thing, so if she sees the real one, maybe her mind will change.”

The craftsman said something more, but she couldn’t here them.

Blue moon.

It was the camouflage name of the guild that lent money to Hilvia, the Black Moon, when it was active as a guild.

***

‘What should I say to approach him?’

She was worried as she passed through the street full of merchants at high speed. Well, it’s okay to go and show it to her. Will it be so easy to show it to someone who has no one-sided knowledge?

‘It can’t be.’

Originally, Keitan’s necklace was supposed to be kept in the imperial palace as evidence of the attempted assassination of the imperial family. So, if it became known that they had found the real thing, it was obvious that the imperial family would come and try to steal it.

‘It looks like it’s fake this time too.’

If it was information that a single merchant knew, there was little chance that it would be true. It was most likely a trap to catch the client trying to reproduce Keitan’s necklace.

But.

Even knowing that, she decided to confront it head-on. Because it has some connections of her death in her past life.

Psychke visited several more stonecutters and jewelers. After gathering additional information like that, she headed for the blue moon. There was nothing good about finding out that she was tracking the necklace, so she didn’t use the magic to change her appearance to her real one.

* * *

Indeed, the inside of the building was splendid, probably because it was the headquarters of one of the upper floors. The first and second floors selling goods were plastered with gold and precious stones. It felt like entering the waiting room of an illegal auction house.

‘It feels amazing.’

Psychke intervened among the customers and pretended to be looking at the merchandises around. Then, as she passed in front of the top staff, she pretended to drop the necklace by accident.

The emerald rolled on the floor with a clear clang.

She watched carefully as the employee’s eyes scanned the grooves inside the jewel.

“This.”

She picked it up as if it was a mistake but after standing up, she dropped it once more. She sat in the resting area, waiting for someone to come. Of course, she took off her earrings in case there was an unexpected situation. And less than five minutes later, a shadow fell over her head.

“Somehow, I was wondering why an Esland is here.”

A voice she had never heard before. A Western accent that came in her ears oddly. Psychke raised her head.

“Are we acquaintances?”

A man, who had a long knife mark on one of his cheeks, smirked while asking Hilvia about the debt.

* * *

The reason Psychke dropped the emerald necklace was because she had confirmed that the information given by the craftsman was not a trap before going here.

‘The blue moon brought in new accessories. Have you heard anything?’

‘No, not at all.’

‘I haven’t heard of it.’

All of them had the same answer. An ordinary gemstone craftsman could not have better intelligence than other merchants. It’s not like the merchants are lying knowingly.

Is there any reason for them to hide?

If it was information that should have been kept hidden in the first place, it should not have entered the ears of a stone craftsman. In other words, it was highly likely that the Blue Moon intentionally spilled it after grabbing the target.

‘But for what reason?’

First, when she was in the auction house, it was a trap to catch those tracking the Leas case.

Second, for curiosity or whatever, just to meet the requester of the necklace.

Psychke judged it to be the latter.

‘If I were the head of the assassination guild, I would have kidnapped her right away, though.’

Knowing what the craftsman was doing means that they also found out who the client was.

However, instead of using force, information was leaked. She understood that it meant that they wanted rumors to spread. And, judging from the reaction of the man walking ahead, that seemed to be the correct answer.

“Esland also has no answer.”

The man said that knowing that Psychke was not from Esland. She went up to the stairs silently, agreeing with his words. It was a very narrow and dark staircase that one could barely pass by. Although fighting in a narrow space was disadvantageous, she did not let down her guard.

Psychke squeezed her earring.

“It was unusual to recognize that I belonged to a guild in the first place.”

When they reached the fourth floor, he led her to a room at the end of a long hallway.

“I never thought you would even come looking for me as a handicraft client.”

Click, she closed the door. At the same time, Psychke converted her earring into a sword and struck it with all her might.

Chak!

Sparks flew in the dark space. Her icy eyes stared at the man with the dagger.

“That was such a welcome.”

“My neck stings.”

The man preventing the dagger to struck his neck with a nonchalant face shrugged his shoulders.

“Where are you hiding that sword? I must learn a few things.”

“It’ll be stuck in your neck next time.”

“Remember.”

She pulled out a hard chair. She went to the other side of the desk and sat in an overstuffed chair.

Then, in a familiar motion, she took a cigarette out of the drawer and smoked it.

“My throat hurts.”

When she sat down and just looked down, he laughed nonchalantly. Psychke calmly looked at him, blowing away the flying smoke with her hand.

“You wouldn’t have the real necklace, so, what’s your business?”

“What if I really have it?”

The man with his legs crossed on the desk rummaged through the drawers, picked up something shiny, and told her to take a look of it.