Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The Occupation of Ophelis Hall (8)

Goodwill and trust were always accompanied by motive.

Slogg, one of the six major merchants of Elte, joined forces with Lortel because he wished to be the next chairman.

The Melburak Company’s head, Seton, also joined in on Lortel’s plan. He believed that an internal disruption within Elte Company would bring new change to the power structure of the commercial city of Oldek.

The reason that Sharo, a receptionist with the Elte Company, flirted with Lortel was the hope of making money by having her leak information.

Kadan, a trade worker, kept approaching Lortel because she often gave him tips.

Teeny, a pet dog raised by the school, stuck to Lortel because the food she gave him was of the highest class.

Attached to every favor was a motive. At least, that was the case in Lortel’s world.

In most cases, if that reason became clear then you could see through other people's intentions and psychology at a glance.

There was no blood related family, lover who made promises, or allies that she spent a long time with. Paradoxically, she could maintain a cynical attitude towards all those human relationships because, for Lortel, a person who would do a favor for another without a reason didn’t exist.

“It doesn’t look like there’s time to discuss the details. But anyway, did Elris betray you?”

Even though she knew all of that, she still decided to trust Elris. What a stupid, idiotic mistake to make.

Her attitude towards life, one of never completely trusting another person, had become less important.

The person that came to mind was Yennekar Palerover...Discover new chapters at novelhall.com

Growing up receiving kindness and love, she was like a princess in a fairytale that treated the world with only that same kindness and love. If you looked at her warm eyes as they stared at Ed Rothstaylor... She couldn’t help realize that this was the love of a beautiful girl who had not been negatively influenced by the world.

Seeing such a thing, she couldn't forget just how dirty she was herself.

She shouldn’t have gotten drunk off of the romantic scenery of Silvenia Academy, or allowed it to cause her to mistake herself as one of those beautiful, romantic people.

“I saw Shaney meet up with Elte. Wasn’t she a maid loyal to Elris?”

Ed Rothstaylor kept talking as they ran down the first floor hallway.

“But even then, neither Elris nor Elte would report you to the school. The Golden King Elte obviously wouldn’t want the school to find out that the Elte Company is connected to this incident.”

Five people were bribed by Lortel for the occupation of Ophelis Hall.

Head Maid Elris, the twin maids Shaney and Kelly, the lower student representative Willain, and the fallen aristocrat Ed.

Elris, Shaney, and Kelly all went over to Elte’s side.

Ed should have been tempted to join Elte, as well.

She suddenly stopped walking. Ed, who was running ahead, quickly looked back with a puzzle expression marring his face.

He called back to her.

“There’s no time to waste. What are you doing?”

Lortel finally calmed down and pulled herself together, forcing a foxlike smile... She ended up saying something, unsure as to why she said it.

“I’m sorry, Ed. I can’t guarantee the twenty gold coins I had promised you before. As you can see, the current situation has become quite precarious.”

After being betrayed by Elris, her emotions felt strange to her.

Lortel hated to admit it. She was now in a psychologically weakened state.

If she weren’t in such a state, she wouldn’t be making such a foolish mistake.

She didn’t know why Ed Rothstaylor sided with her, rather than with Elte.

With that in mind, it was best for her to quickly figure out his intentions and take advantage of him.

But she was a fool to make such a confession.

‘Just what kind of stupid mistake am I making?’

She couldn’t believe that she was willing to turn herself in just because there wasn’t a reason for him to be on her side.

“Who asked? You’re going to die, so what are you standing around for like this?”

However, Ed’s way of shutting down Lortel’s words removed her worry.

“If you get caught by Elte now, your life will be over. No matter what you are planning to do in the future, you should run away, first.”

Ed was dripping blood as he kept on scolding her, standing across the hallway.

It must have been her request that he block the first floor that led to Ed being hurt so badly.

Nevertheless, he didn’t complain that it was all too much. If it had been her, she would have complained ten times over about how the work was out of her paygrade.

“Or do you have a better plan?”

“......”

“If you have one, let’s go with it.”

There was no hint of doubt in his voice. He was prepared to follow Lortel to the end.

He was so certain of her that he was willing to follow along with anything that she decided.

As she had repeatedly said, goodwill and trust were bound to be accompanied by a motive.

But that man’s goodwill and trust... There was no such motive.

No matter how rationally she considered it, he definitely should have fallen for Elte’s offer. If he were to ask the same thing of one hundred other people, every single one of them would have taken it.

If you couldn’t determine their motive, you shouldn’t believe in them. She didn’t know what was going to happen to her, not fully understanding what he was thinking yet.

Just before, she had believed in Elris in the same way. Ultimately, it caused her to make a crucial mistake, resulting in the current situation. She couldn’t repeat the same mistake.

However, her mouth began to move on its own. Her inner voice was crying out, trying to stop her, but her heart was a complete wreck at that point. She was unable to hold out any longer.

Flying out of her mouth was a confession about the internal affairs of the Elte Company, and the fight for power that was happening inside of it.

“... There was a plan that was being developed at the company’s headquarters to control the market price. It was probably my father who came up with the plan.”

“Explain it to me.”

“The market price of equipment plunged after a massive conquest of monsters in the eastern mountains last summer. After buying and monopolizing all the remaining equipment, they repeatedly made internal transactions...”

“Ahh... Illegal transactions. You can just briefly explain the rest.”

Ed calmly cut her off in the middle of her explanation.

After monopolizing the equipment in the area, mainly in the base of the subjugation forces, they would repeatedly buy and sell the goods at the market.

The key was insider trading.

The merchants, who were secretly bought out by the Elte Company, had continuously repeated transactions between themselves.

If you brought in three merchants—A, B, and C—and had A sell the equipment to B for one gold coin, B would then sell it to C for two gold coins. C would proceed to sell it to A for three, slowly raising the market price.

Eventually, the gold coins and equipment would circulate in the hands of the Elte Company as the market price steadily rose.

When she looked at Ed, who was able to solve every issue, she felt that it would be okay to trust in him and leave everything to him.

Even though she knew that such a romantic relationship couldn't be, her broken heart whispered in her ear once more.

‘This time, it might really work out.’

As she had repeatedly stated, obsession was not an emotion that resembled a flower blooming on a distant cliff.

It’s something that bloomed at the tip of your fingertips, just out of reach.

“......”

Ed slowly opened the back door and looked out through the crack, then quietly closed it again.

“Listen, Lortel. There’s someone watching the back gate.”

Ed quickly explained the situation in a quiet voice.

“There’s nothing good that will come out of them discovering your location or what you’re planning. So I’ll go out and run towards your room, taking care of it myself. In the meantime, if there’s nobody in sight, run straight to the commercial district. Got it?”

Lortel hesitated, before nodding her head. Ed furrowed his eyebrows in discontent as he scolded Lortel.

“Are you sure your head is in the right place? Why are you so distracted?”

“Y-Yes... I understand.”

Ed grabbed Lortel by her shoulders and pulled her straight against the wall next to them. Lortel's lip began to tremble for a moment, but when she thought about it, she realized that he only did it to keep her out of sight.

“Once you get to the north forest, they won’t be able to keep pursuing you. After that, it’s up to you.”

Ed opened the back door and turned to leave.

“Ed.”

It was not until she called out his name that Lortel realized she was flustered.

She couldn't stand the idea of not asking him.

“Just why, to this extent... Why are you helping me...?”

Every favor had a motive. Once you figured out that motive, you could see through someone's psychology and principles at just a glance.

But asking someone what they were hiding in a straightforward way... that was a mistake that not even a beginner merchant would make. And yet, those very words came out of Lortel’s mouth.

That was because she couldn’t figure it out using common sense. Regardless of what others said, it was only right for Ed Rothstaylor to unconditionally take Elte’s side.

Whether it was financial gain, the chances of winning, or for leverage, Lortel was currently inferior in every way.

Nevertheless, Ed was on Lortel’s side.

Ed frowned for a moment, as if he was wondering how to answer that question.

“... Just because? I just kind of feel like I should, I guess?”

He responded in a vague tone, and then... He stormed out the back door.

Shwaaaaaaaaaa.

Boom, Clang!

The sound of rain coming in from the open door and the sounds of a battle resonated throughout Ophelis Hall.

The noise seemed to be coming from the battle on the fifth floor, between Head Maid Elris and Taylee’s party.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

The noise from the fierce battle marked the final battle in Ophelis Hall. Lortel had a hunch that Taylee and his party would win. Regardless of the fact their opponent was the head maid of Ophelis Hall, the moment Taylee started using his Swordsmaster skill he would be able to overpower her.

After being pushed against the wall, Lortel stayed still for a while longer.

She couldn’t figure out what Ed Rothstaylor was thinking at all. There had to be a motive behind every favor and attempts to gain someone’s trust, but she couldn’t see it.

There was no financial gain, no ideological reasoning, and he wasn’t the type of person to be swayed by emotions. Just what other reason did he have?

‘Were you, perhaps, bewitched by that child’s beautiful appearance?’

Suddenly, she remembered the interrogation that Elte had given him earlier. However, she quickly shook her head. As she has said before, Ed Rothstaylor wasn’t the type of person who would be driven by his emotions.

In the first place, Ed Rothstaylor always had Yennekar Palerover next to him.

However, the feeling of unease stemmed from the fact that those two weren’t dating.

It was obvious from a glance that Yennekar was always staring passionately at Ed. But... That feeling of affection seemed to be one-sided.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

In the background, the sound of the fierce battle continued to echo throughout Ophelis Hall. Lortel slid down the wall and sat down. She was already tired from running, but also from the fact that she was in trouble. Her legs had become weak.

‘It’s just that. I wanted to help you, so I helped you.’

Why did that sentence get so stuck in her heart that she couldn’t breathe?

Suddenly, she realized that something was wrong. The building they were in wasn’t shaking at all.

Considering the sounds coming from the fight in Ophelis Hall, shouldn’t the building be shaking from the vibrations? Or parts of the building flying off?

But looking out the window at the rain pouring down peacefully, Lortel realized the true reason for her sense of unease.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

She couldn’t believe it, but that sound was actually Lortel’s own heart.

* * *

Shwaaaaaaa!

The rain had begun to slow, which made me think that it would soon come to an end.

On the top floor, there was the ongoing final battle between Taylee’s party and the head maid, Elris.

On the first floor, Ziggs and Yennekar were probably showcasing their skills as they continued to block Elte.

The back gate was far from that sort of flashy battle. Through the dark night air, I could see a maid standing in the rain.

How long has she been standing there? Probably in hopes of preventing Lortel from escaping through the back gate, she was just waiting there. She was ready to capture Lortel for the sake of the person she was most loyal to, Elris.

The maid’s outfit was completely soaked from the rain and her lavender hair was loose.

Slowly looking back to see who it was, it turned out to be Shaney, one of the twin maids that should have blocked Taylee's path as the third floor bosses. She quietly raised her head as she made eye contact with me.

“I didn’t expect to see young master Ed out here. How unexpected.”

She had come out there after hearing Elte’s orders to guard the back gate and block Lortel’s escape route.

Without getting rid of her usual cold expression, she pulled out a rapier.

Unfortunately for her, I knew Shaney’s abilities and attack patterns like the back of my hand. She was even the type of boss that could only really show off her abilities when she was teaming up with her sister, Kelly. Being separated from her, she could only show off less than half of her actual skill level.

Wasn’t it a bit lame for the last hurdle?

I confronted Shaney in the pouring rain.

The painful occupation incident was finally coming to an end.