The Secret Pact 3

Among the three men, who were speechless with surprise, it was Riley who first managed to get out a word.

“Is that—true?”

“Yes, but unfortunately, I have no proof.”

It is just a rumor, Liliana said with a troubled look. When she asked if that was still alright, Riley nodded without even a moment’s hesitation.

“Of course. The name of that person is to be kept strictly confidential. Is that understood?”

The latter half of the statement was a confirmation for Captain Hegarty and Gild. It was not permissible to spread the rumor that that person was involved in human trafficking without any proof. It would undoubtedly cause discord among the nobles.

After confirming the expressions of the three men, Liliana stoically spoke the names of the few people she had heard from Obsidian. Two Earls, one priest, and another—a marquis.

“Marquis Tanner, is it?”

Riley murmured with a grim expression. He crossed his arms as if in thought and stroked his chin with his left hand. Captain Hegarty also had a difficult expression on his face as he looked at Riley.

“Marquis Tanner, if I recall, he has handed over the head of the family to his son, has he not, Your Highness?”

“Yes, he has. The current head is Sean Tanner. He was rumored to be ambitious by some, and I have that impression as well.”

“Indeed, I have received reports that he was persistent about getting a seat on the Advisory Council.”

Sean, the new head of the Tanner Marquisate, seemed to have wanted to become the Chancellor if possible. But he was young and inexperienced. Though he had absolute confidence in the achievements he had made, what he had done was something any ordinary lord would do. In fact, the problem was that the previous heads had not been able to do it. Just by bringing a negative back to zero, he could be expected to have a bright future, but he would not be entrusted with an important position that would affect the fate of the country.

His achievements were also not enough for a seat on the Advisory Council. The nobles who participated in the Advisory Council were required to have the talent to calmly assess the state of the country and the connections and influence to manage it properly.

“If he had just slowly built up his achievements without rushing, I think he would eventually be able to get a seat on the Advisory Council.”

Riley let out a wry smile. A Earl could even participate in the Advisory Council if they were deemed appropriate. There was no reason why someone of the status of a marquis couldn’t.

Of course, there were some in the Advisory Council who didn’t seem to have that many achievements at first glance, and some had been brought in by the nobles of the Advisory Council to increase their own faction. But that was, in a sense, considered to be “having connections.” The fact that he hadn’t been approached by the members of the Advisory Council was in itself proof that Sean Tanner didn’t have sufficient connections or influence.

Suddenly, for some reason, Captain Hegarty let out a wry laugh. Riley, who had noticed it sharply, asked, “What is it?” The captain shook his head for a moment, “No—” but then he reconsidered and shrugged.

“It is nothing of great importance. I was just thinking that the brother is just like the sister.”

“Ah—the daughter of the Marquis Tanner.”

Riley immediately frowned slightly. But neither Gild nor Liliana knew the reason. As they tilted their heads, Riley told them with a wry smile that he had been receiving frequent requests for an audience from Malvina Tanner.

“Requests for an audience, you say?”

“Yes. The moment you were confirmed as my fiancée, the other fiancée candidates lost their reason to come to the royal palace. Of course, they also have no reason to see me. So most of them have found new fiancés and are interacting with them, but she is the only one who still submits requests for an audience, saying she wants to see me.”

Initially, though she was aware of the means of requesting an audience, Malvina had apparently tried to just barge into the royal palace, saying that she had originally been one of Riley’s fiancée candidates. After being thrown out by the guards several times, she had gotten furious but had started to obediently submit the paperwork for an audience request. However, if the reason for the audience was simply “I want to see the Crown Prince” or “for a tea party,” then Riley couldn’t just nod.

“In the first place, she’s not someone I want to see that badly,” Riley added apologetically. When Malvina had been a fiancée candidate, Riley had had tea parties with her several times. Every time, all she had talked about were sweets, clothes, the latest romance novels, bards, and operas, and Riley had felt exhausted every time it was over.

He, like Liliana, was originally more interested in practical matters such as politics, magic, and swordsmanship. In particular, as he was approaching adulthood, he had become more actively involved in his duties as the Crown Prince, so he never had enough time. He had no intention of wasting his precious time on tea parties, and Malvina did not have “something” that would make him want to do so.

And then, as if he had realized something, Riley looked up. At the same time, Liliana also thought of a possibility. Their gazes met in mid-air.

“Lady Liliana, where do you think the ‘northern immigrants’ who are bought as goods in the human trafficking go?”

“The most likely destination would be the Yunatian Empire, I believe.”

Considering the information she had obtained in the Kennys Border Margravate, it was highly likely that there were sellers in the Empire. Riley also nodded at Liliana’s words.

“I think so too. In that case, another concern arises.”

Captain Hegarty, who had heard that much, also seemed to have realized what the two of them had thought, and nodded gravely. His expression had gone beyond serious and was now demonic. A weak-willed knight or noble lady would have fainted at the sight of it. Riley gave a wry smile and told the captain to calm down. Captain Hegarty let out a big sigh.

“My apologies. But to think that they are not only involved in human trafficking but also have rebellious intentions towards our country.”

For the captain, who had sworn unwavering loyalty to the royal family, it was an unforgivable act. Because he understood that, Riley smiled calmly and did not rebuke the captain.

“But it’s not confirmed. Even if they are helping with the human trafficking, they might not know that the mastermind is the Empire. If they did know—they probably haven’t told their sister.”

If he was taking a hand in human trafficking knowing that there were sellers in the Yunatian Empire, then it could definitely be judged that he had rebellious intentions. Their argument would be that “‘northern immigrants’ are not people,” but in the first place, human trafficking itself was forbidden in this country, and there was no law that said “northern immigrants” were not people.

And if Sean Tanner were serious about siding with the Empire, then he would have sternly told his sister, Malvina, not to get involved with Riley anymore. The fact that she was still submitting requests for an audience with Riley meant that it was highly likely that Malvina was not aware of what her brother was doing.

“In any case, it is still troublesome.”

Captain Hegarty muttered bitterly. Riley also sighed in agreement.

“In the first place, there is no proof that Marquis Tanner is involved in human trafficking. We should start from there.”

That’s right, Riley asked for Liliana’s agreement, and she nodded.

Liliana also only had the information that Obsidian had stolen a glimpse of. If they had letters or missives in their possession, it would be proof, but they had probably burned them. In fact, Obsidian had not yet been able to obtain any proof. He had had a hard time just finding a few of the collaborating nobles in the kingdom. If the knightly order were to search their houses under the pretext of a royal order, and if they didn’t find anything, it was inevitable that they would face backlash not only from them but also from the other nobles.

“That is why I would like to ask for your cooperation in uncovering the details of the human trafficking first, Gild-dono. Of course, there will be times when I will need Lady Liliana’s assistance in the process, but can I count on you?”

“Yes, of course.”

Asked by Riley, Liliana readily agreed. Gild also nodded, saying he had no objection.

And the four of them put their heads together and had a brief meeting. Gild would basically continue to be Liliana’s bodyguard, but he would be given more leave than before to investigate the human trafficking; information sharing would be done when Liliana met with Riley; and when necessary, Liliana would go to suspicious places under the pretext of an inspection or a tea party, and in that case, she would always be accompanied by Gild—and so on, they decided on the basic response.

“Since I do not attend social gatherings, the places I can go are limited, which is a concern.”

“I’ll have the captain do something about that, so it’s fine. Lady Liliana is not to overdo it.”

“Understood.”

Liliana nodded. If she were able to attend social gatherings, she could also participate in soirees, but the only places she could go now were private tea parties held during the day. Other than that, it would be for official events that Riley participated in, where she was required to accompany him.

Gild did not hide his grumpy mood, as he was very much against having more contact with nobles, but he did not complain. He probably understood that it was necessary.

“Let’s keep in touch as needed. Close information exchange is useful in these situations.”

“Yes.”

Not only Liliana but also Captain Hegarty nodded at Riley’s words.

When the discussion was mostly over, the captain suddenly stood up and opened a drawer of his large desk. He took something out and offered it to the seated Gild. As Liliana and the others watched, Gild accepted a pendant.

“—What’s this?”

The captain’s lips curled up at the sight of Gild, who had a clear frown on his face.

“It’s a communication device and an entry permit. With this, you can contact me. And you can also enter here by yourself. Keep it for when you need it.”

“I don’t need—”

“With that, you can also be released on the captain’s authority if you get into trouble with a noble.”

The captain cut off Gild, who was about to say, 'I don't need it.' Gild immediately had an expression as if he had bitten into a bitter bug.

The captain had said, “if you get into trouble with a noble,” but it was clear to Gild what he meant. A mercenary like Gild, who was clearly not from this country, was easily targeted by people in power.

One of the reasons he had come to dislike nobles was that people in power, such as nobles and priests, looked down on mercenaries like him as lowly people and punished them unreasonably for reasons as simple as being annoyed or just happening to see them. In fact, Gild had been in such situations many times before.

Not only had he been captured and thrown into a dungeon, but he had also been whipped and dragged around with a rope around his neck. Even among mercenaries, those who looked like the people of the kingdom and those who looked like foreigners were treated differently.

But with the pendant that Captain Hegarty had just offered him, the probability of being in such a situation would decrease. Even if he were to be caught on some pretext, if he used the pendant, it would be known that he was connected to the Captain of the Royal Knights. In that case, no matter how powerful the person, they would not be able to treat him roughly.

If he had been a mere mercenary, he could have escaped even if he were caught, but now he had the job of being Liliana’s bodyguard. Even if he were to come into conflict with the nobles, he wanted to settle things as peacefully as possible.

Gild grimaced, not having expected that he would come to think that way. And he obediently accepted the pendant and hung it around his neck. The pendant, made of braided cord, was sturdy and was made so that it wouldn’t break easily.

Only Gild was unaware that Captain Hegarty was smiling smugly at the sight of him reluctantly wearing the pendant.

“Then the matter is settled. Please be careful of your surroundings. If you sense danger, retreat immediately. That is the condition.”

Gild and Liliana nodded at Riley’s words. For some reason, Riley was staring straight at Liliana.

ToC

Chapter 181