◈ 176. [Side Story] The night before the party (2)
“… .”
Serenade was looking down at the pile of papers on her desk.
The document contained cryptic text, and she had just deciphered and read it.
“Whoa.”
Serenade wiped her aching forehead with her fingertips.
The information-gathering power of the Winter Silver Merchant was stronger than she thought.
I was able to do a wide range of research on the information Ash had instructed me to gather.
The problem was content.
‘It’s too sensitive.’
Although most of them were fragmentary and fragmentary contents due to extensive investigation.
The shrewd serenade was able to read the entire flow at once just by skimming the fragments of the information.
‘This is information that could be fatal to the imperial family.’
That’s probably why Ash ordered me to investigate this.
However, collecting this information is itself too risky.
Ash is really… … Do you think this information will save the Wintersilver Merchant?
It was then.
Ping-ping-
I heard something cutting through the air outside the window.
“huh?”
Serenade raises its head curiously, and at the same time,
Chaeng-Geurang!
Glass windows shattered and arrows that caught fire fell inside.
Fire-!
In no time, the fire spread through the building. Serenade became contemplative and jumped up from the seat.
‘What is this?!’
no way… Did you get followed?
Did someone notice that Wintersilver was gathering this information and try to get rid of it? Or has the extinction that Ash spoke of already begun?
“Cough Cough Cough!”
Many thoughts crossed my mind, but I had to escape from this place first. Serenade covered her mouth with a cloth and tried to leave the room.
Then, suddenly, my feet stopped.
It doesn’t matter if the gold, silver, treasures and silk piled up in the upper chamber are burned.
I had to keep only the information Ash told me to gather.
Serenade hurriedly unfolded her overcoat, shoved a bundle of papers into it, and left the room with the rolled up overcoat wrapped around her arms.
The flames carried by the fiery arrows were magically treated, and the flames quickly spread throughout the building.
“miss!”
“Supra Lord!”
When I came out, I saw other servants struggling to put out the fire. The serenade shouted.
“Stay calm and get out of the building! Check to make sure no one is left! Evacuate at once!”
If it is a magical flame, it cannot be extinguished by ordinary human hands. Better to evacuate quickly.
Following Serenade’s instructions, the servants began to leave in an orderly manner.
After taking a last look around the hallway, Serenade tried to go down the stairs.
I was going to do that until I found another maid on the other side of the hallway choking.
“… !”
Serenade hurriedly rushed to the maid, quickly supported her on her shoulders and lifted her up.
The flames –
the flames intensified. Black smoke from the burning building covered my eyes.
Feeling breathless, Serenade gritted her teeth.
***
Me and Elise ran in front of the upper building of Wintersilver, which was engulfed in flames.
A fire demon flicks the tongue and eats up tall and colorful buildings.
People who have gathered are pouring seawater next to them to put out the fire, but the flames are not extinguished.
“Serenade lady!”
Elise screamed and ran toward the building.
Elise shouted at the upper class people who were struggling to extinguish the fire in the building.
“Where is the serenade girl?!”
“Because you haven’t seen that before… .”
Elise looked at the burning building with a white face.
“Then, in case you couldn’t evacuate… ?”
The building is already completely engulfed in fire, and it is impossible to get inside.
Chew!
Nevertheless, Elise threw a bucket of sea water on her head and tried to jump inside.
I urgently grabbed Elise’s shoulder.
“Wait a minute, Elise! What are you doing!”
“Can’t you see! If the master is inside, I must go get him!”
“Are you crazy?! If you go in there, you will be burned to death too!”
“If the Master is in there! If you can’t get out!”
Elise spat out ferociously.
“Then I will burn with you.”
“… .”
“If that is the last thing I can do for you, I will.”
I hesitated for a moment whether I should stop this twisted loyalty or let her do as she pleases.
“You don’t have to do that, Elise.”
A weak voice came from the side.
I was surprised to see a woman wearing a gray robe among the people who were clamoring.
It was a serenade. The face visible through the robes was covered with soot.
“We got out of the building before it burned completely. Coke… … !”
“serenade!”
“master!”
“Shh.”
Serenade, who put her index finger on her lips, staggered toward the pier.
“Come this way.”
At the pier, there was a yacht from the Winter Silver Merchant that I had been on before.
“Let’s get out of here at once.”
Elise hurriedly ran to the captain’s office and began preparing to launch the ship.
Serenade entered the cabin of the ship and sat down as if it were collapsing.
Sitting across from me, I asked urgently.
“Are you okay, serenade?”
“I am okay. Coke! Rather, the information Nanggun-nim ordered me to gather… … .”
Serenade, with a devastated face, held out the precious thing she was holding in her arms.
“All burned because I delayed my exit… .”
All the wads of paper that Serenade held out were scorched and the ink had evaporated, making it impossible to make out what they were about.
“I’m sorry sir… … If I had escaped quickly, the information would have been safe, but our people were suffocating from the smoke. I can’t let it go.”
“… .”
“While being a merchant by name, what is still more important… Judgment is slow. Even though this information is more valuable than anything else… … .”
“No serenade. You did it right.”
I smiled and carefully squeezed the soot-stained hand of the serenade.
“Nothing is more important than people.”
“… .”
Serenade looked at me with blank eyes.
The yacht has departed. The boat cut through the waves and left the coast and dug into the inland sea.
Serenade organized the information left in her head instead of the burned papers and told me one by one.
The details of the previously fragmented information were further crushed, and the fuzzy links between information were all crumbled.
Serenade couldn’t remember some information at all, perhaps because of the shock of escaping the fire scene.
But it was enough. What I needed anyway was not the details of the information, but the minimum basis for me to tease my tongue.
I nodded.
“You worked hard, Serenade. that’s enough.”
“I am… Could it have been of any help to you?”
“of course.”
Relief flashed across Serenade’s face in the robe.
This time, I took out what I had brought from her bosom and gave it to her. Serenade was bewildered and accepted it.
“My lord, this is… ?”
“It’s an invitation to a victory celebration party.”
The final battle of the ecliptic will be held here tomorrow.
It is an entrance ticket to the party.
“… .”
Accepting the invitation, the serenade remained still. I tilted my head.
“what’s the matter?”
“No, the fact that Nanggun-nim invited me to such a big event of the imperial family… It’s the first time.”
But in time, Serenade returned the invitation to me.
“But, sir. I’m really sorry… … I don’t think I can attend.”
“why?”
“… .”
The hesitant serenade took off the robe slowly.
I took a small breath.
Her beautiful blue hair was scorched and curled unsightly, and her white skin was burnt and red in places.
Avoiding my gaze, the serenade murmured.
“How can you attend the imperial family’s party like this?”
“… .”
“It’s a place where celebrities from all over the world gather, but if someone called Wintersilver Sangsanju appears like this… … Everyone will laugh at you.”
Serenade’s head lowered lower and lower.
“More than anything… In this situation, I will not be able to stand next to you tomorrow.”
“… .”
“I would rather not go at all… .”
I squeezed the hand of such a serenade.
“serenade. Let me just say this. I need you tomorrow.”
“yes… ?”
“To save your Wintersilver family. And to determine the course of my southern front. You must come to the party tomorrow.”
This fire made it clear. The imperial family is already trying to get rid of the Wintersilver family.
Whether it’s because I’ve been stealing information that shouldn’t be touched, or because the time has come for extinction, or both, either way.
To survive, Serenade has to attend the party tomorrow.
For always the bow is in death.
“… .”
Serenade’s sallow face hardened at the words that I needed her.
Her silver eyes closed tightly, then opened brightly with determination.
“… If so, I will definitely go. Even if it gets worse, I will stand at the party.”
I nodded heavily.
We had a long meeting afterward about what to do at the party tomorrow.
It wasn’t until late at night that we returned to the port.
Already, the upper level building was completely burned and only ashes remained, and only a few upper level people could be seen cleaning up the wreckage.
‘It’s not a form of arrest, it’s just a magic fire arrow attack… … .’
No matter how you look at it, it’s a secret method.
I realized that the road to the serenade party tomorrow itself would be tough.
“Elise.”
The ship reached the port and I asked Elise a little before disembarking.
“Are you sure you have the confidence to keep the serenade?”
Elise growled, exuding anticipation from her dark blue eyes.
“Even at the cost of this life.”
“I want to save my life… .”
Still, the escort of this SSR-class swordsman was reliable.
“cheer up.”
I tapped Elise on the shoulder. Elise suddenly opened her eyes and glanced at me.
Serenade quickly gave instructions to the servants at the guild waiting at the port.
It was about dealing with the fire and telling everyone to go back to the Wintersilver family’s mansion and strengthen their defenses.
“Please go back to the detached palace, sir. I ordered the wagon to be prepared.”
Serenade came to me. I chinned.
“you?”
“The place where I am is going to be dangerous, so I won’t go back to my family tonight… I want to be on this sea with Elise.”
Serenade smiled bitterly and ran a hand through the ends of her burnt hair.
“Also preparing to go to the party tomorrow.”
I grinned.
“Don’t expect it.”
“Don’t expect… .”
As if she was very worried, Serenade let out a sigh.
The boat with Elise and Serenade left for the sea again.
On the boat, I waved my hand toward the serenade who bowed down at me, and I walked towards the carriage prepared by the Winter Silver Company.
And I made up my mind.
For the sake of the Southern Front. And for the capture of this harsh game.
With the serenade… … .
I’m going to break off the marriage tomorrow.
***
the next day.
Finally, the morning of the victory party was bright.
Yeah he defo aint breaking off that engagement