Charles returned late at night. From his gloomy expression, he didn't seem to have much income, but his hair and hem were disheveled.
"You've had a lot of trouble, Charles."
"What should go well is hardship, but what is this?"
"..."
"I found out that it seems that the seats are really full. Those who do business in the Mare all rush to the port."
He shook off his messy hair with a complicated face. It seemed that it was not an easy process even for him, who had lived a difficult life.
"I heard that they paid the managers directly under the market and bought the seats in advance. That's why people like us who don't know how to be cool are one step late."
"...That's how it was."
"That's how everything in the world works, but that's still the case."
He lost his energy and broke his neck. He was worried about how disappointed that young lady would be if he were like this. Charles, who was looking at Evangeline's face, stood up in surprise.
"Are you okay!"
"...Yes?"
"I'm going to catch people like this. I'm completely fascinated, and what is it?"
He didn't know it because she was covering her face a little while ago, but her face, which was only a little small, was white. Even so, her bloodless face was on the verge of crumbling.
"I'm true! What is that money?"
"...Charles."
"Was that such a shock? Whew. No, how can everything go well in life?"
Thinking that this was all because he couldn't do business, Charles sighed. Charles, who seemed to be unable to do so, hesitated and opened his mouth.
"Actually, I don't think there is any way out."
"...Yes?"
"It's a position that was sold for money anyway, so it seems that if you give a bribe, you can still get a position, but the price is too ridiculous..."
Charles chewed on the profanity as if it were ridiculous to think about it again. He was in front of her, so he looked at Evangeline's reaction.
"Let's go out and bargain if we can't decide. Even if it's deadly and dirty, I have to somehow get a permit and a seat by tomorrow."
"Charles."
"Isn't that why you can't take all those flowers away?"
In fact, she was worried that people would wilt before flowers, but Charles deliberately acted bluntly. Even if it was so urgent, she had to be lifted up.
"It's not like a seat will fall out of nowhere... Miss!"
"I'm going."
She had been blinking like a doll, but when she suddenly got up, his eyes widened. It was good that she came to her senses, but he couldn't tell what kind of change of heart she had.
"Are you going to stab me with real money? That's the only way to do it now."
"No."
"Yes?"
Even if you want to give money, it is a messy thing, but there is no answer if you don't. Evangeline shook her head calmly at his distorted face.
"Once you start giving money, you will have to do it forever. I don't have the money or the heart to do that anymore."
"So, is there any other good way? And in the middle of the night?"
"...That's it."
She bit her lip painfully as she thought of someone again. She tried to wear her hat as a habit to cover her face, but she immediately put it down. Despite the most miserable feelings, she was glad that there was no need for that anymore.
***
The mayor of Mare was a prominent figure who rose to the position from a low-ranking aristocracy. It is no exaggeration to say that in a commercial city with almost no aristocrats, it has a great influence in this area. From large and small permit work to public affairs, there was nothing out of his reach.
For the first time in decades, he was sweating helplessly.
"Oh, Sir."
"I would have told you that you could leave work."
"How can you say that... Your Excellency is here, how can I be away?"
The mayor narrowed his shoulders and shook his head. Even close to midnight, the Duke of Theses did not leave his office in the main building.
'What the hell is this!'
It was something he had never dreamed of seeing the Duke of Theses in such a small town. Of course, the city hall belonged to the Senate of Lords, so it was not a place where the head there, the Duke of Theses, could not come.
But that is only a nominal affiliation.
It was not a place where a general on the battlefield would deal with a child, and it was not a place where the supreme president of the Senate, who was second only to the Emperor, could come. He didn't know if there had been a war at the last minute, but he couldn't figure out what was going on in the picture that the Duke would be grateful for the work of the city hall.
'It seemed that the Count's son was coming from Addis evidently.'
Recalling the news he had heard from Roark's Informant, who was lining up in his own way, the mayor wiped his forehead. No matter what went wrong with this, it was wrong for a long time.
"Tell me what's going on, and I'll take care of it myself, Your Excellency."
"You don't have to."
"That, still..."
"Can't I stay here?"
The voice of the Duke, who was standing by the window like a stone statue, was quite sharp. That alone made the mayor, who was already numb, burst into a clumsy laugh.
"No. That's not right!"
"..."
"It's just that there is a commotion during the day, and I'm worried that the people coming in like that will make you have a bad impression of Mare."
The words that he didn't even ask continued like an excuse. He seemed to be worried about showing such a scene to the Duke.
"It's absolutely impossible to do in the first place, but what kind of chaos is this today?"
"...I didn't know that was called chaos."
"That's not the case..."
The Duke's eyes, which had been looking out the window all the time, turned to him for the first time, and the mayor was hot. He was about to say no, but Michael, who was standing behind the Duke, gave him a strong look telling him to keep his mouth shut. The office was once again silent.
"..."
As if nothing had happened in the first
place, Deccarno slowly turned to the window. The side of the boulevard stretching under the night sky of Sakka Bay was quiet. Even as he watched people disappear one by one, his eyes rarely even blinked as he looked out the window.
"Did you come all the way here to laugh at me?"
He guess so.
He doesn't know. From the moment he saw Evangeline caught between these people he had never met before, he had no clear memory of anything.
...I'm still like that, so what can I do?
Thinking that he wouldn't recognize her if she wore such a flimsy hat, he was disappointed by her innocence. He laughed at the flimsiness of thinking that if she ran away, it would be the end.
In fact, there was no reason to chase Evangeline. Whether hungry or not, it is the instinct of a predator to chase running prey.
He didn't like her showing her back first and running out. The unpleasant experience of the woman turning her back on him first was enough for one time.
Deccarno wanted to ask if she had left Roark so confidently and was trying to hide herself now, or if he was driving her somewhere where she could no longer escape.
What the hell are you doing here? What are you wearing and eating, and is this life really so good?
The things he needed to ask were boiling down his throat, but the moment he saw Evangeline coming out of the cabin door, there was something else he wanted to ask the most.
Who else is that bastard?
"...Hah."
With a laugh, his breath in the window turned white. Deccarno didn't care if the people around him flinched or not. He didn't have a woman here who really had to react to everything he had before.
"If I say this, the Duke will never understand."
So, what should I do?
He didn't really want to understand her. After seeing Evangeline living today, he didn't want to understand it even more.
And he can't understand it even more when he crawls down here to see her.
He didn't even laugh at himself as he put aside all the things piled up in Roark and ran to His Majesty the Emperor.
Still, Deccarno had no intention of giving up. All his actions so far have not been in vain, so if he had come this far, he had to get an answer.
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