The Daughter of Evil - Volume 1 - Chapter 2.15

Chapter 2: Section 1: Scene 5 
♦Allen~Elphegort Kingdom’s “Freesis Mansion”~

Keel was talking to another guest during the time delayed, so I went to the other room to wait.

The decor of the house was not as luxurious as I imagined it to be. Of course, compared to a civilian home, the home would look like a cloud of mud; but for this to be owned by a rich merchant in a famous country, the decorations of the house isn’t like how they spend money. Even if fine art and antiques are on display at his home, I’m still confused. I don’t know how much they cost, but I think it’s a substantial number at least.

I heard that many men in Marlon have a strong addiction for collecting. If this rumor is true, then maybe Keel really is an immigrant from Marlon.

I looked out the window; I saw two girls washing clothes by the pool.

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One of them was Michaela, and her hands & feet were very diligent. It seems that she is a very good maid, and will surely become a good wife.

While the other girl…… seems to work to no avail. Not only that it’s obvious that she has a very slow speed; she washes the laundered clothes again and again.

Unlike other Elphegorts who have green hair; white hair and red eyes…… are what she has……

(I hang out with a friend…… named Clarith. She doesn’t look the same as the others……)

Is that the Clarith girl Michaela mentioned?

“A white-haired…… descendant of the Netsuma tribe.”

Then I discovered that someone with a saber around his waist was by my side.

 His appearance was very beautiful, but he was a man. With that long hair, I thought he was a woman at first.

“I’ve heard that the Netsuma tribe perished long ago…… I didn’t expect that there still are survivors.”

The man who was talking to himself continued. His hair color was different from the people of this country; it was purple.

I had a great interest on the shape of the weapon on his waist.

“The shape of your sword is really special.”

I bluntly said to ruin his dramatic moment. Probably hearing that compliment often, the man’s face didn’t change.

“Well, it’s called a katana…… It’s very rare.”

He replied.

“Teenager, I hear your job is to serve the Royal Lucifenian family, is that right?”

He stared at me; suddenly changing the subject.

“Yep. I’m Queen Riliane’s servant; the name’s Allen.”

“Allen, I ask you, have you not heard of the Lucifenian Resistance?”

“Resistance? No major war has ever happened these past years…… I never heard of it.”

“Really?…… Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Gast Venom; I’m a mercenary. I’ve got nothing to do so I stayed here and I live nearby Lucifenia. If the Queen or the ministers need manpower, you could always give me a call… okay?”

Gast Venom…… I’ve heard of that name before. He has an alias called the “Devil of Asmodin”; this person is very skillful.

“I understand; I’ll pass.”

“Thank you very much. As I was saying……”

Gast suddenly stared at my face; I can’t help but take one step backwards.

“The darkness of your eyes…… are unlike what a typical servant has. Allen, have you killed a man?”

“……! W-What are you talking about?……!”

At that moment, a knock came from the door behind him; followed by a middle-aged butler opening the door and stood by the entrance.

“Mr. Allen, Keel-san has been waiting for you. Please come with me.”

“Ah…… All right! ……Gast, I’m very sorry; talk to you later when we have an opportunity.”

I walked a few steps to the door and distanced myself from Gast; I saw that he shrugged and I left the room.

There were a lot more things in Keel’s room than the previous room.

Bear specimens, golden jars, clockwork dolls, black crystals…… I couldn’t help but lament that he really has so many rare stuff.

“You’ve worked hard to go all the way here for your first time, Sir Allen.”

The owner of the luxurious collections, Keel Freesis, showed me an invigorating smile. His face was so full of affinity, that I unconsciously became relaxed, but I have to complete the task I was entrusted with first.

“I overwhelmingly, in the name of the Queen, express my heartfelt appreciation for the support provided for Lucifenia. To further express our gratitude, I brought some gifts for you that I hope you’ll kindly accept.”

I handed the gifts I brought to Keel.

“Oh…… A quill pen made by Lola Munao(洛拉姆鸟羽); as well as a fine parchment paper. Thank you very much; these things aren’t easy to get in Elphegort.”

Keel carefully looked and finished every line in the song; it appears that he was very satisfied. These gifts were personally handpicked by Minis; it never troubled him to do this. The obtuse Prime Minister really proves that he has the ability to please others.

“It’s good to know that you like it, because we heard that Your Excellency Keel is fond of written articles.”

“Not so much but my children are really fond of them. My eldest daughter, who is soon to be 9 years old, is very passionate about books.”

“So young…… Your daughter must be really smart.”

“Is she? Oh, my daughter loves reading, but it seems that she’s becoming interested on writing one of her own.”

Keel enjoyed talking about the growth of his child. He seems to be a good father.

“By the way, Sir Allen, you recently chatted with Gast Venom lately, didn’t you?”

“Yes…… Have you known him for a long time, Keel?”

“No, today’s the first time I met him; he wanted to collect one of my products.”

His previous visitor was Gast.

Keel took out a sword that looked very old. Like the sword on Gast’s waist, the shape was very weird.

“Venom Sword…… It seems to be a sword passed down from his ancestors. In fact, this is not fundamentally worth much, but I think if I deliberately opened up a high price: he’ll dislike it, give up, and go away. Ah, that’s what I hate the most about mercenaries and the like.”

It seems that merchants don’t give fixed prices for gifted and experienced mercenaries.

“By not knowing where to squeeze out high profits from the value of my goods, I will not hesitate on the amount of money that my client has on hand——This, is the common knowledge of a merchant.”

“I see. So considering what you just said, what makes you willing to spend money for donations to our country?”

I’ve always wanted to understand what was Keel’s purpose of providing assistance to Lucifenia. In order to clarify this point, I decided to spell out my doubts.

“Ah~~~Well, there are many wealthy people in your country; if it collapses, less people will support my business. That’s one of the reasons.”

“There are other reasons?”

“There are…… Well, it’s a request of my beloved friend, Kyle so I do it for him; that’s my second reason.”

“You’re acquaintances with Marlon’s King Kyle?”

“I met him when I lived in Marlon; he’s a kindhearted man, and now I see that because he treats her like his younger sister, he will do anything to help Queen Riliane’s difficulties.”

Keel seems to be very proud of talking about his friend. However, it’s impossible for the other countries to know the truth: it’s not the Queen who’s having difficulties but the people.

“King Kyle and Queen Riliane are getting married soon; in a sense, this is a logical way to move forward.”

Keel smiled; but then, I saw his eyes seem to have changed. I intended to continue the conversation, but Keel spoke first.

“Anyway, money isn’t infinite; I’m not competent in trading losses…… so I called you over.”

I finally seem to have entered a red herring. What is the purpose of this merchant?

“…… Don’t be so nervous, trifle. For a merchant, money is very important, but some things are much more important, and that's—— information. To seize the world of intelligence for the first time and to know the meaning of why information manipulates itself, is the secret to success.”

Because he himself has huge amounts of money, then I guess these words are true.

“I want to know the real inside story of Lucifenia. Asking the ministers is useless, because as long as it’s in front of the nationals of other countries, they’ll only praise the Royal family. I want someone who is directly related to the Royal family, but not involved in politics and just state the ordinary person’s real views.”

No wonder he refused Mariam to be the messenger to come. In fact, very few people know that she’s one of the Three Heroes; because her main task is espionage, she never does her actions in front of people. However, Keel has evidently long grasped the news, and was informed of her true identity.

Subsequently, Keel asked me a few questions about the Lucifenian palace, and I made appropriate answers. Since he’s a very perspicacious person, I called a spade a spade, and deliberately concealed his doubt.

“…… Ah, I see. Although I have already heard about it, I didn’t expect the Queen’s autocracy to be this severe.”

“However, it’s a lot better recently. Thanks to your help, the food problem is resolved; the people’s dissatisfaction has been reduced; as for the impeding marrage with King Kyle, the Queen seems to feel very good.”

Minis went to the Marlon country; on one hand, he went there to give thanks for the food aid; on the other hand, it’s to have a concrete discussion on King Kyle and Queen Riliane’s wedding issues. He should have set foot in Elphegort on his way home by now.

“The marriage…… I hope it doesn’t get messed up.”

Keel muttered. What does he mean?

Knock knock; someone knocked on the door. Keel uttered a cry for the door to be opened, and Michaela came in.

“Excuse me; please have some tea.”

“Thank you; put it over there…… Oh! This brioche looks really good; I’ll have a try.”

Keel promptly took a snack and put it in his mouth.

“Mmmmmm! It’s really tasty! Did you make this, Michaela?”

“No, Clarith made this.”

“Oh~~~Her cooking really isn’t a small advancement. Allen-kun, do you want one?”

I gave thanks and took one into my mouth. Well, it is indeed delicious; the sweetness is very suitable to my liking.

“It tastes very good. I occasionally do some cooking, but it’s nothing compared to this…… I really want to ask her cooking tips when I have a chance.”

“Haha, I’m sure Clarith will be very happy to hear that. If you have time, you could always come and have fun with us.”

Michaela bowed and left the room. As she walked before me, I met with her eyes for a while. And I smiled in response. I looked at Keel, who doesn’t know why I was smiling, staring at me.

“You met with her on the way here…… huh? Your face is very red; do you take a fancy to her?”

“It's……”

“True love at such a young age~~~~~ But, sorry, she’s very sought-after.”

Keel ridiculed me.

“I guess you probably know that her singing is very good and very competent. When I occasionally throw a party, to entertain my friends at home, I often let her sing to help add in the fun for everyone.”

“……”

“The wealthy people were captured by her voice and as you can see, she’s very beautiful. To be honest, I don’t even know how many aristocrats and royal people wanted to take her home and marry her.”

Judging by the time when she sung at the City Square, I could already see that she’s very popular, but I really didn’t expect so many people to like her.

That low-grade shell necklace; do I know the man who gave it to her?

“When people proposed marriage to her, she refused. I think it’s a pity, but I respect her thoughts…… Oh, I just realize that I’ve been talking too long.”

I looked out the window as the sun sinked to the west.

“Thanks you for coming here, Allen-kun. I had a great time.”

“Was I any help for you?”

In order to cool down my hot face, I asked as calmly as possible.

Hearing me, Keel smiled with satisfaction.

“Well, you’ve done me a big favor.”

Out of Keel’s mansion, I saw the driver talking with Michaela. I joined in with a few jokes, talked with Michaela, and went into the carriage. However, I might be a little later than the scheduled time when I return to the palace.

I sat inside the vehicle and stared at the Freesis mansion from far away; I saw someone waving and shouting: “Goodbye, Allen!” I poked my body out of the carriage and waved to her. Her smile was deeply engraved in my mind.

Michaela, I hope I could be with you again.