Chapter 40: Honeymoon (1)
Chapter 40: Honeymoon (1)
Ten hours before Cordelia’s letter was found in Count Hr?svelgr’s guest room.
Cordelia placed the stationery on the bed and pouted.
“But you know…”
“What is it?”
“Why does it have to me again?”
When they jumped off the cliff in the middle of the Belkain Mountains, when she said that she wanted to go to Count Hr?svelgr’s territory with him, and now, they were eloping…no, they were just running away together, or more like they just want to get out of here.
“Well, that’s how it is.”
“That what?”
Cordelia asked as her eyes narrowed. If there was no good reason, the look in her eyes seemed to clearly say that he should be prepared for the consequences.
Because of that, Jude unconsciously gulped, but soon said with a cunning smile.
“Cordelia, imagine it in your head. There’s a beaker full of ink, and there’s a glass rod.”
“I’m imagining it.”
“Yes, now dip the glass rod into the beaker and then take it out. What will happen then?”
“The glass rod will turn black, right?”
It’ll be covered in ink.
“Yes, then dip it in one more time and take it out. What will happen again?”
“It’s still black, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
“That’s no-…f*ck?!”
“I mean, the first offense stood out in the past, so if we do it three or four more times…”
“That’s all you wanted to say? You’re all talk!”
The enraged Cordelia began to seriously smack Jude’s back with her palm.
“Hey! It hurts! It really hurts!”
“It hurts when I hit you? Really?”
Cordelia, who had been slapping Jude’s back, tried to kick Jude’s shin, but he was faster.
Pak!
Twenty-Four Gale Steps.
At that moment, there was a gust of wind as Jude’s foot became blurred, and Cordelia’s kick only hit the air.
“Hey! What dirty trick are you using to avoid it? Is that your new skill?”
“It hurts when I get hit, okay?”
Cordelia’s hand was more painful than he thought.
As Jude shifted his position with an urgent look on his face, Cordelia sighed and said as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Anyway, this is extremely embarrassing.”
“But you’re pretty much used to it now…ah, no! It’s not something to get used to.”
Jude cowered and Cordelia sighed again, then approached Jude and asked.
“By the way, what were you planning to do?”
It doesn’t end with just simply leaving Count Hr?svelgr’s territory.
They had to prepare many things for their journey to Frost Anvil.
And the Jude that Cordelia knew was not a man who acted without any plans.
“First, we ought to be prepared. Measures to protect against the cold are necessary, and in order to get out of Vedrfolnir safely, we need a way to cross the city walls, horses for the two of us, and various travel supplies.”
It was a reasonable plan.
But there was a problem.
“We don’t have any money.”
The money from home had already been spent on hiring wizards at Langesthei.
The money that Count Chase gave them when they left Langesthei had almost been spent because they bought various kinds of equipment.
Moreover, money was not their only problem.
It was midnight now.
There was only one business type that was open even after the sun sets, which was the entertainment district where one can enjoy various kinds of entertainment, such as drinking and gambling.
They didn’t have the time to wait until morning too.
The time Lucas gave to Jude and Cordelia for their tour was only a few hours ahead.
“So, come closer.”
“You’re doing it again. It’s just the two of us here in the first place.”
“Well…it’s the mood.”
“Regardless of the mood…”
Cordelia grumbled but she soon got closer to Jude and brought her ears closer.
And after a while, a bright smile spread over Cordelia’s face when she heard Jude’s words.
***
Mick was a professional crook.
His specialty was marriage fraud.
With his natural-born handsome face, flowery language and eloquence that he gained through years of training, he specialized in wheedling innocent virgins and widows suffering from loneliness.
And he was now thrown down and being trampled by an incomparably beautiful girl.
“H-how did you know where I am-!”
“From the victims of fraud – among them, you can get clues by talking to the redhead, Marybelle. There was also the neighborhood rascal he picked a fight with on the day he first met Mick.
The name of that neighborhood scoundrel was Vic. If you look a little around the back alleys of Vedrfolnir, you can meet him, and when you beat him, he tells an interesting story about Mick. Of course, that alone doesn’t tell Mick’s whereabouts.
Mick is a shrewd guy. But it doesn’t mean he has very little income. Marriage fraudsters do not stay in one place for long, and Mick is one of the few guys who came from another place. Of course, these guys need the help of the locals in order to adapt to the city. Vic is the guy who teaches him how to contact the locals.
The local’s name is Kaal. Insane Knife Kaal. Now then, if you grill Kaal, he will tell you about Mick. Where he came from, and where he is now. But it takes too long to go through all of that process, so I just straight up came here.”
Listening to that long story stupefied the minds of those present there.
And Cordelia spoke with a dizzy expression.
“JudeWiki is weird.”
“The important thing is that we caught him.”
After hearing Cordelia’s words, Jude squatted in front of Mick, whose head was on the floor, and spoke.
“If you catch Mick, you have two choices. One is to put him in jail, and the other is to continue the new linked quest. Vedrfolnir is a bustling city, and like a thriving city, a lot of criminals are also gathered, and one of them wants Mick. To be exact, that person wants him as a gift to the head of the Thieves Guild in Langesthei.”
“Wh-what?”
“Marybelle is the youngest sister of the head of the Thieves Guild in Langesthei.”
Jude’s bright smile made Mick’s handsome face turn pale, and Cordelia immediately spoke after casting magic on him.
“Jude.”
“Yes?”
“You just wanted to do that, didn’t you?”
Narrating line by line the entire process of catching Mick.
“What… Maybe it’s a habit?”
“Huh?”
“Well, we caught him, so let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
They had to leave Vedrfolnir before dawn at the latest.
“Okay, let’s go.”
To Fabian’s lair, one of Vedrfolnir’s gangs.
The two then hastened their movements.
***
Fabian was a successful transport dealer.
People, money, letters, drugs, dangerous goods, and so on. It was good to say that he would transport anything as long as it makes money.
And he was now facing in front of him, while still in his pajamas, an absolutely handsome boy and an incomparably beautiful girl.
“So, you’re going to give Mick to me as a present?”
“Yes, Fabian.”
Jude immediately answered. However, his gaze was not on Fabian, but on Fabian’s living room and his men that he urgently summoned. To be exact, it was towards the blonde woman sitting by the window.
“Where are you looking…”
“No, it’s okay. I think he already knows.”
The blonde woman said with a smile as she stood up from her seat. And at her hand gesture, the big-bellied middle-aged man who was the fake Fabian, bowed once and stepped back.
The real Fabian was a blonde beauty in her mid-twenties.
Among the characters that appeared in Vedrfolnir, she became very popular because of her extraordinary beauty, but in Jude’s eyes, her beauty was nothing.
‘Cordelia is much prettier.’
Jude unconsciously compared her to Cordelia as he maintained a calm and composed expression. The real Fabian made a bubbly smile as she spoke while showing her hands.
“So, how did you know that I’m the real Fabian?”
“It’s a cliché. And our Wiki is freaking awesome.”
Cordelia replied with a smile as she trampled on Mick. Fabian frowned as she wondered what the other was talking about, before speaking with a smile again.
“Humph, I think I know the two of you too? No, should I say that you are nobles? You’re members of the 12 families.”
“Do you know us?”
They’ve never seen Fabian before.
Moreover, it was their first time in Vedrfolnir.
When Cordelia blinked in surprise and asked, Fabian shrugged and answered.
“Jude Bayer and Cordelia Chase. A black-haired and green-eyed absolutely handsome boy and an incomparably beautiful girl known to be madly in love with each other. The two of you actually look more beautiful than the rumors. But frankly, I didn’t know until you two showed up.”
She would not have been sure if only one of them showed up.
However, a noticeable absolutely handsome boy and an incomparably beautiful girl suddenly appeared together, so she couldn’t help but think of the two people from the rumors. Their hair and eye colors were also the same.
When Fabian pointed it out, Cordelia was flattered at first, but soon had an anxious look on her face.
‘Hey, what do we do?’
She wasn’t talking about Fabian figuring out their identities. The problem was the fact that people would figure out where they went, based on their identities.
After all, they were currently running away at night.
‘Don’t worry about it, because we can just disguise ourselves.’
Jude replied with a glance that seemed to say that it wasn’t a big deal, before he looked back at Fabian and spoke.
“Okay, since you know who we are, it’ll be easier to talk to each other. Let’s speak without reservations and not drag this out. I’ll hand over Mick, so give us what we want.”
“What does the young master and miss want”
“Before dawn comes, we want a means to cross the walls of Vedrfolnir and a horse to ride around, plus some basic travel supplies, and plain travel clothes to change into. You’re a transport dealer, so you can do all of these, right?”
This was the reason why Jude chose the ‘Marriage Fraudster Mick’ among the various events in Vedrfolnir.
It was only Fabian, the transport dealer, who was able to surely and quickly prepare the things that Jude had wanted at this time of night.
“I can do it.”
“Then, please.”
“Well then… Now that I think about it, the children of the 12 families wouldn’t be in a situation where they committed a sin and needed to run away. Are you two going on a honeymoon trip then?”
“No, we’re not?”
“Yes.”
Cordelia and Jude simultaneously gave conflicting answers, and Fabian burst into laughter.
“How cute.”
Fabian nodded again after alternately appreciating the sight of a red-faced Cordelia and Jude who cleared his throat.
“Good, I like it. I’m talking about the gift too. I’ll prepare what you asked for right away. Rather than be on bad terms, it would be better if the children of the 12 families are indebted to me.”
“It’s not a debt though? Isn’t it a deal?”
“Then, let’s call it a friendship.”
When Cordelia refuted it, Fabian cheerfully spoke again as she looked at her with affectionate eyes, before looking back at Jude and asking him.
“Hey, she’s so lovely. Can I hug the lady just once?”
“I’m fine with it but, you’ll have a hard time asking her to.”
Jude shamelessly replied and Cordelia snarled at their stupid talk, while Fabian burst into laughter again.
“Ah, really. I like the two of you so much. More than the rumors.”
Cordelia asked with an upset face when she heard Fabian mention ‘rumors’ again.
“Hey, what were those rumors that came about?”
“If I remember, it was about how you’re completely like a parakeet couple who can’t stay away from each other and will die if they can’t live together? Ah, there’s also a story that the lady is more active than the young master. Is that true?”
Instead of answering, Cordelia stared at Jude with cold eyes, and Jude cleared his throat and said.
“Anyway, I’d like you to hurry up.”
“Alright, I’ll get started right away.”
Fabian clapped her hands and glanced at her subordinates, and the preparations proceeded quickly.
After all, Fabian and her men were professionals.
“I’ll specially guide you myself.”
Vedrfolnir was a trading city, and like most trading cities were, there were many places in the wall that were neglected except for the main gate.
Arriving on the outskirts of the city with Jude and Cordelia, Fabian passed through the dog hole in the wall, hidden between wooden boxes.
“There’s only one horse, but he’s a sturdy one, so it wouldn’t be a problem if two people ride on him. The luggage bag is filled with basic travel items such as sleeping bags, water bottles, tableware and so on. I also filled it with three days’ worth of food.”
In front of a small hut outside the walls stood a large saddle-mounted horse and Fabian’s men.
“I recommend that the lady sit in front.”
“Why?”
Cordelia was already agonizing over who should sit in front, so she curiously asked Fabian, who replied with a big smile.
“It’s more romantic because you’ll be in the young master’s arms.”
“I’ll ride in the back.”
“Well, that’s good too, because the lady will be the one doing the hugging.”
“…can’t you just get one more horse?”
“It’s a joke, so don’t be swayed by it.”
Jude cut off the conversation between the two and approached Fabian as he said.
“It’s a deal, but I’m grateful for the fact that it was a good deal.”
“Because you and the young lady are likely to be good trading partners.”
As she had said before, it would be better for her to not be on bad terms with the children of the 12 families.
Despite her attitude, Jude still liked Fabian, so he decided to show her some kindness.
“Fabian, come closer for a second.”
“Isn’t the lady watching you?”
“Just stop the nonsense.”
Fabian smiled with her eyes and brought her face closer, and Jude whispered to her.
“Gilto is a traitor. He’s holding hands with Batu behind the scenes to hit you in the back.”
At Jude’s words, Fabian widely opened her eyes.
Her eyes were full of questions about how he knew, but Jude didn’t bother answering her.
“Look into it. It will be as I said.”
That was the end of their conversation. Jude lightly got on the horse and reached out to Cordelia.
“Get in front.”
“Hmph.”
Cordelia snorted after her resistance failed, and soon sat in front of Jude, who took the horse’s reins.
As they were children of nobles, both Jude and Cordelia knew how to ride on horses.
However, Cordelia suspected that Jude already knew how to ride on horses in his previous life.
“I’ll be going then. May good fortune always be with you.”
“Not muscles?”
As if to stop Cordelia’s small murmur, Jude immediately got the horse to move.
Fabian stood with a stiff face as she saw the two off, and soon loosened her expression.
“They’re just like the rumors.”
They really were a fantasy couple.
Fabian shrugged before ordering her subordinates to investigate Gilto’s actions behind the scenes.