NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 164
Surprisingly, I ran into Lord River at a social gathering.
‘Huh?’
At the time, I was trying to make connections with Goldman.
If any of Averine’s connections were related to Goldman, I would visit them, and if there was a social gathering hosted by the Goldman family, I would attend.
But so far, I haven’t gotten anywhere.
No matter how close I became to people related to Goldman, I couldn’t know the details of their internal affairs.
This was especially true when it came to the gambling houses that Goldman operated.
I even went to a gambling club to find information about the gambling hall.
It’s a good thing the club’s policy was not to reveal one’s identity, otherwise, I would have never been allowed to enter, even for the sake of my dignity.
‘At least I got something out of it.’
As a result of my risk-taking and persistence, I was able to get one useful piece of information out of the rumor mill.
‘It operates on a membership system?’
This was information about Goldman’s gambling house.
I was wondering why I couldn’t get so much information.
When I found out that only people with
‘membership’
were allowed to enter the gambling house run by Duke Goldman, I was able to get a general idea.
This means that only high-ranking people are allowed in, and they have to be heavily guarded to prevent information about them from leaking out.
In particular, it was said that
‘membership’
was not issued to just anyone.
Only those with ties to Duke Goldman or who have been recommended by a member could get in.
— ‘It’s like paradise on earth. There are fine liquors and precious delicacies everywhere, and there is endless laughter and stimulation, and they say that once you enter, you won’t be able to leave.’ — ‘Was it really that great?’ — ‘Yes. Everyone here was desperate to get a membership. Rumor has it that on the bottom floor, you can taste the finest drugs imported from other countries…’I was stunned.
‘They even use drugs?’
I couldn’t believe it, but I didn’t know that it would be a bigger market than I thought.
And I’m only speculating now, but maybe that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Since it was operated secretly through a membership system, there are probably all kinds of dirty things happening that they want to hide.
‘What should I do with this?’
But in the end, all I heard were rumors, and the truth would only be known once I got inside.
‘First, I need to find someone who has a membership’
So I could either use that person to dig into Goldman’s inner workings, or if that didn’t work, I could get a membership myself and go in there.
I didn’t want to do the latter, but if it meant finding Goldman’s weaknesses, then so be it.
So here I am, at a social gathering, picking out people with a hawk’s eye for Goldman connections…
‘Lord River?’
At first, I doubted my eyes.
He shouldn’t be here, he had no business being here.
Even though the subjugation was nearing its end, he was a Knight belonging to the subjugation team, and he was still subduing monsters in the north.
However, there was no sign of that related to the appearance of the person, with his blond hair slickly pulled back and dressed in a banquet party.
Rather, he was like a young lord from a wealthy family.
At the sight of him, I was in the midst of a quiet day. I couldn’t help but to look at him.
And the moment I suddenly turned my head and made eye contact with him, I admitted it.
‘It’s Lord River, right?’
It couldn’t have been him, with his sun-kissed good looks, his innocent-looking face, and his sparkling green eyes.
At the same time, his eyes widened as if he recognized me too. I seized the opportunity and approached him.
“Lord River?” “Oh, Princess?”But somehow, something about him was off.
‘Why was it like that?’
But I don’t think it was this bad the last time we met.
If things had gotten awkward, it would have been uncomfortable, but not like this, fidgeting and not meeting my gaze.
But now he looked like a puppy who’d done something wrong and was afraid of being caught, so I squinted and scrutinized him.
The way he addressed me had changed.
Then it dawned on me.
‘Princess?’
“Don’t be awkward, just call me whatever you’re comfortable with.” “What? Oh, yeah. I see… Dahlia.” “But what are you doing here? Was the subjugation already over?” “No, it’s not over yet, but I was summoned by my father, and was forced to come to the capital.”‘Duke Goldman summoned you?’
I wanted to ask immediately,
‘For what?’
but I resisted the urge. Now was not the time to get to the point.
“I had no idea you were here, but perhaps you should send word when you are in the capital.” “I’m here on short notice, too… I was wondering, is the Princess all right?” “What? About what?” “I think you heard some bad news the other day… “As we were talking, I remembered that I had received a letter telling me that my father had collapsed.
I was so distraught at the time that I don’t remember how the situation unfolded, but I’m sure Lord River was there too.
“Oh, that’s…”I smiled awkwardly and said,
“Yes, it’s resolved well now. I’m sorry you must have been quite surprised. Furthermore, I left first without any hesitation… ” “No. Since it was such an urgent matter, there was nothing I could do about it. I’m just glad that things have been resolved now.” “Thank you for your understanding.” “You’re welcome.” “…” “…”And just like that, we’re done talking.
‘Uh… this is awkward….’
The awkward silence that immediately followed had me looking away in confusion.
Normally, this would have been the point where I would have said,
‘Well, I’ll go to the daily paper, then, and get back to work,’
and I would have naturally turned away.
I couldn’t. I still had some work to do with him.
‘I guess I’ll have to say something… ’
Meeting him by chance was a golden opportunity for me.
My original plan was to persuade Lord River, although it had been put on hold after my altercation with O’Neill.
And since he seemed particularly weak to O’Neill, I was going to use her to turn the story in my favor…
‘I’ll have to convince him on my own.’
No matter how much I tried to find a replacement, I couldn’t find anyone else, but Goldman’s second son.
And my hunch was that he still had something to say to me.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his position like that, unable to hide his awkward appearance. And that too while keeping an eye on me.
‘What do you have to say to me?’
But I couldn’t think of anything, and it was probably for the best.
Eventually, I spoke up,
“Do you remember that there was something I wanted to ask you the other day?” “…Yes, I do remember.” “Do you have time now?” “I’m good.” “Great.”With that, I set down the wine glass I was holding. Then I glanced up at him, somehow still nervous, and held out my hand.
“Will you escort me then?”I asked.
The place I took him was a storefront not far from the party venue.
A jewelry store run by Averine, to be exact.
Lord River seemed puzzled by my sudden headlong rush to the jeweler’s, but when he saw me demanding privacy from the manager, he let out a small gasp of admiration.
I smiled casually as I sat down on the couch in the room.
“This was my place to talk in private, and it looks like we’re shopping on the surface, so we can avoid suspicion.” “I see.”Even though I said out loud,
‘talking in private
,’ Lord River just nodded.
I wondered if it was because he didn’t mind that he didn’t seem to suspect anything, but it seemed different.
He had been thinking about something earlier.
It was almost as if he was choosing his words carefully, as if he had something he wanted to see me about.
To be honest, it wasn’t that I wasn’t curious about what he wanted to tell me, but I was in no rush.
I tried to speak quickly before the silence lengthened.
“I called for you because…” “I’m sorry.” “What?”My eyes widened.
“For what?” “I had some idea that you would call me like this today.”He assumed what?
But despite my bewilderment, he was looking at me with a deadpan seriousness. I swallowed hard at the look of determination on his face.
“You… already… guessed?” “With all due respect, yes.” “How long have you known?” “When I saw Dahlia again, no, in fact, I’ve been guessing since before that… ” “…” “You came to me first, of course, because you heard me talking about it.”When he said he’d already guessed, did he mean that I was looking for him on Goldman’s business?
‘If so, we’re quick to discuss it.’
By
‘heard the word beforehand,’
he means likely heard rumors of a gambling house run by the Duke of Goldman.
Of course, he doesn’t know my real purpose, which involves disrupting the legalization of gambling, but he probably assumes it has something to do with it.
I stared at him earnestly.
“Yes. I’m glad you knew, it’s convenient that things move so quickly.” “…” “Then I suppose you also know what I want to tell you, why I’ve called you here.”Lord River said nothing for a moment. But soon he answered slowly, in a stiff, firm tone.
“Yes. I am already prepared.” “Then you’re going to help me…” “You can beat me until you’re relieved.” “…What?”I blinked, dumbfounded. My, what did I just hear?
And his antics didn’t end there. He got up from his seat and walked over to the couch where I was sitting.
When I flinched at his sudden action and took a step back.
Thud— “Lord River?!”He dropped to his knees.
‘Why? What’s wrong?’
I gaped open-mouthed. But despite my confusion, he bowed his head and continued with what he had to say.
“I have nothing to say. Even though it wasn’t intentional, I can’t deny that I hurt you, Dahlia.”Hurt me like what?
“I know it’s unforgivable, and I know you must be very angry.”I’m not angry, though?
“But if you’ll be so generous and listen to me for a little while, I’ll explain everything…” “Wait, wait!” “What?”Realizing that if I left him like this, he wouldn’t stop for a second, third, and fourth time, I raised my voice urgently.
“Talk to me, so I can understand, what the hell are you talking about, what the hell am I going to get hurt about, what’s unforgivable…” “Yes? But you said you heard what I said earlier…” “What? No, I must have misunderstood something, I have no idea, so please explain now…” “Well, then you didn’t hear it?” “I mean, what the heck…!”And then, at the same time, the unbelievable words pierced my ears.
“I’m in love with O’Neill…” “What?!”