NOVEL NEXT Chapter 144
Upon encountering Fabiana and Silina, I had Ophelia send a truckload of dinner and dessert to the club room.
I definitely wouldn’t be participating in report writing, so I might as well throw some money around.
Anyway, after sending Ophelia off, I arrived at Fabiana’s office with these two.
“Eliaernes. Setting the location without consultation is simply because I don’t trust your surroundings; I hope you understand.”
“I couldn’t care less.”
Shaking her head, Fabiana downed the bizarre potion she brewed herself with a slurp-.
“Ugh…”
Tastes like sewer water, as expected.
“Krkhk… Your expression is priceless, my dear sister. Won’t you join in on this as well?”
“What kind of villainous line is that? And if Eliaernes is scrunching her face, it must taste terrible. Why should I drink it?”
“Why should I be the standard?”
“Because you seem to handle pain the best among all the humans I know.”
“Um… can’t argue with that.”
What the…? Something about this feels… off, but it doesn’t seem like it’s meant to be off-putting.
Am I being too sensitive?
“Eliaernes.”
“What?”
“Before Fabiana says anything, let me spill the beans first. Our plan has been discovered by Fabiana.”
“What plan?”
I blinked in genuine confusion. Silina gasped in disbelief, her eyes wide.
“What are you saying? Are you betraying us already?”
“Betraying? When have we ever been on the same side?”
“Ha, you… you really are something…”
“Hey, don’t drag me into this unfairly. Just explain what’s going on.”
Silina’s face turned beet red as she thumped her chest.
“She’s fully aware of our plan…!”
“Of what?”
“Whoa…! You, you really…!”
Pop! Silina jumped out of her seat. Only then did both Fabiana and I burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Wow… now I get why Fabiana looks at Silina so adorably.”
“Krhkha! Right? My beloved sister is such a cute younger sibling.”
In contrast, Silina looked back and forth between us, completely baffled by the situation.
“…What? Eliaernes, you already knew this?”
“I did. Fabiana mentioned it a week ago, didn’t she?”
“What, what did she say?”
“Want me to recite her message?”
I fished out my device. Just then, Fabiana’s voice stopped me.
“Isn’t it a little embarrassing to share our personal messages, even with someone as magnanimous as myself? Can’t we just keep it verbal?”
“Um… okay, fine.”
I placed my hand back on the table, and Silina sat down in accordance.
“Hey, Silina. I’ll tell you, but you have to drink all of this.”
Fabiana handed Silina the weird potion she had brewed.
“…No way.”
“Really? Then don’t listen to me.”
“Ugh… you really have a terrible personality. What, will you explode if you just tell me?”
“I know my personality is terrible. So what are you going to do about it? Planning to cut my throat or something?”
Hehe- I continued to push the potion toward Silina.
“Come on, just drink it.”
“Ugh… you bad girl. You’ll pay for this after graduation…”
“Sure, whatever.”
As Silina clenched her teeth, she finally gulped! down the potion.
“Ggaaah… Ugh… What… how is this… ugh… it tastes like sewer water?”
“Seriously? You sound like you’ve tasted sewer water before?”
“Fine. I’ll explain it myself.”
Fabiana cut in before I could finish. I glanced at Fabiana, feeling that moment was quite unnatural, but she simply offered a quiet smile that seemed to say, “Let it go.”
“Uh-huh. It sounds like you’d be easier to understand than me, Fabiana.”
I agreed with Fabiana’s suggestion and leaned back.
Thus began the explanation of how Silina and I’s elaborate plan to take down the side branch got discovered.
*
About ten days ago, a message arrived from Fabiana.
There were no words. Just a collection of pictures.
Photos of what looked like plans hastily handwritten by Silina, and the flow of funds from the merchant association that belonged to her.
And a request form for the puppeteer to prepare items necessary for getting rid of the side branch.
That was all. No other content existed.
But those pictures felt like they held a myriad of Fabiana’s words within them.
So… I had no choice but to visit Fabiana.
After meeting her, I thought… Well, there wasn’t much to worry about after all.
I struggled over whether or not I could talk about Silina’s situation, but Fabiana already knew everything.
She was aware of the looming danger surrounding Silina’s foster mother who was hiding in the cartel, Silina’s resolve to kill Anton de Herman, and her intention to enlist my help to gain allies for that purpose.
She knew all of it.
How? Well, she said the reason tied back to royal family issues, so she couldn’t spill that.
But now that the explanation was over…
Silina looked like she knew what kind of route her livelihood was going down as her face scrunched up.
“…If you knew exactly what I was planning, why the hell did you use that guy’s special forces?”
From the way she referred to him as “that guy” with such hatred, it seemed Fabiana had gathered information using Anton’s minions.
“Seeing my beloved sister plan something so evidently dangerous, I couldn’t just sit idly by.”
“Then… what did you pay for it?”
Moreover, to command those minions, it seems some payment was necessary. But judging by the atmosphere between the two, it didn’t seem like it was monetary.
“You wouldn’t need to know that.”
“Tell me. It’s better than me trying to pry it out of you.”
Fabiana’s demeanor sharpened.
“Sister, have you truly gone mad?”
“You must be the one who’s crazy. I never even asked for your help; why are you meddling?”
“It wasn’t unnecessary. The merchant association’s flow of funds is stable now, thanks to my help, and I’ve entrusted the puppet project to a puppeteer whose skills far exceed Ophelia Bloomin’s, all while guaranteeing confidentiality. Is that it? Anton’s special forces were already tailing the plan you set up. So, I cut those ties personally.”
“…Anton knew about my plan?”
“He didn’t know everything. But once he found the branches of the tree, discovering the trunk and roots would have been a matter of time. Do you understand, Silina? You were almost done for. From your eldest brother that you loathed so much.”
Fabiana’s voice rose.
Though she typically maintained her playful demeanor, whenever it came to Silina, her emotions seemed to fluctuate so strangely.
Just how fond of her younger sister is she?
“Why didn’t you tell me? I always said that if you asked for help, I would throw calculations out the window and assist you. But you didn’t do that. Why? Was it because of ‘Tieche Gossla’ sent to the cartel? Were you afraid I’d tell you to kill her?”
“…Ugh.”
Silina did not respond.
She didn’t need to. Keeping her mouth shut, her eyes, breaths, and entire being spoke volumes.
However… I felt like I might stumble upon something I shouldn’t be hearing and be caught up in this mess.
“But, it seems like I shouldn’t be involved here; shouldn’t I just head out?”
“Oh… right. I’m sorry. I didn’t call you here to display such a nasty argument. So, Silina. Let’s discuss what’s left later, just the two of us.”
Taking a brief breath, Fabiana pulled a pipe from her drawer.
Watching this, Silina clenched her teeth.
“Can I smoke it?”
“Why are you asking me? But isn’t it problematic since you’re still a minor, Fabiana?”
“It’s not tobacco.”
Not tobacco but she’s putting it in a pipe to smoke.
It must be either some kind of drug or a magic herb.
She didn’t look like she was out of her mind, nor did she seem like someone who had been ruined by a long-term addiction.
“Is it a magic herb?”
It must be.
And magic herbs aren’t typically smoked by ordinary people.
Those with torn blood paths that disrupt the flow of mana or those whose bodies deteriorate upon receiving mana from nature.
So… it indicates the person has some inherent issues or has sustained internal injuries that affect their mana.
“You’re quite daring to ask. Mustn’t you consider that I might have had a painful past?”
“If I care too much and tread carefully, won’t you just dislike me more?”
“Hahaha! Precisely. If you had been so tactful, I would’ve become even sharper in my current state of annoyance.”
“You really have an irritating personality.”
Silina’s eyes widened in shock.
On the other hand, it seemed Fabiana had anticipated such a response, bursting into laughter.
“Ahahahaha! Krkh… That’s right. Fabiana de Herman, the First Princess of the Empire and president of Karela Academy’s student council, has a rather irritating personality.”
“That’s probably why matters that should be resolved easily tend to drag on longer,” mumbled Fabiana, lighting the pipe.
Given the awful smell, it must be some potent magic herb.
Silina, who seems to know the taste of sewer water, and Fabiana, who wishes to hide it, shared a complicated and mysterious relationship.
There’s something… extraordinarily intricate between them.
Well, I doesn’t need to dig deeper into that.
“So, the reason you called me here was…”
I briefly paused and gazed into Fabiana’s eyes.
It was tranquil. A look that told Silina she needed to hear this too. I shrugged and continued.
“Has something come up with the plan?”
“Yes.”
“Something came up? The merchant association didn’t show any signs of trouble?”
“That’s true. Silina, your merchant association is running quite smoothly, thanks to my assistance.”
Silina clicked her tongue at Fabiana’s self-compliment.
“The issue isn’t with the association. Anton’s special forces aren’t at fault either.”
I clicked my tongue as well.
It wasn’t a response to Fabiana’s boasting.
“Was the puppeteer to whom Silina gave the production order Ophelia Bloomin?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then Uje must’ve caught on.”
“Huh…?”
“What? Uje…? That Uje from the Six Pillars? All of a sudden?”
Fabiana’s eyes widened.
And Silina looked around as though trying to make sense of my words.
“…Eliaernes. Your level of information is quite impressive… but yes, you’re correct. Uje has caught wind of this plan. And for some unknown reason, he’s obstructing it. It seems he’s hiding something rotten that shouldn’t be discovered.”
A grim smile appeared on Fabiana’s face as she exhaled a wispy cloud of smoke.
“So, is that what this warning is for?”
Fabiana’s platinum eyes gazed out the window.
“In ten days, I received word that Uje will visit the academy.”