SOTBW - 85

The attendant guided the two of them into a room where the slaves received customers.

The room appeared quite ordinary at first glance.

It had shabby wooden walls and a bed that seemed like it would emit a musty smell, cheap cosmetics and perfumes, rolled-up drugs ready to be smoked, and herbs that were almost ineffective as contraceptives...

In the trash can made from a carved log, there were scraps of cloth that seemed to have been reused many times, and faintly obscene smells filled the air.

After carefully checking if anyone was watching from the hallway, the attendant politely said to Maximón,

“Please wait here for a moment.”

The attendant left the room. As soon as the old wooden door closed, a clattering sound came from behind the wall, which was adorned with crude paintings. Najane was startled, thinking it might be rats, but Maximón, seemingly familiar with the noise, stared at the wall.

After a while, a wardrobe quietly opened, and a woman who appeared to be around Najane’s age stepped out. Najane stared at the scene in surprise. The woman, dressed neatly like a maid, greeted Maximón warmly.

“It’s been a while, Lord Elgort. The master is waiting for you in the study. This way, please.”

The woman pulled back the clothes hanging from the wardrobe like curtains, revealing a spacious sitting room. Trying to hide her surprise, Najane took Maximón’s hand and followed him past the wardrobe. Once they stepped into the sitting room, Najane turned around to see that the servants had closed the wardrobe and were turning a pulley.

After a few clattering sounds, the back of the wardrobe was securely locked into place. The large servants checked several times to make sure the back was fixed before leaving.

Once Najane had finished observing, the woman who had warmly greeted Maximón smiled and pointed toward the hallway.

“Dame Schnicks, would you mind waiting here for a moment? The master would like to speak with Lord Elgort alone for a while.”

“Hmm…”

Maximón glanced at Najane, as if seeking permission. Najane nodded as if it were perfectly fine for him to go.

“I’ll be back soon.”

After he entered a room with the woman, the servants, who had been quietly observing the situation, quickly brought out tea and snacks. On a small concave plate, there were a few dried raisins, and the herbal tea had a fragrance with a hint of honey mixed in.

As Najane sipped the warm tea, her cold hands and feet quickly warmed up. She drank quietly, gracefully, and neatly, as though she had been well-educated, carefully observing her surroundings.

This place was entirely different from that uncomfortable room. A refreshing, soft scent of incense lingered around the sitting room, and a crackling fire burned in the fireplace. The walls, made from pale bricks, were decorated with high-end carpets, and various paintings and decorations hung on them.

The atmosphere was so elegant that one might believe it belonged to a long-established noble family. It felt like a dream, so different from the filthy shop they had just been in.

Meanwhile, Maximón, who had gone into the room first, was now facing Rockbell.

Rockbell was an elderly man with graying hair.

His hair, which had grown limp, barely retained any curl, and his right eye had long since lost its sight, as it looked faded and gazed in the wrong direction.

However, his left blue eye was as sharp as it had been in the days when he was called the cunning rat of the court, and there were no age spots on his skin. Most notably, his wrinkled face was filled with a friendly smile.

That smile was merely a facade to deceive those sitting across from him, but surprisingly, many people felt at ease and would talk to him freely.

As Maximón sat on the sofa, Rockbell, who had been holding his hand, smiled slightly.

“You’ve brought a guest without consulting me.”

“Your master introduced me to you like this, didn’t he?”

“Well, Dame Elderketh did ask so eagerly… Hmm, I can’t deny that I set a precedent. But breaking promises like this is troublesome. You know my situation, don’t you?”

“If it was really troublesome, you wouldn’t have let me in.”

“Even if I had refused, you would’ve come in anyway.”

Rockbell’s voice was kind, but there was a sharp edge to his words.

However, Maximón smiled easily, without feeling any guilt.

“What was it I asked you to do?”

Instead of answering, Rockbell handed Maximón a postcard tucked between the pages of a novel. It contained information about Najane Schnicks. As Maximón reviewed the information, he frowned slightly and shook the postcard.

“After receiving all that money, this is all you’ve managed to find?”

The postcard, smaller than the size of a palm, only contained a few lines about Najane Schnicks. It mentioned that her real name was Emaydis Powley, that she had a younger sister named Luna, who was two years younger, and that she was the adopted daughter of Sword Master Nellis Powley. And that was all.

Rockbell lowered his gaze, looking apologetic.

“I’m sorry. I tried to find out when and how she entered the Noctis fortress, but there was no information. It seems she must have entered secretly, possibly through a skilled operator or had been captured by a sizable slave trader and smuggled in. That’s all we can reasonably infer at this point...”

This was the reason Rockbell had brought Najane to his residence.

Who exactly was Emaydis Powley? How is it that she is unknown to the Noctis authorities or the residents of Kalonosia?

It was already known that Najane would succeed Taylor as the Sword Master. Though Najane seemed to deny it, people had already accepted Najane Schnicks as the new Sword Master. Thus, it wouldn’t hurt to build connections with her.

Rockbell had attempted to make contact with Najane several times by planting people in Romsoa, but each time it had failed. This was due to Maximón. After receiving the information that Maximón was obsessively attached to Najane, Rockbell had completely given up. With the position of Captain of the Guard vacant, Maximón was effectively the master of Noctis Fortress. It was pointless to upset Maximón’s unpredictable mood.

Moreover, anyone with a bit of insight would have realized the value of Najane Schnicks. She was the only person who could make Maximón act emotionally. What did that mean?

Did Edwin Elgort and Rachel Rochelle know this?

Rockbell, leaning his old body against the sofa, stared at Maximón.

Maximón was staring intently at the name “Emaydis Powley.” Taylor had mentioned that the techniques Najane used were passed down through the Powley family in Kalonosia. Maximón had already suspected there was a connection, but an adopted daughter…

As Maximón set the postcard down, he faintly smiled. When he had spoken with Edwin, he had thought Najane’s behavior seemed odd, but he hadn’t expected it to be because of this. He had planned to appeal to Najane’s sympathy from the start, but it seemed he had lucked out. Both of them seemed to have troubled family histories, so it might be easier to worm his way into Najane’s heart.

Maximón brushed his hair back and looked at the postcard in his hand.

…Luna Powley.

So, it was you that Najane had been desperately searching for.

The puzzle pieces that had been floating in his mind finally fell into place. Outsiders entering Noctis were required to leave information with the authorities. While some people might try to conceal their names, the swirl pattern on their fingers and their portraits were difficult to manipulate, making such forgeries easy to detect.

Yet, the fact that Rockbell had failed to uncover information about Najane meant that she and Luna had entered through illegal means.

There were traders who often smuggled slaves across borders in unusual ways. Najane had claimed to be a free person, but for some unknown reason, she and Luna had been enslaved, and that was likely when she was cursed. She must have frequented the black market in search of her sister, who was likely hidden somewhere within the Noctis Fortress.

Thus, unless Luna was expelled or removed from the fortress, Maximón would never be able to make Najane his first.

“Have you located Luna Powley?”

Maximón’s eyes gleamed coldly.

Rockbell, sensing that Maximón would ask this, confidently smiled.

“Of course. As soon as I learned that she had a sister, I immediately began investigating.”

“Where is she now?”

“She is at Lucas Elgort’s estate.”

“...What?”

Maximón raised his eyebrows in surprise as an unexpected name came up.

Rockbell, observing Maximón’s sensitive reaction to Lucas’ name, spoke cautiously.

“Unfortunately, it seems she was sold as a slave. I wasn’t able to find out which slave trader sold her sister to Lucas, but it seems there is no trace of a slave transaction. It appears that they’ve been conducting backdoor deals to avoid taxes… I didn’t look into it any further since Lord Elgort only asked about Najane Schnicks.”

“Is she alive?”

“Excuse me?”

Rockbell unconsciously repeated the question and then hesitated. Maximón’s voice had grown colder than before, as though he were confirming the state of an object rather than a person.

“I asked if Luna Powley is still alive.”

“Normally, if she were just an ordinary slave, she would have died by now, but it seems Luna Powley is holding up quite well. If you’d like, we can take action on our side...”

“That’s unnecessary.”

At Maximón’s cold reply, Rockbell fell silent. He was a little taken aback. He had expected that Maximón would do anything for Najane Schnicks. Considering everything that had happened within the Romsoa Knights, that had seemed to be the right assumption.

Moreover, Maximón knew better than anyone about Lucas’ disgraceful sexual fantasies and sadistic abusive behavior. It was clear what kind of things Luna must be enduring at Lucas’ hands.

As the conversation took an unexpected turn, Rockbell subtly tensed up. However, Maximón seemed to be enjoying the information more than ever.

Though he kept a neutral expression to hide his amusement, this was the first time he was actually glad to hear about Lucas’ presence.

To think that useless bastard might be of help.

If Luna were to die at Lucas’ hands, it would actually be a good thing for Maximón. It would be a perfect opportunity to push the biggest obstacle to Najane’s heart out of the way without getting his hands dirty.

Lucas had killed every slave he had ever brought into his bedroom. Whether by intentional murder or not, no slave had ever survived near Lucas. So it was clear that Luna, too, would eventually die from the abuse Lucas subjected her to.

Maximón quietly swallowed his laughter. Using that as an excuse, he could get rid of Lucas outside the fortress and completely take control of Najane’s heart. Things were going better than he had expected.

“If that is Lord Elgort’s wish, then I won’t interfere...”

Rockbell murmured, seeming troubled.

“But if you wish to eliminate Luna Powley, it would be best to lure her out of the estate.”