Chapter 53

“Hey! I told you not to say anything.”

“Oh, what does it matter. Sister should know too.”

As Embersa snapped at him in anger, Fred snapped back irritably. Yvonne stopped the twins from fighting and asked with a grave face.

“Fred, what do you mean by that? Tell me in detail.”

“It’s nothing. Sister. Don’t listen to him. It’ll just dirty your ears for no reason.”

Despite Embersa’s attitude that it was nothing to concern herself with, Yvonne’s expression darkened. Embersa and Fred had been the last children to drift into the shabby building where Yvonne had once stayed while living on the streets.

During the time they lived there, Yvonne had looked after the young twins, and on the day those unidentified men burst in, the twins were the ones who barely managed to escape with her.

Fortunately, Cassie, whom the tavern owner where Yvonne had worked had introduced them to, took in all three of them.

“Where did you see him? He didn’t recognize you, did he?”

“How long ago was that. Why would he recognize me? Back then the leader was eighteen, and I was eight, so of course he wouldn’t recognize me.”

Yvonne let out a breath of relief at Fred, who shrugged as if telling her not to worry.

“That’s a relief then, but if you see him again next time, run.”

“Don’t worry about us. You’re the one who should be careful, Sister. I saw him not in this district, but over there in the rich neighborhood, Sandiewood, and that’s a place you go often.”

“And even if he recognized Sister, so what. She’s the Duchess now. What could the leader even do?”

At the time, Embersa had known nothing, but after growing older and learning that the leader had intended to sell them off, she would shudder whenever the topic of him came up. It seemed to be a mixture of guilt toward the other children they had failed to save and fear over how the leader might react if he saw the ones who had escaped.

“Even so, Fred, if you see him again next time, absolutely don’t act like you know him. Don’t even look at him. All right?”

“Do I really need to be that careful? It’s not like the leader would have any reason to do anything just from seeing me….”

“Fred, listen to me.”

At Yvonne’s unusually stern face, Fred nodded awkwardly. Only after hearing his answer did Yvonne relax her expression and exchange hugs with the twins.

“I’ll be going now. Don’t get hurt, take good care of your health, and I’ll see you next time.”

“Oh right, Sister.”

Embersa, who had seemed about to move away, turned back as if she had just remembered something and gave Yvonne a quick kiss on the left cheek. Seeing that, Fred hurried over and lightly kissed Yvonne on the right cheek.

“Hey, you’re a guy. Don’t do that, it’s gross.”

“Why not! It’s the Euphoria family’s way of showing overflowing affection.”

Yvonne smiled at the twins, who had started bickering again.

“Getting kisses from the twins gives me strength, you know? Stop fighting and go on now.”

“Okay. Take care, Sister.”

“See you next time.”

Parting from the twins, who waved vigorously, Yvonne straightened her head again, worry clouding her face. The twins had been too young to remember clearly at the time, but Yvonne knew better than anyone how cunning the leader had been.

He had certainly taken money by headcount in exchange for handing over the children. And later, he must have realized the numbers did not match. If the people he had made the deal with had seized on that.

Yvonne’s thoughts burrowed deeper and deeper before she shook her head, telling herself it was excessive worry, and cast the thought aside.

It was just as she rounded the corner without properly watching where she was going, lost in thought. Suddenly, a large shadow fell over her from above.

Startled, Yvonne hurriedly stepped back, lost her balance, and staggered. A firm hand easily caught her just before she fell.

Recognizing the man’s face now so close before her, Yvonne’s eyes trembled faintly.

“Have you been well? Miss Yvonne.”

Ethan smiled and gave a wink with one eye.

* * *

The firearms reached by the long lines of sunlight coming through the window glinted brightly.

At noon, in the conference room of Rein Kleint Company, Carlisle and the other executives were gathered in a meeting.

Various bullets and the rifle gun shown in the demonstration were laid out disassembled across the table.

While feedback was being exchanged on the rifle gun that had been demonstrated at the military testing grounds last time, Russell, the development manager of the Burkstick warehouse in Bermingwell, lifted up a gas-pressure-operated magazine rifle.

“We corrected the defect that occurred in this section where the spiral rifling is carved in. The moment the projectile leaves the barrel, the rotation maintains stability and prevents wobbling, so its stability has improved. There should be no problem.”

Carlisle touched the area near the trigger of the rifle he received with a serious face.

“What happened to the lever mechanism being too crude?”

“We did reflect the soldiers’ feedback that there was a catching sensation when pulling the trigger, but if it becomes too loose, accidents become more likely instead, so we are still deliberating.”

“I suppose it would be difficult to secure both sides.”

At Carlisle’s acknowledgment as he touched the area around his chin, Russell added that he too was concerned for the same reason.

“Because it uses a method where even a slight impact to the primer ignites the gunpowder, there is a risk of it firing by mistake.”

Effectiveness and safety. As though troubled over which of the two should be prioritized, Russell’s white eyebrows twitched. Unlike the manager of the Bermingwell warehouse, Russell Lancaster, head of the development department, was a retired soldier and had once been a respected colonel, which made him a cautious and meticulous man.

The fact that even he was troubled to this extent implied that neither side was easy to give up.

“For now, it would be better to gather the opinions of each team and review it again. If we prioritize effectiveness and an accident occurs, it would be irreversible.”

“I believe that would indeed be best.”

Carlisle’s gaze, fixed on the horizontally raised barrel, was sharp.

Improving the weapon’s performance was important, but because even a small defect could lead to a serious accident involving loss of life, keeping a close eye on quality was equally vital.

As an example, not long ago, a firearm invented by a munitions company in another country had passed its demonstration excellently, only to suddenly explode during actual use, causing severe injuries not only to the shooter but also to the people nearby.

The company held responsible for the accident suffered a major blow, and although it paid enormous compensation, to the point that the chief person in charge issued an apology and even emptied his private fortune, it still became entangled in a string of lawsuits. In the end, the company’s image plummeted, and it now stood precariously on the edge of bankruptcy.

At least it had happened at a hunting festival, so it ended there. Had it occurred during battle, it could have been condemned even as an act of treason.

Because it was such a serious issue that could lead to a large-scale loss of life, Carlisle personally saw to quality control as much as to development.

“The bullets used in the last demonstration were also evaluated by the military as innovative. Isn’t that right, Major Alois.”

When no answer came to the secretary’s question, as he organized the discussion being exchanged, the eyes of the executives turned toward Vivian.

Ordinarily, Vivian would actively offer her opinion, but now she seemed distracted, idly handling several bullets.

“Ahem. Major.”

In the end, at Henry’s cough-like call, Vivian blinked as if coming back to herself.

“Oh, I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“…I asked whether the pointed bullets of the rifle gun demonstrated in the previous live-fire test were not well received by the military as well.”

“Oh. Yes, that’s right. The colonels were pleased, and the soldiers’ reactions were not bad either.”

Lifting the corners of her mouth, Vivian rolled the bullet she had been touching between her fingers and looked at Carlisle.

“I’m already getting no shortage of inquiries asking when it will be available for use.”

“It’s not bad, but it’s still a little early for commercialization.”

Carlisle indifferently turned his eyes away from Vivian, whose catlike eyes had narrowed in a strangely alluring way, and answered evenly.

After the meeting continued for some time and everyone was on their way out, Vivian, who had seemed to be leaving along with the other executives, closed the door and turned around.

“We need to talk.”

“About what.”

Vivian’s gaze sharpened as she glared at Carlisle, who did not even turn his eyes toward her.

“What you said last time, that you planned to have an heir with your wife. What did you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Carlisle answered briefly, then smoothed all expression from his face for a moment and asked in return.

“And why should I tell you about our private life, Major Alois?”

“Our…?”

At Carlisle’s choice of words, something he was not the sort of man to use, a deep crease formed between Vivian’s brows.

“Since when were you and that woman some affectionate married couple, calling it ‘our’? Carlisle, do you know you’re acting strangely?”

“Why are you being so oversensitive. More than that, I think that’s not the right kind of question for you to ask me.”

Carlisle set down the gun he had been holding. Then he tilted his head and looked at Vivian.

“Vivian, know your boundaries.”

“……”

Vivian flinched at the cold gaze and swallowed dryly. Only now did the thought that she had made a mistake flash through her mind, but the look in Carlisle’s eyes was already chill enough to show that it was too late.

“It would be troublesome if, just because we do the same work and attended the same school, you start acting this arrogantly.”

His black eyes, lifted only slightly, stared directly at her with cold precision. There was no warmth in them, nor even any distinct emotion, only a barren gaze so bleak it made her fingertips tremble.

“I was only worried about you, as a friend.”

“Major Alois, you and I are not close enough to share private matters.”

“Not close? We’re….”

“‘We’re’?”

Carlisle let out a cold breath and slightly raised his chin, as though telling her to go on. Meeting that arrogant and merciless gaze, Vivian bit down hard on her lower lip.

When no answer came, Carlisle began speaking as though he would say it for her.

“Vivian, I’ve told you many times already, don’t confuse business with personal matters.”