Chapter 12. Hoping He Doesn’t Become the Villain

It was just as Baron Vulti was entering the trading company.

“Baron.”

A man with a friendly smile approached him.

Baron Vulti looked at the man with displeasure. He wasn’t happy to see someone who worked at the night market appearing in broad daylight.

“I came to see you, Baron.”

“You came all the way here? I told you not to wander around during the day, yet you’re out again. Should I cut off those legs to keep you in place?”

As the man was someone who never listened well to his words, Baron Vulti looked at him as if he would really cut off his legs, but the man countered with a sly smile.

“If I had no legs, I’d still come out crawling. Please think of it as market research for my business.”

Saying this while exaggeratedly bowing, Baron Vulti looked down at him with discomfort before turning away.

“I had something to ask, but since you haven’t been visiting the market, I had no choice. Please spare me a moment.”

The night market, or more deeply, an illegal trading market, but the man, Wei, pretended to be speaking of an ordinary market.

“What is it?”

Baron Vulti turned around at the entrance because the person he was meeting inside the trading company was an extremely important individual.

“When will our status be restored?”

“You came all the way here to talk about such nonsense?”

“Baron, we’ve been trusting only you. How is that nonsense?”

Wei had been waiting for Baron Vulti, anticipating the day he could step into the light. And there were quite a few others like him.

Though he was a merchant immersed in the night market, Wei never dabbled in illegal activities. Since he could gather enough taxes to pay Baron Vulti without doing things against his principles, no one could touch him.

Baron Vulti imposed especially high taxes on Wei, but Wei’s business acumen was so good that he could even help others in need. Moreover, because of those who gathered around him, the illegal night market had split into two factions. Though they wanted to get rid of him, they kept him around because they coveted the income he generated.

“I’ll take care of it if you just wait patiently.”

“How long do we need to wait?”

Baron Vulti glared at Wei with displeased eyes. He had an important matter ahead, and this fly was annoyingly buzzing around.

When Wei showed his determination not to back down until he received an answer, Baron Vulti signaled to his knights.

Two knights who were guarding him positioned themselves behind Wei.

“It won’t go beyond this year.”

As a final warning, Baron Vulti placated him gently.

“You said this year.”

Wei smiled and backed away. As the knights looked to Baron Vulti for instructions on how to handle his movement, the baron withdrew his extended hand.

“Don’t wander around during the day.”

As the knights obediently withdrew, the area around Wei became empty again. When Baron Vulti entered the store, the smile on Wei’s face disappeared.

“Baron, you said the same thing last year.”

Whether he had no interest in their restoration at all or was unwilling to let go because of the income Wei generated, only the baron knew.

Wei scratched his head.

“I can’t grab the baron by the collar and tell him to keep his promise, so let’s see.”

It didn’t seem like the baron would restore his status. So Wei recalled which trading companies he had visited so far.

He knew very well that commerce was the field where he could showcase his skills without reservation and gain recognition.

In that sense, he had been considering another home that would cherish and love him.

“Indeed……”

No matter how he weighed his options, there was only one place.

“Jellisto Trading Company.”

Count Jellisto, who had advised and helped him not to be consumed by darkness, and his daughter whom he had met recently, were perfect.

* * *

Elena planned to finalize matters with Baron Vulti and Spark Trading Company today.

That’s why she was preparing to go out even before Ginny came to wake her up.

“I need to shake them enough so they can’t touch Jellisto Trading Company.”

Though she wanted to bring them down, doing so would collapse the commercial axis that Spark Trading Company had maintained, causing chaos until things settled again.

With so many tasks already flooding into Jellisto Trading Company that her father couldn’t rest even for a day, completely shutting down Spark Trading Company was something she should do when she resigned as an aide.

As Elena was combing her hair down, she removed the strands stuck to her cheek due to the wind blowing into the room.

“Where did this wind come from?”

If Ginny had come in, she would have opened the window to ventilate, but that wasn’t the case. Elena approached the window curiously.

Elena was startled by a hand that suddenly appeared, gripping her comb tightly.

“We meet again.”

The man who appeared waving his hand from side to side wasn’t a stranger.

“I told you we should never see each other again.”

How could the person who made her play that ridiculous game at the night market and gave her a towel come here?

“They say the more you say that, the more fate creates tight bonds of connection.”

Elena corrected the error in his statement.

“It’s not fate that brought us together; you came looking for me.”

“My getting to know you, Miss, is also fate.”

Taken aback by his brazenness, Elena looked at the windowsill.

The way he climbed up the tree and balanced with one foot on the windowsill looked precarious yet strangely stable.

“I came because I have something to say. I wonder if I appeared when you were about to be in great danger?”

“For example, when I come out after bathing and change clothes?”

Elena shook her sleeve demonstratively.

“You’ve invaded at a very stable time.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

Elena pondered what to do with this uninvited guest who so boldly appeared. Should she push him away and close the window? Or should she shout and call for a knight?

“I don’t need to be polite to a thief, right?”

“I was just about to suggest you speak comfortably as well.”

How could someone be so consistent! The more Elena conversed with him, the more she wondered if he really belonged in the illegal night market.

“Why did you sneak in?”

“I came because I wanted to talk with you, Miss.”

“What about?”

“Before getting to the point, I should reveal that I have a connection with Jellisto Trading Company.”

“What kind of connection?”

There were hundreds of customers who visited Jellisto’s main store every day.

“When I had no money and was suffering from hunger, I received a small help. I was told that money obtained through improper methods is tainted, and goods could become knives aimed at me.”

“Who said that?”

“The gentleman did?”

“Which gentleman?”

“The good person who bought me warm bread and gave me advice that helped me set new guidelines for my life.”

She wondered who it could be, and a face briefly appeared and disappeared in her mind.

“Father?”

At Elena’s question, Wei smiled and nodded. Just as he was about to get to the main point, a knock on the door reminded them both of their current situation.

“Miss, are you awake?”

Hearing Ginny’s voice from outside the door, Wei frantically waved his hands.

She stared blankly at him as he urged her to answer quickly.

“Quickly tell her you’re up. She’ll come in at this rate.”

Otherwise, all his efforts to sneak in since early dawn would be wasted. He had thought that the kind-hearted Elena would forgive him for coming like this.

As he hurried her to answer, he tilted his head curiously.

“Well, she’s a maid, so she can’t enter without permission, right?”

To Wei’s question of whether that’s why she was staying quiet, Elena kindly answered.

“No.”

“No, Miss, how can you be so consistent every day……”

“Ginny enters without my permission all the time.”

Elena smiled smugly just as Ginny discovered Wei and screamed.

“Aaaah!”

“No, wait. Shh. Shh. Please.”

“Who told you to sneak in?”

Wei, who was trying to calm Ginny down, almost fell from the tree. Between him hanging from the window and Ginny continuing to scream, Elena admired the clear, high sky.

“The weather is nice today.”

Perfect weather for sneaking in.

* * *

“So you’re saying you’re a clean and pure person?”

Wei, with his entire body tightly bound in rope, tried to approach Elena on his knees but was blocked by a knight.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“But I know that night market isn’t an ordinary night market?”

“What did I sell there? I just conducted business honestly with my eloquence.”

Thinking about it, he didn’t sell any goods. What he gave as merchandise was only a towel; he neither provided nor mentioned any illegal items.

“I stand proud. My principles all came from the count.”

“Then why didn’t you enter proudly? Why sneak in?”

“You snuck in too, Miss.”

When Wei grumbled in dissatisfaction, Elena pulled up a chair and sat in front of him.

“Did you know who I was?”

“Yes.”

“Even knowing who I was, you drew me in and then sent me off safely?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re heavenly.”

Elena wondered for a moment what she had just heard. Heavenly?

“Do you mean I’m a heavenly woman?”

Originally, one would say “born a woman,” but since the feeling was similar, he used “heavenly.” Wei then shook his head firmly in denial.

“A genius merchant.”

“Ah, that’s what you meant.”