Chapter 16

Woof! Woof, woof!

“D*mn mutts, at it again!”

Hungry dogs began barking all at once. Aleina Meolin irritably yanked the curtains open. The constant barking day and night was driving her to the edge.

The dogs were trained to obey only Marquis Meolin. Aleina had no choice but to complain.

“Ugh, really!”

Just thinking of her father made her grit her teeth.

She didn’t care about his cruel hobbies—it wasn’t her who suffered. 

But the weekly Carnivals drained the family, and selling the collection just to cover next month’s living expenses was exhausting. Still, looking back, those were better times.

Carnival was closed now. Aleina wasn’t fit to inherit the role of Carnival’s host from her father. The Marchioness Meredith was no better.

Most of Don Slafdi’s collection was illegally acquired, so there was no way to sell it off. The King had turned a blind eye to Carnival’s operation, but only up to exchanging checks at the royal bank.

‘What do I do with all the stuff we already have?’

The basement was full of all kinds of nonhumans and slaves. With no money, they’d starve to death. But then, how would she dispose of the bodies?

Just thinking about how to handle everything made her head ache, and now the dogs were barking again, pushing her to the brink. Aleina scowled and looked out the window.

That was when she spotted a small lady standing upright with a parasol. Long black hair trailing down, she stared expressionlessly at the barking dogs beyond the gate—a celebrity known to everyone in Brinita.

Aleina squinted to confirm her face, then covered her mouth in shock.

‘Sabina D’Vialis?’

She hid behind the curtain for a moment, then peeked out again.

She had gone to confront that foreign man earlier, unable to contain her agitation. The man had looked a bit troubled, but skillfully blocked everything Aleina said and sent her away. She’d gone to suspect him, even though he wasn’t from Brinita, for a reason.

The check was missing.

The slave boy was delivered, and the contract remained. But the check that should have been with the contract was gone. Five hundred forty million! If she had that check, she wouldn’t have to worry about how to manage expenses right now.

This morning, Aleina was convinced the foreign businessman had done something to her father and taken the check back. So she threatened to tell Sabina, saying she’d get in trouble if she didn’t come clean.

But Ashton Bryant, that man, skillfully refuted everything. He asked if Marquis Meolin’s symptoms could only be caused by magic, then showed his Retona passport and ID, saying he couldn’t be a magician. He even said he could bring in the broker who traded Solvent sand as a witness.

「And Brinita registers and manages all attribute magicians, right? You could just check the records.」

…Besides, that’s not something a culprit would say.

In the end, she returned home empty-handed, and a few hours later, Sabina D’Vialis came by, apparently to speak for that man.

Aleina wanted to refuse Sabina’s visit. She had the right, since Sabina hadn’t sent word ahead. But a few minutes later, the butler handed her a note from Sabina, and her attitude changed instantly.

The note read:

『I deeply regret the trouble caused by my partner and wish to offer appropriate compensation.』

Aleina quickly checked her appearance in the mirror.

“Lock up Dad wherever, now! Mother’s not in her right mind, so I’ll meet her myself.”

She wasn’t stupid. She knew Sabina D’Vialis couldn’t possibly mean that apology.

But did sincerity matter now? The phrase ‘appropriate compensation’ was the key. Sabina was a great heiress in Brinita. The point was how much money she could extract without offending her.

Aleina hurried the maids to prepare for the guest. Fortunately, the orangeade was just finished.

After barking orders and acting as if nothing was wrong, she sat in the drawing room. Sabina entered and sat opposite her, wearing a black dress that looked hot for mid-June, but not sweating at all. Her eyes were so large her lashes seemed to flutter slowly.

“Aleina.”

Sabina spoke politely. Aleina pressed her palm with her fingernails to keep from scoffing. Sabina was bad at remembering names—she could remember family names, but not first names. In fact, Aleina would bet Sabina had forgotten her name until thirty minutes ago.

But how did that man even remember Aleina’s name?

The truth was, Sabina wasn’t protecting ‘that man’—she was protecting the slave boy, Helio, though Aleina couldn’t know that.

Aleina masked her feelings and offered a friendly hand.

“Nice to see you, Miss D’Vialis. When was the last time? It’s been so long. You’ve become even more beautiful.”

Sabina’s face clearly showed she wanted to skip the compliments.

“I heard you went to see Ashton Bryant.”

Her tone was frank. Aleina’s eyes briefly flashed with displeasure. There was a huge gap in wealth between D’Vialis and Meolin, and D’Vialis was far more respected. Walter D’Vialis had had a tremendous impact on modern history. But Meolin was an old Marquisate family, while D’Vialis had only received a Barony in Walter’s generation.

So, Sabina not using polite speech was naturally irritating. Right now, Aleina was in a more desperate position and couldn’t point out Sabina’s rudeness, which made her feel even worse.

“…Well.”

Aleina hesitated a little. Sabina’s silver eyes calmly glittered as she continued with what she’d prepared.

“In fact, when I first heard the news, I was surprised and confused. The Carnival mask is a promise not to recognize each other outside. Yet you went to find him.”

“That’s—”

“Quiet.”

Sabina’s voice was so firm that Aleina was cowed into silence.

“Your father used a magical mask to protect himself, changing his voice and face every Carnival. Even when delivering auctioned goods, Carnival guests used their real names, but your father always signed as ‘Don Slafdi.’ Still, no one ever tried to dig into your father’s identity. It was a courtesy to the host who gave us a wonderful Carnival.”

“Are you scolding me?”

“Why didn’t you show courtesy to a Carnival guest?”

Aleina was unnerved by Sabina’s innocent expression.

“Really. Did that man tell you everything?”

“Marquis Meolin didn’t reveal that he was Don Slafdi. The contract is still valid.”

“You and your contracts. That man took the check, you know? If he intended to fulfill the contract, he should have left the check.”

“Why are you so sure Ashton took the check?”

Aleina couldn’t help but flinch at that. There was no real evidence Ashton had taken it. She only suspected he wanted to cancel the deal after spending such a huge amount. When she hesitated, Sabina’s monotonous voice struck her in the chest and made her ears burn.

“If you’d talked to him, you’d know. He’s a foreigner.”

“Oh, because he’s from Retona, he’s not a magician. Does the great scholar, like you, Miss D’Vialis, know that there’s no real racial distinction between Brinitans and Retonans?”

Aleina said it out of stubbornness, but she’d accidentally hit the heart of the matter. Sabina didn’t bat an eye.

“Yes, Ashton could be from Brinita. He could be a powerful magician, strong enough to do that to your father and take the check. But if so, why would he leave Brinita for Retona?”

Aleina couldn’t counter and bit her lip.

Sabina’s argument was pure common sense. All the countries around Brinita coveted the nation’s top talent, but almost none ever left. The moment a magician defected, they lost access to the Brinita Grand Library. No magician wanted that.

Especially, if he were a magician powerful enough to destroy someone instantly, the state would do everything to prevent his departure. There were endless means to do so.

Just like how the state provided Sabina D’Vialis, sitting across from Aleina, with enormous research grants every year.

If Ashton were a Brinita-born magician, he’d have no reason to give up all that and move to Retona. Even with little insight, that would be foolish.

Sabina watched Aleina’s flushed face and sighed.

“But aside from the rudeness you showed Ashton, he was rude to you too.”

“…”

Her gloved fingers traced a gentle circle in the air. A slip of paper fell out. Sabina lightly pushed it toward Aleina.

“And I understand your pain at losing your father’s composure overnight. I lost family before, too. On behalf of my Carnival partner, who isn’t used to Brinita customs and etiquette, I want to apologize and offer compensation.”

Aleina tried hard to hide her impatience as she unfolded Sabina’s note. But the next moment, she couldn’t help but open her eyes wide and cover her mouth. The amount was totally unexpected. Looking closer, she saw a condition.

“I can only withdraw this at Millum International Bank…?”

Millum was the country farthest from Brinita. It was almost a city-state, focused on tourism. Its specialty was commemorative coins. But oddly, its economy rivaled much larger Retona.

The reason was that money from the dark routes was laundered at Millum’s international bank.