“The chef seems not to have shown his skills today. I wonder if the food suits your taste.”

“It’s excellent. I never thought I would eat such fresh seafood in Karien. Your Grace’s food storage is enviable.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Landers, was it Maria who prepared this meal?”

“Yes, she made the list and personally inspected the ingredients. Isn’t that right, Maria?”

“I’m embarrassed. I simply put in a little more thought for our precious guest.”

The chef of Tartien had been preparing the food for three days for today.

This was because Schultz had insisted that nothing should be lacking.

Fresh seafood arrived at the mansion early in the morning by carriage.

Being the owner of an island, how knowledgeable must he be about seafood dishes?

Schultz, not wanting anything to appear inadequate, told Landers to pay special attention.

In all those processes, all Maria had done was look at the lobsters that arrived in the morning.

“I didn’t know Miss Maria had expertise in cooking.”

“It’s just a basic accomplishment.”

Karl stared at Maria, who was blushing disgustingly, with a face devoid of any humor.

That pretentious appearance wasn’t even funny.

He could bet his entire fortune that Maria Tartien had never set foot in a kitchen in her life.

But with her father and brother desperately packaging her like that, he had no intention of exposing the fact.

“As expected of a lady of House Tartien. Impressive.”

He slowly curled the corners of his lips into a handsome smile.

The corners of Maria’s mouth rose endlessly, and Schultz also looked at Karl with what seemed like a somewhat moved expression.

‘You should soar higher. That way, when you crash to the ground, it will be even more of a mess.’

Karl continued his meal with a gentler expression than ever before.

The taste of the premium scallop dish was exquisite.

* * *

“……This way.”

Mark Behikem, who had infiltrated as Tartien’s gardener, called Gustav into the shadows of the garden.

Gustav lowered his body and asked Mark in a low voice.

“Those two people?”

“They’re in the gardening shed. I’ve already spoken to them, but I’m not sure if they’ll cooperate. They seem to be very frightened people……”

“……We have to try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to take them out by force.”

Gustav and the gardener, Mark, exchanged glances and nodded heavily.

“Have you made all the preparations?”

Mark asked discreetly while surveying the surroundings.

Gustav nodded while patting the bulging part of his waist.

“Good. Let’s go then.”

Mark led Gustav along a path in a blind spot not visible from the mansion.

They had also agreed beforehand to use the excuse of getting lost if they were caught by someone else.

Fortunately, there were many guests at the mansion today, so the servants weren’t paying attention to the outside.

The two men safely reached the gardening shed.

Knock, knock-knock.

Mark knocked on the door with a pre-arranged signal and then carefully entered the shed.

[It’s Mark. Is anyone in there?]

Then he discreetly spoke in a somewhat unfamiliar Northern language in Karien.

But there was no answer.

Heavy silence flowed as if no one was in the shed.

Mark looked at Gustav with a bewildered expression.

Gustav narrowed his eyes and listened carefully.

No matter how many mistakes he had made lately, he was a recognized expert in Berhe.

Finding people’s presence in small spaces or discovering hidden people was nothing to him.

He carefully examined the inside of the shed.

Mark also remained vigilant, keeping watch outside.

“There you are. Why are you hiding?”

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Gustav to find a mother and daughter crouched in a corner of the shed.

“……!”

The startled pair looked at Gustav, their bodies trembling.

They definitely had exotic features.

They just shook their heads without saying anything.

Mark quickly approached and spoke to them.

[Our people. You can relax. Though he looks scary, he is not. Bad person.]

Mark wasn’t fluent in the Northern language either.

He had learned it from his grandmother when he was young and could only communicate basic ideas, and even that he had mostly forgotten.

Mark was also desperately trying to communicate with almost superhuman memory.

Once this job was finished, his family would receive enough money to go across the sea for treatment without worry.

He had already received half of the contract money, and with that money, his second child was receiving medicine and treatment.

The letter from his wife said that their child was recovering well.

And she was waiting for him to return, asking him to come back safely without getting hurt.

So he absolutely had to succeed today.

He wanted to return safely to his family, to hug his wife and child tightly.

He missed his wife who was nursing their child while waiting for his return, and he also missed his second child who must have grown a lot by now.

[If we’re caught, we’ll die. Mom and me, and Dad too!]

The girl in her mother’s arms, seemingly gathering courage, cried out in a frightened voice.

She was probably only about twelve years old, and she clung to her mother with bruised hands while showing wariness.

Mark was just as desperate.

[You must believe, my words. If not today, no chance. If you stay like this, both of you, and Dad too, can’t escape, forever.]

Mark pleaded with them, trying to persuade them.

He understood why they were scared and hesitant.

When the family’s safety was at stake, one naturally became more cautious.

But still, he hoped they would trust him now.

That’s when it happened.

Clank, clank-clank!

“I just heard some voices in here……? Is anyone in there?”

Someone shook the shed door.

The four people inside looked at each other in shock.

Mark quickly whispered to Gustav.

“It sounds like a stable servant. He’s a man who often loiters around here to slack off. I’ll quickly go and……”

Gustav raised his hand to stop him and asked,

“Is this shed usually kept locked, or is it open?”

“……It’s usually open.”

“Then he might find it suspicious that it’s locked now.”

“……”

Mark looked at Gustav with panicked eyes.

Gustav approached the door without delay.

Then he forcefully pulled the shaking door inward.

With that momentum, the person shaking the door from outside was dragged in.

“Ugh!”

Gustav didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around the man’s face and neck from behind.

Then he applied pressure and choked the man’s windpipe in one go.

With an “ugh”, the man’s body went limp.

“……!”

Gustav laid the subdued man on the floor and reassured the startled Mark.

“You don’t need to look like that. I just made him unconscious.”

Gustav covered the unconscious man’s eyes and mouth with cloth, then tied him firmly to a pillar with gardening rope that was nearby.

The entire process took less than 5 minutes.

He finished everything and turned to look at the mother and daughter.

The pair, who had been blankly watching what he was doing, started trembling again when their eyes met Gustav’s.

He slowly approached them, knelt down, and met their eyes.

The girl’s eyes were a very pretty orange color.

‘Chris, you impressively competent bastard.’

And after mentally cursing Chris thoroughly, he uttered the words he had memorized through hellish training all night.

[I have come to save you. If you trust me, you can escape from here without a single finger being harmed. Once we safely escape from here, you will be able to meet your husband and your father. Because my other companions have gone to rescue him.]

“……!”

Everyone present widened their eyes at the Northern language that flowed so fluently.

“You can speak the Northern language?”

Mark asked hurriedly.

Gustav awkwardly shook his head.

“No. My colleague made me memorize it all night, saying I absolutely had to say with my own mouth that I would save them. Just in case.”

The girl, who had been staring at them as they conversed, hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Really, you will, save, us?”

The Karien language coming from the girl’s mouth made Mark surprised once again.

No, he was getting so many shocks from all directions that his head was spinning.

“You, can you speak Karien?”

“Very, little. Learned. Here. Listening to, people talk. Little by little.”