--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few hours later.
Another customer visited the shop.
'......What's going on?'
It was unusual for two customers to visit the shop in a single day, when it was lucky to have one.
"Welcome, customer. What are you looking for?"
This customer was tall and slender, but the chest and arm muscles that flashed through the robe were solid.
The hooded man went straight to the counter without even looking around the store.
"I want to buy something that others don't look for."
A pleasant voice flowed out from under the robe hood that covered his eyes.
"What......?"
"Elise Fran's receipt."
It was the same request as Leticia, who had visited a few hours earlier.
This time, he even specified the buyer's name.
Only then did the men realize that something was wrong and exchanged glances.
It was not uncommon for uninvited guests to visit the shop, but it was not unexpected.
Occasionally, there were people like that woman and this man who asked for the buyer's receipt, and knights who came after receiving a tip from somewhere.
And they were trained to deal with such situations.
They slipped their hands under the counter and grabbed what they had hidden. Poisoned daggers.
In the midst of the imminent tension, a moment like eternity flowed by.......
"Even if you say so......"
The shop employees simultaneously drew their daggers and rushed at the customer.
"We can't give it to you, customer!"
One stabbed the man standing in front of him in the chest with a dagger.
Despite the swift movement, the man seemed to have predicted it and quickly ducked under the counter to avoid the attack.
But that was just a deception.
The real attack was when another employee standing next to him rushed to the man's side.
However, the man quickly avoided that as well, and instead grabbed the arm of the employee who was trying to stab him and pulled him in.
Thud!
With a loud noise, the employee fell and disappeared under the counter.
The employee standing at the counter ran out, but it was too late.
The fallen employee was already dying, having been stabbed in the heart with a dagger.
"I was going to try to persuade you with words as much as possible....... I can't help it."
Unlike his colleague, the uninvited guest who suddenly burst in was unscathed except for the blood splattered on his face, without even a hint of breathlessness.
The employee hesitated at the sight.
'......I couldn't even counterattack.'
They were mercenaries who had been trained to deal with emergencies.
They could easily deal with most opponents, and even if they couldn't, they could quickly run away.
But to be able to kill a colleague who had been trained like that with a single blow.
Gulp-
The employee instinctively sensed the energy of death that was approaching.
At that moment, as he was hesitating in front of his colleague's death, the man who had drawn the dagger again from the dying employee stood up.
"Do you still want to sell the receipt?"
Only then was the man's eerily beautiful face visible, hidden under the robe hood.
Even the golden eyes that shone coldly in the shadows.
Thud! Bang!
It had been 10 minutes since Idris had entered the store.
Dull noises and faint screams were constantly heard from inside the store.
I anxiously bit my lip and stared at the closed store door.
'Surely Idris isn't getting beaten up......?'
Since a peaceful negotiation using gold coins didn't work, he chose a different method of persuasion.
Idris, who had heard my story, gladly accompanied me, and with his usual leisurely expression, he entered the store alone without any other escorts or helpers.
At the time, I vaguely thought that he was a villain and a war hero in the original story, so he could easily handle two of them......
I had heard that Idris was a great mage and also skilled in close combat, but I was anxious because I had never actually seen him fight anyone.
'Could I have asked for something unnecessary?'
Just as I was about to get out of the carriage because of my anxiety,
Click-
The store door opened and Idris came out.
Contrary to my worries, he smiled his usual relaxed smile when he met my eyes through the window.
Soon, Idris got into the carriage.
"Are you not hurt...... Are you hurt?!"
I quickly checked his condition first, and then gasped when I found bloodstains on his handsome face.
I hurriedly took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the wound on his cheek, and the bloodstains were cleanly erased.
Idris chuckled and answered, leaning his face on my hand, which was holding the handkerchief.
"I'm not hurt. It's not my blood."
He mumbled, closing his eyes with his face leaning on my hand.
"If I had known you'd be this worried, I should have gotten a little hurt......"
The hot breath that leaked out between his smooth lips tickled the delicate flesh between my palm and wrist.
It felt like a cat purring.
'Looking at the size, it's closer to a beast than a cat, but......'
For some reason, my chest tickled and I unknowingly flinched my hand, and Idris, as if sensing it, opened his eyes, which had been closed for a moment.
At the same time, our eyes met.
The emotion contained in his eyes was like a darkness that would swallow me up, or a burning flame.
Only then did I realize that we were close enough to see the emotion in his eyes.
I was startled and unknowingly pulled back the body that I had been leaning towards him.
"Ah, I'm glad you're not hurt."
"......"
"And thank you. Thank you for readily stepping up even though it's a dangerous job."
Idris, who was looking at me as I moved away, let out a shallow sigh and took something out of his inner pocket and handed it to me.
It was Elise's receipt, which I had been desperately searching for.
Unlike other receipts, the receipt for illegal drugs had a unique format.
There was a photo of Elise's face printed on it, along with the person's signature and the name and effects of the poison.
'There's no meaning in a contract for an illegal transaction, so they're taking the client's identity as collateral.'
To prevent the client from revealing the secrets of the company even because of his identity.
As I marveled at their meticulousness and examined the receipt, I suddenly noticed something strange.
Idris, who was watching me, asked.
"So is this the end?"
"No, not yet."
I examined the receipt once more with keen eyes and continued.
"Idris, I'm sorry, but can I ask you for one more favor?"
Idris nodded readily without a moment's hesitation.
"Anything, if my partner wants it."
Unlike someone who always took other people's side, he was a very reliable partner.
Finally, the day of the tea party.
The front of the Empress's Palace was bustling with numerous carriages for the first time in a while.
Among them was the carriage of Rouen, the young lady of the Florence Earl family, who regularly met with Elise.
'Elise Fran must have come today, right?'
At the time when Leticia and Elise collided in front of the boutique the other day.
In the end, Rouen's position became difficult as she was left with Elise, and only the young ladies who came with her entered the boutique.
'I have to restore my relationship with Elise today.'
Leticia was receiving the Empress's support, so she couldn't go against her wishes and entered the boutique.
Elise, who might become the Duchess, was also someone she couldn't neglect.
Rouen, who got out of the carriage, looked around with hawk-like eyes. She saw Elise getting out of the carriage.
Rouen approached Elise and greeted her.
"Ahem, Miss Elise! How have you been?"
Comments
Post a Comment