Chapter 168 – 8. Perisha, the Proud Lady of a Suspicious Baron

She went in broad daylight and only went to the underground water, but the afternoon had already passed outside. As I headed toward the mansion, looking at the sun hiding over the Nuyeotnui mountain range, a clear voice called to me.

“Hello.”

Hearing the clear yet resolute voice like a well-honed knife, I turned around and nodded in the same way.

“Hello.”

“Did you finish your business well?”

“Yes, the clue has been caught and I am now seeing it as the end.”

“Is that so. That’s good.”

Okay then- Cartra, who lightly grabbed the hem of her maid outfit and greeted me, looked at me without avoiding my eyes with clear eyes without a single regret, then quietly turned away.

Looking at Katra’s back as she quietly left, I could feel her attitude as if she was taking a step back from her upcoming story. Certainly Katra wasn’t an important character in this story, so I also followed her back with my eyes, but didn’t catch her.

Tumble- tumble-

Looking through the window at the mansion where the lights shimmer, I took out the parchment the baron gave me from my chest and wrote down what happened one by one. It was to report to the baron, the client, but it was also for myself.

Baron and Bindel, Bindel and Perisha, Perisha and me. The intertwined story in the baron family is gradually approaching the end. All we had to do now was run towards the end.

29

Tadak! Tadak! Crisp- Jjiik- Jiik-

“Huh, huh, huh!”

Mouth didn’t close. The cold air hit his teeth, and his exposed tongue swayed back and forth and tapped his teeth, but his mouth still did not close.

“There he is!”

Shouting sounds like thunder, Crisp- The sound of breaking tree branches that echoes clearly from the soles of your feet to your head, Jiik- Even the sound of your clothes tearing as your clothes get caught in the branches because you are digging through the grass rather than the bare shoulder.

All sorts of sounds that he would never hear at once in his life were intertwined and choked Bindel’s breath. Her heart pounded madly against her bones, and the cold sweat running down her spine and forehead drenched her whole body.

Du-du-du-du- Thunderous footsteps that could be heard from afar, but seemed to be heard right beside the ear, resonated throughout the forest. The footsteps of the soldiers and knights rang the ground, and Bindel also rang. Jureuk- The tears shed without realizing it were mixed with saliva and collected at the tip of her chin and then fell to the floor.

“Why-“

Is it because I ran with my mouth open for a long time? Although it was his own voice, a cracked voice resounded as if it wasn’t his own, but it was impossible to understand without asking the sky, so Bindel asked again in a cracked voice.

“Why did this happen?”

Kung-kung-kung- Bindel, running like a deer frightened by the stomping sound that followed him to the chin, recalled the answer to the question he asked and started running through the dark forest again, relying on the weak light.

**

“Yes, did the countess say anything else?”

The baron, who snatched the letter from Bindel’s hand, took out the letter knife and asked him, but Bindel, who did not hear anything, shook his head and answered the baron with his hands folded politely.

“Yes. He said that all messages and regards were sent in letters.”

“Hmm, yes. Good work.”

Isn’t that a message- Bindel, who knew that a useless scolding would return, lowered his head slightly in preparation, but was taken aback by the unexpected kind reply. However, he responded by bowing his head for a moment despite his embarrassment, and he lowered his posture to wait for the baron’s next order.

“It’s okay if you just leave. Ah- I have something to say about the warehouse thief.”

Gulp-

Nervous enough to worry that he might have heard the sound of spitting, Bindel politely clasped his hands together and only looked at his baron’s lips. The Baron, who read Bindel’s tension pretending to be calm, slowly solved the story as promised in advance.

“Cassano, that man caught it, it seems that several guards have been conspiring and openly stole the goods. You should be punished for that too.”

“Yes yes?”

“Did you not hear? Stupid thing. The guards you arranged were caught stealing things!”

Turning his anger on Bindel at the guards, the baron snorted and looked at Bindel. Despite the angry glare, Bindel let out a sigh of relief at the fact that the arrow against the thief was directed at the guard and bowed down again to apologize.

“I’m really sorry. I have nothing to say.”

“I wondered if you were behind it because the guards were openly messing with things- but the guy looked all over but there was no evidence.”

Creepy – Bindel was horrified by the fact that Ando also investigated him from behind for a while, but somehow he was relieved that there was no trace, and he bowed down to apologize to the Baron.

“I’m really sorry.”

“… No, they are clever. Seeing that it was counted by the number of boxes rather than the amount of ore, it is hard to believe that it was stolen when moving from the wagon.”

“To do such a thing… “

“After discussing with Miss Sierra and re-entering the amount of ore in the box, we talked about checking it once more, so you should know that.”

“Then it would be impossible to use the same technique, the baron’s wisdom is amazing.”

If it had been before, there would have been nothing to offend, but after learning that he was a thief, the baron, who was offended by Bindel’s flattering praise, frowned and shook his hand.

“… This is an unwritten rule, and thieves are sentenced to death for other crimes. If you get into the Countess’s ears for no reason, I’ll hear you too.”

“All right.”

“Go away.”

Bowing down at the baron’s order to celebrate, Bindel unknowingly let out a sigh of relief and turned around. Feeling disgusted by Bindel’s attitude, the baron gnashed his teeth and thought about overthrowing the board, but because he had consulted with Cassano, he suppressed his anger and followed Bindel’s back as he left the drawing room with his eyes.

Dare the dog bite the owner? Dare? The baron, who refined his rising anger into more anger, prayed that he could put this anger on Bindel’s back and prayed that things would not go wrong.

Click-

“Whoa-“

After closing the drawing room door and walking as if running, Bindel ran away to the room and exhaled a breath he had been holding in one breath as he leaned his back against the closed door. Did Bindel, who closed his eyes tightly in pain as if his lungs were pouring out, really went unnoticed or was it over? He took a sigh of relief and threw several questions at himself to organize his thoughts.

‘I don’t think I got caught, but it’s too early to be relieved. They’re the only ones caught this time, but if something out of stock in the warehouse gets caught, they’ll be caught.’

Bindel naturally thought of Cassano, remembering that even though the guards were caught, the arrows were not directed at him. Looking at the lazy, smirking daylighter, it was obvious that the guards hadn’t even touched the warehouse after being convinced it was a thief. So he must have had his tail not trampled on.

‘At times like this, being a lazy mercenary is helpful. It was useful this time.”

It was a lazy person who was unnecessarily nice and light-mouthed and wandered around the lady, but once again recalling that he had been of great help this time, Bindel lay down on the bed and took a deep breath, but that was only for a moment.

Knock- Knock- Knock- Todok- Todok- Todok-

“Ha… “

It was Bindel that made my head hurt from the sound of knocking on the window, but I couldn’t ignore it, so I dragged my feet to open the window.

A gray bird with a barrel tied to her ankle swung through the open window.

Tuk-tuk- With his beak tapping his palm, Vindel took out some grains of wheat from a bottle placed on the window sill, sprinkled a few on his palm, and then put them on the bird’s beak.

Bindel, who had watched her pick up and eat the grains of wheat with her beak, shook her head and opened the barrel as if she were familiar with the bird’s ankle.

Swoop- As he unfolded the rolled paper, scribbled letters greeted Bindel. Frowning at the familiar yet uncomfortable situation, he slowly glanced at the paper, but soon closed his eyes and sighed.

“Haaa… !”

The content of the note was simple, yet difficult. Bring as much moonlight ore as you can. It was the Dwarf’s suggestion that since he had caught enough hukou to buy a tolerable amount, he should jump out.

“Is it that easy?”

It was an offer that he would not have looked at if it was usual, but now that various situations were intertwined, Bindel honestly felt a great temptation. P.S. That the culprits of the thefts so far are the guards, and that the client looking for the goods seems to be an aristocrat.

If they were just selling it, they would have ignored it, but it was a different story if they were nobles. As a noble who risked his life for luxury and vanity, it was clear that he would purchase all the goods brought at the price the Dwarf asked for, as the Dwarf had said. No matter how much you spend there, if you do well, you might be able to take an imperial gold coin with you.

‘But the baron… ‘

Bindel, recalling the look in the baron’s eyes as he delivered the Countess’s letter just before, quietly closed his eyes. He spat out that the situation was over, but the baron’s eyes were still cold. Because Bindel had faced the baron’s violence many times, he could read the anger lurking beyond the sunken eyes. The baron had a deep resentment towards himself.

‘Do I really have to run away now?’

Kuk-kuk-kuk- he didn’t feel the pain of the beak stabbing his palm. If I was caught by mistake, it was obvious that this kind of pain would be nothing and death would come.

“Ah.”

The moment I imagined the end of death, golden hair brushed in front of my eyes. Golden hair like the sun and a scent like the sun – it seemed as if the scent of a fresh young lady tickling the tip of my nose was right in front of my nose.

“… No.”

He was someone who had to give up anyway. What would that woman have lingering feelings for? It was her foolishness, her brazenness, and her insult to her that she gave up everything and ran away holding her Perishia’s hand.

The relationship between servants and nobles is nothing anyway. The fact that we grew up together since childhood did not bridge the gap between the different environments we have lived in. Even though he showed favor, it was just Perishia’s foolishness, and it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap that had opened.

After finishing her ugly rationalization, Bindel sat quietly on the bed, admiring her cleared mind. Looking at the bird pecking at his palm, he made up his mind to throw everything and run away.

Food Deuk-

A single gray feather flew across the pitch-black night sky and fell to the window. After quietly throwing it out the window, Bindel looked at the falling feathers, drawing a line in the sky, then turned and headed towards the warehouse.

Jerebuck-

Madly nervous, Bindel hid behind a tree, furrowing his brows at the feeling of stepping directly on the soil, even though he was wearing shoes. The eyes of the guards guarding the warehouse were shining more clearly than the moon hanging in the sky.

‘Am I going to run away to the underground waterway anyway, or should I go in confidently?’

However, to take such a method, the two guards guarding the front of the warehouse were soldiers I had never seen before. They must have been the guards chosen by the baron himself, and if they sold the baron’s name and went into the warehouse and didn’t come out for a few hours, they would be reported right away.

If that happens, soldiers and knights will be released to search for it, and you will be chased by the Empire for the rest of your life. Giving up shaking his head, Bindel hid behind a tree with bated breath and watched the guards, praying that there would be an opening to squeeze through.

How much time had passed like that? Around the time when the darkness was so thick that it was impossible to see except for the torches placed in front of the warehouse, the jeobeok-jeobeok- guards began to leave the warehouse.

Kwok- Bindel listened to the guards while holding onto the wooden pole, overheard the conversation in a low voice and moved slowly.

“Then I’ll look around the shoulder of the mansion.”

“Again, I’m behind the warehouse? What number is it?”

Bindel, who had watched the guards parting ways while having a friendly conversation, ran to the warehouse as soon as they disappeared to the place they had promised, opened the door without hesitation, and went inside as if throwing his whole body.

Kung- The weak sound of the door closing and the sound of many stomping footsteps surrounded the warehouse, but Bindel, who threw his whole body, did not even hear the sound and became trapped in the warehouse himself.

Bindel, ignorant of anything, just stirred and blew away the grassy dust with his hand, then, holding on to the tightly closed doorknob, took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the center.

“Whoa-“

Bindel let out a breath filled with unnecessary tension and then, without hesitation, took out the sack from his bosom, slightly rolled up his mouth, fixed it on its own, and stroked it to activate his magic. Immediately after, he took off the lids of the boxes on the shelf and started pouring them out.

A rumble-like sound of rocks rolling spread throughout the warehouse, but Bindel didn’t care, moved the box closer to the bag and poured all the moonlight stones inside.

Tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-When the empty boxes piled up at Bindel’s feet were about as tall as Bindel’s height, Bindel lifted his sack lightly and whispered, “This is enough for the heavy feeling,” And then tied the sack over his shoulder.

“Hoo-wook-“

Even though he used space magic, Bindel regretted the heaviness he felt on his shoulders, but after promising himself that it was nothing compared to the pain and humiliation he had received so far, he closed his eyes and walked slowly, holding on to his bag.

Kiki-kung!

After opening the secret passageway with a familiar hand, Bindel descended the stairs with shortness of breath, one step at a time, silently looking at the underground aqueduct where he felt the cold today, and then slowly, very slowly, threw himself into the abyss in front of his eyes.

“Whoa, whoa… “

Even though he used space magic, the weight on his shoulders was more difficult than ever because it contained more weight, but Bindel sighed and did not stop his steps.

Jerk- jerk-

The aisle he had walked through dozens of times was particularly unfamiliar, but Bindel, who had been walking mindlessly because of the weight of his sack, realized that he had arrived at the flickering light in front of him before he knew it, and gritting his teeth, he moved his drooping legs vigorously.

“Ah… “

“Huh, please, please… “

As usual, Bindel moved forward avoiding beggars wagging his bony arm, but every time he passed beggars and crowds, he felt a chilling feeling of uneasiness and slowed down his pace.

‘Something is strange… ‘

Rising anxiety and unknown tension gripped the tired Bindel’s ankles, but Bindel took a step with the thought that he would die if he stopped here.

Cheap-

The aisle, which would normally have been full of street vendors and bullies, was empty. Glancing at each other, Bindel carefully peeked at the residents passing through the aisles, feeling the illusion that all attention was being focused on him for no reason and headed for the dwarf’s shop.

Jerk-jerk-jerk-jerk-

The more he walked, the more overlapping footsteps and the attitude of the underground residents tearing their eyes open, clearly felt each drop of cold sweat running down his spine and moved quietly.

‘I can come back now… ‘

Bindel, who was walking while looking at the floor, avoiding the gaze of those who glanced at him, raised his head in surprise at the anvil that hit his toe. There was no dwarf sitting on the anvil all the time, but Bindel, wanting to shake something off his shoulder, hurriedly put his pocket on the anvil.

“Haaa… !”

Even though he put down his pockets, Bindel let out a deep sigh as the pressure still weighed on his shoulders, and Gyeol-ri turned his shoulders and tilted his head. Several transactions were exchanged, but since the dwarves had never been so quiet, Bindel walked slowly toward the store door, forgetting the anxiety he felt in his aisle.

“Where are you?”

Wiping the bead-like sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, Bindel quietly and slowly grabbed the doorknob while wiping his wet, parted hair with his fingers.

Tup- When I turned the doorknob at the coolness that flowed through my palm, the doorknob turned with a clunk- sound.

After confirming that the door was open, Bindel rolled his eyes and worried about the new conundrum: The door opened, but where did the owner go?

“What is so dark?”

Bindel, tired of the uneasiness that constantly tormented him, spat out his words to himself and slowly looked around the store. It was referred to as a shop, but it was actually a dwarf’s house, so Bindel stood on his toes and moved his feet as carefully as possible, hoping not to break anything useless.

Beat- beat-

Bindel, who was walking on tiptoe like a thief stealing, found a weak-looking lantern in the dark, put his hand into his sweat-warmed chest, took out a box of matches, and lit it.

Bindel, who held out his hand with the smell of burns passing through his nose, suddenly felt the stuffy air and whispered quietly as he let out a lamentation.

“Why is it so suffocating when no one is there… “

Huwook-

The lantern on the desk caught fire and the match went off.

Bindel, who had been standing and watching the light that lit up the narrow store, struggled to grab his legs that seemed to be about to give up and took a step backwards without realizing it.

Beyond the brightly shining lantern, from the eyes of the baron looking at him with a cold gaze, as if looking at a dying corpse.