Chapter 448 – Houses and Masks

000

Reading the letter of introduction handed to her by Artis, Fleur nodded her head lightly as if he knew her well, then pulled her kshat closer and addressed her to her.

Kshat nodded her head two or three times, just like before, and then stood up with a small smile and spoke to Cleon.

“He said he would grant permission for the excavation work in the plains area. I will fill out the necessary permission form and deliver it to Artis.”

“Thank you. With this, we can start the excavation before the regressors.”

At Cleon’s words, both Kshat and Fleur kept their mouths shut for a while, then looked at each other.

Then, Kshat smiled wryly for a while, then looked back at Cleon and talked.

“As expected, Cleon said it would be better to tell him without hiding it.”

“—What?”

Cleon asks back as if he did n’t understand the meaning of her words, but Kshat asks Cleon a question with a smile on her face her.

“Cleon-sama’s relationship with the regressors is hostile… Is that an unmistakable fact?”

“Ah… That’s right. It’s a bad relationship from Elesia. They tried to use the precious people of the city I lived in to satisfy their desire for knowledge.”

Maxwell, who tried to cause a great disaster by summoning the Beast Beast in Elesia’s living forest.

And, the Marquis of Woodnocker, who joined the plan, and… The teacher, Talcheck.

In conclusion, the three people who could be said to be the ringleaders died, and it failed to summon the Beast.

It was clear to me that they were a dangerous organization and that they had an unusual influence.

They didn’t get involved for a while, but they came to the east and bared their teeth again.

“…If left unattended, bigger troubles could happen. You guys are also cooperating with the Dark Dragon Company and Artis to stop them, right?”

“…”

Cleon looked at her a little strangely as Kshat took more time than she thought in answering her question, which she thought would come right back.

However, soon Fleur looked back at Kshat and nodded her head.

Only then did she say this to Cleon.

“The Descartes family I serve is the sponsor of ‘The Regressor’.”

At her sudden, shocking remark her, all of her party her looked at her with dazed expressions.

Sasha’s expression was so startled that she even dropped the teacup she was holding in her hand.

“Aww…!”

Fortunately, the cup did n’t fall onto Sasha’s clothes her, but some of the splashed tea ended up on Cleon’s clothes her, who were sitting next to her.

“Oh, Mr. Cleon!? I’m sorry!”

“Oh, no. It’s okay. More than that, Sasha, are you hurt?”

Then, as if Fleur was also surprised, she quickly handed her handkerchief to Cleon.

Cleon took her handkerchief and wiped her own clothes from her.

“—If you’re kidding, the quality is bad.”

And in the meantime, when Cleon, who has managed to calm himself down somehow, talks, Kshat talks while looking at Cleon with a serious face.

“…It’s true. The Cartesian family has been collaborating with the regressors for a long time. No, the Cartesian family itself can be said to have started with the regressors.”

“Then why are you telling us this? Like Laplace, are you trying to enslave us?”

When Cleon’s expression frowned, Fleur shook his head.

“It’s different. Since you know the evil that the regressors have done, you want to sever ties with them and clear up the family business.”

Kshat’s voice didn’t have the trembling characteristic of a person telling a lie.

And- Fleur’s shoulder next to Kshat must have felt worried about their secret being passed on to Cleon, and her shoulder was shaking with that anxiety.

It seemed to Cleon that she was weeping under her mask.

“On behalf of the young lady, I would like to tell you about the past and present of the Descartes family.

And, a faithful butler who says he wants to clear Cleon’s misunderstanding of her on behalf of such a master.

Cleon couldn’t help but feel strongly that they were telling the truth.

If your eyes for seeing people are shifted, it may be your fault, but-

When Cleon turned to Amelia and Sasha, they both nodded as if they didn’t seem to be trying to trick them.

“…Okay. Let’s listen.”

001

The beginning of the Descartes family dates back about 100 years.

It was not a family with a long history to say that it was a family that served as the lord of a territory.

At that time, Old Burn Descartes, a sailor, was an unfortunate man who lost all his possessions in a storm during his voyage and barely survived.

All that remains is the body and knowledge of navigation.

With the feeling of catching even straw, it was to greet him as a worker on a boat to explore and retrieve artifacts from the sea.

Called regressors, they were notorious grave robbers even at the time.

Contrary to their notoriety, they treated Oldburn like a gentleman.

The ruins to be found were in the sea, and among them there were no humans with knowledge of sailing or the sea, so they must have needed Oldburn’s help.

Oldburn helped them several times and succeeded in raising the artifact, and like the regressors, he also felt a strong curiosity about ancient artifacts and began to be drawn to them.

Best of all, every time he sells a few of them, he gets back more money than he had before the storm.

It would have been impossible not to be stunned by the miasma emitted by the artifacts that stimulates the desire for knowledge and materialism.

Even as regressors, the artifacts in the sea had more potential than the artifacts on the ground, so they must have wanted to completely win Oldburn over to their side.

The first thing they did when they welcomed Oldburn Descartes as a member of the regressor was to make him the ruler of the city.

Oldburn, who was known around as a sincere young man before being involved with the regressors, was called out with the regressors.

Using that wealth, he gradually increased his authority his, and soon he created a business called ‘Sea Dragon Company’in Eratus, with the declaration that he would make Eratus a wealthy city comparable to Asteris.

With the support of the citizens, he entrusts the management of the family of Eratus to the Descartes family in the central government-that is, the royal palace-in recognition of his exploits his in developing the city.

Originally a small wharf without a lord, Eratus developed rapidly as soon as Oldburn became the lord.

However, a certain portion of the enormous wealth he earned from his business his and the excavation of artifacts always flows toward the regressors.

And what those regressors did just a few decades ago was an incident in which they tried to burn Asteris’ huge sacred tree.

In the end, the plan failed, but it was the Descartes family who gave them shelter and gave them time to recover.

Oldburn Descartes is the grandfather of Fleur Descartes, the current lord.

Fleur’s mother died when she was young, giving birth to Fleur, and her father her also disappeared.

Thanks to this, Oldburn was obsessed with his granddaughter, Fleur, and showed a fairly soft side to her, but-

Even so, it has not stopped spending money for the evil deeds of the regressors.

And-time goes by.

When Fleur reached the age to become a lord, Oldburn handed over the lordship of Eratus to Fleur.

However, it is formal to the end, and most of the Descartes family’s property is still managed by Oldburn.

Every year, the amount of support to regressors was increasing.

And, that the money is used for their evil deeds.

Since her childhood her, Fleur had learned to fear the regressors, but fortunately she was not like her grandfather her, Old Burn.

Although he was introverted to the extent that he could not make eye contact with people and talk to them, he was a human who did not abandon his heart to resist wrongdoing.

Fleur, secretly from Oldburn, was gathering information about the regressors and passing it on to Artis.

Obviously, he may be a person who can’t do anything by himself.

Even so, she vowed to step out of her grandfather’s shadow her, along with her her most trusted friends her, Kshat and Attis.

It was that he was doing what he could to stop the misdeeds of the regressors for him, and right the wrongs of his grandfather.

002

After Kshat’s story was over, Cleon sorted it out in his head and nodded his head.

“…Fleur, I knew what you were thinking, and I knew very well what the relationship between the Descartes family and the regressors was.”

At Cleon’s words, Fleur sighed in relief.

“However, I have a question. Why didn’t you inform the central palace of the East country?”

As Cleon said, if this fact is conveyed to the center, the royal palace will immediately come to arrest Oldburn Descartes and try to extract information from him even by force.

Maybe, she’s the surest way to deal with the regressors even if she doesn’t cooperate with Artis.

“That’s because… Even in the royal palace, there are people who are in contact with the regressors.”

To Cleon’s question, Kshat answers.

“…Are you sure?”

“Yes. Besides, it is assumed that he is a fairly high-ranking official. If he informs this fact to the center without being identified. He will try to protect the regressors in order to protect himself, or he will leak information to them …”

At Kshat’s words, Cleon nodded as if he understood.

In any country, there are those who abuse their position to enjoy authority at the expense of others.

The fact that such a person existed was not surprising.

Because Cleon already knew all too well that the kingdom is more.

Amelia, too, was a little dark about what she felt about him.

“…Thank you for telling me. If you tried to hide it, you could have.”

When Cleon spoke like that with a slightly kind expression on his face her, Fleur shook his head.

“Your lady, as the representative of the company, as the head of the family, and… As the lord of this Eratus, you are the one who thinks that you should treat everyone with a sincere attitude.”

Kshat put his hand on his chest and spoke in a confident voice, as if he truly admired such a young lady.

“It would be nice if you could fix the only thing that hides your face so badly.”

“…Haha.”

When Cleon smiled at her words, Fleur slapped Kshat’s side her with both of her hands.

“I understand your determination. …Trying to right the wrongs of your family is a difficult task. But if you are determined, please let me help.”

The goals of the two may be exactly different.

However, if the fight with the ‘returners’ cannot be avoided in the process.

Even as Cleon, she had no reason to refuse to be with Fleur.

More than anything-

She couldn’t let her go against her own destiny, which her family had given her.

“Cleon-sama…”

Kshat stroked her heart as if he was relieved by Cleon’s words of hers.

Fleur ponders for a moment, then hesitantly stands up from her seat her.

Then, she cautiously reached out her right hand toward Cleon.

Perhaps her breathing had accelerated due to tension, and she could hear her breathing becoming rough.

Seeing Fleur’s awkward posture her, Cleon smiled bitterly at her, then she held her hand her.

Her hands were soaked in sweat from tension, but she didn’t care.

And- quietly. In a very small voice

“Go, thank you…”

Hearing that voice, Cleon did not miss it.

It was not necessary to point it out.

003

After that, the party tries to leave the mansion after receiving the documents prepared by Kshat.

He was standing near the entrance of the mansion, waiting for Kshat to see him off.

The Descartes family’s secret was shocking in many ways, but Cleon was satisfied with being able to confirm that their will her was moving towards good.

“…That’s amazing, Mr. Fleur.”

Amelia opened her mouth as if muttering next to Cleon who was thinking that way.

“Yes. … It’s a bit embarrassing, but even so, what they’re trying to do is tough. Even Fleur has to face her own family her – Old Burn herself.”

Oldburn was not just an evil villain to Fleur.

To her Fleur her, she was her only family her, and took the place of her parents her, who had nurtured her as her pamper her.

It’s not that he’s overprotective, but considering how he’s lived, his daughter’s death his, and his son-in-law’s disappearance, it might be unavoidable.

Fleur, too, would not be able to completely hate such a grandfather.

But, that doesn’t mean I can forgive Oldburn.

Having made that decision, she was prepared to face him.

“…Maybe I too will someday fight the people of the palace?”

“…”

Amelia’s words her were mixed with sadness.

If the people of the royal palace are ruled by Adam, they will surely continue to disturb Cleon and Amelia.

If there is no way to break the brainwashing, then of course they will clash swords and fight with weapons.

Some people get hurt, maybe even lose their lives.

“Amelia.”

“…I’m sorry, Cleon. I’m prepared.”

When Amelia smiled at her concern for herself, Cleon silently nodded her head.

Even if she doesn’t say it, she knows.

And, a commitment. It must have been what she said.

Obviously, it may have taken some time to get there.

Cleon thought that she, like Fleur, was an amazing girl who chose a difficult path.

While thinking about that, when Cleon puts his hand in her pocket-

When something, something moist, touched her hand her, she carefully took it out.

“Ah.”

When Cleon uttered such a voice, Sasha and Amelia’s eyes turned to him.

He took out a handkerchief with tea stains from his pocket.

“Ah. A while ago…”

Amelia was also so shocked by the story of the Descartes that she had forgotten a little, but she had used it to clean up Sasha’s spilled tea of ​​her.

“Uh, what should I do?”

“Originally, it would be right to wash it and return it… But I don’t know when I can come again.”

While Cleon says so, he talks to the two of them.

“I’ll go and return it right away. Wait a minute.”

“Ah, yes…! I’ll tell you when Mr. Kshat comes!”

After Sasha said that, he also nodded to her and went back the way he came and headed to the conference room from earlier.

‘By the way, the inside is a typical Eastern country building, but the outside is full of machines. …Is it based on the technology obtained by excavating the artifact?’

Considering that the goal in the East is to retrieve the artifacts that exist here and use them as a means against the Exiled Church – and furthermore, Adam.

If you help Fleur and defeat the regressors, you may be able to use the artifacts and knowledge they have gathered so far.

‘…However. For that, I have to find the infiltrator in the center.’

There’s no way that beautiful flame master tolerates evil people, so it must be that he’s good at hiding his identity.

I wish I had some clues that could lead me to track him down-

Thinking so, when you finally arrive at the meeting room and open the door-

004

“Whoa…”

After Kshat and Cleon’s party left the room, Fleur, who was still there, let out a big sigh.

When meeting people inside the house, he always wears a mask, but Fleur himself didn’t like this mask too much.

It’s stuffy because I can’t breathe well, and I sweat because it’s hot.

He had to use a straw to drink tea, and his breathing his became louder, making him look like a strange person.

So, once her people her are gone, she puts her hand on her own mask.

Press the buttons on either side near your ears.

With a clanking, mechanical sound resounding, the mask peels off.

What came out of it was the face of a woman in her late teens with sparkling amber eyes, who looked like she was in her early twenties.

In fact, considering how many years she is older than Cleon, she is unbelievably young.

“…Cleon-sama… I’m glad you’re kinder than Artis said…”

In the telegram he received from Atis, it was written that the blunt dark horse clan was going to visit him, so he had been quite nervous before meeting him.

Cleon, whom he met in person, understood Fleur’s feelings for her and even offered to help them.

I regret a little that I shook hands with sweaty hands earlier, but maybe this time I can clear the darkness of the Descartes family together with him.

“Yeah. When Kshat comes back, I’ll have to think of the next countermeasure right away.”

Saying that, he gets up and heads for the door then.

As the door slammed open from the outside—

Cleon comes inside and meets Fleur’s eyes her.

“…”

“…Eh?”

Cleon wearing glasses and Fleur not wearing a mask.

If the two of you look at each other for a while-

“Aaaaa!!”

Fleur let out a high-pitched scream as he tried to back-

With a rattle, my leg caught on the chair and I almost fell backwards.

“F, Fleur!”

If Cleon quickly jumped up and supported her on her back her, she would avoid falling, but-

It was because Fleur raised his hand up, surprised once again by the fact that Cleon came into contact with him without a mask on her.

The glasses he was wearing were ricocheting off.

Next moment.

When Fleur realizes her mistake her and looks into Cleon’s eyes to apologize.

‘Thump.’

“──?”

The feeling that something is digging into her heart her.

For some reason, my heart beat so fast that I couldn’t look straight into his face.

Cleon quickly covers her eyes and raises her body her.

“Mi-sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Ah, ah… Yes, yes…”

Stuttering, somehow making a voice like an ant, she pulled back the mask she was holding in her hand.

Take a deep breath.

Then, as if calming down a little, I picked up Cleon’s glasses that had fallen on the ground and put them in his hands her.

“It’s okay, yo. K, Cleon-sama… “

“…I’m fine too. Actually, I’m here to return this.”

When Cleon says so, he hands her a handkerchief, and she takes it with her trembling hand.

“…That, then. With this.”

“Ah, …Yes, yes…”

In such an awkward atmosphere, Cleon quickly leaves the place.

When I went outside of her room, I heard Kshat’s ‘I heard a scream, are you okay?’

Along with Cleon’s voice her saying that it was okay, the sound of the two people’s footsteps went farther away.

“Haha…”

And, only after the voice faded, Fleur took off her own mask once more.

Underneath her mask Her, unbelievably red, Fleur was breathing heavily.

“Uh, why…? My heart is… Ooh…”

Tormented that her heartbeat did not calm down at all, she looked at the handkerchief Cleon had handed to her and—

It was to bury his face in it.

‘No way… This is…’

And, did he not open his eyes to the special emotions inseparable from human beings that he could only know from a book he read one day?

That’s how I thought about it.