LDPL | Chapter 75

Episode 75

“…Excuse me?”

For a moment, Norman thought he had misheard. Where? Do what?

“I’m going to infiltrate the factory.”

“…Are you out of your mind?”

He frowned slightly, thinking Natasha was joking. But whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Natasha was always serious.

“You just stay here. Ivan and I will go.”

“You didn’t even ask my opinion~.”

“Do you want me to go alone?”

“Of course not. Who do you think gave the orders?”

When Ivan responded playfully, Norman looked even more confused. It was hard to tell whether they were joking or not.

“Are you really planning to break into the factory?”

“Of course. Do you have another method?”

“…Even if it’s difficult now, with more investigation—”

“Really?”

Norman clamped his mouth shut. He already knew the answer deep down.

It was nearly impossible to uncover the factory’s internal affairs through official means.

“Young Master, how do you plan to survive in this world with such naivety?”

His eyes flashed sharply at her mocking tone. Though hidden behind glasses, his natural expression was quite fierce.

“…I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure? If we get caught, you might end up in an underground prison.”

“Isn’t that the same for you?”

“Not for me. I won’t get caught.”

Natasha glanced Norman up and down. No matter how she looked at him, he seemed like nothing more than a bookish scholar.

“If I think you’ll slow us down, I’ll leave you behind. Don’t blame me.”

“Don’t worry. Just don’t ask for my help later.”

The way he immediately responded to her provocation was quite amusing. Natasha smirked.

“Good. Then let’s head out right away.”

***

The Natasha Norman remembered had always been eccentric, but she was also an exceptional lawyer.

Not only had she consistently ranked at the top of their law school, but she also had the guts to shut down anyone who tried to pick a fight over her background.

Even if he pretended otherwise, Norman had always admired Natasha.

She might have been tied to the Petrov ducal house for now, but he had no doubt that one day, she would make a name for herself.

Though Natasha had never explicitly taken a pro-commoner stance, it was natural—she herself was a commoner, after all.

So when he heard that she had somehow managed to break free from the duke’s household in an astonishing way, Norman eagerly anticipated her next move.

But when she chose to become a divorce lawyer, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed, even though he knew it was the best choice for a freelance attorney.

Only nobles could afford to hire a “lawyer” for divorce proceedings. Whether before or after leaving the Petrov family, she was still working exclusively for nobles.

Perhaps that was why he had been so aggressive when they reunited.

Norman had tried to force his ideal vision onto the person named Natasha. And when he failed, he became frustrated.

Even so, in his mind, Natasha was still, above all else, a lawyer.

“Huff, huff…!”

What was a lawyer?

Wasn’t it someone who sat at a desk, organized documents, and debated in court when necessary?

“Gah—hngh—huff…!”

“Young Master, do you think we’ll reach the factory in this lifetime at your pace? You’re unbelievably slow.”

But then, why—

Why was Natasha, of all people, climbing this sheer cliff without any trouble, just like the man beside her?

“Ugh…!”

“Every other path is guarded, so this is the only way in. Oh well~.”

She sounded as if she were concerned, but the mockery in her voice was clear.

Normally, he would have snapped back, but now wasn’t the time. If he lost focus, he might fall straight to his death.

Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.

He repeated the words in his mind and reached up for another handhold.

Crack!

“Huff!”

Thud!

The rock he grabbed broke loose, making Norman sway dangerously. He had nearly fallen.

“Wow, that was close.”

“Th-Thank you….”

He awkwardly thanked Natasha, who had grabbed his hand.

Her hands….

Unlike his own soft palms, hers were rough and calloused.

And despite using one arm to hold him, she looked completely unbothered.

— Not everyone is as lucky as you.

Only now did he start to understand what she had meant.

“Can you keep climbing?”

“…Huh? Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

Norman forced himself to answer, pretending to be composed.

When they finally reached level ground, he all but collapsed onto the dirt. His arms trembled, and he gasped for breath.

“Huff… huff… huff.”

“How long are you planning to lie there?”

At Natasha’s sharp remark, Norman barely managed to stand.

“Follow quietly.”

She raised a finger to her lips in a ‘shh’ gesture. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

“Ivan.”

“Got it. I’ll search from the top floor.”

“Send a signal if you find anything.”

“Okay~.”

In an instant, Ivan disappeared. Now, only Natasha and Norman remained.

“There’s a low chance of finding anything on the lower floors, but we might get information from the workers. Let’s check step by step.”

It was an impressively well-coordinated plan.

In the end, Norman couldn’t hold back his question.

“Sunbae.”

“Hm?”

“Have you… done this kind of thing often?”

Natasha casually nodded.

“…Before joining the Petrov house?”

“Well… before, after. And even now, apparently.”

“Why?”

As he continued pressing, Natasha turned to look at him.

“I didn’t know our junior was so interested in me. But you’re not very perceptive, are you?”

At that, Norman shut his mouth tightly. Satisfied, Natasha led him inside.

Although the magic factory was technically under the jurisdiction of the Mage Tower, it was still a factory, meaning that no particularly skilled technicians were required.

Except for the person in overall charge, ordinary workers were hired to do the jobs.

As a result, security wasn’t particularly tight. This was because the factory only produced goods up to the stage before magic was imbued into them—the actual enchantment was performed at the Mage Tower.

If the items had already been enchanted, it would be a different story. But there were almost no cases of people targeting the factory before that stage.

Natasha walked forward without hesitation.

Norman merely followed behind her, yet somehow, they never ran into anyone.

‘Is there no one inside the factory?’

That couldn’t be. A factory that wasn’t operating was a massive financial loss.

‘Then how on earth…?’

Natasha shouldn’t have been to this factory before.

So how was she managing to avoid all the guards so perfectly?

At that moment, Natasha let out a quiet sigh and pointed at a ventilation duct attached to the wall.

“Get in.”

“Huh?”

“Hurry!”

At her urgent command, Norman instinctively shoved his body into the vent.

It was quite narrow, but fortunately, he was on the slimmer side for an adult male, so he barely managed to fit inside.

“Sunbae, why are we—”

“Shh.”

At Natasha’s hush signal, Norman quickly shut his mouth.

And just then—

Step, step.

“Another injury in Sector B?”

“How many times has it been just this month…?”

“Every time I go near that area, I feel like my body gets weaker. Is it just my imagination?”

“Must be. You think something could go wrong just from being in there for a moment?”

The guards strolled past the ventilation shaft, chatting idly.

A chill ran down Norman’s spine.

They had almost been caught.

Holding their breath for a while, they waited until the footsteps faded into the distance, leaving nothing but silence around them.

“Let’s move. Go forward.”

“Through here?”

“Yes. Quickly.”

Under Natasha’s urging, Norman started crawling through the dark ventilation shaft.

The dust or whatever else was touching his hands felt disgusting, but he had no room to complain about that.

As he continued moving along the vents, he realized they were now navigating the ceiling above the building. Occasionally, he could see people walking through gaps in the ventilation grates.

‘Full-body protective suits… goggles covering their eyes…’

There was definitely something unusual up ahead.

A sign in the hallway read “Sector B.”

Natasha whispered to Norman in a low voice.

“Close your eyes and cover your nose and mouth with your sleeve.”

Natasha had some resistance to poison, but Norman had none.

Though confused, he followed her instructions without question.

Not long after, the ventilation shaft was filled with smoke.

A suspicious pink haze swirled through the air inside.

“…So! Please wait just a moment!”

“…Minutes! A 10-minute break will be given!”

Through the gaps in the vents, voices of workers could be heard. Natasha observed the scene intently.

A massive boiling cauldron released clouds of smoke into the air.

Although the ventilation system was trying to expel it, the interior was still thick with fumes.

‘Is this the source of the contamination?’

She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was clear that it was slowly killing the workers.

The grain soaked in water containing this contaminant was already highly toxic.

So those directly inhaling the fumes couldn’t possibly be unharmed.

‘Will he be okay?’

Natasha glanced at Norman, who was crawling forward with his eyes closed.

“Pwah!”

The moment they reached a spot where the smoke had cleared a little, Norman gasped for air.

His eyes stung from the unidentified fumes, and tears streamed down his face.

As he wiped them away with his sleeve, a sharp sting made him silently scream in pain.

“Ugh…”

“Well, at least it was worth the effort.”

“Huh?”

“Down there. That looks like the innermost room in this entire facility.”

At Natasha’s words, Norman barely managed to squint through his irritated eyes.

Indeed, the space below them looked far more luxurious than anything they had seen before.

“It looks like the supervisor’s office.”

The only mage in this factory—the direct administrator from the Mage Tower—resided here.

“…It seems normal at first glance.”

“I bet there’s something in that desk drawer. Or maybe in that safe.”

Both were possible.

There was no way the supervisor was unaware of what Natasha had already noticed about the factory.

There had to be related reports somewhere.

“Can you open it?”

“The drawer looks like it could be forced open. The safe is the real problem…”

There was no telling what kind of traps might be hidden inside the room.

Their opponent was a mage. And mages were unpredictable lunatics.

‘Denis, I’m sorry.’

For a brief moment, she mentally apologized to Dennis, who had just been labeled an unpredictable lunatic.

“Alright. Here’s the plan.”

Norman sent her an uneasy look.

“I’ll create a distraction. You find the reports.”