PLOM Chapter 32

<Episode 32>

On the third day, I watched the opera, which wasn’t fun at all.

On the fourth day, I attended a concert, which was insanely boring.

On the fifth day…

‘No, get your wits together. You can’t afford to be idle like this, or your relationship with the assassin butler will be ruined – and you won’t get that intel about Dian Cecht’s relics. No matter how troublesome this may seem, that possible outcome is definitely more threatening.’

Let’s stop fooling around.

I had to get everything I could from my position as Viscount Weatherwoods, right?

Let’s look back on the third day.

The third day-

“Darling, wake up. There are people here to see you.”

“Hm?”

When I woke up from dozing off while watching the opera, familiar faces were waiting for me. They looked at me like they were a little embarrassed and then laughed awkwardly.

“The play is a little… You must have been bored. Do you remember us? We watched the Berkeley Gratten duel together yesterday.”

“I was very surprised to hear that you were Viscount Weatherwoods.”

They were the sons of the newspaper president and bank owner who’d explained the Berkeley Grattens’ succession situation to me. Their boisterous attitudes from yesterday were gone and had been replaced with stiff expressions and words. It seemed that my status as Viscount was weighing on their mind.

Well, if the person they were being so careless with was the known Viscount, then it seemed deserved for them to be a little more conscious.

I yawned and tapped them on the shoulder.

“How could I forget my friends? Yes, the gentleman with the blonde hair is the son of a newspaper president…Sesh, and the black haired one here is Kwin, the son of a bank owner.”

“Well… our names are actually Yeager and Volkwin.”

“Ahaha, I was just pretending to forget.”

Mhm, those names sound about right.

“Pardon me for not being able to make my introduction yesterday, I’m Viscount Gray Weatherwoods. This is my wife, Morian Serenier. Take it easy, my friends. Oh, or are we not close enough to be called friends?”

Yeager’s eyes widened as he waved his hands.

“What? No, of course we are, how could you say that?”

“I’m glad, then. I don’t want it to be awkward. If you make me feel awkward from now on, I’ll leave immediately, haha.”

“…Do you really wish for us to speak freely?”

“I’ll pretend your question just now was a mistake and move on.”

Yeager and Volkwin looked at each other with evident surprise. Then, they made a careful suggestion.

“If you say so…then, do you have any plans for the rest of the day?”

“I do not.”

“Well, why don’t you come with us then? We reserved some seats on the deck outdoors for a few drinks, and there are some empty spots left. Ah, with Mrs. Weatherwoods, of course.”

It’s good enough to take me, but you want to take Rue with us?

‘If I take Rue…’

I hadn’t forgotten the result of the game I’d played with him last night.

Rue hadn’t been bitten even once while I lost to him 23 times in a row. Everytime I got angry and frustrated, his smile seemed to get happier and happier.

It won’t be much different in front of people.

I could just imagine Rue’s slyness and me suffering from it in public as these two people watched.

It would be awful.

“No way.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

I answered with a serious expression and turned to face Rue.

“My wife is so pretty that it’s dangerous.”

“Oh…is that so?”

Rue, who smiled coyly as he covered his mouth with his hand, tapped me on the shoulder with his other.

“Aw, she’s embarrassed.”

I felt shivers down my spine since he really did look shy.

Rue, imitating a lady perfectly without missing a beat, spoke to Yeager and Volkwin.

“I’m afraid I already have an appointment with someone. Please take care of my husband, you two.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I look forward to the next opportunity.”

Appointment? I’d never heard of anything like this. I lowered my head and whispered to Rue.

“Appointment? With whom?”

“Secret.”

Huh.

‘You’re up to something.’

I had been thinking he was being suspiciously quiet the past two days.

“Keep quiet and don’t get involved in anything strange. Alright, darling?”

I tried to ask him to not cause any unnecessary trouble, but at that point, I was already being taken away..

“…well.”

We left the opera hall and headed downstairs.

There was a small corridor on the middle floor of the left rear of the Black Ragel, which was perfect for enjoying a cup of tea while looking at the sky.

As soon as we sat down, Volkwin began speaking.

“Gray- can I call you Gray? You and wife seem to get along really well.”

“I was very surprised, too. Serenier is one of the most historic families in the Astrosa kingdom, right? It wouldn’t have been easy to come so far. Your wife must really love.”

I looked at Yeager with a little surprise.

“Do you know my wife’s family?”

“Well, when I was young, I went to study in the northern union, and goodness! The culture there was fantastic. In particular, the Kingdom of Astrosa was like the heart of Northern Continent’s culture, so there was a lot to study.”

Then he started talking about his travels from his study abroad for a while.

The intel and power of information that Yeager held as the son of a big newspaper company was truly astonishing.

“You know, because of the North Deus Mountains, the cultural exchange between our Penrotta Empire and the Northern united continent is not good, right? My father wants to establish a branch there. The magic war is over, so if we go there first and take roots, the momentum will definitely make it a success.”

“…you must interact with people from the northern continent on a daily basis, don’t you?”

“You could say that, haha. The number of professors we sponsor in the cultural studies department in the northern continent are over 20. Gray, make sure to contact me when you have a baby – isn’t the culture of the northern continent all that the nobles are about these days? I happen to know a very popular foreign languages teacher from there.”

A professor that studies northern continental culture. They would then also be familiar with information about aristocratic families such as Serenier.

‘The Serenier family must be related to Rue.’

If he said there was no problem using their identity, then the connection between the two must be very deep.If I digged a bit deeper into this, I might find clues about Rue’s identity. I asked for it naturally as if it was just a passing remark.

“If one of your professors could be introduced to us, I’m sure my wife would be elated.”

“Well, it’s not that difficult. Between friends.”

“Oh I’m grateful you say that. Speaking of which, since you talked about professors, have you ever taken a lesson in treasure exploration?”

“Treasure exploration…are you talking about archaeology?”

“No, well, for example, the relics of Dian Cecht.”

At that moment, a weak sense of vigilance appeared in Yeager’s eyes.

‘Do you know something?’

It seemed I needed to lower their guard first before getting any useful information.

I moved ‘seven mystery treasures in the continent for children’ in front of them. Rue had been reading this next to me while I was dozing off.

The lady’s handbag that he was wearing was so small that as his husband, I was carrying it.

“My wife seems to have become interested in this book. Since she’s originally from a faraway land, she must not find many things to enjoy here. I was thinking to go on an exploration trip with her, if I could.”

Only then did Yeager’s awkward expression break down a little.

“Exploration? Oh my…Gray, you’re so…”

“He’s very pure.”

“Yes, Volkwin. Our new friend Gray here seems to be very innocent. To the point where I’m a little worried for him.”

Are you just joking or ridiculing me?

Yeager, who was sweeping his chin as if he was worried, lowered himself slightly and whispered.

“Simply put, it’s better to put aside the idea of these fun exploration trips with your wife. Dian Cecht’s relics are dangerous. Well, to be exact, they’ve become dangerous recently. For some reason, they’ve been getting targeted by dangerous people.”

The target of dangerous people.

‘This is it.’

Those few short sentences were enough to confirm my hunch.

‘The dangerous people Yeager is talking about most certainly includes the client.’

In particular, the client was more likely to be snooping around other places besides the Weatherwoods family. There are as many as five relics left behind by Dian Cecht.

It was eye-opening news, but I should not express deep interest. Yeager seemed to be exceptionally sharp, and could probably incur suspicion from me if I did.

As I’d heard a legend, I quickly drew in another piece of information to seem like a complete outsider to this business.

“Target? No way…then, is it true that you become immortal if you gather all five of the relics?”

“I don’t know that much. Anyway, it’s dangerous, so you should look for something else fun for your wife and yourself.”

“Why is it so dangerous anyway? It sounds pretty exciting. So who are these dangerous people? Is it the royal family? Or some secret organisation?”

“Ahaha, you sure have a childlike side to you, Gray. Secret organisation? I remember using such words when I was a kid! haha.”

Unlike Volkwin, who burst into laughter, Yeager’s expression became strange. Volkwin lowered his voice with a questioning eye.

“What’s the matter, Yeager? Is this really connected to the royal family or some secret organisation?”

Way to go, Volkwyn! Ask more! More!

“That-”

Yeager, who was about to say something, clapped his hands and closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh.

“…That’s enough! Don’t try to put me in danger, you punks. Even if I die, I have to die only after seeing my kid get married.”

“Ha! You have to get married first to say something like that, Yeager.”

Marriage? It just so happened that the perfect topic came for me to say something.

“What about Jean Berkeley Gratten?”

Hey guys, back with another update. I think I’m going to only update this novel for a while, it makes me happy. I got waitlisted for the uni I applied to, and truthfully I don’t think it’s going to work out this time. I know things like this happen, but I’m still somewhat sad and feel bad.

I have a plan in mind since I expected this already, and I’ll probably take a gap and go next year, but it still somewhat stings. Oh well, Inshallah I’ll get through this easily as well.