Chapter 58
“After crying your heart out, you must be starving, huh?”
Bahen chuckled as he watched Jeremy wolf down the stew.
The first words Jeremy uttered after laughing and crying in his father’s arms were, “I’m hungry.” He had spent so much energy crying that he couldn’t even walk properly.
In the end, Caligo had to carry him back. Hearing the loud growls coming from the boy’s stomach, Helena quietly brought over the remaining stew. Jeremy buried his face in the bowl and ate furiously.
“Hm, I can’t remember the last time there were this many kids in the building.”
“It’s not so bad, though, Captain,” Bahen agreed with a nod.
He watched Caligo closely, noting how relaxed his friend seemed. A man who had lived without a moment of peace now looked strangely at ease, especially with Eskel’s daughter by his side.
Life is full of surprises, he thought.
It was good to see his old friend experiencing some calm, but Bahen wasn’t sure how to process the changes she had brought. How should he treat her? Should he embrace the changes Helena Eskel had introduced into their lives?
He decided to leave those thoughts for later. Now was the time for fun.
He slung an arm around Caligo and Joshua, who were sitting side by side.
“You fought, made up—shouldn’t you celebrate a little? Are you just going to sit here and sulk?”
“Get off me, Bahen,” Caligo said dryly.
“Boring as ever. What about you, Joshua?” He leaned closer to Joshua with a mischievous grin.
“How about calling me ‘Father’ instead? I mean, you do spend half the year with me.”
“…?”
“If you think about it, I’m cooler and more manly, don’t you think? Haha!”
Even though his tone was playful, Joshua’s face turned deadly serious.
“That’s impossible.”
“W-What?”
“I respect you, Captain Bahen, but… the difference between you and my father is like the distance between heaven and earth.”
“…”
“There’s no one cooler under heaven than my father.”
“Are you saying I’m not cool?”
“If I had to compare… yes, you’re not.”
Joshua’s blunt remark left Bahen stammering.
“Why does this feel so familiar…?” Bahen muttered, scratching his nose and looking at Helena.
Didn’t she say there’s no blood relation between them? Then why do they act so alike? Is this even okay?
—
The mercenaries ate and drank into the late hours, laughing and talking boisterously.
As dawn approached, Bahen, noticing everyone had fallen asleep, quietly stood up. It was too late to return to their lodging.
The children who had dozed off were carried by Caligo to a room within the guild building. Bahen also offered rooms to Caligo and Helena.
Later, alone in the guild office, Bahen sifted through a pile of messy documents.
“Eskel, Eskel…” he muttered under his breath.
Primrose mainly catered to nobles, but they never accepted contracts to assassinate other nobles. The political fallout was far too risky—though there were other reasons as well.
Still, there were plenty of people willing to pay extra to have someone like Eskel killed. In other words, Helena Eskel was considered a high-risk figure by the guild.
“Helena Eskel.”
Eskel had many children, and every one of them was extraordinary—though it was meant as sarcasm. They were infamous for their notorious deeds, so well-known that their reputation preceded them.
But there was little information on Helena Eskel. She was an enigma. Though she was born of Eskel’s legitimate wife, her path was entirely different from that of her siblings.
She was a child born during one of her mother’s travels. It was said she had been frail as a child and spent most of her time recuperating.
Frail, huh? Bahen recalled Helena’s pale complexion and nodded to himself. She did look as though she might blow away in the wind.
What little information there was on her was recent and centered on events after her marriage in Frantor. Reports spoke of her significant contributions to the region, such as the development of medical facilities and the establishment of textile factories.
Why did she suddenly take such decisive actions after getting married? Was it to impress Caligo? Or did she have some ulterior motive?
“Could she be a spy for Eskel?” he murmured to himself.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case,” a voice suddenly interjected.
Helena had appeared without warning, but Bahen, ever composed, greeted her with an easy smile.
“Still awake?”
“I woke up. I don’t sleep well in unfamiliar places.”
Helena knelt to pick up some papers that had fallen to the floor.
“There’s surprisingly little information on me compared to others,” she noted.
“Yeah, maybe because you’ve been deliberately hiding it?” Bahen asked, his smile tinged with subtle sharpness.
But she remained unperturbed.
“I haven’t hidden anything. The records aren’t wrong. I’m just glad Primrose’s intelligence is this good.”
“Why are you glad about that? Because of Joshua?”
“Who knows? I might need Primrose’s strength someday,” she replied.
Bahen’s gaze grew sharper, though his tone remained light, almost playful.
“What? Are you planning to hire me for a job?”
He took a sip from the rum he’d been nursing, all the while keeping his piercing gaze fixed on Helena.
“There’s no need for that. I already owe Joshua, and I was planning to help with anything he asked for.”
“Well, since it’s Joshua who owes you, there’s no reason for me to collect on that debt, is there? I wouldn’t presume to ask for repayment.”
“And why’s that? I’m not even asking for payment.”
“Because I don’t rely solely on goodwill. Besides, this time, betrayal could be quite fatal.”
His lips curved into an intrigued smirk.
“Hm, so there is something you want from me?”
“It’s not like there isn’t.”
“And what’s that?”
“I can’t reveal it prematurely, not when the deal hasn’t even been made.”
“Haha, cautious, aren’t you? I’ll have to keep an eye on you.”
Helena, who had been listening calmly, finally spoke again.
“You’ve been wary of me from the start, haven’t you?”
“Oh? You noticed?”
“Those kinds of looks are familiar to me. I’ve grown used to them as an Eskel.”
“Ah, what a pity. If trust is already broken, I guess there’s no deal to be made.”
“Trust isn’t necessary, is it?”
“What do you mean?”
Helena responded without hesitation.
“I never intended to earn the guild master of Primrose’s trust. All we need to do is exchange what we need. This is simply a transaction.”
“So it’s a ‘transaction,’ not a ‘request’?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Her demeanor remained calm and polite as always, but Bahen couldn’t help but think, ‘What a strange woman.’ The longer he observed her pale, almost lifeless expression, the more bizarre she seemed.
“So? What could Eskel’s daughter possibly offer me in return?”
“I did think something was odd from the start,” she said.
“What was?”
“Primrose.”
“Huh? It’s a pretty name, isn’t it?”
“It always felt like a name chosen to send a message to someone.”
For the first time, the easygoing smile on Bahen’s face disappeared, replaced by a rigid expression.
“What exactly are you trying to say, madam?” he asked.
“Just as you’ve been investigating me, I’ve also been looking into you,” Helena replied calmly.
“……”
“You suddenly founded a guild, started associating closely with nobles, and from what I can tell, it seems like you’re after some kind of information from them.”
“And what’s wrong with that? Hmm, I don’t see the issue. We commoners have to be savvy to survive, don’t we? Is it strange to gather information while being careful not to offend the noble lords?”
Bahen responded with an exaggerated theatricality, almost as if he were acting in a play.
“We need to understand how the world works so we know what to do, don’t we?”
“You and I both—how about we stop pretending to be so relaxed?”
“……”
“I’m in a position where time is running out, and I think you are too.”
“……What do you know, madam?” His gaze, though free of drawn steel, carried the weight of a blade.
“About your missing wife,” Helena said.
“……”
“You’re searching for her, aren’t you?”
Bahen’s eyes deepened as he fixed his gaze on her.
“That look confirms it even more. Eskel had something to do with your wife’s disappearance, didn’t he?”
“Hey.”
“That’s why you’ve been looking at me like that from the beginning, isn’t it?”
“……”
“What I’m saying is this: I’ll help you. As someone with Eskel’s blood in my veins, I might be able to provide you with valuable information.”
Helena let out a soft sigh.
“I’m not saying this to threaten you. If you don’t want my help, I’ll leave without a fuss. I have no intention of revealing your secrets. But, as I said, I’m also running out of time. I need your strength, and you might need my name.”
“……”
“So, what do you say? Will you make a deal with me?”
Helena maintained her calm and composed demeanor as she posed the question to Bahen.
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