ESL Chapter 67

The restaurant called Modelia, located in the western part of the capital, was having another hectic day. With affordable yet delicious food and kind service, it was overflowing with customers. This evening as well, the kitchen staff and the floor employees were all moving about frantically amid the dining room packed full of guests.

“Some water, please.”

“Sure~ I’ll bring it right away~”

Modelia’s waitress, Mone, smiled brightly at the customer’s request and quickly placed a water pitcher and glass on her tray before bringing them over. Tossing her pink hair tied up in a high ponytail, she set the pitcher down on the table and flashed a cheerful smile at the seated guests.

“Your food will be right out too~”

However, her gaze kept drifting toward the men sitting in a corner. They had first appeared about two weeks ago and came every other day or every few days. Although they were dressed like ordinary people, their manner and way of speaking seemed anything but ordinary.

Rather than ordinary people, they seem more like…

Right… knights… Mone nodded as if that settled it. Among her regulars, there were indeed a few knights, and these men gave off exactly the same feeling. Until now she had sensed something off about them but, having had no particular interest, paid it no mind. Had she not received that letter yesterday from the orphanage director who had raised her, today would have been no different.

[Mone. If you notice anyone around you acting suspiciously, would you contact me at this address?]

Since Mone had left the orphanage, the director had never once asked anything of her. She had even learned only later that it was at the director’s request that she had come to work at this restaurant in the first place. The director, who had warmly looked after her at the orphanage, was to Mone like a mother — someone she genuinely revered. And that was precisely why she found herself watching those suspicious-looking men so closely.

They need to arrive before those men leave.

The moment the men had come in, she had sent a letter to the address the director had given her. She had entrusted it to the boy in the neighborhood famous for delivering messages faster and more reliably than anyone else, and he had returned in no time, describing the appearance of the person who would be coming and assuring her they would arrive soon. But when the men finished their meal and stood to leave without that person having appeared, Mone grew anxious. She quickly went to the counter and took the money one of the men held out to her. Fortunately it was a silver coin, so she put her wits to use, smiled sweetly, and said:

“That will be 84 shillings. Oh… I don’t have change — would you mind waiting just a moment?”

She had even made up the excuse of not having change and gone all the way to the shop next door to break it — and yet the person matching the description the boy had given was still nowhere to be seen. Mone clenched both fists.

If it comes to it, I’ll just follow them myself.

Having made up her mind firmly, Mone knew it could be dangerous, but the moment the men stepped out of the shop she tore off her apron and began trailing after them. She heard the shop owner calling out to her in surprise at her sudden action, but all she could see were the men — her targets. Clutching the change tightly in one hand, she followed in their wake. If she were caught, she planned to claim she had chased after them because she had miscalculated. Fortunately, it never came to that — thanks to a woman who caught her by the arm just as she was about to follow the men into an alley.

“You stop here, miss. Any further and it’s dangerous.”

Mone, who had flinched in surprise, let out a sigh of relief when she saw the long scar running down one side of the woman’s face. It was exactly as the boy had described.

“They went that way. Four of them in total. Hurry and follow — you’ll lose them if you’re not quick.”

Mone pointed down the alley and spoke urgently. The scarred woman, Lu, smiled and replied:

“Don’t worry. There is nowhere left for them to run.”

****

“You still haven’t found him?!”

Murderous intent laced Cheor’s voice as he snatched the vase sitting on the desk and hurled it at the man who had prostrated himself before him to deliver his report.

Thud!

The vase struck the man’s head and shattered into pieces; whether cut by the shards or from the impact itself, red blood began to trickle down the man’s forehead. He was Jaedeckro, the leader of the 6th Unit of the Mihael Knights — a man Cheor himself had personally selected and promoted to squad leader. Tight-lipped and, perhaps owing to having grown up in the back alleys, not particularly burdened by morality, he had handled every dirty job Cheor had ever given him without complaint. Cheor had rewarded him generously in return — money, women, and much else besides. But today, he was merely the object of Cheor’s rage.

“Draft more men if you must and find Luciel!”

At Cheor’s furious cry,  Jaedeckro — who had not so much as groaned after being struck by the vase — slowly opened his mouth.

“To draft more men… we would need to move other squads as well.”

“……”

Crunch!

A sheet of documents was mercilessly crumpled in Cheor’s grip. Nothing had been going his way lately. Luciel had vanished without a trace — not even a glimpse — and contrary to the words of that cunning woman who had told him to trust only her, Jacques Rombel remained utterly unshaken. So long as Jacques refused to move, there was no way to mobilize the knights, and that irritated Cheor all the more.

On top of that, that bastard Zakar is camped out at the place where the hostages are being held, saying he’ll catch the red-eyed woman… No, wait — with him there, that place is at least safe.

Come to think of it, without rescuing the hostages, Luciel had no chance of winning. Not only would he be unable to clear himself of the false charges Cheor had pinned on him, but even if he could — what good would it do when every faction loyal to him had been crushed? Feeling his fury ebb, Cheor smiled coldly.

He’ll definitely come to rescue them. I just have to catch him then. Whether it’s that bastard Luciel or that red-eyed woman.

Having finished running the calculations in his head, Cheor looked down at  Jaedeckro, who was still prostrated and bleeding, and said:

“Redirect all the search units to where the hostages are being held. Luciel will definitely show himself — don’t let him slip away. This is the last chance I’m giving you.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“And on your way out, tell that woman waiting outside to come in.”

“…Yes.”

Jaedeckro exited the office and quietly closed the door behind him. The spot where the vase had struck his forehead throbbed, but he left the blood flowing as it was. It wasn’t a wound serious enough to kill him, and the bleeding would stop on its own in time. Once it clotted, he could wipe it away. But when a handkerchief carrying the heavy scent of perfume touched his forehead, Jaedeckro looked down at the woman now standing before him.

“Oh my~ Squad Leader! Are you all right? Look at all that blood~~~”

A beauty with copper-colored hair, dusky skin, a slender waist, and full, shapely hips had raised her hand and was pressing the handkerchief to his wound.

“Merina…”

When Jaedeckro called her name, Merina replied with that characteristic smile of hers — vulgar yet irresistible.

“It seems our Excellency is in quite the temper~ If he’s throwing things at you, Squad Leader~ he must be rather rough today.”

Between her painted red lips, a red tongue darted out and lingered. She was so intoxicatingly provocative that one could hardly resist the urge to pounce on her then and there. In the face of such a woman, the man suppressed something rising within him. She had first appeared to seduce Jacques Rombel — and yet the first man she had actually been with was Jaedeckro.

Just another easy woman… — that was his thinking when he had slept with her on a whim, to slake his lust. She had seduced him first, after all. But the night he spent with her had brought him a pleasure he could not forget. She was unlike any woman he had ever held before — the sensation was altogether different — and he had plunged madly into the ecstasy her body gave him. But she had not been satisfied with him alone. Not content with having been with the other squad members, she was now sharing her bed with His Excellency as well.

“Take care of that wound, Squad Leader~”

Jaedeckro watched with a fixed, intent gaze as Merina sauntered into the office, swaying her hips. Perhaps feeling his eyes on her — just before she went in, she turned slightly and her long, dark lashes fluttered in a beckoning flutter. Then the door closed. Or rather, she must have thought it had, but because he had quietly wedged the toe of his shoe into the gap, the door did not shut fully and left a small crack.

“……..”

Jaedeckro pressed her handkerchief to his wound and leaned against the wall beside the office, listening to the sounds that drifted through the gap. The tearing of fabric, the sound of a belt being undone, then the low groan of a man and the cries of a woman spilled out in succession. His gaze moved slowly toward the narrow opening. Through it, Merina came into view — on all fours on the carpet like a dog, receiving Cheor. Cheor was moving his hips roughly, spitting out profanities too vile to repeat, while she cried out in every manner as though she might die from pleasure. Each time his palm came down hard on her dusky, supple backside, Merina shuddered with ecstasy and begged for more. And at some point, her gaze — glazed over with pleasure — drifted to  Jaedeckro.

‘…….’

The look in Jaedeckro’s eyes watching her turned fierce. It should be him who could hold that woman who was now darting her tongue out toward him and running it over her lower lip. For that, he felt he could do anything she asked of him.

Meeting that look in his eyes, a strange smile crept onto Merina’s lips. He would not be able to defy her words anymore. She watched the back of Jaedeckro as he quietly pulled away and disappeared, a satisfied smile on her face — which then shifted to a sharp, cold expression.

Seeing that man, my skills haven’t diminished… damn that knight commander…

Merina cursed inwardly as she thought of Jacques, who had not fallen for her, and then let out a near-swooning cry as Cheor thrust into her roughly. For now, she needed to focus on this man using her to vent his stress. To take what that person desired, she needed to keep him in a good mood. Merina began moving her hips actively to heighten Cheor’s pleasure. A thick, sultry heat coiled through the office.

*****

‘How peaceful…’

The garden of the Crown Prince’s palace, wrapped in lush green, was quiet and beautiful. The birdsong that broke the silence from time to time sounded like music. The peace she had not felt in so long was welcome, and yet wondering if it was really all right to feel this way, Lea looked over at Luciel. He was reading through the documents Thomas had brought; his golden hair glinting in the sunlight, his jewel-like emerald eyes, and his sculpted, fair face blended with the beautiful garden scenery, making him look like a spirit.

‘He really is so, so beautiful.’

Just as Lea was purely admiring his beauty, Luciel felt her gaze and looked up.

“What? Are you bored?”