Chapter 280: 5-1 All was not lost

The sun shone brightly while hanging on the zenith of the sky. A beautiful day without a cloud in sight. The perfect weather for a ship to sail a long voyage.

A plainly ornate ship, yet tremendous in size, was sailing across the ocean under such fine weather. The ship was dull in colours and it flew a flag bearing a simple triangle crest. However, the contents and the passengers of the ship were nothing like what the ship’s outward appearance suggested.

“All of our important assets have been withdrawn from Sephrodia Valley, Sir,” reported a man aboard the ship, who was partially clothed in armour plating over a militaristic robe.

“Splendid,” Marduk muttered nonchalantly in response while sitting on a relaxing chair with the backrest inclined and a view of the vast ocean to behold. “I thought it would take longer, so that’s good.”

“...It’s not entirely a good thing, Sir.”

“Sometimes, we have to take what we can get.”

“Not this time. Are you aware of the degree of our losses, Sir?”

“Do enlighten me, Rackham.”

“We have millions of gold at the beginning of our operations in Sephrodia Valley. Now, we have only around three hundred thousand and a third of that is only in writing.”

“I’m no stranger to failures.”

“Aren’t you angry, Sir?”

“I was, but what good would it do me to keep being angry over this?”

Rackham sighed inwardly. “There is another… loss amidst our already massive losses. This might just be the most significant one.”

“Pray tell.”

“...Rex is dead, Sir,” Rackham reported with a heavy heart and a heavy voice.

“Is that so?”

“That is so, Sir. The reports are not wrong. I have verified the validity of this news myself, thrice. It is without a doubt.”

“Hmm, pity.” Marduk shrugged. “He was very useful and… competent, but not as competent as I wished it would seem.”

“What do we do, Sir? Should we finish the job?”

“Let it be, Rackham.”

“Let it be?” Rackham raised his brows in disbelief. “After all the fortune and resources spent on dealing with her, are we to just resign to our failures now? Rex is dead and there isn’t even a silver lining to all of this.”

Marduk snickered to himself. “I won’t say that.”

“So what now? The Fae gets to live? And what about the viceroy— formerly, that is— Rylan Grid?”

“If you want to finish the job, feel free to, but do it at your own expense.”

“Are our resources so scarce now that we can’t even tie up loose ends?”

“We are on this fabulous ship, dining on the finest dishes for every meal. What do you think?”

“Then why are we—”

“Enough of that,” came the assertive voice from behind Rackham.

“Varus,” Rackham scoffed as he glanced behind him. “I see you are no longer confined to your sickbed.”

The Seraphim emerged onto the deck from below. Though he was out of his dire state, his body was still bandaged all over. “Nothing can confine me to anything for long.”

“Not yet,” Rackham retorted.

“Perhaps.” Varus shrugged and walked over to the chair beside Marduk. Without asking for permission, he sat down beside his employer. “My wounds are healed, Marduk. Just point me in any direction.”

“No hurry, Varus,” Marduk said and took a sip of his iced peach tea with lemon slices. He even let out a gasp of delight after the cold tea washed down his throat.

“Are we seriously not going to talk about our fruitless endeavours in Sephrodia Valley anymore?”

“Our?” Varus snorted. “Brother, you weren’t even with us in Sephrodia Valley.‘

“I’m not your brother.”

“I can’t exactly call you sister now, can I? Last I checked, you have a johnson dangling between your hips.”

“You know damn well that’s not what my words meant. Don’t twist my meaning to your fancy.”

Varus chuckled. “Can’t a brother make a joke?”

“Your jokes are as cold as the northern mountains.”

“Oh, how I wish that to be a literal reality. This heat is killing me.”

“Can you take things seriously? Are we going to just cut our losses and pretend that the accursed Fae had never done us any harm?”

Varus sighed. “Listen closely, brother. We have squeezed ourselves dry in that region. All of the assets that we left behind are… inadequate against someone like that Fox-kin and she’s not the only powerhouse in the valley.”

“So we are surrendering to the one who ruined so many of our plans and operations?”

“The banners of House Valdrun flew behind her now. The High Lady and the Fox-kin are already close friends. What’s more, she also has the aid of the Aeryons, whom the leader is the cause of my confinement to my sickbed.”

Rackham clenched his fists tightly. Hearing Varus’ explanation, he was beginning to see why they had to withdraw. Even if Marduk’s influence and power were extensive and vast, it was not limitless. Marduk would come out the victor if he was fully committed but that would be at the expense of a great deal of his fortune and assets.

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“Like it or not, we blew our chances with the Fae. She’s now out of our reach in the Yorun Kingdom. I reckon it would take plenty of our reserves to have her dealt with using an outside hand and that’s not counting the burial of our trail. I say it’s around thousands.”

“Hundreds of thousands, actually,” Marduk corrected the Seraphim. “The burial of our trail may even be more costly than the hiring fee of outside hands.”

“We have our dear friend, the Viceroy, to thank for that. He has been exposed and I bet thousands that he’s willing to tell the court everything to save his own skin. If we make any careless moves now, it won’t directly expose us but a lot of our assets will be brought to the light. Do we have an understanding now, Rackham?”

Rackham clicked his tongue. “We do,” he answered, begrudgingly. “Still, this is a huge loss. What would the others think of us now that we have shown them we are not without failures?”

“Let them think of us however they want,” Marduk said and took another sip of his iced tea. “Their opinions are not worth even a copper piece.”

“And should they decide to get so bold, I’ll be more than happy to remind them that they will never amount to anything to us,” Varus said, cracking his knuckles.

“What he said,” Marduk muttered. “Anything else, Rackham?”

“...No, Sir.”

“Good. Now, let me enjoy my leisure time while I can. I suggest you do the same. We will have much to do once we reach our destination.”

****

“Congratulation is in order, Lady Erynthea,” commended the high lady of House Valdrun, Melissa. “So many lives would have been lost had it not been for your intervention.”

Erin was currently sitting in a pavilion amidst the garden behind the mansion that was the house of Melissa Valdrun. A few days had passed since the terrible conundrum. Order was slowly being rebuilt but it was far from completion. Still, it allowed Erin and her companions a few moments of breathers.

“Thank you, Lady Melissa,” Erin accepted the praise gracefully as she took a small sip of the blue tea and a small bite of a multi-layered cake which each layer as thin as a paper.

“You are most welcome. I am truly honoured that you have decided to accept my invitation, though I am sad to hear that His Grace of Aeryo would not be able to join us.”

“Likewise, Lady Melissa. I was also looking forward to having a proper acquaintance with your husband.”

Melissa sighed. “That fool… To think he would announce his absence during the last hour. Well, in any case, let us not talk about foolish men anymore.”

Erin chuckled awkwardly in silence.

“Lady Erynthea, it won’t be an exaggeration for me to say that the city wouldn’t still be standing without you, truly.”

“I’m well aware of my contributions, Lady Melissa, but I can’t accept all the glory. You are deserving of some of that honour too, Lady Melissa. Your soldiers and knights are a tremendous help in my efforts to keep the city whole. I was only able to concentrate on what was in front of me because House Valdrun had my flanks covered. For that, I can’t thank you enough.”

“My efforts are nothing compared to yours, Lady Erynthea. And I’m merely doing my duty as a noble of this kingdom. Sadly, and evidently, a lot of my peers do not share my sentiment.”

“The way I see it, Lady Melissa, you’re the outlier here. It’s commendable and curious.”

“Are you doubting my motives in my association with you?”

Erin chuckled inwardly. She quite liked how Melissa was not oblique with her words. “I am,” and Erin returned the candour in kind.

Melissa tittered behind her hand. “I won’t deny that my motives are related to money and fame.”

Erin wasn’t entirely surprised by the answer but she was a tad amazed by how far Melissa’s bluntness went.

“Our wealth comes from the hardships of the commoners. And it is also through them that our name will spread far and wide, for better or worse. By saving them, I can expand my wealth and fame even more. I obtained my goals without the need to feel guilty about anything.”

“Truly commendable… It’s baffling and a shame that only you have such a meritorious disposition among your peers.”

“My way of living is… not without its hurdles. I dare say there are more hurdles than the other paths, which is why barely anyone walks alongside me. They are all in a hurry to obtain wealth and fame. They don’t wish to wait a second longer. In their haste, they were willing to commit different manners of atrocities. I won’t lie by saying I have not been tempted by the simplicity and the swiftness.”

“And have you ever fallen for it?” Erin questioned.

Melissa smiled but it was tinged with sorrow and regrets. “Sadly, I have,” she admitted. “I was young and naive. Granted, the reason is banal and trite but that’s the truth.”

“And what changed?”

“...My brother,” the High Lady answered after a brief moment of silence. “To be more precise, it was the death of my brother that caused the change in my ways.”

“Ah… I see,” Erin’s response was short as she had not known the grief in experiencing the deaths of a family member.

“I was seventeen and I was betrothed to my current husband. My engagement with a Valdrun paved many ways to countless opportunities. Now, they were just opportunities. There was still a long way to go after I acquired them.”

“Impatience.”

Melissa nodded. “Impatience. My desire to obtain results in the swiftest and simplest way brought about many misfortunes for those around me. My brother suffered the most and I didn’t care. I thought… I would make things right once I obtained results. The results fell into my grasp, eventually, but my brother was no longer in this world. My haste made enemies and these enemies of mine used my brother against me, but he won’t let it. I’m sure you can guess what happens afterwards.”

“Obviously, the fault lies not fully with you.”

“I’m aware but it doesn’t detract from the fact that I am the reason my brother died. My haste and greed caused the death of a family. But don’t misunderstand me, Lady Erynthea. What I did for you and this city, I didn’t do it for the sake of penance.”

“Then what are you doing it for?”

Melissa smiled and looked over to her right, where a view of the garden’s grove could be seen. It was also the place where her daughter was playing. “For the future… For her. I did my brother wrong and I won’t be repeating that same mistake.”

“I’m relieved to know that you aren’t blaming yourself, Lady Melissa. Though I can’t say anything about losing a family, I can relate to doing my best for the ones I love, even if it means looking past your old mistakes.”

Melissa laughed. “Looks like you and I are not that different after all, Erynthea.”

“So it is, Melissa.”

“Say, my daughter would be delighted to have you as her playmate, if it’s not too much trouble, Erin.”

“Not at all, Lissa. I’ll be very much honoured to be closely acquainted with your daughter.”

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