Pendleton Revolution - Chapter 1.6

“Wish me luck. Just imagining having to go to some party filled with lusty, nasty old men is the worst. I don’t think my fashionable heart could stand such trauma.”

Lucas once more trailed off idly, but the serious expression on Roman Princelow’s face didn’t disappear. Lucas Garebian was handling the most dangerous portion of this business.

In truth, the two of them together had made up a fake “patron.” To avoid either of their identities being revealed, the two of them had created an imaginary Daddy-Long-Legs and split “his” role in two in order to proceed with the investigation on the crimes that many young female wards were being implicated in by the secret order of the Grand Duke of Pendelton.

Roman conducted the investigation and prepared the monetary aspects as the practical patron, while Lucas delivered the letter and gift through a route unconcerned with Roman after confirming the contents of their ward’s letter. The letter was created together in a sweet tone. The writing itself was by Lucas’s mute servant.

As long as it appeared to be a regular sponsorship, the details didn’t matter. The important thing was to infiltrate the secret club ‘Daddy-Long-Legs Syndrome’ created through mutual acquaintances between the upper-class secret patrons. Rather than Roman, whose face and righteous nature were well-known throughout society due to his straightforward and cold personality, to suspiciously participate in such activities, Lucas, who was known for debauchery all throughout the Capital, was trusted with infiltration.

To sum up, Andrea Julinas was merely a method of providing “justification.”

“We can change roles whenever you want, especially now. The change will be natural.”

“It’s fine, Roman. If the almighty Margrave of Creha was to show up at such a secret club, everyone would run away thinking some sudden investigation had started up.”

A faint smile appeared on his beautiful and exquisite face.

“If it’s a silver tongue you need, leave it to me.”

After planting a light kiss on the deep gold wax seal of the letter, Lucas Garebian stood up from his seat. Roman Princelow, who had been swirling his glass of alcohol into which he’d carelessly thrown a few pieces of ice, looked at his papers and asked in a steady voice.

“Are you planning on leaving immediately?”

“Of course.”

Lucas, throwing on his coat and wrapping a scarf around his neck, slightly tilted towards the mirror just in front of the door. He smoothed his clothing while looking into the mirror and pulled on a fashionable officer’s hat. Then, he turned around and scrunched his eyes.

Lucas’s eyes, which seemed to possess flecks of gold, folded into half-moons, as Lucas Garebian smiled as he covered his mouth with the envelope.

“I’ll see you next time! Should a letter arrive, it would be nice to write a sweet letter to our dearest Andie. Tell him to let us know if anything exciting happens.”

“If you come back alive this time as well.”

Lucas Garebian, laughing loudly at the short reply, burst through the door, and waved at the knight who’d been waiting outside. Then, without even a proper farewell to the owner of the estate and room, he slammed the door shut with a crash.

Now left alone in the room, Roman Princelow looked through his paper in front of the fireplace with his long sword laying about. Then at a short, unexpected moment, his gaze dropped to the top of the table. There lay two sheets of messy letter paper containing scattered drops of ink and traces of crossed-out lines.

Had the cat at the lodging in the Capital he’d remained at momentarily before entering the Academy toppled over the ink? He tilted his head briefly and lifted the letter, soon after which he neatly collected, tapping the papers against the desk. It was just as Lucas said. Since their ward had been forced to participate in a strange deal without an agreement, it would have been alright for him to be a little wasteful and request new paper or training clothes.

Though Andie Julinas didn’t know the slightest bit, and should never know, their act of sponsoring him implicated him in unspeakable doings.

Doings that a certain strange patron and a slightly stranger ward could never imagine.