Chapter 60: How a Mercenary Brings Her Husband Home (9)

On his days off, Shanro usually drank or went to cheap inns to play cards. For almost ten years, he had never lost. He was proud of that.

“Shanro.”

Regina put her hand on his shoulder as he sat on the ground, his hand shaking while holding cards. Shanro’s face turned pale like a corpse.

“…Miss, just so you know. I already regret this.”

But seeing him grabbing his head and shouting, it was clear his pride was being torn apart. Regina let out a deep sigh, staring at the unbelievable scene before her.

“Why… why did this happen?”

Cards scattered on the floor. Valentin sat on the stone ground, laughing. And around him, mercenaries sat in the air with their knees bent, trembling as if on invisible chairs.

Regina instantly realized they were Shanro’s victims. But those who joined him in this game were not innocent either.

“A-actually, the duke said he wanted to play with us. We couldn’t exactly dance with swords with someone who has trouble with his legs so we thought—ahh!!”

His excuses were pathetic. Regina could see Shanro had wanted to strip money off Valentin with his card tricks. She squeezed his shoulder hard, and Shanro’s screams grew higher. The mercenaries shook harder.

“Did Valentin really say he wanted to play?”

“Hm?”

Valentin neither confirmed nor denied. He just tilted his head, looking innocent. Shanro pointed at him furiously. That! That! That man!

“This isn’t fair! Regina, we lost, okay?! Don’t you see what Shanro dragged us into?!”

“Who told you to play cards with a guest? You knew Shanro cheats and still joined in.”

The mercenaries’ eyes watered at her words. They wanted to shout, we didn’t fall for it!” But they stayed quiet.

It was already humiliating to sit like this as punishment. Now Regina was scolding them too. Their anger turned toward Shanro, who had tempted them with money he thought he’d win from Valentin.

“You should feel lucky. If you weren’t sitting like that, I would’ve beaten you myself.”

The mercenaries instantly stopped tearing up. Suddenly, this ridiculous punishment felt much better than being hit by her.

“Want to try too?”

Valentin looked straight at Gyle, who stood behind Regina. The light question was, to Gyle, a clear provocation. But Regina stopped another round from starting.

“Valentin, we need to go. Didn’t you say you wanted to see the capital?”

“…Yes. Too bad.”

Regina reached out to Valentin, who was still sitting on the floor.

He could have stood with his cane, but he accepted her hand. As he did, he turned to the mercenaries and said,

“I trust you’ll keep your promise. Three hours, as agreed.”

The men froze in shock. Shanro whistled, pretending he knew nothing, and slowly backed away.

Regina noticed but didn’t stop him. The other mercenaries, now victims, would beat him up later anyway.

“Looks like rain is coming. We should hurry.”

“Let’s have a bet.”

A boot stepped in front of Valentin’s cane. It was Gyle, blocking his way. The mood instantly turned heavy. Regina grabbed her friend’s arm.

“Gyle, don’t. Why are you doing this too?”

Gyle had never beaten Shanro at cards. Meeting her eyes, Regina shook her head. Her request was a weapon against him.

“…Next time then.”

Valentin gave a mocking smile. Gyle clenched his jaw, a muscle twitching.

But to Valentin, Gyle’s restraint was even more annoying. He could clearly see why Gyle held back.

“At this rate, there won’t be a next time.”

As they passed, Valentin threw out the cold words. Gyle nearly turned and swung his fist, but instead he stared at his friend’s back—his friend, walking away hand in hand with another man.

It was the first time he had seen such a sight. And it was one he never wanted to see again.

The liquor merchants that the Persona guild often dealt with were within walking distance.

As Regina walked beside Valentin, she kept looking at the cloudy sky. Rain always made the scar on her waist ache.

“That mercenary must have hated losing to me.”

“She was just protecting an old friend.”

Regina answered lightly and walked faster. Valentin’s long stride kept up easily.

“Welcome.”

Their visit to the capital was meant to be secret, so both wore hoods. Valentin didn’t really need to cover his face since he wasn’t well-known, but his handsome looks drew too much attention.

“We’d like to buy wine on behalf of Duke Julius’s house.”

“Hm, preparing for the Blessing Day? You’re a little late.”

“It’s still possible. The price per box is about this much.”

Regina held up her hand and spread her fingers. The merchant scoffed, but he could see this customer was no easy prey.

“Hmm…”

“Can you sell it or not? Otherwise, we’ll go elsewhere.”

“Well, we do have to supply the palace before the festival…”

“That happens every year. I’m not here to stop you from keeping your usual sales.”

The merchant’s tricks didn’t work on her. As she turned to leave, he panicked and grabbed her.

“Fine, fine! I’ll do it!”

He handed over a blank sheet and asked for the order list. Regina filled it out skillfully. Meanwhile, Valentin looked over the shelves.

“I want this one too.”

He pointed at a fine-looking bottle in a decorated box.

“That one costs about 600 rel—”

“450. And I’ll return when there’s a banquet at the castle.”

“Ha… fine.”

The merchant gave up, promising delivery. As he wrote up the receipt, Regina smiled at their successful bargain.

“You’re good at this.”

“This place is famous. They get the best liquor quickly but overcharge those who don’t know better. If you can negotiate, it’s fine. I didn’t know you liked alcohol.”

She whispered the last part only to Valentin.

The merchant returned with the receipt and then asked carefully,

“Is it true? Are you really Regina Lofman, wife of Duke Valmen?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Well, our master is interested. He’s thinking of moving our branch soon.”

This liquor house had thrived in District C for years. Moving was strange. Regina was curious. But she couldn’t admit her identity here. To them, she looked like just an errand runner.

She glanced once at Valentin, then replied,

“You’ll know when we visit.”

“Yes, I’ll tell the master.”

A bell rang. Other customers entered.

By their look, they were mercenaries. Regina and Valentin stepped aside, pretending to browse, while waiting for the receipt.

“Hey, did you hear? Bolero Company collapsed.”

“Yeah, they were delivering something precious, but it burned.”

“I know someone from there. They said it was some strange, valuable thing.”

“What was it?”

Regina and Valentin both listened closely while pretending to look at wine. The mercenary lowered his voice, though it was still loud enough.

“Some black stone. Not a gem.”

A black stone? Not a woman?

She remembered the wagons lined with large crates. Bolero didn’t normally carry such things.

But with Valentin beside her, she couldn’t question them.

“Bah, you always hear weird rumors. How could a black stone be precious?”

“Mercenaries, what drink would you like?”

“Let’s hurry and choose. We’ll talk later.”

The talk ended too soon. Regina sighed and took the receipt from the merchant. She called Valentin, who was still staring at the bottles.

“Valentin, let’s go.”

“Yes. The sky’s even darker now.”

The clouds grew heavy; no sunlight was left at all. Growing anxious, Regina hurried them out without even saying goodbye to the busy merchant.