Chapter 55
It was only after quite some time that Viktor finally spoke.
“Let’s keep it secret.”
“…Pardon?”
“Keep it secret. All of it.”
“Didn’t you hear me just now? My boss confessed only because I said I’d kill you.”
“I heard.”
“Wait a second… Secret from who… from the boss?”
Andrei asked in shock, but Viktor calmly straightened his posture, strapped the watch he had left on the table back onto his wrist, and said,
“I’ll handle the Royal Police. You resign and keep helping at Scarlet’s shop.”
At that, Andrei asked, as if utterly unable to understand.
“Why on earth would you do that?”
“First of all, even though you knew Scarlet was repairing the tram, you didn’t report it to the Royal Police. If you had, they’d have dragged her away long ago and found a way to tie it back to me.”
“…”
“That means you really are loyal to Scarlet.”
Andrei sighed and grumbled.
“You should’ve seen those kids’ faces. It wasn’t a situation where I could cut off their father’s livelihood.”
“If it wasn’t loyalty, there’d be no reason to let you live, would there?”
“It’s loyalty. Very strong loyalty.”
Andrei immediately changed his tune. Viktor continued.
“Secondly, you’re more useful to Scarlet’s safety than the bodyguards I assigned her.”
“How many bodyguards did you even assign in the first place?”
“Who do you think hates me most? More than the royals?”
“…The pirates.”
“If I didn’t have guards on her, Scarlet would be in pieces within hours.”
Andrei felt his heart sink just as hard as when Viktor Dampfelt first discovered his true identity.
“Besides, your wife is one of the employees needed to lift that household up.”
“So you want me to keep assisting the boss at her side?”
“Scarlet mustn’t know about the guards I’ve placed around her, and it’s not easy to find someone of your skill as protection.”
“And the boss must continue… never knowing about this?”
Andrei could guess why Viktor was saying such absurd things. He feared Scarlet would hate him once she learned the truth.
Even so…
Andrei thought Viktor Dampfelt was an even more despicable man than he had imagined, and that his obsession with Scarlet was far more severe.
Andrei then asked,
“When you take revenge on the Royal Police, you’ll use me, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“In that case, I’ll do it.”
At first, this really wasn’t the plan.
Andrei knew his life plan of rising through the ranks of the Royal Police was completely ruined, but strangely, it didn’t feel bad.
A little later Viktor left, and not long after, the door of Andrei’s solitary cell opened. Evan Wright came to fetch him.
“Go, to the young lady.”
“Right away?”
“She says send you right away. Says the shop can’t run without you.”
Evan spoke irritably, pressing a gun to Andrei’s neck.
“I’ll be keeping tabs on what you’re up to.”
“I know.”
Andrei raised both hands in surrender, and Evan shoved him forward.
Andrei headed straight to 7th Street the moment he left the residence. When he entered the clock shop, Scarlet, who had been minding it all this time, looked up at him.
Standing awkwardly at the door, Andrei opened his mouth.
“It’s true I was planted here to watch you, boss… but I really meant it when I said I want to grow this shop big.”
“…”
“I’ll hand in my resignation to the Royal Police. I’d understand if you don’t want to hire me. It won’t be easy to find someone as useful as me for such a meager salary, though.”
“If I hire you, would you start working today?”
Her unexpectedly calm tone made Andrei hesitate, then he answered,
“If that’s okay.”
“It is.”
Andrei hadn’t expected her to accept so easily, even though he was the one who asked. He said, baffled,
“If you knew what I did to you, you wouldn’t say that.”
“I don’t remember. If I do remember, I’ll decide then.”
Scarlet gave a weary smile, then continued.
“Just… I thought about it, and like you said, no one would work that hard for such a pitiful wage. I was the foolish one.”
“The one who lied is the bad one.”
“No, I really was foolish. I thought at least you were here of your own will. That I’d managed to have just one person who stayed at my side because they wanted to.”
“…”
“But I know now. Still… I want to keep believing the lie. So…”
Though her voice had been weak the whole time, Scarlet forced a little more strength into it.
“Still, I’m glad you’re quitting the Royal Police. You chose here instead, didn’t you?”
“…Yes, for now.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Scarlet Crimson’s boss once said she must be stupid.
Watching her up close, Andrei thought—well, maybe she did look that way sometimes. She was smart, but her loneliness clouded her vision. How much more would she have to break before she realized it?
“Miss Scarlet.”
Scratching his neck awkwardly, Andrei looked at her.
“People are selfish.”
“…”
“Don’t waste love on them. It’s too precious.”
Scarlet stared at him for a moment, then gave a faint laugh.
“That’s good enough.”
“What is?”
“Just… calling it precious. At least it means the love I give is worth something, doesn’t it?”
“…”
“So it wasn’t a bad thing. Right?”
Then she laughed more brightly.
“Good. Thinking of it that way makes me feel relieved.”
“I’ve thought this for a while, boss, but you’re not right in the head.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you. Besides, it’s true you’ve been the one to help this shop find its footing. Without you, it would’ve closed down.”
“Oh, you admit it? You always kept that to yourself.”
“…Anyway, how much does the Royal Police pay you?”
“About the same. The difference is the honor.”
“Then you can work here. If you don’t, I’ll come drag you back.”
“I won’t work for free.”
“Half pay for a year?”
“How is that different from unpaid, seriously?”
“There’s a time limit.”
“You’re a sneaky exploiter, boss.”
“This much is fine.”
“Yes, fine. I accept. One year.”
Even as they talked, Andrei automatically started doing shop work.
Watching her employee back at his post, Scarlet spoke.
“Come to think of it, those craftsmen my uncle fired… you were the one who found them again, weren’t you?”
“Yes. That’s actually how I got exposed as a spy.”
“And you didn’t report the tram either.”
“Like I said at the naval residence, how could I stop the repairs if you’d seen those kids’ faces? They’ve got growing up to do.”
At that, Scarlet smiled, her energy returning.
“Thank you.”
“Boss.”
“Hm?”
“Quit the useless talk and let’s work.”
“…Fine. So you’re back safe and sound. Honestly, what do I even do, holding onto someone like you.”
Andrei grinned, but quickly urged her to get back to work.
After much discussion in the royal family’s reception room, the conclusion was that Viktor must be brought back into the royal fold, even now.
“It’s serious that he swayed a Royal Police officer. You all know it—Viktor won’t just sit quietly now.”
“Exactly. Who knows when he’ll move against the crown…”
At that, Yuli Iren, half-reclined on a sofa, said,
“What if he doesn’t sit quietly? If he draws his sword, it’ll be aimed at me anyway. Stop making such a fuss.”
The Crown Prince’s words silenced the room for a moment. But soon the debate resumed, until at last, King Albert Iren—who had been lying back in an armchair with his eyes closed due to severe heart disease—opened his eyes briefly.
Now frail with age, he often spoke of his longing for his precious daughter, Marina.
After a moment of thought, he said,
“I’d like Marina to be summoned to the palace.”
All eyes turned toward the king. Albert went on.
“Viktor has always wanted the royal family’s recognition because of his mother, Marina. In that case, we must invite her to the banquet.”
At this, Adam burst out.
“Father, that woman is a madwoman! You heard about her rampage at Nina’s party.”
To this, Adam’s daughter, Elina, responded,
“If one madwoman’s presence can turn his heart, then let it. Sir Viktor is not someone we can afford to have as an enemy. Haven’t you all simply forgotten that, because he’s been behaving favorably toward the crown until now?”
Then her younger sister, newly married and now Lady Akin, said,
“And what will Aunt Marina do once she’s here? You can’t predict Viktor’s actions either.”
Many opinions were exchanged, but in the end, no better option emerged than to invite Marina Dampfelt—and, as her escort, summon Viktor, in hopes of swaying him.
As soon as the decision was made, Adam Iren drafted the invitation and sent it to his nephew, Viktor Dampfelt.
Viktor immediately replied with a letter:
[My mother is in poor health. I will visit another time.]
It was a refusal.
Receiving the reply, Adam Iren frowned. They had debated whether it was even safe to invite a madwoman to the palace, but it had never crossed their minds that Viktor would outright decline.
Adam Iren turned to glare at his son, Yuli Iren. He said,
“Viktor’s temper doesn’t cool easily. You must have gone too far with your provocation.”
“…I apologize.”
“How do you intend to fix what you’ve done?”
Yuli held back his irritation and answered,
“I’ll resolve it somehow.”
“Make sure you do.”
Adam Iren, raised without ever lacking a thing, often acted willfully, showing his temper openly even to his son. At times, it went beyond arrogance, almost resembling a childlike nature. It was a trait common to most of the Iren family.
