Chapter 15: Do what you do best

Zed looked away at Perda’s words.

There was no doubt that when he spoke of a not-quite-loyal servant, he was referring to that girl who had been following him the whole time.

Reading the mood was his trade, so Zed could clearly perceive where the killing intent was directed.

‘No matter how I look at it, that bloodlust doesn’t seem to be aimed at me, but at that guy…’

It wasn’t an illusion.

In fact, it was true.

Ruri was quite irritated simply because Perda had lost money.

Compared to the total fortune of Valdrova, it wasn’t a huge sum, but it also wasn’t a small amount to be squandered lightly.

And even less so in Halim.

It wasn’t money to be spent in a casino.

Perda had tossed it away without hesitation.

Zed, who had no way of knowing these inner circumstances, couldn’t help but be confused.

“…Fine.”

The dagger Zed was holding spun once and disappeared into his back pocket.

“Let’s start talking. What do you want to say?”

“This isn’t a good place for a delicate conversation. Let’s go somewhere we can talk calmly.”

“Follow me.”

Zed led him to his room.

He was staying in the most expensive room of the casino’s hotel.

Contrary to the luxury of the place, what he pulled out was a cheap rum.

“It’s the liquor I like. I don’t know if it’ll suit a young noble like you, but want to try some?”

Perda shook his head.

“I don’t drink alcohol.”

“A mage who doesn’t drink?”

“I don’t drink precisely because I’m a mage.”

“A mage who doesn’t enjoy alcohol—what a rare specimen.”

For mages, who spent their days thinking and focused, common escapes were women and alcohol.

And since alcohol was cheap, there were many mages who drank uncontrollably.

Perda, on the other hand, had always needed to move forward looking only ahead, and so abstinence became a habit.

“Then how did you find out that name?”

“By researching information.”

“And your source?”

Of course, it had been himself.

But saying that would serve no purpose, so Perda dodged the question.

“Even if I told you now, it wouldn’t matter. The important thing is that I know.”

“If you just wanted to test me like that, maybe I should’ve killed you even if it meant dying afterward.”

“I’m not testing you. I know who you are. You milked defenseless women, milked nobles, slowly accumulating money to enter high society, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Because to find your younger sister, Emilia, you need to climb up and gain connections in the upper class.”

Zed, an expert at keeping a straight face, stared at him.

However, his hands were trembling.

Perda’s words carried not even a trace of guesswork, only absolute certainty—and that certainty hit Zed’s intentions dead on.

“Impressive. You don’t seem to be using magic, but it’s like you’re reading my mind…”

“It’s not hard. There was a time when I thought much like you.”

It was a fantasy Perda had once entertained after being cast out from his family.

To become greater than House Rosnova and put them all beneath his feet.

In his naivety, he had sworn that would make them acknowledge their mistake.

‘In the end, I failed.’

Perda wasn’t accepted into the magic academy for being a bearer of the Red Circle.

Zed couldn’t enter either, stained by the stigma of being the plaything of a widowed marquess.

“I’ll provide you that springboard.”

“A noble brat like you?”

Young nobles.

Even if they were talented and caught attention, they usually stumbled quickly and ended up accused of high treason.

The weaker their connections, and the younger they were, the worse.

Someone like Perda, barely an adult, was in a situation as fragile as a candle in the wind.

But Perda wasn’t an ordinary mage.

To begin with, he was the consort of the Dragon Queen.

“I suppose I should introduce myself again. My name is Perda Valdrova.”

“Valdrova…? Isn’t that the name of the Red Dragon?”

Zed snorted.

“You know that in the world of nobles, that’s equivalent to expulsion, right? What kind of lunatic gets engaged to a Red Dragon?”

“That lunatic is me.”

“…Seriously?”

Perda’s expression didn’t change even once.

Zed scratched his head with an awkward gesture.

“Damn it. If the info was that important, it should’ve reached my ears sooner… I guess losing track of time in a casino is inevitable.”

He let out that excuse and changed the subject.

“Either way, if you’re Valdrova’s husband—even just a kept man—you’ve got enormous power, don’t you?”

“That’s right. You’ll be able to enter the world of high society you’ve been risking your life to reach.”

Zed, who had his head lowered, slightly lifted his gaze toward Perda.

“And what exactly am I supposed to do?”

Perda extended a hand toward Ruri.

Just like with Vernell, he handed over a letter of appointment.

“With that skill of yours, become an assistant who carries out tasks under my command.”

“What kind of tasks?”

“From minor errands to important matters. I won’t ask anything beyond your abilities.”

Zed chewed over those words and asked,

“…So basically, I’ll be an errand boy?”

“An assistant.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“Then choose. Be an errand boy with access to high society, or stay a nobody mocked by everyone, unable to reach anything.”

“……”

He said it unpleasantly, but he wasn’t wrong.

Becoming a despised con artist or a hardworking assistant with a real position, even if tough.

Zed weighed his options.

“If I refuse, will you turn me in?”

Perda tilted his head.

“What would I gain by turning you in?”

“You’re a mage. I’m from the Red-Eyed race. And that race shouldn’t exist anymore. Looks like you’d benefit.”

A bloodline that, by birth, possessed the ability to nullify magic.

Like cats and mice, they were natural enemies.

“No matter how I think about it, I wouldn’t get anything out of it.”

“I’ve heard that when our bloodline was wiped out, mages celebrated for three days and three nights. Didn’t you?”

“Stupid question. Fearing the Red-Eyed race because magic doesn’t work on them is like hiding under the sheets scared of ghosts. That’s unworthy of a mage.”

An answer arrogant to the extreme.

But, strangely, it didn’t feel unpleasant to Zed.

‘What a strange guy.’

At that age, someone like him would normally rely on his status or overestimate his own potential.

But Perda didn’t give off any of that.

‘At first glance, he’s just a kid barely grown up…’

But he acted like a noble of high rank with a solid position.

‘Maybe he really can give me what I want…’

Even Zed, who didn’t trust anyone, began to waver.

“Damn it.”

Zed scratched his head hard.

“So this is what it feels like to make a deal with the devil? It’s unsettling, but tempting—and that pisses me off.”

He tapped the letter of appointment with his fingers.

“Fine. I accept, noble lord. But I have conditions. That’s acceptable, right?”

“Tell me. I’ll write them down right now.”

Perda pulled the pen from his breast pocket.

Zed raised two fingers.

“First, depending on the mission, you’ll have to pay a fair amount. In the end, I need money to do my job.”

“Of course. There will be compensation.”

“Second, if I ever feel like you’re just trying to use me or throw me away, I’ll leave without hesitation. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine. I have no intention of deceiving you. Is that all?”

“Yes, for now.”

Just do what you’re best at.

In truth, Zed wanted to add one more point to the conditions.

A contract that would only last until he found his younger sister.

‘That could become an unnecessary shackle that would just waste time.’

That’s why Zed decided to leave it at just those two conditions.

“Since we’re on the topic, I’ll add one more thing.”

Perda took the pen and wrote an extra line in the blank space of the letter of appointment.

“Our contract will last until you find your sister.”

Zed lifted his head, surprised.

“…Are you really okay with that?”

“When you find your sister, everything will be over. After that, it’s your choice.”

A tone and conditions that were impeccably clean.

Seeing that he didn’t show even a speck of greed, Zed was stunned.

He had even set a time limit on his own, something Zed had deliberately avoided mentioning.

‘What the hell is this guy…?’

Zed’s doubts about Perda only grew stronger.

He had a calmness that made it feel like, no matter how others flailed, everything remained in the palm of his hand.

He had the kind of qualities only true nobles, seasoned in a thousand political battles, could possess.

‘The fact that he knows about Emilia bothers me…’

But at the same time, he was the only one who knew—and could help.

Beyond his abilities, his position was trustworthy enough.

For now, Zed had no choice but to rely on him.

“Alright, I get it. No… I understand, sir.”

Now that he’d become an employee, he used respectful speech.

And so, all conditions were set.

The reason Perda set that deadline was simple.

‘Forcing someone to stay never leads to anything good.’

He desperately needed his abilities as a subordinate, but he had no intention of keeping him by force or turning him into a slave.

And even if he tried, he couldn’t.

Zed was a legendary thief who had escaped infamous prisons again and again.

‘And besides, finding her isn’t everything.’

As he watched Zed tuck the letter of appointment into his pocket, Perda spoke.

“Then, I’ll assign you a mission right away.”

“Already?”

“I want to take on a request using the money you took.”

“Isn’t that the money I won?”

“It was originally the money I was going to use to hire you. Didn’t I say I’d tell you if I planned to back out? Thinking of it as a job benefits us both.”

“Well, having the first job be kind of free doesn’t sound so bad. So, what’s the order?”

“For you, it’ll be extremely simple.”

Perda pointed to one of the names Ruri held.

— Echidna Philiaz

“Just do what you’re good at.”

***

Once the matter was settled, Perda’s carriage left Halim in a hurry.

Unlike with Vernell, this time Zed also joined the journey.

“As expected of the carriage of the Dragon Queen’s future consort—it’s incredibly comfortable. The interior is spacious, and even if the road is rough, you barely feel it.”

“…”

“And on top of that, a cute, petite maid.”

Zed smiled and changed the topic smoothly.

He leaned in and placed his hand near the seat where she was sitting.

It was a natural playboy move.

“I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. May I know your name, Miss Maid?”

“I’ll be happy to explain.”

In response to the question about her identity, Ruri answered with Dragon Fear.

“Ugh!”

Zed, who had been trying to flirt, recoiled instantly and clutched his chest.

Even as a Red-Eyed, he was still human and felt fear toward dragons.

“Ugh… i-is this… a-a dragon?”

“She’s a dragonspawn. The personal assistant of Dragon Queen Valdrova.”

“…But dragonspawn aren’t supposed to emit Dragon Fear, and she doesn’t have horns or a tail.”

“That just means she’s an exceptionally powerful dragonspawn.”

“I thought at most she was a half-elf or a halfling…”

Zed suddenly remembered the moment he had threatened Perda with a dagger.

If he had really attacked back then, there wouldn’t be a trace of him left now.

He patted his shirt, wiping away the cold sweat.

Ruri looked at him like he was pathetic and calmly sat down again.

“Don’t worry. Even if she’s violent, give her something to eat and she turns docile.”

“Who are you calling docile?”

Hearing Ruri’s retort, Perda nodded.

“It’s true. More than docile, you’re like a dog.”

“Eh? Are you insulting me again?”

“It’s a compliment. There’s a breed of dog called a Chihuahua—small but brave. I think you’re like that.”

“Can I please punch him just once?”

“No. I’d rather avoid pain.”

Perda kept provoking her, and Ruri was growing more and more irritated.

If a regular person had taken that Dragon Fear head-on, they’d already be suffocating.

But Perda remained completely calm, and the only one caught between them was Zed, who said:

“I’ll… go talk to the driver. Call me if you need me.”

More than seat comfort, peace of mind was more important.

***

To find Echidna Philiaz, Perda entered a deep forest.

They advanced to a point no longer accessible by carriage.

“They say we can’t go any further. The path is too narrow.”

“Then we’ll go on foot.”

“It’s quite a distance, but not too steep. Think of it as a stroll.”

With no choice, Perda got down and walked with Ruri and Zed behind him.

The two following him walked like it was a casual stroll, but Perda was drenched in sweat.

“Maybe you should train your stamina a bit?”

“Oddly enough, this is my limit.”

“If you push a little more, wouldn’t your endurance improve?”

“My family was a knight house, and thanks to this, I became the Dragon Queen’s fiancé.”

“Ah, that explains it…”

Zed scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Want me to carry you?”

“I’ll pass.”

Even if it was hard, Perda didn’t want to slow down and pushed forward with sheer willpower.

Finally, a lone house appeared deep in the forest.

“There it is.”

“For a witch’s house, the sinister aura is impressive.”

“And now it’s also a place you’ll enter.”

“I know. Ahem… alright!”

Zed stretched and prepared for the mission.

“Man, seducing a witch for the first mission feels like sticking my head in a tiger’s mouth.”

“You don’t have to try so hard. Just show that face.”

“Are you saying I’d be dead without this face?”

Perda stared and replied.

“Without that face, you might end up dead.”

“Ha… still underestimating me. Fine, just watch.”

Zed slicked his hair back with both hands, adjusting his look.

He switched into full playboy mode and headed toward the witch’s house.

“Echidna Philiaz—what kind of woman is she?”

When Zed had gone a bit ahead, Ruri asked.

“A witch.”

“I know that. They’re a bloodline that becomes one through rituals and call each other sisters, right? That’s why when they become witches, they receive the surname Philiaz.”

“That’s right. You know quite a lot. Here, have a candy.”

“Do you think I’m a child?”

Even as she said that, Ruri took the candy and rolled it in her mouth.

“What I mean is, why insist on bringing in a witch?”

Bringing in a witch was a dangerous act.

Even more so when it was someone with the surname Philiaz.

Only women with magical talent and who bore the Red Circle could become witches.

The Red Circle formed from intense emotions.

And in most cases, when a woman awakened the Red Circle, it was born from resentment toward a husband or obsession over a child.

In other words, witches were mostly people who harbored extreme hatred and rejection toward men.

“That’s why people say witches are impossible to deal with and extremely selfish.”

“That’s true.”

“Then if Echidna Philiaz was considered a heretic even among them, is she like Vernell?”

Vernell.

“More than Vernell, I’d say she’s like my fiancée.”

“Comparing a witch to my lady is disrespectful. Don’t say such things.”

“I just said they’re similar.”

Ruri growled, glaring at him.

No matter how she looked, she really did resemble a dog.

“Don’t worry. It’s precisely because Echidna was labeled a heretic within Philiaz that we can recruit her.”

“Because of that?”

Before she could ask further, Zed came out of the witch’s house.

Not even three minutes had passed since he went in.

Zed came back scratching his head, looking awkward.

“Uh…”

Particulars of Echidna Philiaz.

“As soon as she saw me, she said she’d accept anything unconditionally. Is that okay?”

A serious sucker for handsome faces.