novelraw Chapter 119
Chapter 119
Chapter 119. You're Perceptive… (1)
When the end of the world was drawing near.
Who would be the most frightened?
It would probably be the prophet who had seen that prophecy. In other words—what you don't know can't hurt you.
And so Serena became frightened. So frightened that she could do nothing but spin in circles where she stood.
"Aren't you getting dizzy?"
Brigitte's gaze—placed there in lieu of a comfort doll—spun round and round following Serena.
"Why on earth……?"
No matter how she thought about it or turned it over in her mind, she could not understand.
Why was Hanbin hiding his identity in a place like this, maintaining that kind of close relationship with Penelope, and running a mid-sized trading company called Y&P Trading Company?
"What do you think, Brigitte?"
"Hmm? About what?"
"About why Hanbin is here doing all of this."
Serena, in a state of mental shutdown, demanded a brainstorm.
"Hmm, is Hanbin really that extraordinary a person?"
"Of course! A former Minister of Internal Affairs, no less! And a Hero of the nation to boot! He's an incrrrredibly. Incrrrrrrrrrredibly. Important person."
"How important is he, exactly?"
Serena paused for a moment at a loss, but proceeded to explain in terms suited to Brigitte's level.
"To put it simply…… just below the Queen?"
"Wow! Then! Does that mean Brigitte's fortunes have turned for the better?!"
Brigitte's mouth fell open and she bounced on the spot excitedly. For a moment Serena regretted having shared Jurgen's identity with Brigitte.
But…… This enormous truth was simply too terrifying to carry alone.
Brigitte could not understand why Serena was trembling so.
"Is there any need to be frightened? Jurgen is on our side. It's reassuring!"
"T, that's not such a simple matter."
Hanbin, Minister of Internal Affairs, was nothing less than the Queen's right arm. The Rosemore Count Family, on the other hand, was the head of the Northern Noble Alliance and at odds with the royal family in pursuit of greater autonomy.
In other words, the following reasoning was possible.
What if the very founding of Y&P Trading Company was part of some grand design by the royal family? What if Hanbin's reason for infiltrating the North was to ally with the overlooked second daughter of the Rosemore family, participate in the succession war, and prepare a scheme to shake the Rosemore family from within?
"Hanbin received a royal commission and is conducting a covert operation VS he's simply selling Cola because he had nothing better to do. Obviously it's the former, isn't it?"
Serena's deductions were fitting together piece by piece.
The reason Y&P Trading Company had been operating without going public. The reason CCC had been able to receive the Royal Warrant in such a short span of time. The reason Bell—Clarisse's close confidante—had been dispatched so easily.
"Is it a problem if he's on a covert operation? It sounds rather dashing."
"This isn't about whether it's dashing or not……. We've become shrimp caught between whales!"
In this vast battlefield, Y&P Trading Company was merely a tool. The Renoir Viscountcy and Brigitte were nothing more than components of that tool.
"Ah."
At that moment, Serena recalled one critical fact.
Looking back…… Jurgen had not fully revealed his true identity even to Penelope.
That he was an exceptional Alchemist was a secret shared only between Serena and Jurgen. Penelope had not even the faintest inkling that Jurgen was an Alchemist.
Which meant.
"Lady Penelope is simply being used……."
Goosebumps rose all over her body. All that warmth and closeness—and it was all an act to achieve his purpose?
If this battle ended in victory for the royal family it would not be a bad outcome for Penelope either, but did she not lack even the awareness that she was being used? And by Jurgen, of all people—someone she held so dear.
"That's too cruel……."
The world of nobles was said to be pitiless to begin with, but Penelope was the first friend Serena had ever made. Watching her be sacrificed to a cold-blooded game of politics was something she simply could not stand by and allow.
As Serena was contemplating whether to tell Penelope the truth, liquidate her assets, and figure out where to flee.
"I don't think that's quite right?"
Brigitte abruptly interjected.
"……Not right?"
"Yes, Jurgen's goal is the Culinary Revolution."
"That's merely the surface-level goal!"
Just as Serena was about to dismiss it as a frustratingly simple-minded answer.
"I'm not clever so I wouldn't really know, but I don't think he's such a bad person."
"On what grounds?"
"Jurgen really loves cooking. Even when I cook, he always stands by and teaches me, and when he cooks himself, he looks genuinely happy."
"……That may be……."
"And he's so good to everyone—there's no way all of that could be a lie, could it?"
Brigitte said all of this with an air of complete innocence. Nothing she said was particularly logical, nor could any of it be called evidence. It was the kind of thing only a child with no understanding of the world would say.
"Isn't he an incredibly remarkable person? Perhaps he's so remarkable that we simply can't grasp his intentions?"
"That may be……."
And yet…… Serena pictured the Jurgen she had seen until now.
Jurgen, presenting a new menu item with evident pride at a dinner gathering. Jurgen, draping his coat over Serena when she had been dozing off having lost sleep to meet a delivery deadline. Jurgen, who had come running without a moment's hesitation when Serena had been in mortal danger.
Could all of that truly be a lie?
"Oh, let's just ask him outright!"
"N, no, no, no. That could cause real trouble……!"
"Then I'll ask on your behalf! Sister, wait here!"
"You absolutely cannot do thaaat!!!"
"Why not? We can clear up the misunderstanding and all get along nicely together."
Brigitte's resolve to go to Jurgen and ask about his true intentions was unwavering.
"I'll be back. I'll keep it an absolute secret that Serena unni knows his identity too."
She had already dressed herself and finished preparing to go out in no time at all.
"I, I'm coming with you……!"
Serena, squeezing her eyes shut, steeled herself as well.
Asking someone who might be in the middle of a covert operation 'I actually know your true identity. What is your purpose?'—just thinking about it made her blood run cold, but.
She could not send Brigitte to that dangerous place alone.
And above all else……
Serena wanted to believe it too. That Senior Jurgen was not such a bad person after all.
***
Taking advantage of the factory shutting down for the Consecration Ritual, Jurgen was conducting a general inspection of the factory equipment.
Maintenance and detailed design were matters he had left to Serena, but there were perspectives only Jurgen could bring and aspects only he could verify.
Things like production efficiency, ways to reduce the inevitable production bottlenecks, and parts that could be replaced through automation by mechanisation—those were what he was checking.
―Screeeech!
The firmly shut iron door swung heavily open and a visitor arrived.
"U, um…… Hello there……."
The unexpected visitor turned out to be Serena, shoulders hunched deeply and head bowed low.
"Miss Serena? What business brings you here at this late hour?"
Serena did have a workaholic streak, but she would not suddenly show up at the factory at this hour. Which meant she had come to see Jurgen.
"Did you have something to say? Ah, wait just a moment."
Jurgen removed his work clothes and descended from the machinery.
However…… Serena's demeanour was far from ordinary.
"……."
All scrunched up, clearly terrified. Serena was a coward who would bristle at so much as a flash of lightning, but she did not become this withdrawn without reason.
Coercion? Had she been forced into acting as a guide? Jurgen's sharp gaze reflexively swept the surroundings.
"Hiiieeeek!!!!"
At that, Serena covered her head with both hands and crumpled to the floor outright.
"……?"
He took a brief look around but detected nothing suspicious. No one following her, no sign of anyone else's presence.
"Has something happened?"
"N, no…… not at all."
"Then why did you come all the way here?"
"J, just…… a walk……?"
From Serena's home to this factory was a good thirty minutes by car. Far too far to be calling a walk. Something had very clearly happened.
After a long hesitation, Serena opened her mouth.
"J, Jurgen…… What do you think of Lady Penelope……?"
"My goodness……. You came all the way here because you wanted to ask that?"
Serena's state was far from normal. Her eyes were spinning, her breathing laboured—she could barely seem to draw breath properly.
"Why would you ask something so obvious at this point? She is a precious colleague."
Just as Jurgen moved to step closer and check whether something was the matter.
Swiiish
Serena retreated by exactly as much as Jurgen had advanced. Then, haltingly, she spoke.
"An answer……! P, please give me one……. It's an important matter……. I'd be much more grateful if you could answer from over there…… and please don't come any closer……."
"I already told you. She is a precious colleague."
"Do you truly mean that? You must answer me seriously!"
Jurgen was at a complete loss.
"Did you have a drink again?"
Serena, exhaling several deep, shuddering breaths, gave her lip one firm bite, then. With eyes brimming with tears, she glared directly at Jurgen.
"Jurgen, are you…… H, Hanbin…… Ainsworth……?"
The identity finally revealed.
So was Jurgen so astonished he nearly fainted from shock?……
"Hmm……."
He had been gradually suspecting as much. If it were anyone else he might not have expected it, but for Serena, he had thought it was about time she would begin to piece it together.
Partly because she knew Jurgen was an Alchemist of at least the 6th Rank…… And above all, unlike Penelope—sharp yet with an oblivious streak—Serena possessed an instinctive perceptiveness. The fact alone that she could detect Penelope's ever-shifting flashpoints with uncanny precision and tease her while walking the finest of lines said everything.
"When did you figure it out?"
"Kiiieeeeeng!!! It, it was real! It was actually, truly real!"
Serena let out a sound like a kicked goat and collapsed where she stood.
"Y, you can't silence me by killing me! I've already written a will—if you kill me here and now the fact that Jurgen is Hanbin Ainsworth will be proclaimed to the entire world!"
"Why would I kill you?"
"Kidnapping, confinement, threats—none of it will work! It's useless!"
"Why would I kidnap, confine, or threaten you? Come now, get up. Your clothes will get dirty."
Serena, who had been half out of her wits, seemed to calm somewhat at Jurgen's composed reaction. She hesitantly took the offered hand and got to her feet.
"It's…… really true, isn't it?"
"How did you work it out?" "Well……."
Having listened to Serena's deductions, Jurgen was impressed. She had arrived at the answer with less information than he would have expected.
"Miss Serena is quite something. Is there anyone besides yourself who knows?"
"……Ah, no one."
"There are circumstances to consider. I would like you to keep this secret for the time being."
"T, that would be……."
"Naturally, I shall see to it that you are suitably compensated for keeping the secret."
"C, compensation?"
He meant it sincerely. Serena was one of the founding members, had made an enormous contribution to Y&P Trading Company, and he had grown genuinely fond of her over the time they had spent together. Even if she were to leave Y&P Trading Company one day, he had intended to give her a good opportunity.
Of course, given the nature of his position the support would need to take a formalised shape, but…… With 'Hanbin's' discretion, elevating the Renoir family to a Barony was no great feat.
"Tell me if there is anything in particular you want."
Serena's abilities and potential were outstanding, but her ambition and desire to rise in the world were no less so. Serena's rounded eyes flashed briefly with a gleam of desire.
"Yes, there is something I want."
But in the brief moment that followed.
"Tell me the reason you are keeping your identity secret from Lady Penelope."
The heat of desire faded from those rose-coloured eyes, and in its place was etched a firm and resolute will.
"If, if you are trying to use Lady Penelope……! I will not stand by quietly! Lady Penelope is…… my, my…… my friend!"
It was the will of someone with a reason to not back down, even from a fight they could never win.
"……?"
Caught off guard by Serena's wholly unexpected display of spirit, Jurgen let out a laugh.
Because he understood what Serena's words meant. And because he could gauge just how far this sharp-minded young woman had seen through things.
Thwump.
A large hand came to rest on Serena's head.
"Hiiieeeek!"
Serena, who had flinched in alarm, cautiously opened her eyes and looked up at the gentle pat pat pat on the top of her head.
Jurgen was smiling with an expression of deep satisfaction.
"Miss Serena, you have grown up tremendously."
"Yes…… yes? Pardon?!"
Two years spent in the North. It was not only Y&P Trading Company that had grown.
Penelope too, and Serena too. It seemed they had both gained a good friend.