Chapter 86 - Noble decisions
Scarlett sipped a cup of warm tea as she waited in the east wing’s guest parlor. It was nearing late afternoon. She had spent much of the morning training, dealing with paperwork and reports sent over by Evelyne, and reviewing her current strategies after receiving new information from Mirage.
After that Cullen fellow had visited her two days earlier, she’d sent out a letter to Beldon Tyndall the day after, asking about as much information on her different ‘associates’ as she could get. The reply arrived this morning. The letter itself had been filled with vague pleasantries and Beldon wishing her well, saying he hoped they would have the chance to meet again soon, which had confused her at first. She was embarrassed to admit it had taken her a while to realize there was a hidden message. In a nutshell, some of the words hinted at her using magic to heat the letter up, after which the actual contents had revealed themselves on the paper.
And what she learned had left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. In full, the letter had described some of the known dealings of Vern Cheek, Bodil Pudges, and the Blue Skulls, all of who were supposedly tied to the original Scarlett. None of it had been quite as bad as the child trafficking the Grey Dog Gang had been involved with, but it was still far from good. The cleanest was probably Bodil Pudges, who ‘only’ ran several illegal gambling dens and similar in Elystead.
Things were a bit vague regarding the Blue Skulls. They were a group that was said to raid specific ships moving outside the empire’s waters, mostly to the west and south, but there wasn’t much more beyond that, other than that they were wanted on several charges over in Voneia. Why Mirage thought Scarlett was related to them wasn’t entirely clear.
As for Vern Cheek, it appeared he acted as a loan shark of sorts over in Kilsfell, and was linked to several deaths in the region. From what Scarlett gathered, Mirage seemed to suspect the original of having cooperated with him to get rid of certain individuals, as well as moving money around in what essentially boiled down to some kind of money laundering. Though they didn’t say as such in so many words.
There was more info, of course. For example, who Vern Cheek was believed to work with, and some of his close subordinates’ names, as well as the names of some of the ships the Blue Skulls targeted and Bodil Pudges’ places of business. But suffice it to say, none of these were groups you wanted deep ties to if you had goals of being an upstanding citizen. Or just not getting thrown into jail.
A knock sounded out from the door.
Scarlett looked up as it opened, revealing Gaven in the same blond disguise as last time. Skulking in the hallway behind him was a slightly hunched figure covered in dark brown robes. There was no servant with them. Scarlett had arranged it so that a guard would lead Gaven to the wing’s side entrance, from where he’d find his own way. No other people should be present in this part of the mansion at the moment.
The man entered the room. The robed figure followed soon after, their head fretfully moving back and forth as if they were watching every corner.
“Welcome,” Scarlett said to the two. “I am glad no issues appear to have arisen, despite the demand for subterfuge.”
Gaven pulled off his disguise, revealing his thick, dark-brown hair and well-kept beard. “No difficulties is one way of putting it,” he said with a small scoff. “But we’re here at least.”
Scarlett chose to ignore the small complaint as she turned to the other individual, studying them closely. “I take it you are the Countess?”