Chapter 182
Chapter 182: Master of the Trade Route (19)
‘What was that just now…?’
I heard something faint outside the window, like the fluttering of wings.
I turned my head to look, but there was nothing out there.
Only the bare branches, stripped of all their leaves, were in sight.
It didn’t seem like anyone was watching us.
Thanks to that, I decided to try convincing the woman in front of me—Lynie—instead.
“Lynie.”
“Yes…”
She sipped the warm tea I handed her.
The alcohol in her system seemed to fade gradually, and her complexion began to return to a soft flush.
Only then did she pull up the blanket to cover her beautiful figure.
“Shall we speak honestly with each other? We're not here just for a night in bed, are we?”
“Let’s do that. You really are different from the beastly men I’ve met until now.”
I got up from the bed and sat down in the chair across from her.
Then, leisurely crossing one leg over the other, I got to the point.
“As you’ve seen, my influence has grown large enough for Eric himself to try and win me over. At this point, I’ve practically split the power in Nord evenly with him.”
“Is that true…? I’ve seen your face in the newspaper from time to time, but…”
Lynie quickly apologized, saying she hadn’t meant to mock me.
I waved my hand gently, telling her it was fine.
“I’ve kept myself hidden as much as possible. If all the credit I earned had become public too soon, he would’ve ‘eliminated’ me before I had a chance to grow this much.”
“…!!”
As one of his close associates, she knew exactly what that “elimination” meant—her lips parted slightly.
She must remember what happened to those who got on Eric’s bad side after watching him for so long.
“So now, you’re saying the Archduke can’t just kill you off so easily anymore…?”
Lynie looked me over from head to toe with a gaze mixed with concern.
In response, I answered in a brazen yet firm voice.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…”
She exhaled briefly, still seemingly unsure.
“You’re quite something…”
Her expression suggested she was thinking about all the men who had tried to win her over by flaunting their wealth.
So she was ready to end the conversation with a cynical smile.
But then—
“Now, will you tell me your story?”
The man before her unexpectedly changed the topic entirely.
As if he knew exactly how she felt at that moment.
“My story…?”
“Yes. As you can probably tell, I’m not very good at talking about myself.”
The man with the fox-like eyes shrugged.
He wasn’t drinking, didn’t smoke indoors, and focused solely on the person he was speaking to.
“You seemed to be talking just fine.”
“I was only trying to show that I’m worth betraying Eric for.”
Unable to hold it in anymore, Lynie let out a short laugh at my shameless attitude.
“That’s fascinating… Until now, I’ve met plenty of people who tried to use me like a tool… But you’re the first one who tried to convince me of your worth.”
She looked around, searching for where to place her empty teacup.
Like in my secretary days, I naturally took it from her and placed it on the table.
“Actually, I was once a secretary trainee. I’m more used to listening than talking.”
“A secretary trainee? That profession the family only sends its most useless kids into?”
Now that I thought about it, Tobang was the second son of his family too.
And Lucun—he had money, but he came from a commoner background.
It was true that secretary trainees were often kids with ambiguous status and uncertain abilities.
But of course, that didn’t mean they were all insignificant.
Lucun, for instance, had a sharp eye for choosing the right allies, and the wealth to support those he decided to side with.
And I, too, had made it to where I was now because of the experiences I’d gained back then.
“Yes, but it’s not a job just for kids with nothing to do. There were actually some sharp minds among us.”
“Pfft, you really must be a former trainee—talking up your own job like that.”
Lynie let out a small laugh, as though her guard had finally come down a bit.
To keep the relaxed mood going, I added one more line.
“Of course. If a secretary loyally serves the right master, there’s no profession more honorable.”
“But… since you quit, does that mean you served the wrong master?”
She really was different from the usual women of the night.
She had a good sense for things.
“Yes, he was a ruthless one. He often gave me difficult orders.”
“Difficult orders… I take it they weren’t things you could proudly speak of, like what I do now.”
I didn’t answer her right away.
I only gave her a look that showed a bit of sympathy for the hardship in her life.
“Lord Roger really does feel different somehow. Less authoritative… more like a familiar neighbor.”
“We might’ve actually been neighbors once.”
At my relaxed joke, Lynie narrowed her eyes sharply.
But there was no hostility in them.
It was more like a playful jab, as if saying I was being cheeky.
“You know exactly what I meant, and yet you pretend not to.”
“Isn’t it better to laugh like this, than to wallow together in sadness?”
Lynie chuckled softly in agreement.
As the tension lifted, I began sharing my story plainly.
“After handling all those difficult tasks and returning, I didn’t expect some grand reward from him. Just… recognition. That alone would’ve been enough.”
“I think I understand how that feels.”
The blonde woman, as if feeling a bit empty-handed, pulled a pillow close.
Then, as if seeking comfort, she gently placed it on her lap and felt its warmth.
“But instead, he became afraid of me. Since I’d succeeded in everything he asked, he started saying I’d surpass him one day.”
I withdrew the gentle smile I had been wearing for Lynie.
And in its place came the serious gaze of a seasoned secretary chief in his thirties.
“He thought that if I ever betrayed him, I’d become a formidable enemy. So…”
“So what?”
Two syllables rose vividly in my mind.
Poison.
But I couldn’t bring myself to say it to her—not when her eyes were so pure now.
If she were to learn that her master poisoned a brilliant subordinate…
Anyone would be terrified to their core.
The reason I was telling her my story now…
Was to make Lynie feed false information to Eric.
“I ran away before he could get rid of me.”
“What, that’s it? Bit of a letdown, honestly.”
Lynie clutched the pillow tightly in her arms, seemingly absorbed in my story.
“Don’t you have some grand novel-worthy revenge or something?”
“…”
Revenge.
I swallowed hard on those two syllables I had longed for so desperately.
“I must.”
The time had finally come.
But I couldn’t afford to rush. He was as cunning as he was cruel—at the very peak of all his misdeeds.
“Still, reality isn’t like a novel. It requires careful preparation. And that preparation includes you.”
“Me…?”
Lynie lifted a finger and pointed at her own face.
“Yes. Because the one I seek revenge on is Eric.”
The blonde woman went quiet for a moment, her expression blank.
“I know who you are. I’ve heard that Eric always brings along a beautiful woman when persuading someone he wants.”
Of course, it was my first time seeing her face.
I had only worked inside the estate and never handled the more indecent parts of the business.
“But your dream isn’t to clean up Eric’s messes, is it? You must have a far deeper wish than that.”
“…”
I hadn’t noticed when she was wearing shoes.
But now that we were in the bedchamber, her bare feet were exposed to the air.
And those feet—so unlike her beautiful features—were rough and calloused.
As if they had been pushed through some extreme kind of training.
“Something like standing on stage, perhaps.”
“You figured that out from my feet…?”
Lynie now gently ran her hands over them, as if to say she was no longer ashamed—over the bruises and calluses that marred them.
Despite working under Eric, her feet continued to develop new calluses, getting torn and toughened again and again.
Which meant she was still secretly practicing somewhere, even now.
Hoping that one day, she might become a dancer worthy of standing beside someone like Gehenna.
“I have a talented dancer at my side, too.”
Well…
The fact that I hadn’t heard her name even ten years in the future…
Meant Eric never kept his promise to her in the end.
She was merely the daughter of a baron—of course he’d see her as expendable.
But what he didn’t understand was this—
That women who bore grudges were historically some of the most dangerous.
“Dancers who possess both talent and hunger always seem to have feet like yours.”
“…”
Lynie hung her head, eyes fixed on her feet.
She moved each toe slowly, feeling every sensation.
“Did Eric promise you? That if you helped him, he’d put you on the imperial palace stage?”
“If it were only something that trivial, I wouldn’t have been pulled into all this.”
The blonde woman slowly raised her head.
“After my family fell from grace, we were always indebted to the Grand Duke of the North’s house. They helped us often.”
“And then Eric noticed you… and offered you a deal.”
The woman who once dreamed of becoming a dancer nodded silently.
“He never told me to give up my chastity. Just to step into bedchambers like this and promise men sweet futures.”
“And what if one of those men misunderstood and forced himself on you—what then? That’s the kind of order he gave?”
At my sharp rebuke, Lynie bit her delicate lip.
“From the start, to the eldest son, you were never someone worth considering. You’re just a disposable piece he can replace anytime.”
I pointed toward the decorative chessboard sitting on the table.
The box was stuffed with countless chess pieces.
“You’re mocking my situation, aren’t you…”
“Not at all. I was one of those pieces too.”
I picked up a knight piece, idly running my fingers over its smooth snout as I glanced around.
“That’s why I understand your position all too well. And that’s also why I’m offering you a far better deal.”
I placed the chess piece back into the box.
Then, looking directly at Lynie, I continued.
“I don’t see you as a tool. I want to see you as a partner—an equal.”
I rose from my chair.
Then, bending one knee, I gently placed my hand on her foot.
“If you help me, I’ll help you. We’ll make sure both our goals are fulfilled.”
From the inner pocket of my shirt, I pulled out a handkerchief.
As I softly wiped her foot, I looked up at her calmly.
“I need a witness who can expose Eric’s disgrace. And you want to be a dancer who stands on stage.”
Anyone can call themselves a dancer.
But standing under the spotlight as a principal dancer—that’s not for just anyone.
A refined family with ties to the art world, a teacher whose name alone commands recognition, and consistent financial sponsorship from within the industry.
All three are needed.
But Eric, who cares little for those beneath him, surely wouldn’t have provided all that.
He probably just threw her some money and planned to use her until her popularity faded.
“Our Erian Foundation will hire you.”
I continued speaking as I wiped her hardened, effort-worn foot.
“I will pay a fair price for your worth.”
Lynie’s toes trembled slightly at words she was clearly hearing for the first time.
But it wasn’t fear of Eric.
It was anticipation.
“But… because of the men Eric had me drink with, my image is already ruined. Would there even be a place left for someone like me?”
It was a trembling question born of hope—that her dream might really come true.
That she might finally feel freedom from this hellish web Eric had spun around her.
A proper secretary always knows exactly what the other person truly wants.
That obsessive attention to detail I once had—finally coming in handy now.
“Would you write down their names for me?”
Lynie carefully tore off a tissue.
Then, she wrote down about ten names—the men she had associated with so far.
I read each one silently, without a word.
“I’ll take care of it on my end.”
“All of them…?”
I returned to the expression I wore in the days I served Eric.
“Yes. None of them will even remember you.”
This was the moment when the heart of a long-shielded woman began to open.
Perhaps overwhelmed by all the injustice she had endured, her beautiful eyes welled up with tears.
“If I really… could turn everything around… I’d do anything.”
I looked at the unrivaled beauty Eric himself had once acknowledged, filled with satisfaction.
Then, I gently patted her shoulder, offering comfort for everything she’d been through.
But that gesture came to an abrupt stop.
“You look like you’re having fun, Roger.”
From what we thought was an empty bedchamber…
Came a voice—one all too familiar.
“…?”