Chapter 231
Chapter 231: The Forgotten One
Atop a jagged mountain range of rocky crags, jet-black ore jutted out from between the stone walls at every angle, razor-sharp.
The broken stones along the path were also layered unevenly, and some of the rocks had already cracked apart under the intense heat.
Leah walked alongside several Demi-human guards.
Ever since the Clavena Demi-human guards had been exposed in the south, they no longer needed to conceal their identities—they could now show their faces openly in broad daylight.
Though the Empire had regulations prohibiting Demi-humans from entering its borders, any Demi-human discovered within the territory could be dealt with at the discretion of a noble.
So forming a guard unit did not technically violate the rules.
Leah wore a metal miner's helmet and wiped the sweat from her brow.
She squinted up at the sun hanging high in the sky.
Inside the mine, several workers came carrying an enormous mirror.
The mirror was extraordinarily tall—well over a person's height—and large enough to reflect Leah's entire figure.
At the top of the mirror, a pair of black ore stones were embedded in the surface, fused into it as though they had always been there, sealed shut like a pair of eyes.
Even so, they gave off a faintly eerie aura.
Leah gazed at her own reflection in the mirror and asked the workers:
"This is what you dug up?"
The workers all nodded in unison.
According to them, the mirror was extraordinarily sturdy.
Even striking it with a pickaxe left no damage on the surface.
They found the object so remarkable that they decided to bring it to Young Mistress Leah for a look.
Leah studied the mirror with one hand resting under her chin, a look of puzzlement on her face.
The reflection in the mirror mirrored her exact gesture.
Then she opened her mouth and said:
"Whatever this surface is made of, it must be exceptional material."
"Have this moved to my home for now."
As she gazed at her reflection, Leah instinctively reached out her right hand.
Her reflection did the same—the palm bearing the Mage's Hand gleaming distinctly.
A moment later, her fingers made contact with the mirror's surface.
Leah ran her hand across the smooth glass and felt nothing unusual.
But the next instant, the pair of eyes at the top of the mirror suddenly flew open, staring directly and fixedly at Leah.
Leah let out a startled cry. A flash of white light blazed, and she was absorbed entirely into the mirror.
The white light seemed to freeze everyone in place.
It was only when Leah had completely vanished and the mirror came crashing to the ground with a bang that the workers finally snapped back to their senses.
They lifted the strange mirror that had fallen and stood there bewildered.
The pair of ore eyes were sealed tightly shut, as though they had never opened at all.
At that moment, outside the mine, Leon slowly walked in.
The workers spotted Leon's hooded figure and greeted her with respectful smiles.
"Lady Leon."
"What are you all doing here?"
The workers began reporting to Leon:
"While we were mining, we dug this up. We were just about to inform..."
At that point, they trailed off in confusion.
Strange—who exactly were they supposed to be reporting to?
Leon listened, stepped forward, and examined the mirror.
And so she, too, spoke:
"Send this to the Clavena Manor first."
With that, she turned to leave.
But the moment she took her first step, Leon's mind went completely blank:
"Strange."
"Why did I come here again?"
Carrying that puzzled feeling, Leon tried hard to recall as she walked away.
***
Outside the gates of the Clavena Manor, a merchant sat inside his carriage, quietly waiting as a maidservant at the door made arrangements.
The maidservant stood at the entrance and said politely to the merchant:
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Dir. I'll go inform..."
At that, the maidservant suddenly froze on the spot.
At that very moment, she couldn't even think of who she was supposed to inform.
A second later, the maidservant remembered—Master Viktor seemed to have already returned to the Manor.
She then said directly to the merchant:
"Mr. Dir, please wait a moment. I'll go inform the master right away."
After the merchant gave a nod, the maidservant turned and hurried into the Manor.
Before long, she came back out and stood at the gate. She gave the merchant a slight bow and said:
"Mr. Dir, please come in."
The maidservant led Dir into the Meeting Room of the Clavena Manor.
"Sir, please take a seat."
Dir sat nervously on the sofa, sinking into its softness, his eyes roaming around the sitting room of the Clavena Manor.
He had never imagined that one day he would be conducting business directly with the head of the Clavena Family himself.
But he had no choice but to come.
The counterpart for his order had suddenly gone missing, and a large shipment of materials had arrived at the port and was sitting there with nowhere to go.
Shortly after, a gust of wind swept through the sitting room.
White mist surged in alongside a howling whirlwind, swirling and gathering within the room.
The mist condensed, spinning beneath the vortex.
The next instant, a black Coat cut through the mist and scattered it.
A tall man radiating an icy presence appeared in the sitting room and settled into the sofa with effortless ease.
The sudden entrance gave the merchant quite a fright.
Yikes!
It was enough to jolt the man completely alert.
Viktor laced his fingers together and looked quietly at Dir.
"What is it?"
It was Dir's first time meeting Viktor. His hands gripped the hem of his jacket tightly, and his eyes drifted about uneasily.
Meeting Viktor's gaze, his heart was in a flutter.
But he hadn't forgotten why he'd come. He opened his mouth:
"Mr. Viktor, our goods have been delivered, but no counterpart has come forward to receive them."
"It's truly bizarre."
No counterpart meant no one to pay the remaining balance—which meant their shipment had no way of being released.
Viktor propped one leg over the other, leaned back, clasped his hands over his knee, and lowered his brow slightly.
He looked at the merchant, eyes narrowing:
"What goods did we order?"
"A large quantity of Black Jade Stone, Purple Iron, and Star-Vein Ore."
Viktor heard the list of materials and gave a nod.
These were indeed materials they needed.
Producing Firearms didn't only require the natural energy of Elves—that was just the final step.
They needed these special ores to forge the guns themselves.
Elves were important, but materials were equally so.
Viktor continued:
"Who was your counterpart before?"
"It was..."
Dir froze mid-sentence, thinking hard:
"The previous counterpart...?"
He racked his brain, but no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't recall.
Then, a thought suddenly flooded his mind.
For a deal of this scale, who else in the Clavena Family could it possibly be besides Count Viktor?
The realization sent a cold sweat breaking out all over Dir's body.
The one who had ordered all these materials could only be Viktor himself.
So the counterpart for this shipment was Viktor himself!?
And yet he had come here to ask Viktor about it. That was utterly foolish of him.
He should have come long ago, contracts and order forms in hand, and presented himself respectfully before Count Viktor.
Dir quickly bowed his head, drenched in sweat, his body trembling slightly under Viktor's gaze.
"My deepest apologies, Count Viktor. I have been most impertinent."
Fortunately, the Count was unlikely to concern himself with someone of his standing. Viktor simply gave a light snap of his fingers.
Xiangyilan descended from upstairs.
A petite white-furred Cat-girl in a maid's uniform walked to Viktor's side.
She gave a respectful bow toward him:
"Master, please give your instructions."
Dir glanced up briefly at the Cat-girl, inwardly astonished.
Word had long spread that the head of the Clavena Family favored Demi-humans—underage ones in particular.
It seemed that rumor was far from baseless.
News of this sort had long since ceased to be any secret in merchant circles.
Then Viktor's voice followed:
"Xiangyilan, take him to settle the remaining payment for the materials. Then send someone to bring the shipment back."
"Going forward, you'll be temporarily overseeing the Family's business affairs. I trust you can handle it."
Xiangyilan bowed respectfully and agreed:
"Yes."
She then stepped before Dir and said:
"Sir, please follow me."
Dir looked at the small, poised Demi-human before him—composed and refined in every manner—and felt rather bewildered.
This was really a Demi-human?
It wasn't as though he had never dealt with slave traders before, and none of the Demi-humans under those traders had ever carried themselves with this kind of dignified grace.
All he could say was that the Clavena Family truly lived up to the rumors when it came to their manner of handling Demi-humans.
A small measure of relief settled over him—at least the head of the Clavena Family before him had not been displeased.
I should see about buying a few underage Demi-humans from a contact and sending them over as a gift.
Thinking this, Dir stood up.
He removed his hat toward Viktor, leaned forward slightly, and gave a bow:
"Then I shall take my leave."
"A pleasure doing business, Count Viktor."
Dir replaced his hat and followed Xiangyilan out.
Viktor remained seated on the sofa, watching Dir's departure with an expression of absolute calm.
Weija beat her wings and landed on Viktor's shoulder.
Her raspy voice sounded:
"Well, I'd say I have a better sense now of just how much influence your sister carries."
After Leah disappeared, the entire Clavena Family had fallen into disarray.
A merchant like this one showing up directly at the door was the manageable sort—Viktor could step in personally to handle it.
But there were many other merchants who had partnered with the Clavena Family, all of them at a loss over their large pending orders.
With Leah gone, they couldn't find a single counterpart to turn to.
Even workers and maidservants who had completed their tasks had no idea who to report to.
All at once, the entire management of the Clavena Family had ground to a halt as though paralyzed.
If not for the considerable weight the Clavena Family's name still carried, and for Viktor still being present in the Manor to hold things together—the workers and maidservants would have long since descended into chaos.
"Everyone has forgotten Leah. It's as though her very existence has been erased."
Viktor spoke softly, as though thinking aloud.
"Though fortunately, I haven't forgotten."
He rose from the sofa again, hands in his pockets.
His gaze fell on a group of workers carrying a tall mirror through the gates of the Clavena Manor.
Viktor looked at that mirror, his eyes sharp and piercing, and said slowly:
"Found her."