Myuri did not bare her fangs, but she was clearly upset. If she spoke, she might even say, Brother, you cheater!
“I happened to hear a little while ago there have been recent developments in the conflict between the Kingdom and the Church. And that’s when I received a very interesting letter from one of my employees. And what do you know, it said there is a boy who is still a little timid…Oh, pardon me, who is as pure as a freshly peeled egg being called the Twilight Cardinal.”
Col knew Eve was making a joke, so he stayed silent, but Myuri’s gaze was piercing.
He knew she was going to grill him with questions later.
“I am not much of a believer, but there are several fundamental rules that are deeply ingrained into me,” Eve said, slowly recrossing her legs. “One being that whenever I make a big deal, I absolutely see it through with my own eyes.”
“A big deal?”
“Yes. That is why I rushed all the way to this still-chilly land, Lord Hyland, and waited at the port, but I had no idea Col…Sir Col was under your care.”
She should have known he was working with Hyland, since she received her letter from Ilenia, and because this was Eve of all people. It might be nothing more than a show of humility, but still.
Sharon also said she put her fellow birds on watch, and Hyland also said that she stationed people in the harbor because she was worried about him.
When Col thought about how many people had their eyes on him, it seemed like the name of the Twilight Cardinal had completely taken on a life of its own, and that terrified him.
“The owner of the Bolan Company, said to be known to all in the south—talk about a big deal. And it seems you’re here to rely on the Twilight Cardinal for such a deal.” Hyland, leaning back in her chair, spoke in a noble-like way that she did not often use. And Myuri, sitting beside her, warily stared at Eve. “May I ask what your motives are?”
Eve deftly parried Hyland’s attack with a smile.
“When I was counted among the nobility of this country, I wasn’t much more than a fly on the wall, even in social situations. To this day, it is still strange to be asked anything by a member of the nobility.”
The atmosphere immediately tensed.
Col looked to Eve, wondering what she was planning, and, of all things, she impishly winked.
“Heh. My family completely lost our standing due to the previous king’s misgovernment, so we left this country. I hope you won’t mind a brief comment?”
It seemed Hyland was frozen, unsure of how to respond.
She was completely engulfed in Eve’s presence.
“However.” Eve straightened out her crossed legs and sat up, and her expression immediately tensed.
The atmosphere, which had been like an overripe fruit, suddenly changed to something more dignified.
“As you know, I am a merchant who was a noble before leaving this country. And at the end of a checkered fate, I collected enough gold to bring about countless fantasies. That is why I had the foolish thought of coming to a lord and telling her of my plan, but she probably wouldn’t trust me.”
Just a few moments ago, there sat a terrifying merchant from the desert.
But as she spoke with such clear enunciation, she was exactly like a noble reporting to the king in the palace.
“And so then I decided I should receive a recommendation from the Twilight Cardinal.”
Eve looked to Col, and he found himself bewildered.
“Me, you mean?”
“Sir Col knows a lot about me. I might be slightly immoral by his standards, but at the same time, that also means I am someone he can trust.”
She smiled.
“…”
Hyland looked to him, puzzled, and Myuri looked at him like a traitor.
But he sort of understood what his role was now.
Eve knew that anyone who looked at her would think she had some ulterior motive, that she was definitely plotting something, so she actually plotted to come out here. But she knew that without the guarantee of a third party, she would not be able to conduct trade.
And so she was asking him to do that.
If they had the mind to do it, a priest could easily fabricate records of where they were born, who they married, and where they died. Knowing someone and vouching for who they were on their own was more convincing than any amount of money.
Col obviously could not know everything about Eve, nor was he planning on insisting that he did.
But there was one thing he was confident about.
“I can trust Miss Eve when it comes to trade.”
That was because Eve would put her life on the line for money without batting an eye. She had saved Lawrence, Holo, and even Col himself, powerless as he was, back then from narrowly being killed.
And since she never learned to change her ways, in terms of the money of faith, he could even call her a martyr.
“But,” he continued, only because the wisewolf Holo herself acknowledged, for better or for worse, that Eve was a wolf in people’s clothing. “What could you possibly be plotting this time?”
Eve smiled childishly and said, “I was thinking about monopolizing the Winfiel Kingdom’s trade with foreign countries.”
Eve Bolan.
This miser feared not even God and had just as much vigor as she always had.
CHAPTER THREE
Col did not think Eve was the sort of person to use jokes and exaggeration when she was talking about trade.
That was why he could barely grasp the truth behind her words.
“Pardon, what did you say?”
And of course, he was not the only one; Hyland was the same.
“I was thinking about monopolizing the Winfiel Kingdom’s trade with foreign countries.”
With a delicate smile, Eve repeated herself word for word.
It was not a joke after all.
Col exchanged glances with Hyland from across the long table and then looked back to Eve.
“Miss…Eve? I don’t think you are the sort of person to make jokes about this. But…”
“It’s simple, Twilight Cardinal. You’re scratching your head over the long-distance merchants’ plot, are you not?”
There was no one there to scold her for using crude language in front of royalty. There instead was the odd reliability of someone who had opened her heart, which suited Eve’s character very well.
And it was even doubly so, since what she said was, in reality, right on the mark.
“You seem to have a more detailed grasp on the situation, Lady Bolan.”
Hyland also seemed to have gotten used to Eve by now, as she answered quietly but without fear.
“I’m confident that I do. And because of that, I knew I could possibly hit on a big deal, and I just could not contain myself, so I came here. I think I know what you were thinking. Those chumps from the Church somehow ended up in cahoots with foreign traders and are trying to cut off supplies coming to this country. At this rate, you would either have to compromise in your conflict with the Church or end up entangled in war at a disadvantage. If you don’t do something, then they’ll catch you by the nose and take you for a spin.”
Hyland wore a tense expression as she listened to what Eve had to say, and beside her, Myuri’s eyes widened at the way she told her story. She was not repulsed by Eve’s lack of civility in her choice of words, of course, but the opposite.
Myuri loved violent tales of mercenaries and pirates, and Col would not argue if anyone called Eve the boss of either.
Conflicting feelings of curiosity and hostility appeared on her face in a strange expression.
“And you have good ideas regarding that?”
The way Hyland spoke was much like how one would speak to a peddler who appeared at one’s doorstep.
But there was no way she was as disinterested as she seemed. That was because while both she and Col knew the subtleties of the world of faith, they were entirely clueless when it came to the w
orld of trade.
And then Eve appeared, who was like a great serpent that slithered around in the merchant world, which was already full of evil spirits; they should have welcomed her heartily and borrowed her knowledge.
The problem was that while they could trust Eve herself, she was still cunning.
“I do. And it’s a way to make a lot of money, too.”
What she followed up with after her assertion was unbelievable.
“The Church might want to pull the merchants out of this country in order to give themselves the advantage in war, but in their stead, my company will supply all sorts of goods from the south of the Kingdom.”
It was only the left corner of her mouth that curled upward.
She was like an evil fox from a fairy tale.
“I’ll provide great amounts of wheat, endless cured meats, and enough wine and oil to create a lake. Of course, I’ll also bring in steel weapons, shined to perfection; carefully woven woolen goods; tanned hide; and all the raw materials and tools the craftsmen need to work. Naturally, ships that come in filled with cargo will also leave filled with cargo. I can even take on the market for wool, peat, and the specially made burning alcohol produced by the Kingdom and then bring gold to the people who live here.”
She would literally take all the trade into her own hands.
That was what she meant.
“…Lady Eve.” Hyland, however, spoke coolly in response to her preposterous story. “Do you believe you can turn that into a reality?”
“Of course I do.”
Eve did not seem to hesitate, not even for a second. She had been leaning over the long table, but she now confidently leaned back into her chair. Col might even believe her if she said she could split the sea.
Hyland was truly vexed and closed her eyes, as though enduring a headache, before speaking slowly and clearly.
“You are a merchant from the south. What you speak of would be nothing more than betrayal to the Church, which yet prides itself on its great power. On top of that, despite how the other merchants are working with the Church to stop trade, why would only your ships be allowed to continue to come for business?”
It was an extremely reasonable question, and it was unthinkable that Eve did not have an answer already ready. Everyone there turned to look at her; she made the face of a magician about to reveal her secrets, and her manner of speech turned to one more deliberate.
“I was once a noble in this land, Lord Hyland. That is why I will tell the Church that this Kingdom, which is so desperate for goods that hands are coming out of everyone’s mouths, trusts in my company and will come to me for help.”
“You’ll tell the Church…?”
“Yes. This is actually what I told them.”
Eve crossed her legs and changed the tone of her voice.
“Eve Bolan is a fallen noble who sold herself and her house to a merchant, but that merchant also lost everything after becoming bankrupt in the economic crisis created by the king’s misgovernment. While she managed to recover far, far to the south, it is her ultimate wish to restore her house, so she certainly hopes that she’ll be reinstated in her position as a noble by helping in this time of crisis. If she expresses such brave words to the king, he will surely and readily agree to this deal. But what all started this was misgovernment by the king, which led her to suffer plenty of hardship. Then, that would make this the perfect chance for retaliation. By doing trade with the Kingdom, she could extract all sorts of information to hand over to the Church, and on the dawn of battle, she would unilaterally halt all trade and plunge the Kingdom into chaos.”
Beneath her smile was either a lie, a joke, or her true feelings, hidden under countless layers.
As Hyland held her breath, Eve shrugged slightly.
“I think it’s quite convincing.”
This was not the place to cut in with a laugh, of course. While Hyland found herself overwhelmed, she somehow managed to compose herself.
“I see. And now that you’ve done that, you will be making a promise to us on the other side of the mirror.”
“Absolutely. I’ll give you all the information on the Church, and since I have a good grasp on trade in the south, I’ll catch wind of war preparations and strategies. I’ll even tell you what they’re having for dinner. After the war starts, it technically wouldn’t be difficult to smuggle in goods behind the Church’s back. The only problem would be how the massive amounts of goods would be taken into port. If we treat them like stolen goods from start to finish, then there would only be so much we could handle. That’s what would trip us up without the recognition of the local authorities.” Eve tilted her head slightly. “How about it? I won’t be gaining anyone’s trust without the support of the Twilight Cardinal.”
The whole thing sounded made up, as though she was saying them she could only tell lies.
“The point is, I am happy with anything as long as I trade and make myself some coin. I do feel a faint homesickness for the Kingdom, but I no longer hate it or feel any single-minded devotion for it. So much the better now, since it goes without saying that I have no reason to support the Church. That’s because…” She turned to look at Col. “I’m a slave to gold.”
That was not self-deprecation; that was the source of Eve’s confidence.
It established the guiding principles of her actions and pushed her right in that direction.
People would call that faith.
“I understand what you have to say.” Hyland spoke gravely, staring fixedly at Eve. “But I don’t trust you enough.”
This insolent woman suddenly appeared with this outrageous story; perhaps someone drawing a sword on them would be preferable.
It seemed like Eve thought the same, and her cool smile remained on her face.
“And it’s people like you. You knew I was going to say that, and there’s still more, isn’t there?”
Lawrence had once told Col that a merchant’s basic principle was to never show one’s whole hand.
Eve folded her hands on her knees and smiled, satisfied.
“I was wondering who this nobody conning my cute little Col was, but it seems you do have some qualities worth noting.”
If Hans was here, he would surely foam at the mouth and faint over how rude Eve was.
But Hyland herself simply widened her eyes for a brief moment, then immediately smiled wryly.
“I won’t deny I’m a nobody, but if I stay this way, then I might no longer receive permission from his supervisor to approach the Twilight Cardinal,” Hyland said, then turned to look at Myuri beside her. “Isn’t that right?”
“Come here, Brother.”
Col had been sitting by Eve, on the opposite side of the long table from Hyland and Myuri.
Eve’s eyes narrowed in delight, and she shrugged.
“Go. A knight stays by his princess’s side.”
No other person could be more aptly described as a lone wolf than Eve.
He was sure the beautiful girl holding the umbrella behind Eve and the two guards standing watch outside the doors to the room recognized her as a master who deserved the most earnest of service, but he had a feeling that Eve herself looked at them with cold gazes from somewhere within her own heart.
So when she said that, he could not disobey. She surely knew more than anyone the value of trusting someone from the bottom of one’s heart.
And so when he arrived at Myuri’s side, she clung to his clothes and pulled him closer.
Perhaps it would have been easier if it was instead a passionate hug from a jealous girl.
“If you’re going to con my brother, then you have to go through me.”
It seemed that Col was the one to be protected.
“Heh. How cute. You’re just like her.”
Eve smiled and signaled to the girl holding the umbrella over her shoulder. The girl then took the white ermine coat hanging on the wall. Something like that was said to require a thousand white ermines to make a
single coat—it was representative of the highest-quality goods.
“At any rate, I thought there would be no way for you to stand up against the Church if you readily accepted my proposal, no matter how desperate you may be…but there seems to be a bud of hope. This is a bit paradoxical, but I’m hoping to continue to sell my idea to you,” Eve said, standing from her chair and placing her coat on her shoulders. “I know you’re skeptical of my idea, Lord Hyland. But I came all this way because I have solved this problem.”
“Then, what about the rest of your hand?” Hyland asked, and Eve gave a warm smile from beneath her coat.
“You’ll see. And of course, it won’t just be on a couple of sheets of parchment.”
“When?”
Hyland’s short question was packed with the nuance that there was no time to play politics.
“We should hurry, shouldn’t we? The conflict between tax collectors and traders is getting heated, isn’t it? The Church will doubtlessly use it as the spark to light the beacon for war.”
People needed reasons to fight, and the conflict between Sharon and the traders was a wonderful reason.
“That’s why tomorrow…Yes, why don’t we meet tomorrow at the Golden Fern? There’s a room out of sight from the eyes of others.”
Since it was a shop Hyland knew, there were likely special seats especially for nobility.
“But you will stand out way too much if you’re around, Lord Hyland.”
In that case, it was obvious who she would be calling on.
When Hyland looked at Col, he tucked his chin and responded.
“I adore Miss Eve, but I also know she can be ruthless.”
And then Eve continued.
“Since it seems like Col’s vision clouds simply because he’s familiar with someone, then that means my eye for other people has been clouded to begin with. And if this little girl here finds out that Col was forcibly pigeonholed, then she’ll go after my life. That’s the only thing I want to avoid.”
Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 4 Page 12
