Chapter Fourty-eight: Job Description (Marian’s POV)
Marian formed a magical contract at the Commerce Guild’s meeting room, with guild members present as witnesses. Her hand glowed red as the contract mark appeared.
Looking down at the contract mark, Marian thought this was quite an elaborate process. If commoners made a magical contract on their own, and coercion was suspected, a court could order the contract’s nullification. That’s why it’s standard practice to have witnesses at the Commerce Guild.
But Sara is a member of the Ehlertt Earldom. When nobles make commoners enter magical contracts, they don’t need anyone’s permission. Even if commoners complain about unfair contracts, no one would care—yet she still followed proper procedures.
“As your master, I command you: from now on, never take any action that would not benefit Lady Karen.”
It was a vague command. How strictly one must follow such ambiguous orders depends on the intelligence of the recipient. For idiots, you need to give specific instructions, but for someone like Marian who can understand the nuances, a single vague command can significantly restrict her actions.
“Would you mind telling me what work you’ll be assigning me, Lady Sara?”
Waiting until the guild members left the meeting room, Marian smiled. She had anticipated Natalia would interfere when she tried to sell herself to Karen, but she hadn’t expected the House of Ehlertt to get involved. Still, Marian adjusted her mindset—perhaps having Sara as her master was better than wasting time idly under Karen. After all, there’s no guarantee Karen can keep creating potions. Not every alchemist can produce new types of potions. Rather than working alongside Karen, whose abilities are uncertain, this might be a blessing—getting to work under someone connected to the Ehlertt Earldom.
Ten years from now, Marian will still be in her thirties. Still young enough to work for Gubert Trading Company. The more she could take away from this, the better.
“Though Lady Karen’s potions haven’t seen the light of day yet, they will eventually take the world by storm.”
“If it involves business, that’s my specialty.”
Marian smiled inwardly. If Karen’s power proves genuine, then she would make amends—no matter what it took. Even without being involved in alchemy directly, there were countless ways she could support Karen.
She’s different from those beasts who left her kindhearted brother to die. Marian clenched her jaw behind her fake smile, trying not to notice how that bottomless kindness she remembered in her brother resembled someone else. She’d been irritated since first seeing Karen. Back then, she hated seeing Karen diligently taking care of Lyos, who wasn’t worth keeping alive. When she saw Karen giving Lyos soap that she’d made "by accident" while "playing with mud and fire," Marian thought it was unforgivable.
Unforgivable to give something valuable to someone worthless. Unforgivable to have hidden something of value.
At that moment, Karen reminded her of both her dead brother and the refugees who had hidden the potions they got from him. Before she knew it, Marian had taken the soap recipe back to Gubert. At the time, she felt like she was reclaiming what the refugees had stolen from her brother. But what if what she did was exactly the opposite—
“Marian, over the next ten years, you will destroy the Gubert Trading Company that stands in Lady Karen’s way.”
Marian’s smile stiffened at Sara’s stated job description.
“Wait, please. That’s a metaphor, right?”
“It’s no metaphor. I’m saying we plan to crush your family’s company.”
“What…!? My family has nothing to do with this!”
Everything was Marian’s doing. It was her own mistake, and Gubert Trading Company had nothing to do with it. That’s why she sold herself—to keep it that way.
“They have everything to do with it, Marian. Your father and brothers knew from the start that you weren’t the one who created the soap. According to our investigators, this happened years ago, so they had no idea they were being investigated now. They freely admitted that their daughter, their sister, had done well, calling it quite the clever move, knowingly dealing with stolen goods while patting themselves on the back.”
“That can’t be…!”
After returning from Ehlertt’s recovery celebration, Marian had immediately warned her father and brothers about the trouble brewing. So everyone should have been tight-lipped about anything related to the soap since then. This meant the Ehlertt Earldom had eyes on Gubert Trading Company even before that. Marian broke into a cold sweat, wondering how long they had been under surveillance.
“I became an indentured worker—wasn’t that supposed to make you forgive us!?”
“We’ll forgive the creation and sale of the soap. However, that does not mean we cannot destroy something simply because its existence is unforgivable.”
“K-Karen wouldn’t want this! That softie would never—urk!”
Her heart made a strange thump and hurt intensely. Unable to continue speaking, Marian doubled over, clutching her chest while breaking into a cold sweat.
Looking down at Marian, Sara spoke matter-of-factly:
“When you start to violate a life-bound contract, your heart hurts terribly… it’s very, very painful, isn’t it? I understand because I once had the same magical contract. If you endure this pain as it gets worse and still try to break the contract, your lungs will collapse and you won’t be able to breathe… Feel free to try if you’re brave enough. Though it’s very, very painful.”
“Ugh…”
Still bent double, Marian clutched her chest as tears dripped down. The pain was already unbearable—she couldn’t even imagine enduring worse pain. She didn’t want to imagine it.
“I’m glad you’re intelligent, Marian. Glad you can understand that telling Lady Karen about this wouldn’t be in her best interest. Someone like you should grasp it, right? That the continued existence of a company that stole from Lady Karen and brazenly carries on without remorse cannot be good for her.”
“We won’t… get in her way…!”
“Won’t the Gubert Trading Company eventually come to see Lady Karen as an obstacle? After all, it’s a company that grew by devouring its competitors.”
“Ugh…!”
Her father and brothers all loved Johan. That’s why after Johan’s death, the people of Gubert abandoned mercy. They pursued strength alone, even if it meant cutting down and trampling the weak.
All for the adventurers. To become the finest trading company for warriors.
And so Marian realized—there was a real possibility that things would unfold exactly as Sara had said.
“I was deeply moved by your company’s philosophy of serving knights and adventurers who risk their lives. We’ll make sure those who fight to protect our nation don’t suffer any disadvantages when the Gubert Trading Company falls. So feel free to destroy it with peace of mind.”
Looking down at the pale Marian, Sara narrowed her purple eyes and smiled.
“You wanted to work for Lady Karen’s benefit to avoid facing your own sins, didn’t you? Then go ahead—give it your all.”
I was worried how this redemption arc would turn out, but it gives me some solace that everyone had to face some form of consequence for their actions.
ReplyDeleteSara is a GOAT here
ReplyDeleteI was so livid because of Karen's choice, but now my anger is placated