“I promise you that I will give my everything to see Conrad thrive, but do know who you’re dealing with. Whateley may be conscientious to a fault, but I’ve walked a very different path, and I occasionally indulge in vice. You might even say I prefer it. In matters of direction, I will give you nothing but my frank opinion even if we butt heads, but know that I always do so out of respect for those I serve.”
“In which case, you should know that I, too, do not budge on certain matters. The people of Conrad have raised me into the woman I am, and I will not hold back for reasons of age alone.”
“Fine by me. But I should add that I have no shortage of enemies. It’s something you’ll need to accept in hiring me.”
“I knew that the moment you introduced yourself as the head of a detective agency.”
“But remember one thing, please—I am dedicating what remains of my life to the Conrad family because Whateley believes wholeheartedly in its potential, nothing more.”
“And with you at our side, I will do my utmost to ensure that his faith is rewarded.”
Just who was the interviewer in this job interview of ours? I felt less like someone hiring for a job and more like I was being tested.
“We’d be glad to have you,” I said. “Our family needs your wisdom.”
“Then it’s decided. Let us pray that the road ahead is bright and fruitful.”
And so, Claude Badinter of the Badinter Detective Agency joined the ranks of the Conrad family. Whateley returned when he assumed enough time had safely passed, and Claude relaxed into a satisfied smile.
“All’s well that ends well,” he said, slapping his knee. “I actually already bought property across the street, you see. What a headache that would have been if you’d turned me down.”
“Are you telling me you bought a whole house?!” I uttered.
“What in the...?” murmured Whateley.
“For the purposes of work, smooth communication, and intelligence sharing, of course,” stated Claude. “This neighborhood isn’t too quiet, nor is it especially loud. Perfect for an elderly gentleman hoping for a little extra rest.”
As it turned out, it wasn’t just a house Claude had bought—it was two. The houses had been occupied, but the owner happened to be an acquaintance, and Claude got them for a good price.
“And you don’t even have your own carriage, do you?” said Claude. “So we’ll take one of the houses and leave part of it as an office. The rest we’ll renovate and make into a dedicated space for your carriage. I’ll have a driver at the ready, so make use of it as you like.”
“Claude, where in the world did you get the money for all of this...?” uttered Whateley.
“My own wallet, I’ll have you know. I see it as an investment, and given all the success I see on the horizon, you can rest easy—I won’t bill you for it right away.”
Ultimately, Claude intended to have us foot the bill. This meant we already had a point of contention to work through, but before I could say a word, Claude raised his finger to stop me.
“Our sales in the Tuna region are bound to make us a tasty profit, and we’ll need to get around town more swiftly in the coming days anyway. It’s a worthwhile expense.”
“You’re certain, it would seem.”
“Tuna has always been well known for its medicine production, but it boasts far more in the way of produce than that alone. The duke knows this well, and she’s picked her trading partners wisely. If she’s put her faith in you, we’d best make the most of it.”
Claude was only too happy to go on about how else we could make money—and there were many options, it seemed—but to do so, we’d have to expand the scope of our operations. That said, if Claude was going to buy the houses across the street, I felt it would have been faster and more efficient to see if we’d consider moving house first. I brought this up with Claude, but he had his reasons for choosing his specific course of action.
“Were you to move now, you’d only have the upper-class district to move to. Yes, it’s quiet and comfortable enough, but it’s also incredibly boring. And dealing with your neighbors? Horribly annoying. Then there’s the children—all stuck-up and cheeky. I can’t stand them.”
Claude’s opinion wasn’t everything, of course. There had to be places with lots of nice neighbors with adorable, polite children. Still, Claude’s mind seemed to be rummaging through the past as he gripped his teacup tight in hand and went on griping.
“They’ve all got far too much pride in those parts, and it’s nothing but a bother,” he said. “An ordinary carriage goes by and they have the gall to ask who owns ‘that shoddy excuse for a carriage.’ Can you believe it? No class, I say. None at all.”
“Claude, mind your language, please,” scolded Whateley.
“You fool, I am minding my language! Ugh! The things I would say if I weren’t!”
But even if Claude had approached us about moving, it wouldn’t have been a simple thing for us to simply pack up and leave. We’d all grown most fond of our current home, and we got along well with all our neighbors. And then there was the fact that I was simply hesitant to leave when I was still curious about the waterways hidden beneath the house next door.
With employment talk concluded, we shared intelligence. What I had not expected at this point was Claude wanting to know more about Ern.
“I know that you’ve sided with the crown prince, and I understand you are motivated by revenge. However, why are you so committed to the idea, and why is your friend—the young Elder—now being framed as a traitor to the state? I’d like to understand that more clearly.”
“It’s anything but a feel-good story, you realize?”
“Does a reasonable man who avoids risk at every chance open a detective agency, my dear? I’m here to help, and I will be hampered in my efforts if we do not understand one another.”
“I, too, would like to know more on this matter,” added Whateley.
Our steward was, in his own reserved way, just as adamant and stubborn.
“I won’t stand for a situation in which only Claude is made aware of the complete picture,” he stated. “On that note, would you wait just a moment? I’m going to call for Geoff.”
“Whateley!” I shouted as he left.
“Surely you can speak in confidence to those who have resolved to walk the same path as you?” said Claude. “And unlike Wendel, the future lord of the family, I am just an old man and do not need to fear repercussions, whatever they may be. You are giving the Conrad family everything, and I have no regrets helping you in your efforts.”
With Whateley, Geoff, and Claude all gathered together, I resigned myself to filling them in on the details. They remained cool as I told them the way in which Ern had slowly come under the emperor’s more watchful eye, but when I hit upon a certain part of the story, they crossed their arms, furrowed their brows, and murmured worriedly. They could remain silent no longer.
“I had thought things were getting more troubling,” uttered Claude, “but a weapon that fires projectiles faster than a bow? A powder that can decimate an entire home? Imagine such weapons spreading. The economy will be booming, no doubt, but the world will change irrevocably. War is inevitable.”
“Inevitable is a strong choice of word, Sir Claude. We can’t know that for certain,” said Geoff.
“No, inevitable is the right word. The emergence of new weaponry will only spur a desire in people to use said weaponry. In this sense, it is perhaps fortunate that Falkrum has already fallen.”
“You mean to say that if the king still lived, Falkrum would have been the empire’s ideal target? So they killed Ern so as to silence her?”
“That too, but first and foremost was the fact that she would not bend to the emperor’s will... That’s my take.”
The men wanted all the details, but I could not bring myself to speak of the use of explosives in the assault on Conrad. The timing for that had to be just right, and I had to consider Whateley’s health too. You could not blame a toolmaker for the way in which their tools were used, but all the same, I knew that our steward’s heart would break at the thought that he’d housed and looked after a woman whose work had led to Conrad’s fall.
“And you want vengeance for your friend?” asked Claude.
“I will take it,” I declared. “But at the same time, I want to grant a wish that Ern held while she still lived.”
There was one other reason for my decision, but it was still vague. I didn’t want to mention it before it had solidified in my mind. Either way, I needed to raise our standing and ensure that I had Reinald’s support behind me.
“However, outside of the weapons and the particulars, things have proceeded the way we could have expected. The problems start now, when what Ern has left us becomes something we can use. It will result in a swirl of competing ideas.”
“You mean Black Bird,” said Geoff.