But Matthias was no fool; he had the courage to follow the necessary path with no hesitation, even in the darkness.
“I sympathize with the Twilight Cardinal.” His straightened back sagged from a lack of confidence. “I am not sure how you feel, however…”
“It’s all right,” Lawrence gave a genuine smile—not a merchant’s one. “I’m relieved.”
Matthias blinked, then smiled. He had perhaps assumed that a cruel and greedy merchant would take the side of the more compatible Church conservatives.
“That does make me wonder, however,” Lawrence began.
“About what?”
“If the Twilight Cardinal is really asking for lumber in exchange for his support. Especially in your case, Lord Matthias—your problem directly relates to faith.”
Col, at least, would not do such a thing—he would come see Matthias for himself to ascertain whether or not the lord could be trusted, then put a neat little bow on their talks with one handshake. Col had left Nyohhira with the intent of examining the culture of the Church, investigating where they wielded their power to chase excessive profits and enact reform.
That naturally made Lawrence suspect that Karlan was exploiting Tonneburg’s weakness to profit off the lumber.
But the lord was knowledgeable—he spoke up first.
“Whatever they claim their ideals to be…things are not always so cut-and-dry in the real world.”
It was not as though Col could personally keep an eye on every little happening, so it was entirely possible that Karlan’s representative had simply treated the petition to a religious authority like they would have in the olden days.
“And it is not simply because I’ve started having doubts over Karlan’s negotiating power that I suspect the Twilight Cardinal’s camp might be forcing the city’s hand.”
“And that means?”
“Not long ago, things were mostly settled between Karlan and the Twilight Cardinal’s camp—all that was left was my payment. I went to the city to have a look over the contract drafted by a clerk in Karlan. And that is the first time I came face-to-face with someone who represented the Twilight Cardinal in all this.”
Upon realizing that he did not meet Col directly, Lawrence realized it was not Col who asked for the lumber; while that gave him some relief, an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach at the same time.
This was likely the first big deal the officials of Karlan had ever mediated, and that came with many firsts. There was no doubt they were bumbling along, playing things by ear as the deal progressed.
And at last, someone directly associated with the Twilight Cardinal appeared before the worried lord.
If that person only made his worries worse instead of easing them, then it was quite clear what kind of impression they would have made on Matthias.
“Do you think the merchants in Karlan are being duped by someone using the Twilight Cardinal’s name?”
“……”
Matthias gave no answer, but that meant his doubt was too strong for him to say no outright.
It was hard to tell whether or not he believed it was a shame to start doubting someone he had trusted once; he opened his mouth, as though reorganizing his thoughts.
“The one negotiating with Karlan is, without a doubt, an associate of the Twilight Cardinal—or so they tell me. My priest accompanied me to the meeting because he said his acquaintance was present.”
The priest he mentioned was the one who accompanied Matthias, who hosted Lawrence and Holo the night before, and then promptly informed Matthias of their arrival.
“But when we arrived at the meeting, I had no choice but to doubt the contract. Perhaps it’s what you might call the forest dweller’s instinct. It was a bit of a vain struggle, but I told them I would like to take the contract home and confer with my vassals one last time. But there is little we can do at this point. There were countless times I thought about calling it all off. So perhaps in a way, it was part of my own will that Meyer went around looking for people who could help us.”
Matthias’s fears were all too apparent.
“And he found you.”
He had grasped at straws until a ray of hope appeared at the final hour.
But Lawrence still could not understand why Matthias doubted the Twilight Cardinal’s representative so intensely. All of Karlan was in on the plan, so they should have gotten all of the facts about this person straight. The Kingdom of Winfiel was not a distant country—it was just across the strait; so close it almost seemed like anyone could reach it with a quick swim. And the old priest himself had confirmed an acquaintance of his was there, too. Then where did the seed of doubt come in?
Just as that question crossed his mind, Matthias spoke.
“A wolf.”
“Excuse me?”
Lawrence’s eyes widened as he scanned the trees. He thought for a moment Holo had lost her patience.
“She’s a wolf.” Matthias’s eyes were wide and blank, as though he was reliving a nightmare. “The merchant from the Kingdom of Winfiel came to handle the negotiations on behalf of the Twilight Cardinal. She displayed her wealth by wearing the gaudiest clothes I’ve ever seen in my life—she was like the colorful birds of legend from the south. But I knew on the inside that she was a wolf, that she was evil, and that I could not let my guard down around her, a monster that lurked in the shadows of the deepest—”
“Lord Matthias, please, calm down.”
When Lawrence spoke, Matthias scanned the forest in fear.
“This person has been confirmed to be a legitimate representative of the Twilight Cardinal, right? What was her name?”
If this were a renowned merchant, then it would not be difficult for Lawrence to use his connections to find out who it was. All he really had to do was ask Col himself.
“The wolf, yes…”
A gust of wind blew past them; Lawrence almost thought he heard the sound of animal feet hitting the earth as it did.
“She called herself Eve Bolan.”
“…”
The lord made his home in the deep forest, which was why his instinct was spot-on.
Lawrence ground his teeth. Whether it was in an awkward smile or out of frustration was hard to tell.
Of course Matthias had every right to doubt her.