When Lawrence had unveiled her plot in Lenos, and they had drawn their blades to face each other as they kept stealing each other’s profits, Lawrence asked her: “Why do you keep exposing yourself to so much danger? What do you plan to do with all the money you keep hoarding?”
Eve had been ready to plunge her knife into Lawrence in that moment, yet her response came with an embarrassed tone.
“Because you expected that of me.”
After stockpiling an almost pointless amount of money, she could look back on all those who came and went in her life and gloat about what she had accomplished.
Lawrence realized Holo was smiling.
“Just as she said she would, she has found joy in the world, and has at last found herself a pack she can trust.”
Lawrence’s eyes drifted to Eve’s table. Those who stood guard around her wore clothes reminiscent of those who dwelled in the desert, just like Eve’s own attire. The girl dancing joyously with her umbrella in the middle of the tavern, too, wore similar clothes.
“Heh. Can you believe how cute she was? She insisted on having the support of a pioneer before taking her first steps.”
Though Holo had lived for centuries, and at one point had even been regarded as a god, she was still plenty childlike. It was also said that one returned to childhood as one grew older, however, so perhaps it made perfect sense, but the wisewolf was delighted that Eve looked to her for support.
And as Lawrence watched Holo, he finally understood why he and Holo had vastly different reactions to the exact same information from Matthias.
“But you should have told me,” he repeated, his tone somewhat accusatory.
Holo looked at him like a foolish sheep. “You fool. One does not go around spilling secrets. And I know that no matter what I told you, you would not have believed me without seeing her for yourself.”
“Come on, I wouldn’t…,” he began, but he realized she might be right. Holo was kind-hearted, and he absolutely knew he would point out to her that she was incapable of holding negative opinions of Eve, who had come to their wedding.
“And I cannot say with absolute certainty she is not concocting some sort of evil scheme, of course. But I am quite sure that she is not,” she said, chuckling.
“Really?” he asked.
Holo shrugged. “Did you see how delighted she was to see us when she found us?”
It had only seemed like a look of surprise in Lawrence’s eyes, and the tavern was not all that well lit at night. Holo had poor eyesight, so he doubted she had been more keenly aware of the subtleties in her expression.
If anything, it had to have been the scent she gave off. That was because all the letters Col and Myuri sent to the bathhouse in Nyohhira were always so thickly covered in the scent of joy.
But after hearing that, Lawrence could not help the smile that crossed his face when he pictured Eve’s expression blossoming like a flower as she stood.
“Fine, fine. I get it now, but then what’s all this about?”
The truth remained that the Tonneburg Woods were in danger.
And not only that, these precious woods were to serve as the price for Tonneburg asking for help from Col, who could absolve them of the doubt that they were a heretical community amid the huge commotion surrounding the Church. The port town of Karlan took advantage of the situation, and was looking to build a road through the forest while also procuring lumber for itself.
And since all of that lumber was going straight to Eve, it was not unthinkable to suspect that Eve might have orchestrated a grand plan to pocket these riches, considering the scale of festivities in the tavern.
It made sense that Matthias, who was stalwart and hardy and had no interest in anything flashy, would be disappointed in what Eve was doing, and it was perfectly reasonable that he would wonder if the Karlan merchants were being deceived by her.
“Matthias’s objectives and Karlan’s plan all lead to Eve. Not only that, it sounds like she’s been staying here for the past few days, even though this place isn’t very big. If Eve’s taking on such a big job herself, then she would have way too much to do, and that must mean there is a lot of money in this.”
He could only think that she was plotting something nefarious yet again, but all he had pictured at the beginning quickly crumbled like a tower of sugar, and Holo licked her lips.
All he knew was that even if there were no bad people here, that did not mean a tragedy was not on the horizon. That was simply the way of the world.
The truth was that the Tonneburg Woods were very much in danger.
“I believe Eve herself will answer our last question, at least.”
There came a round of applause louder than all the rest. The dancing girl had returned to Eve and was showered in appreciation and praise. The tavern patrons seemed intent on continuing to enjoy the festivities, but Eve and all the distinguished guests around her exchanged handshakes. It seemed their business was finished.
When Holo saw that, she began stuffing her mouth with the meat, as though recognizing she had made too much pointless conversation.
“We can just take that home, you know,” Lawrence said with a sigh.
Holo, whose cheeks were stuffed like a squirrel’s, hurriedly swallowed and said, “It matters not. Can you order another?”
She gave an innocent smile, meat juices dripping from the corner of her mouth. When Lawrence saw that, he gave the deepest sigh he had made all day.