Interlude:
Conspiracy
(Pepi Barlier)
WITH MY HOLIDAY nearing its end, I invited Carol Achard over for a violin lesson. Mid-lesson, someone rang the bell to the manor.
“Who could that be?”
“Oh, that must be Kristoff. He mentioned he wanted to talk to Master Patrice.”
“To my father? About what?”
With the sound of the bell having interrupted us, Carol suggested we might as well take a short break. I wiped my sweat off and sprayed some perfume on myself, then went out of my room and down the stairs. “…Looks like she was right.”
As Carol had said, Kristoff was here. Kristoff was the oldest son of House Achard, a marquess family, as well as Loretta’s fiancé. In that sense, he was my rival in love, but beyond that we had nothing in common.
House Barlier belonged to House François’s political faction, which had a poor relationship with House Achard. I was able to call Carol over for lessons because we had a connection going way back, but it was strange to see Kristoff here.
“Father… He may be a high-ranking noble, but you needn’t bow that much…”
My father welcomed Kristoff, bowing so deep you’d think he was about to kiss his feet. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to witness. Of course, I was sure he wasn’t doing it because he wanted to. This was just his way of surviving the harsh world that was high society. Still, it hurt to watch.
“…I think I’ll just slip back to my room.” Thinking the violin would clear the bad taste in my mouth, I turned on my heel. Before I could fully leave, however, I overheard something that made me stop in my tracks.
“Oh, and I do ask that you keep this matter a secret from Master Dole,” my father said.
As I explained earlier, House Barlier was part of House François’s faction. Obviously, House Barlier was below House François in terms of hierarchy within that faction, but we were indebted enough to them to owe them our loyalty and more. What could my father want to hide from Dole, the head of House François?
My father took Kristoff and led him to a parlor in the back. As parlors were often used by nobles to conduct secret discussions, eavesdropping was impossible…normally.
“I’m sorry, Father. But I can’t help but be worried,” I whispered under my breath. I entered the book storage neighboring the parlor and locked the door behind me, then put my hand on the wall facing the parlor. Focusing, I poured my magic into the wall. It seeped through and filled the air on the other side.
Soon after, I could hear what they were saying.
I first heard my father. His voice was desperate, lacking his usual cheerfulness. “I can’t do this anymore. Master Dole is sure to notice.”
I was using a wind spell I learned after undergoing Misha’s special training. It allowed me to detect the vibrations in the air to pick up sound in a wide area. I couldn’t use this on a magically protected room, but a conventionally soundproofed room like this was easy to bypass.
“Hmph… What are you suggesting? Surely you don’t mean to back out? Not after coming this far.” In contrast to my father, Kristoff was calm. Too calm, in fact. His voice was chilling. What was going on between them?
“I don’t want to lose money any more than you do! But the human trafficking is being done in my territory! If we’re caught, it’ll be my house that is ruined!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Human trafficking? And it was being done in our very own territory?
“Master Patrice, please calm down. Nothing’s come to light yet. We’ll be safe for the time being.”
“Hardly! Surely you’ve heard the rumors yourself: They say His Majesty l’Ausseil himself is going to have us nobles audited!”
“That’s just a rumor.”
“But what if it’s not?! You understand that it won’t be just our heads, but the heads of House Achard as well, surely?!”
My hand trembled against the wall as I listened in. What in the world was I hearing? Was our family secretly in peril?
“Even if an audit does occur, it’ll be a while before they trace things back to us,” Kristoff said. “The ones handling the dirty work are the Spiritual Church, anyway.”
Even the Spiritual Church was involved?! I didn’t worship the Spiritual Church to the extent those in my parent’s generation did, but it was still shocking to hear they played a part in something this wicked. I might have stumbled into something more sinister than I’d ever imagined…
“What has Master Clément to say about the issue?”
“Nothing, as always. Father never gives his comment, being all too happy to sit back and observe. The best others can do is try to ascertain his wishes, knowing he can cut them off whenever he wants.”
“…And I’m but another of his expendable pawns, I suppose.”
“As am I.”
I began to panic, not knowing what to do. This was too much for me alone. I needed to tell someone.
But who?
The first person that came to mind was Claire. I knew I could trust her. But if I told her, then wouldn’t it be a matter of time before Dole found out? And if Dole did find out, would he protect the Barliers? Would he protect my father? From the sound of things, my father was guilty of betraying him. No matter how magnanimous Dole might be, it was hard to imagine he’d have mercy. It was a well-known fact that Dole hardly ever spared those who made an enemy of him.
“…Is there anyone else?” I wondered out loud.
Loretta’s face rose to mind. She was a close friend. I could trust her not to disregard what I had to say… Or could I? The fact Kristoff was Loretta’s fiancé could pose a problem. It was obvious Kristoff wasn’t the one she held in her heart, but that was of little importance here—an engagement was a promise between houses. Loretta might be willing to help me, but House Kugret might not be so willing. At worst, I might cause her problems for nothing.
“Listen carefully, Master Patrice. All we need to do now is wait for the right moment. And the right moment is sure to come.”
“…Can I trust you?”
“I don’t think you have a choice. For what it’s worth, my life is just as much on the line as yours.”
Not a trace of indecision was present in Kristoff’s voice during any of this. His usual kind face now seemed so haunting in my memory.
I heard the neighboring room’s door open. Their discussion was over, it appeared. I held my breath as they passed by the book storage I was in, unable to stop my hands from trembling.
“What do I do…?”
My thoughts were a jumbled mess, and my breathing was wild. I was in no state to continue my violin lessons. I snuck back to my room, taking care the two didn’t notice me, and saw Carol tending to my violin.
“Should we resume? Oh dear. You look quite pale—are you all right?”
“I apologize, but would it be possible to cancel our lesson here?”
“Feeling under the weather, are we? It’s not a problem at all. Let me call a servant over for you.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing I was clearly unwell, she allowed me to cancel the lesson, then even went as far as to make sure l was looked after. Her concern seemed sincere…but perhaps that was just wishful thinking on my part. Carol belonged to House Achard, and if House Achard was doing something sinister with House Barlier behind the scenes, then she could very well be complicit.
I couldn’t help but be paranoid after suddenly learning of the awful thing my family was a part of.
Somebody…please…help me!
My plea only echoed vainly in my heart.