74: It Paid Off

 By Antoinette Vanessa August 19, 2023

Dylan had arrived. Avril stood up without even waiting for him to call her name.

“…I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I apologize for the delay. Although it looks like you had a bit of fun?”

“As you can see.”

At her straightforward answer, the pair of blue eyes beneath the mask smiled gently. His gaze relieved her immensely.

Apparently, I was a bit nervous. After all, I never attended a masquerade ball before. But I’m glad I managed to get through it without causing any major trouble.

Dylan took Avril’s hand, before turning to look at the black-masked man.

“…This is?”

“He played chess with me just now.”

When she answered so, the black-masked man responded calmly after a short pause.

“…I see, I didn’t realize you had a partner. I apologize for keeping you to myself for so long. As an apology, I’ll leave this as well.”

Then, the man placed a slip of paper on top of the scattered pile of cash and spoke in a low tone.

“…If you have other purposes, go to the room written on this paper.”

…?

While Avril was picking up the paper, the man quickly left the room. Seeing that, Chris seemed to grasp something.

“…Lord Dylan, should I follow him?”

“No, it’s fine. Just knowing that the man with red ponytail—Thomas Edgar—is here should suffice. Well done, Avril.”

…In other words, the black-masked man was a person of interest for Dylan’s work tonight, right?

Apparently, Avril had helped Dylan out without realizing it.

Even though he praised her, all she did was entertain Corinna’s former lover and played round after round of chess. Furthermore, the former lover’s mask had been removed, and the situation with him had been defused. She doubted he’d ever attempt anything again.

Sighing in relief, Avril briefly explained what took place in that room.

“A lot happened, but anyway, I just want to tell you that Corinna was an abominable villainess.”

“What?”

“Not only did she steal heirlooms, she’d also imprison those who went to retrieve them. My sister was an abhorrent villainess who could topple a kingdom.”

“…I see, you definitely can’t imitate her, then.”

“…”

The sense of defeat she felt probably came from the era when she was trying to become a villainess. As she listened to Dylan’s humorous tone, Avril left the room with slightly mixed feelings.

***

While walking through the corridor leading to the hall, Avril took out the paper she received earlier.

The note given to me earlier has letters written on it. It looks like an ordinary letter, but it’s a code.

It looked simple. In fact, at a glance, anyone could probably tell that it was a map. The phrase [Come to this room] was also written on it.

“Lord Dylan, the person from earlier gave me this note. He said that if I didn’t just come here to play, I should go to this room.”

“Will you show it to me?”

When she handed him the piece of paper, Dylan read it and pondered deeply.

“The man from earlier—Thomas Edgar—was in a secret business meeting with the target, the head of the Ashfield family. I saw them in the other room. As he was wearing a mask, I lacked decisive evidence, but because Avril won that chess match, I was able to identify him.”

“I see, so that’s what happened.”

“…Judging from this note, it seems that he’s on my side.”

“Based on Lord Dylan’s story, it’s natural to think so when you look at this note.”

“That’s right.”

Dylan’s expression turned serious as he looked over the note.

The gentleman I played chess with earlier was someone Lord Dylan has been keeping an eye on because of his work. In reality, that gentleman was an ally. Just like us, he is investigating the nasty rumors of the Ashfield family. Which means…

…The room written on that piece of paper must had been worth checking. It seemed that Dylan’s infiltration had achieved sufficient results just by getting that note.

Though, it’d be nice if it’s just about fraudulent transactions… Somehow, I have a feeling that there’s something more terrifying involved. If we head back now, won’t the culprit have enough time to erase the evidence?

At the same time, they could just call it a day and report the results of their investigation. But what if there was no next time? Avril suddenly halted and spoke;

“Shall we go to that room right away?”

“No, it’s fine. Avril is accompanying me today. I can’t put you in harm’s way. I’ll confiscate this paper as well.”

“…Except—”

Avril smiled, tilted her head, and pressed her palm against the wall of the deserted hallway. Then, the wall soundlessly opened, smoothly, as if it were a sliding door.

“—I already opened the door?”