Chapter 82: Two Days Until the Wedding (3)

The blue-haired girl, furious, stood in front of the door she had just kicked apart, while Ebony’s group remained silent.

“Now answer, bastards, who are you?” The girl in the red dress crossed her arms, clearly offended after being spied on all that time.

“Well… umm…” Ebony cautiously tried to find the right words so she wouldn’t anger the girl further.

“(From her magical energy I’d guess she’s a mage… But she’s the Melian daughter, so we can’t lay a finger on her…) We’re messengers… Yeah, that’s it, the ones bringing this thing.”

The blonde replied while pulling from inside her clothes, hidden between her breasts, the silver necklace they had been hired to deliver.

“Huh?… You’re the mercenaries my brother hired?” With an incredulous expression, Kanary looked at the group, dirty and even stained with blood; the smell accompanying the sight didn’t help inspire any sympathy.

However, her gaze shifted for a moment and she spotted Veronica among the filthy intruders. The cat girl smiled at her.

“It’s been a while, little Kanary.”

“Veronica! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” The blue-haired girl pushed Ebony aside and hurried forward to hug her old friend.

“I didn’t know if you’d arrive in time, I’m so happy you’re here!” Kanary said excitedly while holding tightly onto the cat girl.

“I wouldn’t miss your wedding for anything, dear,” Veronica replied while gently stroking her friend’s hair.

“Well then… and these are?” the wealthy girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Friends, they’re friends of mine, dear. Actually I—”

“Oh, that’s good. If they’re your friends, then they’re guests, hehe. For now come with me, Veronica, I’ll show you your room!” the blue-haired girl said while grabbing the cat girl’s arm and pulling her out of the shed.

After taking her friend away, Kanary returned to the storage shed with a cold look and a gesture of disgust.

“You stink… I’ll send Mark to give you rooms so you can bathe properly before we talk.”

“None of that! Just take this thing, pay us, and go to hell, spoiled brat!” Ebony snapped angrily at the girl’s attitude.

“No way! I’m not letting such beggars leave my house like that! You will bathe and leave here looking like the guests you are! Now wait here…” Kanary said before storming off, frowning.

The group stayed in the shed without saying a word, until Lucian interrupted everyone’s thoughts.

“Ebony… do you remember what the Skin Hunters said?”

“What are you talking about?” the blonde replied.

“Well, the hunters mentioned that necklace had a spirit sealed inside it, with some kind of spell that would release it after touching human skin for long enough… Something dangerous, since the spirit was toxic and could kill its host.”

Lucian looked worried as he tried to analyze their situation, not only because of the deadly necklace they had transported, but also because of whoever had planned it.

“So what? That thing was already purified by the hunters… It doesn’t matter if we hand it over now, it’s just a trinket,” Ebony said while placing her hands behind her head and lying down on the floor.

“Well… technically we don’t know who put that spirit inside the necklace. We don’t know who wants that girl dead, but whoever it is won’t be happy that the necklace is now clean.”

“Nah, that doesn’t matter. Not our problem. We just had to deliver the thing, that’s it. Besides, we’ll be miles away by the time they figure it out.”

“I doubt it. Right now the necklace doesn’t give off any magical or spiritual energy, which already shows it’s been purified… So whoever planned this will end up blaming us for ruining their plan…” Lucian said, stroking his chin in concern.

“That… Well, I see your point, but still it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve made enemies. Besides, we don’t have any reason to stay here longer.” The blonde tried to ignore the spoiled girl’s life with clear disinterest.

“But… Veronica does… She still hasn’t told us why she needed to come to Sapphire Port, but from what they said she’s a guest at the wedding… If the person behind this finds out she was with us, they’ll blame her…”

Ebony stayed silent, refusing to answer the elf’s words. She hadn’t considered that possibility, though it seemed a bit far-fetched.

“Besides, if their first plan failed, they might try another one. Everyone at the wedding could get hurt, or worse… It’s not that unusual at the weddings of rulers, sometimes betrayals happen. It’s very common in the north of the continent.”

“Alright, alright, so what? Huh? Are you suggesting we stay here for what? To protect that stubborn girl or the cat girl I’ve only known for a couple of weeks?”

Angry, Ebony turned away to avoid her friend’s gaze. Despite her words, a pain spread through her chest; maybe she hadn’t known Veronica her whole life, but she still cared about her.

“I understand that… But… she matters to me… I’m sorry, but I can’t leave her here if I know she might die… Not if I can do something about it,” the green-haired elf said with a disappointed look and a saddened voice.

Daniel, feeling uncomfortable with the tension in the air, swallowed hard. In his mind he debated what the two were arguing about; he didn’t know whether to side with the elf or the blonde.

“What if we just do half and half?” the boy said while sitting on a half-repaired wooden table.

“Huh? How the hell would we do half and half?” Ebony asked, annoyed.

“Well, let’s see… I think I have a plan… But it’s risky and humiliating. If we do it, you probably won’t feel very good about yourselves for a while…” Daniel looked worried and embarrassed about the ideas in his head.

“Spit it out, kid.” The blonde stood up from the floor, ready to hear her companion’s crazy idea.

“Well… first we’ll need Veronica—”

Before he could continue, a cough interrupted the moment.

At the broken doorway stood the same butler from before, inviting the group to follow him. Silently they agreed.

Ebony couldn’t stop thinking about her friend, torn between staying for the wedding or leaving with the reward.

…

After an hour of waiting, the group came down from the second floor of the mansion. They were wearing new and clean blue clothes.

“Welcome. Now you may sit,” Kanary said from the head of the dining table, where Veronica sat beside her, both waiting for the others to begin eating.

The group sat down in silence, since they had already spoken privately about their plans for the problem ahead.

Servants brought hot soup for everyone at the table.

“For now let’s eat. Later you’ll receive your payment and be free to leave. You must be hungry right now…” the spoiled girl said with a confident smile thanks to her friend sitting beside her.

The aroma was exquisite, and the chicken-and-vegetable flavor was excellent for Ebony’s palate, who couldn’t stop enjoying every bite.

But at that moment Lucian touched the blonde’s shoulder, reminding her not to forget what mattered.

“Ah, right, right… Hey, spoiled girl, I’ve got some bad news and some good news. Which one do you want to hear?” Ebony said with her mouth full.

“Anything can wait…” the blue-haired girl replied with annoyance.

“Well, if you say so. But eating without knowing someone wants to kill you is dangerous. You never know when someone might poison you.”

At those words the servants, Lucian, and even Daniel all fell silent, except for Ebony, who kept eating calmly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep