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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Most of Life Is Not Smooth
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Most of life is not smooth.
After finishing his trifle and leaving the dessert shop, Daniel officially began his sightseeing.
He strolled leisurely through the streets, visiting the tourist attractions of the port city of Tentarbaham, eating the famous butter-grilled squid, and savoring fresh oysters.
As he was fully enjoying his peaceful life, a man in a tailcoat suddenly approached him.
"Are you Sir Rivellard?"
Daniel stared blankly, wondering who it was, as the middle-aged man placed a hand on his chest and spoke politely.
"I am Banvresh, the butler serving Lady Reph. I understand that Sir Rivellard has been invited to Lady Reph's dinner, and I have come to escort you. Are you indeed he?"
"Ah, yes, that's right."
As Daniel affirmed, Banvresh smiled and pulled an eye mask from his pocket.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you mind putting this on?"
"An eye mask?"
"Yes. Lady Reph's mansion requires a high level of security, and public access is extremely restricted. We ask for your understanding."
Daniel found it preposterous, but he decided to understand, as there were many eccentric nobles.
Daniel nodded, took off his sunglasses, and put on the eye mask, whereupon Banvresh took Daniel's hand.
"Please follow me."
Daniel, having no reason to refuse, followed Banvresh.
Soon after, he heard the sound of a car door opening.
"Please get in."
Daniel nodded and got into the back seat, and the car started with a soft hum.
About thirty minutes later, as Daniel leaned back in the seat, trying to discern the car's route, his senses sharpened.
'We're going around in circles. To disorient the passenger.'
Why are they so concerned with security, anyway?
His bewilderment slowly gave way to a certain unease, which began to rear its head.
However, despite his unease, once he was in the car, he couldn't simply get out as he pleased.
He endured, thinking he'd see how long this would last, when the vehicle finally moved toward a specific location.
Soon after, he heard the sound of an iron gate opening, and the car drove inside, slowly coming to a halt.
After a brief wait, the car door opened, and someone took his hand.
"I will guide you to the dining room."
From the voice, it was Banvresh.
Did they not even want to show him the mansion itself?
It was enough to make him let out a hollow laugh, but Daniel followed Banvresh without a word.
After entering the mansion and walking down a corridor for some time, Banvresh finally stopped in front of a door.
Banvresh straightened his attire and tapped lightly on the door.
"Lady Reph. I have brought the gentleman you met at the tavern the other day."
"Alright, just open it quickly."
Having received permission, Banvresh opened the door and gently pushed Daniel's back.
"Please go inside and remove your eye mask."
Following Banvresh's instructions, Daniel walked into the room and lifted his hand to remove the eye mask.
Before his eyes was a long dining table laden with a lavish spread of delicacies from land and sea.
Candles set on ornate candelabras cast a soft glow, and Reph, dressed in a black dress with a red brooch pinned to her neck, sat at the head of the table.
One strange thing was that despite it being a dinner party, no one else was present besides Reph.
Reph, seemingly pleased to see Daniel again, raised her hand in welcome.
"Rivellard! I thought the food would get cold! Come here quickly."
Daniel, feeling somewhat bewildered, nonetheless approached Reph.
Daniel pulled out a chair and sat down, then looked around once before turning his gaze to Reph.
"This is unexpected. I thought that, as a dinner invitation, I would be dining with your family, Lady."
At the mention of family, Reph's eyebrows twitched subtly.
"I'm surprised too, actually. I didn't expect you to ask about my family. We're not getting married, so why would you need to see them?"
"I didn't mean it that way, I just…"
"Never mind that, just tell me more about your past. That's why I invited you here today. If your story is satisfying, I'll give you as much money as you want."
Her changing the subject was suspicious, no matter how you looked at it.
Daniel, thinking he shouldn't just let it slide, frowned.
"This is unpleasant. I came here strictly as an invited guest. Yet, not only did you have your butler blindfold me, but now you are unilaterally demanding my story."
"…And?"
"If you truly consider me a guest of equal standing, then shouldn't you at least tell me who you are and what your family does?"
As Daniel took a firm stance, Reph seemed to feel a prick of conscience, showing a slightly apologetic expression.
After all, it was true that she had acted arrogantly after inviting him as a guest.
Reph pondered for a moment, then seemed to make up her mind, letting out a soft sigh.
"Alright. Revealing my identity to you shouldn't be a big problem. Even if you were to go around blabbing about who I am, no one would believe the words of an illegal resident, after all."
At the mention of 'illegal resident,' Daniel had a faint realization.
'They investigated my background.'
This was precisely why the dinner invitation had been postponed for a few days, rather than being for the same day.
'They must have wanted to find out if I was someone harmless enough to invite to the mansion.'
Since the name Rivellard was an alias, it naturally wouldn't be on the registry of the port city of Tentarbaham.
Even if there were someone with the same name, their age and appearance certainly wouldn't match.
The butler, having confirmed this, must have reported to Reph that Daniel 'appeared to be an illegal resident.'
As Reph said, no one would seriously believe the words of an foreign resident.
'So, she must have thought it would be fine even if secrets leaked, and invited me to the mansion.'
Reph's tomboyish nature likely played a part as well.
In Daniel's view, Reph was far from cautious.
"There are many strange circumstances, but to put it simply…"
Reph, oblivious to Daniel's thoughts, shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm an illegitimate child. You could say I'm the lineage my so-called father wants to hide the most."
At the word 'illegitimate child,' Daniel was visibly surprised.
But he quickly regained his composure.
'Ah. So that's why…'
It was the moment the reason for such stringent security, even for an invited guest, became clear.
"Meeting you was a miracle, in a way. My damned father doesn't want me wandering outside the mansion. Still, sometimes I sneak out without him knowing. That's how I happened to meet you."
Reph, speaking casually, picked up a nearby wine glass and raised it.
His unease began to intensify.
In the strange tension, Daniel broke the silence.
"May I ask who your father is?"
In response to Daniel's question, Reph took a sip of wine, then set the glass down and spoke.
"Well. How should I put it? A big rat at the top of this cesspit of a country, perhaps."
Reph let out a low chuckle and looked at Daniel playfully.
"Lowell Tailwiss. That's my father's name."
As a result, Daniel could only gape, stunned.
Lowell Tailwiss.
He was the Prime Minister who effectively governed the neutral nation of Bellanos.
---
'Damn it. When are the Allied Nations finally going to send someone?'
In the back seat of a military vehicle, Colonel Edvol, Commander of Bellanos Naval Defense District 12, gritted his teeth.
'Didn't they promise to grant me asylum in Edria, a permanent member of the Security Council, if I opened our territorial waters to the Allied Nations' submarines…?!'
He had trusted Kaledra's proposal and opened the territorial waters, but the Allied Nations were not sending anyone.
'I need to escape Bellanos as soon as possible, yet…!'
The Allied Nations' delay felt like it was burning him up inside.
Edvol had heard that the Empire was launching a large-scale search operation and had dispatched its fleet, sending a notification to Bellanos to open its territorial waters.
The moment the Empire's fleet arrived in Bellanos, it would only be a matter of time before Edvol was identified as the culprit.
Thus, he had been desperately awaiting contact from the Allied Nations, but it was all in vain.
Currently, the Allied Nations were merely silent, as if the terrorist incident had nothing to do with them.
As Edvol, sweating coldly, clenched his fists, the military jeep slowly came to a stop.
"We have arrived, Colonel."
He looked out the window and saw a house with a spacious yard.
Edvol, thinking he should first go inside and clear his head, opened the door and stepped out.
'First, I need to pack my bags. And tell my family…'
He needed to be prepared to flee at any moment.
As Edvol pondered what to pack first and opened the front door, he froze.
'…Why are the lights off?'
It was puzzling because it wasn't the housekeeper's time to leave, yet the lights were off.
Nevertheless, without much suspicion, Edvol flipped the light switch and froze on the spot.
Because beneath the now-lit lamp, a Black man in a black suit was sitting there.
"Come here and sit down."
At the words of Hamtal, who was wearing a fedora, Edvol broke out in a cold sweat.
By no means was he someone sent by the Allied Nations.
Moreover, the ominous atmosphere Hamtal exuded made Edvol absolutely not want to approach him.
'I need to escape…'
It was the moment Edvol, feeling a sense of crisis, took a step back.
Click—
He felt something cold and hard press against his back.
Realizing it was the muzzle of a pistol, Edvol merely turned his head to look behind him, only to see the soldier who had guided him here giving him a menacing glare.
It was an agent of the Black Swan, disguised as a soldier.
'W-when did they…?'
Just as Edvol realized he had been caught, his breathing quickened.
Hamtal calmly removed his fedora with a casual gesture and placed it on the table.
"Lest you misunderstand…"
Hamtal turned to Edvol, his eyes narrowing sharply.
"My request for you to sit is not a request; it is an order."
At those chilling words, Edvol realized he was powerless to resist them.