Episode 93

The hotel room fell into silence for a moment. George seemed to be trying to understand his situation, rolling his deep-set eyes around.

The arrogant young man he had met at the gambling house was called Jasper Conway. It couldn’t be true. No, it couldn’t be.

But as George regained his composure and looked at Jasper again, he bore a striking resemblance to the young days of Lord Conway. George shivered as he recalled the words and attitude he had directed at Jasper.

Jasper stared at George’s trembling hand.

“Knowing the name Jasper Conway…it seems you truly come from the nobility.”

“What on earth are you talking about? I, I have no idea…” 

George stammered, trying to avoid Jasper’s gaze, his lips quivering. 

“Baron Verden.”

However, when Jasper mentioned the old family name Verden, George was visibly shaken. George’s hunched shoulders quivered.

Jasper muttered.

“If your ancestors saw you like this, what would they think? I heard that Baron Verden was a very honorable knight.”

George’s complexion grew paler, and he glanced around the hotel room. He seemed eager to escape from here. With his hands tied, if he could just seize an opportunity to run…

“It’s better not to try to escape.”

George, with a determined look, trembled. Jasper continued to speak, still sitting casually on the bed.

“I have no intention of reporting your misdeeds, so rest assured.”

“Why is someone like you doing this to me all of a sudden?”

“You suddenly became quite meek.”

“Please, let me go.”

“You need to go to pay off the debt. Where else are you planning to go? If you don’t have money, you’ll have to pay with your body if necessary.”

“But those Redmark guys are the worst of the worst, and if they get their hands on me, I never know what might happen…”

“I can’t say for sure about that.”

George was plagued by horrifying thoughts flooding his mind. If he were sold to the gang, he might end up as a slave, treated even worse than in the textile factory.

George asked with a tense voice.

“What is the connection between the Redmark Summit and the Conway that you are doing this to me?”

“Do you think you’re in a position to ask me questions right now? If you’re the one who’s been caught, you should behave yourself. Questions can only be asked by me.”

Jasper’s voice was calm but cold, making it clear that he wouldn’t tolerate further questions. George clenched his lips and swallowed hard.

Jasper, keeping a sharp gaze fixed on George, pulled a paper from inside his jacket. 

The paper depicted the Montague of Edwin, the target Jasper was pursuing under the Emperor’s orders.

“Do you know this man?”

When Jasper asked this, George blinked, looking dazed. Jasper extended his arm closer to George.

“He’s a man who entered the Valloch Port around the same time as you. Haven’t you met him in the illegal quarantine zone?”

George looked at the Montague while squinting his eyes, then gave Jasper a sidelong glance. 

“If I provide information about this man, will you let me go?”

Jasper stared at George, putting pressure on him in silence. Under his cold gaze, George hunched his shoulders and hesitantly cleared his throat.

Jasper, without answering immediately, continued to scrutinize George. He had a formidable presence despite being only nineteen. 

As Jasper approached a couple of steps closer to George, a shadow fell across George’s face.

With a quiet, menacing tone, Jasper spoke.

“Are you suggesting we make a deal?”

“Ah, no, um, that…”

George, who was trying to desperately defend himself, swallowed saliva the wrong way and let out a cough.

He tried to stifle the cough while his face turned bright red.

George was gripped by an instinctual fear as if he had encountered an overwhelming adversary. While Jasper had seemed like just a young man during his time sitting down, now he appeared to be a ruthless predator.

George’s fear was understandable, as Jasper genuinely harbored strong animosity towards him. A chilling silence surrounded Jasper.

Jasper pushed the Montague paper right in front of George’s nose and spoke.

“Seems like you keep having misconceptions, but you don’t have a choice, do you?”

“Um…um…”

“Tell the information you know, and I’ll hand you over to the gang in one piece. If you don’t know anything, I’ll break one of your limbs and hand you over to the gang. The outcome is the same.”

George held his breath, his knees trembling. Jasper, leaning slightly, stared intently at George.

“Don’t want to cooperate?”

“Ah, no… No, I… It seems like I’ve seen him. Yes.”

“Seems like you’ve seen him?”

“I… I’ve seen him.”

George had unconsciously started using a more formal language with Jasper. 

“His name was… Ah, I think it was Edwin.”

“You knew his name too?”

“I didn’t personally know him, but… He’s somewhat famous around here. They said he’s a highly skilled mercenary. He seems to take on various jobs around here…”

“He’s not affiliated with any specific group, huh? In that case, there must be a broker who gives him jobs.”

“Uh… a broker… I don’t know about a broker, but there was someone who mentioned that they worked for Edwin… Let me think for a moment…”

“Right, you better use your head. If you lose your hands, you won’t be able to gamble ever again. Life would become quite boring.”

George’s demeanor transformed as he pondered. 

Jasper was pushing George, but internally, he was quite satisfied. He had obtained information about Edwin more quickly than he had anticipated.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s in hiding.’

Especially if even small-time gamblers have heard his name. He must be quite active in the harbor backstreets.

‘He probably knows he has the Empire’s attention.’

Either he knows the Emperor won’t be able to touch him easily, or he has a strong backer protecting him.

‘He might have promised asylum in the Republic.’

George searched through his memories and, remembering the name of the person who had directly assigned work to Edwin, he hesitantly confided in Jasper.

Visiting that person might lead to Edwin’s contact information or whereabouts.

Things were progressing well, but Jasper felt strangely uneasy. Edwin’s actions seemed too transparent for someone who had fled the Empire. 

Obtaining information had been too easy, raising suspicions. Jasper furrowed his brow in thought.

In the meantime, George cast glances at Jasper while he silently thought about information related to the second son of Lord Conway. 

‘They were about the same age as Rosalie…’

If he was from the Conway family, he would likely have attended the Berkley Academy.

‘They might know each other. Well, Rose probably wouldn’t dare to approach him.’

Given the situation of being at the gang’s mercy, George didn’t hold out hope that the gang would contact his family.

However, George believed that he had to find a way to inform his family of his situation somehow. He thought that if his mother and father knew that he, their eldest son, had been taken by the gang, they would do something to help. He didn’t think they would just leave him alone.

George tried to put on the most pitiful expression he could muster and cautiously began to speak.

“Young master… do you happen to know a Rose Bell who attends Berkley Academy?”

As soon as the name Rose was mentioned, Jasper’s expression changed. George immediately lowered his head and began with an apology.

“I apologize for the question, but that girl is my daughter… If, by any chance, you have any connection with her, could you please pass on a message to my daughter? Of course, it might be inconvenient for you…”

George, trembling, finished his request. He considered reaching out to Rose as his last remaining hope.

“It’s been a long time since I lost contact with my daughter. She must be worrying about me a lot…”

George tried his best to appeal to Jasper’s sympathy. It was unclear if the man before him had any compassion.

Jasper, who had been silently observing George, finally spoke.

“You have a message for Rose Bell, do you? You?”

“…Do you know her?”

“I do.”

George was nearly on the verge of shouting in elation. They knew each other, despite the vast difference in their positions, even if they both attended the same academy.

“If you could kindly pass on a brief message about my situation to my daughter, I would greatly appreciate it…”

“Pass it on? Are you planning to reach out to her?”

“Yes… I can’t pay off this debt on my own, so with the help of my family…”

“Family, what about them?”

Jasper’s voice seemed to grow colder with each passing moment. George, who was sitting up straight, continued speaking in a more subservient tone.

“She has more use in many ways than an old man like me… Of course, in your eyes, she might appear as nothing more than a humble child…”

Thud! Just then, the makeshift chair George was sitting on toppled backward. In an instant, Jasper seized George by the collar and forcefully flung him to the ground.

Crack!

George experienced intense pain throughout his body from the unexpected shock. He hadn’t even fully comprehended what had transpired when sudden, excruciating pain radiated from his knees.

Jasper was using the heel of his boot to press down hard on George’s knees. George was forced to crouch as the joint pain surged through his body.

George quickly stammered out words.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made such an unreasonable request… I spoke out of turn!”

Despite his earnest apologies, the pressure on his knees only grew stronger. His weakened joints felt like they could give way at any moment. 

Fear filled George’s eyes.