A Handsome K*nky Gangster Reporter - Chapter 74

#74

Winter has already arrived in the Morris Empire. Every time I exhaled, white breath came out of my mouth. As I approached the window and looked outside, snow was piled up on the roadside.

I spoke to Mary as I relieved the goosebumps off my arms.

“Mary, we have plenty of money. Let’s put a little more coal in the stove. I’ll freeze to death if it goes on like this.”

In the office temperature no different from the cold outside, I deliberately blew out my breath hoping Mary could see it. White vapor gushed out through my mouth. Mary waved her hand when she saw it.

“Ouch. It’s quite warm like this, isn’t it? Please wear more layer of clothes. After all, Pres said to go out to cover again.”

“When I look at you, I sometimes get confused as to who it belongs to.”

“Oh, so the Pres can take a joke too. If you stay too warm inside, you’ll catch a cold easily when you go out. I think this temperature is just right. Moreover, how good is it that the downstairs is a bakery? The hot steam of the oven goes upstairs as well.”

While glancing at Mary, I picked up the remaining ashes and put some more coal into the stove. The well-dried coal burned immediately and warmed the air in the room little by little. The President noticed the employees. This was a very ironic situation. If only the employee wasn’t the daughter of the building owner.

Last time, I hired a total of two additional employees. When I checked the academy side, there were too many applicants with fake academic backgrounds on their resumes. Our newspaper had announced in advance that they would select educational background, gender, and status without discrimination. Nevertheless, there were many people who faked their careers.

The people Phillip knows are also fraudsters. Therefore, when I was going to hire more than three people, I had no choice but to hire only two.

Turd Payne and Anna Ray, the main characters in our newspaper’s first story, have become Mary’s juniors. In contrast to her shy and quiet first impression, Anna Ray has quite a strong personality. Perhaps, because her body was trained to serve in restaurants, she was even strong.

Even now, Anna came to the second floor office with a sack full of readers’ letters on her back. Although happy to see her junior looking strong, Mary rushed over to her.

“Anna, you’re carrying all this alone? You should have asked for our help.”

“Uh, lightly. I used to work in a restaurant and carry bags of flour by myself.”

“Didn’t the restaurant owner cry when you said you were quitting?”

“Ha ha. He didn’t cry, but he still wanted to raise my salary.”

I don’t blame him. The two of them chatted and laughed, saying that they didn’t want to lose this talent even if they were the owners. It was good to see Mary and Anna getting along well as seniors and juniors.

After enjoying a warm cup of tea, I looked at the snowy road anxiously.

“When’s Turd coming back? I’m sure you’re doing your job well, right?

Today, Turd has to shoot an important transaction scene. I wanted to go there on my own, but my face was known by others. Therefore, I decided to save myself today.

Emily had been a social interest as a Cortishan. She continuously relayed the information she heard from them while spreading rumors with several men. She emphasized that she had never done it for a friend under the pretext of paying a debt.

She was very shy.

We already had a trusting relationship so we could be called friends. Emily only denied the fact that I was her friend until the end. She was the one who told me what happened today.

Turd went to cover about the illegal drug trafficking case of the Princess’ fiancé, George Abe, today. Drugs are prohibited under the Morris Empire Act due to their addiction and strong side effects. Some wealthy imperial family members are addicted to these drugs and have committed illegal acts. According to reports, George Abe has been making huge profits from the import and distribution of drugs from overseas.

‘Finally, I can keep my promise to the princess.’

I had to spend a considerable amount of time and effort, but I think it was a relief that I was able to keep the words I had spoken once. However, it bothered my mind to send Turd to that dangerous place on his own. Just in case, Black Scorpion had secretly sought protection for Turd, an organization that worked in the back alleys. All this time, he had been a regular customer of the organization, such as buying small information or hiring someone who was only responsible for a short period of work. Therefore, I was confident that this matter would be resolved well.

Just then, there was a commotion outside the building. The sound of horses crying and horsemen shouting made the alley a bit noisy. Mary, who had come to the window and was looking outside out of curiosity, tapped me on the shoulder.

“Wow! Pres, look at that! It looks like a precious guest has come to our newspaper after all.”

Looking down where Mary was pointing to, there was a large horse-drawn carriage standing. A cart made of gourds around high-quality white leather. Paintings painted with real gold and colorful jewel decorations surrounded and reflected the sunlight everywhere, but my eyes were dazzled. The wagon wasn’t the only luxurious thing.

The six horses leading the carriage also stood up, showing off their slender and smooth figures. At first glance, it was nice horses.

“Looks very expensive.”

As I muttered to myself, this dialog felt strangely stuck in my mouth.

‘Huh? Why do I feel so stupid?’

This scene, clearly familiar as the one I saw somewhere before.

Lest that beautiful woman enter after opening that door, right?

Mary made a scene.

“Oh my God, she must have come. She came here.”

“Maybe they’re here to buy bread.”

“Uh, my father’s bread isn’t fancy and delicious like what the nobility eat. Oh, shouldn’t the boss himself pick him up?”

Mary’s words were as sweet and ear-catching as anything I’d ever heard before. When I thought about it with my eyes closed, I remembered a dream I had dreamed of a long time ago in the past.

So the woman who got off the train was about to throw me a bag full of gold coins?

“Mary, you know that crazy blond-haired guy who comes to our newspaper office every now and then?”

“Yes, I know him.”

“What’s that fool’s name?”

“Uh…”

While scrunching up her nose, Mary who was momentarily lost in thought before she clapped her hands.

“Oh! I remember. I think that guy said his name was Ciel.”

I didn’t mean to refuse the money that came in for free. Even so, I felt uncomfortable receiving money like the contents of a dream when it had nothing to do with her. It seemed like the dream I had dreamt long ago in the past was a dream of prophecy.

“Mary. Give me a set of the expensive teacups you’ve been saving.”

Mary opened her eyes as if she was embarrassed by what I said.

“Set of teacups? Hahaha. I don’t know what you mean.”

“Last time you secretly bought it with public money without my knowledge. I have to use to serve guests.”

As expected. May dropped her head and headed for the warehouse, as if I was right.

‘The prophecy dream was too detailed, I guess?’

That was very strange. It was amazing that I remember a dream I dreamt a long time ago in this kind of detail. As if it had happened before, why was the dream so vivid?

I thought I should discuss this strange experience with my mother, and I was ready to welcome her.

As expected, a noble woman who braided her blond-colored hair and tied it eventually appeared. The woman wearing a dress with a mixture of gold and white silk embroidery had a colorful diamond pin on her head and a large colored gem necklace around her neck.

As expected, Bruen’s tears were on her neck. ‘You’re going to give me money right away not to meet her son?’

The woman couldn’t take her eyes off me. She frowned while looking at my red hair, but soon sat down on the sofa with an elegant posture and raised her chin high.

“You know Ciel, right? I’m her mother. We raised our child with a lot of support at home, but he grew up knowing nothing about the world and was rather immature.”

If I had secretly listened to that woman, I had a bag of gold coins. But, it seemed like my mind had changed. I wasn’t interested in the blonde, and I didn’t want to benefit from the woman’s misunderstanding.

“Hey. So what you’re saying is, don’t meet your son. Are you here to warn me?”

The woman must have been surprised by my blunt remark because she turned her head and fanned herself quickly. The hand fan fluttered so fast. The wind blew so hard at me that my bangs fluttered around.

The noble lady continued to fan herself and looked out the window in embarrassment. Outside, the cold wind passed by and hit the window hard.

“Well, I didn’t just ask you to leave. Of course, I plan to pay a fair price.”

‘Sure enough, is this going according to my dreams in the past?’

Sorry, but the money bag is gone now.

“Please give me something other than money. For example, the necklace hanging around the neck of the wife who won the last bid… .”

“Huh!? How much will it cost? Are you aiming for this?”

Words mixed with harsh metallic sounds came out of the noble lady’s mouth. I urgently added to correct his misunderstanding.

“Oh no. I didn’t ask for a necklace. As the owner of this necklace, I want you to do an exclusive interview with our newspaper. If you just do that, I will stay away from the blond-haired idiot… Oh, no, I won’t meet your son again. How does it feel for you?”

However, I also don’t like men who are full of seductive tendencies. Even the boy’s mother came forward and asked me to break off the relationship, shouldn’t there be something in my hands? To me now, a piece of knighthood is more valuable than a bag of gold coins.

After seeing my sparkling eyes, the woman thought for a moment and immediately nodded. I quickly took out my notebook and prepared my pen.

“I’m curious why I got a tearful offer from Bruen. As you know, it’s a jewel that is rumored to bring misfortune to its owner. Aren’t you concerned about such unpleasant rumors?”

The hostess answered gracefully while clearing her voice and leaning back on the sofa. It’s a little against etiquette, but I wonder if she would take a comfortable position in front of commoner.

“It’s just a rumor. And our family isn’t weak enough to fall apart with just one jewel like this. You know my son is guarding the Crown Prince, right? I’m in such an honorable position, would I fall so easily?”

“But to say so, after having Bruen’s tears before, there was a big fire that killed the whole family. And before that, a family was destroyed because of the plague. The suffering of the people is related to this necklace. You know it, right?”

At my words, the woman’s forehead narrowed rapidly. She tried hard to control her expression, then opened the fan and covered his face.

“I think it’s the result of overlapping coincidences. I’m not so stupid as to believe in all that nonsense.”

“I see. Have you thought about exhibiting it in the Imperial museum? I thought they would contact you for the necklace is huge.”

“I got a call, but I turned it down. The gem still sparkle when worn.”

Instead of displaying it and showing it to many people, she just wanted to monopolize it to herself. I had to modify this part and write it in the article so as not to cause as much damage as possible to the noble lady.