Chapter 44: Running Around Town (3)

A very awkward conversation occurred between the vice-captain Buhini and the knight sir Alec.

I was sure the bastard would have changed the brothel on me, so I made it a point to let him know that if he dared use me as an excuse he wouldn't be walking anymore.

With the excuse of 'reconsidering its legality' all over the country, the knight somehow managed to get the vice-captain to take us to a brothel first.

The two knights were still hesitant to continue so they decided to check in first.

On the outer streets of the city with the cold cobblestone roads under our feet, lady Sophia and I stood in front of the three storey building that served as one of the biggest brothels around. The building was painted pink over its gypsum coating as dozens of bouquets hung from the many windows of the building. Beautiful curtains peeked outside, hiding the forbidden rooms inside.

I stood a few paces away from that place with a parasol in my hand, shading lady Sophia from the sun, though most of it was covering me.

"Why a brothel though, my lord?"

"Raum is a demon obsessed with taking away men's dignity, my lady. I'm sure his agent would be at a place where he could do so best."

Lady Sophia innocently tilted her head to the side.

"And a brothel is such a place?"

"Imagine having to give away the partners you barely got with money. I'm sure a demon like that would do something this extreme. Definitely."

"Extreme... Um... Well, I do hope we find him like this."

I nodded satisfactorily at Sophia's words. It was none other than I taking the helm. Finding the enemy was a given.

***

We didn't find him.

Why? It was the perfect plan?

The morning sun was already gone and it was late in the afternoon now.

We had already gone to pretty much all the brothels in the area, but we were still unable to find the thief. Each time, Alec and Buhini walked in, Buhini would check if the places were following all the rules while Alec would be busy asking them for the thief's description while avoiding the knight's eyes.

Really, how did we not find him?

"Hoh! You are truly wise, lady Sophia. Many of these places are breaking rules, even if not completely banning them, we very well would have to tighten our hold on them."

"Not at all, Sir Buhini. I was scared that my management was lacking. Forgive me for having you guide me like this."

"For the well-being of the people, this is nothing."

I ignored the two's conversation while shaking my head.

"Um, lord Eugene...?" Sophia whispered. "It's alright, you know! At least we are aware of where he isn't?"

"Could he be impotent?"

"I... that might be a possibility...?" Sophia placed a hand on my back and started pushing me ahead. Defeated, I quietly let her do so. "Let us go to a restaurant, I'll treat you guys every day we come out, alright?"

I nodded quietly and started walking with her while the other two followed right behind.

But. Why...

I would definitely do that if I were him. No, I wouldn't settle for that. I was going to go wild, I would gladly seduce everyone. Everyone. Though I had never done that before, it was too annoying to chase another person. I liked being chased instead.

"Well, you are certainly correct about Raum's interests, lord Eugene," Sophia said, patting my back. This woman knew well how to use body contact to make someone relax. "We should continue looking for him in similar places. Maybe we can track down who the most beautiful married woman is around?"

"No, my lady. It is not right to fish in a dry pond, we should cut our losses while we still have time." The other two were a fair few steps behind us. Alec kept Buhini well engaged, so we didn't have to worry about them overhearing us while we whispered. "That man will think of ways to burn the city, we have to trace that path down instead."

"It is simple to think of, but tough to follow through, my lord. How can we investigate the business of the night during the day? Not only that, it will be tough to get anything at all. The underworld is varied and tight-knit, even our money can fall short."

"You're right, it is a time of fireworks, the number of people looking for explosives won't be low—"

A realization hit me as I said that.

I stood upright again as we neared the restaurant that Buhini said served the best meat.

"My lady," I said. "You say he's a thief, yes?"

"He is. Right."

"How would a petty thief buy enough of anything to burn a whole city?"

Lady Sophia stopped and narrowed her gaze.

"He won't..." she said. "He'll steal it..."

"And where do you think the most explosives would gather, now that we're just a day away from the beginning of the founding festival?"

"Hah! Firework plants..."

A festival is right around the corner, with people ready to celebrate with a bang. Fireworks would be the goods in highest demand, and where else would all the explosive gunpowder go?

"It seems we have a tail, at last," Sophia's voice contained a slight chill.

"You're right, but we best not focus our avenues. We'll have to be careful."

"Yes," Sophia nodded. Then, she suddenly took her hand off my back and placed it on my cheek. Suddenly, she started pulling my cheek. "But first let's eat."

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I am sorry..."

***

We looked around a bit more after finishing lunch. It was tough to trick Buhini twice, so we didn't have much of a choice but to enjoy ourselves for the remaining few hours.

Lady Sophia and I enjoyed ourselves a lot as we went through different cafes and stores, tasting different cakes and shopping for various accessories.

The day came to an end after I gifted her a brooch and she gifted me a pair of beautiful red cufflinks.

I came back to the castle and went up to my room, a bag of gifts for the other three in my hands.

As I stepped in, as usual, Maria was waiting for me.

"Young master, you're here."

"Yeah, it was a tiring day. I'll tell you all about it—"

"—Before that, shall we have dinner?"

Hah.

How nice.

"Sure," I said.