126 Scam 3 (2/2)
Suddenly, the image of herself with a melted head instead of the marble statue in the middle of the mansion made her shiver, then clutch her robes to herself even though it was a hot day. When this feeling passed, suddenly, determination replaced it.
'I've come too far to let everything go without at least trying. No matter what, I have to live. There has to be a way out of this!'
Doing something, anything seemed better than the idea of sitting there and continuing to think about things that they couldn't understand. Standing up, she declared, ”I will go speak to them. I'll act as if I'm there to check whether their comfort is being well taken care of…but I'll try to pick up any hints, if possible.”
'Without getting myself killed.'
The two men encouraged her, as they always had whenever they had a chance to escape danger by thrusting her in front of them. It had happened multiple times before, and she had always handled it well…but this time, she was afraid.
The option of trusting them to do anything good was just a foolish one, though, so because there was no one else, she turned around and made her way to the exit of the mansion. As the leaders of the town, they had made their home in the largest one, living together, on the surface, but in truth, the huge mansion are split into three parts that were a separate as possible.
The adjacent one belonged to one of the richest individuals in the town who wasn't in a leading position. The man had been more than happy to relinquish the place, and right now, it looked like a den of vipers waiting to consume her the moment she stepped inside.
The three had dismissed all servants, saying that they would call for them if needed. They had sequestered themselves in the main meeting room of the mansion, which was behind grand double doors that were closed, at the moment.
She fidgeted with her clothes in the welcome room that she was in, meant to make guests wait before being accepted to meet with the Lord of the mansion. She had never thought the day would come when she would be fretting here, like many others she had mocked once…but it was a day of firsts.
Finally building up the courage after repeatedly convincing herself that she was only doing what was expected of a host, she stepped forward and raised her hand to knock. Yet…a moment before her knuckles touched the smooth wood, a voice thundered out of the room, making her squeak like a mouse and step back, tempted to run away.
”…JUST KILL THEM, AND GET OUR OWN PEOPLE HERE! That's what I want to do, at least. The final decision rests with you, Loras, as always. So…what do we do?”
During the pause that followed it, she gulped. She knew that it was a very, very bad idea…but she just couldn't stop herself from tiptoeing to the door once again, and putting her ear to it to listen.
She tried telling himself that it was a life-and-death situation; even if she was caught eavesdropping, she could say that she was here to ask about whether everything was to their satisfaction. Raising her hand for good measure so that she could be prepared to give this excuse, she listened with all her might…and when she began to hear what the man said, her face glowed as if she had hit the lottery.
”Alright, then…this is what I have decided. All we need is a front to hide our treasure. I do concur with the fact that it might be simpler to snuff out all these people, and bring someone we can trust from the Mainland…but it might attract too much attention, and cause too many problems. If the leaders of this place are subservient enough, if they hold enough respect for the family we represent to even give us access to their vaults when the suggestion is made, so that we can see whether this is a good place to hide that thing…it may be that we can pay them more than they will ever be able to earn in their pitiful lives to continue the operation here, and keep things the way they have been. If not, well… it's their loss. People die all the time. Let's rest, today, and see them decide their own fate tomorrow.”