William rushed into the dim warehouse, breathing heavily through his mouth.
He scanned the darkness, but there was only silence around him. Fortunately, there were no security guards present.
This place was a warehouse that was secretly managed by the Hounds family.
It seemed that the security forces were unaware of its existence, as the ownerâs name was registered under someone else.
âDamn it!â
Furious to the core, William angrily punched the box in front of him. He had narrowly escaped by using his subordinates as decoys.
How did things get so messed up?
âWhat the hell happened?â
The security forces were convinced that the Hounds upper-class establishment had committed illegal activities. Furthermore, they had directly mentioned the fairy wings.
âObviously, the information got leaked. Who could have done it?â
The face of the corrupt investigator, whom he had bribed, came to Williamâs mind. It couldnât have been him.
The bribe William had given him amounted to a yearâs salary for that man. He was not the type to give up a bribe easily.
Then, the faces of those who knew about his plan to smuggle fairy wings crossed Williamâs mind, one by one.
âOf course, it couldnât be family members, and the employees have a low possibilityâŚâ
That left only one person.
The person who he had shown the fairy wings personally today.
âPhilomel, you wretched women!â
That idiot has gone and caused trouble. Putting not only herself but the entire family at risk.
âSuch ungratefulness!â
He kicked the object in front of him again with his golden foot.
Thudâ!
âAaargh!â
With a pained scream, he clutched his foot and rolled in excruciating agony. It seemed like he had kicked something extremely firm.
After a while, William stood up and swore resolutely.
âI will definitely kill her!â
For now, he had no choice but to retreat, but once the situation calmed down, he planned to come back here.
William smiled wickedly as he examined the dark interior of the warehouse.
âHehe, with these alone, Iâll be able to make a comeback like nothing happened.â
This warehouse was where he stored his hidden treasures.
âIâll take these and head to Beleroph. The remaining family members and the upper-class establishment will suffer, but the most important thing is for me to survive for now. They will surely understand.â
âBut itâs so dark here.â
He felt around the shelf next to the entrance. The lamp should have been around here.
Found it.
He took out the matches from his pocket and lit the lamp. The faint light illuminated the dim interior.
âThis isâŚâ
He was able to see the object he had just kicked. It was Williamâs head. More precisely, a head made of stone, resembling William.
He immediately realized its identity. It was the head part of a statue made in his likeness.
The head of the statue was rolling on the floor, detached from its body.
It had been a hollow statue specially made to conceal smuggled goods and made transporting them easier. It had been kept in the warehouse at Williamâs request.
âW-What is this?â
Cold sweat gathered on the back of his neck.
Someone was here.
William hastily ran towards the location of the vault.
That was the moment.
âLooking for this?â
With a clear voice, a bright light illuminated the whole warehouse.
Blinded by the light, William instinctively covered his face. After a while, as his eyes adjusted to the lightâŚ
âWe meet again.â
Philomel was there.
And she was sitting on top of the vault he had desperately searched for.
Without even considering how she had gotten here, William shouted at her.
âMove aside! You arrogant bratâŚâ He suddenly realized one fact.
Philomel was alone.
He didnât need to wait for a long time to give her the punishment she deserved for what happened today.
In such a desperate situation, he couldnât even fathom the thought that Philomel would be the one who seeks him out first.
Just as he was about to rush towards her,
Thud-!
An object swiftly passed by his face, causing an injury where blood began to trickle from his cheek.
Slowly turning his head, he looked at the object that had made a loud noise as it collided with the wall.
It was the right hand of the statue.
âOh, I missed.â
The silver-haired man holding a metal rod calmly spoke.
âBut it was still a nice shot.â
The red-haired man next to him placed a stone on the ground. Upon closer inspection, it was the chest part of the statue.
âThis time, Iâll aim betterâŚâ
The silver-haired man raised his rod towards the statue fragment.
âWow-wow-waaah!â
Soon, countless fragments of the statue flew towards William.
After a while.
âIâm sorry, Iâm sorry. PleaseâŚplease give me a break.â
Philomel stared at the man hanging in the air, bound by ropes. His once lively face was now covered in bruises, swollen and pitiful.
âHe was supposed to live a good lifeâŚâ
Initially, Philomel had no intention of getting directly involved to this extent. She had planned to report William to the authorities and be done with it, but her feelings changed during the course of the events.
Since she had started this, she wanted to see it through to the end.
There was also the fact that William had not been caught by the authorities and had escaped. She couldnât leave loose ends behind.
Above all, she had encountered âhim.â
Shortly after leaving the central security office, Philomel was arranged to meet âhimâ by Le Guinâs arrangement. He requested Philomelâs help.
She couldnât refuse that requestâŚ
âB-But, how. How do you know about this place?â
Philomel snapped out of her thoughts at Williamâs voice.
In response to the abrupt change in his tone after experiencing violence, Philomel answered him with politeness.
âI have my ways.â
The truth was that it was thanks to the tracking magic Le Guin had placed on him. When he witnessed William in the form of a cat at the palace, he attached it just in case.
âI suppose itâs about time I lend a helping hand, since then.â
Anyway, Le Guin and Jeremiah followed Philomel, so they came here together.
Lexion contacted Jeremiah about another matter and followed along after hearing the story, finding it interesting.
Jeremiah murmured as he stabbed William with a sword.
âWhy donât we just kill him here?â
âHee-hee-hee!â
William made a strange noise and wriggled to avoid the sword.
Lexion opened each wooden box that was in the warehouse.
âOh, there are quite valuable items here. Letâs take them with us.â
From violence to theft. They were a bunch of villains without any redeeming qualities. And now, Philomel was also part of that gang of villains.
Just when Philomel was starting to feel distant from her past, William shouted.
âPhilomel! Ugh!â
After almost getting cut by Jeremiahâs sword, he changed his address.
âM- Miss Philomel.â
Philemon gently raised her hand to stop Jeremiah.
âSpeak, uncle.â
âPlease, release me! Iâm Catherineâs brother, arenât I? Even if you just let me see her faceâŚâ
âUnfortunately, I donât have that kind of loyalty to my uncle. Even, I am not kind enough to release someone who wants to kill me.â
The manâs face, like a blank sheet of paper, turned pale at the self-talk he had just remembered.
âIâm sorry! I lost my composure and said thoughtless things!â
âYou seem fine.â
âIf you release me, I will give you 20% of my entire fortune!â
âOnly 20%?â
â50%!â
âNot necessary.â
âArgh, Iâll give you everything!â
âMy wealth is much greater than that, so Iâll decline.â
âLies!â
It was true. The fortune Philemon received from Eustis was at least ten times the net worth of Houndâs Upper-class establishment.
Despite its seemingly favorable appearance, Houndâs Upper-Class establishment had been plagued by chronic management difficulties. Philemon had discovered this fact while reading the establishmentâs records while waiting for William.
The decline of Houndâs Upper Estate had started about ten years ago. It was the year when the previous estate owner passed away, and William took over the business.
âSo, he must have been frustrated with the troublesome fairy wing trade.â
In short, William Hounds was a human with no virtue or ability in a delicate and problematic business.
No matter what persuasion he attempted, Philemon showed no sign of wavering, so he shouted.
âFine! Do as you wish! Hand me over to the authorities! But even if my sister manages to survive, thatâs it!â
There was a reason why William shouted so loudly.
The maximum penalty he would receive legally was death, but it was rare for someone to actually receive the death penalty.
Because the beings that suffer from fairy-wing fabric are fairies, not humans.
If William were to be handed over to the authorities, he would likely receive a punishment ranging from life imprisonment to thirty years in prison.
If he bribed the judge well, the sentence could be even lower.
William chuckled.
âWhen I come out of prison, Iâll come find you again. Then, ugh!â
As Jeremiah kicked the man, blood dripped from his nose and mouth. Jeremiah, with a rather annoyed expression, said,
âLetâs just kill him right here.â
Philemon grabbed his shoulder.
âHold on. Thatâs not our job.â
She looked at William.
âItâs not possible for you to go to the police or the empireâs prison.â
â⌠What? What does that meanâŚâ
Whooooosh!
At that moment, Le Guin, who had briefly left his position along with a radiant light, arrived.
âI brought them.â
And behind him, a new figure revealed itself.
With flowing pink hair, slightly pale skin, and translucent butterfly-shaped wings, a woman overflowing with elegance and enchanting charm spoke.
âIâm sorry. It took some time to bring all the children who wanted to come along.â
A voice that penetrated the ears like wind chimes. It was the same person Philomel had met before.