“My Lady. A Mister Smith is here.” Molly stood at the entrance of Scarlett’s office in the Freybrook mansion. “He said he had prior plans to meet with you?”

Scarlett put down the letter from Evelyne that she’d been reading. “Very well. Lead him to the small guest parlor. I will be there shortly.”

“As you wish, my Lady.”

Scarlett started arranging the papers on her desk as Molly left the room.

She glanced at the silver clock piece standing at the corner of the desk. It was nearing three in the afternoon, and she was supposed to have a session with Garside later in the evening. But this likely wouldn’t take too long.

Their group had returned from Dimfrost earlier in the morning, so things had been somewhat hectic with just getting things in order. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been so lucky as to have a ship stop by the isolated village as Scarlett had hoped, but thanks to Garside’s efforts, they’d still made it back in time. While she had only heard about it afterward, the butler had apparently gone around the village, harrying its residents until he found some who had a small rowboat that they’d helped bring out into the water. The river was heavily trafficked by ships, which Garside had somehow contacted.

She hadn’t been present to witness it, but imagined it had to have been difficult getting any of the ships to lower their sails and negotiate like that. It had all sounded like a pretty ramshackle solution to her, but clearly, it worked. Perhaps he used magic of some kind. Whatever the case, Garside had successfully chartered room on a merchant ship that had been carrying timber upriver from the southwestern part of the empire and was on its way back.

It ended up costing more than the trip to Dimfrost itself—the ship had essentially been forced to lower its sails and slow its travel to a halt for several hours as Scarlett and the others prepared and rowed out to it—but now that they’d retrieved some new loot from the Howling Gale’s Haunt that wasn’t too much of an issue.

Fynn’s siblings hadn’t been happy over their leaving before even a full day had passed. The youngest two of the siblings, especially, had simply adored Rosa, and Allyssa had apparently made friends with Fynn’s eldest sister as well. Kelnorin and Inayra had been adamant about wanting to come with, but after some convincing on Fynn’s part—and a promise that he’d come see them for a longer duration later on—they’d calmed down and let their group leave with only a few complaints.

It must be difficult for those kids, with their eldest brother out in the world, just trying to ensure they would have a future. While she couldn’t truly understand what they would feel, Scarlett could sympathize with their situation. She was thinking she might help Fynn find a place for his siblings in the future, though she wasn’t sure if he wanted that. While Dimfrost wasn’t his original home, it was the closest to it that remained. Both he and his siblings might have attachments to the place.

It was a matter she was planning on asking him about later on.

Ensuring she wasn’t forgetting anything, she soon rose from her desk and left the office behind, making her way to the smaller guest parlor that was located here in the mansion’s east wing. Inside, sitting on one of the red leather couches at the center of the room, was a man with a thick blond beard covering half of his face and a large brown cap that hid his head.

“Ridley.”

Scarlett moved over and sat down on the couch opposite the man.

“You may remove those now.”

Gaven reached up to the cap and beard, pulling both off and placing them on the table in front of him. It surprised Scarlett how realistic that beard looked.

“I was having fun being ‘Mister Smith’ for a while, you know.” He smiled at her. “Not often people treat me all nice like that. Maybe I’ll pay a visit here more often.”

“How people treat you is a consequence of your own choices and vocation,” Scarlett said. “Do not expect my staff to cater to your every need.”

She had been the one to decide on the—perhaps somewhat uncreative—name he used for this visit, and to ensure that the guards knew what to do if he were to arrive. But she didn’t want those working under her to interact too much with the man. It was best if the matters related to him were left separate from the normal proceedings of her household, to as far an extent as possible.

“I presume you have carried out the tasks I assigned you?”

“I did, yeah,” Gaven answered as he leaned back on the couch. “I gotta say, though, that place sure was odd. There were these messed up dolls everywhere, and these disgusting slimes kept trying to get inside my clothes.” He shivered. “A warning beforehand would have been nice.”

Scarlett scoffed. She hadn’t been terribly thrilled over the prospect of visiting Abelard’s Doll Orchard, either. It was nice she could send him to that creepy place instead. “A warning would not have made any difference. Now, show me the item.”

“Hey now.” He raised his hands. “Before we get to that, shouldn’t we talk about payment?”

“I believe we discussed this at our previous meeting. You could keep that which you found in those ruins.”

He waved a finger. “Ah, but you said you’d compensate me further if that wasn’t enough. Not sure what you thought would be there, but I found the thing you wanted and that was about it.”

Scarlett studied him closely. “…I make it a habit to always properly reimburse those working for me. If a task reveals itself to be more difficult than I initially thought, or less fruitful than expected, I endeavour to provide reasonable compensation for such a scenario as well. What I do not do, however, is allow people to exploit me or those under me for more than what they are owed.” She locked eyes with the man. “I will only ask this once. Are you certain your words now were the truth?”

He raked his hand through his hair. “Well—”

“If you yourself are uncertain, then I can have that young man you fought with last time brought up here. He has several useful talents, one of which pertains to detecting falsehoods. I am sure he can aid in determining whether your statement reliably reflects the situation.”

Gaven paused, eyeing her for several seconds. Then he grinned. “Now that I think about it, maybe there were a few decent things there. I must’ve forgotten about them in all the excitement.”

“…I imagine you did.”

One had to be careful when dealing with this guy.

She signaled with her hand. “Show me the item.”

“As you wish.” He performed an exaggerated flourishing, putting his hand inside his clothes as he pulled out a large key. It was completely black, its end looking more like the wired grooves of a comb than the teeth of a key. Towards its head, the shaft was encrusted with tiny sapphires and bent in on itself like a question mark.

“This is it, right?” he asked.

Scarlett studied the key for a moment. It definitely fit with what she remembered.

[Abelard’s Doll Mansion Key (1/2) (Unique)]

{Half of a pair of keys leading to Abelard The Doll Maker’s home}

That confirmed it.

“That is indeed it, yes.”

Gaven put it down on the table between them, and Scarlett reached forth to put it inside her [Pouch of Holding]. The man’s eyes traveled down to the pouch on her waist as she did. She looked up at him. “Do not get any ideas.”

He chuckled. “I would never.”

“And I hope it continues as such. Now, have you prepared what is needed to travel to Bridgespell?”

“Sure have. I am ready to leave right this minute, if you tell me what it is you want me to do. And you’re ready to pay for it, of course.”

“Before we proceed to those parts, I want to know how much you already know. I am aware you grew up in the Lower Ward, but left and spent time in Wildscar with the Vanguards.”

“Heh.” Gaven let out a low chuckle. “Spot on. One’d think you grew up right there with me.”

“I count myself fortunate that I did not.” Scarlett crossed her arms. “How acquainted are you with the current affairs of Bridgespell’s underworld?”

He shrugged his shoulders with a smile. “I know enough. I still have a few friends left in the area. And sometimes I take a little trip there myself for business and old times’ sake.”

“Then are you familiar with ‘the Countess'?”

His smile disappeared. “I’ve heard of her, yeah. She’s a bit after my time, but most around the Lower Ward know to avoid her.”

He paused. “Don’t tell me whatever business you have involves her?”

Scarlett nodded. “It does.”

“Then I recommend you give up.”

She furrowed her brows. “Why is that?”

“Because she’s bad news.”

“And you are not?”

“A different kind.”

“I was not aware there were more than one,” Scarlett said.

“There is. And she’s the dangerous kind.” He looked at her for a second. “Have you heard of the Red Gloves?”

“I have not.”

Gaven scratched his beard, then leaned forward with both hands clasped in front of him. “Let’s just say that they were a group of unscrupulous fellas who had a bit of influence in the Lower Ward. One day, one of them got a bit annoyed at the Countess loitering around on their turf, and it ended with him riling her up. Day after, not a single one of them remained. Word has it even their base was ground to dust.”

Scarlett held her expression neutral. “Then it is fortunate that I do not intend to ‘rile her up’, as you say.”

While that description fit with what she knew of the character from the game, she couldn’t ignore things just because there was a bit of risk.

Gaven shook his head. “No, I don’t think you get it. She’s not right in the head. There’s no telling what’ll make her go off. People avoid her for a reason.”

“That may be so, but my business still involves her.”

“What, you want me to kill her?”

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. “No. Your task is to go to Bridgespell and bring her to me. Without causing a disturbance.”

“…You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“How do you expect me to do that?”

She smiled. “I suspect it will be less difficult than you think. You simply have to locate and tell her that Baroness Hartford has heard of her plight and sympathizes with the injustices wrought upon her. If she seeks vindication and retribution for those wrongs, I am willing to aid her, and would like her to visit me here in Freybrook.”

Gaven stared at her. “You know she’s not a real countess, right?”

“What her real identity is does not matter in relation to the task I am giving you. You only need to bring her to me.”

“That’s easier said than done. I’ve seen her kind before. You can’t predict what they’ll do.”

“You can trust my word on this. There will be no issue in convincing her, as long as you tell her what I said and do not provoke her yourself.”

“Here’s the issue, see. I don’t trust people that well. Occupational hazard.”

Scarlett tapped her finger against the armrest to her left, considering the man before her. “You will be paid five thousand solars for this task.”

Gaven turned silent.

That was a decent amount of money for something this simple, but she needed to have both Gaven and the Countess for what came later. If she needed to pay extra here at the start for that, then that is what she had to do.

“…So I bring her to you,” he said. “What then?”

“It will depend. You will be assigned another task from there, and I will judge how cooperative she will be with my plans.”

“Exactly what kind of job would my next one be?”

“You will have to wait and see.”

“I think I’d prefer hearing it now.”

“You have yet to prove you can carry out the current task. It would be foolish of me to share the next one already.”

He looked at her for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. “Guess I can’t argue with that logic.” Unclasping his hands, he crossed his legs and once again leaned back against the couch. “Alright, I’ll play along one more time. I wouldn’t put much hope into your little plan here, though. Just telling someone you’re nice and wanna help usually doesn’t go far.”

“As I said, providing you do not provoke her, there should be no issue.”

He pushed away a lock of hair that fell in front of his eyes and shot her a smile. “Lady, I haven’t scared away a woman since the day I was born. Mind you, I’ve tried.”

Scarlett raised a brow. “How fortunate for you. I do not care to hear about it, however. Simply carry out the task as assigned, and you will be paid as agreed upon.”

He chuckled and scratched his cheek. “Alright. If you say so.”

“Passage through the Kilnstone here in Freybrook has been arranged for you in the morning. The trip back is by the end of the week. I trust you have prepared transport and all the other requirements already.”

“Yeah, I’ve got it covered.”

“Next time you return here, make certain that as few people as possible notice you. I will ensure that the same arrangements will be ready for our meeting then.”

“Don’t you think a week is a bit much for a job like this, though?”

“Perhaps,” Scarlett said. “But without being certain of how long it will take, I have chosen to err on the side of caution. It is too late to change it now, so you will have to make do as is.”

“Say I get the job done faster, or only need a day to find the woman and convince her. You wouldn’t mind me going about some other business on the side then, would you?”

“…As long as it does not jeopardize any of my plans, you are free to do as you see fit with the remaining time.”

“Sounds good.”

“Are there any further questions?”

“Oh, plenty. None I wager you’d answer though.”

“Then I believe we are finished here,” she said.

Gaven smiled at her. “I’ll see you in a week, then.”