“Because she was a member of the Black Needle Society—she is the Shadow-Stitcher...”
The messenger’s voice echoed through the room of the royal palace, and the gazes of everyone present converged on Serena.
Clarice’s eyes went wide, while Alecia watched Serena with a severe expression. Only Regnard maintained a gentle smile, looking on as if waiting to see what kind of reaction I would show.
——Shadow-Stitcher.
It was a name I had never heard before.
“Alecia... what is this ‘Shadow-Stitcher’?”
“...So you really didn't know.”
“I’m asking because I don't know.”
Alecia cast a glance toward Serena before answering me.
“It is a name quite well-known in the capital’s underworld... An assassin belonging to the Black Needle Society, feared for being the one who would certaintly eliminate any target they were ordered to. I’m sure there are many nobles who increased their personal guard just by hearing that name.”
“I see... Does that mean she was quite strong?”
“Is that really your first thought?”
She shot back with a voice full of exasperation, but I didn't know what else I was supposed to say. I turned back toward Serena.
“Are you that Shadow-Stitcher?”
Serena remained silent for a long moment, but she did not look away; she raised her head.
“Yes... I was in the Black Needle Society. I was called the Shadow-Stitcher, and I killed those I was ordered to kill.”
“...And? What of it?”
Serena’s eyes widened ever so slightly.
“What?”
“I’m asking you what it matters that you were in the Black Needle Society.”
It wasn't just Serena; the gazes of everyone in the room were now fixed on me.
I understood where she had belonged in the past. But that alone didn't mean the Serena who had come to my mansion was suddenly a different person.
“Are you still receiving orders from the Black Needle Society?”
“No... I fled from them.”
“Then that is what I need to confirm. You said the matter of the pursuers was resolved?”
“I took care of the remaining members of the society... I captured the assassins who came to the mansion, and I crushed their hideout afterward.”
“I see...”
I had wondered how she’d gotten the pursuers to give up, but apparently, she had just dealt with the group itself... It was a rather brute-force solution, but it certainly ensured they wouldn't be coming after her again.
“...I am sorry for keeping it from you.”
Serena clenched her hands tightly in front of her and looked down.
“I was taking advantage of your ignorance, Master. I knew that if you found out I was the Shadow-Stitcher, I would no longer be able to stay... I didn't want to lose... my current life...”
Her usually flat voice wavered at the very end.
Regnard didn't scold her; instead, he nodded slowly as if he understood the circumstances.
“I understand the feeling of being unable to speak out... You were likely afraid of losing the place you finally found, weren't you? Since Lord Razgrim didn't know either, there is no need for him to feel responsible.”
His tone sounded as if he were being considerate of both me and Serena.
“However, now that the truth is out, a judgment must be made... It would be best to entrust her to the royal palace for a time to investigate her past deeds. If her crimes are light, perhaps there is a path for her to return to your mansion.”
“Are there such things as assassins with ‘light’ crimes?”
“It is difficult to imagine there is absolutely nothing... However, her treatment would change depending on the nature of the orders. Keeping someone like the Shadow-Stitcher by your side without verifying anything would expose not only you, but everyone working at your estate, to danger.”
If I looked strictly at what he was saying, it made some sense.
I knew nothing about the underworld. I had only just heard the name Shadow-Stitcher from Alecia for the first time. If I were told to be cautious, that would be the logical path.
“I have taken your advice to heart... However, I have seen with my own eyes what Serena has done at my mansion. Regarding her future, I shall be the one to judge.”
“I see... If you are that insistent, I have no intention of taking her by force.”
Regnard smiled softly.
I thought the conversation would end there, but he continued while looking at Serena.
“Lord Razgrim, you seem quite knowledgeable about money and contracts... But it seems you do not possess an eye for people.”
Something caught deep in my chest.
...What did he say?
True, I wasn't well-versed in the etiquette of the capital, nor in the probing games played between nobles. I had never even heard an underworld alias before.
——But I have the confidence that I won't lose to anyone when it comes to judging character.
Mylene, Clarice, and Raisa were all people I hired after seeing them for myself. It was the same for Serena. I decided based on what kind of person they are now and what they can do, not based on their status or their past.
His words insulted not just me, but everyone I had chosen.
...Calm down.
My opponent is the First Prince. We are in the royal palace, and I only came here to sign a contract with Alecia... It was obvious that if I took the bait, the trouble would only multiply.
Endure it... Let it pass peacefully.
“What I didn't know was her past as the Shadow-Stitcher... I do not believe I have misjudged Serena herself.”
“If you say so... Providing a roof and a meal to a person with a history, and buying their loyalty with low wages. Hahaha, you certainly seem to be good at handling people.”
Regnard spoke as if praising me, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
“However, a blade is a blade. Use it as long as it stays sharp. If it becomes dangerous, you let it go... Is that not the responsibility of those who manage people?”
The moment I heard those words, scenes from my previous life flashed through my mind.
Working people to their limits for as long as they could be useful, then calling them worthless and replacing them with someone new the moment they broke their health. If they quit, they were ungrateful; if they couldn't endure, they were weak. Using people until they were spent, and then blaming the individual for everything in the end.
What this man was saying was exactly the same.
“...Serena is not a blade. She is a servant I employed.”
“Isn't that just a difference in nomenclature? Before, she received orders to kill; now, she receives orders to serve tea. Only the master has changed; the fact that she does as she is told remains the same.”
Regnard cast a pitying look toward Serena.
“A woman like the Shadow-Stitcher is likely used to being discarded, wouldn't you say? There is no need for you to get emotionally attached or take on unnecessary risks.”
...No, I can't do it.
I can't hold it back anymore.
“You’re wrong.”
“Wait—!? Vain, stop...!”
The moment my polite speech vanished, Clarice’s face went pale, and she hurriedly grabbed my sleeve.
I knew. I knew exactly who I was talking to and exactly where we were.
Even so, I had no intention of continuing to speak politely to this man.
“Using someone only when they're useful and throwing them away when things get inconvenient? That isn't the responsibility of a leader. That's just running away from it.”
“That is idealism... Those in high positions must sometimes cut a person loose.”
“You cut them if it's necessary. But throwing someone away based on an old title without even looking at what they've done lately isn't a judgment... You've just stopped thinking.”
I pointed at Serena.
“Has she killed anyone at my estate? Did she steal money? Did she disobey my orders?”
“Even if she hasn't yet, in the future—”
“She hasn't done a single thing. On the contrary, she protected the estate from assassins, learned the job, and even dealt with her own pursuers... What you brought up isn't evidence that she will betray me now. It was just the fact that she used to be an assassin.”
Regnard’s smile thinned.
“I was merely informing you of the risk.”
“If you were truly worried about me, a single letter would have been enough. Why was it necessary to barge in during my meeting with Alecia and reveal her identity in front of everyone?”
The room went silent.
“What you wanted wasn't to give advice. You wanted to make me doubt Serena and destroy the contract with Alecia, didn't you?”
“You take it quite poorly. I was concerned for your safety—”
“Then why do you only refer to her as the Shadow-Stitcher?”
Interrupting Regnard, I took a step forward.
“The one standing here right now is Serena. She is a person who worked at my mansion and protected us. You looked only at the past and the title, and you didn't try to see the person in front of you even once.”
If I were to discard Serena for no reason, that message would be sent to everyone at the mansion. It would tell them that I am a man who will discard them the moment they become inconvenient.
“Discarding a person to eliminate an immediate risk and losing the trust of everyone else in the process... I don't want to hear about an ‘eye for people’ from someone who can't even read that far ahead.”
“Even without trust, people follow orders. If they understand what they stand to lose by defying the crown... that is enough, is it not?”
“All that leaves you with are people who nod no matter what you say.”
Regnard’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“If they report a failure, they're cut loose... If they oppose you, they're discarded as a nuisance... No one will tell you the truth anymore. You'll be surrounded only by people who laugh and nod even when you're wrong, bringing you nothing but convenient reports.”
“And is that not fine? It means only the loyal ones remain.”
“No. It means only those who are good at pretending to obey remain.”
With Clarice still gripping my sleeve, I glared back at Regnard.
“Those kinds of people will bow their heads as long as you are strong... But the moment things get dangerous, they'll be the first to run, pushing the responsibility onto their subordinates. They'll look for a way to save only themselves, and if you fall, they'll serve the next master with the exact same smile.”
“You certainly have a lot of faith in people.”
“I don't just believe in anyone and everyone. I believe in her because she's someone I've seen with my own eyes and whose work I've verified.”
I don't think employing people is a bad thing. I make the people at my mansion work too, but I have no intention of pushing the responsibility for the work I've assigned onto their shoulders.
“If you're going to entrust someone with a job, take responsibility for the person you entrusted. Don't push everything onto them when things go south. Were the tools insufficient? Was the training poor? Was the task impossible? Verifying those things is the job of the person at the top.”
“A King is one who produces results.”
“If you only want results, then give an order and wait. But who would follow a man like that of their own accord?”
Regnard makes people obey through his status as royalty. He shows them what they'll lose if they defy him and moves them through fear. In the short term, that is the fastest way.
But if you continue that, the country will only be filled with people who move as little as possible and those who hide inconvenient truths.
If this man is placed in power, the country won't last.
Before it's ever attacked from the outside, it will rot from within.
In that regard, Alecia would do a much better job.
She’s manipulative, and she’s the kind of woman who would sneak a ruined domain into a reward, but she looked for someone she could entrust with the recovery and prepared the necessary funds.
At the very least, she does a much better job than a man who can only think about crushing immediate obstacles.
“You only think about how to make people obey. But I think about the reason those people will still be there tomorrow.”
“...”
“The one without an eye for people isn't me... It's you, who sees only the immediate profit and doesn't understand what you're losing in the long run.”
Alecia remained silent, looking back and forth between me and Regnard.
Her brother knew how to make people obey... but Vain knew the reasons why people choose to stay, and the responsibility that the one who gives the orders must bear.
He probably isn't even trying to talk about kings. Even so, far more than her brother, he understands what those who stand above others must carry.
“She isn't the Shadow-Stitcher... She's Serena. A person I saw, and a person I hired.”
I looked straight into Regnard’s eyes.
“Don't get her name wrong again.”
“My... isn't it a bit dangerous to speak to royalty in such a manner?”
Regnard put on a gentle smile again, but his voice was laced with a thin, sharp threat.
“I was using polite speech at first, wasn't I?”
“Then why aren't you using it now?”
“Because you were the one who broke etiquette first. You called someone working at my estate a blade and disposable, and you insulted the person I chose to hire.”
I snorted at him.
“Don't expect courtesy based on a title when you don't show courtesy to others. If you break it, I'll break it too. It's only natural, isn't it? I don't care if you're royalty.”
Regnard stared at me for a long time.
The soft smile he had been wearing had faded, but he did not raise his voice. Eventually, as if giving up on something, he let out a small breath.
“I see... as I thought, it seems I won't be able to get along with you. It is a pity, Lord Razgrim.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Whether you accept my advice or not is up to you. I hope you don't live to regret it.”
Regnard turned toward Alecia, resuming the mask of a gentle older brother.
“I'm sorry for the interruption, Alecia. I shall take my leave now.”
“Of course, Brother... Thank you for taking the time to advise me.”
Both of them were smiling.
However, there was no hint of affection in either of their voices.
Regnard led the messenger away and quietly left the room.