“There, there.”

When the boy had calmed down, Ethel smiled and poured him another cup of tea.

The boy was only 15 and had already experienced numerous hardships. Despite this, she knew fully well that there are other children facing the same predicament as him. It was only a pity that she could not save all of them.

In any case, Whyt was lucky that she had picked him up and taken him off the streets.

His fear and anxiety were soothed. A promise was something that could be broken by anyone, but an oath was a life binding agreement. By swearing an oath to him, she was indirectly declaring his freedom.

He wasn’t stupid. Of course he knew that she was going to use him for something but the option of backing out is a luxury he was never able to afford. But judging from Ethel’s words, she wasn’t entirely aware of the matter that was his previous life.

“I’m fine.” Whyt had only intended to follow her and back out if he ever found a hint of lies in her words. “But there is something I haven’t told you…”

He looked down at his palm. Rough, calloused hands that were worn with blisters and marks.

Ethel crossed her arms. “If this is about the slave seal on your palms, I have already erased it.”

“How-”

“I have studied in Agora. To break a slave spell is easy for me. Though it does take a lot of energy out of me.” Ethel clenched her palms and gazed at him. “You don’t have to worry anymore. If you are willing, then Valentina will look after you until I come back.”

Whyt didn’t expect such a savior to come to his aid. Something about Ethel was very particular. Although she wasn’t an extraordinary beauty, nor did she have an excellent aura, her words were strangely comforting and exactly the words he wanted to hear.

“I… I will stay here.”

She smiled. Her plan was a success. Though she did have an inkling that someone clever like him could already sense that her words were somewhat vague. Whyt was given the option to choose, but in reality she was already aware that he was going to accept it.

A bit manipulative of course, using an oath to bind a person to her. But she had already observed him. His feet full of blisters indicated that he often had to run around town bare footed.

Another indication is the way he didn’t glance at any streets, as if everything was familiar to him, this was only possible if he often had to lurk in places he shouldn’t be. Then there was his ears.

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She noticed that he was fast. In his previous fight with the old man, he ran so fast that it was almost impossible to catch up to him with the strength of a common person. And there were certain requirements for information gatherers.

They had to be fast, agile, and sensitive to sounds. In addition, to be able to run so fast despite being injured showed he had an excellent physique. If he took his time and recovered here in the orphanage, then she could start her own intelligence unit.

A unit that was solely hers.

“It’s about time I head out now,” Ethel exclaimed and stood up. “Tell Valentina and the children that I will make it up to them. The next donation should come in the first week of next month.”

Whyt nodded, unaware that he had been slightly manipulated.

“You will stay here until you fully recover. By the time I come back, I will take you along with me, okay?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I should go now.” Ethel pulled up the hood of her cloak and set out. She walked on the streets that were scarce with people. The sky was a dim gray and it looked ready to rain.

For now, she had to investigate Snapdragon. They were previously run by the deceased Duchess and Crown Prince, but now they were scattered and couldn’t even be traced by normal means. Even the second best informant guild could only shake their heads.

It was getting more complicated the longer she stayed in the capital. There was no news about the Vandenberg’s since they were so secretive, neither could she pry for information about the royal family without catching the attention of the Oleander, the secret knights of the Emperor.

But she couldn’t start an informant guild with just her and Whyt. Although she had already been collecting some talents since she had found out about her lineage, there wasn’t enough time to gather them all.

Every talent she recruited were scattered in the continent. If she wanted to gather them, then it would roughly take a month to make them come back.

The plan would start now.

Tensions were already rough in the capital. Nobles were forming their own factions and there were often riots in other noble houses, protesting about their wages. The Crown Prince attempted to calm them with almsgiving, but in the long run, it would only damage the state treasury and deplete their funds.

Not to mention she heard rumors going around that the Church was an ally of the Emperor. It was a relation that couldn’t be confirmed due to the nobles' distinction of the separation of church and state.

Though everything was calm on the surface, it would only take one variable to start a war. It didn’t concern Ethel, but thinking about how corrupt the city was gave her a headache.

She was going to get to the root of it all.

Starting with the death of the Duchess of Vandenberg. Everything started then. When she has gathered everyone, she will revive the formidable informant guild, Snapdragon.

Ethel sighed.

It was exhausting planning ahead. For years and years, her plan had deviated so much that it was hard to remember where it all started. Was it when that woman died and she was left alone in the red-light district? Was it the locket that the woman gave her when she was a child? Or was it when she was picked up from the streets by Count Vankef?

Everything was very tiring. In addition to having to hide her accursed identity, she had to tread carefully to find out the secret of the empire and the death of her parents.

Rain poured.

The ball would begin in three days. She had to head back and reform her plans.