Chapter 60: Lenore I

The thick scent of incense immediately filled Leo’s nostrils. Floral, earthy, and with a rich, almost bitter undertone.

The smoke rose in drifting trails from ornate ceramic burners placed around the room, and it was so thick that it cast the entire space in a foggy haze.

The room itself was dimly lit. Deep maroon walls and mahogany furniture glowed under carefully placed candles. Silk cloths, strings of pearls, golden cords, and woven flowers hung down from the ceiling in a veil, and a few petals had been artfully scattered over the soft, plush carpet.

The walls, Leo noted, were decorated with oil paintings. They were a bit hard to make out in the lighting, but the imagery he did see was surprisingly surreal in nature. Dark, even. He certainly wasn’t expecting paintings like that here of all places.

“Admiring the artwork?”

A voice, smooth and light, spoke. Leo turned, facing the woman cautiously.

In the center of the room stood a large canopy bed. Its red curtains had been pulled back, and sitting on the massive mattress was a woman who must be Lenore.

Long, silky dark hair fell across bare shoulders in waves. Her honey skin seemed to glow in the candlelight, and she wore a long silk robe patterned with red and gold flowers that accentuated her curves.

Dark blue eyes watched him from under thick lashes. Her features were best described as “noble.” Even the way Lenore sat, resting gracefully back on plush pillows, appeared elegant and effortless. She was probably the most beautiful woman Leo had ever seen.

Name: Lenore

Age: 33

Level: 20

Class: [Courtesan, Tier 0]

Personal Skill: [Lacrimosa Lvl 4]

“Please, have a seat.” Lenore gestured at the armchair placed near the bed, separated by a small round table with an incense burner placed in its center. The burner was shaped like one of the ancient sea serpents, Leo noted.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” he said politely, taking a seat.

Allan would probably be proud. He was always saying that things would go better for the former [Thief] if he was just nicer to people, but Leo had been there and done that. Unfortunately being polite wasn’t nearly as effective when you didn’t look like Allan.

In this case, though, he made sure to pull out all the manners and formalities he’d buried away since leaving Adrya. The stolen crests would likely make up a majority of their money for some time, so he needed a good deal on them.

Lenore smiled. “Polite, I see. A lovely trait to have.”

“Thank you,” Leo said. It came out sounding more like a question than he’d intended it to. Lenore chuckled, the sound light like ringing bells.

“No need to be shy. Spade tells me you wanted to chat.” She tilted her head, her long dark hair shifting with the motion and revealing more of her bare collarbone. “What can I do for you today?”

Leo frowned. “I thought she already told you.”

A beat passed, neither one speaking. Lenore’s dark blue eyes didn’t move away from the [Fragmentholder]. Leo shifted uneasily.

Finally, when the silence had stretched on long enough that Leo was seriously considering speaking again, Lenore laughed.

It wasn’t like her earlier laugh. That, by comparison, felt soft and insubstantial. This one was full and rich with a hint of raspiness, filling up the room with its presence.

“This isn’t working, is it?”

Stolen story; please report.

Lenore pulled up her legs to sit on the edge of the bed, demeanor changing in a flash. Gone was the soft delicacy in favor of a much more lax posture.

She reached over to the nightstand and opened the drawer, pulling out a curved pipe, a matchbox, and a small black box with an embossed gold flower on the center of its lid.

She filled the pipe and lit it in a smooth, practiced motion while she spoke, and Leo noted that her voice sounded much heavier than before and had gained a raspy edge to it.

“Well, I’m certainly not going to bother if that doesn’t work on you,” Lenore said. She took a long drag of her pipe and breathed out a ring of smoke.

Leo blinked, brows furrowing. “What?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lenore said with a chuckle. She held up the box. With its lid off, Leo could see crushed dried leaves inside, though he didn’t recognize the plant. She shook the box, jostling the contents.

“You smoke? We just got this imported from Ellis. You won’t find it anywhere else.”

Leo shook his head, still trying to process the sudden shift in demeanor. Lenore shrugged.

“Your loss.” She placed the box and matches back and closed the drawer, then took another puff of the pipe. “You’re looking to sell some crests, right? Tier 1, stolen?”

Leo bristled, and the woman’s eyes sparkled in amusement.

“Nothing to worry about. We don’t care much for legality here.” She cocked her head. “How many?”

“Three,” Leo said begrudgingly.

“Let me see.”

The [Fragmentholder] hesitated, and the woman raised an eyebrow.

Carefully, Leo detached the bag from his belt and opened it wide enough to reveal the three crests nestled inside, but he kept the bag firmly in his grip. Lenore didn’t move to take them either, simply peering down with sharp eyes before sitting back again.

“Good condition. You got them straight from a store?”

“A prison,” Leo corrected. “I think they were for the guards.”

Lenore smiled wide. “Even better.” She pointed at the bag with her pipe. “Those’ll be easy to sell. I can get the money to you in two days.”

That was faster than Leo had dared hope for. He carefully quashed down his rising excitement and kept his voice steady and professional. “What do you want for them?”

The woman shrugged. “Not much. A 60% cut of the sale will do.”

Leo choked. “Excuse me?”

“I and my sellers take on a significant risk, especially with the increase in guards lately.” She nodded at Leo. “I wager those will earn at least 900 gamils combined. You’ll still keep 360 gamils—enough to comfortably last you years if you’re smart with it.”

The [Fragmentholder] frowned. “One Tier 1 crest costs 100 gamils,” he pointed out. “How’re you planning to get someone to buy one for 300?”

Lenore raised an eyebrow. “Think about it this way,” she said simply. “What kind of person would buy a class crest on the black market?”

That made Leo pause. He hadn’t really considered it before, but it was true that most people who could afford a crest would simply buy one from a store. Tier 1 crests weren’t hard to find.

The only exceptions were people who couldn’t afford them and people who weren’t allowed to buy crests. Those who were banned from using them and forced to resort to other means as a result.

The former [Thief]’s brows furrowed. The answer to his own question seemed obvious in retrospect.

Criminals. Violent offenders ruled too dangerous to be allowed crests. They were the ones who Lenore would be selling the stolen crests to.

Leo was aware of the woman’s eyes on him, watching him, but he ignored her.

The thought was uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, Leo wasn’t in a position to complain about where their money came from. It wasn’t as though he was new to dirty money.

He looked up again, meeting Lenore’s gaze. “60% is still too high,” he said. “The money’s getting split between three people, and we’re doing a lot of traveling.”

He narrowed his eyes a little. “It’s like you said, there’s a lot of people who’ll take three good quality class crests. We’ll sell them to someone else if we have to.”

Not that they actually knew anyone else, but Lenore didn’t need to know that.

“40%,” Leo continued, “is the most we can give you. That’s already very high.”

Lenore hummed and took another drag of her pipe. “50%.”

Leo frowned. “I just said—”

“I won’t go any lower, not when I’m also giving you information.”

Leo paused at that, brows furrowing as a spark of curiosity rose at the words. He studied Lenore carefully, but the woman’s expression betrayed nothing.

“…What do you mean?”

Lenore smiled, wide and sharp, and cocked her head.

“Don’t you want to know where the next fragment is?”