Han knew about the Bradin Family.
Naturally, there was probably no one in the Republic who did not know of them.
In addition to owning countless mines and vast tracts of land, the eagle emblem symbolizing Bradin could be found everywhere in the Republic, from military supplies and shipbuilding to automobiles, trains, and household goods.
Some people even mocked the country by asking whether it should be called the Bradin Republic instead of its official name, the Oberian Republic.
Back when the class system still remained, they had been a powerful ducal family, so even their bloodline was anything but ordinary.
“If you are the third daughter……. Violet Bradin?”
“So you knew my name. Though judging by your reaction, you had no idea what I looked like.”
“……I have seen the faces of your other siblings in the media, but never yours.”
“I dislike having my face known. It isn't very pleasant when strangers know who I am while I know nothing about them, is it?”
True to her name, Violet had violet eyes and hair.
Even with the muzzle of a gun pointed at her, she smiled leisurely with her eyes.
“Still, that's a relief. Everyone recognizes me wherever I go, so I thought I'd wasted my money. It seems it wasn't entirely pointless.”
Han had memorized the faces of criminals, State-Certified Mages, and heretical mages whose faces had appeared in newspapers even once, but he had no interest in members of high society.
Except for those connected to his missions.
He was truly a man who had lived for nothing but work.
“Give me proof that you belong to the Bradin Family.”
“You're asking for proof because you don't recognize my face.”
“Enough unnecessary talk. Quickly.”
“Hmm. Proof……. Would something like this do?”
Violet pulled out a necklace she had been wearing beneath her dress.
It was a platinum pendant necklace, and the craftsmanship was so exquisite that its diamonds formed the shape of the eagle symbolizing Bradin.
Han carefully examined the necklace before concluding that it was not a fake.
“It seems you were telling the truth.”
“Then would you please lower your gun now? I absolutely detest guns.”
“I cannot. Even if you are a daughter of the Bradin Family, that does not erase my suspicions.”
Han gestured with his chin toward the Mana Stones scattered across the floor.
“Why were you transporting those? Surely you know they can be turned into explosives.”
“If they truly carried a risk of becoming explosives, wouldn't they have been confiscated before I boarded the passenger ship?”
“A mage of your caliber could have passed a crew inspection with ease. That is no defense.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but if you're still so suspicious, would you please examine the Mana Stones more closely? If you still have questions after seeing them yourself, I'll answer them whenever you like.”
“…….”
Violet's eyes did not waver.
In Han's experience, except for a very small number of people, those who lied inevitably showed some sign of it.
Violet showed none.
As she said, it seemed worth checking.
Han released Violet's left hand and slowly approached the Mana Stones.
Even as he moved, the muzzle of his revolver remained trained on her.
He picked up one of the Mana Stones and examined it.
‘A Permanent Invariance Formula…….’
The Mana Stone had been processed so that it could not be used as an explosive.
It was a formula commonly applied to prevent explosions when Mana Stones were used as power sources for machinery. Stones were usually treated this way when only the pure mana energy contained within them was meant to be used.
This particular one was of such high quality that it could not be purchased on the open market, though lower-quality versions were easy enough to obtain.
In other words, Violet had been telling the truth when she said there was no danger of an explosion.
Han placed the Mana Stone back down.
Then he lowered his gun as well.
His conclusion was simple.
‘I'm in trouble.’
Had dealing with so many Mana Stone-related crimes lately made him overly sensitive?
Once Violet's innocence was established, Han was the one left in a difficult position.
She was the daughter of a conglomerate family.
Worse, she was the daughter of the richest family in the world, one whose influence was every bit as enormous as its wealth.
He had threatened her.
Not only had he followed her and forcibly entered her room, he had even pointed a gun at her.
‘And I pinned her down so she couldn't move…….’
It was enough to make cold sweat break out naturally.
However, as a professional, Han's face showed almost none of it.
……At least, he wanted to believe so.
Violet gave him a languid smile.
“I'm glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up. I was worried about what I'd do if you couldn't recognize the formula either, just like you couldn't recognize my face.”
“Then why did you avoid me like that? As if you had committed a crime.”
With the situation now turned against him, Han asked a perfectly reasonable question.
A daughter of the Bradin Family had been transporting Mana Stones without a single guard or attendant.
And she had done so while concealing her face.
There had to be a reason.
“Has my innocence still not been established?”
“It has. You were a suspicious but innocent civilian, and I was a soldier who made a ridiculous mistake and came up empty-handed. My duty ends here. Anything beyond this is simple curiosity.”
“Wouldn't it be stranger not to avoid and distrust a strange man who followed me, even chasing me all the way to the restroom?”
“……That is true. I apologize.”
She was right.
Han had intentionally allowed her to notice that she was being followed in order to observe her reaction, and it had come back to bite him.
When Han apologized, Violet remained silent for a moment before lightly shaking her head.
“I was joking.”
“Joking?”
“I was a little flustered…… and I'm certainly still flustered now. But I can't say I was entirely blameless either. It was certainly a situation that could invite misunderstanding.”
“…….”
“Besides, even if you did come up empty-handed, how could I criticize a public servant who works so hard for the safety of the Republic? I merely wanted to get you back once because I've never lost an argument like this before. I simply can't stand losing.”
Violet no longer tried to move the mana within the room aggressively.
Just as Han had no intention of harming Violet, neither did she intend to harm him.
A brief silence settled between them.
Then Han looked at Violet's left wrist and spoke.
“For that as well. I apologize. ……Sincerely.”
Han had gripped her left arm tightly to keep her from using magic.
Bright red marks had risen across her pale wrist.
Violet rubbed the deeply imprinted handprint before answering.
“Don't worry. I'm not such a coldhearted woman.”
“What do you mean?”
“Captain Han Augustus faithfully carried out his assigned duty even during his precious vacation, but it turned out to have been a misunderstanding, and the Chairman of the Bradin Conglomerate became furious over the dreadful incident suffered by his third daughter. I'm saying that no such thing will ever appear in a report.”
Quick-witted Violet had realized that Han was on vacation.
The ship bound for District 10, far from the capital.
His civilian clothes.
And when Han had shown his identification, it had displayed his full name, rank, and affiliation.
Those clues had made the deduction possible.
But to Han, all of that was trivial at the moment.
“You mean you will keep this incident secret?”
“It wouldn't benefit me if it became known either.”
Han nodded.
That made sense.
Whatever the exact reason, this was a young lady from a distinguished family who had boarded the ship using both a Skin Suit and forged identification.
There was no chance she had properly explained the reason to her family before leaving home.
Moreover, even if Han had not known Violet's face, there was no way he would have been unaware if the Bradin Family possessed a mage who had reached the level of a State-Certified Mage.
‘I haven't even heard that she began studying magic, let alone that she's become such an accomplished mage.’
In other words, Violet was concealing her magical accomplishments from the public.
Perhaps even her relatives and parents did not know.
“My family doesn't know I'm a mage either. And I've made absolutely certain that everyone who does know keeps their mouths shut.”
As Han continued analyzing the situation, Violet unexpectedly revealed it herself.
She continued as though there were nothing surprising about it.
“You seemed to have figured out part of it already. It's better for you to know clearly than to know only half the story and have misunderstandings arise later. Besides, aren't secrets best kept when each person holds one belonging to the other?”
“So in exchange for pretending today's incident never happened, you intend to seal my mouth as well.”
“You understand quickly. That makes things very convenient.”
Violet moved the mana in the air.
The flow of mana moved gracefully according to her command.
It returned all the scattered Mana Stones to their proper places, closed the bag, and placed it on the bed.
“As you can see, I'm a mage. I've loved magic since I was young. However, my father hates mages and looks down terribly on the value of labor.”
Violet's expression remained calm as she spoke about her father.
Yet because that calmness seemed deliberately constructed, it caught Han's attention.
“Ironic, isn't it? A man who profits from factories built through magical engineering, a man who accumulated his wealth by employing countless laborers, thinks that way.”
“…….”
“Anyway, that's why I boarded this ship even though I had to change my identity to do it. I want to research magic, and I need materials, but I'm in no position to ask other people to obtain them for me. Has that cleared up whatever suspicions you still had?”
Han, who had listened quietly, slowly opened his mouth.
Now that all the circumstances made sense, there was no longer any reason to question Violet further.
“We were unlucky. Both you and I. Of all people, we happened to catch each other's attention.”
“And that was the fickle wind's fault too.”
If the wind had not blown at that moment on the dock, Han would never have become suspicious of Violet.
But the wind had blown.
And the hat Violet wore had flown toward Han.
Of all people, the woman hiding her true identity had crossed paths with the most perceptive man around.
In that sense, their meeting could be called a matter of chance.
“Do not worry about me talking. I make my living as a soldier. Even if the enemy tortured me, I would not reveal a secret.”
“Please don't worry about me either. I have so much money that even if someone tried to blackmail me, I could simply solve the problem with money.”
At her teasing words, Han smiled faintly.
“That makes you sound rather unlikable.”
“A conglomerate accumulates wealth, not likability.”
“You aren't wrong.”
After exchanging the bit of wordplay, Han showed signs of leaving.
He picked up the spent casings from the floor and tucked his revolver back inside his clothes.
“Are you leaving?”
“I should. I cannot remain in an innocent woman's room forever.”
“What if I'm dressed as a man?”
“Was there something else you wanted to say?”
“Hmm……. Not necessarily. It's just that I'm a very suspicious woman. Even if we've made a verbal agreement, simply letting you leave like this feels a little…….”
In other words, she still did not trust him completely.
Violet was every bit as cautious as Han.
She thought for a moment, then added something as though a good idea had occurred to her.
Perhaps she intended to build at least a little trust between them and thereby make their shared secrecy more secure.
“Why don't we have dinner together? It seems neither of us has anyone to eat with anyway.”
Come to think of it, Han had not eaten dinner yet.
He had been busy from the moment he boarded the ship and had never found the time to eat.
Han looked toward the Skin Suit lying on the bed and spoke.
“The dining hall should already be closed. Are you planning to order room service?”
“There is one place that's still open. Unlike the other dining halls, it opens rather late, so they should have only just put up the open sign.”
“There was a restaurant like that?”
As Han mentally went over every dining establishment he had identified aboard the passenger ship, Violet gave him the answer first.
“The ballroom.”
“Ah.”
Han was momentarily at a loss for words.
It was certainly a place full of food, yet for some reason, that answer caught him off guard.
“Then would you please step outside? I need to change.”
Violet picked up the Skin Suit spread across the bed as she spoke.
Han was somewhat flustered by the sudden turn of events, but Violet's assertiveness carried things forward regardless.
“Don't expect a dress, by the way. That would be rather difficult while I'm disguised as a man. Let's meet in the corridor outside the ballroom's main entrance in a little while.”
CREEEAK— BANG.
The door shut.
Having been thrown out of the room, Han stood in the corridor for a while.
The ballroom.
A place he had thought he would never visit unless it was for a mission.
And now he was going there with a woman he had only just met.
‘How did things end up like this?’
Han had made a rare mistake.
And for some reason, he felt things were becoming increasingly tangled.