BBYW Vol. 4 Chapter 5 (WN)
Chapter 5 – Messengers from the West
At noon the next day, I had an early lunch and visited House Thunderbird.
The butler led me to a guest room where Echidna was sitting on a sofa, magnificently fanning herself.
“Oh my, how punctual, Dyn. I expected you to sleep in.”
“Don’t treat me like a kid now. I’m 19, you know?”
“Hehe, I imagined you would sleep in after you had your fun with your cute Sakuya…but I suppose the seeds of the next Margrave have started sprouting?”
“…you’re alone? Where’s Margrave Thunderbird?”
I ignored Echidna’s teasing and changed the subject.
Echidna reacted by smiling seductively, then closed her fan and tapped her hand with it.
“My dear father is in the Sapphire Kingdom, for negotiations. Thanks to a certain someone, the pirates of the south are in turmoil, so he went to catch any chance of business.”
“Well, that clearly has nothing to do with me…in any case…I see.”
With Django Thunderbird — the current Margrave — absent, the woman before me was effectively in charge.
Echidna had her fair share of talents and experience in the fields of commerce and trading, but knew next to nothing about military matters.
“So that’s why you let me participate.”
“What are you talking about, I wonder? Sometimes the words you gentlemen use are too difficult for a little lady like me.”
Echidna played dumb, so I was about to retort, when a knock on the door stopped me. The doors opened, and the butler who let me inside appeared.
“I beg your pardon. The messenger from House Sphinx has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
“Immediately, Milady.”
I swallowed my words and sat next to Echidna.
I dodged her all-too-casual attempt to pull my arm in the middle of her ample bosom and flicked her forehead.
“Don’t touch me so easily when you have guests coming, or they’ll get the wrong idea.”
“Oh, I just thought it would work in our favor if they did get the wrong idea. If they think that House Thunderbird and House Maxwell are on such friendly terms, won’t negotiations proceed more smoothly?”
If House Thunderbird and House Maxwell shared the same stance, the importance of the meeting would be much higher. Echidna, who was going to lead the conversation, would gain a striking advantage.
“Don’t use me for your power games now. I’m not anyone’s accessory.”
“Oh dear, I wouldn’t dream of adorning myself with a brute who doesn’t even send birthday presents to his adorable childhood friend. If you wish to be used as a decoration, you could at least give me a ring.”
“Why the hell would I send anything to a woman who isn’t my lover or fiancée? Please”
“Yet you sent a watch to your little penpal, Naam Sphinx, didn’t you…”
“…what kind of information network do you have…?”
I was still in disbelief at the extent of House Thunderbird’s intelligence gathering, when another knock was heard. The butler opened the door and entered, followed by a young woman.
“It has been a long time, Lady Echidna Thunderbird. Lord Dyngir Maxwell too.”
“Oh my…I would have never thought you would come in person.”
The unexpected guest left Echidna uncharacteristically surprised, and her voice trembled slightly.
The young woman who entered the room was fully covered head in a black dress, with a transparent black veil hiding her face.
The woman, with a tanned complexion typical of the western tribes, was Valon Sphinx’ fiancée — Mist Cairo.