We’re in a Contract Marriage, But I’ve Imprinted - Chapter 175

The head trader spoke brightly as if forgetting his earlier tension and left the room. Alone in the reception area, Ian let his previously forced smile drop into a cold frown. He scanned the somewhat worn space with a detached expression.

There were surely many other large trading companies, so why was the Tower Master conducting business here?

Convinced there must be a reason, he planned to investigate this trading company later and got up from the sofa to look around. As he did, he felt a strange sense of discomfort. It was as if the flow of air was being forced. This was what he had been waiting for.

Just when he couldn’t back his laughter, the voice he had eagerly awaited echoed through the space.

“I’m busy, so I’ll just say what I need to and—”

Before Pedro could finish his sentence, Ian swiftly moved to grab him by the collar. Simultaneously, he bound him with a restraining magical tool that he had prepared in advance.

“Damn it!”

Pedro cursed as he realized he was firmly caught. He had never expected Ian to find him here, and he was flustered.

“Is this a magical restraint?”

“Yes.”

“Yuck, I feel like I’m going to be sick. You bastard.”

Despite being unable to use his magic and bound, Pedro responded nonchalantly. There was something scarier than the current situation—his thoughts drifted to the possibility of being scolded by the Tower Master again.

“Well, if you were going to pull this off, you should have been prepared.”

“The one who needs to be prepared is you. If you treat me like this, a war with the Magic Tower will be unavoidable.”

Undeterred, Ian pushed Pedro down and pinned his back with his knee. He finally asked the question that had been nagging at him.

“Where is Mel?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“The omega you mentioned is Melissa, isn’t it?”

“Well, if you want to think that way, go ahead.”

“…You’ll definitely tell me.”

“Why? Are you planning to torture me?”

Pedro stretched his mouth in a way that suggested he had heard something ridiculous and added.

“If that happens, my master won’t just sit back and watch. Can you handle that?”

“…The judgment about you will not come from me but from His Majesty. Before that, tell me where Melissa is!”

“I don’t want to.”

As Ian’s golden eyes sharpened dangerously to Pedro’s persistent complaints, the door swung open, and the head trader rushed in.

“This might be small in size, but inside… Hiick! What is going on here?”

The head trader, who had been entering to explain the magical tools, was taken aback but tried to approach. However, the knights moved first. Having snuck in quietly, they quickly cuffed Pedro’s wrists while Ian held him.

“Pedro vin Bailey, by order of His Majesty the Emperor, I am here to arrest you.”

“…Ha, how annoying. Ian, you know the head trader has nothing to do with this, right?”

“There will be no repercussions for him. His Majesty is merely curious about the meaning of what you left behind.”

“You’ll figure it out for yourself. Must you always start by capturing people?”

As Pedro grumbled, the knights forcibly lifted him and began to lead him outside at Ian’s nod. Before leaving, Ian turned to the shocked head trader and handed him a pouch filled with gold coins.

“Don’t worry about the Tower Master. After hearing the answers His Majesty wanted, he’ll be released.”

“Ye, yes.”

“This is merely a token of consolation. I apologize for the trouble.”

“Ah, yes…”

After forcing the dazed head trader to accept the pouch of gold, Ian hurried outside. He felt as if he was finally one step closer to finding Melissa and couldn’t afford to waste any time.

Once Ian and the knights had vanished, the head trader was finally able to regain his composure. He wondered what kind of chaos had just unfolded.

Moving his stiff body, he quickly rummaged through a drawer to retrieve something and fumbled to activate the magical tool.

— What’s going on?

A weary voice came from the magical tool. The head trader hurriedly relayed the message.

“Something, something big has happened!”

—What is it?

“The, the tower master has been arrested and taken to the palace. I am the owner of the trading company, and just now…”

— …They captured Pedro?

“Yes, yes! The tower master left behind a communication tool just in case. He instructed me to activate it if anything happened to him.”

— Phew… Good job. Then, I’ll hang up now.

“What? Yes.”

The trader instinctively hung up the communication magical tool and stood there in a daze, muttering to himself.

“But who was that to speak so casually?”

Overwhelmed by pressure, he had unwittingly used formalities, but he felt uneasy about whether contacting an unknown person would truly help the Tower Master.

He quickly grabbed his jacket and rushed outside, heading straight for the most famous information broker in the empire.

* * *

Having received word in advance, Adrian was waiting in the audience room for Pedro and Ian. Pedro, brought to the palace, soon came face to face with the Emperor.

“I regret seeing you under these circumstances, Tower Master.”

“Enough with the pleasantries, please remove these restraints.”

“Otherwise, you’d just vanish again like last time.”

“I promise I won’t do that.”

After observing Pedro’s nonchalant reply for a moment, Adrian shook his head.

“I can’t trust that.”

“…Ha. You sound like someone living in a world without trust.”

“Hoo.”

Adrian looked at the tower master with a newfound interest. Had he always been this clever? As he observed the unexpectedly unfamiliar sight of Pedro, he wasted no time in getting to the point.

“I have no intention of harming you. I just have a question I’d like to ask.”

“…Please get on with it. Do you have any idea how unpleasant it is to be wearing a magical restraint?”

“Alright. I’ll get straight to the point.”

The Emperor shared what he had desperately uncovered.

“After hearing your words, I searched through all the journals left by the previous Emperors. During my search, I found something notable within the journal of the tenth Emperor, Gael Aerys Fernando.”