Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Chapter 80 ❆ You Want Gold?

Sorry my updates are erratic. I've been having troubles with my website lately and it's ended me looking like a headless chicken.

Over the next few days, I moved with my usual chores and agenda. Elion had yet to inform me about Viron's whereabouts. I wasn't sure whether our arrangement were still on, but he did reassure me he was working on it.

Elion, so far, had been very reliable, and I trusted him. His work was solid, and even if I or the mistresses did random checks throughout the months in order to ensure quality of the production, the work done was always solid.

Of course, in order to ensure worker happiness and welfare, they were given ample bonuses and days off. Although I was deploying capitalist practices in order to make my business successful, I didn't want to neglect my moral obligations. The only way to make River End truly successful was to make the people who help keep it running very happy. And satisfied.

"I seemed to have found him," Elion said.

"Well, it was some challenge, huh?" I asked as I put down the bottles of the luxury line perfumes in the back for storage. Elion helped carry them with me. I, for the most part, pushed the trolley forward—not that heavy-lifting was a particular challenge to me. I just came from training muscles that I'd never used before, so my body was a little sore in some places. "Sorry for not helping out more."

"No worries. It's my job. I'm happy to do it," he told me.

"So, what about Viron?" I asked, reluctantly coming forward to help out a little more—mostly out of guilt. I was a little slower than Elion. In fact, I hadn't even shed a drop of sweat while he was already glistening.

"Some saw him hanging out around the bazaar."

"You mean the pier-side," I said.

"That's right. He hasn't been back the couple of days. I have to look for him. I'm a little worried something weird is going on. Neither brother nor sister had gone back to the camp in the last few days. None of their neighbors had seen them recently either."

"That sounds suspicious..." After putting down the last of the boxes, I heaved out a weary sigh. "Alright, how about I go with you?"

"You really don't need to. I know you're very busy running around."

"I'm the one who needs something from Viron. I have some responsibility in looking for him. Besides, I'm very curious about what's going on as well. It might be something I can help with just in case."

"Yes. You speak better Lovardi than I do. Some neutral accent helps, I guess. And lighter skin. I get turned away as a beggar wherever I go, no matter how well I dress. It's a little frustrating. It's part of the reason why I've been so slow."

"Sorry you have to go through that. All the more reason I should've stepped forward earlier."

"It's not your fault."

We left the shop after entrusting the counter to the shopkeeper. Before that, Elion had changed into fresh clothes that covered his appearance for the most part. I'd also taken the account book with me, along with the earnings for the week with me. I planned to stop by the mistresses' house to drop off everything before proceeding with the last of our agenda for the day.

"By the way, Evy, you turned fourteen recently. I didn't get you a gift," he said.

"You didn't need to. You showed up and ate with us. There's really no need for a gift," I replied. To be honest, birthday or no birthday really made no difference for me. This body was fourteen, but I have to add seventeen for mental age on top of that and I felt like an old woman.