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"Wriothesley."
A soft yet intricate voice hummed into his ear.
"Wriothesley~"
He smiled, knowing that familiar tone.
"You have to wake up."
A confusing feeling washed over him.
"You've slept too long."
He felt his shoulder being shaken.
"Wriothesley."
Now that he could hear the voice more clearly...
"Wake up!"
It wasn't who he thought it was.
"GET UP!"
...
Opening his eyes, his breath got caught in his throat as he blinked. Looking out from the corner of his peripheral, he noticed Sigewinne's worried expression peeking up at him.
"...Huh?" He groaned, hoisting himself up on his elbow. He combed his hand through his hair, pulling it out of his face.
"Thank the Gods." Sigewinne sighed, taking her hand off his shoulder. "I thought you were in a coma or something."
Wriothesley yawned, slouching over as he tried to recall his dream. "...Were you calling my name?"
Sigewinne nodded. "You wouldn't wake up."
"Ugh." He cracked his knuckles and popped his neck. "What time is it?"
"Half past noon."
"—Half past?!"
Sigewinne huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "I know it's good that you're finally getting some type of rest, but I didn't mean for you to sleep the day away!"
"Shit, shit..." Wriothesley shuffled out of bed, grabbing his vest from the dresser.
"Clorinde has been expecting you for almost an hour now. Thankfully, I've managed to somewhat keep her busy." Sigewinne spoke.
"Fuck, fuck..." He rolled his shoulders back, pulling his coat onto them.
"Also, you have a ton of reports lying on your desk!" She added.
"Damnit..." He wrapped the black ribbon on his arms and neck, covering his scars. "Where's Clorinde?"
"In the infirmary. Like I said, I've been keeping her busy. Although I think this would mean you're going to pay more..." Sigewinne said.
Wriothesley sighed, cuffing his black shoes up onto his shin. "Just send her to my office."
"...Are you alright?" She asked.
"Of course. Never been better..." He replied while loosely tying up his tie onto his chest.
"It's not like you to sleep in. In fact, I don't think you've ever overslept before..." Sigewinne put a hand to her heart.
"I just had a dream." He responded. "I hate that I can't remember it."
"Well, try to not do that again. You kinda scared me." She said.
Wriothesley laughed. "I'll try. No promises, though."
— Later —
"Ah, Miss Clorinde..."
After Wriothesley had time to compose himself and to take care of some minor inconveniences, he sat down in his office, waiting for the person he invited to show.
Once she did, however, she did not look pleased.
"Wriothesley." She sat down at the chair placed in front of his desk, crossing once leg over the other as she gave him a rather unpleasant look. "I thought we agreed to meet in the morning?"
Wriothesley cleared his throat. "Well, you know about the current situation. My attention was dragged away elsewhere... apologies."
"Hm." She said, sighing. "Then let's talk."
Wriothesley nodded. "I'm sure you understood what I said in my letter."
"About the desert girl? Yes, I did." Clorinde replied. "However, it's not my line of work."
He raised his brow. "How so?"
"I'm not particularly experienced in traveling. If you want to send someone out on an expedition to search for her, I suggest you reach out towards the Adventurer's Guild."
Wriothesley sighed, his body growing heavy in his seat. "...I'm not really on good terms with them at the moment."
"How is that?" She asked.
"Well, considering how many of their members I have down here, let's just say I'm not their favorite person." He laughed.
"I see." Clorinde nodded. "Then I can post the expedition. How does that sound?"
"Wonderful." Wriothesley smiled. "But let's try to keep it more... discreet."
"Discreet?" She questioned.
Wriothesley gave a rather... strange look. "The desert girl does have a warrant out for her arrest. It was my fault that I let her go. That's the only reason I reached out to you."
"You never mentioned that she was wanted." Clorinde said. "You should have specified that in your letter."
"Apologies." Wriothesley chuckled. "I just try to keep my letters simple, in case it ends up in the wrong hands."
"That explains the terrible hand writing, then." She gave a soft smile. "But do you have the documents to prove that she is a wanted criminal?"
"Of course." Wriothesley pulled the drawer next to him open, taking out a thin folder.
Clorinde took it from him and opened it. After scanning through it, a puzzled look came about her face.
"...Wanted for theft?" She said. "Over three millions worth of mora..."
Wriothesley nodded. "You can ask the jewelry shop owner yourself."
"I will look into it." Closing the file, she looked back at Wriothesley. "What exactly did she steal that is worth that much mora?"
Wriothesley felt a menacing smile creep up at his lips.
It took everything in his soul to not let it show.
"...A ring."