Pendleton Revolution
Chapter 9

“Damn, I missed him,” Lucas Garvin cursed furiously as he banged his fist on the wall a couple of times.

He was in the middle of surveilling a key member of the secret Daddy-Long-Legs Club. The private association was divided into different levels. Due to his reputation as a womanizer, Lucas quickly infiltrated the first level. As for the higher levels, he was stumped about how to get his foot in the door. Figuring out the club’s major players’ identities and intentions and how to approach them was a challenge.

Lucas had decided to keep track of a key member who seemed to be in charge of communicating with the top brass. To determine how his target contacted the higher-ups and what directives he was given, he had first to get a clear picture of where this man was the most active. Lucas had informed Leeman of his course of action in advance. He needed his reluctant partner to agree to him doing something that risked exposing his identity, meaning he had to get tangible results, no matter what.

He had figured out where the target had stayed for the past few days. Unfortunately, he had yet to see the target do anything suspicious. Then, about four days ago, the target began to behave strangely, and this morning, suspicious men started walking through the nearby alleys. They seemed to be surveying the area in advance—instinct told Lucas they were readying the place for something.

That was why he had been staking out the alley from behind a fruit vendor’s cart since noon. The front of the fruit stand gave him a good view into the narrow alley. From there, he could see who came in and out of the small inn where his target was staying. He had asked the fruit vendor for his understanding in advance.

“I might need some fruit later this afternoon, so please let me kill time here until then. When the time comes, I’ll buy up all the fruit.”

The vendor readily obliged, happy as long as he could sell his wares. That was how Lucas Garvin frittered away the time, sometimes exchanging banter with the vendor.

Contrary to Andrea’s perception, Lucas had never intended to hide the fact that he was an aristocrat. Of course, nobles integrated into high society would recognize him immediately—his features alone gave away his identity. So, he had been keeping an eye on his target while keeping in line with his usual behavior of idling around. He aimed to find out where the target and the other suspicious men were going and what they were planning.

By late afternoon, the sun was starting to set. He began wondering where to go next to continue his surveillance. That was when the target emerged from the inn. Lucas leaped to his feet, accidentally shoving a passerby in the process. If only he hadn’t knocked over the female student, he surely would’ve been able to see where his target was going.

No, if only Ed Yuriness—the boy he sponsored—had not been accompanying the female student, Lucas could’ve caught the falling girl and given her a check as a token of apology before tailing the target.

A heavy sigh escaped his mouth. He pounded his fist on the brick house before him, frustrated at losing the trail. However, it was unmistakably his fault. Who knew he would run into the one person he never imagined meeting in an alley full of street vendors? Before he knew it, he was staring at his protégé for a good few seconds. Lucas heaved another heavy sigh, remembering how Ed’s expression had grown fiercer by the second when their eyes met.

It was the most unexpected encounter indeed. He had been so busy staring at Ed that by the time he pulled himself together, the target was already out of sight—it was simply too late. Ultimately, he had to momentarily give up on the mission and offer compensation to the female student. Only after that did he quickly enter the narrow alley, but as he feared, the target had disappeared entirely during his interaction with Ed and his girlfriend.

Ed must have found him awfully suspicious. He couldn’t have possibly left a good first impression, what with looking like a loafer and holding his girlfriend by the waist. Gripping his forehead and tousling his hair, Lucas let out one groan after another. He leaned his back against the wall and slid to the ground.

Sliding a cigarette into his mouth, he mumbled, “He was scrawnier than I thought. No wonder the uniform didn’t fit him.”

Resigning to the turn of events, he took drag after drag as he gathered his thoughts about the unexpected meeting with his protégé. The image of poor Ed kept lingering in his mind. At the end of the day, Leeman and Lucas were not that different from the other anonymous sponsors. Providing financial support and comfort to an innocent orphan ultimately served their personal agenda.

The moment Lucas and Leeman revealed the findings of their investigation, their mission to infiltrate the secret club would be made public. Their enraged enemies would begin tracing them back to the recipient of their patronage. Lucas had Marquess Rino’s support, and Leeman had House Roshmar and Archduke Pendleton at his back. It would be much easier for the assailants to go after their vulnerable protégé instead. As it were, an orphan girl would be the perfect target. She could easily fall prey to these wicked crooks and wouldn’t have a clue.

Leeman thought it would be much too cruel to subject a poor girl to such a fate, and Lucas agreed. That was why they preferred supporting someone aspiring to be an officer or a soldier so she wouldn’t go down without a fight. Being a better fighter could also deter the enemies from ambushing the protégé. It was a cursory decision on Lucas and Leeman’s part. Still, when they were looking to sponsor an orphan, they couldn’t get their hopes up since it was highly likely they would be sponsoring a girl. When the protégé turned out to be a boy, they happily proceeded with the patronage.

Seeing him in person was never the plan. Lucas held the cigarette over his bowed head. With the other hand, he rubbed his face vigorously before letting out another sigh. Ed’s olive eyes lingered in his mind. They were fierce, as if they belonged to some kind of feline beast. If Lucas and Leeman’s identities were exposed and Ed was murdered as a result, Lucas would live the rest of his life haunted by those eyes.

A while ago, Leeman offered to check in on their protégé in person if the situation ever called for it, rather than leave it to Lucas. He knew better than anyone how guilt could eat away at one’s soul.

The hypocrisy makes me sick. After a long moment of turmoil, Lucas came to this conclusion. He wanted to rationalize his actions by believing that he was sponsoring the orphan to atone for his sins, even though that was never the point in the first place. It was too late for him to make amends. He had already killed those who could’ve ever forgiven him. Lucas stuck the cigarette back in his mouth and ruffled his hair.

Now that he had seen how thin Ed was, he felt compelled to send the protégé a new uniform. Getting his hands dirty meant he would have to resort to more money and gifts to lessen the guilt, just like the scum he was after. Lucas snubbed his cigarette out before it burned all the way through. He tossed the crumpled butt away and slumped completely to the ground. Tired, he rubbed his face vigorously a few more times.

Commoners would never waste such expensive cigarettes, but Lucas couldn’t care less about throwing one away unfinished. His gold-speckled violet eyes grimaced. He would not go easy on the bastards who had started all this. No, he would take every last of them down, even if it killed him in the process.

“Excuse me…”

Lucas was covering his face with his hands when a voice suddenly prompted him back to reality.

“Are you all right?”

“Pardon?”

Lucas quickly put his hands down and looked up. A young woman’s shoulders jolted as she scanned him up and down with suspicious eyes. Her face grew darker as she appeared to regret speaking to him. Upon seeing Lucas’ fair, well-groomed face, she jumped a little before sighing with relief and patting her chest.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re perfectly normal. I wasn’t sure if I should’ve talked to you in case you were drugged.”

That was when Lucas finally remembered how he was slouching on the ground. He must have looked like he was dying on the street.

“Y-yes, I’m fine. I was just smoking my cigarette,” he said, pointing to the cigarette butt he had flicked away earlier.

“I see,” the woman murmured, taking a step back.

Her golden curls cascaded down her face, and her emerald eyes sparkled like gems. She was quite a beauty. The distinct freckle under her eye made her look like the type of mistress that old aristocrats liked to toy with. Fortunately, the brooch on her chest said otherwise. She was a student at the academy and appeared to be living her life to the fullest instead of falling prey to such misery. Lucas smiled faintly.

“Thank you for your concern.”

When he expressed his sincerest gratitude, the woman waved her hands in embarrassment, apologizing for being so nosy. The pacing about and hesitating made her thirsty. After saying goodbye and going on her way, she opened her bag and took out an old water bottle. The wooden flask had a name carved clumsily into it.

—Alice Carmidan

Carmidan… Lucas brooded over the name in silence. The House Carmidan that went bankrupt? I hear they’re worse off than most commoners these days.

Four years ago, Lucas served as the chief of staff in a naval engagement—the Battle of Askarit. That was when he developed a habit of constantly observing and taking precautions against others. He was reciting everything he knew about the Carmidans in his head before he could help it. Before becoming chief of staff, he was an intelligence officer. He couldn’t help himself, though he knew it was rude. It came with the job.

The beautiful daughter of a fallen noble family, huh? No wonder they still scraped money together to send her to the Academy.

Again, a sigh escaped him. He mumbled to himself as he watched Alice Carmidan—or the woman he thought was her—disappear around the alley. Suddenly, he got the feeling that something didn’t add up. The sun was setting. Why was a student walking in the opposite direction of the Academy? It could only mean that she would be spending the night off campus.

Where was Baron Carmidan’s estate again? The east side of the capital? No, they sold that mansion to pay off their debts. Where did they move after that? A small mansion in Desgarge? No, they auctioned off that mansion as well.

House Carmidan had to move multiple times, causing Lucas to think of a stream of different addresses. A long time passed before he finally found the answer.

He mumbled in a low voice, “House Carmidan’s wealth declined so steeply, that they had to move out of the capital. Right, they had to go south to Arta for help.”

In other words, Alice Carmidan had no place left in the capital to spend the night. The realization sent a chill down Lucas’ back. Orphans weren’t the only ones who could experience the cruelty of poverty. House Carmidan had fallen a few generations back—so impoverished were they that their lives were worse off than some commoners. It was a struggle just to earn a living. What they lacked, they made up for with a beautiful daughter. What would the head of a fallen aristocratic family do in such a situation? Lucas knew the answer better than anyone.

Did her benefactor call her over?

Having reached such a conclusion, Lucas quickly checked the gun on his waist. Then, he began running in the woman’s direction.