"…" Noel furrowed his eyebrows, wondering how this actually happened. There were so many questions in his mind as he couldn't really understand the entire situation from how he was still loyal to the Ardagan Family to making contact with the noble and the Supreme Devil Organization.
"I know that after the test, it's hard to gain your trust. However, if we can gradually earn that trust from the young master. You can tell us anything and we'll do our best to fulfill it." Harley added after seeing the frown on Noel's face.
Noel confirmed that Harley was loyal. Meanwhile, the other two weren't so loyal to him.
But even without the medal, he knew that these two followed Harley, not him. As long as Harley ordered it, they would do it.
Noel looked down for a moment, contemplating. He couldn't accept their pledge easily after that test.
So, he had to confirm all the questions in his head first before accepting them.
"If that's the case, you don't mind answering my questions, right?"
"Certainly." Harley nodded without hesitation.
"In that case, you may rise. It's uncomfortable talking in that position."
A smile appeared on Harley's face while rising from the ground. He gently pointed at the couch near the door. "Please sit here."
Noel nodded while Harley asked the maid to prepare tea for Noel. He even asked the emotionless woman to play to set the mood, but Noel preferred a serious and silent atmosphere, so Harley ended up dismissing her for the time being.
"So, what would the young master like to ask?"
Noel thought for a moment, reorganizing his questions. The first question must be related to his identity since this was the most important.
"I'm still wondering how you know it's me… I believe I have made a perfect identity for this…" Noel narrowed his eyes. There should be only a few people that knew about his identity, so if there were actually more people that knew about this without his knowledge, his life would be in danger.
"Yes, Young Master's disguise is perfect, except for the fact that we are the ones providing that mask." Harley pointed at the masquerade Noel was wearing.
"Huh?" Noel widened his eyes in shock. This masquerade was given by the commander, but he never really asked where the commander got this mask.
"Yes. This masquerade had been created by Master. I don't know about the details, but it seems that the master had asked for a famous Master Blacksmith to create this mask. If I'm not wrong, your grandfather was also related to the creation of this mask.
"And under your father's order, I gave this mask to the commander of the Demon Banner Army, telling him to hand this mask to you after you pass a certain requirement."
"…" Noel fell silent, recalling the time he got this mask. It was after he defeated the Ancient Demon Tree. He realized that the special requirement was something related to his potential.
The commander had recognized him the moment he killed that Ancient Demon Tree.
"I see…" Noel closed his eyes for a moment, never expecting the situation to be like this. But the fact that he received an order from his father meant Harley knew everything that transpired behind the scenes. "So, you should know that my father is still alive, right?"
"Certainly. Unfortunately, I don't have the details since your father is working with my superior. Even I don't know what he is planning. My only task is to wait until the young master visits me so that I can pledge my loyalty to you."
"After testing me," Noel added.
"Yes, after testing you," Harley admitted without hesitation. He knew it was a problem, but his young master had completely changed. In fact, he had a high hope that the current young master could rebuild the family.
"Then, why are those two…" Noel glanced to the side, looking at the maid.
"I shall introduce you to them. She is Illia and the one outside is Lisciana. You can think of them as my right hand and left hand. They are the ones helping me take care of this brothel."
"Now that I think about it, the brothel seems to be related to an organization specializing in espionage…"
Harley smiled. "Actually, we are not tied into an organization. Instead, we are the organization itself.
"I'm not sure if the young master has known about this, but do you know a brothel called Sleeping Flower?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. But I think I've heard the name somewhere…" Noel frowned.
"The Sleeping Flower is one of the biggest brothels in the kingdom aside from two other brothels. Though, they are true brothels, unlike us. Anyway, our brothel has a lot of branches, but no one actually knows that the Sleeping Flower itself is just a branch of a certain brothel."
"Wait a minute. A certain brothel…" Noel looked at Harley.
"Yes. The Sleeping Flower Brothel is just a branch of the Eternal Flower Brothel. My superior is in charge of security, while I'm in charge of information gathering. We have been using the brothel to get all kinds of information."
"…" Noel pinched the bridge of his nose. The Eternal Flower seemed to be strong, but he still didn't know whether to trust him. After all, he was contacting the noble and the Supreme Devil Organization.
If he had a bad intention, he would have his loyalty decrease after being suspected. So, Noel tried this risky move since he didn't have a lot of time.
"So, I guess you have inherited the will of my father…" Noel paused for a moment as his expression darkened. "Now I'm wondering why you are trying to cooperate with the Supreme Devil Organization when my father has been fighting against them?!"
Harley fell silent, not expecting that question. But Noel had actually got his answer from the change of affection. It didn't decrease. It actually went up.
Name: Harley
Affection: Loyal (80/100)
Description: Someone who is loyal enough to risk their life for you.
