Chapter 25.
"I need to talk to you," Alyssa said to John Smith, "Regarding my late Father, the Baron Kuga."
Smith smirked, "I have nothing to say to you about anything, child."
"Oh, but you have the wrong idea, I think," Alyssa said, "Certainly, I'm not angry with you for what happened. Baron Kuga wasn't a very good father to me, after all.
"I was just his bastard daughter. He had no time for me. So, when you interceded, as far as I'm concerned, he got what he deserved.
"But I need your help with his heir, the Baroness Kuga."
Smith chuckled, "Don't you live with the Baroness? Familiarity breeding contempt?"
"You and I both know that Kaiser Herzog is planning to launch a new colony in this area," Alyssa said, "And he plans on installing my sister, Baroness Kuga, as the regional governor.
"But if something were to happen to her, well…there are a few occasions where a bastard child gets to step forward. And I'd already have access to all the gold in my sister's cabin."
"So, you want me to eliminate your sister, and then you'll pay me a chunk of her treasure?" Smith smiled an oily smile at her.
"Well, provided you write a very lengthy letter to the Kaiser convincing him to install me as her successor," Alyssa smirked.
"And how do you know about the Kaiser's plans?"
"I'm a courtesan's daughter," Alyssa clucked at him, "The first thing I learned from my mother was to keep my mouth shut and listen, so that I could hear things. And people tend not to notice you if you're quiet.
"Herzog's little lapdog, Ahn Lu, has been speaking to the Countess Fujino about their plans for Natsuki. They intend to use her as a puppet, rule the new colony as they see fit, and make off with the profits for themselves. It would serve my sister right if I let them do that, but then I wouldn't be in a position to make any money, myself. And what bastard child doesn't dream of getting their due?"
Smith smiled his oily smile, "So, you'd have your sister taken out to keep her from being a puppet?"
"If I play my cards right," Alyssa said, "I can make it look like my sister was a tragic heroine, who was murdered by people she thought she could trust, and I'll be there to step into the role she would have held, and make something of this place."
"An interesting proposition," Smith stroked his chin.
"Of course, without your agent, Tomoe Marguerite, here, it would be more difficult to plan."
"Marguerite was never the brains of any operation I conducted," Smith said flatly, "Attempting to plan things on her own is precisely why she's dead, now. She wasn't the one who made any plans for anything."
"Well, then, I can make sure I get my money's worth from your brain," Alyssa said, and then she shot him a coquettish smile, "Oh, and in case you have any plans on double crossing me?"
"Yes?"
Smith found a sword held under his throat, and turned quickly to see the red gaze of Miyu Greer.
"I am Miss Alyssa's guardian," Miyu said simply, "Harm her in any way, and I will take bits from you. And they will be things you'll miss."
Smith nodded his understanding, "I can be perfectly reasonable, of course."
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"I do not understand why I could not be the one to question Smith," Natsuki fumed.
"Because," Shizuru spoke calmly, sweetly, "Natsuki's face is too honest."
Natsuki looked at her, perplexed.
"It's something Boone told me. My people, and people like Smith, we hide what we think, what we feel. We smile when we're sad. We say things we don't mean.
"But Natsuki's face always shows exactly what she's thinking. Natsuki has an honest face."
Natsuki blushed.
"It is not a bad thing, Dearest," Shizuru smiled and gave her a gentle hug, "Indeed, it is one thing I find most endearing about you. There is no sense of deception in your heart, and that is a rare gift.
"But, unfortunately, for things like this, that gift ill serves you. Smith is like a snake. He will make you think he would strike from one direction, while scheming to strike from another. He is deceptive, sly, and very good at what he does to have done it so long and lived.
"If he saw your honest reactions on your face, he would know of your intent, and he would make sure to deny you the chance to have your justice."
Natsuki sighed, "I understand what you are saying."
"Alyssa has prompted him with a scenario which he would find all too feasible, and given him incentive to act on it."
Alyssa herself returned to the cabin just then. She was wearing a shrewd smile, until she closed the door. Then she shivered, partly from the cold, and partly to shake off the wretched persona she'd just had to play.
"Oh, it makes me ill to have to say such things," Alyssa said, and she went over and hugged her sister, "I had to pretend to John Smith, Natsuki, to be your enemy, but I find that it leaves a distasteful sensation in my mouth after I've done it."
Natsuki patted Alyssa's head, "You are my kin. My blood. Even if you did betray me, I would still be your family."
"Kind to a fault," Alyssa sighed, but smiled at her.
"Smith will not think me so, when I am finished," Natsuki said evenly.
Ahn Lu came into the cabin, "Nao is shadowing Smith. He is a creature of shrewdness. He will seek out agents in the colony, and use them to do the dirty work, undoubtedly. That way, if harm were to befall Natsuki, he would be well clear from suspicion.
"He's fully aware of how beloved the Baroness is to the colonists. And he already saw how badly Marguerite's attempt at sullying her reputation went. I suspect that he'll try to arrange for either an accident, or like an outsider did the job."
There was a whippoorwill call, and Ahn Lu looked alarmed, "That's Nao's danger signal. Alyssa, quickly, your room."
Ahn Lu ducked out of sight into the room with Alyssa just as a knock came at the door.
Natsuki opened the door to see John Smith standing there,
"Mr. Smith," Shizuru greeted him, "To what do we owe the honor?"
"I come with grave news for the Baroness."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I had to be cautious. I fear that the Greer girl may be following me. I received a visit from her and your sister, Baroness.
"I fear that your sister is under the bizarre misapprehension that I was involved in the death of your Father, the late Baron Kuga. I'm sure that it's no secret, of course, that an agent in my employ was responsible for that, but that was before she worked for me."
"Oh, yes, we learned of Tomoe Marguerite's connections to both Baron Kuga's death and to you from papers in her possession," Shizuru said evenly, "But are you saying she didn't kill Baron Kuga on your orders?"
"Mine? Hardly. I'm…how do I put this? Think of me as a merchant for the organization known as Schwarz. I represented Schwarz to our clients, and then carry out my orders. It's a job with which I have no small amount of skill. But I'm not the head of Schwarz.
"In fact, my favor in the organization has fallen a bit since the demise of our previous head. To the point where I don't know who the current head of Schwarz is."
"So, then, who was the previous head of Schwarz?" Shizuru asked.
"Why, none other than the late Baron Kuga," John Smith bowed.
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"There's strange things going on in this place, Yukino," Haruka Suzurshiro huffed, "And I, for one, am going to get to the bottom of it."
"Strange things, Haruka?" Yukino asked.
"Tomoe Marguerite tried to have me killed and frame Baroness Kuga for it. Strange men tried to intimidate a Native American monster."
"Impersonate, Haruka," Yukino sighed, noting that Haruka's malapropisms had gotten worse since she took a musket ball to the head, courtesy of the aforementioned Marguerite.
"And Countess de Fujino decided to cancel her engagement to Duke Nagi de Artai, but she didn't sail back to her homeland afterwards."
"Well, in fairness to the Countess, would you want to sail back to Europe on a ship that had your ex-fiance on it and spend at least a month together in the same cabin, or the ship's hold?" Yukino offered.
"And Juliet Zhang and Miyu Greer have been seen walking all over the place at odd hours."
"At least the Minagi girl has calmed down a little bit," Yukino offered.
"I swear, Yukino, this has to be the most bizarre colony this side of the Atlantic."
"At least we're all still here," Yukino said, "The previous colony was all dead, and there was that colony to the south that just up and vanished. Roanoke, I think they called it."
"I wonder what became of those men that were posing as the monster?" Haruka said, "John Smith said he would decide their punishment, but he never said what it would be. I know they weren't put out in the pillory for public display, and I don't remember them being sent back on the ship for Europe. Do you know, Yukino?"
Yukino frowned, "I don't. But I remember their faces, and I've not seen them around the colony since then, either."
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"My Father was the head of Schwarz?" Natsuki looked horrified.
"Oh, now, members of the aristocracy all belong to one secret organization or another. Under your Father, Schwarz was run most ethically," John Smith shrugged, "I daresay that's why he was targeted for elimination."
"Who ordered it?" Natsuki produced her knife, "Who?"
"I have no idea," Smith shrugged, "I don't ask questions when I'm not prepared to handle the answers. Whoever it was, they're well beyond my current level of power. Best not to poke my nose in, lest it get cut off."
"You must have some idea," Shizuru prompted.
"Oh, to be sure, I have a vague notion. But names, no," Smith sighed, "You see, the pertinent question is, who stood to benefit from Baron Kuga's death. I can rule out his late wife, because she couldn't have directed Tomoe's hand from here. I can rule out the current Baroness, that's you, for the same reason.
"The Baron's mistress, a respected courtesan? Possible, but not likely. Lena had little to gain by the death of her client, especially as he provided for his bastard child."
Natsuki visibly bristled at the description of her sister.
"Natsuki doesn't care to have Alyssa described that way," Shizuru pointed out.
Smith looked at her, then shrugged, "As you wish. Your sister. Now, that narrows it down to two potential categories. The first is a rival from another secret organization. Most likely the First District. A nasty piece of work, them. They're reputed, amongst their other crimes, to have taken in the daughters of nobility and trained them in the arts of assassins. They would have desperately wanted Baron Kuga out of the way.
"The other possibility is that it was someone from within the current Schwarz, who thought of taking your Father's power for themselves. Whether they succeeded or not is another question. There was quite a power vacuum when your Father died, and a squabble broke out over who his successor would be. I managed to evade most of the internal politics and keep my position…and my life.
"And then Duke Nagi hired me to oversee his business while he prepared a gambit to transform this place into a new Kingdom. I wouldn't doubt that it was this that caused your sister to believe that I was the one who hired Tomoe to kill your Father. But the Baron paid well, and I had no grievances against him.
"Now, I couldn't discuss this with your sister at the time, because Miyu Greer was threatening me with bodily harm, but you need to set the record straight with her. Unless you want something more…perman…"
He didn't get to finish. There was a sharp slap from Natsuki.
"Alyssa is not someone I would harm. Ever. Understand?"
Smith grinned as he licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, "Unquestionably, Baroness. Then, I leave it to you to set the record straight. And get her to call off her guardian, if you would. Oh, and I can give you one more bit of warning.
"Those men who were posing as that Native monster? Nagi took them aboard ship, and then had plans to drop them off elsewhere. They've been given the instructions of disrupting the relationship between the colony and the Native tribes. I'm afraid I don't know details."
And with that, John Smith left.
Alyssa emerged from her room, and looked at Natsuki, "I really dislike that man."
"It must run in the family," Natsuki looked at her, and smiled.
Alyssa blinked, then started laughing, "Oh, but she has a sense of humor, after all."