Chapter 147: Customer Confidentiality
Aria didn’t speak for the first five minutes.
That was how Kelme knew he was in trouble. They were walking back toward the city, the distant lights of the capital flickering against the darkening sky, and Aria had been completely silent since leaving the mill.
Kelme glanced at her. She stared straight ahead, her jaw tight, her steps measured and deliberate. He glanced again. Still nothing.
"You’re angry."
Nothing.
"Very angry."
Nothing.
"Extremely—"
"STOP TALKING." Aria finally spoke.
Kelme immediately shut his mouth, his hands rising in a gesture of surrender.
Aria spun around, her eyes blazing. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"
Kelme raised both hands defensively. "I was improvising."
"You gave them the dress!"
"I gave them a lead."
"You gave them the perfect lead!"
"I didn’t know they’d take it seriously."
"They’re the army!" Aria’s voice cracked with frustration.
Kelme thought about that for a moment. "That’s fair."
"They’re going to find the merchant." Aria began pacing, her footsteps echoing in the empty road. "And then they’re going to ask him who bought the dress."
"Probably."
"And then they’re going to find me!"
Kelme nodded slowly. "Also probably."
Aria stared at him, her expression one of pure disbelief. "Why are you so calm?"
"Because we’re not dead."
"Yet!"
"That’s an important distinction."
Aria groaned, grabbing her head with both hands. "I should have never trusted you with improvisation."
"I got us out of the mill."
"You almost got us killed."
"But we escaped."
"After you insulted a duke!" Aria’s voice rose to a near-shout.
Kelme winced, rubbing his neck where the Duke’s grip had left bruises. "That part was less ideal."
"You basically told him he was a terrible father!"
"I was under pressure."
"You were hanging from his hand!"
"Exactly."
Aria stopped walking, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I need to disappear."
Kelme frowned. "No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Dead Man’s Wonderland."
Kelme sighed, the sound heavy with exasperation. "Again?"
"It’s safe."
"You nearly died there."
"It’s still safer than being hunted by the army."
"That’s debatable."
"How?"
"We know the army wants the White Princess."
"Exactly."
"And they don’t know who Aria is."
"Exactly."
Kelme pointed at her, a glimmer of logic in his eyes. "So why run?"
Aria blinked, her momentum faltering. "...Because they know where I bought the dress."
Kelme shrugged. "The Marchent does, not them."
"A how are we to convince him to not speak."
"His a marchent not a snitch. we just need to pay more than what the army would pay."
"with what money, we are too busy to make sugar!"
"You’re panicking."
"I’m thinking ahead!"
"You’re thinking in circles."
Aria glared at him, her frustration bubbling to the surface. Kelme sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
"Fine." He looked toward the city, his expression shifting to something more calculating. "Then let’s solve the problem."
Aria narrowed her eyes. "How?"
"Kill Colston."
She stared at him, her mouth falling open. "...What? why him?"
"He’s already the biggest problem." Kelme’s voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "We kill him, destroy his operation, and disappear."
"That’s your solution?"
"Yes."
"Then what?"
"We go back to Dead Man’s Wonderland."
Aria folded her arms, her jaw set stubbornly. "No."
"Why?"
"Because we’ve already gone too far."
Kelme looked confused, his brow furrowing. "You just said you wanted to run away."
"I don’t want to run away."
"Then what do you want?"
Aria thought for a moment, her eyes narrowing with renewed determination. "The merchant."
Kelme stopped walking. "What merchant?"
"The one who sold you the dress."
Kelme’s face slowly changed as understanding dawned. "Oh."
"We find him."
"And?"
"We convince him that he never sold you anything."
Kelme laughed, a short, incredulous sound. "That’s not a thing."
"What isn’t?"
"Merchant confidentiality."
Aria nodded seriously. "We make it a thing."
"That’s stupid."
"I don’t care."
"It’s not legally binding."
"Then we’ll make it binding."
Kelme stared at her, his expression shifting to one of deep concern. "How?"
Aria smiled. Kelme immediately regretted asking.
"We kidnap him."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because we’re already criminals."
"So?"
"So we can’t keep adding crimes!"
Kelme looked at her, his voice carrying a note of exasperated reason. "Aria."
"What?"
"We’re already manufacturing illegal sugar in a cave."
"That’s different."
"How?"
"It’s sugar."
"Right."
"Kidnapping is worse."
Kelme considered this, his head tilting in reluctant agreement. "Fair."
Aria smiled, a flicker of triumph in her eyes. "See?"
"We could just scare him."
She frowned, her confidence wavering. "How?"
"We appear."
"That’s it?"
"Yes."
"That’s your plan?"
"We show him the consequences of talking."
Aria thought about it, her brow furrowing as she weighed the options. Kelme smiled, sensing victory.
"No violence."
"No threats."
"Just enough intimidation."
Aria’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You promise?"
"I promise."
She sighed, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "Fine."
Kelme smiled, genuine relief flooding his features. "Excellent."
Aria pointed at him, her finger jabbing the air. "But we’re not hurting him."
"Of course."
"And we’re not keeping him overnight."
"Obviously."
"And we’re not—"
Kelme interrupted, holding up a hand. "Aria."
"What?"
"We’re just going to have a conversation."
She looked at him suspiciously, her eyes searching his face for any sign of deception. "You swear?"
"Absolutely."
---
Three hours later, the merchant was sitting in their cave.
His hands were tied, though not tightly enough to cause discomfort. He was staring at the walls, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and confusion. Aria stood several feet away, her arms crossed, her expression one of barely contained frustration.
Kelme stood beside her, his posture relaxed, his face carefully neutral.
The merchant looked between them, his voice trembling. "Wasn’t this supposed to be a conversation?"
Kelme nodded. "It is."
"You kidnapped me."
𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Temporarily."
"That’s still kidnapping."
"Yes."
Aria covered her face with her hand. "I knew this was a bad idea."
The merchant looked at her, his confusion deepening. "You knew?"
"From the beginning."
Kelme sighed, rubbing his temples. "You’re making this sound worse than it is."
The merchant stared at him, his voice rising with incredulity. "You dragged me into a cave."
"Technically, you walked."
"You had a knife."
"I had a knife."
"You told me not to scream."
"That’s reasonable."
"You blindfolded me."
"Also reasonable."
Aria slowly turned toward Kelme, her voice carrying a note of murderous calm. "You said we’d just scare him."
"We did."
"He looks terrified!"
"Then it worked."
The merchant looked ready to cry, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Aria sighed, her anger deflating slightly.
"Okay." She crouched down so she was closer to his eye level, her voice softening. "Listen."
The merchant swallowed hard. "You sold Kelme a dress."
"Yes."
"You don’t know me."
"I don’t."
"You never saw me wearing it."
"I didn’t."
"You don’t know where I live."
"I don’t."
"You don’t know anything about the White Princess."
The merchant paused, his brow furrowing. "What do you know about her?"
"Nothing." Aria’s voice was firm, insistent. "And neither do you. Got it?"
Aria smiled, but the merchant’s expression shifted, his fear giving way to something darker.
"That bitch was the reason my daughter is dead."
Aria stood frozen, her smile vanishing. "No, she didn’t. She sells sugar. It makes things sweet. She doesn’t kill." Her voice rose with confusion. "Who the hell told you she killed her?"
The merchant looked at Kelme, his voice carrying a note of bitter accusation. "Is this why you kidnapped me? Because I asked you about her last time you bought the dress?"
Aria turned to Kelme, her eyes wide with bewilderment. "What is he even talking about?"
Kelme sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Right. You talked to me about your daughter dying because of her. I forgot."
Aria grabbed his arm, her voice sharp and urgent. "What is he even talking about?"
Kelme looked at her, then at the merchant, gave him his plat that he was eating, then back at her. "Let me explain." He took her aside, leading her to another part of the cave. "Here’s the thing. The reason sugar was banned was because of some dumb rumor that sugar can cause bad oral health. Something about rotting your teeth and causing infections that could kill you if not treated."
Aria’s face went pale. "So the Duke..."
"And apparently this merchant too." Kelme nodded grimly. "They think their daughter died because of your sugar. Lowlifes made candy using it and sold it to children who were obsessed with it."
Aria grabbed him by the throat, her hands tightening around his neck. "You chose NOW to tell me this?!"
Kelme choked, his hands rising in surrender. "I wasn’t even sure if it was true! It’s sugar. It’s just sugar!"
Aria’s grip loosened slightly, her voice trembling with anger and fear. "But what if it’s true?" She released him, stepping back. "Are we killing people?"
Kelme coughed, rubbing his throat. "I don’t know. But now I don’t think that merchant will let you go. Besides, we stopped the circulation of sugar. Nobody has it right now."
Aria’s hands clenched into fists. "We have to go explain to that merchant."
"Explain what?"
"That we meant no harm."
Just as they said that, they heard a plate break—a sharp, shattering sound that echoed through the cave. Aria’s blood ran cold.
They ran toward the merchant.