Black Sail
Chapter 216: CCXVI. Smile To The Fullest

Chapter 216: CCXVI. Smile To The Fullest

"Please be sure to tell me."

Liszt sat down beside Tani.

From upstairs came the intermittent shouting and cursing of Shadi and Rein, extremely noisy, obviously losing. They had gambled too much; it was likely all 300 Golden Dragons would be gone tonight.

But the thought of money sealed away in the cellar, providing a safety net, encouraged continued reckless gambling, continuing to scatter wealth among the likes of Fen and other crafty oldies.

"The official word is that it’s an unsubstantiated rumor, I’ve only heard whispers myself, unsure of their truth. When I got back, I found out it really had happened, and with people we know."

Tani turned her head, looking meaningfully at Liszt.

Liszt’s gaze darted away, thinking if he said he was married, then Tani’s heart would surely be set in concrete. He had to find a middle ground.

But this was a small matter.

Sure enough, it went as planned; not touching the royal relatives, but targeting the middle and lower-tier nobles, with the likes of Sefer being quite a significant mark.

The ability to keep it hushed up was a good thing for Black Sail.

"How are your studies?"

Liszt brought up the awkward conversation.

"I’ve finished my studies."

"Then, will you be staying in Heaven Port for long?"

"No, just for half a year or so, waiting on word from the Tower Alliance."

"You got into the Warlock Council?"

"You could say that, I’m on the reserve list; I’ll likely get in, barring any surprises."

"That’s a secure job, compared to us who live meal to meal."

"Each has its pros and cons; you can’t generalize across different fields."

The conversation was drifting, heading in a boring direction.

Liszt couldn’t take it anymore and was about to fetch reinforcements from the second floor. Fen used to be impressive, right? A big shot in the Warlock Council’s Upper House. He could come down and teach this girl how to handle things inside.

"You must have met Fen, right? He was already mingling with me back then. Did you know that he was also involved with the Tower Alliance before? Seemed to be in a decent position. I’ll have him come down."

Liszt was ready to drag Fen into this awkwardness, he was too embarrassed alone.

"No, don’t go."

Tani grabbed Liszt’s wrist, clearly understanding his intent, looking like the guy was going to deny everything now that he was all dressed up.

Ben, as a sneaky one, watched from the shadows. The Thief Guild’s boss is the boss, always enjoying a good eavesdrop.

Damn it.

A reserve member of the Warlock Council belonged to the intellectual elite. Although the salary was average, not as good as casually pulling off one of his own gigs, she had mixed into high society, the lawful crowd, very stable—having money, good looks, and a fleet-owning father, suitors would line up for two or three miles. What merits did a scoundrel like Liszt have?

Ben grew angrier the more he thought about it.

Wait until I find the chance; I’ll kill you all.

Liszt felt Tani’s hand shaking.

His throat tightened, here it comes; the big revelation!

"Taylor asked me to invite you over, but I just came to see how you were doing."

Tani was still pondering her words.

"It’s all over! I’m done with gambling forever!"

A shadow resembling a wolf leapt from the second-floor window, sprinting wildly through the snow. Nearly two hundred Golden Dragons gone in less than an hour; no more gambling, just the wish to start anew.

This sudden commotion interrupted Tani, leaving her tactically poker-faced.

She paused for a moment, her resolve intensifying.

"Do those past things still count?"

She asked ambiguously, leaving herself some leeway.

Depending on Liszt’s response, she could either stay tonight or leave immediately.

Ben could no longer hold back.

"Captain is already married, happily so, without a doubt. His wife is the temporary owner of this inn."

Ben pretended to wipe glasses, then delivered the bombshell news.

Old Wei’s eyelid twitched. Even though everyone was bound to find out eventually, it wasn’t quite the same coming from you.

Tani froze on the spot.

The news was like a bolt from the blue.

"Really?"

Tani sought confirmation from Liszt, herself... she hadn’t said anything too outrageous. Good, she could still leave calmly.

Liszt now had two choices.

One was to nod, the other to claim a fake marriage, just living together.

But the latter, which could be carelessly mentioned under usual circumstances and Dreya wouldn’t take seriously, was different now. If he said it, Dreya might really start to doubt... whether they were a legally married couple.

Liszt pondered for a moment and nodded.

"I understand, wish you... happiness then, I’m leaving, thanks for the fireplace, and your beer."

Tani left with surprising calmness, not saying much, shouldering her bag, and getting up to leave.

Liszt relaxed, they were all adults now; Tani was no longer the young girl who would cry, make a scene, or threaten to hang herself.

"I’ll walk you out."

"No need, no one dares to mess with me in Heaven Port."

Leaving those words behind, Tani calmly walked away.

And soon, she vanished from sight.

Liszt’s gaze turned towards Ben, murderous intent already brewing.

Ben slid to his knees in lightning speed, bowing at a right angle.

"Private Marseille."

Ben, having picked up this imperial court slang from somewhere, understood that a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him and that it was better to yield when necessary; it was clear he wasn’t escaping this situation.

Old Wei was speechless, now he understood.

"Truly impressive."

Old Wei exclaimed, he had only joined after the inn was built and was unaware of such past events; he couldn’t help but admire Liszt.

Liszt exhaled, but it was fine as long as no harm was done. If everyone could reach a happy ending, all his effort wouldn’t be in vain.

Because it was so cold outside, Rein bundled up a little more and returned for an extra layer of clothing.

"You’re not going to gamble, damn it, Fen’er is pretty good at cards."

Rein complained, it would be strange if he weren’t upset after losing that much.

"Why add the diminutive ’er’?"

Liszt was speechless, it seemed Rein had lost his wit to gambling.

"Right, just now I saw a woman crying her eyes out outside; she was walking and crying at the same time, that scene, geez, it was kind of funny."

After adding an extra layer, Rein casually mentioned it. With a brainstorm, he wasn’t too bothered about losing two hundred Golden Dragons; he still had a hundred left and there were savings from previous profits. He was going to be a big boss in the future, so no point sweating the small stuff.

Liszt felt something was wrong.

"Was she wearing a hat?"

After Liszt spoke, he realized, damn, that was a pun.

"How did you know?"

Rein was thoroughly shocked; the Captain seemed to have a divine insight.

"That seems to be the Captain’s ex-girlfriend."

Old Wei spoke calmly.

"Private Marseille."

Rein bowed at a right angle, speaking in his imperial court slang.

Liszt paid no mind to the Emperor’s hometown dialect; his thoughts immediately turned to Tani, recalling how she used to be intense enough to consider jumping into the sea, but years had passed, and she probably wouldn’t act impulsively now.

Yeah.

She wouldn’t.

Yeah.

She wouldn’t, right? Really, she wouldn’t, right?

"Damn it all."

Liszt swiftly grabbed Rein’s newly-changed coat and dashed out the door after Tani.

The period before January 1st is the coldest time of the year, and although the vertical coordinates of Heaven Port couldn’t match the Northern Realm, it was cold enough.

Luckily, under Boss’s governance, the Inner City’s infrastructure was good, with streetlights everywhere, and for New Year’s, decorative lights as well.

He could still see Tani’s figure.

Without a second word, Liszt jogged after her.

Upstairs.

"Scumbag."

The Dark Elf signboard girl updated her view of the world once more.

"Couldn’t agree more."

Shadi, having lost some money, decided to cool down for a couple of rounds before trying his luck again, his fingers already stretching towards the signboard girl’s shoulder.

Just as his claw reached out.

The signboard girl firmly pinched it.

"Please, you’re no different."

"How can you slander someone without cause? The affairs of a learned man should not be called scummy, but ’philanthropic.’

Shadi nodded his head, thinking it was a wise saying.

One shouldn’t concern themselves with matters outside their station; the greater one’s abilities, the greater the responsibility.

He was particularly fond of a saying from Uncle Peter Parker: With thousands of mansions, provide a happy home for every lady under the sun.