"How does the daughter of the Allen family know about my son?"
As a noble family deeply entrenched in the underworld, the Newman family typically keeps close track of who is involved in their affairs. And among those names, the Allen family has never been mentioned. Why would a renowned knight family like the Allens meddle in the underworld? They have neither the reason nor the need.
In other words, the Allen family's information network isn’t particularly extensive. While they might catch wind of rumors that surface above ground, that’s about it. Kurtz Newman believed that a bunch of muscle-headed knights who rely solely on their strength couldn’t possibly uncover what lies hidden beneath the surface.
But it seems he was wrong.
Lucy Allen somehow had the means to delve below the surface. How?
As Kurtz frowned and pondered, he eventually realized his concerns were pointless. It wasn’t difficult to deduce that his son was cursed by Agra, given all the efforts he’d made to save him.
Anyone could infer that much by following his trail of actions.
"I need to find out whether this information came from the Allen family’s network or if it’s something the daughter of the Allen family uncovered herself, but that’s all."
Although Kurtz had momentarily lost his composure when his son was mentioned, he quickly regained his calm and continued reading.
"Not doing well, is he? I figured as much. I asked just to see if it would make you angry. Are you mad, Lord Useless? I hope so."
"That wretched girl," Kurtz muttered, gritting his teeth as he read the next line.
How insolent. Too insolent.
He had heard that Lucy Allen was this kind of person—someone who even dared to nickname the Empire’s Third Prince “Poor Prince.” She was undoubtedly a creature of arrogance and hubris, knowing neither decorum nor humility.
But observing from afar and standing face-to-face with such a person were entirely different things.
If an ordinary person had pulled something like this, Kurtz would have used the full might of the Newman family to bury them—of course, after negotiating to get what he wanted first.
But this wasn’t just anyone; this was the daughter of the Allen family.
The Allen family, one of the most formidable knight families on the continent, might be keeping to themselves these days, guarding their own territory like some relic of the past, but once they were a family whose mere name sent shivers down the spines of nations outside the kingdom—a family of nightmares.
If Benedict Allen, known for his love of his daughter, were to go mad with rage and attack the Newman family, the name "Newman" would be nothing but ashes in the wind.
So, he couldn’t touch her.
Nor could he force her hand.
Kurtz Newman, before being a father, was the head of the Newman family.
"I know exactly what you’re desperate for, Lord Useless," the letter continued.
"But you see, that’s your problem, not mine, right? What will you do? Do you have the guts to gamble with your child’s life? I doubt it. You seem like the kind of useless lord who couldn’t possibly do that."
"If you want to talk, come crawling to me yourself, Lord Useless of the Shadowy Newman Family."
Kurtz took a deep breath, trying his best to remain calm as he finished the first page of the letter.
Stay composed. Don’t fall for her provocation.
He reminded himself of this as he turned to the next page.
"Did you expect there to be more? There was nothing! Were you hoping for something? Haha, how foolish."
"You’re being played by a little girl, Lord Useless~"
Kurtz tossed the letter onto the desk.
He had been through all sorts of things while working in the underworld, including being disrespected by countless young upstarts.
Yet, for some reason, reading this letter made him feel as if something deep within him was breaking, and it was unbearable.
"Lord?"
"Shut up."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Damn it. This won’t do. There’s no way to gain the upper hand like this.
Lucy Allen is clearly someone who will never bow to others. Look at the letter she sent to the head of a noble family.
Someone this arrogant won’t yield to anyone.
The easiest way to deal with someone like this is to break them, but with Benedict Allen waiting in the wings, that’s out of the question.
"If she won’t bow, I’ll have to be the one to yield."
After much deliberation, Kurtz came to this conclusion and couldn’t help but laugh.
Bowing his head wasn’t such a difficult thing to do.
If Lucy Allen really had a way to cure Agra's curse and could save his son, bowing his head was a small price to pay.
But the problem was, he wasn’t sure.
Did Lucy Allen truly have a method to cure Agra’s curse? And even if she did, would she risk incurring the wrath of an evil god to save his son?
He had planned to take the upper hand and slowly extract information from her, but now things had taken an unexpected turn.
Is Lucy Allen cunning, or is she just acting recklessly due to her nature?
He couldn’t tell.
But one thing was certain: he wouldn’t be able to find out anything without meeting her in person.
"I’ll have to play along for now."
Kurtz picked up the discarded letter, tossed it aside, and retrieved a fresh piece of stationery from his drawer. With a few swift strokes of his pen, he wrote out a short message and handed it to his confidant.
"Deliver this to Lucy Allen."
"Yes, sir."
To think I’d have to return to Soul Academy after graduating all those years ago.
<Why are you even worrying about this? You’re an irreplaceable asset to them. Just summon them and demand what you want.>
‘But what if they try to blackmail me?’
The Newman family is tied to the underworld, after all.
With my low reputation and strength, one wrong move could mean game over!
If I could save and reload, I might just risk it and see how it goes, but this isn’t a game!
I’m scared!
I don’t want to experience disappearing without a trace firsthand!
<If you’re that scared, take your knight with you. He’ll protect you from most dangers. Afterward, it’s easy. They’ve already given you the grounds to do so, haven’t they? Just report it to the academy and your family, and the situation will resolve itself.>
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Grandpa said it like the answer was obvious, and after being persuaded by him, I decided to follow his advice.
While writing the letter to summon Kurtz Newman, I encountered another hurdle.
"To the Useless Lord of the Petty Newman Family."
I couldn’t write the letter the way I wanted.
Every word I say and every action I take is under the control of the Mesugaki skill.
No matter what I say, it gets "translated" by the skill, and my actions are tailored to provoke the person in front of me.
It’s fortunate that I’m not often forced to act against my will, but writing is an exception.
Every movement of my fingers is dictated by the skill.
You have no idea how frustrating it was to write my exam answers in Mesugaki speak last time!
Thankfully, that didn’t cause any problems, but this time is different.
As a noblewoman, writing to the head of another noble family like this is unacceptable!
Why does "Dear Lord of the Esteemed Newman Family" turn into "Useless Lord of the Petty Newman Family" when I write it?
After tearing up the letter and rewriting it several times, I finally hit a wall and despaired.
That’s when Grandpa offered his opinion.
<If it’s going to be like this anyway, just provoke them outright. Make them so angry they can’t help but come to you.>
‘Is that really okay?’
<Didn’t I tell you? It’s beneficial even if they start a fight.>
Since I couldn’t write a formal letter anyway, I decided to go with Grandpa’s suggestion and wrote the most provocative letter possible, filled with Mesugaki speak, and sent it to Kurtz Newman through Alsatyn.
And now, two days later...
I found myself out on the street with Carl, heading to meet Kurtz Newman.
I initially thought it would take weeks of back-and-forth letters before we finally met, but the other side didn’t waste any time.
Did they really fall for the Mesugaki skill’s provocation?
As soon as I entered the restaurant in Soul Academy that Kurtz Newman had designated as the meeting place, a staff member approached me.
"Are you Lady Allen?"
‘Yes, that’s me.’
"Yep, that’s right, minion."
"Please follow me."
Following the staff member, I was led to a private room in the restaurant.
When the door to the room opened, I saw a middle-aged man sitting alone at a table.
His hair, tinged with gray, was slicked back,
His face bore several small scars, evidence of a rough life,
And his sharp blue eyes were cold and stern.
Despite his age, the well-built man exuded a sense of precision and control.
"Greetings, Lady Allen."
His greeting was stiff and without a hint of a smile.
Normally, I would have returned the courtesy, but I didn’t.
Instead, I sat down without a word and asked him,
"Where’s the head of the family?"
"Where’s your master, you worthless dog of the Newman family?"
"Such rudeness, Lady Allen."
His voice was firm, laced with authority as his eyebrows furrowed.
Even Grandpa wondered why he was acting so serious all of a sudden.
But I wasn’t fazed in the least.
This was exactly how Kurtz Newman behaved in the game.
He would always send someone in his place first to gauge whether the person they were meeting was genuine or fake.
In the game, you needed a certain level of observation skills to point this out.
Even if you knew the person in front of you was a fake, you had to go along with it if your skill level was too low.
But this isn’t a game, right?
In a world where I’m not bound by command prompts, I don’t need a skill to call out the real Kurtz Newman.
"Stop pretending already. I’m onto you."
"Pfft. You really think I’m going to fall for your tricks, you pathetic dog? Just like a worthless lackey from a worthless family. So dumb~"
The middle-aged man slowly stood up, his eyes narrowing as he moved toward me.
But he couldn’t get far.
Carl stepped in, blocking his path.
"Step aside."
"No. Why should I listen to the orders of a dog from the Newman family?"
"Hah, this is infuriating. Are you saying I’m not Kurtz Newman?"
"Yes. The lady has spoken."
"Do you think I’d be playing games when my son’s life is at stake?!"
I had been so sure this man was an imposter, but hearing his outburst made me hesitate for a moment.
What if this person was the real Kurtz Newman?
In the game, he always sent a stand-in during the first meeting, but what if things were different in reality?
I had thrown out that line to assert dominance, but what if I’d actually just committed a grave offense?
As doubt began to creep in and unease started to grow, the door behind him opened.
"That’s enough. She’s already figured it out."
...Phew.
That was close.
I thought I was done for.