Chapter 3: Patron Anais (3)
The "Vergsong Estate" served as the prologue stage of TT3. It was where the heroes, who had thwarted Wonderstein's schemes twice in TT1 and TT2, started their story. They had heard rumours of monsters appearing in a certain region and went to investigate.
Vergsong Estate.
The place was already shrouded in an ominous atmosphere. Each village set up defences, recruiting soldiers to guard against monster incursions.
"Oh, you must be the legendary heroes. Welcome."
"Yes, the rumours of monsters appearing are true."
"The monsters... are coming out of our lord's mansion. The mansion has already been occupied by monsters. Our lord might..."
Vergsong Mansion's owner, Anais Vergsong, was one of the unfortunate victims entangled with Wonderstein, and in the context of TT3, if you visited her, you could encounter the mansion's residents who had turned into monsters and face her as a boss.
"Ahh, I've been deceived. I brought that demon into the mansion! He said he would cure Lady Anais' illness..."
A woman lamented, shedding tears. Examining the journals left behind in the mansion, it became evident that Anais Vergsong was a patron of the Monster Circus, and in exchange for curing her illness, Wonderstein had received sponsorship. However, there were always traps in deals with demons. Wonderstein had treated her illness but planted the seed of a monster inside her. It had burst forth at the time of TT3.
Of course, this was a story that unfolded years later.
For now, Anais was still afflicted by her illness, and I was on my way to secure her sponsorship.
I hadn't done anything to her yet.
"Please follow me."
The guide who led us was the mansion's butler, a person who had served the Vergsong family for a long time.
I knew him.
He had also appeared in the game, albeit in the form of a ghost.
"It's all because of me! I brought that demon into the mansion! Promising to cure Lady Anais' illness..."
He cursed himself in front of his master, begging to be allowed to bring peace by killing the now-monstrous Anais.
It was quite eerie for me to see him alive and well from Wonderstein's perspective.
The carriage to the mansion was quiet. Ella, besides official business, maintained her attitude of not interacting with me.
Ella.
The assistant ringmaster of the Monster Circus.
I knew nothing about her. She was a character who hadn't appeared in TTT at all. I examined her appearance closely, wondering if she had appeared under a different name.
Short, black hair. Was she around 16 years old? She hadn't turned 17 yet. In Korean terms, she would be a sophomore in high school. She had a cute and youthful appearance that made her seem younger than her actual age. She wore a red military uniform with golden shoulder pads on top of a white blouse. A black belt was tied like a ribbon around her neck. Below, she wore a black skirt with white knee-high socks and brown shoes.
"What are you looking at?" Ella grumbled, glaring at me. Her attitude was far from friendly.
I wondered what had transpired between us. Considering the "backstories" of the other members like the vampire, the spider woman, the skeletal jester, the mummy-wrapped man, and the twins, it was clear that Ella had not experienced anything pleasant with Wonderstein from the start.
I tapped the silver ornament attached to the end of my staff.
No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind regarding Ella.
I decided to observe her a little longer.
For now, she wasn't the most important thing.
Sub Quest - Patron
This circus troupe needs sponsorship.
Conditions:
Obtain sponsorship from Anais Vergsong.
Reward upon success:
[Debulroots x5]
No penalty upon failure.
This is a sub-quest.
Do I have a choice in this?
But if it's a prequel, don't I have to follow it exactly as it happened in the main story? Do I have to plant the monster seed inside Anais's body just like in the original story?
While pondering this for a moment, I shook my head.
In TT1 and TT2, there were choices in sub-quests too. Whether to help certain characters or not, whether to kill or save them. Depending on the player's choices, parts of the ending would change. In the sequels, the fates of the supporting characters who appeared in the previous games were sometimes hinted at.
That's right. Before she went, she should prepare some documents to show her uncle.
Servants pushed a wheeled machine behind her.
"No, it's been a while!"
Pierre, who was sitting in the drawing room enjoying tea, got up from his seat with a wide smile upon seeing his beloved niece enter.
"Three months, I suppose."
"Hehe, has it already been that long?"
They shared a short hug.
Pierre examined his niece's complexion with a somewhat worried expression.
Anais was a beauty, resembling her mother, but her illness affected not only her health but her beauty as well. Extremely pale skin that almost looked translucent, a body so frail it seemed precarious, and most of all, several metal tubes inserted into her back and a mask that made wind-like sounds when she breathed, covered her mouth. Not only did it hide her pretty face, but it also made it impossible for her to live her life properly even if she wore nice clothes. Pierre's eyes were filled with sympathy.
"You look even paler," Pierre remarked.
"I've had more work to do," Anais replied.
"More work? Haven't you already handled all the major matters for this quarter?"
"It's because of the Caribbean investment from before."
Pierre's face creased in a frown. "Isn't that matter already settled?"
"It seems there were some incomplete details in the reports. You know, I need to double-check everything."
"Right. I remember now..."
For a moment, the worried expression of an uncle concerned for his niece disappeared from Pierre's face, replaced by a faint annoyance. However, Anais was too busy reviewing the documents she had brought, and she didn't notice the change in his expression.
"I specifically asked for a summary from you because I knew you'd overwork yourself. So, how was it? Did you find any issues?"
"Yes, there are some suspicious points."
As the conversation turned to business, Anais's gaze turned cold.
At times like this, she wasn't the young Bergson heiress or the sickly Anais. She was a shrewd merchant.
She calmly pointed out every suspicious detail she had found in the business plan. Sometimes, she even showed the documents directly to illustrate what the problem was.
The more she explained, the graver Pierre's expression became.
"So, the Flolande branch is colluding with pirates?"
"They've been sending a regular supply of goods to a specific route under the pretext of tolls. Most likely, those goods have flowed into Pirate Island, Freeport."
"Pirate Island... where funds are untraceable."
"Among the goods sent under the pretext of tolls, there are also special alchemical substances. Those items are exclusively traded by one of the Pirate Island's pirate lords, the one who owns the island we're considering for investmentthe Marquis."
Pierre took out his handkerchief and wiped away some cold sweat. It was his habit to sweat when he felt worried or tense.
"So, you're saying our money is being used to sponsor pirates?"
"We should audit the Flolande branch."
"Understood. From here on, I'll investigate."
Pierre snatched the documents from Anais's hand as if he were taking them away.
Anais looked slightly surprised at his attitude.
Pierre quickly offered an explanation as if making excuses, "I'm embarrassed... When your father was alive, we didn't have such problems. Geralt's charisma was so strong. But last year's financial irregularities and now this... It's a clear sign that I can't match my brother's abilities."
After Geralt's death, the atmosphere within the Vergsong Trading Company had become turbulent. Problems of various sizes cropped up everywhere. However, Anais didn't blame it all on her uncle to the extent of being shameless.
"The problem is me. How can there be order within the company when the chairman is holed up in a rural mansion?"
"You're doing well, Anais. Thanks to you, the company's profits have increased significantly."
"But running a company isn't just about paperwork and numbers, right? It also involves going to the field and meeting people. The fact that the company is still holding up is mainly because of all the efforts you've put in, Uncle. So, don't blame yourself too much."
She was known for her outspokenness and arrogance.
Years of isolation in the mansion had prevented her from developing proper social skills.
But on the flip side, when she opened up to someone, she relied on them to a degree that bordered on innocence.
Pierre pretended to regain his composure and silently sharpened his resolve in his heart, thanks to his niece's comforting words.
