Thief of Twilight

Part Two: Chapter 46

I cringed at the sharp, earthy flavor of the ginseng tea. Elder Kang said that I needed to drink one full cup every morning with my breakfast. It's so disgusting. I sat at the table in my room with Tae-sung, Yohan, and Beom. Beom decided to join us for the investigation today. I took small sips of tea while Yohan handed me sweet honey cookies.

"How are you feeling...Zurine?" Tae-sung was still a bit uncertain when it came to addressing me in a casual manner.

"I'm alright." I smiled. "The tea...is a bit..."

"Ginseng is an acquired taste for sure." Beom chuckled. "I hate it."

"If you need more sweets, let me know. I can have one of the servants go to the market and get something or one of the chefs can prepare some fruit for you." Yohan said.

I took another sip of tea. "No, it's fine. I'd rather focus on my health than eat sweets."

"If it's alright with you, may we begin?" Tae-sung set five books on the table. The books were bound by leather with a leather strap wrapped around them.

I know these books. I know exactly what they are.

"Zurine...do you recognize these books?" he asked.

"Yes." I nodded. "They're ledgers."

"We found these on the ship in the grotto. They were in the captain's quarters. Did they belong to Oliver Baldwin?"

I took each of the books one by one before nodding my head. "Yes, but they originally belonged to his father." I untied the leather strap to the book on top before flipping through the pages. I pointed to the gold initials on the inside front cover. "T.B. stands for Thomas Baldwin. He was Lord Baldwin's father. These were originally his before he died."

"Why would Oliver have his father's ledgers?" Beom asked. "What would be the purpose?"

"Because he was given the guild Nightshade when he turned eighteen. Once that happened, his father gave him these ledgers." I pointed to each of the books. "Each ledger has transaction dates and the history of every merchant and private client who did business with Thomas."

"Then it is safe to assume that there are other ledgers...for Nightdawn, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where they would be?"

"No, I don't." I sighed. "I don't know where those ledgers would be. If it is not with Lord Baldwin, then the only person that would have them would be Dahi. But I don't know where Dahi is."

"Dahi...as in Lord Ayad? That means that...wait..." Tae-sung thought for a moment. "Did you see him at the grotto?"

"No." I shook my head. "He was not at the grotto. When I spoke to Lord Baldwin, he didn't speak of Dahi at all. I don't know if he was going to meet us at one of the ports or once we reached our final destination."

"Shit..." Beom cursed.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"There is no need to apologize." Yohan reassured me.

"Then...could you perhaps answer this question." Tae-sung took one of the ledgers and flipped through the pages. "The name Sasura comes up quite a bit. Do you know who they are?" he pointed to a name underneath one of the transactions back to the summer months about a year ago.

"Sasura..." I thought for a moment. "I don't know exactly who they are. But I know of them."

"Who are they?"

"They are a third party." I explained. "They are the middleman. I've never seen or met them. But I know that they were often in communication with Lord Baldwin when it came to making deals or selling on the black market."