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~Chapter 47~
Glamis.
An unknown organization that controls illegal loans and entertainment in the underworld. It is the master of the shadows—the group everyone in the dark side fears.
Until now, the baron had used Camilla as a pharmacist under the strict family rules, but he never told her about the secret side of the family.
‘But now he’s telling me?’
A strong sense of rejection filled her. The men in masks who were holding Camilla’s arms blindfolded her and started dragging her away.
“Why are you doing this, Father? Let me go!”
At that moment, she heard a low laugh by her ear.
“Stay quiet, stupid. Do you want to die?”
It was Ares’s voice. The feeling made goosebumps rise along her neck.
“He just wants to reward you for how much you’ve helped our family.”
His voice was full of mockery.
They put her in a carriage. As it rattled along, Camilla felt her heart sink.
“Our family acts like we’re just in the medicine business, but we also have a smaller business on the side.”
Soon the carriage stopped.
The masked men dragged Camilla out and led her down to a damp, fishy-smelling underground place.
Once they arrived, Ares took off Camilla’s blindfold.
The moment it came off, the light from torches made her blink.
“We’re also experts at dealing with people who borrow money and can’t pay it back.”
“…!”
In the dark basement, there was a small desk with people sitting at it. But something about them looked strange.
They were drooling and grinning as they pressed their stamps on papers.
“That’s the hallucinogen you made.”
“What…? I never made anything like that…!”
Just then—
Bang!
“S-save me… I don’t want to take the medicine…!”
A man at the desk tried to run, but one of the masked men grabbed his arm and twisted it.
“Aaagh!”
“Sit down. Give him more medicine.”
“No! I don’t want it!”
He struggled desperately, eyes pleading.
“If I take that medicine, I’ll sell my own daughter and wife with my own hands!”
‘…What?’
“I heard they improved the calming medicine you made, adding ingredients for hallucinations. It barely has any side effects, but once in a while, a tough guy like that comes along.”
“I-I just… I was trying to pay back my debt… I just signed as a guarantor by mistake… please… save me…!”
His voice cracked. His face was soaked in tears and snot. But the masked men forced the drug into his mouth, and he started smiling mindlessly.
Camilla instinctively stepped back. Ares grabbed her arm and whispered softly.
“See? Thanks to you, we can get everything we want out of these people and send them to the next step.”
“The… next step?”
Was there something even worse after this?
She had never seen anything like this in the original story.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Ares led Camilla down a hallway and dragged her deep inside. Soon, a heavy iron door opened, and a wave of hot air hit her.
On the walls, many torches lit up a huge space.
A round arena.
All around, people wearing animal masks were cheering and making bets. In the center was an iron cage.
Inside the cage, two people were fighting like wild animals, screaming.
Even if their arms were twisted or their flesh torn, even as they were dying, the fighters didn’t seem to feel pain. They just threw themselves at each other.
“…!”
‘Is it because of the anesthesia?’
Camilla’s heart dropped.
In the stands, masked nobles raised their glasses and shouted bets.
“I’ll put 300 gold on that guy!”
“I bet 400 the other one will die!”
“Honey, I want that slave!”
“If he survives, ask the hosts about him.”
Even the smell of blood was treated as entertainment.
‘This is… a fighting arena.’
“Look, Camilla. The ones who just signed the papers become the fighters in this arena.”
Ares’s voice was cold. He added that, in the past, he couldn’t make it to “this stage” himself because his body had been ruined by torture.
“They can last so long because of your anesthesia. Even if they’re about to die, they don’t feel pain. It makes the fights last longer, and the show more brutal!”
Ares laughed.
“The high nobles of the capital need entertainment. Our family makes a fortune by giving them something better to watch. And it’s all thanks to your medicine!”
Camilla felt dizzy.
‘No…’
She thought she was living differently from the Camilla in the original story.
She didn’t make poison or jealous, dangerous drugs like in the book.
‘But… is my medicine helping this illegal arena that wasn’t even in the original story?’
The Grand Duchess once asked what she would do if her anesthesia was misused, and Camilla answered, “The person who makes the knife isn’t guilty.”
‘But I knew the Mowin family was evil, and I still made medicine for them.’
She had ignored the fact that it could be misused.
Could she really say she wasn’t guilty?
Her eyes grew hot, and it became hard to breathe.
Ares pointed to a part of the stands.
“See that seat?”
It was decorated in gold, much fancier than the others—a true VIP seat. It was empty now, but it looked like an opera house’s royal box.
Ares’s face was strange as he pointed at it.
“Sometimes ‘that person’ comes down to check how well our business is doing.”
Camilla’s heart dropped.
‘That person… no way.’
Ares purposely didn’t say the name.
“It’s a member of the Imperial family who favors our family.”
The Mowin family’s arena was run under the Empress Dowager’s protection, away from the Imperial eyes.
“Now you know who you made into your enemy?”
He was making her pay for trying to betray her father.
“You helped our family’s business, but you thought you could run away to the Grand Duke’s house?”
Ares’s grip on Camilla’s wrist grew tight as she started to shake.
“Now that you know everything, you can never escape.”
That’s when Camilla understood why they told her all this: it was to tie her down with a stronger rope.
‘No.’
Camilla couldn’t take it anymore and pushed Ares away. She ran toward the gap in the iron door.
But two men in black goat masks stood in front of the door.
“Get her!”
At Ares’s command, the men rushed at Camilla.
She swung her arms and tried to resist, but soon both her arms were twisted behind her back. She almost screamed.
“Let me go!”
“You’re noisy.”
Ares came over and grabbed her chin roughly, staring at her with animal-like eyes.
He gave a low laugh and whispered.
“You already belong to our family. You’ll never get away.”
Camilla’s heart pounded with fear. The more she struggled, the tighter his grip felt.
Ares’s voice stabbed like a knife.
“The Grand Duke’s son? Do you really think he’ll still hold your hand after he finds out what you did? He’ll hate you.”
She wanted to shout that it wasn’t true. But the truth was, her medicine had helped the evil family.
“I told you—the only airhead who doesn’t need to know about this is Nina.”
‘Because the baron decided so.’
Ares bared his fangs as he said,
“You’re an accomplice of the family now.”
His nose brushed Camilla’s neck, making her shiver. She bit her lip at the creepy feeling.
“You’ll be with me forever.”
‘No.’
Whether she wanted to run or live, she needed courage to choose.
Camilla tried desperately to hold herself together.
If all she did was despair, she could do nothing.
‘I need help.’
The last day of the month.
She staggered to the cafe.
She needed help from anyone. No, that was a lie—she only wanted help from one person.
Camilla shut her eyes tight.
‘Please, Dane.’
