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Chapter 03
“Mmph! Mm!”
“Shh.”
A strong arm wrapped around my waist.
My body was flipped in an instant. I squeezed my eyes shut.
When I opened them again, I was tucked neatly into a shadowy corner. The man who had trapped me against his chest raised his index finger to his lips.
“If you don’t want to die, stay quiet.”
As if possessed, I nodded.
Apparently satisfied with my response, the corner of the man’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.
Between the long black hair falling over his shoulders, I caught sight of vivid red eyes.
Blink, blink. My eyelids fluttered rapidly.
‘What is this?’
Why does he feel familiar?
An illustration I’d buried deep in my gallery flashed through my mind. Around then, a familiar voice reached my ears.
“Damn it. Where the hell did that bastard go?!”
‘What?’
Why is this guy here?
I desperately fought the urge to jump out. I knew well enough that moving right now was a bad idea.
No—first of all, the guy was pressing my body down, so moving at all was impossible.
As I held my breath like that, the hand covering my mouth gradually loosened. The pressure pinning my body down, however, didn’t ease.
Beyond the messy curtain of hair, those red eyes were visible. When I glanced sideways at them, our gazes met.
“Hey, let’s pull out for now. If we keep poking around here, we’ll get caught in a sweep. Even if we go further, it’s all within the palm of their hand anyway.”
The moment I heard that familiar voice, my mind snapped awake.
“Damn it. That bastard was top-grade merchandise!”
“That’s why we’ll release the others. Still, we brought enough people.”
Xavier’s resentment carried clearly. When I pricked up my ears, his voice sounded even closer than before.
Thud. Thud. Heavy footsteps followed.
No way—are they coming this way?
My body shrank back reflexively, and I felt the gaze of the man pressing me down.
Gulp. As I swallowed my dry saliva, the voices continued.
“You idiot. I told you to manage the shackles properly!”
“Ah, hell! He would’ve been perfect just for cleanup.”
Clang—
The sound of something being kicked rang out. A moment later, a can flew from somewhere and rolled to a stop near us.
“Tsk. I was already having a shitty time trying to please those high-ups, and now this bad luck.”
“So what about that thing?”
“What thing?”
“The count’s family.”
“Ah, damn. That’s going smoothly. That bitch Aria will pay everything back herself, right?”
…What?
“Well, the count was the guarantor. So it was all your debt, right?”
“Yeah. Stupid bastard. She knelt a few times and said she’d pay it back. Works great for me. I mean, two hundred billion—do you think that’s pocket change?”
They snickered. A powerless noble was worse than a commoner, after all.
“If she runs away, though—”
“She won’t. I filed for a travel ban. Plus, the loan’s under someone else’s name, so my name won’t show up on the paperwork. Even if she dies, she won’t know it was me.”
“You’re vicious.”
“Vicious? It’s just her parents’ stupidity coming back to bite her. And that girl—family loyalty equals loyalty to the nation for her. She loves her family like hell, so she’ll take responsibility no matter what.”
Tsk tsk. Tongue-clicking followed.
“Aren’t you being too harsh on your niece?”
“Niece, my ass.”
It’s merchandise that couldn’t even be sold.
“It’s only half a year. Until then, we’ll clean up this market and diligently save up money.”
How much would it fetch if they sold off the whole family too? Xavier hummed lightly.
“Don’t worry. I won’t leave any loose ends.”
Once this job’s wrapped up—
“That bastard deserves to die.”
Might as well squeeze every last drop out of her.
Metallic noises and small screams followed. As I tried to calm my heart, which was pounding like it would burst, the presence gradually faded.
I instinctively knew Xavier had left. But my drained body refused to move.
“…Shit.”
If I didn’t mishear anything, that bastard had just thrown me into deep hell.
‘He was the guarantor?’
So the debt existed because of him?
My mind raced.
…That insane bastard. He expects me to pay that back now?!
‘What kind of trash is he?!’
No wonder. I’d thought it was strange that he’d stood as guarantor even when everyone tried to stop him!
“Shit. This is all because of that bastard…!”
Grit. My teeth ground together.
‘Do you know how much stress I went through because of that?!’
I knew he was trash, but I never imagined he was toxic waste.
The unexpected truth stung sharply.
“You son of a bitch.”
After roughly rubbing my damp eyes, tears finally spilled over.
The tip of my nose burned.
‘Damn it. This is humiliating.’
My insides burned with rage, then abruptly cooled as if doused with cold water.
And what—he’s going to kill me?
‘You think I’ll just stay put?’
What’s the point of paying off the debt?
I’d just suffer like a dog and die screaming in the end.
‘No!’
Absolutely not!
As I wiped my tear-soaked cheek, a warm liquid smeared under my fingers. At that moment, a warm body pressed against mine.
“Uh—uh?”
The reason clouded by rage quickly returned.
“….”
Blink, blink. I stared blankly at the man holding me tightly. As if trying to comfort me, his arms wrapped around me felt especially firm.
I was spacing out like that when the man suddenly lifted his head.
“….”
“…Um.”
W-what should I say first? Rolling my eyes, I decided to address the most urgent thing.
“Th-thank you for comforting me, but could you step back a little…?”
“Oh.”
The man let out a short sigh, his lips twitching. But even then, his arms didn’t loosen. Only after I carefully called him again did he slowly pull away.
“Ahem!”
How awkward.
I scratched my cheek, embarrassed.
“Thank you. For helping me.”
At my words, the man hesitated before replying.
“…It wasn’t help.”
“Still.”
In the end, it was help. I lightly tapped where our bodies had been touching.
“And it looks like they’re all gone now.”
“Oh.”
Another short sigh followed.
Only then did the man realize he was still pinning me down, and he quickly moved away.
“Phew.”
I slowly looked around. It seemed to be an alley past a corner. As I tried to move after being tossed in there, my elbow throbbed.
I must’ve scraped it when I was shoved aside.
“Hiss.”
After briefly checking the wound, I turned back to look at the man. He was sitting on the ground, fiddling with the shackle bound around his ankle.
“Excuse me.”
“?”
The man blinked. Hiding my injured elbow, I asked,
“Are you acquainted with those people from earlier?”
He paused at my question, clearly thinking. I waited quietly, and he finally frowned and said,
“I’m… someone they caught.”
“Someone they caught?”
He pointed to the shackle on his ankle. When I looked, I saw a familiar emblem.
A chilling skull symbol.
‘That’s a slave mark.’
“By any chance…”
“…?”
“Was it that pink-haired guy who brought you here earlier?”
Nod. Nod.
The man nodded.
—Damn it. This is humiliating for a noble. What about my business?!
‘Could that business he mentioned yesterday be…’
The slave trade?
‘Crazy!’
He’s really lost his mind!
I swallowed back a scream.
Goosebumps spread over my skin.
‘Slave trading is illegal!’
Well, until a few years ago, it had been legal.
But due to various legal issues, it was banned. Even then it didn’t disappear, so since last year the imperial family had been conducting continuous crackdowns.
And yet they’re still doing it openly?
‘…Wait.’
Then does that mean I’ve just grabbed a weakness?
My mind buzzed at the unexpected gain.
‘If I use this well…’
Maybe I can take that bastard down.
If things continue like this, I’ll suffer like hell and die. And they’ll even sell off the family I barely managed to save.
‘You think I’ll let that happen?’
If I don’t want to be crushed, I have to move first. I don’t know how the count and countess were dealt with, but I won’t let it happen to me too.
I glanced sideways at the man still sitting there blankly.
The person who knew Xavier’s crimes best right now was this man.
“Do you have anywhere to go?”
