Chapter 10
“I really hope that guy appears today.”
It had already been a week since I started wandering around the black market every night.
Because I did not know when the item I wanted would appear at the auction, I had been coming here every single day. During the day, I met Daimon, and at night, I went back and forth to the black market.
Today had been an especially exhausting day because I even met Heron and Lysian.
“This time’s item is a swan with beautiful white feathers!”
The piece of cloth covering the iron cage was removed, and a man who looked pure and delicate stood there weakly.
Many people shouted higher prices to claim that man. The person who offered the highest price won the auction and took him away while laughing in a disgusting manner.
“Disgusting humans.”
They called him a swan, but the person inside the cage had a human appearance.
They were beast people.
This place was an illegal market where beast people were traded as slaves.
The beast people who were sold away had their lives stolen for the pleasure of nobles.
“Now, today’s highlight. Introducing the red wolf.”
Finally, the name I had been waiting and waiting for was heard.
The auctioneer removed the cloth, revealing a large iron cage.
Inside was a wolf with beautiful red fur.
The one who would eventually fall into Daimon’s hands and live as his shadow assassin.
I had captured his heart in the past, making him love me, but in the end, he killed me under the prince’s orders.
“This time, I will take you first.”
Originally, Daimon would obtain the red wolf while clearing out this slave market.
But this time would be different.
I planned to raise him as the wolf who would protect my life, not as Daimon’s shadow.
If my plan to capture Lysian’s heart failed, he would be the one who could protect me.
“The starting bid is 10 francs!”
When the host announced the starting price, the auction hall began to become noisy.
In the Empire, 10 francs was enough money for a commoner to live on for a year.
That meant the value of the red wolf was extremely high.
“50 francs.”
At that moment, while everyone was murmuring, a man raised a sign with 50 francs written on it.
The auctioneer immediately announced the price.
I turned my head toward where the auctioneer was looking.
A man wearing a black mask was sitting in the same VIP section as me.
I could not let the wolf who appeared after a whole week be taken away by some unknown person.
So I quickly wrote down twice the amount he offered.
“100 francs!”
I lifted my red mask slightly and smiled confidently at the man.
The man casually raised his sign again as if it meant nothing.
“150!”
“200!”
“250!”
“500!”
I felt the eyes of everyone in the auction hall, including the mysterious man competing with me, turn toward me.
“500, 500, 500! The red wolf has been sold!”
While the man looked slightly stunned, the auctioneer quickly finished the process.
The red wolf was successfully sold to me.
I gave the black-masked man a victorious smile from afar and went out to receive the red wolf.
When I carefully approached the wolf, he growled as if telling me not to come any closer.
Bang!
Just as I was about to receive the wolf from the auctioneer—
“Capture everyone!”
The locked doors of the auction hall were broken open, and people wearing knight uniforms rushed inside.
“Kyaaah!”
“Mother!”
The people gathered inside the auction hall screamed and hurriedly escaped outside.
I also quickly looked toward the cage, wanting to take the red wolf with me.
“Where did he go?”
However, the red wolf that should have been inside the cage was gone.
The cage door was open.
Far away, I saw a man who seemed to be part of the auction staff dragging the wolf away with chains.
“Trying to steal my wolf.”
I quickly chased after the man.
Bang!
Suddenly, a loud gunshot rang out.
The smell of gunpowder spread through the air.
When I went outside, I saw the red wolf bleeding after being shot.
Below him was the man who had been dragging the wolf, lying on the ground with his body torn apart by bites.
It seemed the wolf had attacked the man and tried to escape, but was shot.
“I heard gunshots from outside!”
Hearing the voices of knights in the distance, I hurriedly approached the wolf.
“Are you okay?”
I carefully moved closer and reached out my hand to support him.
The wolf still had some strength left.
He growled and rejected my hand, then struggled to stand up despite his injuries.
“It’s dangerous here. Let’s leave first.”
I forced myself to hold onto the wolf who rejected my help and moved toward a deserted area while avoiding the knights.
“This place should be safe.”
Some distance away from the auction hall, I found a small, old cabin that looked like nobody lived there.
Creak.
I opened the door, which made a chilling sound, and entered.
The wolf, who had lost a lot of blood while running here, collapsed onto the floor while breathing heavily.
“Are you okay?”
I carefully approached him to check his condition.
“Ugh…… growl.”
The wolf revealed his sharp teeth and strongly warned me.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”
I did not approach any further.
Instead, I lowered my body and looked into the wolf’s eyes.
The favorability that I had not noticed earlier because everything was so chaotic came into view.
Just like the others, his favorability was shining purple.
“Someone who can help us will come soon.”
It was a good thing I decided to visit the auction with Emma and two knights, just in case.
I had been too busy escaping to meet them because I was trying to prevent the knights from taking the wolf.
But I had left traces along the way so Emma could find me.
She would come soon.
Through the faint moonlight shining through the window, I saw the wolf who had been growling earlier lying down quietly.
“Growl…… woof! Woof!”
However, the wolf that had been resting calmly suddenly showed his sharp teeth again and started barking fiercely toward the cabin door.
“What’s wrong?”
Crash.
The moment I approached the wolf, a group of people with their faces covered by masks broke through the wall and entered the old cabin.
“Woof! Woof!”
The wounded wolf, still bleeding from his gunshot wound, barked wildly and glared at them.
“Who are you?”
They were not the knights I saw at the auction.
Their clothes were completely different from the knights.
Was there another group after the red wolf besides Daimon?
No.
When the prince obtained the red wolf, there was no setting about such a group.
Then…
Were they not after the wolf?
Were they after me?
“Capture that woman.”
As expected.
It was me.
Before I could even think about who they were or why they wanted me, the mysterious people surrounded both me and the wolf.
The only thing beside me was a wounded wolf bleeding heavily.
The red wolf’s strength was not enough to fight them yet.
There was nothing here that could protect me.
Ah.
Was I really going to fail like this?
“Ugh.”
“Ahhh!”
Just as I was drowning in the despair of facing death, someone’s scream was heard.
The owner of that scream was neither the wolf nor me.
After several minutes passed, the short screams finally stopped.
Then I saw someone standing in the darkness.
“Who…… are you?”
The person only stood there silently.
As faint moonlight entered the cabin, I could slowly see the figure standing in front of me.
“You are the person from the auction……?”
Looking closely, it was the person who had competed with me for the red wolf at the auction.
A mysterious man wearing a black robe and black mask.
Behind the black mask, I could see red eyes.
And above his head, purple light was shining.
“Ly……”
Crash!
Just as I was about to call Lysian’s name—
The already-damaged cabin was destroyed once again, and another group of mysterious people entered.
“Hah. I wondered why they hadn’t returned.”
They seemed to be companions of the people lying on the ground.
“Kill that woman quickly!”
The people surrounding us attacked without hesitation.
“Ah!”
“Ugh.”
“Go after the red wolf!”
Because they were targeting me, the wolf and Lysian surrounded me and protected me.
“Growl…… cough.”
At that moment, the red wolf, who had lost too much blood, was thrown aside by their attack.
“Hah. What is this woman supposed to be?”
The masked man raised his sword toward me.
At that moment, I thought:
Was I really going to die this time?
I bit my lips and tightly closed my eyes.
“Ahhh!”
The sound of metal striking metal rang out.
At the same time, I felt someone’s warmth protecting me.
After a while, the cabin that had been filled with screams became silent once again.
I slowly opened my eyes.
In front of me was the man looking at me with red eyes.
“Am I…… alive?”
I grabbed his clothes and asked.
Lysian slowly nodded.
“Ha…… that’s a relief.”
Perhaps because of the relief that I was not dead, all the tension left my body.
I leaned my head against Lysian’s shoulder.
He flinched at my sudden action, but he simply allowed me to rest there.
If he had not been at the auction, he would not have appeared here and saved me.
“Thank you for saving me, Duke.”
At my words, he looked surprised and suddenly stood up.
“Kyaaah! What happened here?!”
Just as I was about to grab him, Emma screamed while looking at the completely destroyed cabin.
“Lady! Are you here?”
When Emma’s voice was heard, Lysian disappeared before I could stop him.
“Lady! Lady!”
“Emma.”
“Kyaaah! Blood…… blood…….”
“It’s not mine, so don’t worry.”
Seeing the countless corpses and the floor covered in blood, Emma’s face turned completely pale.
I held her trembling hands and looked at her calmly as if nothing had happened.
“Then…… the blood on your clothes……”
“It belongs to that wolf over there.”
I looked toward the wolf who had collapsed after losing too much blood.
You cannot die yet.
“Let’s return to the duke’s residence quickly, Lady.”
“Okay.”
After moving the unconscious wolf into the carriage, I looked back at the destroyed cabin.
The mysterious group that targeted me.
Lysian, who saved me.
Holding my trembling hands, I headed back to the duke’s residence while carrying countless unanswered questions in my heart.
