Chapter : 07
There was no way Rethe could make sense of Alben Avihi’s thoughts.
If he wanted Lil and Count Babelion dead, there were plenty of ways to accomplish it.
Yet he had ordered two people with absolutely no connection to each other to be tied together under the same charge and executed.
And not just any form of execution, either—it had to be an execution, the kind that required the king’s approval without fail.
“Was there ever any connection between Lil and the count?”
Rethe asked despite already knowing the answer, just in case.
According to Rethe’s memories, Count Babelion had disappeared not long after she ascended the throne.
At the time, Alben had been in charge of the investigation, so she did not know the details. But she distinctly remembered that the culprit had never been caught.
At Rethe’s question, Jean shook his head.
“Not that I know of. To begin with, didn’t that maid named Lil follow Your Majesty to the Empire as soon as she began working as a maid? There’s nothing that could possibly connect her to the count.”
“She went to the Empire, but in the end, she became Duke Avihi’s pawn.”
“To be honest, even that is hard to believe. There’s no reason the duke would throw away such an efficient pawn.”
“Then we need to find out why. And conversely, why would the duke want Count Babelion dead?”
“It’s probably because of this.”
Jean pulled a black-wax-sealed invitation from inside his clothes.
“It’s an invitation to one of the count’s businesses.”
“A business? Does the count’s family even have enough money to operate a business?”
After repeated failures in business, the finances of House Babelion had long since dried up.
In her previous life, when the count disappeared, rumors had even spread that he had thrown himself into the sea because he could no longer bear his mounting debts.
“It’s the last business he has left, but apparently it’s making some money.”
“What kind of business?”
“I’m not sure about that… Please don’t look at me like that. The duke said he would kill anyone who became involved with the count. What could I possibly do?”
When a pathetic look appeared in Rethe’s eyes, Jean protested indignantly.
“He said anyone who became involved would be killed?”
“Yes. He told me that if I wanted to live, I shouldn’t try to find out. He also told me to give the count’s invitation to one of Your Majesty’s maids.”
Rethe snatched the invitation from Jean’s hand and checked its contents.
Inside were an address and a time, along with a note stating that the invitation had to be brought along when visiting.
“I’ll put this to good use.”
“What…? No. You can’t. There’s only one!”
“That is for you to worry about. Do I have to concern myself with that as well?”
“That’s really too much. More importantly, Your Majesty doesn’t even need an invitation like this.”
“Don’t need it?”
“Surely you’re not planning to go there yourself?”
Rethe did not answer.
Whatever business Count Babelion was running, it had been personally warned against by Duke Avihi.
The count had already fallen out of the duke’s favor once simply for failing to use proper honorifics when addressing the queen.
If the duke knew that the queen had been sent somewhere despite knowing there was something shady about Count Babelion…
When Duke Avihi returned, Jean would never hear the end of it.
Jean looked at Rethe with the most pitiful expression he could manage.
But all he received in return was the queen’s cold, disdainful gaze.
Perhaps people became more alike the more they disliked each other, because her expression looked remarkably similar to Duke Avihi’s.
After much deliberation, Jean finally made up his mind and spoke.
“Then take me with you instead.”
The queen had no intention of giving up, but if he simply let her do as she pleased, his own position would become difficult.
In that case, the least he could do was pretend to protect her.
That way, at least I’ll have an excuse.
He could say:
I did my best, but Her Majesty was so stubborn that there was nothing I could do.
Rethe could see straight through Jean’s thoughts.
“Fortunately, I needed someone to show me the way. As you know, I haven’t been in this country for very long.”
It was a lie.
In her previous life, Rethe had visited practically every place in the capital that ordinary people could go.
She had only asked Jean to guide her because she needed him in order to leave the palace.
Jean, who had been anxiously wondering whether she might refuse, immediately brightened.
He thumped his chest proudly.
“If it’s the capital, then Jean Hoshikoff knows it like the back of his hand! Just tell me the destination, and I’ll take you anywhere!”
“367 Libora Street.”
However, it did not take long for his smile to crack.
He repeated the words in disbelief.
“What… street?”
“367 Libora Street.”
Even after Rethe calmly repeated the address, Jean’s expression refused to relax.
Libora Street.
It was the largest slum in the capital, commonly known as Outlaw Street.
There was no place in the kingdom where law and order could be considered completely secure, but Libora Street was on another level.
It was truly a gathering place for people who lived as though there were no laws at all.
Every kind of crime imaginable occurred there—murder, drugs, prostitution, and more.
It was even a place where soldiers sent to clean up the streets were beaten to death by outlaws.
Libora Street was where people who had nothing to lose gathered.
“Wait, are you sure? You’re saying the count’s business is located on Libora Street?”
“Either House Babelion’s finances are so bad that they had no choice but to establish a business there, or there’s a reason it specifically has to be in Libora Street.”
Rethe’s expression darkened as she thought about Libora Street.
It was a place even Alben Avihi had given up on.
So Alben, having abandoned any attempt to govern it, had set the streets on fire.
Without caring whether the people inside died or not.
In Rethe’s memories, Libora Street had been an inferno of chaos amid blackened ashes.
“Then when are you planning to leave?”
“Today.”
Jean stole a glance at the woman sitting across from him.
She was Rethe, wearing a black wig, a plain half-mask, and a dark-colored robe.
Despite the fact that Jean had protested that she absolutely could not leave today because she would not have had time to prepare, she looked completely ready.
“Where on earth did you get all of that?”
“From the Empire.”
“Looks like the Imperial Palace gave you quite a bit of freedom just because you’re royalty.”
Jean sounded sarcastic, but there did not seem to be any malice behind his words.
Freedom.
There had never been any room for freedom in her life.
In the Empire, she had lived under the emperor’s watchful eye, and in the kingdom, under Alben’s surveillance.
“But you could have gotten something newer. The robe’s worn out in several places.”
Just as Jean said, the edges of Rethe’s robe were torn and discolored.
“A new one would end up like this soon enough anyway.”
To leave Cornelli’s Imperial Palace, she had to crawl through a hole.
Of course, she had dug that hole herself over several months, breaking her fingernails in the process.
Once she squeezed her body through that narrow passage, even a high-quality robe would be ruined before long.
The carriage began to slow down, and soon it came to a stop.
“Ugh—”
As soon as Jean stepped out of the carriage, his face turned pale. He hurriedly covered his mouth before beginning to retch in a corner.
Libora Street, the parts that had not been burned down, was still pitch-black, but faint lights could be seen here and there.
People lay sprawled along the streets among the garbage.
Whether they were drunk, high, or dead, it was impossible to tell.
The stench of alcohol, tobacco, and filth permeated the air.
“Urgh… Your Majesty, do we really have to go?”
“You can stay here.”
With that, Rethe strode forward without hesitation.
Jean reluctantly followed behind her.
As he trailed Rethe, Jean soon realized that her way of walking was not at all like that of someone visiting the street for the first time.
But that thought was quickly pushed aside by the sewer-like stench that pierced straight into his brain.
He desperately hoped Count Babelion’s business was as close as possible.
Several rough-looking men were guarding the entrance to the count’s establishment.
When they spotted Rethe and Jean approaching, the men silently held out their hands.
Rethe handed over the invitation she had brought.
The man carefully examined it, then stepped aside.
The inside looked like an upscale tavern, completely out of place in Libora Street.
As Rethe looked around, a young boy who appeared to be an employee approached them.
“Are you selling, or are you buying?”
The boy’s question had no stated object, and his right arm was missing.
“I’m buying.”
“Then this way.”
The boy led the two of them underground.
They passed through more doors than could possibly be counted before finally reaching the last one.
“You can sit over here. By the way, you’re lucky. A lot of high-grade merchandise came in today.”
The boy chatted casually, but when he received no response, he simply told them to enjoy themselves and left.
“Looks like an auction house, doesn’t it?”
Jean whispered as he looked around.
Rethe silently nodded and stared straight ahead.
On the stage, the auctioneer was making jokes to lighten the atmosphere.
Then, suddenly—
Ding, ding, ding.
A bell rang three times, and the auctioneer announced the beginning.
“Oh my, it’s already time. Then let’s get started!”
As soon as he finished speaking, employees appeared from behind the stage, dragging something out.
Thanks to the wheels attached to it, it was easily rolled onto the platform.
It was an iron cage covered with a pitch-black cloth.
A sinister feeling swept through Rethe.
She had seen cages like that in the Empire before.
“Could it be some rare animal?”
An animal.
If only it were an animal.
But…
Rethe’s instincts were telling her otherwise.
“All right! Our first item is something that, once purchased, can easily be used for at least ten years without any problems—”
What was inside that cage was no animal.
It was exactly what she feared it would be.
“Two nine-year-old siblings!”
The black cloth was pulled away, revealing two young siblings inside.
Clinging tightly to each other, the children looked around with terrified eyes.
“Crazy.”
Jean accidentally swore under his breath before remembering who was sitting beside him. He cautiously glanced toward her.
The queen appeared calm.
But the robe brutally crumpled in her clenched fist revealed her anger perfectly.
“These siblings were sold directly by their parents, who could no longer endure their financial hardship. We even have a signed agreement, so there are absolutely no legal issues with this merchandise! We’ll start at ten gold coins per head!”
Voices calling out bids came from every direction.
Out of habit, Rethe reached inside her robe for her purse, only to find nothing.
In the meantime, the sound of the auctioneer’s hammer rang out, finalizing the sale.
The younger sibling was sold first.
The one who appeared to be the older brother desperately clung to his younger sibling, but after being kicked several times by the employees, he was forced to let go.
Even as he sobbed desperately after losing his sibling, the auction continued.
Eventually, the older brother was sold as well.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Slaves were brought out one after another and repeatedly sold.
Misery.
Helplessness.
And, greater than either of those, fury at herself.
All of it continued to swell inside Rethe.
Arvei did have slaves as well.
But there was only one condition under which the sale of slaves was legally permitted.
The person had to be a serious criminal.
Slaves did not pay taxes, and long ago, the royal family had imposed conditions on slave trading as a means of addressing the kingdom’s insufficient treasury.
“This next item is useful in so many ways. It can be used as a bedroom slave, or simply for ordinary household chores!”
With the same stale sales pitch, the cloth was pulled away.
The slave was an attractive man with piercing blue eyes visible beneath his shaggy black hair.
His long, well-proportioned limbs and sturdy build immediately stood out.
The cage looked far too cramped to contain a man of his size.
Unlike most slaves, he calmly surveyed his surroundings.
Then his gaze stopped abruptly on the place where Rethe was sitting.
“That slave seems to be looking only this way…”
“Advisor, how much money do you have?”
“What?”
Crunch.
Rethe clenched her teeth.
The anger that had been quietly building inside her finally erupted.
“I’m going to buy that slave.”
