Chapter 145

“S,So…It has to be…at least…around 70 gold coins….”

“No. It has to be 100 gold coins. It can’t get lower than that.”

Where Ronald muttered vaguely, Latea cut him off immediately. It made Apollonia frowned her brows. It was a lot of money, but the reason for her displeasure wasn’t because she couldn’t afford that.

“100 gold coins?”

Apollonia touched her forehead. It wasn’t a normal amount for breaking a contract. Considering how they raised the amount from 70 to 100 gold coins at whim, Apollonia could discern what was the standard.

The standard for setting the price was literally ransom. It was the standard price for human trafficking. This practice was definitely illegal, but it was normalized in prostitution business.

That was the reason Lu was beaten a while ago. She didn’t sign a contract, but she was sold. The person who received her ransom could be her previous owner or her own family.

Apollonia despised prostitution, but human trafficking was a different story.

‘Aaron, you punk.’

It seemed like Uriel didn’t beat him up enough. She couldn’t believe that he did his job so poorly.

“I can’t go any lower than 100 gold coins.”

Latea put emphasis on her words. It seemed like her negotiation method was to raise the price and insist on it.

“I’ll just have to give you 100 gold coins right?”

Apollonia asked to confirm. If the large amount Latea requested was really for a cancellation fee, she would say that Apollonia should pay Lu separately for the transfer fee. However, Apollonia’s prediction was not wrong.

“Oh, that’s only natural. Lu isn’t a picky eater, so she can eat anything you gave her. She’s also good at doing errands.”

“Even if she looks like that, she’d be pretty if you groom her well.”

Latea said with a grin on her face. Ronald also hummed a tune next to her.

“I’ll pay you in cash. Immediately.”

They couldn’t help but open their mouths wide at Apollonia’s words. It would have been hard to imagine someone carrying 100 gold coins around. Usually, the transaction process would take quite some time, so they were speechless by this.

“I will give it to you immediately. So tell her to pack up right away.”

Apollonia got up without hearing an answer and headed toward the door.

“Please wait a minute.”

Latea’s voice rang behind her.

“What?”

When Apollonia turned around, Latea opened her mouth with a sly smile. Whether she was nervous or excited, her hands were shaking a little.

“C,Come to think of it, I thought it wouldn’t be enough if you only pay for her ransom.”

“What did you say?”

Apollonia raised one of her eyebrows. The couple was getting more and more unlikeable.

“There are many things that Lu ate and wore ever since she arrived here. And, um, the cost is a little expensive…”

‘It’s obvious that you didn’t feed her properly, and now you’re asking for compensation?’

“I thought everything was included in the ransom earlier.”

Ronald flinched at Apollonia’s sharp answer. However, Latea appeared to have more guts than him.

“Oh, you don’t know how much high-quality food and clothes that she used regularly.”

“How much is it?”

“Pardon?”

“How much do you want?”

Apollonia asked, suppressing her anger. They were very rude and unpleasant, but money wasn’t the problem for Apollonia. Above all, she wanted to take Lu quietly.

“Well….I need 250 gold coins in total.”

At that moment, Ronald couldn’t control his facial expression and opened his eyes wide. Latea, however, did not back down and looked straight at Apollonia. Apollonia laughed dryly at those two who treated her like a pushover.

Indeed, it was strange that a young woman who knew nothing about this business agreed to pay a ridiculous amount of money for Lu, a woman that they deemed as insignificant and worthless. Obviously, they thought Apollonia had terrible eyes.

“25o gold coins, huh….?”

Apollonia took a deep breath and muttered the amount again.

“Th,that’s right.”

“Bring the contract.”

Apollonia said curtly. Latea’s face froze in utter shock.

“Hurry.”

“Yes, yes.”

The two rushed to the door connected to the other room. Apollonia waited for them, fiddling with the blue bracelet that she wore. It didn’t take long.

Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 12 chapters in advance!