Chapter 30.2

“wait!”

the slave trader who noticed me as i jumped out frowned grimly.

“what are you, damn it?”

he wasn’t very tall, but the man was twice as big as i was, and in his hand, he had a fearsome leather whip. i was a little frightened, but i raised my chin high, trying not to make it obvious.

“does this store even speak ill of its customers?”

“…customer?”

the man narrowed his brows as if he doubted my words.

“yes.”

i stepped forward indignantly at his question.

‘let’s not be discouraged. if i lose poise, i’d be dead.’

it was fortunate that i was able to cover my shabby outfit with a black robe. that way i could play an aristocrat who didn’t want to be caught in a place such as this.

“wait, you’re an aristocrat, right?”

i was conscious of my identity and raked through the memory of edith abina. edith used to raise her chin a little and put emphasis to her voice with her eyes lowered halfway when she dealt with her subordinates.

“you’ve got a very short cheeky tongue,” i opened my mouth, raising an eyebrow as edith would, “what’s your name?”

“…i’m sorry. my name is marcus.”

the man flinched and bowed his head as if my stare had worked. with his head still lowered, he glanced at my silver hair sticking out of the robe. in this world, pure silver or blonde hair was easier to distinguish from ordinary people as it usually only appeared with aristocrats.

“we didn’t recognize you because you rarely visit us through the back door.”

“i got lost because it was my first visit to this store.”

“then i’ll lead you inside.”

i turned around, pretending to follow the man who introduced himself as marcus.

“what’s with that kid?”

the man, who was pointed at with an arrow that had grown as big as a person, was still lying on the ground moaning.

“that’s the new store slave.”

“really? i like him, i’ll choose that kid.”

the slave trader shrugged as he glanced at the man who i believed to be adrian.

“but you won’t be satisfied because he’s bad at his job.”

“is that true?”

“yes. i can’t stand him no matter what i do. he doesn’t even take drugs.”

i shook my head at the man’s explanation.

“i don’t care.”

“what?”

the slave trader frowned as if he didn’t understand what i said. i opened my mouth slowly, facing him who seemed to doubt me.

“i don’t mind.”

“oh, alright, suit yourself.”

the man nodded as if he immediately understood the situation.

“okay, then i’ll prepare it and send it to your room.”

the place where the slave trader took me was a hallway that felt quite antique. the red velvet space was marked by tapestries and crystal chandeliers hanging everywhere. it’s almost as if imitating an aristocratic mansion.

“you can wait here for a moment.”

as he led me through a long corridor into the corner room, the slave trader took a bottle of whiskey off the shelf and handed it over to me.

“ah, customer. in our store, payment is made in advance.”

the whiskey that he put down without identifying my identity as the customer was cheap. it was so cheap that even valérez wouldn’t even look at it.

‘i guess it’s not a secret store that only deals with high-ranking aristocrats.’

that’s right, it explained why people treated as commodities were beaten like animals.

i frowned as i remembered adrian, who was beaten up to the point he was wheezing.

“how much is this wine?”

“it’s a hundred reso.”

“i’ll give you a thousand resos. so, clean up the cheap alcohol i won’t drink even if you give it for free.”

i raised my chin, holding out the man’s whiskey back toward him.

“my head hurts just by smelling it. at least bring me a brignac.”

the man’s expression became strange when i spoke of the wine valérez enjoyed drinking. i lowered my eyes at the thought he had caught me with my bluff.

“do you want me to move your room?”

the man who was looking at me carefully opened his mouth. i snorted and nodded.

“well, now it works. i don’t like this stuffy space.”

“we just remodeled a special room with a terrace. i’ll show you there.”

as i climbed up following the man’s guidance, i glanced at the corner of my system window.

[balance: 5 reso (5,000 won)]