If she had ever heard before that the Duke of Cardia’s birthday was on the same day as hers, she wouldn’t have forgotten it.

While she didn’t keep track of the celebrations of all nobles in the empire, she had been mindful of important occasions for key figures like the Duke of Cardia, so Mikhail’s words felt unfamiliar to her.

Moreover, unlike other noble families with many anniversaries to remember, the Cardia duchy had no one else to celebrate besides Cabelased.

She would have at least received inquiries about what gift to send for the Duke of Cardia’s upcoming birthday.

As Jieselgrante froze in shock, Mikhail quickly spoke up.

“Ah, had I not mentioned it before? The publicly known birthday might be different. But it seems Cabel’s actual birth date is on the Empire’s Founding Day…”

Mikhail added an explanation about it.

The academy they attended was in a remote location away from the imperial capital, so all students stayed in dormitories, and even for annual events like the Founding Day, absence was the rule during the semester.

Then, he said that the butler of the Cardia duchy once visited the academy dormitory during the semester.

“That day was the Founding Day, you know? I naturally thought the butler came for Cabel, who couldn’t attend the Founding Day and had to stay at the academy…”

Mikhail added that while the academy normally had four-person rooms regardless of status, for some reason, only he and Cabelased used a two-person room.

“If the Cardia duke’s butler hadn’t wished Cabel a happy birthday then, I wouldn’t have known until now.”

“If there was a separate real birthday, why hide it?”

To her question, Mikhail shook his head.

“Well… I’m not sure about that either. The Cardia duke’s butler never visited the academy dormitory on Founding Day again after that. It just seemed like Cabel wanted to keep his birthday a secret, so I didn’t ask separately.”

Mikhail also fell silent after that, as if pondering the reason.

‘Why did he have to hide his real birth date… It means there were circumstances that made it necessary…’

Jieselgrante couldn’t quite understand.

The reason for separating the real birth date from the public birthday. And the purpose that necessitated such an action.

The running carriage stopped in front of the building at the address written on Baron Cypress’s invitation.

Jieselgrante checked her appearance in the mirror one last time before getting out of the carriage.

Her face was hard to identify unless looked at closely, hidden behind a wide-brimmed hat and long veil.

After alighting from the carriage, Jieselgrante briefly surveyed her surroundings.

Though the building’s exterior wasn’t shabby, the dark surroundings and lack of passersby created a somewhat dangerous atmosphere.

Thinking it was wise to have brought several guards in case of any situation, she was about to enter the building.

A burly man guarding the entrance approached and spoke.

“Please show your invitation.”

After checking the invitation she had, the man pointed to the knights behind Jieselgrante and said,

“The invitation was for one person only. No additional personnel are allowed entry.”

Jieselgrante pondered for a moment.

Frederick, who actually received Baron Cypress’s invitation, didn’t come, and she was attending as his proxy. She wondered what would happen if she ignored the rules set by Baron Cypress.

Judging there might not be another chance, she instructed the knights to wait there before she was allowed to enter the building.

“I’ll escort you inside.”

She followed the burly man. There were several doors along the narrow corridor.

Thinking they might have prepared separate private rooms, she walked on, but when they reached deep inside the corridor, the man stopped.

As they entered, the man bowed deeply.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Left alone, Jieselgrante looked around the interior.

‘Is this used as a guest room?’

The interior decoration was simple, with just a fireplace, sofa, and table.

Discovering curtains draped on one wall, she approached without hesitation and pulled them open.

There was a spacious bed behind them.

The curtains seemed to act as a partition dividing the interior.

‘Surely they didn’t invite me to a place just used as lodging…’

Jieselgrante moved towards the sofa, pondering the purpose of this place.

She had heard that when handing the invitation to Frederick, Baron Cypress said something like this:

‘Whatever you imagine, you’ll be satisfied beyond your imagination.’

She was deeply contemplating what that meant, what one was supposed to be satisfied with, when it happened.

She sensed movement in the corridor. Jieselgrante tensed up, staring at the door.

Soon, a young man walked in, and Jieselgrante’s eyes widened at his appearance.

The young man was nearly half-naked.

“It’s an… honor to serve you, lady.”

The young man with tanned skin and a muscular build was covered in scars.

From old scars to recent ones.

As she averted her gaze, not knowing where to look, the young man stepped closer to her.

Jieselgrante retreated as much as he advanced.

“It seems this is your first time in a place like this.”

“By ‘a place like this’, you mean…”

Before Jieselgrante could finish her question, the young man reached out as if to lift the veil covering her face.

Jieselgrante glared at him and stepped back.

However, the young man chuckled and said,

“I won’t harm you. I won’t bite either. So there’s no need to be so scared. If anything, I’m the one who should be afraid.”

The young man righted an overturned glass on the table and continued speaking.

“You seem tense, so let me serve you some tea to help you relax.”

Jieselgrante watched the young man’s actions quietly before asking,

“Judging by your accent, you’re not from the empire, are you?”

The young man nodded with an expressionless face.

“That’s right, but you didn’t come here to chat with me, did you, lady?”

Jieselgrante suddenly realized.

What kind of place this was, and why Baron Cypress had invited Frederick.

“Are you a slave?”

At Jieselgrante’s question, the young man twisted one corner of his mouth.

“If you’re asking if I was born a slave, I could say no, but now, as you can see.”

The young man raised both arms to show her.

There were bluish bruises on his wrists, seemingly from being tied up.

‘Was slave trading still happening in the empire?’

Jieselgrante frowned as she scanned the marks left on the young man’s wrists, ankles, and nape.

“Are you pitying me?”

“…?”

Jieselgrante didn’t answer, just looked at the young man.

“You’re looking at me with eyes full of pity.”

Feeling uncomfortable for unintentionally hurting the young man, she forced a smile and spoke.

“Would it be alright if we chatted for a bit?”

“Please, sit down.”

As the young man suggested, Jieselgrante sat on the sofa and conversed with him.

About how he ended up here and such things.

Instead of explaining his situation in detail, he accurately grasped what she was interested in and explained it to her.

About this slave market run by Baron Cypress.

After listening to his entire story, Jieselgrante took out a gold coin from her bosom and held it out.

“What is this?”

“Consider it evidence that you faithfully performed your duties well while with me.”

“…”

The young man didn’t seem inclined to accept the gold coin Jieselgrante offered.

With no choice, she placed the gold coin on the table and stood up.

Then she hurried out of there with quick steps.

Without time to calm her rapidly beating heart, she was trying to escape the building when someone urgently called out to her.

“Lady. Are you leaving already?”

It was the man who had checked her invitation when she first arrived.

“I’ve enjoyed myself enough for today, so I thought I’d head back… Is there a problem?”

“Perhaps that slave from earlier wasn’t to your liking?”

“…”

As Jieselgrante hesitated, unsure what to say, the man quickly continued.

“Please give us one more chance. We’ll make sure to educate him properly this time. He was quite arrogant from the start, so we put special effort into his training, but…”

“…”

“Or perhaps you didn’t like his appearance? We had prepared our finest product, hearing that an esteemed guest would be visiting… If you tell us your preferred appearance, next time we can match it…”

The man’s continuing words didn’t quite register in her ears.

‘Does the Empress know that Baron Cypress is involved in slave trading?’

In the past, after hearing similar news, she had gone on a secret investigation.

But unlike the rampant rumors, she couldn’t find any concrete evidence.

So she thought it was just an unfounded rumor, but she didn’t expect the evil practices of the past to still remain.

“What will happen to that slave from earlier now?”

“Since you didn’t like him, he’ll probably be presented to another noble lady.”

Jieselgrante gathered her slipping consciousness and said,

“I… I’ll buy that slave. Is that possible?”

If she could take him away, he could be a witness to prove that slave trading was taking place.

There were also other aspects she wanted to confirm.