“Be careful. Be twice as careful as usual. Above all, never leave my side. Anette sometimes seems to have no fear at all.”

“Am I a child?”

“Sometimes you’re even more fearless than a child, Lady Porche.”

Darius clung to my side with an unusually stern face.

Whether they were ashamed or not, the hidden gem of the North – the slave market that they didn’t want known elsewhere – was held far from the harvest festival site. Even though it wasn’t even nighttime yet.

“People who buy and sell humans can’t be of good quality.”

A black cloak to hide one’s identity and a half-mask to cover the eyes. Hastily prepared without any emblems symbolizing the Inkhart grand duchy, the attire was of decent quality but not as noble as what we usually wear.

‘This is even better. I look just like a wealthy person coming to buy slaves directly.’

But even though we concealed our attire and carried weapons, our appearance seemed to be looked down upon at the slave market, as jeers could be heard from around us.

“Whew. Are you here to sell or buy? If you’re short on money, should I chip in a bit? In exchange, that pretty lady next to you can let go of the master’s hand and get right up on stage! How about it?”

“I understand why you told me to be careful, so take your hand off that scabbard. We’re not here to make a scene from the start.”

Darius glared at the man who had taunted us, not relaxing the intensity in his eyes.

“Why? Is he bald and pot-bellied? Are you memorizing that? To beat him up later?”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t sound like a joke.”

“Then it’s not a joke.”

As I tried to calm down the agitated Darius, the next thing I heard made me involuntarily flare up.

“The pretty one next to the pretty one has quite passionate eyes! If you don’t find a master you like at the market today, I’ll make you cry out properly, so come find me tonight!”

That bastard, he’s wearing yellow clothes now. His shoes are green, not matching at all. Does he think he’s a sunflower or something?

‘Sylphid. Remember that person and tell me where he went later.’

You’re dead.

We waited for the slave market to open, bickering with those around us. When the time came, a neatly dressed manager came out to guide us in.

“Thank you for waiting. Now, the highlight of this harvest festival, the ‘Night of Inkhart’ auction you’ve all been waiting for, is about to begin!”

‘Wait, who decided this was the highlight? The highlight of this harvest festival I had in mind was a wholesome event like choosing the most handsome man and beautiful woman!’

“Now, I’ll check your invitations. You all know that identity verification is strict at the Northern slave market.”

“Who do you dare ask to verify their identity?”

Slap.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the front. The guests in line could be felt stirring.

“You lowly thing. Not clearing the way at once.”

What’s this, calling someone lowly right off the bat. Is our slave market a famous event that even royalty attends?

“Anette, be careful.”

Darius firmly grabbed my arm to prevent me from jumping out.

But honestly, isn’t this exciting? The manager just got slapped! And he’s even bleeding now!

“I apologize for not recognizing such an esteemed guest and being disrespectful. As you said, let me give you the treatment you deserve now.”

‘Is this that thing! Nobles don’t say their names!’

“Hmph. Making me speak twice, such a stupid… Ah! Ah!”

Rumble rumble. Strong men came out from inside and escorted away the man who had just slapped the manager.

“Hey, hey! Do you know who I am! You’re making a big mistake right now! Mmph!”

“The security in the underworld is surprisingly solid. Customers need to feel safe to spend money.”

Darius explained the situation with a strange expression on his face as he watched.

“Let’s go. We have invitations.”

‘So in romance fantasy novels, suddenly slapping people… that’s not allowed?’

Most of the time it seemed to work out though. Another one of my dreams is shattered like this today.

‘Huh?’

But then. As we were entering, one person caught my eye by chance.

“How much bribe money did I spread around today just to meet the lord! And when I finally met the bastard lord, he looked at me like I was cattle or chicken and left as soon as the event was over!”

The man loosening his cravat in frustration was Rigolus, who had been pestering me earlier to talk about this business once more.

“Ugh, I’ll have to make a killing at today’s auction! Hey, bring me a whip! I’ll personally educate these slaves!”

“Mr. Rigolus, whipping slaves is prohibited by Inkhart.”

“Who cares! As long as we don’t get caught! You, since when did you talk so much!”

Whip?

A cold smile flashed across Darius’s and my faces.

“You told me not to be swayed by prejudice and to take a good look since it’s a perfectly legal business, that person.”

“Indeed. I understand very well now. How this business operates, supposedly for more humane slave auctions compared to other markets.”

Look at how public violence is being committed even though we’re not yet at an illegal slave auction, but at a legal auction house with permits.

Leaning on Darius’s arm like a lady both fearful and curious about the slave market auction, I whispered in his ear.

“When we get back, Mr. Nicola will have more work to do.”

Bribes?

We didn’t accept any private funding cooperation for this harvest festival, so who took that?

* * *

The seats arranged like a circus were filled with excitement as the auction was about to begin.

“This slave is a 40-year-old former serf with healthy brown skin who’s excellent at plowing fields! This slave can work like an ox! Never gets tired!”

‘If this is the good condition at a legal slave auction, how bad must the illegal ones be.’

“1 copper.”

“50 silver.”

“1 gold.”

“1 gold 20 silver.”

“1 gold 20 silver! Any bids over 1 gold 20 silver? Then, sold for 1 gold 20 silver!”

And so, one person’s life was valued at 1.2 gold and sold off.

“Next is a virgin who just turned twenty. I guarantee she’s the best slave you can get legally. If you want anything better, you’ll have to go to that place in the back, haha.”

People laugh.

“1 copper.”

“This is an educated slave who could be used as a teacher. He ended up here due to a very unfortunate circumstance…”

“1 copper.”

I bid 1 copper for everyone – the middle-aged man who could do farm work, the pretty young woman suitable as a maid or shop clerk, and the scholar who was originally a noble family’s tutor.

What’s an appropriate price for a person’s life? Whether 1 copper, 50 silver, or 1 gold, they were all meaningless units.

The slave traders’ faces, which at first laughed off my bids thinking I was new and didn’t know better, gradually showed signs of annoyance.

“Customer, should you be playing around with someone else’s livelihood?”

“I’m not playing around. Aren’t you the ones playing around? Why are the slaves here in such terrible condition? They’re all like garbage.”

I leaned on Darius’s arm with a mischievous smile.

“Damn, first at the entrance and now this, these dog-like things keep claiming to be customers today…”

Darius opened his purse. The glittering light of gold coins pierced through the narrow opening.

“50 silver, 1 gold? You think I came here to spend that pocket change?”

The manager hesitated at the amount in the purse, which might barely equal the total value of all the slaves presented today. People certainly become more generous when money is right in front of their eyes.

“We, we can introduce you to an even better place than this…”

“By the way, this is just the introduction fee. I hear you can even see mermaids at the secret auction? Gold bars should be enough to buy a mermaid, right?”

So with these mere gold coins that can’t even buy a mermaid, just use them as your pocket money.

Instead, I want to go somewhere definite without playing around. When I said that, the manager’s face brightened.

Yeah, be very happy now. Whether legal or illegal, I’m planning to crush all slave auction houses anyway, so how long do you think you’ll be able to hold onto that money?

* * *

“We’ll cover your eyes now.”

“Is this how you treat paying customers?”

The illegal auction house where even demi-humans are rumored to be sold secretly. They made a fuss about having to blindfold us to enter, showing how strict the security was even after taking our money.

Shouldn’t I slap these guys’ faces this time?

“If you’re going to act like this, give back the money and get lost.”

“The path to ‘that place’ is absolutely secret. Even frequent visitors all enter like this without exception.”

The slave traders remained firm despite my sarcasm. Though their tone was soft from receiving money, they showed no signs of backing down.

I glanced behind the slave traders and saw someone nodding in the distance.

Even if we covered our eyes and rode in the carriage, the tail that Lord Lucian had attached would follow us without losing track.

Reluctantly, we put on blindfolds and went round and round before finally entering the secret auction house after much fuss.

‘I can feel the bloodlust.’

My skin tingled.

Rumor has it that everything in the world is sold at the secret auction house.

From legendary jewels lost by the previous royal family to mythical mermaids.

Surely there won’t be real mermaids? They probably bring in unfamiliar animals and sell them as fakes. I came in thinking we should arrest them for fraud if that’s the case.

But I started to think those words might be true. The desire for rare items, the determination to obtain them no matter the cost. The emotions of the people gathered in this space were ‘real’.

While people in the legal auction house exchanged jokes, here no one even made eye contact.