‘Callios must have made it out safely.’

After emerging from the Black Forest, Selina glanced back. Leaving him behind still weighed on her mind.

Still—Callios was no ordinary man. With his skill, he should have had no trouble escaping on his own.

‘He’s not still searching for that antidote herb, is he?’

The so-called antidote herb that glimmered silver had been nothing more than a lie—something she’d made up on the spot to send him far away.

If he were even a little sharp, he would have realized at once that no such plant existed. If not… he might still be wandering through a forest crawling with monsters.

‘Ugh… forget it. He’ll be fine. I did what I could.’

To be honest, she could have left him to suffer from the spider venom. But that would have weighed too heavily on her conscience—so she had taken the attack in his place.

For two people who were hardly on comfortable terms, hadn’t she already done more than enough?

Dragging the remnants of her guilt along behind her, Selina entered Murkin Village.

‘…It’s quiet.’

It was the dead of night, before dawn. Perhaps because of that, there wasn’t a soul moving about the village.

The stone road, scarred with old wagon tracks, was littered with uneven stones jutting up dangerously, as though it hadn’t been maintained in years. The outer walls of the buildings were stripped bare of paint.

At first glance, it didn’t seem like a place where people lived. There wasn’t the faintest trace of human presence.

‘Could it be…?’

She quickly glanced through the nearest house’s window. There were no curtains, so it was easy to see inside.

A thick layer of dust covered the furniture. Objects were strewn haphazardly across the table and floor. A cupboard stood ajar, as though someone had been in such a hurry that they hadn’t had time to close it properly.

No one lived there.

Just in case, she checked several other houses whose interiors were visible, but it was the same everywhere. Grass had grown wild around the buildings, as though no one had lived there for months.

The place felt like a ghost town from which all living people had vanished.

‘…Is Alter really here?’

No matter how she thought about it, the siblings who claimed to be Alter’s brother and sister didn’t seem like liars. That meant Alter had come to this village.

And yet, there wasn’t a single person to be found.

A sense of unease slowly crept over her.

‘Could something have happened to Alter?’

If Alter—and the soldiers of Thalia with him—had come here and met with something terrible…

Gruesome images suddenly flashed through Selina’s mind. She imagined bright, cheerful Alter, blood spurting crimson around his throat.

“Ugh…”

Selina braced her legs, forcing herself to stay upright. If she didn’t, she felt as though even more horrifying afterimages would come crashing down on her like a torrential rain.

Just as she steadied herself against the wall and began to calm her breathing—

Creeeak—

Somewhere nearby, the sound of a wooden door opening rang out.

She snapped to attention and looked toward the source. Two large-built men were stepping out of a building.

“How much do you think we’ll get this time?”

“At least a hundred gold. There’s a good number this round.”

They were unloading cargo from a cart parked in front of the building. It took both men to carry each load—and the size and length of what they were hauling felt suspiciously wrong.

Selina slipped behind the wall, hiding herself as she listened in.

Unaware of her presence, the two men continued their conversation.

“That aside, what about the one we locked up downstairs?”

“That one needs more negotiating. Just look at him—no way we’re selling him cheap.”

“True. Might even get a hundred gold for him alone.”

At the mention of a hundred gold, the man with a ring of keys hanging from his belt snorted.

“A hundred? Don’t be ridiculous! If we’re lucky, it’ll be over five hundred.’ He’s pretty good-looking for a man, isn’t he? Delicate men fetch higher prices than delicate women. The world is big, tastes are varied, and pretty men are rare.”

The two of them snickered as they hauled the cargo from the cart and carried it back inside.

‘Don’t tell me those are…’

Selina swallowed a groan as she stared at the black sacks. The way they carried them—it really did look like they were holding people.

‘From the sound of it… slave traders.’

She had heard that in the chaos of war, scum would seize the opportunity to abduct civilians indiscriminately. Still, she hadn’t expected to encounter men so shameless they treated people like cargo, assigning them prices.

‘Alter isn’t here.’

In that instant, she was certain of it.

They were despicable scum who sold civilians—but even so, they were men who feared authority. That meant they would do everything possible to avoid entanglement with soldiers.

‘In that case, there’s no reason for me to stay here any longer.’

Yes, this village was undoubtedly the scene of horrific and inhumane acts. Countless innocent people were sold by slave traders, never knowing why it was happening to them.

They were shackled and locked up. Some were whipped, while others were forced to live lives steeped in pain and degradation.

But pity alone could not save everyone.

Above all, Selina had to avoid drawing attention to herself. If she clashed with the slave traders, word would inevitably reach her father and she would have to explain why she had come to Murkin Village in the first place.

‘And in the process, it would come out that I left Callios behind in the Black Forest—and used the antidote.’

The cost of saving these people was simply too great.

Just as Selina turned to leave, her heart heavy—

“Well, still. I’ve never seen blond hair like that before. I heard that color’s a trait of the Silas Grand Ducal House. What do you think—could he be some hidden child of the former Grand Duke?”

In that instant, it felt as though her blood rushed backward through her veins.

‘Blond hair…?’

Forgetting to stay hidden, she moved closer, straining to hear what they were saying.

But the men had already finished and disappeared back inside.

Left alone, Selina replayed their words in her mind.

‘A beautiful man with blonde hair.’

The Calix she knew was strikingly handsome — his hair was a radiant blonde, bright as the sun itself.

Under normal circumstances, Calix would never have been captured by the likes of those men. But what if he had been seriously injured and unconscious when they found him?

‘I have to confirm it. I have to know if it’s Calix.’

Her thoughts spiraled into chaos.

Until now, she hadn’t managed to find a single concrete piece of information about Calix, and every effort had felt futile. And yet, it was from slave traders that she had stumbled upon information connected to him.

She didn’t know whether to hope it was him or pray that it wasn’t.

There was only one thing she could honestly say now.

‘I miss Calix. I just want to know that he’s alive.’

If he was imprisoned underground, there was no way he would be unharmed. At best, he might have lost his sight. At worst, an arm or a leg.

But it didn’t matter.

No matter what condition he was in, she would restore him—by any means necessary.

She would stake her life to help him live on.

‘So please—just let me confirm that he’s alive.’

Biting down hard on her lip, Selina headed toward the building the slave traders had entered.

【Rooms Available】

Judging by the sign, it had once been an inn that welcomed travelers. There was even a notice stating that lodging was available.

As a former inn, it was larger than the surrounding buildings, and at least on the surface, it appeared neatly maintained.

‘But appearances mean nothing. I need to know the layout inside.’

Moreover, one of the men she had seen earlier had a bundle of keys hanging from his belt. If those were the keys to the inn’s rooms, it meant she wouldn’t be able to move freely without them.

‘What’s the best way to infiltrate the inn and steal that key ring?’

Charging in by force was out of the question—she had no idea how many people were inside.

While she hesitated, Selina noticed that several black sacks were still left in the cart.

Among them was one empty sack—large enough for her to fit inside.

***

“…Did we really catch a woman like this?”

As the man unloaded the people crammed inside the sacks, he froze when his gaze fell upon the unconscious woman.

Her silver hair shimmered like molten coins, glowing with a painfully bright radiance. Her pale, translucent skin seemed to cradle moonlight, glowing with a quiet radiance. It was hard to imagine how breathtaking she would be when she woke up.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember abducting a woman like this.

Noticing his stunned expression, the man beside him spoke up.

“If it wasn’t us, then the boss must’ve taken her himself, idiot.”

“If the boss kidnapped her personally, she should be classified as special handling. Shouldn’t we take her straight to the basement?”

Selina’s cheek twitched ever so slightly.

“Let me see.”

At that moment, a man who appeared to be their superior stepped forward and grabbed her chin.

As he stroked her soft skin, he muttered in a voice so vile it made her stomach churn.

“Put her in my room before sending her underground.”

“What?! B-but this woman is top-grade—the boss kidnapped her himself…!”

“Those ‘top-grade’ ones. How many times do you think I’ve tasted them first without anyone noticing?”

“Well, that may be true, but—”

“Depending on how things go, I’ll toss you something mid-grade or better. So keep your mouths shut.”

Smacking his lips as he looked at Selina, the man turned away.