“That’s why you shouldn’t be nice to slaves.”

“For that kind of b*tch to come on to him first—that fiancé is one lucky bastard.”

Various voices whispered from here and there. Ribeta didn’t waver. She lowered her eyes and approached the stage, one step at a time.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t upset or sad. But even if she was, nothing would change.

Even Melissa, whom she had served with all her heart for a long time, didn’t believe her. Far from believing her, she immediately sold her off to Lerrbatia. As if she had been waiting for an excuse to sell her on the market. Perhaps the things the emcee had just said were also Melissa’s words.

Ribeta suddenly had this thought.

Even if she picked the handcuffs with the needle, would she be able to escape safely?

She had heard that Lerrbatia’s security was tight, as it catered to prominent nobles. That the only way for a slave who had been caught once to leave Lerrbatia alive was to meet a new master. That the moment they tried to escape, they would be shot dead. And that very occasionally, they would deliberately release a slave to make a spectacle of the desperately fleeing slave.

“Of course, that’s not what’s important now. What’s important is that this slave is going to serve a ‘first’ master other than the Miss who was like a friend. Take a good look, everyone. This slave doesn’t even have a brand in any visible place. Her skin is as white and clean as snow. And is it only her skin?”

Someone smacked their lips in the darkness. Ribeta was eventually pushed by the emcee’s hand and stood on the circular stage.

Gazes poured in from all directions. Her skin stung as if blades were piercing it. The gazes were far more blatant and explicit than when she had come out from behind the curtain. Ribeta gritted her teeth.

“Especially! I’ll give you plenty of time. Please enjoy this top-quality product to your heart’s content. If you’re interested, please raise your paddle.”

“Hehehe, then where…… I’ll buy that b*tch!”

“Finally, a courageous first customer has appeared. Now, let’s start with 1 million sola!”

“That’s too expensive! The others started at 50,000.”

“But think about it, sir. This is a top-quality product without a single scar. An opportunity to become the ‘true first master’ for only 1 million sola. Isn’t that cheap compared to her value?”

“Tss……”

“Oh, the gentleman over there raised his paddle the moment I said that?”

“1.5 million sola!”

As people began to call out prices one by one, the atmosphere heated up menacingly. The fat man who had first shouted that he would buy Ribeta only smacked his lips while glaring at Ribeta, but didn’t call out a price.

She was sick of the people shouting out prices as if they were competing.

The price skyrocketed, soon far exceeding 20 million sola.

Just how much money was 20 million sola anyway? Ribeta had never had even 200 sola of her own money, and the daily wage she received for working all day was only about 5,000 sola at most. She wondered if the numbers they were shouting really referred to money.

Her own will wasn’t reflected here at all. That money wasn’t coming back to her either. She was the one being sold. Whatever humiliation she suffered, whatever terrible things happened to her, she had to endure it all.

Why had it come to this? Why was this happening? The answer was simple.

‘Because I’m a slave.’

It was because she was a slave. Because a slave had no freedom.

Then, what on earth was freedom?

“Eeeeck……! 30 million! 30 million should do it, right?”

“30 million! 30 million has been bid!”

The man who had only been smacking his lips shouted. But the emcee stepped in when the betting didn’t continue, only murmurs.

“It’s 30 million. If there’s no one else while I call out the price three times, this beautiful slave will go to that gentleman. Now! 30 million!”

It was the first call. Ribeta glanced at the man staring intently at her. When their eyes met, the man grinned and hitched up his pants.

“30 million! Is there no one higher than 30 million?”

The second time. Now the giant was close enough for Ribeta to reach if she stretched out her hand. The emcee looked quite cheerful, as if he thought it was still a good price even though it was a bit of a shame.

Ribeta was afraid. Of the intangible money of 30 million sola being exchanged for her body, of what she would have to endure in order to satisfy the new master who bought her for that price, and even that nothing would change even if she avoided that man.

“You have to escape!”

The voice of the woman she had met in prison echoed vividly. Ribeta clenched her fist tightly. She grasped the thin, hard needle. This uneven needle with a rough finish wasn’t an ordinary needle. It was clear that the woman she had met in prison had sharpened it herself.

In order to escape.

She had passed on to her what she had cherished like her own life.

Ribeta realized. It didn’t matter ‘where’ she escaped to. What mattered was ‘what’ she was escaping from. Since there was only one place she, and all the slaves including her, could reach by escaping anyway.

Only death would allow her to escape her fate.

Thinking that way, paradoxically, courage welled up in her heart, making her feel like she could do anything.

If she was going to die either way, she wanted to be free, even if only for a single moment.

“30……”

Just before the last, third call came out.

Ribeta inserted the needle into the keyhole and turned it. At the same time, some man suddenly came up onto the stage. His hand skillfully picked up and hid the handcuff that was about to fall to the floor after being removed from Ribeta’s hand.

The man was wearing a white mask that covered his eyes and nose. The mask shone especially white in contrast to his black hair.

It wasn’t strange, as most of the nobles who visited Lerrbatia wore masks. But Ribeta felt an unidentifiable sense of déjà vu from him for a moment.

“I’m sorry, sir? I request that you return to your seat. It is against the rules to come up on stage.”

“Are you telling me to just look and buy something worth over 30 million? That’s not good business ethics.”

“Sir! It is also forbidden to touch the merchandise……”

The man put his hand inside his coat and took it out. Something sparkling left the man’s hand and scattered in all directions. Someone shouted.

“Diamonds!”

The man twisted up one corner of his mouth and smiled. Then he scattered diamonds once more.

As one or two people began to pick up the diamonds, the venue quickly became noisy. The emcee’s eyes spun as he weighed the diamonds against the smooth progress of the auction.

“You better move fast. It’ll be too late even if you crawl on the floor later, crying like a dog.”

“Everyone, to your seats! Please take your seats! The auction is not over yet! Goddamn it!”

The emcee also threw himself onto the floor to pick up the diamonds.

Ribeta backed away from the man who turned his body toward her. The lips below the mask smiled faintly. He closed the distance in an instant and wrapped his arm around Ribeta’s waist, pulling her close. Ribeta was suddenly in a position where she was touching his chest. If she moved her hand even a little, she would end up groping the man’s chest. As Ribeta bit her lip with a pale face, the man asked.

“What do you think?”

“……What do you mean?”

“Do you think you’re worth 34 million sola?”

The low voice was a very pleasant baritone, but it was a very rude question. Ribeta was dumbfounded.

Worth 34 million sola? Why was he asking her that? That value was a value that the customers gathered here had arbitrarily called out. A price determined only by the eyes and desires of others, completely unrelated to her own will. The act of asking a slave, who wasn’t even given the right to refuse, whether that value was reasonable was violence in itself.

Moreover, it was absolutely not something a man who was sitting in the same seats as those people, holding the same paddle, should say.

“I don’t even know how much money 34 million sola is.”

“That’s not an answer. Answer properly. About your worth.”

The man was persistent. The arm wrapped around her waist was as hot as if her skin would burn, but the eyes inside the mask were chillingly cold. Ribeta regained her senses at that gaze.

She tried moving her hand. Her wrist, which had been handcuffed, throbbed, but she was glad it was lighter. It was so light it felt empty. Was this freedom?