So…… that’s why she was so thin, with no flesh on her body at all. A flash of despair crossed Ribeta’s eyes for a moment.

“Thank you for telling me. But I still have to give it to her.”

“Then give it to me instead of that woman, to me! Just leave that woman who’s going to die anyway!”

The sound of chains dragging and bars clanking rang out one after another. Ribeta brought the water bowl and hard bread further inside.

“Just a little. Just one sip, just one piece! I told you something you didn’t know, so you can at least give me that much. Hey! Are you listening to me? Hand it over. Hand it over!”

“What’s all this noise! Shut up!”

When a man with a gruff voice shouted angrily from far away, the person across fell silent. Ribeta held her breath and moved. She held the thin woman so she could drink the water. The emaciated body was incredibly light, but it wasn’t easy because of the handcuffs with iron balls attached. When she cleared away the matted hair and held the water bowl to her lips, the woman gulped down the water desperately.

“Haa, haa……”

“Are you alright? I have bread too, shall I give you some? Can you eat it?”

“Than…… thank…… you……”

The woman’s voice sounded like it would fade away at any moment. Ribeta felt worried about the woman while simultaneously realizing what kind of place she had been dragged to.

This was a slave market. Melissa had sold her to a slave trader. If that was the case, then this woman too…… must be the same kind of merchandise as herself.

“I…… I don’t…… know how long…… I’ve…… been here……”

The woman grabbed Ribeta’s hand. Just as the person across had said, she was dying. Ribeta silently clasped the woman’s hand.

“You have to…… escape. While you…… still have…… some strength left. If you don’t escape……”

“Please stop talking and try to drink a little more water. To get even a little strength……”

“Listen to me! I’m saying you have to escape!”

The woman gripped Ribeta’s hand tightly.

Escape? How, from this prison? And to where?

She had occasionally heard rumors of slaves escaping from the slave market. Some slaves were caught and brought back to the market, and some slaves succeeded in escaping and disappeared. Of course, most slaves died while trying to escape.

She didn’t think the disappeared slaves had gained freedom. As long as they had the brand, they could never escape their status as slaves. Only the location would change—the essence of being dominated by a master would never change.

Yet Ribeta felt her heart grow hot the moment she heard the woman’s words about escaping.

If she could really escape. If she could live her whole life hiding the brand.

……Then what would happen?

“Don’t…… end up…… like me……”

Something sharp pricked Ribeta’s palm. It felt like a needle. If there was a keyhole in the handcuffs, she might be able to pick it open.

Where did this woman get this from?

Ribeta took the needle and clutched it. Then the woman smiled. Or at least, she seemed to smile. It was too dark to see properly. It was just a feeling, but Ribeta could be certain.

The strength drained from the woman’s hand after she passed the needle, and it fell with a thud. But there was no time to feel sad or despair. Presences approached from beyond the iron bars. Two people.

“I heard the merchandise that came in yesterday is quite good.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve had top-quality goods. You’ll be pleased. Shall we go in?”

“Open it.”

The iron bars opened with a clank. Ribeta hid the needle in her clothes. A bright torch was thrust at her, and the stench of disgusting perfume hit her. Then a thick hand suddenly lifted her chin. Ribeta squeezed her eyes shut.

“Oho. Not bad.”

“The face is clean, but there are whip scars on the body. If we emphasize that part, don’t you think we could sell her for quite a high price?”

“Good. Push her as today’s main product. Have her washed clean and sent up.”

The man who had examined Ribeta from all angles left the cell first. His subordinate stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, then grabbed and shook the chain connected to Ribeta’s handcuffs. The clanking sound rang out noisily.

“Let’s dress you up pretty and get the highest price in Lerrbatia, hmm?”

Lerrbatia. Despair flashed through Ribeta’s eyes when she heard that name.

The Lerrbatia slave auction house. The largest, most cruel, and most vicious slave auction house in the Solania Empire.

There wasn’t a slave who didn’t know of Lerrbatia’s infamy, and even Ribeta, who was ignorant of rumors, knew all too well the stories about this place.

Customers visited Lerrbatia to satisfy their damp and vile desires. Lerrbatia held large-scale auctions every night to satisfy them. The money traded in the auction house where young, beautiful, and healthy slaves were displayed was another name for desire. The slaves sold this way became sacrifices to desire.

Melissa had sold Ribeta to such a place.

“Don’t just stand there in a daze, move!”

The subordinate shouted and dragged Ribeta away. As if she had neither the right nor the time to despair.

In fact, that was true. What was the big deal about a slave being sold to a slave market? Many nobles sold their slaves, and they still did so now.

Especially young and pretty slaves like Ribeta could fetch high prices. The younger they were, the higher the price, so it was profitable to sell them quickly. It had been strange that Melissa kept Ribeta even after the family collapsed.

An unavoidable fate that could strike at any time had simply become reality now.

Ribeta silently followed the man, washed her body in cold water, and changed clothes. It was a fluttering dress so sheer you could see right through it. The clothing that revealed her silhouette completely wasn’t meant to cover her body. It was meant to provoke the desires of the customers who visited this place.

“Now that you’re cleaned up, you’re even better than expected.”

The man scanned Ribeta from head to toe and chuckled. Ribeta lowered her eyes. The disgusting gaze made her stomach churn. The man pulled on the chain connected to her handcuffs with great satisfaction.

“Let’s go. The guests are waiting eagerly for you.”

※※※

“Do it properly. Unless you want to see something ugly.”

The man shoved Ribeta’s back. Just before the blackout curtain opened, Ribeta opened her mouth. A thin needle and bright red drops of blood fell onto her palm.

Swallowing the faint taste of blood from her mouth, she stepped out beyond the curtain.

The chandelier hanging from the dizzyingly high ceiling boasted a massive size she had never seen in her life. Brilliant light reflected off the crystals and spread in all directions. However, because the ceiling was so high and the chandelier was the only direct lighting, the interior was shrouded in dim darkness.

The air was damp and heavy. And an artificial fragrance wafted through.

The darkness surrounding her felt ominous. Because dozens of eyes were silently staring at Ribeta from within the darkness. The eyes gleaming with faint light were closer to those of beasts than humans.

“Why are you just standing there! Do you want to die? Move forward.”

The sly-looking man from before barked at her from behind. Ribeta looked at the narrow path spread out before her.

The stage where slaves were placed had quite a unique structure. There was the typical rectangular stage where Ribeta currently stood, and a path extending long from that stage. That path connected to a small circular stage prepared in the middle of the auction participants.

The circular stage, barely big enough for two people to stand side by side, had no bars or railings. It meant that if customers wanted, they could reach out and touch the slaves at any time.

Did she want to die? It was the opposite. She wasn’t going because she didn’t want to die. It was all too clear what kind of end she would meet if she was sold to people with eyes like that.

The infamy of Lerrbatia that she had only heard about through word of mouth until now hit her skin directly.

Just how many slaves had been sold from this place, used cruelly, and disappeared without a trace?

She had the illusion that lives and deaths that no one remembered or could remember were pulling at her feet.

“Today’s star seems to be quite shy. However, it’s still too early to be disappointed. Where is this? This is Lerrbatia, isn’t it?”

The host popped out from the side of the stage. Wearing a black jacket, pants, and bow tie, the host looked like a proper butler on the outside. It was one of Lerrbatia’s sales tactics to create a luxurious atmosphere.

“This slave, you see, tried to seduce the fiancé of the Miss who had cared for her all her life. Relying on her beautiful face and soft body, you see.”

“Oh my. How shameless.”