The long war had finally come to an end.

Passed down from parents to their children and then to their children in turn, it had been an unbearably long war, but at last it had reached its conclusion.

The day the messenger bearing news of victory crossed the city gates was the day the trumpets of triumph sounded.

The day their families, friends and neighbors finally returned home.

People poured into the streets and cheered.

“The wretched war is finally over!”

“Victory is ours!”

“Our families are coming home. They’re coming home!”

Colorful flags, skillfully crafted by the women, adorned the sky, and the sound of people cheering filled the air.

Those who had returned embraced their families, whom they had missed even in their dreams, and cried; those who had waited for them cried even harder.

It was a day when everyone laughed and cried together, sharing in the overwhelming joy.

Everyone except a select few.

Thud!

The small body, struck squarely by the kick, went flying.

As though she did not want to be hit again, she curled up into a tight ball, but it was futile.

The vicious blows struck her back.

“Tsk. You won’t come to your senses, not until you’re dead.”

A gaunt man clicked his tongue, a cheap pipe clenched between his lips.

The beating continued for a long time. It was only when those administering it had grown exhausted and begun to pant that the gaunt man finally waved his hand to stop it.

“Enough.”

The men stopped beating her, wiped their foreheads and took a step back.

It was only then that the woman curled up on the ground came fully into view.

She had a small, frail frame, worn-out clothes that looked as though they would tear at any moment, and shoes with soles that had almost come off.

Her hair was hopelessly tangled and covered in ash and dust, obscuring its original color.

“…….”

As the man looked at her, he drew so deeply on his pipe that his cheeks hollowed.

When he approached with his usual swaggering gait, the woman trembled and curled herself even tighter.

“Hey.”

The man grabbed the woman by the face, forcing her to raise her arms above her head.

As expected, her face was covered in ash and dust beneath her hair.

Her eyes remained tightly shut, forced upwards along with her face.

She truly was a filthy, grubby woman.

‘No. That’s not it.’

On closer inspection, it became clear that the girl was even more striking than she had initially seemed.

She had delicate features, full lips, and long eyelashes covered in dust.

If only that thick layer of ash and dirt could be washed away, her fair skin would be revealed.

But it was her eyes that drew people’s attention more than anything else.

“…….”

Her dazzling blue eyes.

The man smiled around his pipe when he saw the blue eyes revealed beneath her long lashes.

“Hey, hey. Our little Let.”

Grinning wide enough to reveal his yellowed teeth, the man kept a rough grip on the face of the woman he had called Let and shook her violently.

Let’s face contorted in pain.

“Why did you say you wouldn’t go?”

Her small, full lips moved as though she were trying to say something, but the man waved his hand before she could speak.

“Ah, it’s obvious. So obvious. It’s because that old geezer Barodon replaces his woman every year, isn’t it? Hm?”

The man’s words came out slightly muffled around the pipe between his lips.

“But you see, we’ve spent quite a bit of money raising you all this time. Want to hear how much? Hm? Do you?”

“…I.”

Let’s lips moved as she struggled to force out the words.

“I’ve already paid back almost all of it. All the money I earned while working at the inn….”

“What is this girl babbling about?”

Hahahaha!

Laughter erupted from all around them.

The man in particular clutched his stomach and laughed, not even noticing that the pipe had fallen from his mouth.

“Hey.”

The man picked up the pipe from the ground and placed it back between his lips.

“That was just pocket change. Pocket change! I’m telling you, it wasn’t even enough to pay for all the food you shoved in your face!”

“……!”

“Honestly, who comes to stay at an inn in these slums? That’s why your wages were mere pocket change, and the money you paid back was mere pocket change too.”

The man grinned slyly.

“But the debt you owe is no small sum.”

“That can’t….”

“Everything you’ve paid up to now was for that.” You know what I mean, the interest. Do you even know what ‘interest’ means, Let?”

Tap, tap.

This time, the man seized her by the hair and struck her head in a sickeningly casual manner.

“So now it’s time to repay the debt itself, isn’t it? You only think otherwise because you don’t know any better. All the women he cast aside are living happily in some faraway country. Every last one of them.”

“…….”

“And listen. If you charm the old man properly for one year, the position of his lawful wife will be yours. You’ll become Baroness Barodon!”

It was a lie.

Although she was born and raised in the slums and was illiterate and unable to count, she knew his words were false.

Wasn’t she the first to witness Baron Barodon’s servants disposing of a body deep within the slums a year ago?

“That old man Barodon chose you this time. You, Let.”

Madness gleamed in the man’s eyes as he barked at her.

“The truth is, he told me to bring you to him when you were even younger, but you see, this great Ben still had something called a conscience. That’s why I raised you until you reached this age.”

That was also a lie.

He had probably kept haggling over her price until they finally reached an agreement.

“Do you know what old man Barodon promised me? Do you? He said he’d get me—this great Ben—out of these slums!”

Ben’s eyes gleamed as he lost himself in his fantasy.

“I’m finally going to escape these slums. My glorious new life is about to begin…!”

Let was disgusted by Ben, who sought to fulfill his own dreams by sacrificing someone else.

Her face twisted with revulsion.

“So you’re going!”

“……!”

She did not even have time to scream.

Still clutching her hair, Ben strode forward.

“You’re going to Barodon! Then you and I—both of us—can escape these wretched slums!”

“L-Let go of me! Please, let me go!”

Let struggled desperately, but it was no use.

One of her shoes slipped off and rolled across the ground.

“Get everything ready, boys!”

“Yes!”

As though they had been waiting for his instruction, the men who had attacked Let returned carrying something.

It was a box that could barely fit one person inside.

Ben often used this method when dealing with people in the slums.

Once she was inside, it would all be over.

When she opened her eyes again, she would be inside Barodon’s estate.

Let’s face turned deathly pale.

She gritted her teeth.

Still holding her by the hair, Ben forced her to stand up. She sank her teeth into his arm.

“Aaargh!”

The moment Ben let go of her, she ran off in the opposite direction.

There was no hope of escaping.

She knew that.

But she still had to run.

Even if there was no hope, she wanted to live.

“You b*tch!”

Because she truly wanted to live.

“Got you!”

Her body was wrenched backwards.

Determined not to be dragged away, she dug her nails into the soil.

Her nails broke, allowing the soil to burrow beneath them.

It was futile.

Her body was dragged into the box in an instant — bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of nails being hammered echoed above her head.

They were sealing the lid.

There was no way she could escape.

They want to ensure that she is delivered to Barodon safely.

‘I don’t want this!’

Let thrashed wildly inside the box.

She swung her hands at anything within reach and kicked at anything her feet struck.

“Quit making such a damned fuss!”

Thud!

The man hammering the nails kicked the box violently.

The box toppled onto its side with a deafening crash.

As they had not finished hammering in the nails, some of Let’s body spilled through the gap beneath the half-open lid.

There was only one problem.

“Ugh….”

She had hit her head hard on the ground.

Her head spun and she felt nauseous.

She was outside the box.

She had to escape, even if it meant crawling.

But all she could do was dig her fingertips into the dirt and scrape at the ground weakly.

“Did she pass out?”

“She’s still conscious.”

The voices seemed to come from nearby, yet at the same time, they sounded impossibly far away.

“Maybe she’ll finally behave herself now.”

The man who had kicked the box moments earlier shook his head.

He pushed the fallen body of Let into the box and continued hammering in the nails.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of the hammer reverberating inside the cramped box mingled with the cheers of people celebrating the war’s end.

Her ears began to ring.

‘I’m scared….’

Tears blurred her vision.

She was terrified.

She didn’t want to die.

It felt so terribly unfair.

In the end, she would never escape the slums.

She would die here without ever finding her parents.

‘I don’t want to.’

Tears streamed down her face without stopping.

‘I want to live….’

It was then that the hammering stopped.

As though by coincidence, the cheering also abruptly fell silent.

Amid the silence, an unfamiliar voice rang out clearly.

“What’s this? You seem to be doing something suspicious.”

It was a voice she had never heard in the slums before.

Then came Ben’s voice, sounding as though he had frozen in place.

“…What brings the knights to a place like this?”

“We’re looking for someone.”

“You’re looking for someone in these slums?”

Another unfamiliar voice.

Let blinked, barely managing to remain conscious.

Could this be her chance?

A chance to escape from here?

‘Keep your mouth shut.’

Her eyes met Ben’s through the gap.

He held his smoking pipe in one hand.

It looked as though it had just been lit, with red embers glowing fiercely inside the bowl.

The tip of the pipe was aimed directly at her blue eye.

It was a warning to stay where she was, unless she wanted to be blinded.

“…….”

Covering her mouth, Let nodded.

Only then did Ben turn away, seemingly reassured.

“Please save me!”

Bang, bang, bang!

Let immediately began pounding frantically against the lid of the box.

“What was that?”

“Help me! There’s someone—a person is trapped in here!”

“You little b*tch…!”

After that, everything descended into chaos.

Something hot struck her face, the box shook violently, and curses and cheers filled the air. Screams so piercing that they seemed to tear through her ears accompanied sound after sound.

The last thing she heard was—

Crack.

The sound of something being torn away.

‘Ah.’

Let strained to see what lay beyond her fading vision.

She saw a person.

Someone with black hair….

If it was not Ben, perhaps this person might help her.

“…Help… me.”

She needed to speak, but she was struggling to breathe and her words were breaking apart.

Suddenly, her body was lifted into the air.

Only then could she see her surroundings.

People dressed in smart clothes unlike anything found in the slums stared at her in shock.

“Aaaaargh! A person! A person came out! Sir Knight! Sir Kniiight!”

“You’re a knight too! Calm down!”

That was all Let could comprehend.

Now free from the box, Let gasped for breath and clung desperately to the person who had pulled her out.

“P-Please… help me.”

Tears were streaming down her face again.

Her head spun.

Afraid that the person holding her might hand her back to Ben, Let tightened her arms around their neck.

“Please… Please save me….”

“…….”

The person holding her said nothing.

That made her even more frightened.

What if this person abandoned her?

What if they left her behind?

“……!”

So when the arms holding her loosened, Let recoiled in terror.

“It’s all right.”

Then, a warm voice spoke and an outer garment was draped over her.

She stared blankly at the edge of the garment covering her.

It was a shade of white that she had never seen in the slums before.

She longed to touch the fabric.

But she didn’t have the strength, so she could only stare at its hem.

A large hand gently patted her on the back.

The touch was so warm that she blinked slowly.

“You’re safe now.”

Was she?

“From now on, I’ll protect you.”

‘I see.’

‘I’m safe now.’

That was her final thought.

Let helplessly closed her eyes.