-11-

After leaving the duke’s mansion, I thought about the location of the slave market mentioned in the original story.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t very far from where the noble families resided. This was because those with the wealth and status to buy slaves were mostly nobles. The market was located in a secluded spot not far from the bustling commercial area of the capital. It was the kind of place you would pass by if you didn’t know about it, but once you knew, it was hard to miss.

After walking for a while, I reached the streets of the capital.

As expected of a place where commerce thrived, there were high-end shops lined up. Merchants were out touting their wares, and people were browsing the goods. I even saw noblewomen out for a stroll with their maids, shielding themselves from the sun.

Laughter and chatter from restaurants filled the air. It was a bright and lively scene with no trace of darkness. It was hard to imagine a slave market being nearby.

Wearing the robe here might make me look more suspicious, so I decided not to wear the hood and instead showed my face. From what I remembered, the slave market was in an alley between shops selling fine fabrics.

To enter, I had to say a passphrase. What was it again?

‘Looking for a frog.’

It was a silly passphrase, but that was indeed the one. Why were they looking for a frog? I really wanted to ask the person who came up with it why they chose that.

Did they like frogs?

I was walking past the shops selling clothes now. There should be some fabric shops around here too.

“Hey there, pretty Miss! Want to buy some clothes?”

An older woman, presumably the shop owner, called out to me.

She called me ‘miss.’ Hoho. It seems Delis doesn’t look like a married woman.

Or is it because of my attire? Dressed in comfortable clothes with just a robe thrown over and my current disheveled appearance from crawling through that hole, I certainly didn’t look like a noblewoman.

I decided to ask her where I could find the fabric shops.

“Excuse me, do you know where I can find shops that sell fabric?”

“Fabric? Just turn left at the end of this alley.”

“Oh, thank you!”

I finally found it! As I turned to leave, the woman grabbed my sleeve.

“Miss, don’t just leave. Buy something. The quality here is excellent. I assure you it’s as good as what nobles use.”

Indeed, the fabric didn’t seem bad. Since I had obtained valuable information, it felt only right to buy something. I thought it would be polite and looked around the shop.

I saw gloves neatly arranged on the shelves. It might be nice to buy Rohan a pair as a gift since I was already here. His birthday was coming up soon. I could give him the gloves along with the sword.

I turned my attention to the men’s gloves. A pair of black leather gloves adorned with dark blue jewels caught my eye. They seemed perfect for Rohan. Just as I was about to pick them up,

Thud.

“?”

Another hand, not mine, landed on the gloves. I turned to see a man staring at me.

He had violet eyes and light gray hair, an unusual combination. Having lived 19 years seeing only black hair and black eyes, I still wasn’t used to such colors.

He was quite handsome. To me, he seemed to be the third most handsome after Rohan and the crown prince. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Miss, I’ve taken a liking to these gloves after a long time. Could you pick another pair?”

He smiled politely, but it didn’t sound very polite.

It was a charming young man’s smile. Judging by his slick smile, I could imagine other women would have been easily swayed in this situation.

The annoying part was that he seemed to know that too. His words carried the certainty that I would give up. He was simply saying it politely. No way.

“Sorry, but I also really like these. Could you let me have them?”

His expression changed slightly, as if he hadn’t expected me to refuse.

Both our hands still rested on the gloves.

“Hmm. If I let you have them, what will you do for me?”

Hah, this was almost extortion. How does giving up something become a favor? It was absurd.

“Giving up something isn’t done expecting something in return.”

I smiled sweetly. Then I looked at the shop owner, who seemed tense.

“Do you have another pair of these gloves?”

“There’s only one pair of that particular design….”

The woman said regretfully. In that case, there was no way I was giving them up to this extortionist.

I must buy these gloves. I felt my determination burning. Then he spoke curiously.

“But these gloves are for men, aren’t they? Why are you buying them?”

“I’m buying them as a gift for my husband.”

“Oh, I see. You’re not a miss but a Duchess.”

He sounded slightly surprised again.

“Yes. It’s his birthday soon, and I want to celebrate it. Can’t you let me have them for that reason?”

Though I doubted it would work, I tried appealing to his emotions.

“Hmm. I prefer hindering lovers rather than helping them.”

As expected, my emotional appeal didn’t work at all. I could sense a bit of insanity in him.

“So, what do I have to do to get you to give this to me?”

I decided to negotiate with him. His violet eyes twinkled slightly as I spoke.

“I would like to know your name.”

My name? Why would he suddenly ask for my name? Could it be…

“I’m a married woman, you know.”

“I know. I’m simply curious about the name of the charming lady in front of me. Is that not allowed?”

He said it as if it were nothing. Ahem. I felt like I had jumped to conclusions for no reason.

Frankly, giving him my name was quite a cheap condition.

However, telling him my full name would reveal my identity. Since I didn’t look like a noble at the moment, I could just give him part of it.

“Del.”

I wasn’t lying; it was a shortened version of my name.

“Del, is it?”

He repeated my name and then smiled slyly.

“Since you’ve told me your name, I’ll hand over the gloves.”

‘Obtained the gloves!’

It felt like a message had popped up in front of me.

I felt as if I had accomplished a mission.

“Thank you!”

I expressed my gratitude and paid for the gloves. I also asked the lady to wrap them up nicely. I left the shop, holding the wrapped gloves preciously.

It was time to meet the dwarf. Just as I turned left at the corner of the alley,

-Thud.

“Ugh.”

A boy with a dirty appearance bumped into me and fell over.

I staggered slightly but regained my balance.

“Are you…”

Before I could finish asking if he was okay, the boy sprang up and ran away.

He had fallen quite hard, I thought, as I turned left at the corner. Just as the lady had said, there were many shops selling fabric.

I carefully examined the spaces between the shops.

Then, I saw a faint dark red light in the distance. I had a feeling it was there. I walked into the narrow alley between the shops.

The red light grew stronger. It was coming from a semi-transparent window on a rough-looking wooden door. I pulled the hood of my robe over my head and knocked.

“Who is it?”

A rough-sounding male voice came from inside.

This was the moment to use the passphrase. Ribbit ribbit.

“I’m here to find a frog.”

-Creak.

The door opened with a rough sound.

A large man, presumably the owner of the voice, stood there.

He was simply brawny. His arm was almost thicker than my thigh. I was slightly intimidated but didn’t show it.

“What are you looking for?”

‘What’ he said. None of the slaves were inanimate objects, yet he referred to them as such. I decided to call him Brawny, at least in my head.

“A dwarf.”

Brawny’s eyes changed slightly.

“That’s still confidential. Please follow me to a room.”

The interior was quite luxurious, contrasting with the rough exterior.

It didn’t seem inferior to a noble’s reception room.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Brawny left the room after saying that. I exhaled the breath I had been holding. I couldn’t believe I had made it this far.

After a while, a slim man entered the room with Brawny.

“Hello. You’re looking for a dwarf?”

He spoke smoothly, trying to appease me.

“Yes.”

“But it’s not yet tamed. It’s a rather tricky one.”

“That’s fine. I can pay any amount.”

His small eyes sparkled at my words.

“You should know it’s very difficult to capture one. They’re a species that hides well. As you may already know, ha ha.”

“I understand, but I’d like to see the dwarf first.”

Though I trusted them, it wouldn’t do if they just took the money and ran off.

“Understood. However, it’s still being tamed, so its appearance might be a bit rough. But you’re not buying it for its looks, are you?”

He gave a meaningful look to Brawny, who smiled with his eyes.

“So, how much are you willing to pay?”

“Name your price first.”

“How about 300 gold?”

Three hundred gold. For an average commoner, it was an amount they could never touch in their lifetime. It far exceeded their yearly living expenses.

But I had come prepared with plenty of money. Selling just a few of the valuables I had brought with me would easily cover that amount.

“As you know, selling the weapons they make would yield even more profit. It’s not a loss for you.”

“Fine. Let’s make the transaction here and now.”

“Very well.”

There was a noise outside the door.

“It seems they’ve arrived.”

Brawny entered with the dwarf in tow.

The moment I saw the dwarf, I was shocked. The dwarf, shackled and tightly bound, looked to be less than a meter tall. But that wasn’t what surprised me.

Remembering the novel’s description of the dwarf’s poor condition, I had expected it to be in bad shape.

However, seeing it in person was much worse. The dwarf’s long red beard was mostly plucked out, and its body was covered in severe whip marks. There were even burn marks, likely from fire.

Was this what they did to tame it? The men in front of me no longer looked human. Slimy Smiley spoke with a nasty grin.

“Well then, since we’ve brought the dwarf, show us the money.”

I reached into my robe.

…Huh? I couldn’t find the pouch of valuables.

What’s going on? I reached deeper, searching thoroughly, but there was nothing.

Maybe I put it on the other side. I checked there, but all I found were the gloves I had bought for Roan.

This can’t be happening. As panic set in, a scene flashed through my mind.

The boy who had bumped into me and then ran off.

…Did I get pickpocketed?

I tried to deny it, but the hopeless situation made it clear that this was reality.

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep breath and spoke as politely as I could.

“It seems I’ve lost my money. Can I pay on credit?”

“?”

Both Brawny and Slimy Smiley looked at me as if I had just spouted nonsense. I realized how absurd my request sounded. But I had no other options.

“So, you’re saying you don’t have the money right now?”

Slimy Smiley’s tone suddenly turned curt. Hey, you can’t just judge people based on their wealth.

Of course, I only said that to myself.

“I noticed you came without a carriage or escorts. Who are you? Who sent you here?”

I came here through the novel’s plot. But saying that would only make things worse, so I kept my mouth shut.

“If you weren’t introduced, you wouldn’t know the password. Something’s fishy.”

Brawny suddenly approached me.

Feeling a threat to my life, I instinctively grabbed the artifact necklace.

“What’s that?”