While trying to calm my rough breathing, I gritted my teeth.

‘……No, it’s possible others weren’t killed by the Askun either.’

If someone had disguised themselves as Askun to attack that inn, they must have been unspeakably cruel. There were dozens of bodies from that inn alone. It meant they had killed dozens of uninvolved people for their purpose.

What could have been the reason for attacking the inn so brutally?

As I frantically racked my brain, a chilling thought struck me. It felt as if all the blood had drained from my body at once. I focused my eyes and raised my voice.

‘Nix. I need to see the bodies. Let’s go to the guard station right now. Maya, bring my coat.’

‘What?’

As I pressed Maya, she hurriedly gathered my coat without understanding why. The bewildered Nix tried to stop me, waving his hands.

‘Miss, you cannot enter such a place. Why would you want to go to such a dangerous place?’

‘Because there’s someone I need to find! Perhaps there, in that place……!’

That person might be there.

The reason the count had carried out such a violent attack while disguised as barbarians.

The reason the prince, who had never done such a thing before, had urgently sent someone to notify the merchant group.

‘I just came to rest for a while. An enormous drunk moved into the room next to mine at the inn. I haven’t slept for two days.’

Lars had been staying at that inn.

When this thought occurred to me, I lost my senses. Brook and Nix rushed to restrain me as I began to struggle.

‘No matter how much money we feed them, they will never let you in. They have never allowed a noblewoman into a morgue in the history of Edmus! Besides, those who handle corpses believe in the God of Death. They believe that letting a woman in breaks the barrier that blinds the eyes of the Death God!’

Sensing that their strong arms wouldn’t easily release me, I finally caught my breath. Then, after watching Nix carefully and waiting long enough for him to back away, I grabbed my hair and struck it down with something I pulled from my chest. With a tearing sound, long silver hair fell to the floor.

‘Will this work?’

Staring at Brook and Nix, who were so surprised their eyes showed white, I threw down the handful of hair. The short-cut hair tickled the nape of my neck.

‘If I’m not the lady of a baron’s family but a servant who does menial tasks.’

‘Ah, Mi……’

‘Maya. Bring men’s clothes. I’m going out now.’

After signaling to Maya, I spoke sharply to Nix.

‘Even if it means dying there, I’m going to check. So help me, Nix.’

I intended to go there even if Nix wouldn’t accompany me. I was determined to confirm it, even if it meant spending all the money I had gathered through the merchant group. Without doing so, I felt I couldn’t live a single minute or second in my right mind.

Perhaps reading my determination, a light of resignation crossed Nix’s eyes. Only after putting on a hat and smearing soot on my face with the help of Maya and Brook was I able to go to the city’s morgue.

It had an atmosphere similar to a prison, but it was much heavier and darker. Not only was there no sign of the living, but the presence of the dead overwhelmed the space.

It felt as if the deceased would rise with curses if one breathed too loudly, disturbing their rest. Even the sound of wind passing between the bricks didn’t seem ordinary.

Suppressed by the fear of death and its absolute inevitability, I stood behind Nix. The morgue keepers were very slurred in their speech from alcohol. Anyone would find it hard to endure without alcohol if they had to stay in this place all day.

‘I’d like to check if there’s someone I know.’

Knowing their nature well, Nix first offered a bottle of liquor from the merchant group. It was a premium distilled spirit imported from the duchy, available only by special order, limiting who could taste it.

The eyes of the keeper, who had been indistinguishable from the dead, momentarily lit up. Though drooling, he cleared his throat while keeping his distance. His phlegmy voice echoed through the eerie space.

‘What’s with coming in the middle of the night like this? Follow the proper procedures, fill out the paperwork, and come back. Anyway, if the person you’re looking for isn’t family, you can’t see……’

‘I brought a whole case.’

At Nix’s words, color returned to the keeper’s dark face. He rubbed his hands together and smacked his lips.

‘What do you need? Want to see the list of personal effects? Though anything valuable was already picked up by the guards, so not much remains.’

‘I just need to check the bodies.’

‘Wait.’

As I followed Nix, who was walking indifferently, the keeper suddenly blocked my way. With my face hidden by a hat and my lower face covered, I widened my eyes. I was prepared to knock him down and tie him up if necessary.

In the tense silence, the keeper looked at me with drowsy eyes and eventually frowned.

‘Is there any need to bring a child?’

‘If you don’t like the liquor, I can take it back.’

‘No, no, why such unkind words? Go in and see.’

After swallowing a sigh, I entered with my nerves on edge. Then I stood frozen at the sight before me.

There was no remaining ember, yet the acrid smell filled the air. This smell, mixed with the unique dampness of the underground morgue, was incomparably nauseating.

I had to cover my mouth to prevent vomiting. My fingertips were trembling slightly.

‘Only those with at least some remains of their bodies are here; the rest are still at the scene. Most are just ashes, and anyway, most don’t have families to claim them.’

The keeper clicked his tongue briefly, then sprinkled some alcohol on his finger toward the bodies while reciting a prayer. Then, watching him greedily s*ck his finger, I gritted my teeth and suppressed the urge to vomit.

Though my stomach churned, I still needed to check. Since few bodies had intact faces, I had to examine arms, legs, and clothing, which took a long time.

In the end, I couldn’t find any trace of Lars there, but that was like opening a new gate to hell. Lars might be alive, or he might have already turned to ashes. Above all, there was no way to confirm this.

I immediately dispatched people to comb through the inn floor like searching for lice. If he had burned in the fire, the perfume bottle I had given him would remain.

Expecting someone might have picked it up, I also inquired at the guard station and jewelry shops, offering a large reward. Though all kinds of junk came in, none was the perfume bottle.

Despite frantically searching for months like a madwoman, I couldn’t find an answer. I had no choice but to believe he was alive. Though there was no evidence anywhere, I simply chose to believe it.

Because without that belief, I couldn’t endure.

“……Miss. Are you listening to me?”

“Did you hit your head somewhere? How many times is this now? Hmm? Has hunger made you lose your mind?”

At the gruff voice that rather forcefully pulled back my drifting thoughts, I looked up. Then I responded to Tom, who was waving his fingers in front of me.

“There are a hundred. When did you grow so many fingers?”

Tom growled, baring his teeth again, and I shrugged my shoulders and looked around. The situation had already been resolved.

Recently, there had been an increase in people who bought others cheaply using poverty as leverage and then sold them as servants or slaves. Such people had always existed, but the current behavior was different in that it was organized.

Though it wasn’t our concern, there was quite an interesting rumor. That the Folluk merchant group was behind it. The story was that after their trade income with the Freemont duchy decreased because of us, they had turned to human trafficking as a new source of income while under Count Balshwin’s protection.

Indeed, Folluk had recently regained its momentum. They must have found a new source of money. While keeping an eye on them, I happened to overhear people transporting humans talking in a tavern while handling merchant group business with Tom in another region.

Knowing my obsession with anything related to Balshwin, Tom cautiously suggested gathering more people first and thinking about what to do.

‘But you heard them. They’re leaving this village tonight. We don’t know when we’ll encounter them again.’

‘Think about it, Miss. We came here to do business, not to investigate that merchant group. Even if we catch them without a plan, they won’t tell the truth. Let’s have someone follow them and make plans after we finish our business here.’

Having worked together for years, Tom had learned much about me, but there were still things he didn’t understand. Especially that I preferred to act myself rather than wait patiently and use others like limbs.

Unable to sleep that night, I saw them loading a few new people into the carriage at dawn and quickly slipped in among them. It was a good opportunity to find out where they were going and what they were talking about.

I wasn’t particularly scared. The only thing I feared was Tom, who would go berserk after finding just a note left behind in the morning and chase after me.

After several days, his face when we finally met was exactly as I had imagined, almost to the point of being welcome. With that thought, I inadvertently smiled, and Tom glared at me. I subtly turned my head to look at the women and children descending from the carriage compartment with dazed expressions.

“So, was there any benefit to causing this trouble?”

Tom approached, still looking displeased. I nodded slightly and said,

“They’re meeting a broker in Niagar village tomorrow. We just need to confirm if they’re from the Folluk merchant group.”