“Be careful with that one. She’s got quite the temper. Looking all fair and delicate, I thought she must’ve been raised nobly, even if not nobility, but she knocked out the jaw of some guy who was pestering her first thing in the morning.”

“So that’s why he was walking around like that. Serves him right. I was thinking of teaching him a lesson anyway since he keeps messing with the merchandise.”

Ir walked on, listening to the men’s snickering conversation.

At first, she had considered refusing to go and putting up resistance, but she quickly changed her mind.

‘If I don’t act docile, they’ll probably drug me.’

So Ir deliberately pretended to still be unwell, staggering slowly as she followed their lead.

“This is today’s last merchandise, right?”

One of the men said while stroking Ir’s back. His hand slowly crept around her waist, exploring. Though the touch filled with sticky lust was disgusting, Ir kept her head down and continued following the men.

“Of course. We haven’t had anything this good lately. This one will definitely sell for a high price. Besides, we have someone important coming today, so we can expect good things.”

“You always say that, but when have you ever brought a proper customer?”

When one sneered with those words, the one who had spoken of high expectations burst out angrily.

“Today is different! A member of the imperial family is coming!”

“Imperial family?”

Even Ir looked up at him in surprise at those words. Pleased with everyone’s reaction, the man continued with a smug expression.

“Yeah. You know that one royal who still can’t let go of the Holy Sword and keeps coming here often? The one who keeps ordering to dig up the cave.”

“Ah, that person.”

The other men nodded in agreement at the mention of still searching for the Holy Sword.

‘Who could it be?’

It had been 6 months since the cave collapsed. Who among the imperial family was still so obsessed with finding the Holy Sword that they visited frequently? Ir tried to think of which royal she knew would be this fixated on the Holy Sword.

…There were too many possibilities.

“Anyway, isn’t that royal the richest person around here right now? So I deliberately asked the cave diggers to spread rumors. Told them to say there’s an exceptional woman being sold – black hair, purple eyes, snow-white skin, perfect for the bedroom. Seems like it reached that royal’s ears too. I heard they came running as soon as they heard the rumor, eager to participate in today’s auction.”

“So even the mighty royal comes running, drooling at the thought of a lay.”

“What difference does being royal make? If anything, they’re even more enthusiastic about it. The Emperor has 19 children, they say. Even my house dog doesn’t have that many pups.”

These were treasonous words that would warrant immediate execution in the Empire. But Ir silently agreed with the men’s words. Not just the royals, but the nobles too – their debauchery was nothing new.

‘Still, a royal coming all the way here to buy women.’

Who could it be? As Ir tried to guess, she swallowed a sigh. Again, there were far too many possibilities.

***

Though she thought they would take her straight to the auction house, the men handed her over in some room. Inside were men and women dressed in clothes so revealing it was hard to tell if they were dressed or n*ked.

“They said something amazing was coming today, and this is it? No wonder they spread rumors.”

The people inside whistled and took charge of Ir, immediately starting to wash her. The person wiping Ir’s body with soft cloth touched various parts of her body in wonder while muttering.

“I’ve never seen such flawless skin before.”

“Right? Miss, are you nobility? Or were you perhaps raised underground in some back alley?”

They were genuinely amazed. No matter how well-bred someone is, by this age, their body would show traces of their lived experience. But strangely, her skin was white and there wasn’t even a single freckle on her face.

“It’s like she was just born.”

When someone said that, Ir quietly looked at them. If the Holy Sword had made her this way, those words were accurate. Feeling awkward under Ir’s gaze, the person who had spoken forced an uncomfortable smile and spoke.

“That’s just a saying. Let’s hurry up. They say an important guest has come, so we need to dress her up well enough to fetch a high price.”

After washing Ir’s body, they brought out some thin scraps of cloth from inside.

“Wonder what clothes would look best.”

They called them clothes, but to Ir’s eyes, they were so see-through they might as well have been dragonfly wings.

“It’s no fun if everything shows, so we should cover just enough.”

Was this their idea of being considerate? Ir swallowed her rising disgust and quietly submitted to their hands. There was no point in being defiant until the right moment came. Besides, this wasn’t even shameful.

Ir had been raised as a knight since she could walk. For a knight, shame came from defeat, not from exposing one’s body.

‘Though it’s not exactly comfortable wearing something like this….’

It was rather ridiculous to be wearing clothes that clearly catered to perverted tastes. If her comrades saw her like this, she would have wanted to die. But all those comrades who would have laughed themselves to death at the sight of her were already dead.

‘Everyone…’

Ir bit her lip hard to keep her mind from clouding with anger.

She would willingly become an object of ridicule. She could even dance n*ked. If only it could bring her comrades back to life, she would do anything.

Making impossible wishes, Ir quietly accepted the touches of the people handling her.

***

As soon as the grooming was finished, Ir was dragged somewhere else by the men. As the path gradually widened and the surroundings grew more noisy, it seemed they were heading to the auction house.

‘I knew there was an auction house that sold people in Lagash, but I never thought I’d come here myself.’

Lagash was the land where the Holy Sword was discovered and the center of the continent, a primordial land that no country could claim ownership of.

This place, said to be where all lands began, had extremely complex and rough terrain. After the kingdom that ruled this place collapsed several hundred years ago, surrounding countries waged long wars over the ownership of Lagash. But in the end, no kingdom could win, and this land remained ungoverned for a long time.

As a result, those who couldn’t live in their own countries flowed into this land before anyone else. Over time, Lagash became a lawless zone where all sorts of crimes flourished.

‘If this were the Empire, we would have burned this place down already, you bastards.’

As a knight of the Empire, anger welled up inside her at the sight of these humans shamelessly buying and selling people. Ir continued walking while vowing that she would eventually burn this place down, no matter when that might be.

‘Should I escape on the way? Or wait until we reach the Empire?’

Even if she escaped, it wouldn’t be the end. First, she would need to return to the imperial palace, but how could she prove she was a knight of the 9th Knight Order looking like this?

‘Whether I can escape in the first place is also a problem.’

In her original body, escaping from a place like this would have been nothing. She had confidence in breaking through any obstacles with just a sword, able to move for days without tiring. But with this body?

‘I’d be caught within an hour, let alone a day.’

More like within 10 minutes, not even an hour. Besides, even if she got a weapon, this body couldn’t use it properly. And above all…

‘I stand out too much in a completely different way.’

Before, people would have stared, thinking a monster was passing by, but now if she went out alone, everyone would try to catch her like an ownerless livestock.

‘It would be fortunate if they just tried to sell me like these guys, but most wouldn’t.’

It wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen to those who were weak, powerless, and beautiful.

While Ir continued pondering, they had reached the end of the corridor.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Another man attached a rope to Ir’s bound hands and pulled her like a dog. Climbing the stairs behind the high platform, a dark space appeared before Ir’s eyes.

The auction house kept lights only on the platform while keeping the area where the customers sat completely dark, making it difficult to see those who were seated. Instead, tremendous noise erupted from the moment Ir appeared.

Whistles, applause, loud voices demanding she be stripped, screaming claims of having raised their hands first.

Amidst the vulgar sounds, Ir narrowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness as she scanned the shadows where the customers sat.

‘Where are they?’

The men were confident about selling her to a royal. In fact, Ir was hoping for that too. Better a royal than some strange noble. Of course, she wasn’t counting on their morality.

‘They probably wouldn’t believe me if I told them who I am, but they might listen if I bring up the Holy Sword.’

This royal still comes here searching for the Holy Sword. Then there might be some possibility.

Ir mentally went through the royals she knew. Every single one she thought of was someone who made her sigh. But there was exactly one royal who could be helpful in this situation.

‘The problem is, they’re someone who would never come to a place like this.’

The only direct royal who had no interest in the Holy Sword. Also someone who would never come to buy women.

As Ir was regretting the impossibility of that person’s presence while turning her eyes back to the darkness, someone walked out of the shadows and onto the platform.

They immediately approached Ir and grabbed her chin. Deep blue eyes stared directly into Ir’s eyes. Then they spoke.

“How much for this woman?”

Ir stared at the man who had come up in shock.

The man asking about her price was Nergal, someone she had never thought would be in a place like this.