“Are you Alice? The daughter of this house? I heard you were sold into slavery… Did you pay off your debt by selling your body? It would be difficult to return this quickly with a slave’s wages.”
The man’s eyes slithered over Alice’s body like a snake. Goosebumps rose all over her skin.
‘I should have accepted Lord Connor’s offer…!’
She couldn’t turn back time. And Connor, who had already left in his carriage, wouldn’t appear now to save her.
Although this was Viscount Cook’s territory, they were quite far from the viscount’s mansion.
Alice darted her eyes around, looking for a way to escape. The skinny man covered her eyes and extended his long tongue to lick her cheek.
“Just tell us if you’re a virgin or not. We need to know to set your price, okay?”
“…I am.”
“Tell us with your own mouth before we check by taking off your pants.”
“Huh.”
It was a horrifying statement. The fat man sucked on his fingers with loud smacking sounds.
“If she’s not a virgin, can I have her once right here?”
“That’s fine, but you can’t leave any marks. What if she resists?”
“Hehe… I have my ways.”
The fat man fondled the front of his pants. His thick, hard member jutted forward like an animal in heat.
Alice clenched her fists. To avoid immediate ab*se from these men, she had no choice but to tell the truth.
“I’m… I’m a virgin. I’ve never… done it before.”
“Hmm? …Well, good. You’d better be telling the truth. Women who lied were beaten nearly to death by their masters and thrown away.”
“…”
Alice stared at the ground with eyes that had given up everything. The dark-skinned man grabbed her wrist.
“Come with me.”
“…Yes.”
These men were determined to sell her. Alice had no ability to outsmart the three men.
The skinny man appeared to be the strongest, followed by the fat man, and lastly the dark-skinned man. Unlike the two middle-aged men, the dark-skinned man was young and carried a sword.
‘Could he be a mercenary…?’
Their eyes met. The dark-skinned man sighed.
“…Pretty women like you usually find good masters, so don’t worry.”
“What?”
“We don’t touch virgins.”
“…”
Strangely, his words seemed trustworthy.
Just as she was about to board the old wagon, another elegant carriage approached, accompanied by the sound of clattering hooves.
‘…Lord Connor?’
Going with Connor would be better than being sold by these men, especially since it might help save her parents and brother. Alice watched with desperate eyes what clearly looked like a nobleman’s carriage. The three men also sensed something unusual and stopped moving.
When the elegant carriage stopped, she saw a familiar family crest. It was the Walsh Count family crest.
“Lord Khalid…?”
Could it really be him? Alice’s heart pounded heavily. However, the person who gracefully stepped out of the carriage was Countess Vanessa.
She walked toward Alice and the three rough-looking men. Behind her stood an armored knight for protection.
“…That child is a slave of our Walsh Count family. Where do you think you’re taking him?”
Alice’s eyes widened at her words.
‘Why is the Countess doing this? …Could she be trying to help me? Why?’
She was a heartless lady who had sold slave concubines to brothels. She had never shown mercy without expecting something in return.
With her luxurious dress and light fan, plus the knight in silver armor behind her, she was unmistakably a noblewoman.
The skinny man, who appeared to be their leader, bowed his head and said:
“This woman’s father owes us a debt. Even selling the entire family into slavery wouldn’t be enough to pay it off. Would you like to pay it instead, my lady?”
The Countess frowned at the man’s brazen words.
“What nonsense! That child is still my slave! Where do you think you’re taking my slave?”
The man laughed mockingly.
“…We know that she paid off her price and has lived here for a year. My lady, please stop lying.”
The knight behind Vanessa started to draw his sword from its scabbard.
The Countess stopped him and took out silver coins from her pocket. She couldn’t lose Alice after coming all this way.
[“If he could meet the person in question, there would be no better medicine. If that person has died, the situation becomes more difficult. This illness will never heal in that case. Eventually, it leads to death.”]
She remembered the physician’s words. If Alice were sold into slavery again, the chances of her dying would be higher than surviving, and then her son Khalid would never wake up.
“How much?”
“I think two gold coins would be appropriate. She’ll fetch quite a price.”
“Ha. Her price was two silver coins.”
The skinny man stroked Alice’s back.
“…She must have been younger then. Now she’s quite mature. Hehe…”
Countess Vanessa, believing Alice to be male, clicked her tongue.
“Tsk tsk. What perverts…”
Female slaves sold for high prices, but male slaves did not. So the skinny man’s lewd gaze on Alice made her skin crawl.
Vanessa sighed.
“Fine. Two gold coins.”
Vanessa threw the gold coins on the ground. The dark-skinned man picked them up and handed them to the skinny man.
“Deal. We won’t come here again. Hehe. Blessings upon you, my lady.”
“Get out quickly, you vulgar creatures!”
Vanessa turned back to her carriage, seemingly disgusted at having to speak with them. She said to Alice, who stood dumbfounded:
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“…Yes.”
Alice glanced at the house she had grown fond of, then boarded the Countess’s carriage. When she awkwardly sat across from the Countess, the lady said to the coachman:
“Depart for Bonagar Forest!”
“Yes, my lady.”
Inside the carriage, Vanessa looked at Alice and sighed.
“I paid two gold coins to save you, so you must grant my request.”
“…Yes.”
Vanessa covered her mouth with her fan for a while. Her eyes, with dark circles beneath them, revealed her fatigue.
Alice wondered why she had called for her again. Moreover, their destination was Bonagar Forest.
‘Full of memories with Khalid….’
There would be wild beasts in the hunting grounds at this hour of darkness, yet the Countess seemed urgent.
“…Khalid is ill.”
“What? Lord Khalid?”
“Yes. …Your job is to take care of Khalid at the villa. Understand? Just do what you used to do. When Khalid recovers, I’ll send you back to your hometown.”
“…Yes. Thank you, my lady.”
“Hmph!”
Vanessa had no intention of letting her son and Alice stay together for long. If not Duke Evans’ daughter Bianca, marriage talks were ongoing with Daphne, daughter of Marquis Burton.
If strange rumors spread, even Daphne, who was blind with love for Khalid, would turn her back.
She was a beautiful lady true to her name, and while the Burton Marquis family wasn’t as powerful as the Hill Marquis family, they had influence. She would be a great help to Khalid later.
“If anything happens between you and Khalid…”
“Yes?”
“Ahem.”
Countess Vanessa hesitated to speak. It was vulgar to mention such unnatural acts.
“Make sure you never sleep with Khalid. Understand?”
“Oh, yes…”
Alice’s face turned bright red.
Even when Alice was a slave, Khalid had only kissed her out of consideration. She knew better than anyone that Khalid wouldn’t force himself on her.
‘I need to get bandages.’
Alice hadn’t been wrapping her chest with bandages recently, so she unconsciously covered her br*asts with her arm.
If Vanessa discovered Alice was a woman, she would likely strip her n*ked and offer her to her son immediately. At least now she was being cautious because she thought Alice was a man.
‘…I’ll see Lord Khalid again.’
The corners of Alice’s mouth turned up slightly. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy when nothing had been resolved with her parents and younger brother.
Translator
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penthesulia
Honestly just selling the father into slavery instead of Alice at the beginning would have solved all their problems. F@ck him and his gambling. He destroyed the lives of everyone in his family.