In the meantime, Ruth, who had eyes similar to mine, brooded over it.
“So I thought about it. What could those children, at such a young age, possibly be doing now? No, what could they possibly be capable of doing?”
“……”
“As I dwelled on these thoughts, it suddenly occurred to me. Most of the slaves I’ve seen at slave auctions were of young age.”
What followed was enough to ignite the instincts I’d been forcibly suppressing, a spark that marked the moment when the worst assumption turned into reality.
“……If, just if, our suspicions are correct and the Duke of Dright is actually putting innocent children up for slave auctions……”
I tried to steady my voice, which was trembling pitifully.
But, to no avail, the mask eventually shattered, as if it was destined to break from the beginning.
“How can someone do such things and still live a normal life?”
“In their world, it seems that such actions are not considered wrong. Or perhaps they deliberately deceive their conscience.”
“I just can’t understand… Ah.”
While burying my heavily wrinkled face in my hands in frustration, I suddenly remembered that Cedrics had referred to the Duke of Dright as a rabbit and hinted that there was also a fox besides the rabbit.
Looking at it, the Duke of Dright couldn’t have escalated the situation to this extent and still evaded public scrutiny all by himself. Thus, it was clear there must be someone aiding the Duke of Dright in all these matters.
The person Cedrics called ‘the fox’ must be that person too.
I tried to organize my thoughts as calmly as possible and then broached the subject.
“Is it possible that someone other than the Duke of Dright is involved in this matter?”
“Such as?”
“…One of the heads of the four major ducal houses.”
Given that the Duke of Dright, already a successor of a ducal house, has been able to successfully conceal his deeds, the one assisting him must hold even greater power. Therefore, if another power player was involved in this matter, it would have to be one of the heads of the four major ducal houses.
Of course, the Council of Elders couldn’t be entirely ruled out, but the Council is more concerned with honor than power. Moreover, those who value their honor above their own lives wouldn’t likely partake in such sinister deeds.
Ruth twisted the end of his lips meaningfully upon hearing my response.
“You never fail to meet my expectations.”
“Could it be that my guess is correct?”
“Yes. Duke Hazel, that man is the backer of the slave auctions and in cahoots with the Duke of Dright.”
“!”
Uncontrollable turmoil flooded in at the name he murmured. It wasn’t the disturbance from the shock of newly learned information, but a turmoil stemming from a fear ingrained in my body like a habit. At the same time, remembering what happened with Duke Heizel at the banquet, I unconsciously wrapped my bruised wrist with my hand.
“Because from what I remember, the lady didn’t faint from frailty of spirit and body, but it seemed like she wanted to hide this wrist,” he said.
“…….”
Trying to escape from the grave voice that exacerbated the pain in my wrist, I slowly closed and then opened my eyelids, when Ruth, noticing my agitation, asked, “Is something wrong?”
“……No. Nothing’s wrong.”
Realizing belatedly that Ruth was also here, I chastised myself and hastily changed the subject.
“But how did you come to know about that?”
“Do you think I simply watch and do nothing, participating regularly in the despicable slave auctions, as if I found them agreeable? Of course, it’s for the purpose of rectifying the mistakes left by my ancestors.”
Is he referring to the mistake of tacitly turning a blind eye to slave auctions by my ancestor’s error?
I was quite surprised that he spoke so lightly of his father’s failure.
Blinking my large eyes in confusion, seemingly of no concern to Ruth, he continued to speak.
“Every time there’s a slave auction, I would buy more than half of the slaves, which allowed me to meet the people running the auctions. Thanks to that, I found out that Duke Hazel was the one receiving money to conceal these auctions from the public eye.”
“I see.”
“Ah. Of course, I made sure to restore the slaves’ original statuses before sending them back to their homelands with a small amount of consolation money. So, I hope you won’t misunderstand, my lady.”
I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at Ruth’s playful excuse, then changed the subject.
“What shall we do now?”
Now that we had gathered enough information about the four ducal families, it was time to move on to the next step.
The next step would probably involve finding evidence to support our suspicions.
While I was organizing my thoughts on what to do first, Ruth, who had been pondering for a moment, spoke up.
“Hmm. Speaking of which, I heard there’s going to be a slave auction at the Lante Opera House’s second hall in the capital in a few days. Would you like to go with me?”
“A slave auction?”
“Yes. Hearing about it and seeing it with your own eyes are definitely different, right? And you might also meet some unexpected figures there.”
“Um… Indeed, that’s true.”
I reluctantly agreed to Ruth’s persuasion. Honestly, I was okay with the casino, but I didn’t really want to participate in a slave auction. More precisely, I didn’t have the courage to set foot there.
However, as Ruth said, this was our agreement. Therefore, it was irresponsible to let Ruth move alone just because I was scared.
Moreover, since I had only heard about slave auctions through rumors, I didn’t know the reality of the auctions, so it would be good to properly understand it through this opportunity.
And, since I had received a casino entry ticket from Ian, it would be good to take care of matters at the casino as well. After reaching this conclusion, I added,
“Besides, since I have a casino entry ticket, stopping by the casino while going to the slave auction wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
“Already?”
“Yes?”
Before I could wonder what he meant by already, Ruth chuckled.
“It looks like you’ve been really bustling about. I should reward you later.”
“I wasn’t doing it for a reward, though.”
“Still, make a wish. As long as it’s not to bring something from the demon world, I’ll grant it.”
Humans could never originally know what exists in the demon world. So, his words meant that he would grant any wish I desired, no matter what.
As if he knew what wish I would make.
I swallowed a bitter feeling for some reason at his bold promise.
After all, if Ruth really would grant any wish, it was obvious what I would wish for.
I hope you will love me, even knowing all my lies.
The wish I couldn’t dare to utter aloud disappeared into the abyss.
As I secretly clenched my hand, feeling the emptiness left by my selfish wish, Ruth broke the silence.
“Anyway, how about we go out together in a few days?”
“Yes. That sounds good.”
“Alright.”
As I nodded, Ruth’s smile deepened.
Without even realizing it, I found myself lifting the corners of my mouth to mimic his.
The sound of glass shattering that I had occasionally heard since some point no longer reached my ears.
***
I decided to go out with Ruth in five days, and in the meantime, I visited the royal library to learn about slave auctions.
Perhaps it was because the people involved in slave auctions thoroughly hid the facts. No matter how much I searched through the books, I couldn’t find anything substantial.
Yet, I kept visiting the library regularly. It might sound stubborn to others, but I wanted to be certain that experiences learned from books were just as valid as firsthand experiences.
Today, too, was for that reason that I was on my way to the royal library.
“The bruise has faded a lot in a few days, though.”
I murmured softly to myself while nodding to the maids cleaning the hallway.
Thanks to the potion, the bruise was getting lighter by the day. At this rate, it would probably be completely gone by the time I went out with Ruth.
That’s somewhat relieving.
I muttered to myself in good spirits and shifted my gaze away from my wrist.
And just as I was about to turn the corner, a faint voice from somewhere stopped me.
“Hey. Is that true?”
“What is?”
After quickly assessing the situation, I sighed.
Somehow, it was a familiar scenario.
Why do I always end up overhearing other people’s conversations?
It was quite unfair that I inevitably ended up eavesdropping on others’ conversations, but if I made my presence known here, the atmosphere would surely freeze over in an instant.
Unable to do anything else, I stuck to the wall like I was hiding, waiting for them to pass by.
“No, I mean the barrier. The barrier!”
“Ah… That is…”
Despite my intention to ignore them, a word in their conversation caught my attention.
‘Barrier.’
Barriers have been known to exist since the creation of this world, and according to scholars, they served to separate the human world from the demon world.
But why are they suddenly talking about the barrier? I haven’t heard any news about something happening to the barrier recently.
Unable to shake off the budding suspicion, I unconsciously focused more on the conversation beyond the wall.
“If that’s true, then we are… Ugh!”
“Shh. What if civilians hear you?”
“Tsk. Let them hear. It’s strange not to know when it’s a matter of their own lives, isn’t it?”
“Benjard. I understand you’re angry, but that’s enough. We must adhere to the Tower’s regulations.”
“That damn discipline! You must be the only student who even in this situation obsesses over discipline, Alexander. Aren’t you something?”
“Don’t call me a student…”
Just when their conversation was about to escalate, suddenly, a long hand appeared from behind me. And shortly after, the voices that were coming from beyond the wall suddenly stopped.
“Hm?”
Caught off guard by the sudden change, I turned around to see who the hand belonged to.
And then, a visage filled with freely fluttering dark red hair entered my view.
“…Tommy?”
“Miss.”
As soon as I called out to the familiar hair color, the other party responded as if he had been waiting, a signature smile on his lips.
I blurted out my question, ignoring the swelling joy I felt upon seeing those sparkling silver eyes.
“Why are you here…? No, more importantly, what did you do to those people?”
“Ah, you mean the people who were talking over there just now?”
“Yes.”
Tommy hesitated as if troubled by my answer, then gave a sly smile.
“I got rid of them.”
