Chapter 38
Today again, Alex looked like a “knight.” Even while traveling, he maintained a neat appearance, and now, his hair was damp as if he had just finished showering. Alex kept running his fingers through his wet hair, clearly bothered by it.
Elruana, holding Louis’s hand tightly, spoke.
“Sorry for calling you out suddenly.”
“It’s nothing. It’s my duty,” Alex replied, smiling politely as he took the lead.
Elruana followed behind with Louis, while Singh trailed just half a step behind. The market street was lively in the afternoon. As they strolled leisurely between the bustling crowd, Louis tugged on Elruana’s hand.
“Sis, buy me that.”
On a charcoal grill, lamb skewers were being grilled to a golden brown. Louis was pointing at a street vendor selling lamb skewers.
“Sure, let’s eat.”
She picked a well-cooked skewer and handed it to Louis, and then gave a skewer to Singh, who looked like he was about to drool. She offered one to Alex too, but he politely declined.
Elruana picked up a skewer herself and began enjoying the market sights in earnest.
There were many fascinating things, but nothing really made her want to buy them. To Elruana and Louis, who were used to life in the Duke of Spes’s mansion, the street vendor items looked cheap and crude. Still, they enjoyed the market stroll regardless of whether they bought anything.
As Louis looked around, his head turning left and right, he stopped in front of a small shop. A man was carving wooden items by hand.
Louis cautiously approached and asked,
“This! A ship with three triangular sails—is this a ‘Latina’?”
The man, nervous at being questioned by a noble child, bowed his head and answered,
“Yes, it’s called a Latina.”
Murmuring “Latina” under his breath, Louis tugged on Elruana’s skirt.
“Sis, buy me this.”
“Shall we?”
Smiling brightly, Elruana pulled out her coin pouch. Dave had prepared it for her before their departure, and it contained gold, silver, and copper coins. After she paid, Louis hugged the wooden ship sculpture tightly.
“This ship looks like the one we had at home.”
“Right? I’ll bring mine later. This one’s for Hans. Hans really wanted one.”
Elruana recalled Louis’s friend who lived in Arden. Mischievous Hans, with his freckled face, got along well with Louis.
“It’s a gift for Hans, huh.”
She patted Louis’s pink-haired head as he nodded. The group continued exploring the market at Louis’s pace. After passing about five more shops, the shopping district ended.
“Should we head back now?” Elruana asked.
Just then, Louis’s gaze was drawn to something. A crowd had gathered inside an alley, bustling with noise.
Louis tilted his head and pointed.
“Let’s just check that out before we go, sis.”
“Okay.”
As they walked, Elruana grew curious too.
The closer they got, the louder the commotion became. Amid people clicking their tongues, a loud voice came from the center. From the words she could catch, it wasn’t just an ordinary scene.
Pushing through the crowd gathered in front of a shabby house, they saw a man, who looked like a merchant, gripping a young boy by the scruff of the neck.
“This brat stole something from my shop!”
The squirming boy looked disgruntled but said nothing. His parents, standing nearby, bowed repeatedly to the merchant.
“We’re sorry. We’ll scold him thoroughly. We’ll pay for the item.”
“You little brat! Say you’re sorry now!”
The parents kept bowing, but the merchant only tightened his grip on the boy’s collar.
“You think saying sorry is enough? I’m gonna cut his hand off.”
The extreme threat drained the color from the parents’ faces.
“Please… He’s just a child…”
“If he steals, he gets his hand cut off. He’s a repeat offender. I won’t let it go.”
At the mention of amputation, the boy struggled harder and shouted.
“This is my first time! Really! That guy’s lying!”
The parents’ faces turned ashen. Even if it was the first time, it meant he did steal. The father bowed deeply.
“Please, just tell us how much to pay.”
“8 silver. Ten times the price.”
The merchant inflated the cost without hesitation.
The toy actually only cost 2 silver, but he inflated it and then demanded ten times that. His eyes were filled with greed. He wanted to use this chance to milk them for all they had.
“T-Ten times? We don’t have that kind of money…”
The mother fumbled in her clothes and took out a few silver coins—fewer than five.
Seeing that, the merchant’s voice grew even louder.
“Fine then. Cut it. Better to cut his hand now than let him grow into a thief!”
The mother knelt and begged.
“We’ll teach him properly. Please, just this once, forgive us.”
“Then give me your hand instead. Someone’s hand or 80 silver, or else!”
Hearing “80 silver,” the mother staggered. She couldn’t just let her son’s hand be cut off. She was about to kneel again when the father spoke up with an idea.
“We have a daughter! We’ll give her to you instead. She’s fifteen and pretty—she’s worth something. Honey, go bring her.”
“Y-Yes. Ring should be done working at the inn by now. She works there part-time.”
Hearing this, the merchant raised his voice.
“What use is a girl? She’s just another mouth to feed.”
“If… if you sell her to the red lights…”
Hearing the mother mumble that, Elruana leaned over and whispered to Singh.
“What’s the red light?”
“It’s a brothel,” Singh said as he covered Louis’s ears with his palms. Alex shouted from behind, “Don’t teach the young lady words like that!” but Singh ignored him.
Elruana, shocked by the meaning, asked again for confirmation.
“They’re saying they’ll give their daughter to be sold to a brothel in place of the son who stole?”
“Yes. That’s what they’re saying. Hah. I knew families like that back in my village too. In the end, the daughter was sold, and the parents and son stayed behind, living comfortably. The world is disgusting. People said they’d be cursed, but they’re still living well.”
Hearing Singh’s bitter words, Elruana clenched her fists. She had never seen a brothel, but she knew enough to understand.
That family reminded her of Regis.
She knew not all parents were like Stella and Ron. But this was too much.
Singh let go of Louis’s ears.
“It’s a filthy world, truly.”
Louis didn’t understand what was going on, his eyes rolling in confusion. Since Singh had blocked his ears, he hadn’t heard much. But asking what happened seemed impossible with the way Elruana radiated fury.
A brown-haired girl walked past Elruana.
“Mmm? Why’s everyone gathered here?”
As she murmured and approached, her eyes widened when she saw the boy being held.
“What’s going on?”
The girl, Ring, had arrived just in time. Her parents greeted her with bright faces.
“This is Ring.”
The father grabbed her shoulder and turned her toward the merchant. The merchant grinned wickedly. She looked confused and innocent—how cute.
Judging by the atmosphere, this wasn’t a household that could pay even 10 silver, let alone 80. There was more profit in selling the daughter than in maiming the boy.
The merchant tightened his grip on the boy and asked gruffly,
“She’s a virgin, right?”
Ring blushed fiercely, and the father quickly answered,
“Of course!”
“I see.”
He could either sell her after having fun for a few days or sell her virginity for a high price.
“What is all this, Father?” Ring turned to her parents, her face frozen.
“Well… your little brother made a mistake. But we can’t let his hand get cut off, right? So if you could just…”
The father couldn’t finish his sentence. He coughed awkwardly.
Ring felt dizzy. She had been listening, thinking, “Surely not.” But now she realized… they were serious. Her own parents.
She shook off her father’s hand.
“Why me? No way.”
“You heartless girl! You’d watch your brother lose his hand?!”
As the mother scolded her, the little boy began to cry.
“Sis, save me! I don’t want to lose my hand!”
“So I should die instead?!”
Ring shouted, and both parents looked away. The mother mumbled, “You’re not dying…”
Seeing that, Ring felt despair.
“You can’t even do that for your family?” the father snapped.
“You don’t even see me as family,” Ring muttered.
This wasn’t a family—it was livestock treatment.
“How dare you talk to your father like that?!”
Tears blurred her vision. She knew they always favored her brother, but…
“Do you even consider me your child?”
Ring broke down crying. Her father turned away and gestured to the merchant.
“Take her. And you’ll forget about the boy, right?”
“Fine. But if she’s not a virgin, the deal is off.”
“No worries there. She is.”
Not wanting to waste time, the merchant grabbed Ring’s arm.
“Let’s go.”
“No! Let me go!”
Ring thrashed and cried, but it was no use. Her vision was warped by tears. Everything looked distorted.
“Guards! Someone call the guards! This is kidnapping!”
“Quiet. Your parents are fine with it.”
The merchant dragged her roughly. She collapsed to the ground but was still pulled along. She cried out.
“Please, someone help me!”
At that moment, Elruana clenched her skirt tightly. She could see the miserable future that awaited this girl if she was dragged away. Ring had done nothing wrong. Her only crime was being born into that family.
“Help me! Please help me!”
Ring screamed again and again. Her desperate eyes searched the crowd for help—but people only looked on with pity. No one stepped in.
Her crying parents, holding the young boy, retreated into their shabby home and shut the door.
Click. The sound of the lock echoed like thunder.
