Chapter 376 Full Force

"What type of protection?" I asked curiously, and Marie slowly shook her head no before she took a deep breath.

"It is better if you don't know," Marie said quietly, and I frowned at her.

"It would be better if I did know," I said in a firm voice, and Marie slowly shook her head no before she took a deep breath.

"No, it is better if you don't know," Marie repeated herself quietly as she looked away from me. "They are the ones that you need to watch out for… They are the most dangerous of them all."

"Please. I need to know about each of these families and where I can find them. I will assume that one or more of the families have interests that align with Carrie, so they would have good reason to want to get rid of Hilda," I explained, and Marie sighed, finally relenting.

"The Richmer family owns the farmland to the south and east of the city. They are a large family, but they are not very well-liked since they tend to be greedy when it comes to business," Marie explained as she slowly shook her head. "The Balishire family lives in a manor on the south side of town, and they run most of their businesses from there."

Marie took a deep breath as she continued talking. "The Wood family lives in a manor on the west side of town, and they are in charge of construction. The Guildmaier family has a similar setup to the Wood family, but their manor is on the other side of town. The Grashalor family is different from all the rest since they don't really have a business or anything like that."

"Are you going to tell me what they do?" I asked curiously as Marie looked away from me again with haunted eyes.

"They are the city's muscle, and they make sure that people know their place," Marie said quietly, and I frowned at her again. This was not good news at all, but it also explained why Marie wanted me to leave. If I stuck my nose into this too much, then it would only cause trouble for myself and others.

"Okay, so now that I know the basics of how this city works, what can you tell me about Hilda?" I asked as Marie looked back at me with a sigh.

"Hilda was a good person… She helped anyone that she could, no matter who they were," Marie said quietly as she looked away from me again with haunted eyes. "She was also one of the few people in this city that would stand up to the Grashalor family."

I nodded to this and then tipped back and fell back onto the bed, looking at the sun in the sky out the window. The running around had taken some time, but I still had time to do some digging around. The sun was going to set soon, so I didn't have all day, but this city was not that big. "So where would I be able to find this family?"

"They live in a manor on the north side of town," Marie said quietly, and I frowned at her again. This was getting concerning since all the important families lived in mansions on different sides of town. It made me wonder what kind of political games they played. Since this world only had women, they weren't likely to fight each other openly, but I could imagine they were quite good at fucking each other over in more subtle ways.

"Do you know anything else about them?" I asked as Marie slowly shook her head no before she took a deep breath.

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"I try to stay away from them… They are not good people," Marie said quietly, and I frowned at her again. This was not exactly what I wanted to hear, but it was better than nothing. At least now, I had a general idea of what was going on in this city.

"Okay. Thanks for all the info, but I am going to make my leave now," I said as I hopped off the bed and fished into my coat to grab some coins, but then I remembered the special pouch at my side. I fished out some coins that were bright gold, but I groaned when I saw my face on them, giving a thumbs up. It was still gold, but Karma was going to go over my knee for that.

I handed her five gold coins from the ten I had in the pouch, and the woman looked like her eyes were going to fall out of her head. "This is too much… I can't take this from you."

"You can, and you will," I said in a firm voice as Marie slowly nodded her head before she looked down at the gold coins in disbelief. She was still looking down at them when I made my leave, but that would help her to get food so she could stop scurrying around. There were almost more surprises in her room that she would find in the future, like clothing, cleaning supplies, new utensils, cooking tools, and plates to eat off.

"I just don't know how I am going to repay you," Marie said with a troubled look, but I patted the top of her head, and she looked up at me.

"No need to replay me, just stay out of trouble for now, and live a good life," I said and gestured for a portal back to the alley where I had first found Marie, but she hopped up and grabbed my arm as I started to leave.

"Wait, you can't just leave me like this… I don't know what to do," Marie said as she looked up at me with wide eyes.

"You will figure it out," I said with a smile as I gently pried her off of my arm before stepping into the portal. It closed behind me, and I was back in the alleyway alone once again.

I was hit full force with the shit smell again, making me groan. How did women live like this?