Chapter 49

Chapter 49

“Actually, the documents and contracts there are just tricks. An external cause, or something like that. They just… They were only used as part of a large watch. Can you become a gladiator slave just from one contract? It’s funny.”

“Then you mean it was planned?”

“If the goal was simply to enslave him, why would they make it complicated? If they just sneak up on him and throw him in, it’s over.”

Beatrice lifted the curtain that was covering the window and looked at a dimly lit building in the distance. Not yet? She fixed her gaze and continued her words. The cigar in her hand was burning little by little.

“You still remember the arena five years ago?”

“Yes. Lee walked right there to catch Duke Callahas’ tail. Didn’t you meet your knight there too, Lee?”

“I remember well. At that time, the arena was lending money to several nobles. Behind it, an illegal slave auction was secretly held. Evil bastards. Anyway, one of them was Baron Settebien, a vassal of Duke Callahas.”

The Marquis’s words made the man let out a short ‘ah!’. It was because of the vague connection of why things had come to that point.

“At that time, Baron Settebien lost a large portion of his business and was forced to sell his famous daughter for them to eat…”

“One of the investors in the business was Marquis Jutert.”

“Yes. If he could not repay his debts within a short period of time the perverted Marquis demanded that the Baron give up his daughter… I mean, the Baron loved his family more than anyone thought, so he started looking for a girl of that age with red hair and green eyes and sent her on behalf of her daughter.”

“…But if something like that is discovered, there is a greater risk than what the Baron will lose.”

“There are always loopholes in contracts. Maquis Jutert asked for the daughter of Baron Settebien, but he did not exactly specify the name of the Lady in the contract. And when did the old man have time to look into the Lady’s face? She was rumored to be pretty, so he just mentioned to send his daughter. In fact, he wouldn’t even have known about her. The Baron could not pay the debt. Anyway… Because they are a bunch of morons.”

Giggling, Beatrice put a cigar to her lips. Huu, once again, a hazy smoke filled the carriage.

The man looked at the Marquis and the papers alternately. Those documents were the contracts signed by Hert Shine and Tessa Jutert from seven years ago, unbeknownst to others.

“Anyway… As a substitute for the Baro’s daughter, this girl was caught. She was unlucky. After all, she’s an orphan, so it won’t bite them in the back later. But there is one unexpected problem. There’s this one guy that was stuck with the girl every day. He even uses his sword so well that he looks forward to the future.”

“…….”

“From there, things started to get interesting. The Baron needed the girl, and he needed the money. So what to do? It’s a big catch. What a strike. He has to grab it fast, don’t you think?”

“…It’s a cruel story.”

Seeing the contract stamped with a red mark symbolizing slavery, the man muttered lowly. On the other hand, the Marquis just laughed as if it was funny. The world was a kaleidoscope, easy to see on the outside but actually hard to understand. Beatrice exhaled smoke and raised one corner of her mouth.

“That’s how they were deceived…”

“It’s better to make him move on his own feet with an appropriate excuse. For the substitute for his daughter, the product must be clean and good. Later, he’ll have to keep her mouth shut that she’s a substitute. It’s easier to use and throw her away if he gently coaxes her or catches her weakness so that she doesn’t even think about revenge. It should always be done neatly.”

The last words sounded like they had some power. The Marquis put the cigar to her lips again. Her dark gray eyes sank heavily. For that reason, the man opened his mouth, trying not to look at the woman’s face as much as possible.

“So the woman was deceived and sent as a substitute for the Baron’s daughter, and the man misunderstood and thought that the woman was the one who sent him off to be a gladiator slave?”

“Correct. It seems like there was a small instance of miscommunication in the middle… Well, the result was the picture the Baron wanted. Was it too bad? But what can they do? What could a girl who was only seventeen years old at the time do? Even if she had been deceived, she had already sold herself to the Baron, and even her best friend was taken as a gladiator slave. There is nothing one can do alone in the place where everyone had planned it so. The Baron would have wanted it like that.”

Baron Settebien must have been happy that things went smoothly. Not only did he pick up an orphan similar to his daughter, launder her identity and make her a substitute, but he also got an additional orphan, an orphan without any problem, and sold him the arena to earn money.

The Marquis glanced at the contract in the woman’s hand. The red fingerprints that appear to be Hert’s handprints were clearly stamped on the bottom of the contract. Stupid bastard. Why did you let your thumbprint be taken? You should have kept it safe even when you’re asleep. Beatrice laughed at Hert.

The contract was an external cause, but that did not mean that it had no legal effect. Above all, the documents prepared by the baron’s broker to make Hert a gladiator slave were neat and perfect.

A slave contract with his finger stamped on it, a document with the seal of an acquaintance who endorsed him—Tessa—and a certificate from the head of an orphanage who has been recognized for her social status, and even the seal of the local lord who allowed this to happen.

On the surface, there were no problems with the documents.

It was the same with Tessa’s case. The baron’s broker prepared the documents and formally adopted Tessa to the Settebien Barony as well. There was no problem because it was common for nobles who supported orphanages to collect orphans and use them as consumables for military service or other things.

‘Of course, after a while, the orphanage was completely destroyed and the traces were erased.’

The Marquis snorted inside, thinking about the childhood of the two people who had neatly disappeared from this world.

Then the man asked with a questionable voice.

“By the way, did Marquis Jutert stand still, knowing that it was a substitute for the Baron’s daughter? I think the old man must have gone wild because of his strict noble nature.”

“Ah, that. The Baron is dead, so it’s just a dog chasing a chicken. The duke, who was afraid that his tail might be caught because it was about the arena, suddenly killed Baron Settebien. After all, isn’t it just a loss? Even if she was a substitute for the Baron’s daughter, as that woman entered as the second wife, most of the Baron’s business had gotten absorbed into the Jutert Marquisate.”

Because of this, Marquis Jutert could not expel Tessa even though he knew she was a substitute. Because Tessa’s presence was needed to take over the Baron’s business.

After all, the castle was wide and it wouldn’t have been a problem to remove one woman from his eyes, so it wasn’t too much of a loss. So he would have overlooked his son’s abuse of women.

Beatrice put a cigar to her lips.

“Isn’t it amazing? That it was connected in this way. After all, it’s at the arena that he and I met.”

“…You’re so naughty, Lee.”

“So as soon as I found that woman, I sent someone to protect her.”

“You didn’t tell him right away. From what you’ve said so far.”

“We were in the middle of a war at the time. You want me to let go of the best bastard on the battlefield? And I was definitely trying to give him a clue. He was the first to leave without listening.”

“Even now—”

“Shh.”

At that moment, Beatrice raised her index finger and brought it to his lips. The man held his breath and followed the Marquise looking out the window. A light was on in a building that had just been turned off. The two shared their eyes at the same time. Beatrice rubbed the cigar on the floor and put it out.

* * *

On the way back, there was no word between the two of them. Tessa just looked down with her reddened eyes. Today, she finally thought that Hert must have gotten tired of her.

She has already shut her mouth to his question several times, including today. His patience must have run out in no time. Even if he himself is frustrated, how much more can he do?

‘I want to die…’

Tessa bit her lower lip. She raised her nails and began to pinch the back of her hand. She promised that she would not die, but it was difficult to bear the feeling of shame that poured out every time this moment came. She just wanted to disappear from the world as soon as possible. Stupid. Tessa could barely hold back the tears that were about to rise.

‘Why are you crying again? Did you do anything right for you to…’

She felt her chest tighten. It was hard for Tessa to accept that she was the only one when everything had changed.

The old husband and the Young Marquis disappeared and Hert returned, and she thought that she had to change too, but the problem was that she was constantly complacent with reality and wanted to ignore the remaining problems.

It was absurdly stupid. She must have been the only woman this incompetent and stupid. She thought she knew why the people in the castle had turned away from her.

Tessa hated herself so much.

“Alright.”

At that moment, Hert, who was going ahead, abruptly stopped walking. Tessa almost stopped and bumped her nose as she didn’t see him stop in his tracks.

Tessa was startled and looked up at Hert carefully. His blue eyes had faded from exhaustion for a moment. Upon seeing it, Tessa’s heart ached.

“Keep doing that. Keep it all in and don’t speak.”

Then, as if determined to do something with her, Hert reached out towards Tessa and grabbed her cheek. Then his contorted face was revealed. Tessa faced Hert with anxious eyes.

“Instead, promise me this one thing.”

“…….”

“Never betray me again.”

Hert barely put one of the things he had been thinking about all the way into his mouth. He kept thinking and thinking. Because of that, his throat was tingling and it was difficult to speak.

“Never… leave me.”

Couldn’t she tell him that she felt this way too? Hert gently caressed Tessa’s face with a trembling hand.

“If you promise me that…”

“…….”

“I will try to forget what happened between me and you seven years ago.”

Of course it won’t be easy. He would never be able to forget it all.

But for some reason, Hert wanted to do that. Otherwise, he thought he would regret it. This moment now.

“So, promise me that one thing.”