CH 27

“Madam, how far are you going?”

Irene followed me around the alley and expressed worry. It’s no surprise, given that I’m wandering off the main road. But there was nothing to be worried about. In any case, Sylvester’s escort is following me. If a dangerous scenario happened, it was obvious that an escort would appear and save me. As a result, I don’t give it much thought. “Madam, I think this road is very dangerous—” Irene trembled like a baby bird and straightened my sleeve. I smiled and took Irene’s hand in mine.

“What do you have to be worried about while I’m around?”

“What? But, Madam is frail— “—and Irene closed her mouth. She seems to have discovered Ophelia is a black wizard. Of course, I don’t even know how to use black magic anymore, but Irene isn’t aware of this, so she seems relieved. ‘I’m going to have to learn about black magic soon.’ Ophelia was described as a black wizard in the original story. But why can’t she use black magic anymore? Then it became clear that everyone around me would be suspicious. ‘I’m going to read a book or anything. This body was once a sorcerer, so I’ll be able to master it fast.’ After some thought, I had a look around.

At this moment, it looks that it will be seen—

“Madam, what are you looking for?”

“A store with a green tent. I’m sure it’s around here—”

“Ah, that one?”

I returned my attention to Irene’s point. I saw a store that looked precisely like the one described in the book. Eureka! “You have good eyesight.” Irene’s cheeks flushed as I complimented her. I touched Irene on the shoulder once more and went into the shop. This shabby restaurant serves and sells monsters. I can’t believe they cook monsters. It was a horrible idea, but not for mercenaries. Because when they went hunting, they used to eat monster meat. It is a store visited by people who have not forgotten the taste of the past. Callian used to eat monster meat when he was a wandering mercenary.

He thought it was disgusting at first, but he eventually grew used to it and enjoyed it quite a bit. However, after leaving the mercenary life, he did not come into contact with the meat, and after being brought back as a Crown Prince, he could not eat such low-grade food, so he just endured it. In the original story, Fleur visits this shop, buys the monster meat, and returns to Callian after recognizing such a taste of Callian. Callian joyfully hugged Fleur. What exactly did he say?

‘You’re the only person who knows who I am!’

Yes, he did use a line from a romantic novel.

Of course, I’m not going to hear that line. Because Callian hates me. But at the very least, he’ll have a good feeling. When this feeling of favor gradually grows—. ‘Can you forgive me for my mistakes in the past?’ Because it’s important for me to look my best right now. And only then will I be able to divorce Sylvester and avoid the death penalty.

“Let’s go in.” 

I dragged a hesitant Irene into the store. The store was so worn out that it seemed like it belonged outside. And the unmistakable smell of weirdness and discomfort! I used a handkerchief to cover my mouth and gently narrowed my brow. There was no one in the store when I looked around, so I rang the bell on the table. A middle-aged man with a bad impression soon came from the kitchen.

“I hadn’t had a visitor in a long time, so I was happy—” He stated this while clicking his tongue. “Go. There’s nothing for a Madam like you to buy here.”

“T-that’s rude!” Irene, who was hiding behind me, yelled, her head poking out. “Do you know who our Madam is? If I knew, I wouldn’t dare to say such a thing!”

“I don’t care whether Madam is a Princess or a Duchess. This isn’t a shop where you can buy stuff. So go.” The man shook his hand and scowled. I didn’t think it would turn out well. I moved in closer to him.

“It’s illegal.”

“W-what?”

“Cooking and selling the monster’s meat.”

By slanting up my hat, I made eye contact with him.

“Of course, everyone looks down on eating on the battlefield to subjugate monsters, but it is completely illegal to set up a business like this and sell monster meat. If the Imperial Guard is aware of this place,”

“…..”

“Up to 15 years in prison.” I smiled. “Don’t you agree?” The man trembled. Because everything I’ve said is true. Producing and selling monster meat was a violation of national law.

“D-do you have proof?”

The man raised his chin as he crossed his arms.

“You have no proof. It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work, so say something different.”

“Can I then go in there?” I said, pointing to the spot where the man appeared. “I can smell blood all the way here, and it’s going to add up in there. Now that I’ve brought in a witness, it’ll be easier to prove in court.”

“Do anything you want. But, Madam, I can’t guarantee your safety.” The man said with his eyes glaring.

“Really?” I laughed obliquely. “You know who I am, but you say this?” I took off my hat and opened my eyes. I’m sick of the man’s face staring directly into my light green eyes. The more time you spend in the back alley, the better you’ll get to know me. I’m the wife of Sylvester Ryzen, the back alley king, and a black wizard. The man’s teeth were clenched.

“N-no matter how they call ‘you’ madam, you can’t do that, you can’t do that. Your threat won’t work for me.”

Well. It’s not like he’d only seen someone like me once or twice in his life. The man had to have gotten away from the cooking net each time. So my threats won’t have much of an impact. “Threatening? Don’t say such scary things.” So I quietly smiled and moved closer to him. “I’m simply here to get some beef.” Thak, I placed a package of gold coins in front of him. Callian stated this in the original novel after discovering the place where Fleur bought meat. ‘I’d want to hear the information being passed around among mercenaries.’ I copied the line exactly as it was. “I’d want to hear the information being passed around among mercenaries.” Just like that.

This is a store that sells monster meat and a meeting spot for mercenaries from all around the world to share information. And now, ‘Information guild.’ Of course, Sylvester’s Dark Guild’s intelligence would be greater. However, in the original story, Callian chose this guild in order to avoid being left behind by Sylvester. The same is true for me. Of course, if I used Sylvester’s guild to gather information, it would end up in his hands. That was not something I want. I’d also like to build my own information network.

“Is this good enough?”

I opened the package and showed the gold coins inside. The man’s eyes became bigger. It was a considerable amount of gold. Cough! The man coughed many times before reaching out to me. “Call me Joseph.” I lightly shook his hand.

“Then can I have the meat? I have to make a reason to stop by here.”

“I’ll be right back.” Joseph, who was walking with his back to me, shook and turned his head toward me. “How should I call you, Madam?” Joseph continued. “Other people would notice if I continue to address you as Madam, therefore I intended to create a rough alias. Don’t worry about it if you don’t like it.”

I nodded my head.

“Then call me Yujin.” 

Yujin. That’s my original name. Joseph thought it was a rather unusual name, but he kept rolling my name in his mouth.

“Yujin. I got it. So when are you going to start the request?”

“Sometime soon,” I said, pulling Irene, who was still hiding behind me. “In the future, this kid will come for me.”

“Y-yes?” Irene gasped with surprise. But I didn’t let her go.

“She’s a kid you can rely on. So I hope you treat her the same way I do.”

“Well, that’s nice, but I understand. I’ll bring you the meat, so wait.”

“Okay.”

Irene cried at me when Joseph walked into the kitchen. “I’m sorry I can’t, Madam! I’m scared of going to places like this!” Irene is scared and says everything she can think of. So I became curious. “I can’t do it, I can’t do it! You’d rather kill me!”

How did she survive next to the original Ophelia—?

It was good not to die.