A short shake of the head.
A silent refusal.
So I carefully made another suggestion.
“…Then would you like to come with me?”
At my words, the man opened his mouth slightly, but no answer came out right away. Becoming anxious, I quickly added,
“I—I’m not some suspicious person. I actually hate the guy who brought you here. Slave traders and stuff—I don’t do that. I do have some debt, but…! I mean, I’ll pay it back soon!”
The man lowered his gaze.
Fidgeting with his fingers, he cautiously looked at me.
“Please help me so I can deal with that bastard. In return, I’ll take care of your food, lodging, everything. I’ll even pay you!”
If I catch that guy and shake him down properly, something will definitely come out of it. From what I saw, he probably gathered all that money through guarantees anyway!
But even after all my persuasion, the man kept his mouth shut.
Waiting for an answer, I gradually lost confidence.
…Right. He probably just escaped himself.
If he had been forcibly enslaved, Xavier would naturally be a trauma for him. And my hair and eye color were similar to that bastard’s too.
Of course he’d feel uneasy.
Yeah. I shouldn’t push him too hard.
He would definitely be useful, but I had no intention of forcing him for my own benefit. In a way, we were in the same situation—both victims of the same man.
In the end, I stood up.
“Of course, I’m not forcing you. If you ever change your mind later, come to the Fifth Street mansion…”
But just as I stepped out of the alley, my body tilted sideways.
“Ah!”
I quickly braced myself against the wall and turned around.
A hand was clutching the hem of my dress.
I asked, catching my breath,
“Are you coming with me?”
Instead of answering, the man stood up.
I instinctively stepped back.
A tall figure—one head taller than me—stood in front of me.
His lips moved slightly.
“Ma…”
“Ma?”
“Matty.”
Matthias.
His voice trembled as he forced the word out, fragile and hesitant.
For the first time, my expression cracked.
“Your name.”
He pointed at himself with his index finger.
“My.”
My name.
The man—Matthias—shyly introduced himself.
Ah. So that’s his name.
It would’ve been fine if I just accepted it and moved on.
“…Huh?”
But by the time I realized something had gone horribly wrong, the carriage had already started moving.
“Oh my, young lady!”
Sophia, who had been pacing in front of the mansion, rushed over in a panic.
I stepped down from the carriage on unsteady legs and walked into the main building.
“Where have you been?! And why is your dress like that…!”
Sophia looked me up and down and nearly teared up. Then, as if remembering something, she gasped.
“Oh right! The Persher lord came by earlier!”
“Th-that bastard… I mean, my uncle? When?”
“About an hour or two ago.”
Two hours ago.
That would’ve been around the time I was still outside.
So he came right after selling slaves?
Wow. He’s really shameless.
No wonder he felt disgusting from the first time I saw him. First impressions really are accurate.
“By the way, young lady… who is that person behind you?”
“Ah, right.”
I clapped my hands and turned around.
The man standing awkwardly stiffened.
No, seriously, if anyone’s dangerous here, it’s him…
I swallowed the thought.
“He’s my guest. He’ll be staying at the mansion for a while, so prepare some clothes for him. We have plenty of rooms.”
We used to be short on space, but most servants had left recently, so rooms were now abundant.
One should be fine.
“A guest?”
Sophia’s eyes widened.
Ah. Right, I’ve never brought a guest before.
In the original story, Aria Renesti was apparently quiet and proud of her noble status.
Yeah, no wonder that bastard acted like that.
She wasn’t the social type at all. She had never even brought a friend home before.
So suddenly bringing someone like this would obviously be shocking.
And with a hood on, he definitely looked suspicious.
I cleared my throat and pulled Sophia aside.
“He… got into some trouble earlier.”
“P-Pardon?!”
Sophia turned pale immediately.
Before she could panic and ask if I was hurt, I quickly pulled out one of my prepared excuses.
“He saved me. I can’t just leave my lifesaver like that, right?”
“That’s right!”
Luckily, Sophia bought it immediately.
She clenched her fists with determination.
“Don’t worry! I’ll prepare the best room!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m counting on you.”
“Ah, young lady…”
Her shoulders slumped slightly, and her eyes grew moist.
Right. She’s been through a lot too.
Even though we hadn’t been together long, things had been rough from the start. In a way, we had survived through the same hardships.
“Oh, and call a doctor. Someone discreet.”
“A doctor?! Did you get injured—!”
“Not me. My benefactor did.”
“Ah!”
Sophia nodded quickly.
“I’ll find one right away!”
“And prepare dinner too. Bring it to the office.”
“At the dining hall—”
“It’s fine. I’ve got a feeling…”
There’s going to be a lot to deal with from now on.
I patted Sophia’s shoulder and looked back at the man.
When our eyes met, he flinched.
That timid reaction made my mood feel complicated.
“…I’ll go up to the office for a bit.”
I stepped back.
The man immediately stepped forward.
I stepped back again and pointed at Sophia.
“She’ll guide you to your room. Rest for now. We’ll talk over dinner.”
Good. That should do it.
I quickly turned away.
“Ah—!”
A desperate call followed me, but I didn’t look back.
I needed time to think.
He won’t follow, right?
I ran up the stairs and slammed the office door shut.
Sliding down to the floor, the image of him lingered in my mind.
Jet-black hair.
Burning red eyes.
A slave.
“Matthias.”
Just thinking of the name sent a jolt through my mind.
I covered my face and swallowed my frustration.
“I was supposed to cling to Benjamin…”
The protagonist? Forget that.
I picked up the final boss instead.
Damn it…
Matthias Frombell would later become the master of the great Frombell Grand Duchy.
In the story, he was the ultimate psychopath.
Fine. Being a villain with antisocial traits was already expected.
But the key point was this—
He deeply hated the protagonist, Benjamin Briggs.
Why? It wasn’t complicated.
Matthias was also a former slave.
Worse—he came from an entertainment district, the lowest of the low among slaves.
And he wasn’t even born into slavery; he was abandoned due to internal noble politics.
Because of that, Matthias felt far more shame about his slavery than his illegitimate birth.
Self-hatred.
That was exactly it.
After becoming Grand Duke, the first thing he did was destroy the district where he had once lived.
On the surface, it looked like law enforcement against illegal activity.
But it didn’t stop there.
He could not tolerate anyone who tried to suppress him in any way. So whenever someone opposed him, he cut them down mercilessly.
Even the powerless emperor could not stop him—by then, the Grand Duke’s power was already too great.
Until the appearance of the protagonist, Benjamin Briggs.
No… then what do I do?
I knew he didn’t get along with Benjamin. And once I repaid my debt, I probably wouldn’t have much to do with him anyway.
That part was fine.
The problem was right here.