However, the woman who was expected to faint at those words only blinked her big eyes, and only the prostitute in the brothel trembled her shoulders.
"Guest, what are you saying?"
She had no idea why on earth he was doing this, but the unidentified man seemed to be trying to take the woman out of here. However, judging by the way he was urging her to leave, they didn't seem to know each other.
They aren't acquaintances, nor is there a master-servant relationship.
Then I can't let it be taken away.
However, since she couldn't dare say anything to the man, she turned to Seo-a with a determined expression.
"Do you want to go out?"
"..."
"Fine. I only received money from you for one night anyway. Even if you say you'll stay tomorrow, I don't want to. But if you insist on going out today, I have no reason to stop you."
"..."
"If you want to leave, go now. However, on a night like this, alone, I am worried about where and how you will get there, even though we are complete strangers."
Oscar burst out laughing.
"You are a philanthropist."
The low mockery mixed with laughter felt like a slap in the face, but the brothel owner clenched her knees and let it go.
Oscar, who had been laughing for a long time at the funniest thing he had heard today, put a cigarette in his mouth and asked Seo-a.
“What should I do?”
The watery brown eyes trembled slightly.
On one side is a middle-aged woman with a kind face, and on the other is a mysterious man standing crookedly with a cigarette in his mouth. Even the middle-aged woman is dressed in a modest dress, while the man is dressed sloppily with his shirt loosely unbuttoned.
Simon, who had been watching the whole scene from behind, let out a sigh.
Looking at the two options on one screen, he wondered if the answer had been decided from the start. Honestly, the suggestion to go be the boss suited Oscar better than the middle-aged woman.
"... I'm sorry."
Sure enough, the woman chose the owner of the brothel instead of Marquis Reichinhardt. The door closed quietly.
Fucked.
Simon quietly despaired
Done.
The brothel owner trembled with a chilling ecstasy.
All that remains now is to face the man behind her back.
He is an extraordinary man who looks as if she has seen him somewhere before. However, he cannot possibly be a high-ranking noble. After all, they typically announce their visit in advance and order that the prostitute of their choice be brought before them.
Then what remains are the newly wealthy or nobles who do not rank in the great aristocracy.
Of course, in either case, they are people whom the brothel owner finds difficult to face.
But what time is it now?
Isn't this an era where even the royal family must be mindful of commoners? One cannot arbitrarily overturn someone else's business without evidence or a trial, and since the person involved is not yet aware of the human trafficking she committed, there is no evidence.
Yes, then I will be able to get through it well.
Tightening her stomach muscles, she turned toward Oscar. She just needed to apologize as obsequiously as possible and treat him however he wanted for the night.
"..."
But was it because he was staring down at his feet?
Her gaze followed his gaze to the floor.
He was in the middle of stomping on a cigarette with his foot, his hands stuffed in his pockets. The gray ash and tobacco leaves mixed together, crushing and breaking apart. The small ember, still unextinguished, was crushed under the hard boot and eventually vanished.
If she had been insulted, scorned, or slapped hard on the cheek instead, she wouldn't have even blinked.
However, absurdly enough, she couldn't understand why she felt like she was the one being crushed when it was just a cigarette being crushed—something she had seen until she was sick of it.
"Getting stabbed in the back by an idiot during the day, and losing to a brothel owner at night. What kind of day is today?"
Oscar himself said that as if it were funny, but no one except him could laugh at his words.
A red tongue swept across the tips of the teeth between the handsome lips. Oscar lifted his eyes and whispered to the brothel owner, who was turning pale.
"Smile, it's a compliment."
Then, muttering that it was absolutely ridiculous, he turned around. Although no threat was felt in his sauntering gait, the moment Oscar disappeared from sight, the brothel owner slumped to the ground.
***
Brothel.
What does that mean?
Seo-a stood motionless in front of the door, articulating the unfamiliar word she had heard for the first time several times.
Brothel, brothel....
Even so, that did not mean she would understand its meaning. It was a word not found in the book she had studied for the common language of the Norfolk continent. Frustrated, Seo-a frowned for a moment with her small, innocent face. However, what was certain was that it was a place name referring to a specific location, and that it was by no means a word with a positive connotation.
“Is the boss here?”
At the man's words, the innkeeper jumped up and tried to reassure her, but in the end, he never said that this place was not a red-light district. He only emphasized that she was a guest staying for one night.
Seo-a bit her lip hard.
A dangerous and violent scent wafted from the man, who looked like the kind of person you would get if darkness were molded into a human, enveloped in acrid cigarette smoke.
She didn't trust the innkeeper, but she couldn't follow that man out at this hour either. Seo-a closed the door to buy time to think about escaping from all of them.
Just then, the innkeeper's presence was felt from beyond the door.
“Are you okay?”
Several men rushed over and appeared to be helping her up. She remained silent and disappeared somewhere with them.
Saliva scraped against her throat as she swallowed.
She gripped the doorknob tightly with jer left hand and engaged the lock with her right. After locking the door securely, she carefully checked the window lock as well.
Seo-a stood at the corner of the room and carefully examined the square room.
When she wondered if she could sleep peacefully for at least one day, this place looked like paradise for a fleeting moment.
As soon as she took off the winter coat and dress that she couldn't take off even in the sweltering heat, just doing that made her feel alive again, and for the first time in a few meals, she was able to eat properly.
It felt as if the food she ate was melting right into her blood. In fact, this was the first time she had ever seen a proper bed. If she had buried herself in this thick sheet called a mattress, she probably would have fallen asleep before she even closed her eyes.
An intense sense of crisis rose in the place where sleep had fled.
You cannot fail before you even put the plan into action.
Seo-a quickly changed back into her original clothes. She hadn't noticed it while wearing them, but they smelled of sweat mixed with dust.
Instead of putting on the coat immediately, she spread it out flat on the bed with the inside facing up. With quick movements, she thoroughly inspected every pocket. To make sure there were no holes anywhere and that all the necessary items were there.
The inspection concluded with verifying the key and the certificate of title received today. She unfolded the certificate and checked its contents once again.
The name was written as if sketched, today's date, the safe combination, and the seal.
Fearing it might get crumpled and erase something, she padded the certificate with another piece of paper and carefully placed it in the pocket. After tightly tying the pocket opening with a string and securing it with a knot, she straightened up to reveal the lining adorned with numerous pockets.
As she quietly gazed at the mismatched pockets and strings, and the haphazardly jumbled stitches, that day suddenly came to mind.
That day, the day of the midnight raid.
The horrific night when her grandfather's grave was desecrated, and the crimson fire that had consumed the house had swallowed even its master.
"This is it, isn't it? This is exactly what he has been searching for, right?"
The night she took out the golden key she had kept hidden away.
"Don't go. The chances of failure are too high. You'll get caught up in all sorts of trouble before you even get the plan into action."
Seo-a laughed hollowly.
"I know, right? Like a fool, getting caught up in all sorts of trouble as soon as I arrived..."
Seo-a ran her fingers over the hem of her worn coat and tidied up the loose threads sticking out. As she tidied up the threads, she also carefully gathered up the memories that had suddenly surfaced and pushed them beneath the surface.
The movements started to quicken again.
After tidying up her coat, she opened her suitcase. She clumsily folded the underwear she had washed and stuffed it into a corner of the bag. It would probably smell since she hadn't dried it properly, but there was nothing she could do about it. Seo-a paused for a moment as she was about to close the bag immediately after putting in the laundry.
She unfolded the bag completely again and carefully picked up the red silk that had somehow been crumpled into a mess.
After lunch, if she sat in the main hall and listened closely, she would often hear the sounds of playing. She would stealthily approach the wall, step up, and look outside to see girls with ivory faces.
Shining black eyes as shiny as hazelnuts, and fluttering fine black hair.
Looking at the red ribbon swaying back and forth at the ends of her black hair, Seo-a used to think that she wished her eyes and hair were just as black and beautiful, so that red would suit me well.
Seo-a neatly folded the disheveled hair ribbon. She folded it in half and repeated the process until the edge, beautifully embroidered with a butterfly, was facing upward, and she placed it toward the relatively clean luggage. Then, she closed the bag without hesitation.
She pulled the coat spread wide over the bed over herself and tightened her waist with a belt to prevent it from bunching up. Dressed as if she could leave at any moment, Seo-a approached the window and hid herself against the wall. Worried about casting a shadow, she slightly lifted the edge of the curtain to look outside.
When and how can I get out of here?
Seo-a looked for an escape route through the window and began to keenly sense any presence lingering around the room.
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