There were several crises, but thanks to Viscountess Cohen, she was able to leave the palace safely. With Viscountess Cohen’s aid, Rodelia safely arrived at the Concielle Tavern, where the slave trade was going to be held.

The red brick tavern looked quite old. The wooden sign was almost erased, and the wall was broken and worn in several places. Even though it was early in the morning, noises leaked faintly from the inside.

“Is this the right place? It can’t be this loud.”

It was a very lively place for a slave market. They seemed to be ordinary people, as if there’s no way they’d commit such a covert crime in a place like this…….

“It’s a trick.”

A low voice from behind rang in her eardrums in the early morning air.

“…… Grand Duke Aizen!”

Rodelia quickly turned around and looked at him. Underneath the pitch-black robe, Cerdian’s silver hair was seen at first glance.

“Thank you, Madam.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll be on my way, Your Majesty. Cerdian-nim will take you back.”

“Yes……?”

Rodelia blinked as she tried to understand the situation, feeling strange that Viscountess Cohen did not call Cerdian ‘His Highness, Grand Duke’.

“Cerdian-nim will explain the details to you. I didn’t mean to trick you. I look forward to the good news.”

Viscountess Cohen smiled awkwardly and quickly slipped out of the alley. Rodelia, who could not hide her embarrassment for a long time after she left, stared at him blankly.

“I’m sorry, I asked Viscountess Cohen.”

“What do you mean….”

“I thought it would be better for you to personally see the slave market collapse.”

Cerdian’s lips raised playfully.

“Weren’t you wondering? What I did with the rumor.”

“…….”

“You’ll find out now.”

***

The inside of the tavern was filled with laughter and chatter from drunk people with bloated faces.

The scent of alcohol, the smell of various greasy foods, and the damp air, which pierced the tip of one’s nose, created an atmosphere like a regular bar where nothing felt out of place at all.

Rodelia asked quietly, looking at the empty bottles of alcohol lying on the tables.

“Is this really the right place?”

“You don’t think so?”

“Yes, I don’t think there’s a secret space……. I think my father was mistaken. There also doesn’t seem to be anything strange with the people.”

The bar was cramped, so there seemed to be no room for a secret space. Rodelia asked, anxiously biting her nails, but Cerdian still stared at her with a questioning expression.

“These are real customers.”

“As expected……?”

“But do you really think there’s no hidden space?”

“…….”

“People who open their eyes to desire often make impossible things possible.”

Cerdian walked past the drunken people and headed to an empty corner table. Rodelia followed him first, but she wasn’t sure.

‘If this isn’t a slave trade auction…….’

But as if to erode her fleeting thoughts, Cerdian calmly pressed his foot on the wooden floor under the table. There was a rustling sound of rotten wood and the floor spun.

“This is…”

She was so surprised that she was at a loss for a moment. Rodelia looked around to see if anyone was watching. Fortunately, there were only drunk and unconscious people, so it was an atmosphere where no one else cared. Rodelia looked back at the pitch-dark space.

The basement was so deep that only the stairs by the entrance could be seen faintly. From down there, a unique dreary chill came up and tied her ankles.

Rodelia, who was frozen stiff, was able to regain her senses at the voice of Cerdian.

“This is where the act of buying and selling people takes place.”

“………it’s not as tricky as I thought. I heard that you have to go through quite a complicated process to enter.”

If it were this easy to get in, she wouldn’t have asked the Marquis of Florence for help.

However, it was an inevitable choice because she had to extract the information.

“Of course, nobles don’t come in this way. This is a simple entrance where the owner of the bar usually goes in and out, but it’s safe to say that it’s open when he’s in.”

“Oh, but how do we get in……?”

“No one will notice if we go in like this.”

It certainly seemed so. Because they were drunk and were enjoying themselves. Cerdian reached out to Rodelia, who nodded.

As always, he had this fascinating charm that drew people in.

He carefully held her by the hand. She felt a little relieved by the warmth.

***

The cellar was filled with dark, unpleasant air.

Beneath the dim lights, mold blooming along the damp wall made the gloomy atmosphere stand out even more.

“Nothing…”

Rodelia hurriedly closed her mouth. It was because it was such an empty and long space that the echo was heard loudly even in a small voice.

“If you walk all the way there, you’ll find a slave auction house.”

Cerdian smirked and murmured softly.

It was really a temporary passage as there was no one in the hallway. Thanks to this, they were able to arrive safely at what seemed to be the entrance to the auction house. A murmur echoed through the huge iron door.

“This is the slave market.”

She was finally facing the slave auction house. The palms of her hands were filled with sweat and her heart was beating loudly. Rodelia bit her molars tightly, trying to calm her nervousness.

‘Now all I have to do is raid this place and wipe out the slave merchants. But how……?’

She had no idea what Cerdian’s plan was. She didn’t know anything, so she just had to wait for now.

However, there was not much time left, and the anxiety leaked out of her mouth. Rodelia looked at Cerdian nervously and asked.

“But Grand Duke, you didn’t come alone, did you? No matter how good your martial arts skills are, I don’t think you’re going to rush into this place alone. I clearly asked you to show me that my choice wasn’t wrong……!”

Her eyes were fierce, putting strength in her last words and hoping that he would give a proper answer. With a smile on his face, Cerdian replied calmly.

“Oh, of course, the reinforcements will arrive soon.”

“That’s a relief.”

A sigh of relief broke out.

“……But you still don’t want to tell me, I guess you have some great plan?”

Even though Rodelia, who was frustrated, spoke with a slightly sarcastic tone, he still didn’t think of opening his mouth at all.

“But before that, we should go in first.”

“How?”

The giant door will surely make a noise. They would certainly be found out.

‘How in the world will you sneak in?’

Rodelia stared at him with a frown.

“I’m going to create a commotion in the bar and lure the owner out. Did you think I wouldn’t have anything prepared like that?”

“…….”

“Wait here a little bit. The owner will be out soon.”

Cerdian hid with Rodelia in a narrow space next to the recessed door.

“How long do we have to be like this?”

“Are you uncomfortable?”

It was uncomfortable. It couldn’t have been fine.

Being so close to each other in a narrow space was something she was totally not used to. But how can she say that in this situation?

Rodelia said in a small voice, calming her wildly beating heart.

“……No, it’s okay.”

At that time, as Cerdian said, the large door slowly opened, and a man who appeared to be the owner of the bar walked out grumbling.

“Aish, what bad luck. What commotion b*llsh*t?”

A husky voice resounded loudly in the vast hallway with the sound of spitting out phlegm.

He swung his thick arm and disappeared toward the bar. Cerdian, who was watching him, carefully pushed his foot through the door just before it closed.

When Cerdian, who first entered, winked, Rodelia quickly entered through the door. Finally, they succeeded in perfectly infiltrating the slave auction house. Somehow, a sense of joy rose from her feet.

The interior was a completely different place from the hallway. It was obvious that the walls, floors, and doors in each room were all carefully selected. Not only were they all made from luxurious materials, the sculptures in the hallway and the paintings on the walls were also quite famous.

It’s too fancy for a place where people bought and sold people. It was like coming to a luxurious art museum.

“What a shameless…….”

Anger welled up from within. She almost said harsh words that were rising from the inside.

Fortunately, she was quickly able to maintain her composure, thanks to the years she spent as an empress, but her cheeks and earlobes, which were burning hot, hardly cooled down. And at that moment.

“Ah, many of you have been waiting for a long time. As much as you’ve waited, we’ve prepared the best products today, so please look forward to it. And without further ado, we’ll show you the first product.”

The host’s voice could be heard faintly from the end of the corridor. Due to this, it was natural that Rodelia’s anger rose even more. She pursed her lips and said coldly.

“Let’s move quickly.”

“……You’re bolder than I thought. I know there will be some guards over there.”

Cerdian said indifferently. In fact, he was so indifferent to other people’s affairs that he often could not understand Rodelia.

To put it nicely, she was a person who had excellent empathy, but in a bad way she can be considered nosy. Sometimes she acted like a fearless person.

Being like that can be an advantage for a country’s empress, but it can also be a weakness if done wrong.

So it was a good thing for him…….

Thinking it was him who pushed Rodelia into this quagmire, a strange feeling came over him again. Even though it was inevitable.

Cerdian could hardly control the uneasy feeling that came from time to time. It was Rodelia’s provocative question that got him out of his thoughts.

“So? Isn’t the Grand Duke going to protect me?”

For a moment a laugh broke out. Serdian glanced at her face, which looked a little angry, and gave a sincere answer.

“That’s right.”