IWS Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The grip on my wrist, already being pulled painfully hard, grew even tighter.

Even though I was just a child struggling to keep up with an adult’s strides, the caretaker seemed dissatisfied with my slow pace. He roughly yanked me forward again whenever I lagged behind.

“Hurry up and follow me.”

Even with his low warning, this was the best I could do.

I was never the type to let stress get to me, so I simply ignored his words and took my time observing the unfamiliar corridor I was being led through.

Unlike the area where we lived, there were no locks or iron bars here. That suggested this was the space where the caretakers resided. As I passed by an open door, I caught a glimpse of caretakers gathered inside, which confirmed my guess.

‘But why is he taking me to a place like this?’

I had my suspicions, but I wasn’t in a position to ask, so I just quietly followed him without a word.

Finally, we reached the end of the hallway, stopping in front of the largest door.

Knock, knock—

“It’s me. I’ve brought the goods as requested.”

“Come in.”

His polite tone was unfamiliar. Just from the way he spoke, I could tell that whoever we were about to meet was an important figure in this place.

As the door slowly creaked open, a thick, acrid scent stung my nose.

Inside, the room looked like an office, with hazy smoke hanging in the air.

“Is that it?”

A short cigar was lowered, and the man who had referred to me as that lifted his gaze.

Through the swirling smoke, his face came into view—old, fat, and ill-tempered. He looked exactly like one of those classic villains straight out of a fairy tale.

It wasn’t easy to look that much like a bad guy. Maybe I had grown too used to all the beautiful disasters around me because it was jarring to see someone with such an overwhelmingly unpleasant face.

“Yes. This is the one.”

The caretaker abruptly yanked me forward, shoving me toward the man while referring to me as this.

A sense of foreboding washed over me as I shrank back, cradling my sore wrist with my other hand.

“So, you’re Mary, huh? Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Madam Wellesley.”

Madam Wellesley?

The mention of the countess’s name made my eyes narrow slightly as I looked up at him.

Not many people in this slave shop could claim to have a close relationship with the countess. And judging by his appearance, this man held a significant position here.

In other words, unless he was the owner of this slave shop, there was no way he could speak so familiarly about the countess.

“It’s not easy to gain Madam Wellesley’s favor… but it seems you’ve done just that.”

“…..”

“I’ve read your evaluation reports—no particularly bad remarks during training, you seem to be quick-witted, and most importantly, I hear you’re very protective of your roommates.”

Hearing those words, my eyes widened slightly in realization.

I had seen a scene similar to this in the original novel.

Right before Cecil was sent to her first educator, she was visited by a man.

Back then, the novel had described that man as smoking a cigar.

“I have a very important task for you. If you do as you’re told, you and your friends will remain safe.”

My eyes snapped to attention at his words.

An important task—the same words that had been spoken to Cecil in the novel.

That task was…

“It’s nothing difficult. All you have to do is give this to the noble who will be educating you.”

A transparent liquid sloshed inside a glass bottle as he pulled it out and dangled it in front of me. It looked just like water.

The man waved it lightly in front of my eyes before pressing it into my hand.

“There will also be a maid I’ve planted in that household. She will approach you separately. Just take what she gives you and pass it along to me—that’s all you need to do. Simple, right?”

Thick smoke curled from his lips, obscuring my vision, but I had no time to care about that.

The weight of the glass bottle in my palm was the only thing I could focus on.

Even an idiot would know—this was something dangerous.

Something that could take a person’s life.

And Cecil had been the same in the original novel.

She had received poison from this man before being sent to a noble’s household for training.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

The idea of killing someone had been too terrifying for her.

And because she failed, she was locked away in solitary confinement for a long, long time.

The exact duration was never mentioned… but it was said to be an extremely long time.

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As the endless punishment, starvation, and pitch-black darkness continued without an end in sight… Cecil gradually began to lose her mind.

The realization that all this terrible suffering had happened because she couldn’t bring herself to kill someone made Cecil slowly lose the last remnants of her sanity. One could say that this was the turning point—where the once-timid and introverted girl began her descent into becoming one of the most dreadful calamities.

‘I’m relieved. That Cecil isn’t here right now.’

I couldn’t help but feel genuinely relieved at that fact. I was sincerely grateful that I was the one receiving this proposal instead of Cecil.

Because I knew exactly how to handle that noble.

“But if I do this job well… my friends will really be safe?”

Just to be sure, I asked again, wanting to hear a definite answer. The man’s lips curled into a strange smile.

“Yes. As long as you successfully complete what I ask, safe won’t even begin to describe it. I’ll ensure that the goods in your room are treated with the utmost care. If you’d like, I might even keep them from being sent to education for the time being.”

“Really?”

I hadn’t even asked for that, yet he offered it himself. I had absolutely no reason to refuse.

“T-then, I’ll do my best! I’ll make sure to succeed…!”

“Haha—how delightful.”

The man chuckled loudly, seemingly pleased with how I held the glass bottle in my hand and responded with such determination.

“Hahahaha—I’ll tell all the caretakers in the facility to treat the goods in your room with special care.”

“Thank you very much.”

“But you must keep this in mind. Everything depends on whether you succeed in doing what I’ve asked. If you fail to feed that to them…”

“….”

Drawing out his words for effect, the man leisurely bit down on the cigar in his mouth.

“I’ll sell you off to Marquis Drummond. You do still remember him, don’t you?”

“….?”

I blinked my eyes wide in surprise at his casual threat.

‘If he sends me to that man…. the marquis will probably faint on the spot….?’

Clearly, this man didn’t know that Marquis Drumard suffered from a crippling fear of women. He must have thought he was scaring me by mentioning the most dangerous person possible. But ironically, his attempt at intimidation fell completely flat.

Now, instead of feeling threatened, I was just… confused.

Well… um… since it is a threat… I should probably act scared… right…?

“Ah… yes. That’s… terrifying.”

Oh no, my reaction is totally broken.

I tried to put on a frightened expression, but it was just impossible. I kept picturing the marquis’s horrified face as he received me as a gift and immediately bolted in the opposite direction. The thought was just too funny.

I just stood there, hoping he wouldn’t notice my odd reaction. The man, looking slightly awkward, briefly glanced at the manager before clearing his throat with a forced cough and waving a hand.

“You may take her away now. And make sure to report back on the situation later.”

“A-ah, yes. Understood. You, come with me.”

Even the caretaker, who seemed a little flustered by my weird response, hurriedly led me out of the room.

Thinking that I had somehow managed to get away with it, I quietly followed behind him, absentmindedly stroking the glass bottle in my pocket as we walked toward the waiting carriage.

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