Chapter 14. A New Meeting, Part VI

Newspapers viewed by the nobility were simple lists of information, whereas the ones read by the commoners contained all kinds of rumors. More than half of the newspaper was filled with false rumors, but there were the occasional rumors that ended up true, so there would be no loss if she saw got her hands on one. In any case, since she knew the future, she would not be swayed by rumors.

“Jessie, get me a newspaper. Tell him to sell it to you because I’ll pay for the full month’s returns. And every time the newspaper comes out, make sure that you go and buy it.”

“Yes? Oh, yes, Miss.”

After hearing that Aria would buy that piece of trash-like paper, all the attendants that followed her began to think negatively of her, ‘She would buy such a dirty, smelly newspaper.’ They began to think that her humble birth could not be changed.

Whether they thought like that or not, Aria didn’t care. She began to slowly read the purchased newspaper. Since the general store was not too far from the boutique, she couldn’t read all of it in detail, but she was able to confirm roughly one big incident.

[Where Are All the Missing People?]

As soon as she saw the title in large cursive letters, she instantly realized what was happening.

There were rumors of human trafficking happening in the empire, where slavery was outlawed. Terrible things had occurred in the deep, covert places of fancy casinos. Becoming a slaver within the empire was such a foolish and stupid thing to do.

In the basement of an underground casino in the city, kidnapped people were locked behind bars, unable to escape from being drugged. Women were sold as sex slaves, while the men were sold to foreign countries to work to their deaths.

The reason why she could remember this so vividly was that the Crown Prince had uncovered the criminals, and so, they had made massive public announcements about it for a while.

‘The case that the Crown Prince uncovered…’

She looked through the newspaper and tried to find a connection, but nothing came to her mind. In the first place, she had been young, so she hadn’t had any interest. At the time, she had thought that the people were just being noisy.

Things were like that. No matter how much she knew about the future, it would be impossible for her to befriend the Crown Prince. In the past, even when she had charmed many men in the empire with the fascinating beauty, she hadn’t even been able to see the Crown Prince’s shadow. To begin with, he lived a different world from hers, so she had no chance of encountering him.

It was sufficient to have befriended Sarah, who would become the marquise, to ensure a safe future. Not to mention Oscar, whom she was about to meet. Though an opportunity might present itself in the future, now wasn’t the time.

With that small, young body, there was nothing she could do. If she were to loiter around the casino, security might come out to question her, so Aria erased the casino slavery case from her head.

“Miss, we have arrived.”

After relishing the memories of her past after looking at the newspaper, she noticed that the carriage had already arrived at the general store and stopped moving. Other than the slave case, there wasn’t much to the information that helped her, so she laid the newspaper down and headed into the general store.

In the old, narrow store, there were two men who appeared to be customers and an elderly man, the owner. The air quickly became stuffy once she and her party entered the space. There was little room to move in the first place, but she didn’t frown.

“Wel… come.”

The owner opened his eyes wide as if he recognized Aria. That was due to them living in the same neighborhood when she was poor, so they had met face-to-face a few times, and only Aria and her mother had risen in status from within the territory.

Unlike in the boutique, even before her rise in status, she had visited this place to buy things. However, since the owner was of low birth and could not dare to speak to Aria as a noble, he gave her the completed hourglass quietly.

When she saw his hands trembling, she realized that he must have heard the rumors about her. She was only a fourteen-year-old child, but it was comical and strange that she had become the subject of fear just because her status had risen.

“Please… Take a look.”

Like the elderly man said, Aria began to scan the finished hourglass for cracks, to see if the sand was falling properly and to see if the glass was slanted or not. After checking everything, she confirmed that it had been restored to its complete state.

“It’s great to see the hourglass that was in pieces be fixed so neatly. Truly amazing.”

She was also satisfied with how the hourglass was stored in a box with a soft cloth. If she were to keep it in her own deep, private compartment, no one would be able to touch it.

Aria told Jessie to pay double the price that was originally agreed. That itself spoke more than words of praise, causing the old man to humbly bow his head.

“Miss, are we returning to the mansion?”

“No, let’s take a look around for a bit.”

It was a long and leisurely outing, so she felt something lacking just leaving like that and decided to look around at the general store instead. From forged dolls to large items of which their purposes were unknown, there were all sorts of strange items lying around.

‘In the past, I used to admire all those useless things.’

They were full of dust, and their colors had even changed. A strange decoration dangled as she swiped it with her hand. ‘What a shabby item!’ However, it also made her feel pleased.

Aria was walking slowly through the inside of the store when she found the two men looking intently at the exact same item for some time. They were the same two men who had been there before she even entered the general store.

While they were distracted, she approached them, getting very close. Though their capes hid them well so that she couldn’t see them clearly, they were definitely male by their heights.

No breath was heard from the two men who stared at the items on a cabinet without moving. As such, even Aria held her breath. Though they were preoccupied with the items enough not to notice her, she somehow felt that they were dangerous.

“…Miss, we should return.”

Her escort knights probably felt the same way, as one of the knights stood between the two men and Aria with a restless face.

The knights’ hands were placed on the scabbards by their waists. Aria gulped and nodded. She had started her life anew, so she never thought of putting herself in danger. Aria turned around and headed toward the door. Only then, did the tension ease, and the guards who followed her opened the door with a reassuring face.

As soon as she was about to walk through the door, Aria, who finally looked at the old man, stopped in surprise. She had done so clearly because of a small piece of paper placed on the counter in front of the old man.

‘That is…’

Aria knew that piece of paper, and it was certain that it would bring misfortune to the deftly skilled old man.

After pondering over it for a while, she soon turned around to give the elderly man a piece of advice. Originally, she wouldn’t have been concerned about it, but after he had satisfyingly fixed the hourglass, she wanted to express her gratitude.

“That auction participation pass, I suggest you resell it. You won’t be able to use it.”

“What, what are you saying…?”

“… I’ve delivered my message. The choice is up to you, old man.”

In the basement of the casino, they bought and sold people in secret, but publicly, they handled various items and auctions as well.

Those participation passes cost too much for ordinary commoners, but since a few days ago, long lines of people would form from those seeking entry rights before the start of the auction. That was because there were rumors going around that rare items would be sold for cheap. In addition, rumors had been circulating that if anyone sold the goods that were bought there, they would make a good profit. That was probably why the old man had gotten the pass to participate in the auction.