Chapter 2 - I'm Getting a Job As The Duke’s Wife

“Please buy me.”

As it was an unexpected remark, the man was silent. I know this is an embarrassing demand.

But for me, this is a heaven-sent opportunity.

There is someone who needs my ability, he looks pretty rich, and may have such a shame situation for him to approach a slave. My gut was saying that I had to seize this opportunity.

‘Make this man to be my master!’

I remembered the interview in my previous life and talked about how prepared slave I was.

“I have been abused since I was young, so I’m quick witted and eat less, so it is efficient. I was insulted frequently, so my mental health is strong. If you buy me, I will be a good employee, no, a good slave, who know her place, if you ask me to do one thing, I will do ten things. I am confident that I won’t ask any questions about what I’m told to do and follow it without my soul…”

The man who was listening to my introduction laughed. It felt eerie as a wolf laughing.

The man said kindly to me when I stopped talking without realizing it.

“I’m sorry, Miss, I can’t buy you.”

“Why?”

The man answered my dissatisfied question.

“Slave trading is illegal. I’m thinking about burning this ship.”

“What?”

“If the slaves and the slave traders are gone, the troublesome problem will be solved.”

“…”

No, why are the shown owner candidates crazy?

I swore inside and asked calmly.

“Why are you scaring me when you are not even going to burn it?”

The man flinched, and asked.

“What makes you think I wouldn’t do that?”

“You came in secretly because you were looking for something. You haven’t found it yet. Aren’t you approaching the slave you found by chance because you are curious about the information she has?”

Then the expression disappeared from the man’s face. The expressionless face was more natural, so the laughter he had so far seemed to be acting.

“Right, you’re very smart.”

The man spoke at ease. I was annoyed by the way he sounded like he was praising a puppy, but I held it in.

This is a man who could really burn the ship. Probably thinking of it as a last decision. He was being generous to me for the information, so it wasn’t good to cross the line too much.

“I can give you the information you want. Of course, it is not free.”

“Do you want money?”

“Of course, I would be grateful if you gave me money.”

I added with a smile.

“First, please hire me. You can’t buy slaves, but it’s okay to hire them as your subordinates, right?”

“I don’t have a woman under me.”

“Then do it now. Are you proud of not hiring women?”

The man blinked in surprise when I shot back coldly. I coughed, as I felt a little over the top.

“And please make my brother a free man. He is still young, so I hope it applies until he becomes an adult. It would be better if you send him to the Academy.”

With the conditions as big as possible, I took a glance at the man. It may be just my feeling, but the atmosphere seemed to have eased a little.

“I don’t think the information you have is worth that much.”

I shrugged at the man’s voice.

“When did I say it would be a single-use? I said I can give you the information you want. Anytime and anywhere.

The ice-like blue eyes stared at me. Is the color of the glaciers like that? It was a very beautiful but cold color. As I kept looking at it, I thought I would be sucked in, so I avoided looking at it and added.

“Instead, the person with the information should be in front of me.”

“Are you going to torture them?”

“No. I can steal the information without the person noticing it.”

“How?”

The man asked with interest. I answered back while raising my head.

“If you are curious, then hire me. You have the ability to do that, don’t you?”

After a brief silence, the man said.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I was going to throw it away if I couldn’t find it. Even if it’s a lie, the burning time just delayed a little.”

Burn what? The boat?

The man asked me, who got chilled.

“What’s your name?”

“Evelyn.”

“I think you’re from a noble family, don’t you have a family name?”

“It is Evelyn Gran. It is meaningless because it is already a ruined family.”

I answered frankly. The man nodded with satisfaction.

“All right, Evelyn. I accept your terms. However, on the premise that everything you say is true.”

I looked at him with wide eyes. I shouted randomly, but I didn’t expect him to accept it so willingly.

Maybe I looked funny, the man smirked.

“Why did you put that face on if you think it’s going to work out?”

“No…”

The moment I tried to say, ‘for the peace of mind’, my legs suddenly lost strength. I fell to the floor like a doll with a broken string.

The man stretched out his hand with a surprised face. I reflexively backed away from him. Fortunately, the man who was blocked by the bars couldn’t come closer.

“Fi, I am fine. I just felt dizzy from starving.”

“Are you starving?”

“About three days. Besides, could you give me some water, please?”

I talked so much that my throat felt like it was tearing. The man turns his head and his subordinate crosses the canteen.

The swaying sound possessed me to rise and crawl towards it. The man who saw it pulled the canteen back.

“I don’t think you’ve been able to drink enough water, let alone starve.”

“Yo, you are not going to give it to me?”

I looked at the man with wobbly eyes. Don’t tell me you’re going to torment me with water.

The man who shook his head when he saw me anxious, took a handkerchief out of his arms.

“If I just give it to you, you will drink it holus-bolus then you’ll get sick.”

“…”

I was a little upset, but I couldn’t refute it. The man wetted the handkerchief with the canteen’s water then held it out.

“It will help you if you keep it in your mouth.”

I looked hesitantly at the wet handkerchief. I wanted to accept it if I could.

But the man with the handkerchief and me too, were barehanded. My ability comes through contact, so I was in trouble if his hand brushed.

“Here, come.”

The man whispered as if to tempt me.

I knew he was testing me. He must have noticed something because I stepped back to avoid him when I collapsed.

‘He’s such a sharp man for no reason.’

I pulled my head out and the handkerchief. The man’s eyes got a little bigger.

I bit the handkerchief with my teeth and pulled it straight. Instead of grabbing me in the face, he handed me his handkerchief.

“You’re very clever.”

I brushed aside his words, sucking the water from the handkerchief. The man who was looking at me slowly got up.

Only then I realized he had one knee on the floor. No wonder his men stared at me like hell.

“I’ll be back in an hour.”

The man who spoke slightly turned round. I quickly pulled the handkerchief out of my mouth and shouted.

“Master, your name!”

The man who hesitated looked back at me. The cold stare made me cringe.

The man said, with an eerie smile around his mouth.

“I don’t want you to call me master.”

“You didn’t tell me another name for me to call you.”

A timid grumble was answered by a man who was silent for a moment.

“Seth Elmayer.”

It was a familiar name for some reason. But it didn’t occur to me where I heard it.

“Then shall I call you Elmayer-nim*?”

*is the highest form of honorifics and above ssi in Korean. Nim will follow addressees’ names.

“Well.”

The man- no, Seth had an ambiguous face. What kind of expression is that? I don’t even know whether he likes it or not.

“I don’t think you’ll ever call me that.”

“What?”

Seth smiled and headed outside. His subordinate gave me a fierce stare and followed him.

I stared blankly at the door that closed without a sound.

* * *

The light left by Seth faded and disappeared.

Suddenly I felt uneasy as it got dark everywhere.

‘He’ll come back, right?’

He didn’t seem like a man who would be lying. But he could change his mind. Biting my lips in nervousness, I pulled myself together.

‘I don’t have to be nervous. If he doesn’t show up, I can find someone else.’

Anxiety exists because there are expectations. I knew how easily expectations could ruin people. I didn’t want to expect anything from anyone.

As soon as I tried to pull myself together, the door suddenly opened and the light came on. A slave trader with a lamp rushed inside. He asked with his plump cheeks quivering.

“Hey you, was there a man you hid?”

“Just sleep if you’re sleepy, what nonsense.”

The merchant shouted at me, grumbling.

“If not, why does your aristocrat lover come? He even mentioned your name and said would pay for your ransom!”

At the word, I got the hang of it. It was Seth for sure.

It is suspicious if an aristocrat suddenly came to buy a slave that was hidden, because it was illegal.

That’s why Seth seems to be using the excuse of being a lover with me. The lover is a slave, so he follow her here to save her.

‘If he just says that he is a family… i, it won’t work, right? The brother and sister have been sold because their house is ruined, so who would have come and saved them?’

After all, pretending to be a lover is the best option. Even though it was quite a plausible situation, the merchant was looking at my reaction with suspicious eyes.

‘Oh, if I make a mistake, might I die even before meeting Seth?’