47. Could it be that this mastermind was switched?
I examined the mastermind with doubt, turning him over and over.
But no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t believe it. Unlike the refined, urbane handsome man described in the original story, he looked as ragged as a beggar from the slums.
The underground broker said shamelessly,
“As you requested, I searched every slave market in the south, but the man matching your description was hard to find. It took twice the time and cost than expected.”
In other words, he was asking for extra payment.
I fixed my gaze on the broker seriously.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I said the man I’m looking for has platinum blonde hair and vivid red eyes.”
But the man in front of me was completely different from the one I was searching for.
“There must be someone else to fool — this guy doesn’t even have platinum hair…”
His hair was pitch black, as if covered in soot, thick enough to make me wonder if it was a wig.
“And he’s wearing old, tattered rags.”
Through the torn fabric of his clothes, his ribs showed sharply. His face was beaten to the point he looked like he hadn’t even been given porridge to eat.
Whether he had been beaten somewhere or not, his whole body was a mess of bruises and scars.
The broker answered nonchalantly.
“Of course, not ‘right now,’ but this was the only man that matched your description.”
No, exactly how does that match?
“Is he even an adult? At best, he looks like a teenager.”
“His poor nutrition makes him appear smaller than his original build.”
“That’s still pushing it.”
I scanned him suspiciously.
He was curled up, so I couldn’t tell his exact body size, but he definitely didn’t look like the sturdy build described in the original story.
His hair color, appearance, even his age range — nothing matched.
How on earth was this man the one I was looking for?
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“Am I being swindled?”
Did I really look like a rich fool?
Then the broker’s smiling face instantly vanished.
“Are you dissatisfied with the result of the request?”
I could clearly see dozens of deep scars on his face like wrinkles.
I thought they were just wrinkles when he was smiling, but it turned out each one was a cut made by a blade.
gulp.
I thought his smile was scary, but his serious face was dozens of times scarier.
“…Am I just getting swindled?”
There was no way I could demand a refund given how he looked.
But twenty million gold was way too much to be scammed.
Money or life.
I pondered for a moment before speaking.
“It’s not that I’m dissatisfied. It’s just that this doesn’t quite match what I requested…”
An awkward smile appeared on my face, and my voice automatically took on a submissive tone.
Twenty million gold was on the line, but who cared about pride?
I planned to somehow persuade the broker and solve this peacefully.
Then, at that moment, the system window popped up with a personal verification.
【SYSTEM: Achievement unlocked! ‘Mastermind’s Secret’】
【SYSTEM: 300 Luck Points have been awarded.】
[☞ Use points now ☜]
“So this guy really is the mastermind?”
I found it hard to believe, but the system wouldn’t trick me.
It never gave points without reason, especially not like this.
I nodded.
“…I guess it was just my misunderstanding. I’ll take this man with me.”
“Thank you, customer.”
Only then did the broker wipe the fierce expression off his face.
After paying the full fee, I took a closer look at the man.
He had a metal collar around his neck, and metal shackles on his hands and feet.
Whenever he moved, the chains rattled.
“Aren’t you treating him too harshly? I told you to bring him here without so much as a scratch.”
“I brought him exactly as I received him from the slave dealer, but the dealer said he resisted fiercely and it was safer to keep him shackled.”
“I doubt he can even walk on two feet, let alone resist.”
When I expressed suspicion, the broker smirked.
“He was indeed like that while I had him. He seems calm during the day, but at night he fiercely resists. It wouldn’t be easy to subdue him without an electric shock device connected to his collar.”
“Electric shock device?”
What kind of inhumane thing is that?
“Yes, the collar has a device that sends a high voltage current. One push of this button and he’ll pass out immediately.”
The broker handed me a palm-sized device.
“Although he looks fragile, his constitution is naturally strong, so it won’t endanger his life.”
How could anyone treat such a fragile-looking person like that…?
I couldn’t shake the aching shock as if I’d been hit in the head.
What kind of life has this man lived?
He still had no focus in his eyes, just trembling shoulders full of fear.
“I want to talk to him quietly. Could you leave us for a moment?”
“Of course.”
The broker willingly stepped aside.
Just before leaving, he whispered some background about the man.
Click—
The heavy door closed, and the man flinched.
“Hello?”
I spoke as kindly as possible, but he buried his head in his knees and avoided my gaze.
“My name is Roselia. I’m your new master.”
“Master?”
At the word “master,” he suddenly lifted his head. For a moment, his ruby-red eyes flashed.
Those bright red eyes matched the original story.
“That’s right. I heard you’re very capable. I’ll be asking you to do some errands from now on—”
“No!”
He shouted hysterically.
“I don’t want to kill people anymore, or lock them up and torture them…”
He mumbled in a ghostly, unfocused voice.
[It seems he was treated quite harshly by the slave dealer. There are traces of drug use to tame him. It will take some time for him to come back to his senses.]
The broker’s words flashed through my mind.
At that moment, I was certain.
His life had never, ever been smooth — it was a miracle he was still alive.
“I wish it weren’t true.”
His appearance, personality, and atmosphere were all different, yet his miserable past was exactly like the original story.
“Maybe it’s a blessing I rescued him earlier than in the original.”
In the original, the mastermind wandered through slave markets before barely escaping, where he met the original heroine, Seraphine.
Seraphine found him in a pitiful state, took him in, and healed his wounds.
Once he regained consciousness, the mastermind swore absolute loyalty to Seraphine, his lifesaver.
He would stop at nothing for Seraphine, crossing legal and illegal boundaries, protecting her with his unique abilities.
“So this time, I’ll be the mastermind’s savior.”
If I saved him before Seraphine, he’d be absolutely loyal to me too…
Bang!
While I was lost in these hopeful thoughts, the man slammed his head hard against the bars.
The shackles clanked as he thrashed.
“Just kill me now.”
He still looked vacant, with no hope left in his sunken, ruined eyes.
The violent reaction sent chills down my spine.
“His condition is worse than I thought.”
I took a deep breath and spoke calmly.
“Listen carefully. What I want you to do isn’t like that.”
Bang, bang, bang.
“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but I’m not interested in taking lives.”
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
“I’ll just ask you to run simple errands. There might be dangers sometimes, but I’ll be prepared—”
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang…
“Hey, listen when I’m talking!”
Startled, I grabbed both his shoulders.
The desperate man kept banging his head against the bars. Blood trickled from his head.
“Let go of my hands right now.”
His face looked like he was about to die, yet he bared sharp, beast-like fangs.
I really didn’t want to do this.
I shook the electric shock device in front of him.
“You know what this is, right? Look carefully.”
“…!”
As his gaze turned to the device in my hand, I quickly tossed it to the corner of the room.
Suddenly, the deadness in his eyes flickered back to life.
“See? I don’t want to hurt you. I won’t use that thing, obviously. The tasks I want to ask you are very ordinary.”
Of course, “ordinary” was in the mastermind’s standards.
Anne would be horrified, but the mastermind would handle them calmly.
“…Do you think I’ll believe that?”
He said sharply.
“I’ve been treated like cattle all my life, sold again and again… Do you think I’ll believe you?”
His eyes shone brightly.
But it wasn’t with fighting spirit — it was filled with resentment and pain.
