Episode 22
I clutched my aching heart and waved my hand as if to tell him to hurry up and speak.
“Carrie’s Bar — have you heard of it?”
“Carrie’s Bar? Sounds familiar… Ah! Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of it!”
It took me a moment to remember, since I hadn’t expected that name to come out of Mishy’s mouth. When I did, I clapped my hands together and made a fuss as if I’d just realized something big.
Carrie’s Bar — wasn’t that the place Rheinolf was always going to drink himself silly? Even making up some lie about his younger sibling working there.
Come to think of it, I’d almost forgotten lately because Rheinolf had been treating me nicely… but that guy was a con artist, wasn’t he?!
As I frowned at the thought of Rheinolf, Mishy tilted his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Anyway, what about Carrie’s Bar?”
“Well… it’s just that… I have a close hyung, and I think he’s having a hard time investigating Carrie’s Bar.”
“Huh? Investigating? What kind of investigation?”
Mishy bit down on his lip in hesitation.
Hey, do you even realize how dangerous that makes you look right now? If you’d been born in Korea, you’d have been crowned the king of manipulation.
But… by ‘close hyung,’ could he mean the crown prince?
He quickly added that it was just a close hyung, but it’s not like Mishy would have anyone else that close to him. Still, maybe I was underestimating his social circle too much. Judging from his usual range of activities, the people he meets are pretty limited. At most, he sneaks into the knights’ office to help me sometimes — where would he even make new friends?
Yeah, most likely those two really are close like brothers.
Mishy finally let go of his lip, which had puffed up and reddened, and spoke.
Alright, stop it. Good thoughts, good thoughts.
“Well, since hyung is busy — and you’re busy too, of course — I just thought it’d be easier for you to move around. Hyung is just… well…”
“Very busy?”
“Right. Very busy. So… by the way, Ayl, do you know him?”
“No. Why would I? I just figured he’d be busy.”
Even at my half-hearted answer, Mishy let out a small sigh of relief, as if reassured.
Looks like he thinks he’s doing a great job deceiving me. You’re so busted, kid.
“You want me to investigate Carrie’s Bar, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m not asking for anything big. Just… could you go there once?”
“I don’t mind. But why is this hyung investigating Carrie’s Bar? I feel like I need to know that to get a sense of what to look into.”
“Well… the thing is…”
Mishy began explaining in a low voice, and the more I heard, the harder it became to keep my jaw from dropping.
“Let’s form an alliance.”
Rheinolf, who had been showering after training, looked baffled when a hand suddenly appeared in front of him. But the serious look on Heppy’s face — despite being completely naked — kept him from laughing.
“What kind of alliance?”
“You know, right? That Ayl is living in the captain’s house.”
Rheinolf turned off the shower, water dripping down his body. Heppy grimaced at the spray, stepped back, then came closer again.
“So, let’s ally. You and I — we both have the captain as our biggest rival.”
“Well… I don’t think the captain sees me as much of a rival, so I won’t overestimate myself.”
“Wow, you’ve got no guts, huh?”
“Let’s call it being realistic.”
Wrapping a towel around his waist, Rheinolf waved him off, clearly not wanting to be bothered further, and walked out of the shower room.
He was towel-drying his still-damp hair when a large shadow fell over him. Looking up without thinking, Rheinolf’s jaw went slack.
“Captain, have you been working out lately?”
“I always do. Training is exercise.”
“…I see.”
Still staring dumbly at Ron’s well-toned muscles, Rheinolf muttered in defeat — then glanced over at Heppy, who had just come out of the shower.
Damn it. Fine. Let’s do this alliance thing.
Carrie’s Bar.
The name I’d seen countless times on Rheinolf’s receipts now hung on a sign swaying right in front of me.
Its location wasn’t bad — on the main street of the commercial district, the kind of place nobles or wealthy commoners would frequent.
I carefully placed a hand over my pounding heart. Going out beyond the imperial palace — the only other times I’d been outside were when I’d been dragged to Count Poison’s mansion or when I’d traveled to and from Ron’s estate.
Come to think of it, it was more like — get in the carriage, ride a bit, get out, boom, you’re there — so calling those ‘outings’ felt like a stretch.
Now, the reality of being outside made my heart race.
A small hand pressed lightly against my back.
“Aren’t you going in?”
“I am.”
From beneath his slightly lifted hood, blue eyes looked at me.
After hearing Mishy’s explanation, I didn’t want to come alone. But I couldn’t exactly show up with Ron, one of the empire’s most famous figures — that would spread rumors everywhere.
With my small social circle, my only choice was Narein — not yet officially a knight, knew no one in the empire, and insanely strong enough that I didn’t have to worry about his safety.
Naturally, since he’d been cooped up at the estate, he was happy to tag along.
Still… would they even let someone as suspicious-looking as him inside?
“Welcome!”
To my surprise, the employee ran right over to us, even glancing approvingly at Narein under the hood, probably mistaking him for some noble’s son sneaking out to drink.
Well, the robe he was wearing was one Ron had once tossed at me as a ‘gift,’ so it was definitely expensive.
Without any questioning, we were guided inside.
The place looked like a neat pub — wooden tables and chairs scattered around, small groups drinking and chatting. The employee led us to an empty table and brought menus.
“We don’t need menus. We’ll order a Jinkis.”
The employee’s expression shifted slightly at my words. His gaze quickly swept over us before telling us to wait a moment and walking away.
While he was gone, Narein leaned closer.
“What’s Jinkis?”
“A code word.”
“What kind of code?”
“It’ll tell them what we came to investigate.”
Leaving Narein confused, I turned back as the employee returned. He bowed politely, cleared our table, and guided us elsewhere.
We followed him down a twisting corridor until we reached a huge door. He pushed it open — surprisingly smooth for something so heavy-looking — then gestured us inside. This was as far as he went.
Once we stepped through, the door closed silently behind us.
My mouth fell open at the sight in front of me. Beside me, I heard Narein mutter a curse under his breath.
“This is what Soyi wanted you to investigate?”
“Yeah… but…”
I’d known — but this was worse than I imagined.
Mishy had asked me to look into the secret slave trade happening at Carrie’s Bar. It was strictly forbidden by imperial law. Yet, those without money would sell themselves or their children, and those with money would buy them for various reasons.
Everyone knew, but everyone kept quiet — that was the slave trade.
And it seemed the crown prince wanted to root it out.
“Soyi, did you come here to free them all?”
“That’s not possible, is it?”
“Not for the two of us, no.”
Damn it. The curses boiled up inside me.
I’d been warned. Mishy had explained clearly, even told me about the dangers. And yet, swayed by a sense of justice and his pretty face, I’d said it was fine and marched right in here.
I’d seen plenty of movies and documentaries like this. Even in my own world — supposedly democratic and modern — slavery had existed less than a century ago. It wasn’t ancient history, so I thought I was prepared.
But reality was different.
“Damn it… treating people like this… those bastards.”
The slaves were locked in iron cages, each with a price tag. Human beings treated like mere goods.
I could come up with endless disgusting adjectives to describe this, but I didn’t want to sully myself further by putting it into words.
Nausea rose in my throat.
I covered my mouth and looked up. A middle-aged man was approaching.
“So you’re the ones who ordered Jinkis! Welcome.”
He spread his arms wide, smiling in greeting. I slowly lowered my hand from my mouth.
I swallowed the urge to vomit. I had to act shameless. These people dealt with nobles — one slip could arouse deadly suspicion.
After mentally repeating it several times, I managed to respond calmly.
“I came to see if you’ve got any usable slaves.”
“If you tell me the age and gender, I can have some selected. If you have special preferences, I can narrow it down further.”
“The younger, the better.”
“Haha, you know your stuff.”
The man laughed heartily and stepped closer. I instinctively tried to step back, but Narein was there behind me, blocking the way.
Right. I had you.
With that reassuring warmth against my back, I steadied my breathing.
“You’re in luck. We just got a young one in today. I’ll take you to the waiting room.”
Every time his yellow teeth flashed, I fought the urge to throw up in his face.
After passing the cages, we were shown into a waiting room. The moment the man left, I collapsed onto the sofa.
“You can’t get emotional, Soyi. Especially in a place like this.”
“I know… but it’s not that easy. How can you stay so calm?”
Narein removed the hood he’d pulled low over his head. His hair — like waves of blue water — lifted briefly in the air before settling down.
