IWTGHFW CHAPTER 23

Episode 23

Just a moment ago, my stomach had felt like it was about to turn over, but now it was as calm as facing a tranquil sea.
Watching Narein’s hair slowly settle down, the tension in my body eased.

With a face like an unruffled ocean, Narein spoke casually.

“Still, this isn’t a blood-soaked battlefield.”

Ah.
What had I just been thinking? A calm sea? What a joke.

Narein was a storm — the kind that capsizes ships and sends furious waves crashing over the entire ocean.

When I silently looked at him, he gave a faintly sulky smile.
But once you’ve seen the heaviness hidden behind that smile, you can’t unsee it.

The weight of it pressed heavily against my chest.
After all, I also worked for the Imperial family, so perhaps, in some small way, I had contributed to that boy’s wounds.

When I came here, the subjugation campaign had already ended, but that didn’t mean it was completely unrelated to me. If another one happened this winter, I would be buried in administrative work to send the knights out.

As my thoughts spiraled deeper, Narein tugged playfully at my arm.
I gave him a faint smile—when the door suddenly opened again.

A middle-aged man entered the waiting room with some staff.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. This is the new young slave we just brought in. Now, come out and greet your master!”

The child he brought was small, only about as tall as his waist.
With swollen bare feet, the child shuffled forward and bowed to us. She wore fairly clean clothes, but they couldn’t hide her rough, straw-like hair and dirt-smudged face.
One look was enough to tell she had been neglected for a long time.

A curse rose to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it.
Today, I was here on Mishi’s request — just to investigate.
My job was to see, hear, and feel what was going on here and report it back to her.
For the sake of a bigger goal, I had to hold back my anger for now.

“Name?”

“M… Melina.”

Her voice trembled faintly at the end.
I forced my expression back into place and asked the man:

“How much for her?”

“She’s the youngest we have, and she’s brand new, so the price is a little high.”

He wrote down the price — 500 gold coins.

I quickly calculated in my head.

That was about a successful merchant’s monthly wage.
A lot to spend on a “product,” but… not that much either.

Something’s fishy.

I narrowed my eyes, carefully examining the child.

This was the largest slave market in the capital.
Its customers ranged from wealthy merchants to nobles — people so rich they could throw gold on the streets and still have more than enough.
For them to price a brand-new “product” this low?

It meant either there was a flaw with the product, or the real purpose lay elsewhere.

Following the man’s gaze, I noticed it avoided me — and landed on Narein.
He seemed uninterested in the child, glancing idly around the room.

But I clearly saw the greed flicker in the man’s eyes when he looked at Narein without his hood.

That bastard…

He made a subtle hand signal to his staff.
He must have thought we were just naïve kids who didn’t know the ways of the world — but unfortunately for him, we’d been through it all.

The plan was obvious: tempt us with a low price to lower our guard, then go after Narein.

Narein, meeting my gaze, gave me a small nod. He’d noticed too.
I put on an expression as though I’d taken the bait.

I happened to have an emergency stash Ron had once told me to use if necessary.
Even though my plan was only to investigate today, I couldn’t ignore a child in such circumstances.
So I spent the entire stash to buy her.

After the sale, the man gave a few instructions about the child, and she bowed deeply to us.

One of the staff escorted us outside.
We left behind their nauseating farewell of “Please come again.”

And sure enough, as soon as we turned into an alley, dark figures appeared.

I hid the frightened child behind me and signaled to Narein — “Deal with them quickly so we can go home.”
But he gave me a strange look instead, then pulled back his hood, showing his face clearly.

What the hell is he doing?

“Well, well. No wonder the boss has his eye on you. Come quietly, and we’ll let your friend go.”

What a joke.
This boy had passed the Imperial Knights’ exam at fourteen.

I held back from telling them I’d crush their pride myself — I didn’t want to get in Narein’s way while he handled them.

But then, a trembling voice hit my ears:

“P-please… spare me.”

“Good. Just come with us, and we’ll let your friend go. You’ll find a nice master — a noble will probably buy you, so you won’t suffer.”

“Really? You’ll let my friend go?”

Wait… what is he doing?

While I stared at him in disbelief, Narein’s trembling — even from behind — looked utterly convincing.

“Once my friends get in the carriage, I’ll come with you.”

“A carriage, huh…?”

As expected, they had no intention of letting us go.
Shadow 1 glanced at Shadow 2, who looked at me and the child and smirked.

“Let them go. What could they possibly do?”

Okay, I may be powerless right now, but still — insulting.

But it didn’t take long to figure out what Narein was planning.
He was pretending to be taken hostage to dig for more information.

Worried, I tugged at his sleeve, but he tapped the back of my hand lightly — “It’s fine.”

His eyes held an unshakable determination.
I sighed and let go.

Well, if he could hold his own against Rheinolf, one of the top Imperial Knights, he’d be fine.

The shadows even went so far as to bring a carriage.
As it pulled up, I let out a deep sigh.
We’d only come for a quick investigation, and now I’d bought a slave, and Narein was becoming a hostage.

“Get in! If you stall, your friend will regret it!”

Yeah, sure. If he gets angry, you’ll be corpses before you know it.

I bit my tongue and climbed into the carriage with the child.
As I was closing the door, I overheard them.

“Hey, isn’t that boy a noble? What’s the boss thinking, messing with a noble?”

“With the right backer, even nobles don’t matter. Ever heard of a blue-haired noble? If he is one, he’s low-ranking.”

“True. With a marquis backing us, what’s there to fear?”

Click—

The old carriage door shut, and we rolled forward.

Were they really that stupid? Talking about such critical things right in front of me?

Still, I got a nice piece of intel — their backer was a marquis.

Since Ron was also a marquis, at least they were of equal rank.
This might be doable.

Clenching my fist, I prayed for Narein’s safe return.

“So you went and did something dangerous without telling me?”

“If I told you, you’d have come along.”

“Of course I would! How could I not, knowing you were going somewhere like that?!”

Ron slammed the table in frustration.
I looked up at him blankly, then rubbed my slightly warm cheek.

Whoa… almost swooned there. Focus. This is not the time.

“Anyway, where’s the kid who came with me?”

“I had her washed and put to bed. You, on the other hand—ugh, forget it.”

Still fuming, Ron gulped down his drink.

Just then, a knock sounded, and his adjutant, Sean, entered.

“Ah, Sean, sorry to call you after hours. But it’s urgent.”

“No problem. If the commander calls, it must be important.”

I greeted Sean with a nod, and he winked back.
Ron stomped his foot — apparently annoyed again.

Once Sean sat down, I explained everything in detail.
Ron, though already familiar with the gist, got angry all over again, pounding the armrest several times.

When I finished, Sean pushed up his glasses.