~Chapter 4~
“Aaaah!!”
“Shhh! Don’t scream—you’ll scare the lady over there, you know? Let’s stay calm, yeah?”
The guy nodded toward me, and honestly, I was just… dumbfounded.
What’s up with this guy??
He gave me a cheeky grin, then started fiddling with the thug’s sleeve like he was searching for something.
And then—he suddenly froze. Like he saw something he really didn’t want to.
Narrowing my eyes, I followed his gaze to the thug’s wrist.
A red scorpion tattoo.
Rustle, rustle.
In that tense silence, the man suddenly bolted out of the carriage like a ghost.
He waved at me from a distance, cheerful as ever.
“Well, I’ve got some urgent business, so I’ll be off! Take care, haha!”
Right then, alarm bells went off in my head.
This situation? Yeah, definitely bad.
My heart felt like it was going to explode, but I relied on my survival instinct and tried to make a run for it—
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Yeah, no chance.
I’m no fighter, and there’s no way I could outrun these guys.
I quickly reached into my bag, ready to tear a scroll—
“Things are moving faster than expected, Captain.”
“Get her.”
But I wasn’t fast enough.
My scrolls spilled all over the floor before I could use one.
This is bad.
Like, end credits before the story even starts bad.
My head started spinning.
I looked around, almost in tears—just in time to see that jerk of a guy running away without a single person chasing him.
And there on the ground were all my scrolls. My fortune.
Forget finding the male lead—step one is surviving.
Desperate times.
“You! Mercenary! I’ll pay you 500,000 gold if you work for me right now!”
“…”
He froze. For real—just stopped like someone hit pause.
He turned his head toward me like a rusty machine, then his lips twitched…
The next second, he was back in the carriage like he’d never left.
The thugs, totally confused, drew their swords—
But the guy beat them all down in seconds.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
He punched their heads like a pro, and they dropped like flies. Looked like cartoon villains.
The two farmer guys in the back even clapped.
“…”
I wanted to scream curse words, but he clearly didn’t care about my feelings.
He just looked at me seriously and asked:
“How long?”
“…One year.”
“Conditions?”
“…Non-disclosure contract.
And a one-year master-servant contract.”
He scratched his chin and nodded like he was thinking.
“A one-year contract for 500,000 gold? That’s… quite generous.”
Then he grinned, bowed like some fancy ballroom noble, and said,
“I’ll serve you like a queen, my lady.”
And I thought:
There goes my entire life savings.
I’m doomed…
—
In the end, I was right to hire him.
“That red scorpion symbol? Yeah, they’re part of the Crimson Scorpion gang.
Big criminal group.
Seeing them here means they were probably targeting noblewomen.”
He made a slashing motion across his neck and grimaced.
“Best not to get involved.
Their work is… messy.”
He dusted his hands off like he was getting rid of germs, even gagging dramatically.
“So, what about you, my lady? How’d you get caught up in this mess?”
Meanwhile, I was banging my head against a tree and laughing bitterly.
Damn it. My money…
I need funds for food, shelter—how am I supposed to make up for all this?
At least this guy really was a mercenary, and yeah, the price was absurd, but he did save my life.
If I’d been alone? I’d probably be sold off by now.
Yeah, human trafficking exists here too. Not even surprised.
“…My lady?”
He was too skilled, which turned out to be a good thing.
He’d taken care of the whole mess so fast, and not a single drop of blood was on his clothes—even though the smell of blood was still in the air.
“Well, I need a guard to get to the capital anyway.”
Trying to stay optimistic, I pulled out two scrolls from my bag.
“Confidentiality agreement.
You know what this means, right?”
“Haha.
What kind of guy do you take me for? I may not look it, but I’m very capable, you know?”
He leaned in with a cocky smile.
“Whatever you ask, I’ll take care of it smoothly, my lady.”
Does he already know what I’m going to ask him to do?
I looked at him with a slightly bitter smile.
A mercenary I just hired for what’s basically 500 million won.
I definitely overpaid.
Should’ve gone with 100 million…
Sighing, I tore the scrolls.
Whatever.
I can slowly siphon off money from the allowance the Count sends to the capital.
I won’t be able to pull big amounts anymore, but still.
“This whole thing counts as running away from home, doesn’t it…”
As soon as I activated the scroll, two small glowing marks—one blue, one purple—appeared on his wrist.
Nice.
The magic worked.
Now, for the job details.
“We’re going to find the Crown Prince’s illegitimate child.”
“…”
Silence.
The forest was completely still.
At least now I didn’t have to travel to the capital alone.
That was something.
I took off my hood and added,
“I’m Roen Estella of the Estella family.
Since we’re in the territory, I don’t need to explain who I am, do I?”
“…”
He just stared at me, blinking slowly like he’d left his brain somewhere.
“This is already a huge headache.
I was going to wait until I got to the capital to hire an informant, but clearly, I underestimated how bad things are out here.
Getting attacked this early on? Ridiculous.”
Finally snapping out of it, he asked in a panicked tone:
“Wait, why is Lady Estella suddenly looking for the Crown Prince’s illegitimate child?!”
I couldn’t even hide how bleak I felt.
I sighed deeply.
“Because I’m the kid’s aunt.”
“…Sorry, what?”
He looked completely lost, eyebrows twisted in disbelief.
“So… you’re the youngest daughter of the Estella family.
And 10 years ago, your older sister ran away and, uh… had an inappropriate relationship with the Crown Prince.
The kid was born, but no one knows where they are, so you’re going to find them… Is that what you’re saying?”
As the story went on, his face just kept getting paler.
“Anyway, isn’t it basic courtesy to introduce yourself when you take a job? What’s your name?”
He forced a smile and replied through gritted teeth:
“…Jin, my lady.”
Seriously? I gave him 500,000 gold—even if it was with a scroll—and this is the attitude I get?
“Haha… ha… ha…”
When I scowled, he stopped laughing and leaned in close with a sharp glare.
“You’re not some spy from Red Dragon or something, right? Trying to sabotage us ‘cause our guild’s doing too well lately?”
He looked honestly upset.
“No one—no one—would take on something this serious for just 500,000 gold!”
“…Just 500,000?”
He raised his voice.
“Imperial-related jobs start at 200,000 gold, minimum! An illegitimate royal child? Even cheap, that’s like 1.56 million gold! No sane person would take this!”
Groaning, he ran his hand through his sleek black hair like he was in pain.
“And yet here I am, the crazy guy who showed up in front of you.
Ha.
Ha.
Ha.”
He stared into space like a broken NPC, then slumped his shoulders and reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a mercenary badge—and I knew exactly what it meant.
Merc badges come in four ranks: platinum, gold, silver, bronze.
His? Gold.
But that’s not what made me gasp.
It was the name of the guild printed on the badge.
Golden Frog.
The biggest, most powerful all-purpose adventurer guild in the empire.
“Yes, my lady.
You’ve managed to hire me at a quarter of my usual rate.
Including a master-servant contract, no less.
I’m probably going to die now, but sure. Haha.”
What the heck…
Did I just hit the jackpot??
