Chapter 4

Warning: This chapter contains strong language which may be offensive and/or inappropriate to some readers.

She did not miss the wondering eyes of the man.

She could not express how much relief she felt at the time.

“Would this be enough for me to offer in exchange?”

Celestia let go of his hand after she made sure his hand was completely healed. The man carefully looked at the back of his hand for a long time before shifting his eyes to stare at her.

“Okay. Then, come to my palace and treat me.”

“What? What about my brother?!”

“I am buying you because I need you. I can’t just let you go. I will bring you that brother of yours or whatever you want.”

‘Yay, so this is good, right?’

She felt so happy that she almost thanked Serangueban for having the magic gin on him. But luckily, she was also smart. She could not have made such a grave mistake if she remembered it was not for that son of a bitch.

The man jagged at one of his attendants and turned around.

The dealer put down his cheap sword while she managed to gain her freedom. The man raised his chin nodding his head towards the dealer. One of his attendants came closer to him, carrying a bag full of gold coins. But the slave dealer refused many times, saying that he would not accept this large amount of gold.

‘What’s wrong with him? Is he crazy?’

Celestia stared blankly at the scene, rethinking his words.

‘Did he just say a palace?’

‘Pa….lace….?’

It was the crowning procession of three carriages of the party of the man, who was now her master. It was so excessive that she could not understand whether it was a carriage exhibition. Even the most unattractive of them was so splendid that her heart was pounding when she went to sit on its luggage compartment.

The coachmen, the people with long spears and even those who appeared to be the servants, were all dressed in fine clothes.

The luggage compartment was behind the carriage, so she was facing against the direction of the progress. That was the reason why she could see more of those prominent figures. Nobody was as perplexed as she was.

She felt like she was the only one out of this party. A shabby streak, wearing no shoes. And now that she became a slave…..she was no longer a free folk.

She liked it when she lived in the back alley where everyone was at the same level as her. She was already missing the back alley of Golddina. There was no need to feel anger, even though it smelled like dirt every day and even when it was a frequent visiting spot for the police and criminals.

The word “Serek being a son of a bitch” was now very far away. The horse neighed as the carriage began to rattle.

The procession moved quietly forward. She let go of the thoughts as she felt the carriage sway. Things could not have gotten any better.

But it was not that she wasn’t worried at all. She was going to a place that was completely unknown to her. Was that man a friend or a foe? She thought he had a good eye for people, but she definitely could not read his mind. He was either a person who was pure and expressive, or a person who hid his innermost thoughts.

‘Ah, I don’t know.’

She stretched and looked at the calm scenery flowing from behind her. Trees, houses, chimneys, mountains, and the golden color of the fields of ripe barley waving in the distance.

She had been nervous all this time, watching the unseen sights one by one.

She wanted to let the man know where her brother was as soon as possible. She was afraid that he would be running out of medicine by now.

Where would her brother stay? She couldn’t be indebted to him for that. There might be a custom here, like in the capital of Golddina, for not renting rooms for outsiders. Then it would be difficult……

Could it be possible that she would get a small salary for taking care of his illness? But he certainly said they were exchanging each other’s needs. It might be too much if she got paid. She would be more grateful to him if he brings her brother in…..than when he just saved her from being sold as a slave……

If so, she hoped that she could get a part-time job so that she could take care of her brother.

In the midst of such thoughts, the carriage was still running steadily. Although she kept closing her eyes, she was not a person who would sleep in this kind of a situation…..But soon, she dozed off in the long-distance carriage.

Screech!

She opened her eyes in amazement at the sudden stopping of the carriage.

‘Are we here? Uh, did I doze off? Is this his house?’

She looked around, astonishingly, slightly pulling her head to the side.

A man dressed in black suit approached a carriage and opened the door. It was the man with black hair who got off the carriage first. He was really tall and well-built. He looked like a lion. She thought he had a good frame for he was standing out the most among the people.

As soon as he got off the wagon, a group of men and women dressed in white and yellow approached to welcome him in perfect harmony. He walked into the building as if it was a protocol.

Celestia was staring at him with wonder while he walked through the crowd with a calm face. It seemed as if he was being reported something, given that the man next to him was talking continuously.

‘It’s like serving a king. Is that man that great?’

She had never seen anything like a procession in Golddina as she had always been next to Serek and her brother. But, Leberty used to come and tell her stories about some good places. Celestia always felt like she was watching an imaginary scene while listening to the story.

Just as his back was about to disappear under the shadow of the building, it seemed as if he turned around to glance at her.

Even if he was very far from her, the glow of his red eyes was clearly visible.

He and his entourage were all gone while she was left alone in a wide carriage. There were a lot of people coming and going around, but she was a little relieved.

‘I don’t know what is going on in the palace, but I’m going to leave soon…..so I can wait here until then, right?’

However, a woman, who seemed to be a maid, suddenly approached her as she was trying to enjoy her time alone for a while.

‘Are you here to spy on me for the fear of me running away?’

She would have no regrets about Golddina once her brother was here, but she also couldn’t just go back to the alley and settle down as long as Serek had made the mess. She couldn’t run away.

The woman was, indeed, dressed in better clothes than any of Celestia’s best clothes. She was wearing a sturdy green dress designed with occasional white and blue fabric. She also had a good fragrance.

“I heard you are a slave, come with me.”

“I will wait here.”

The woman frowned.

“….What are you talking about? Who are you waiting for?”

But she did not know the name or the identity of the man who brought her. She had no choice but to use the most common word.

“Master.”

This time the woman looked as if she had heard something really crazy.

“I see you haven’t been properly trained. From now on, you should address him as ‘Your Majesty’……you can’t just call His Majesty as you please, even if he is your master or whatever.”

“…..Your Majesty?”

“Yes. Like that. Looks like there are more than one or two things that should be taught.”

The maid grumbled and waved her hands, motioning Celestia to get off the carriage. She got off in a hurry under the pressure of the momentum. Her mind was in a muddle.

‘Your Majesty….So….Is this word used differently in different countries?’

Although they all spoke in an official language, there were times when different nobles were addressed differently.

She had her suspicions when she heard the word ‘palace’. She had heard that the king of the Burg Empire was a red-eyed lunatic who had pitch black hair. She wondered if he was the one who had brought her. However, she thought that it was not possible.

The maid grumbled and diligently held out a pair of leather shoes that she was holding in her hand. The shoes looked similar to what a maid would wear.

“I didn’t know the size, so I just roughly picked one of them.”

“Ah……”

She was surprised that she would receive such a thing.

“Do you want to make it known that there is a maid walking barefoot in the palace, huh? Go ahead and put them on.”

“Thank you!”

“I took care of you until now because I was given orders, but you have to take care of yourself from now on, you know?”

She noticed that she was the only one who was barefoot in the midst of the chaos.

She mumbled a “Thank You” before putting on the shoes. The shoe was a little loose, but it would fit her well if she tightened it.

But was it necessary for her to use the word “Your Majesty”? As expected, the more she thought about it, the more strange it became.

As she followed the maid, she asked, unable to bear her curiosity.

“Uh….So….is this, uh, Dean?

“What?”

“No, I mean….here…..”

“Where you are? His Majesty said he bought a slave from a distant place, but I guess he was not joking, huh. This is Hegheny.”

Hegheny.

‘What? Where is this place?’

Her knowledge about places was very perfect and distinct, but somehow she was completely lost. Books were so precious to her that she had to read them quickly at a second-hand bookstore at the back alley whenever there were no customers. Of course, the books that aristocrats didn’t like to read increased her interests.

She did not know what to do but to ask again.

“W-Where….is…Hegheny?”

“Look at you. You’re amazing. This is the capital. You don’t even know about the Burg Empire, do you?”

“…..Burg Em….pire?”

She felt chills running down her spine. One of the thoughts that she had before during the day flashed back to her mind. She thought it was a crazy inference.

The Burg Empire. His Majesty. Black hair. Red eyes.

When all the clues came together, they were like….you know….like…..

‘But that can’t be true, right? Haha….ha….’

“My….master. No, h-he…..”

The woman looked back at her in bewilderment.

“Of course, His Majesty, Van, is the one and only Emperor of the Burg Empire.”

‘Oh my God! My suspicion was right that he was that lunatic king of the Burg Empire!’

But did this make any sense now?

Her life was meant to be in the backstreet, but how did this happen?

Her mother always told her to live within her means. After she was abandoned by the magic officer of Golddina, the man who saved her back was the lunatic king of what Empire?