Chapter 13
At that moment, the man kicked the shackled child"s body and gave him a cold look. The child staggered once and sat down after.
There"s trash like him in here? Why do they have to bully the weak? Come to think of it, did I act similar to that man towards Iris?
No, even if I did before, it wasn"t me. It doesn"t count since the one inside the body of villainess Eonnie is now me. Moreover, it can"t be called bullying the weak.
Instead, it should be regarded as self-defense because she said something hurtful first.
“Honestly, I envy Lady Raylene. I also want to live such a comfortable life.”
Iris said, smiling.
“I feel the same way. I want to experience being able to spend such a huge sum of money easily.”
“…You"re really acting a little strange today, Lucas.”
“Is that so? Capable people are pretty cool, aren"t they?”
“I"m not that capable. It"s just that my parents are well off.
I know, I am too. You know what I"m doing in the first place. That"s why you"re so quiet.”
According to the novel, you have been working hard to meet your parents" expectations. I"ve seen your hardships in life.
Yeah. I guess I"m not ashamed of blaming you for doing such things.
I don"t really love the Crown Prince as much as she does anyway. Why did she have to go to such an extent?
“Not all people have the ability to spend that much money.”
“Then that woman has real talent.”
…So you should stop this, Iris.
Don"t make the male lead learn how to talk behind people"s back. How can you blame someone else for acts they didn"t even do?
She is similar to unemployed rich people who manipulate the people around her to her advantage because she doesn"t want to experience a harsh life.
Isn"t that a common cliché anyway? Usually, the smart, confident, and intelligent female lead would get the “I don"t know anything” disease only when they are in front of the male lead.
They would cry and say, "I didn"t do anything, but what if I"m the reason why she"s in that condition? I don"t know what to do…"
Afterward, the male lead would respond saying, "I"ll help you uncover the truth no matter what." Then, they"ll work together to defeat the villainess.
The body of the child, shackled until now, swelled and expanded.
“Really? Did you see that?”
“You talk as if you"ve seen it. Have you?”
“No. You must have known what my ident.i.ty was.”
Each muscle of the child"s body was full of swells and expansions. On top of that, his hair got longer, and his arms and body grew even bigger.
Even though this is a fantasy world, Raylene"s memory was fiercely claiming that it wasn"t normal for that to happen here.
“Anyway, I"m here to give this to you.”
“Take it, Iris.”
“It"s a dress I can"t afford anyway.”
“You can make a fortune if you start doing business.”
Oh, come to think of it, in the novel, you succeeded in making a fortune when you started doing business.
Is a dress that expensive? Ah… I think it"s because she doesn"t have the guts to spend her precious jennies for a dress that won"t outshine hers anyway.
Ah, I remember now…You said you were in debt. Did she say that she started her business with a loan from Lucas?
"I can"t even remember it because I read the novel hastily."
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I saw the child turn to a beast.
His body was too huge to be human, but it wasn"t entirely like that of an animal either.
The beast, whose golden body was stained with an unknown black color, walked with a sense of urgency towards a man in the building.
With each step, the shackles at his feet tugged.
A horrible scar adorned the beast"s face.
“Don"t you know what piercing sounds like?!”
“Argh!”
“H-Hey, watch it! I was shocked by how handsome you are. Will you take responsibility if I have a heart attack?”
Oh? Taking responsibility doesn"t sound half bad.
“You surprised me.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“What about Iris?”
“It"s been awhile. What are you looking at?”
Lucas turned away from me to face the building I was looking at.
With his business inside done, the beast returned outside and curled up like a baby.
Soon, his body returned to its small frame.
“Humanity?”
Am I wrong, or is that contempt in his voice?
“That"s a Suin,” he said, jabbing his thumb at the child.
“What exactly are Suins?”
No, I mean what exactly is that?
“They"re a species believed to have disappeared hundreds of years ago, though I still see them often. They can shift into a b.e.s.t.i.a.l form.”
“But why are they doing that there?”
He gave me a wry smile.
Perhaps, the contempt in his voice was directed at the big man because Lucas" eyes were glued to him.
“Suins are strong, despite their treatment as slaves.”
Unfortunately, Raylene"s memory had nothing in it about Imperial slaves. What does he mean by slaves?
“I thought we did away with slavery one hundred years ago?”
“No, but Suins don"t pay taxes, right? It"s about protection versus reward. In other words, you can still use them as slaves.”
“…..The h.e.l.l?”
He turned his eyes to me again. I could see the curiosity contained within his blue eyes through his messy bangs.
Whenever I gazed into those eyes, it felt as if I was being coerced by a demon.
"So, what will you do now?"
“n.o.bles usually value honor, so they avoid treating the impoverished like that. Rich commoners don"t care.”
The workers, who were now shaking, headed inside the building. It seemed obvious they were wondering if the Suin had accomplished his goal inside.
A man was watching with folded arms, seemingly understanding the habits of the Suin curled up on the ground.
“…Is that the face of a Suin?”
“No way… Maybe it"s only a half-Suin purchased for the wealthy ladies. That"s probably how his face got burned.”
“That son of a b.i.t.c.h!”
He"s still human. He"s alive. Why? Why must they treat him like that?
Suddenly, I felt enraged.
I wanted all of their pitiful existences to just disappear.
“Becky, how much money can you afford to lose right now?”
“I didn"t bring much to spend here in Noniwell, and I"ve already spent about 10 million jennies.”
“Is there a way I can earn that back quickly?”
“Well, I heard that there"s a bank owned by the Kandmion around the area.”
“Go borrow the money using my name, and just bring it back later.”
“I"ll take the fastest way, but it could still take about half an hour.”
Do you think I can hold that man for half an hour?! I took my engraved ring from my index finger and handed it to Becky.
“Go on, Becky. Lord Ian, go with her.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
With that, Becky and Sir Ian quickly hurried off to get the money.
Lucas, who"d been fixated on them leaving, turned to me.
“Can you just give up something like that?”
“This is kind of urgent, don"t you think?”
Without waiting for a response, I brought my eyes back to the man and the Suin child. I could feel Lucas" gaze burning through me even as I looked away.
There"s nothing wrong with my actions just now, right? Since it"s been a year or two since Becky saw Raylene, she wouldn"t get suspicious for my unusual actions because people change as time pa.s.ses by.
A knight of the family is with her, too. Surely, nothing could go wrong.
“What the h.e.l.l do you even need money for?”
“Can"t you tell from the situation?”
“Don"t you dare.”
There was a force in his eyes that looked as if he were trying to burn me on the spot.
Now, I can see that there"d been a problem inside the building that required the Suin kid"s strength.
The owner of the Suin kid didn"t waste another second.
A representative of the workers inside came out to speak to the man.
After a few nods and several pats on the shoulder, you could see his knees begin to wobble.
He gave the building a quick glance and turned his back. As he began to walk, the child staggered to his feet.
No! Becky"s not back yet!
I rose from my seat and hurried over to them. The child"s face was much worse than I"d thought.
How hard it must have been… to be stuck in such a difficult job. Why did he have to be beaten like this? And for what? Being powerless??
The man looked me up and down, as I stood in his way.
His expression made me shudder, as I could feel him judging me like some product.
“You look like a member of the n.o.bility, Boa. What"s the problem?”
After scattering the three knights behind me, he opened his mouth.
“I"m curious about something.”
“…What"s that?”
Of course, n.o.bles don"t have to use honorifics with commoners. However, there were times when ordinary citizens were encouraged to use honorifics.
However, it"s only applied to those commoners who"ve been appointed as knights, those who"ve been recognized as masters of their abilities, and those who are older than the speaker themselves.
Of course, I"m asking him to go all out. It"s not enough that he just does it. Well, he"d have already done it if he had any sense as a n.o.bleman desiring a good image.
Despite my age, I dropped all honorifics with him and showed him my unpleasant side.
“Where"d you get that dress?”