Chapter 14
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I"ve been thinking about what kind of dress to wear these days…”
The man frowned at the unexpected remark.
His expression fumed out of rage, his outfit adorned with seemingly all the fine fabrics and accessories.
“Something fancy and fluffy. I have always wanted to wear something like that…”
I freely looked my eyes up and down as the man followed my gaze with a frowning face.
“Hah, I just thought you were just wearing a dress I was looking for.”
Oh, now that was a lie. I wouldn"t wear something like that even for a billion dollars. You"d have to pay me more if I were to strut down a red carpet in it.
But right now, I"m Raylene, a rich woman, so I won"t wear it even if you paid me to wear it.
The man"s face flushed crimson red, finally realizing that I was being sarcastic.
“How rude of you to say that!”
He noisily roared. His face violently trembled as he angrily shouted at me.
“Is it that disrespectful?”
“Yes, it is!”
“Why?”
I wasn"t sure about my next move. In the end, I decided to go with the concept of "I"m an aristocratic lady without a child". This way I could stall time until Becky came back with the money.
I"ll make sure your face hardens to iron from shame, you old man!
“Is it rude to ask you about these unique clothes of yours?”
The man"s entourage held back their laughter with great difficulty. Some even pinched their thighs.
Everyone must have thought about it once, have you not?
“I am a man!”
“Yes. Why is that?”
The man clenched his teeth, a large crease forming around his mouth.
It seemed as though he"d almost pour out all his anger, but since I"m a n.o.blewoman, he was trying to hold it in.
“I"m open-minded, so I understand. A man might want to wear a dress too, right?”
He opened his eyes wide and snorted to maintain his normal expression.
The man"s face glowed so red that it was turning purple.
“Which aristocrat"s clan are you from, you who dares to talk with no n.o.ble manners?”
“My family?”
As if I"d let you ruin my family with your bad-mouthing.
Well, compared to the original Raylene, the villainess girl who has always been an aristocrat, wasn"t this just cute?
I tried to look as arrogant as possible.
He lifted his chin upwards, crossed his hands behind his back, and confidently looked forwards. Then, he widened his mouth, ready to laugh.
“I"m from Kandmion.”
“…What? Your house is the Kandmion Dukedom?!”
The man"s mouth shut tightly.
His small eyes widened as fear overtook his face, his pupils dilated…
His expression clearly showed surprise, a mistake that showed weakness.
Yeah, now you don"t know what to say, huh?
After all, you"ve been busy trying to earn money for you to live as a decent aristocratic family, right?
From the corner of my eyes, I could see Becky and Sir Ian diligently coming towards us from afar.
“Let"s stop fooling around and get to the point, shall we? What have you done to that child?”
I powerfully strode past the man.
Then, I approached the child standing with his frail arms wrapped around his body.
I immediately saw a peculiar burned injury.
It was definitely the most serious wound I"d ever seen. How did he even survive?
His whole face was bursting with bruises and the wound oozed blood. Adding to that, his poor face was also distorted. His skin was decaying, it clearly had not been properly treated.
Even someone with no medical knowledge could see how dire the situation was.
Ahh. How agonizing it must have been.
“For what kind of G.o.dd.a.m.n reason? What right do you have to hurt this child?”
“What does Princess Kandmion have to do with my slave?”
The man replied with a furious voice. I turned my back again and looked at him.
“Slaves aren"t allowed in the Empire.”
“That beast is not part of the Empire.”
“In the past, it was proclaimed by Emperor Kadurian to all that slavery was prohibited. Moreover, to take good care of the ten thousand citizens under His Majesty"s reign.”
It was I who opened my mouth, but I knew at that moment it was the previous Raylene who spoke so boldly. The knowledge I had never known came out of my mouth.
I suppose she did more than just play and eat.
“IThe great hero from the past didn"t stop a hundred years of war and held a mighty sword twice for all innocent people, just so he could own these people.”
Irritation was fading from his face.
His face returned to its original color. And now, he was laughing at my face.
“That"s not a slave, is it? I"m protecting and treating him well.”
Does he think he can conceal his sins so easily, just like that? Fiery flames of anger surged up inside me.
What"s the difference between this child and I, both who were abused in the name of the family? What did we do so wrong?
It"s not a sin to be born, to be alive and breathing. Never.
“The reason why n.o.ble families value pride and honor is to carry out their inheritance through the generations.”
Becky voiced as she came next to me. Her arms carried an enormous leather pocket. The weight was just as heavy as it looked.
“It"s my job as a decent human being to save innocent people from trash like you!”
“And how on earth do you intend to achieve that goal?”
“Hah! How much do you want?”
Suddenly, the knights were surrounding us. He shook his two pupils and signaled to his guards.
“I"ll buy it with money! I can buy it with money! Tell me how much you need?!”
Bin Oppa, I"m sorry for stealing.
Ah, why did I think such thoughts in a situation like this…?
Why is it suddenly freezing? Becky, why do you look at me with such cold eyes?
“Is that the pride and honor a n.o.ble princess has?” The man sneered.
“Let"s not make this more difficult than it needs to be, hm? Don"t you know that I"m rich?”
I had cried out about the honor and pride of the n.o.bility, but in truth, I didn"t know much about it.
How would I know when I have never even lived as a n.o.bleman?
However, after living in this world for a while, I knew there was a faster way than the procedure and order of thinking about reputation.
I watched the child"s body tremble, I had to get that child out of the man"s hands as soon as possible.
“100 million jennies.”
Becky declared the amount to me, as if she already knew what was on my mind.
I threw a pouch at the man.
The man observed the money bag without saying anything until he looked up at me with a smile. A nasty smile that made me nauseous.
When I reached out to Becky again, she handed me another one.
I threw it as it is. Again, again, and again, just over and over.
Soon, he couldn"t hold any more, and more bags fell to his feet.
Only then did the man make a bewildered face.
“How much do you need?”
“Well, this is already enough.”
It wasn"t until about 30 bags were thrown that the man went pale.
A large sum of money that was given all at once. Money, that only those with power could have.
“Give me the keys to these shackles this instant.”
When the man slid his hands into his pocket, my knights suddenly pulled their swords from their sheaths.
Ah, these people are so loyal.
They are good at keeping up with their work without orders. They didn"t ask me anything and didn"t stop me.
The man held out the keys with trembling hands.
Becky walked up to him with a handkerchief. She picked up the key and wiped it. Then, without warning, she threw the handkerchief on the ground.
She was also very good at this.
Becky approached the child and released the shackles. The shackles fell to the child"s feet and the child staggered.
“Sir Kennon, I"m sorry, but would you help him move?”
“Yes, my lady.”
The knight, called Kennon, lifted the child up and placed him on his shoulder.
His height doesn"t seem to be much different, but he was easily lifted because he was so skinny and malnourished. I was heartbroken at the sight of his condition.
“Becky, show me the way to the Wizard"s shop here.”
“Yes.”
We took a step towards the shop with Becky"s guidance. I then saw Lucas" face on the other side of the road.
What was wrong with his expression?
Why was he looking this way with his mouth agape? Even though I was curious, there was a much more urgent matter to attend to. I ignored him and followed Becky.