Chapter 6
The phases of the moon were passing by. At this rate, the Crimson Moon will come soon. On the night of the Crimson Moon, the ritual must be carried out according to the technique written in the instructions.
But… I wasn’t confident if I could do the technique properly.
“Donna. Can I buy information from a guild? I’ve been curious about something lately…”
I threw the bait. Tess was involved enough in the underworld to buy and sell slaves. And there wasn’t anyone around her to forbid her from doing so. Therefore, there’s no way that she’s approaching merchant or information guilds secretly.
Please take the bait.
“You mean the Midnight Guild? Yes, I heard you can buy and sell information there. Should I send a letter?”
Nice. She took it.
That damn association, or whatever they called themselves, that was mentioned in the piece of paper with the instructions. I wanted to find them.
“So we’re going to the guild tonight, right?”
“Yes, Milady. I’ll have the carriage ready. Leave it to me.”
The Midnight Guild was said to be located in a small village nearby. When I asked Donna, she said it’s a small place, but it’s a good place to start. I wanted to request information from the largest guild in the country, but I don’t know much about this world yet.
Not long ago, I heard this country’s name from the tutor for the first time, so it’s too early for me to make a move.
“How is that man doing? Is he kicking up a fuss or something?”
“You mean the mixed-race? No, Milady. There’s no trouble.”
Knock, knock, knock—
“Come in.”
“Milady, the boutique’s representative is here.”
It seemed like the dressmaker that Wolfgang said he’d send finally arrived. That reminded her— she needed to attend a charity party or some such.
That’s terrible. I’d have to see that arrogant look from Dalton and Wolfgang again. Those psychopaths, who abused a young girl since childhood, didn’t look good in my eyes at all.
“Long time no see, Milady! It’s Marvin. Oh, you’re thinner than last time. We’ll need to measure you again.”
A young woman named Marvin chattered about as soon as she saw me. It was so hectic. She spun me around and flitted here and there to take my measurements.
But not only her hands were incredibly fast, even her lips moved at lightning speed. The topic changed so much every single time that I was out of breath just by answering.
“I heard you’re attending a charity party. I heard that they’re venturing on a new business, so the party is probably an extension of that. Oh, Milady, bright colors are in vogue these days. You have skin as white as snow, so this color will suit you perfectly. Oh my, would you look at this. You’re gorgeous, Milady.”
Inside the room were Donna, two more maids who waited on me, and Marvin Olafer. After I saw my reflection, I could feel the atmosphere becoming a bit chilly.
The bright colors didn’t suit me at all. The dresses that Tess usually wore were all dark colored and simple. Pastel-toned and lightweight fabric clashed with Tess’ blood-red eyes too much.
“I don’t really like it…”
“Oh, Milady, but Lord Wolfgang told me to make sure to get you a trendy dress. Trust me~ It’ll look great on you~”
Was this a new approach at harassing her? I really didn’t want to wear this, but I didn’t want to argue about one dress, so I told Marvin to do whatever she wanted with that.
She even told me to take a look at some jewelry even though I didn’t need new ones. Still, I just said that choose whichever, but choose the right ones.
As I observed the dressmaker, I thought she was trying to rip me off. Well, Wolfgang will pay for everything anyway. All I did was respond to Marvin’s words when I needed to, but I was already completely drained of energy. I guess it’s because I wasn’t used to this kind of thing.
“Come to think of it, I saw something interesting before I arrived here at your room, Milady.”
“What is it…”
“There’s a strong-looking man wearing a blindfold and sitting obediently like a sheep.”
I was wondering if she saw any ghosts in the Dark Castle, but I was surprised that she mentioned the man from the dungeon instead, and she described him as a ‘strong’ person. It was a long way from my room, so how did she get to see him?
I wanted to avoid being talked about by a blabbermouth like Marvin, but I wonder if that plan’s already been thrown out the window.
As much as possible, I answered in a blasé manner like it was no big deal.
“It’s nothing. Just someone to play with for a short while.”
“To play with? Ohoho~”
It seemed like she was laughing at me. Well, I knew it was a bad excuse. Marvin kept mumbling to herself about playing.
I really had no luck when it came to people from the von Cador mansion. Even the dressmaker! Marvin stayed for a long time, as if she didn’t want to leave.
After just barely managing to kick her out, I immediately went to the room where the man was. I was worried if he said something to Marvin.
“Hey.”
“…”
Even though I opened the door without knocking, he didn’t seem surprised at all. He was still wearing the blindfold. But wow, he should just take it off since he’s alone and the shackles on his wrists were gone. It felt strange to see a capable-looking man wearing a blindfold.
“Why do you still have it on? Aren’t you frustrated with it?”
“You never told me to take it off.”
His polite tone from last time was gone. I had no idea what page we’re on right now, but I won’t ask him to speak respectfully.
I was feeling guilty because I found him imprisoned in a dungeon and treated as a slave, so I didn’t want to coerce him into doing anything. And yesterday, I knew that it was unfair how I pushed him away and spoke back a little sharply.
“Then keep using it if you want. I won’t care if you feel uncomfortable or anything…”
“Haha…”
“Why are you laughing?”
“I heard that my master is a lady from a high-ranking family, but you’re letting me speak freely.”
“Well sorry to burst your bubble.”
After he cleaned up a bit and dressed nicely, he looked quite handsome. Even though he was wearing a plain shirt and ordinary pants, it was nice just looking at him because he had a good physique. Right there was a muscular man wearing a blindfold and sitting obediently on a chair.
…It’s making me feel kinda weird.
“What brings you here?”
“Did you talk to a woman you don’t know today?”
“How could I possibly talk to a woman I don’t know?”
“No, that’s not it. How many words did you exchange with a woman you saw for the first time today? She’s a dressmaker named Marvin—high-pitched voice, talkative.”
“I didn’t talk to anyone.”
I was glad to hear that, but… I felt bad that he didn’t talk to anyone else. Staying in a room like this was considered special treatment, sure, but he couldn’t even make a friend. He wouldn’t get scolded anyway. I should tell Donna later to let the servants talk to this man.
“Take off the blindfold first. No one’s going to talk to you because you still have it on.”
I approached him with the intention of taking off the blindfold, rushing because of a guilty conscience, but as I got closer to him, I tripped over the tea table and fell forward.
“Ack!”
Thud—
At that moment, the man caught me and sat me down on his thigh.
No, I didn’t do that intentionally.
I really just tripped.
Now, it looked like I purposely sat on his solid, thick thighs and touched his firm chest.
Gah. How embarrassing. The only good thing about this was that the man’s blindfold was still on, so I couldn’t see his eyes.
“You’re being careless.”
“Ahem…”
It’s been so long since I last had contact with any man, so I was feeling a bit hot. But this man was still so composed. I struggled to stand up, but the man moved me himself.
He carried me slightly and set me down on the couch beside him. I calmed myself first so I wouldn’t stutter before bringing something up that’s been on the back of my mind all this time.
“My name is Tess. Try calling my name when the servants are around. It’ll be good to lessen the gossip, right?”
“I see.”
“What’s your name? I can’t just keep saying ‘you’…”
“Call me that. I don’t care.”
“No, it makes me feel uncomfortable in many ways. I don’t know how to call you if I’m bringing you up in another conversation.”
“Just call me Slave. Just like you always did.”
“Hey!”
The man even smirked when he told me to call him a slave. It was so disconcerting to see him talk about it in this way. This man kept pushing my buttons. I couldn’t help but walk on eggshells around him.
“I don’t know if you’re just pretending, but you should know that I don’t have a name.”
“What?”
Was this also something of common sense in this world? I must have stepped on a landmine. It always seemed to happen when it came to this guy…
“Then let’s call you Joaquin.”
“I don’t like it.”
“How about Heath Ledger?”
“No way.”
“Benedict Cumberbatch.”
“Nope.”
I can’t believe he’s even being picky right now…! Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to name my favorite actors. This man might have seen through it all. He probably knew all the names were half-*ssed.
“Then, how about Leon? Hippies say you should draw names from nature. The name is from something that isn’t shackled down, so it’s a nice name for you.”
“What does Leon mean?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Is it a foreign language?”
Calling it a foreign language was technically correct, but it would never be heard in this world. It’s a word from the place I was originally from.
This man who said no after all the suggestions I threw at him earlier finally stopped with his rejections. And so the name Leon was now his because he neither approved nor disapproved.
“Leon.”
When I called his name, Leon looked back at me. It was a moment to celebrate that there was finally a word to refer him by.
I told him to wear the blindfold until he got tired of it, but somehow, he hadn’t tried to take it off yet.
I was worried about him, thinking that he’d only stay in his room all day, so I told him I’d bring him some stuff so he could kill some time, but he said he didn’t need anything.
What would he do in this room if he didn’t talk to anyone or try to leave the room to do something else?
He was a bit of a strange guy.