The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 7
It wasn’t long after Sisrain headed toward the Mansion, saying he would change out of his wet clothes, that I heard his scream.
“…!”
I jolted in alarm and ran toward the sound of his cry.
As I rounded the corner, I saw the silhouette of an adult dragging a boy with such force that his clothes were tearing.
“Did you think you could escape and I wouldn’t find you? The losses you’ve caused me are immeasurable, you wretched brat!”
Ashen eyes gleamed with avarice from yellowed whites, and the man had a hunched back with branch-thin arms possessed of surprising strength.
From his distinctive appearance and manner of speech, I could deduce who he was.
What was his name again? In that instant, lightning struck my mind.
‘Putolio!’
That slave merchant. The vicious human trafficker who had inflicted water trauma upon Sisrain.
Putolio was dragging Sisrain without mercy, as though he were mere livestock, while threatening him.
“I’ll beat you so thoroughly you’ll never dare run again. You are my slave. My ‘property,’ do you understand?”
Sisrain only bowed his head and trembled. Learned terror had paralyzed his entire body.
The moment our eyes met—those crimson eyes—I felt an unbearable surge of sorrow and rage.
“Release him this instant!”
Putolio’s face twisted into a scowl as he looked at me.
“What are you doing interfering? Get out of my sight before I beat you senseless!”
I fixed him with an unwavering glare.
“Let him go, now!”
“…A mere girl dares show such insolence!”
His powerful hand rose high, about to strike my cheek—when it happened.
“Aaaahhh!”
With a scream, Putolio thrashed about. Heinrich had bitten his arm with all his might.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my sister, you filthy wretch!”
“These insignificant little creatures…!”
As the enraged Putolio glared at Heinrich as though he would grind him to dust, it happened.
A cold voice cut through the chaotic air like an arrow.
“What is all this commotion?”
Blonde hair swept back without a strand out of place, stern golden eyes.
―It was Mimosa.
“Making such a disturbance in our Forest. Such a thing is absolutely unacceptable in this Mansion where children are being raised. ‘Absolutely not.'”
At Mimosa’s frosty presence, Putolio seemed momentarily flustered.
But soon, deciding he could not yield, he stiffened his coat collar and straightened his posture.
“I am Putolio, who requested an audience regarding my escaped slave today. And I discovered my ‘lost property’ on my way to meet with you!”
Putolio pointed at the terrified Sisrain.
“This insignificant creature is my possession, so I shall take him with me!”
“…Mimosa.”
I held Sisrain close and looked toward Mimosa.
My eyes pleading desperately for her aid.
In this Mansion, she was our only guardian.
‘I couldn’t let him leave like this.’
Especially not to a despicable man who referred to a child as a “lost item.”
Mimosa regarded us with an inscrutable, cold expression before turning to address Putolio.
“Please, come inside with me.”
She then turned her steps toward the Mansion ahead.
* * *
“That wretch was my slave at the Ferdes Slave Market! The ungrateful creature fled during the fire!”
Putolio asserted his ownership over Sisrain with forceful conviction.
As I observed Putolio, fragments of the original story surfaced in my memory.
‘He earned his title through slave trafficking.’
Originally a commoner, he had risen to prominence as a slave merchant through his shrewd business acumen and the ruthless heart that never wavered while buying and selling human lives.
With that wealth, he had purchased a fallen noble’s title and now played the part of aristocracy.
But clearly, he could not purchase dignity itself.
“That boy was originally mine—I’m taking him!”
Mimosa answered his unreasonable demand without hesitation.
“A child who has become a tree receives the protection of The Forest. You cannot simply take him away.”
“…Then what of my property?! You mean to rob me?!”
Sisrain trembled at the mere sound of Putolio’s voice, gripping my hand tightly even as his body shook.
Mimosa observed Sisrain intently before speaking.
“I will pay for the child myself.”
Thank goodness…
Paying off a man who came for money was the cleanest solution possible.
Mimosa clearly thought the same.
“I will give you ten million gold.”
The standard market rate was three million gold for child slaves and ten million for adults.
Price variations existed based on gender, health, and origin, but these were minor differences.
Mimosa’s offer was generously above the average rate.
Her intent to resolve this swiftly without major conflict was evident.
But then.
“Ha! Do you take me for a fool?”
Beneath Putolio’s green hair, his ashen eyes gleamed with avarice. He twisted his lips as he spoke.
“Nothing less than fifty million gold!”
“…!!!”
Impossible!
Mimosa seemed equally taken aback. Her expressionless face had cracked ever so slightly.
“Offering ten million gold to send me away proves this ‘tree’ thing has considerable value! An ‘ability awakener,’ perhaps?”
“…”
Putolio clearly had come with prior knowledge of The Forest. Though it was a secret cultivation facility, rumors circulated widely among the nobility.
This ruthless man with a nose for profit was determined to claim his share.
“My property having such value… If I hadn’t known, it would be one thing, but now that I do, I’ll never let it go for a pittance.”
Putolio chuckled with evident satisfaction.
“That child’s price is 50 million gold. Not a single coin less!”
Mimosa spoke quietly, her gaze lowered.
“…Then the negotiations have fallen through.”
Putolio responded as if he’d expected this.
“Since this is Corel Territory, it’s only proper to defer to the judgment of the lord, Marquis Corel. I shall make a request! It would be best to summon him tomorrow.”
“Very well.”
The two agreed to defer Sisrain’s fate to Marquis Corel’s judgment tomorrow.
Facing Mimosa’s cold, marble-like visage, Putolio’s lips curved into a knowing smile.
* * *
‘Foolish woman, not knowing what I share with Marquis Corel.’
Putolio was in the highest of spirits. He was confident he would win the trivial hearing tomorrow.
All this time running the slave market, he had frequently sold the finest “merchandise” to Marquis Corel at bargain prices.
Marquis Corel would then resell those slaves to his retainers within his territory, pocketing the difference.
‘The lord will naturally side with me, of course.’
Once that happened, the expensive slave would become his property again.
An awakened ability-user of such rarity—he could sell them for 50 million gold to anyone.
In truth, children from The Forest possessed far greater value, but Putolio couldn’t possibly know that.
As Putolio’s mood brightened and his gaze fixed on Sisrain, Anette stepped in front of him.
“Don’t look at him like that. You’re scaring Sisrain!”
“Tsk, tsk—a little thing like you trying so hard to protect your friend. Yet your friend will become mine regardless.”
“…That remains to be seen.”
At Anette’s bold words, Putolio let out a contemptuous laugh.
He knew this type well.
Lives born as insects, squirming their way through existence—and feeble, childish ones at that.
“You are children abandoned by your parents.”
“….”
“….”
Both children froze at his vicious words.
“Most children are born into love. But sometimes, a child is nothing more than the ‘excrement’ of lust.”
His ashen eyes gleamed with cruelty.
“Just like you.”
Anette’s expression went blank.
“So whether you cherish each other, love each other, or harbor any human emotion whatsoever…”
“….”
“You will spend your lives being sold like objects. Forever. Creatures without foundation, like insects, have no choice but to live that way.”
Putolio’s eyes widened as he laughed.
“How pitiful you’ve become.”
“….”
After finishing his words, Putolio cast a contemptuous gaze upon the two children clinging tightly to each other before boarding his carriage.
Anette simply stared blankly as Putolio’s carriage departed from the Garden.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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