The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 48

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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 48.

What in the world is this.
I lowered my head slowly.
A boy with dark skin was trembling violently, clutching at the hem of my skirt.
“Your Grace, please sheathe your sword.”
Kaius, who had reflexively drawn his blade, slid it back into its scabbard.
“Please, save me! I don’t want to be sold! Please!”
“Mm….”
Why did I have such a bad premonition about this.
Surely not.
It couldn’t be.
It wouldn’t be.
I calmly examined the boy’s back, visible through his tattered clothing.
On his left shoulder blade was a cross-shaped scar — the mark of a branding iron burned into flesh.
“Ah.”
That’s it then.
A runaway slave.
The timing really is something….
A cross-shaped branding mark meant the slave had either been sold or placed on reserve by some buyer.
Of all the things I least wanted to witness, here I was facing number two on that list.
The boy spoke, trembling.
“I’ve been hiding here for two whole days. Please, please help me! Those people might find me again! If they do, if they do I’ll be dragged back there….”
“Do you, by any chance, know who I am?”
“I don’t, but at least you’re not one of them. You don’t seem like a bad person, so I’m asking you.”
That’s where he’s wrong.
I’m actually a terrible person.
“I’m a witch.”
“That’s a lie!”
Unbelievable.
Some people won’t stop calling me a witch, yet this one insists it’s impossible and lets out a sharp cry.
What rhythm am I supposed to dance to with this child.
“It would be better if you stepped back.”
Kaius spoke to the boy in my stead, his voice gentle but firm.
Cowed by Kaius’s presence, the boy flinched and slowly released his grip on my skirt.
This man uses intimidation on children again.
But this time I decided to let him have his way.
“My, my younger sister is still at the slave market. I need to get out with her. Could you possibly help us…?”
“…The slave market?”
Kaius’s voice, which had been apathetic until now, dropped low.
I closed my eyes tightly.
So it comes to this after all.
The Empire strictly prohibited slave trading. Following the Previous Emperor’s doctrine that human beings could never be bought or sold, anyone who bought or sold slaves faced severe punishment.
But that was only true in the Capital and nearby cities — in the tourist city of Saldvich, far removed from the Capital, illegal human trafficking still flourished in the shadows.
By day it was a glittering city teeming with family travelers, but once darkness fell and you ventured into the alleys behind the bustling streets, the naked truth of human trafficking was laid bare.
And of course, Kaius had to hear about it.
He was just like his father — the mere mention of slavery made him recoil.
“I, I’ll die if you leave me here. I haven’t had even a drop of water for three days.”
…Ah.
Could it be.
Is that how it goes.
“If you just leave, I don’t know when someone else will come. Are you really going to let me die?”
So that’s what happens….
“Good heavens….”
Without thinking, I covered my mouth.
If my suspicion is correct, this boy is the ‘corpse’ that Leoni discovers days from now.
In the original timeline, he was meant to hide here for several days before perishing from dehydration and starvation.
But because we arrived several days earlier, we’ve encountered him before his death.
“Wow….”
So it’s come to this.
I never imagined I’d come face to face with the boy before he became a “corpse.”
What am I going to do?
Not that it would’ve mattered if I hadn’t seen him, but with a child marked for death standing right in front of me, I couldn’t just abandon him and walk away.
But if I save him, Leoni won’t find the body, and the whole plan falls apart.
This is maddening.
I should never have come to Saldvich.
I had a bad feeling about this place from the start.
“Just… could you help me escape this city? Or if you could save my sister instead, wouldn’t that work?”
The boy, sensing my inner conflict, seized my sleeve again with trembling hands.
“My sister—my little sister has to survive. She’s not even ten yet. Please…”
In that moment, I felt my heart constrict.
What am I doing?
I’ve always been weak to children.
And family stories hit even harder.
Meeting Vulcan’s family not long ago made my chest ache all the more.
Where in the world did this little sister come from? Do you know she’s my weak point? Stop throwing unforeseen plot details at me like this.
“Sigh…”
I dried my face and turned back to Kaius.
He seemed lost in thought for entirely different reasons.
He must have a lot on his mind.
He probably never dreamed that slave trafficking would be thriving in a city this close to the Capital.
Right.
The answer was already decided.
The moment Kaius learned about the Slave Market, there was no way we could simply move past it.
Of course, I could probably talk my way around it for now, but once he finds out the connection between the Slave Market and the Black Mages—the Gall Crow—I’ll be back under suspicion.
More than anything, my conscience wouldn’t allow me to abandon the boy in front of me, regardless of what the original story called for or how convenient it would be.
“Hey, Kaius.”
Such is my fate.
“Why don’t we grab something to eat first?”

***

“Is… is it really okay to keep eating?”
“Yeah, eat. Eat as much as you want.”
I watched, chin resting in my palm, as the boy drained his fourth bowl of soup.
The boy’s name was Jack. He had reddish-brown, matted hair and dark skin. He was twelve this year, and he’d been caught by Slave Hunters while crossing the Border with his sister, which was how he’d ended up here.
Dark-skinned foreigners fetched high prices. Buyers lined up out of curiosity—their skin tone was something you’d never see among the people of the Empire.
The more attractive the face, the younger the age, the higher the price.
I was fairly certain Jack must have sold for quite a handsome sum at that auction house.
“I was wondering where all the Slave Hunters had disappeared to, and it turns out they’re stationed around the Border region.”
“It’s easier to avoid the surveillance networks there. And easier to escape when the Imperial Security Force shows up.”
In truth, most of those sold into slavery were foreigners like this boy—people with no connections. There was far less risk of getting caught than if you tried to traffic Empire citizens.
“Are you going to arrest them?”
“I wish we could, but arresting and punishing Slave Hunters falls under the Imperial Family’s authority. Without official orders from above, I can’t act unilaterally.”
“I suppose not.”
Slavery had only been abolished less than fifty years ago, so Slave Hunting remained an extremely sensitive matter.
By law, only the Imperial Family could punish them, and any proxy punishment required explicit Imperial consent.
It was to prevent individuals from arresting Slave Hunters while secretly profiting from them or purchasing slaves on the side.
“We’ll have to report this to the Imperial Family.”
Kaius spoke with obvious reluctance.
Ever since he clashed with Fabian, he seemed to be keeping a certain distance from the Imperial Family.
But he wasn’t so much of a fool as to blur the line between public duty and personal feeling, so I didn’t pretend to understand and simply changed the subject.
“Never mind the Slave Hunters for now—what about the Slave Market itself? If Jack’s right, it’ll open tonight.”
The Slave Market in Saldvich, held once a week, had close ties to the Black Mages—the Gall Crow.
Slave traders operated their auctions under their protection in secret, and in return, the Gall Crow received all the slaves that went unsold that night.
For the slaves who fell into the Gall Crow’s hands, there was only one fate: they were merged with Black Mana Crystals to become the Black Mage Transformed Corps.
“Jack’s sister will very likely be put up for auction today. They always mix adults and children in a balanced way, and the last time he saw her, there weren’t many children left in the holding cells…”
“The most certain method would be to purchase his sister directly at the auction.”
“Exactly.”
The operation’s core was simple: infiltrate the Slave Market, secure his sister’s safety first, then the moment the auction ended, strike from the rear and extract the rest of the captives.
And the Black Mana Crystals still stored in the warehouse—those all had to be destroyed.
Something about this gnawed at him. The operation had ballooned into something far larger than he’d anticipated, all because he’d stepped into the heroine’s spotlight.
“The real problem is finding our way through that labyrinth to the prison cells.”
The Slave Market’s holding pens were a warren—deliberately designed like an ant colony to prevent escape. One wrong turn and they’d be lost.
He could use magic to navigate, but the moment he did, the Gall Crow would sense the mana and converge on them before they’d saved anyone.
It was then that Jaque, face buried in his soup bowl, slowly raised his hand.
“I… I know the way.”
“You do?”
“I’ve memorized the layout.”
That ant colony?

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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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