Chapter 1

"Five thousand gouds going once! Five thousand gouds going twice! Five thousand gouds going thrice! And sold! The infamous 'Summer Dawn' painting by Okurah Lee has been sold to…"

*Gouds: Alkaraz currency*

The Golden Gavel is currently the largest and most successful auction house in the entire empire. They function under the emperor's influence, which entails sending him their top choices as a bribe to circumvent their illegal merchandise. Which also implies that these are just mere stragglers they are using to extort extra funds.

"Now! On to the next segment of tonight's event! The moment that you have all been waiting for ladies and gentlemen! I present to you…"

Their primary source of income is this…

"Come on out everyone! Stand in one row and put on a nice smile for our noble guests."

Slavery has been one of the most profitable businesses since the dawn of Alkaraz. Noble families who have met the unfortunate fate of falling into poverty due to debt, are then sold as slaves by their creditors. Their children are sent to the orphanage depending on their age. Otherwise, they get thrown into the slums to fend for themselves. Some parents would even offer their own children as collaterals to bypass being enslaved. 

When the government caught wind of that, they quickly took action by implementing a new law that prevents anyone from trading and selling children under the age of thirteen. The price of breaking that law is twenty years or more in prison. I must say, Count Bartrum has been doing impressive work as of late.

"This selection has been put together by the combined efforts of our hardworking staff. As you all may have noticed, there is a wide variety of them today as our troops took special care to travel all around the world to gather these rare items."

She should be here somewhere…

"I have a question."

"Yes, dear madam what is your question?"

Silver hair…blindfolded, and…crippled. She matches every single criterion in the letter. For a fourteen-year-old she is rather small.

"Now then ladies and gentlemen, let us begin the bidding."

"I too have a question!"

"Y-yes madam, go ahead."

It was obvious that he was getting annoyed by their questions as this segment of the event was expected to go rather smoothly. I will bet my fortune that half of these children are under the age of thirteen. Well, it's no use telling his majesty, I'm sure he is well aware of this and is keeping quiet on purpose.

"Why is there a defective one among them? The silver haired one is clearly in ill shape. Are you expecting us to bid on such a useless thing?"

In a normal situation, the defective product would have been removed immediately, however…

"Ah…haha…" he laughed nervously.

"There must have been…an oversight among our staff during the appraisal. My sincere apologies everyone, please ignore this particular item and continue to bid without worry." 

The bidding began promptly, and as expected, the stage was cleared within a mere minute. The only one who was left standing on the podium at the end of it all was her.

"Does anyone want to take this one home? Free of charge?" he asked while chickling nervously.

Upon his question, the room grew quiet with only the distinctive noises of a few arrogant scoffs and awkward coughs echoing in the air.

"Well, if that is all, let us wrap up tonight's events and…"

"I will take her!" I said loudly as I raised my hand.

The crowd let out a loud gasp in unison as they chattered among themselves.

"What is he thinking?"

"Everyone knows that a defective slave is equivalent to a piece of junk. The thing is blind and crippled, what use will it be to him?"

"I bid ten thousand silver gouds for the young girl."

++++++

"Another one? At this rate you might as well buy them all!"

"Hm…that isn't a bad idea at all my dear wife. I'm rather tempted."

"Your grace!"

"From today onward, this girl will be living among us. Any who dares to lay a hand on her will be severely punished. Understood?"

The sitting room grew silent as they all awkwardly averted the duke's eyes.

"Answer me!" yelled the duke while slamming his fist on the coffee table.

"Y-yes father!" promptly answered the young children.

"But papa! That thing is dirty, and ugly…and…and smelly!"whine the girl as she pinched her nose in disgust.

"That is quite enough Florette!"

It was apparent that my presence in this household was unwelcome. They were staring at me with such profound dislike, as if I was some dirty old rag…no, this is the kind of expression one makes after stepping on feces. I know, for I used to make the same expression myself.

"Introduce yourself child."

I was appalled when he suddenly addressed me so casually. His tone and gaze were filled with warmth. Yet his aura was as imposing as a large mountain.

Is invoking fear in others his specialty or something?

"I beg your pardon your grace. Since when were slaves allowed to bear names?" asked the woman in a stern tone.

Are slaves supposed to be nameless? The duke never mentioned this in the carriage.

"Listen carefully child. You are to live in my home as a slave until the time comes for you to return to your rightful place. This is the best way to keep you safe for now, I hope you understand."

He sounded as if he was sulking while uttering those words. During the carriage ride to his dutchy, he praised me for fooling everyone into thinking that I was a defective slave. However, whenever his eyes strayed towards me, he would sigh heavily,and quickly turned his head facing the other way. Hence, I could never really tell what he was thinking. Though one thing was clear, the duke was fully aware of my true identity.

"Go on child." Said the duke.

I could feel their cold stares on me which made me very nervous. I kept my head down as the duke instructed in the carriage. I took a deep breath as I braced myself to begin speaking.

"M-my name, my…name is Fatima, and…I am…f-fourteenyears old." I struggled to say as I stumbled on my words.

"Oooh! What a cute voice she has!" exclaimed one of the children.

"She's so pretty!" 

"She really is!" 

Their voices rose into a clamor as they marveled at my features. It's a shame I can't see their faces, they sound like a rather lively bunch.

"Settle down children and introduce yourselves properly." 

"I will not condone this inappropriate behavior; therefore, I shall excuse myself. I refuse to stay here any longer."

I could sense her hostility from all the way to where I was standing. She does not seem to be very fond of me.

"I don't remember giving orders for anyone to leave. Pray tell duchess Gwen, are you perhaps the new head of our household now?" asked the duke.

He sounds scary.

"My deepest apologies your grace, I spoke out of turns."

Her attitude changed so fast. It seems he is well-respected by his family. Even someone as thorny as her does not stand a chance against him. 

"My name is Octave, second son of the Kartier duchy, and I am also fourteen years of age."

"And I am Waynon, the third son and I am twelve years of age."

"Jeffrey Kartier, the fourth son and I am ten years of age."

"Florette Kartier, the princess of our family and twin sister of Octave." 

His second son sounded aloof as opposed to the others, however the daughter exuded an air of self-centered arrogance mixed with a hint of elegance. Looks like the apple truly did not fall far from the tree.

"My first son is currently on a trip across the country at this time. He will introduce himself upon his return. That being said, this grumpy kitten here is my wife, duchess Gwendolynn of the Kartier dutchy."

"Haha! Mother is a grumpy kitten!"

His sons were laughing heartily at their father's jest towards their mother, meanwhile his daughter was pouting. As I stole glances of his wife behind my long bangs, I could see a disdainful expression forming on her face as she glared at me.

"Cease your laughter this instance!" she scolded firmly.

"Grumpy cat! Grumpy cat! Hiss! Hiss!"

That night I took a bath for the first time in a long while. I was also given a proper meal as well as a change of clean clothes.