A Real world

A carriage approached. Leor raised his arm to flag it down.

Conveniently, it was Mr. Smith's. The familiar driver pulled the reins to a stop, his sharp eyes scanning both of them. His gaze lingered on Johan, taking in the unfamiliar figure dressed in a fine tuxedo. Johan merely nodded, an easy smile on his lips, exuding the air of a man who belonged wherever he stood.

Mr. Smith only took familiar passengers—it made for a stable income without the hassle of calling out for customers and competing with other drivers. It also made him more efficient, sticking to the same routes, the same faces.

His eyes settled on Leor, his expression softening slightly. With a brief nod, he motioned for them to climb aboard.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith," Leor greeted, stepping closer with a polite smile. "I'm really late for class today, and I was wondering—could you not take any other passengers on this trip? I'd really appreciate a private ride."

Smith's brow furrowed as he rubbed his chin. "I could do that, Leor," he said after a moment. "But this time of day is when I get most of my customers. So… I'd have to charge you around fifteen silver pounds."

It was already much cheaper than other private ride options. Bargaining further would be too shameless.

As if reading Leor's hesitation, Smith offered a polite smile. "If that's too much, I can start a tab for you. You can pay it off gradually."

'Rest in peace my wallet.' Leor thought solemnly.

Leor shot Johan a cold look, but the bastard refused to meet his gaze, suddenly very interested in the cobblestones beneath his feet.

"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Smith," Leor said, forcing a tight smile. "No need for a tab. I'll pay upfront—better to avoid the hassle."

His hand dipped into his brown leather wallet, fingers brushing against exactly fifteen silver pounds. Tears welled up in his eyes, his face twitching unnaturally.

Exactly fifteen silver pounds. HAHAHAHAHA. Johan, you better be worth it.

Leor was a punctual man. If not for Johan's drama today…

If looks could kill, Johan would've been reduced to dust. But instead of showing guilt or even offering comfort, he leaned back, gazing at the overcast sky as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

The clouds? Beautiful. The breeze? Lovely. Leor? Invisible.

They climbed into the carriage, and with a sharp snap of the reins, Mr. Smith urged the horses forward. The wheels clattered against the cobblestones, the rhythmic sound filling the air as they headed toward the towering walls of the Imperial Gardens.

"What exactly is this Imperial Gardens place, anyway?" Johan asked, gaze unfocused, lost in thought.

Smith glanced back briefly, eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "Are you not from around here, sir?" he asked, curiosity laced with pride.

Without waiting for a reply, he continued with enthusiasm.

"That's the heart of the Lavenham Empire! Said to be the most beautiful place in the world—lush green gardens stretching as far as the eye can see, fields of vibrant flowers, towering castles that touch the sky, and enough luxury to make a god jealous. Thousands of fine restaurants, hundreds of… well, brothels." He coughed awkwardly before pressing on. "But most importantly, the Monarch's castle is there."

Johan nodded, intrigued. Sounds like a place where main heroines live.

Smith caught his breath before adding, "I don't know all the finer details, of course. I'm just a common man. But Leor, you must've learned plenty about it at university, right? You probably meet folks from there all the time!"

He eagerly encouraged Leor to join in.

Leor leaned back against the seat, crossing his arms with a faint smile. "Well, yes, I learn a few things here and there. I can share some of them if you both really want to know…"

He glanced at the two men, only to find their eyes glittering—shining like the sun, demanding an explanation.

"Alright, alright…" Leor relented, shooting Smith a pointed look—Keep your eyes on the road. In a place as crowded as Wellington, random beggars, dogs, and drunkards could pop up at any moment.

"The palace is Buckingham Palace, located at the center of the Imperial Gardens. It's surrounded by the headquarters of three churches—the Goddess of Stars, Aethira, the Goddess of Blood, Valoria, and the Goddess of Harvest, Melis. They form a perfect triangular shape around it."

Smith and Johan's eyes gleamed even brighter—if that was possible.

Johan was grinning for some reason. Leor ignored the madman.

Time to shatter their fantasies.

A malicious smile formed in Leor's heart. Don't blame me—you asked for it.

He continued, adopting a solemn tone for greater effect.

"But it's not all flowers and sunshine. Mr. Smith, you probably already know that only nobles are allowed inside. They own all the restaurants, businesses—everything you mentioned. Commoners only enter as servants, butlers, gardeners, sex workers, and so on."

Leor turned to the window, his gaze landing on a group of children—beggars, barely five or six—running along the stone footpath. They clutched a half-piece of black bread, chased by a burly man in a chef's hat.

He sighed.

"After Queen Victoria's reign, Parliament—mostly commoners—began pushing back against nobles hoarding all the resources. Eventually, nobles were allowed to sell their businesses, mansions, and land to those who could afford them. This led to wealthy merchants, politicians, and high-class outsiders migrating inside. Of course, they paid millions of gold pounds for it. Nobles, who inherited their wealth rather than earning it, saw an opportunity. Those facing financial trouble sold their extra land for hundreds of times its original value. And wealthy commoners bought it, eager to rub shoulders with nobility."

Smith and Johan waited in tense anticipation, their excitement dimming under Leor's grave tone.

Taking a deep breath, Leor continued, his expression darkening.

"There are thousands of Royal Guards surrounding the walls and hundreds of thousands more inside. Their purpose? Protecting the people who live there. It doesn't sound too bad until you learn the truth.

Where do you think slave traders sell their 'products'? Inside, at private auctions. Keeping slaves is illegal—even for nobles—so they rebrand them as 'servants.' The nobles themselves control many of the slave traders and hold secret auctions. They send their goons to find the most beautiful women outside the walls, kidnap them, and kill anyone who might talk. These women, sometimes just children, become 'maids.' But in reality, they're sex slaves.

When they age out of favor—around twenty or twenty-one—they're sold to luxury brothels. By their thirties, they've contracted diseases and die."

The light faded from their eyes. Their faces darkened as the weight of reality settled over them.

"Didn't you say your university is inside the Imperial Gardens? How do you and Mr. Smith's carriage enter? You're both commoners, right?" Johan asked, forcing himself to stay calm.

A realization hit him.

This world was real. And it was fucked.

A world where witch trials still happened.

Where women were nothing but accessories for nobles.

Where commoners were just cogs in a machine that built bigger palaces for the rich.

"Right," Leor said. "That's why no commoner could have imagined attending that university. But after the reforms, solutions presented themselves. The university council spent a fortune expanding it beyond the walls, so we don't actually have to enter the gardens to reach it.

But we're still technically part of the Imperial Gardens, and students can roam the surrounding areas freely. This was only possible because Chancellor Fyodor Vincent holds far more power than a typical noble—his status is nearly second to the King's. No one dares question his decisions.

And for safety… from a lone commoner student, Royal Guards are stationed everywhere."

Phew.

Leor's mouth was dry from all that explaining. But it was worth it. More people needed to know the truth rather than cling to naive fantasies.

Smith, being young and impressionable, needed to hear it even more.

Of course, Leor had left out the real horrors—cults, politics, illegal research.

Things he had learned from Vane and Alya.

"We're here!" Smith's sharp voice cut through the heavy silence.

Looking up, they both saw that they had arrived at the 64th Square of Wellington. The area bustled with people shopping, chatting, and going about their day. It was home to the high middle-class—a social tier that often irritated Leor.

"These people are truly the most obnoxious, people-pleasing scum I have ever seen," Johan whispered in Leor's ear.

With just a glance, Johan shamelessly judged people he had never met. In his mind, people were all the same, no matter which world—following the same patterns. He could spot a people pleaser just by the way they walked.

Surprisingly, Leor couldn't agree more.

"They care a lot about reputation and status, so don't ever say that out loud," he warned in a hushed tone.

Johan's image improved slightly in Leor's mind.

Ahead, two towering gates loomed over them, flanking a small doorway—the only entrance to the university from outside. Royal Guards stood watch from above, their sharp eyes scanning the crowds. Security had been tightened in response to the recent surge in terrorist attacks.

As they approached the narrow entrance, an intimidating guard raised a hand, motioning for them to halt.