Chapter 191: The Dark Alley
“Um… ah… well… maybe not right now?”
Anyone with common sense could tell that something wasn’t right. Even though the old woman was still smiling kindly, Rachel felt like her eyes were sharp as knives, as if they wanted to slice her apart and turn the pieces into gold.
If such a gifted child was sold… and even managed to catch the attention of someone powerful "higher up"... that would be a huge amount of money.
Rachel could clearly tell that this old woman had bad intentions. She nervously swallowed her saliva.
Even real children knew not to follow strangers if they had been taught properly. Rachel blamed herself for letting her guard down. The moment she started talking about alchemy, she had gone back into her old habits, thinking she was still that powerful alchemist who could pull out tools anytime. But now, standing in the shadow of this hunched old woman, she finally realized—
Right now, she was just a helpless little girl.
Damn it. Has the security in the capital city gotten this bad?
Although she reflected on her own mistake, she also tried to push the blame outward, so she wouldn’t feel too guilty about it.
But Rachel knew the truth. In places like the slums and black markets, human trafficking was as normal as anything. It wasn’t just children, adults could also be tricked and sold. Some were even stripped for their organs and killed.
Ordinary people might earn dirty money this way, but what about the royal family?
As long as the House of Nightingales existed, there would always be a supply of “resources” sent their way.
Still, the second prince wasn’t as extreme as his mother had been. He didn’t just take anyone into the House of Nightingales. Unlike the time when the second princess consort was alive, now the number of missing people had dropped a lot.
But even then, that "drop" was probably just because the second prince had higher standards.
He only kept the elites by his side. As for the rest of the “goods,” he wouldn’t even glance at them.
“Don’t be scared, little girl.”
The old woman reached out her hand, and before Rachel could react, she grabbed Rachel’s wrist tightly.
“O—of course I’m scared!!”
Rachel didn’t hide her fear at all. Anyone would be scared in this situation, especially when they were in the body of a child who couldn’t even fight back.
“Keep your voice down, kid. I’m just going to get you something tasty. Don’t make a fuss.”
Seeing how quickly Rachel realized the trap, the old woman became anxious. She gripped Rachel’s wrist even harder and started pulling her toward a dark alley.
Children like this were worth the risk.
The old woman turned her head and looked toward a figure hiding in the shadows nearby—
It was the “buyer.” She hadn’t expected someone of that level to show up personally, so she quickly showed off the girl in her arms, her prize for the day.
The shadowy figure nodded, clearly pleased.
“If we offer this girl to that person…”
“I—I don’t want this!!”
There weren’t many people around, so the figure in the shadows said that sentence out loud. Rachel’s sharp ears caught the words that person. And instantly, she got goosebumps.
That person, that was clearly a veiled way to refer to the second prince, wasn’t it?!
She had escaped from the second prince’s people and ended up under the Red Crow’s protection, was she now going to be dragged back into that nightmare?!
No way!!!
There’s no way I’m going back there!!
Crunch!!
Realizing she couldn’t overpower the old woman, Rachel leaned down and bit her hard on the hand.
“Hiss—!!! You little brat!!”
She didn’t expect that this little girl, who looked like a book-loving, well-behaved kid, could suddenly act so wild. That bite went deep, and blood started dripping from the old woman’s hand. She let go of Rachel’s wrist without thinking and shook her hand a few times, glaring fiercely at Rachel, who had already tumbled away and was running as fast as she could. The kind and gentle look on the old woman’s face vanished, replaced by a fierce, angry expression.
Of course, for an old lady, a chase was too much to handle. So after Rachel ran out with all her strength, the old woman didn’t go after her. Instead, her stronger helpers stepped in.
A few strong men came out from behind. To them, catching a kid was easier than swatting a lazy fly. They didn’t rush, they watched Rachel’s small body running away like it was just a little game.
“Wah!”
As expected, with the sound of the men laughing and a bell jingling, Rachel suddenly tripped and fell.
It wasn’t because she was clumsy. There was a tripwire with a bell set up in the alley on purpose.
They had expected the child might try to escape, so they placed the tripwire there. A scared and panicked child usually wouldn’t notice a rope on the ground while running.
The bell had two uses. First, it warned them if a child tried to run away. Second, it worked as a simple alarm if someone else wandered into the area by accident.
Sure, leaving something like that right in the middle of the road seemed bold, but society was like that.
If someone suddenly saw a rope with bells tied to it in a dark alley, who would be brave enough to keep going? Everyone had heard the saying “curiosity killed the cat” since they were young.
“Ugh…”
The fall hurt a lot, but Rachel wasn’t afraid of pain.
She had already died once. There was no way she’d give up just because of a few scrapes and bruises.
She wiped away the tears that came out from the pain naturally and pushed herself up, ready to run again.
—Yes, this is what it should be like.
That was what the man hiding in the shadows thought to himself.
This is the kind of child we need. Only a child like this can become part of our family.
Seeing how pleased the man in the shadows looked, the other men didn’t waste time anymore. They ran a few steps forward and quickly caught up with Rachel, who was still trying her best to run away.
Now all one of them had to do was reach out, and this “chosen” child would be theirs. In just a short while, she would be turned into a heavy bag of gold coins.
“Ahhh!!!”
Rachel was grabbed by the collar and lifted off the ground. Her feet kicked wildly in the air, her small fists punching everywhere in panic, hoping that even her soft hits could do something.
This was a fight for her life! If she got taken away, she’d be sent straight back to the second prince!
“Hey, easy there, kid.”
Just then, in the middle of all the panic, Rachel heard a familiar voice. She looked up and saw one of the people she wanted to see most standing right in front of her.
“I’m on your side, don’t hit the wrong person.”
It was Armand. He had finally come.
“Huh? Who’s this guy? Trying to act like a hero?”
The group of men looked at Armand, who was dressed simply and only carried a plain, maybe even cheap-looking sword. One of them raised an eyebrow with a sneer.
“This has nothing to do with you. If you want to live, leave now.”
“Oh yeah? Is that so?”
Armand, now holding Rachel in his arms, adjusted his sunglasses. From over the top of the dark lenses, he glanced at the men in front of him, the old woman behind them, and the shadowy figure standing farther back, too far for him to see clearly without taking off his glasses.
After thinking for a moment, Armand laughed a little, then put his sunglasses back in place.
“Hahaha, Gentlemen, how can you say this has nothing to do with me? With you all standing here like this, aren’t you handing me a nice promotion and bonus?”