[Vol. 8] Chapter 161: The Shadow’s Past
Miss Shadow fell silent again for a moment. Still kneeling respectfully on one knee, she didn’t answer Violet’s question directly. Instead, she asked something else entirely.
“...So, Your Highness, you already knew about the [Blade of Shadow]?”
“Hm... well, you did hide it very well,” Violet replied with a relaxed smile. “But I’m not that slow, you know? Someone carrying such a dangerous weapon gets close to me again and again, of course I could sense something. That kind of threatening presence, no matter how well you hide it, can’t be erased completely.”
She continued smiling, as if it was no big deal.
“But honestly, I didn’t expect it to be a true Primordial Artifact. I thought at most it was just a fragment... maybe a piece of a divine relic or something.”
This time, Miss Shadow was quiet for much longer than before.
The night wind gently tugged at her clothes and made her short bluish-gray hair sway. She had always been mysterious since the first day she appeared. Even though she came from the Shadow Guards of the Human United Kingdom, and was always dedicated and reliable, she had never talked about her personal past. But now, she finally raised her head and spoke.
“When I became a shadow guard, Her Majesty the Queen made me a promise. She said no one else, except for her, would ever know about that part of me. It seems... she kept her word. I didn’t choose the wrong person to serve.”
Hearing the meaning behind her words, the smile on Violet’s face grew a little wider.
“Lilya might quite naive or act spoiled now and then, but when it comes to big decisions, she always stands firm. That’s why she was able to earn the loyalty of so many followers and powerful people, helping the Human United Kingdom rise from chaos and become prosperous again in just a few short years.”
“So now, are you willing to trust me too? Will you share your secret? Of course, if you want, I can also promise not to tell anyone else. And hey... no need to stay kneeling the whole time. Stand up and talk to me.”
“......”
The girl nodded quietly. This time, she didn’t refuse. She got up and began to speak on her own.
“Before I explain, you should know, the Human United Kingdom is a nation ruled by an unhealthy obsession with human superiority. Every part of its land, every part of its culture, is filled with hatred and rejection toward non-human races. Pureblood humans see all others, even half-bloods, as animals or livestock, something less than them. That mindset gave rise to countless unfair laws and illegal activities. And at the center of it all... is slavery.”
“That part... I’ve experienced myself,” Violet said softly, nodding.
She remembered her own travels in the kingdom, especially the things she saw near the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains in the north. The memories were unpleasant, but clear.
“Ever since Lilya took the throne, she’s been working hard to change all that. I heard she rewrote a lot of laws, cracked down on all kinds of shady businesses, and even survived several assassination attempts by the powerful groups that used to profit from it. I won’t say she completely wiped it out... but I’d like to think she’s made a small progress, right?”
“She has.”
Miss Shadow nodded slightly. A cold light flashed in her eyes, barely noticeable, but sharp. It was as if shadows and long-held hatred lived behind her calm face. Yet her expression stayed composed, unmoved.
“But in reality, for those powerful nobles and the people pulling the strings behind the scenes, so-called racial discrimination is just a convenient excuse for their greed. In their eyes, humans and other races are no different. They’re all just tools to earn money, like slaves or beasts of burden.”
“So, when the Human United Kingdom began cracking down hard on its illegal and shady industries, and these groups’ profits and space to operate kept shrinking, they knew they couldn’t fight back directly. That’s when the leaders of these operations started moving their activities, and their business partners, outside the country.”
“To the west, there’s the Beast Kingdom. To the south, a lawless region full of chaos. And even to the east, the so-called Holy Empire. As long as there’s a demand or a gap to exploit, these parasites will jump at the chance. They take their slave trading business, which is already well established in the kingdom, and expand it. They find new ‘partners,’ move their bases and focus elsewhere, and even start doing the unthinkable, kidnapping their own people and smuggling them abroad to be sold as slaves.”
“...?”
Hearing this, Violet looked at the cold, delicate face of the shadow girl, and at that moment, how could she not understand the deeper meaning behind those words?
“I see... so, you were one of the victims of that greed?”
Miss Shadow nodded silently, expressionless.
“My hometown was a small village on the far outskirts of Wangyuan City, near the southern border of the kingdom. About three years ago, a group of around a few dozen armed men suddenly attacked the village. They were well-trained, heavily armed, and went on a crazed killing spree, slaughtering unarmed villagers, smashing doors and windows, stealing everything in sight, money, food, anything. Our village guards weren’t many and weren’t very strong. They were completely wiped out in moments.”
“These people knew exactly what they wanted and acted quickly and ruthlessly. Their goal was to loot the village, kidnap any young women who were decent-looking, and destroy as much as they could. It was obvious they had done this before.”
“Back then I was only seventeen. Because I had some talent in combat, I had trained with an old retired adventurer in the village, and had even joined the village guard myself. I picked up a weapon and tried to fight back. But I don’t need to tell you how that ended. I’m sure you can guess.”
“Even that old captain, who had reached the Obsidian Steel level and was someone I saw as incredibly strong, got his head cut off in a single blow by the enemy leader. So what chance did the rest of us have, just a bunch of half-trained villagers?”
At this point, a rare trace of bitter self-mockery appeared on the girl’s face. But it quickly disappeared again, replaced by her usual calm.
“Still, whether it was luck or misfortune, I wasn’t killed like the others. Because I was a girl, and... somewhat attractive, they tied me up instead. Their plan was to finish destroying the village, then take me and a few others south to sell us as slaves.”
“That’s how I survived. But the rest of the village, hundreds of men, women, children, were all slaughtered. Except for a handful of other young, pretty girls, no one else was spared. And then, to make sure no evidence remained, they burned everything to ash. So that no adventurer or official from the kingdom would find any clues, and so they wouldn’t face punishment from the Queen.”
“After that, I watched with my own eyes as they quickly attacked a few more nearby villages. Before Wangyuan City could react, they had already kidnapped a dozen girls and slipped across the border. They were headed south, to one of the cities in the Ironblood Empire in the lawless lands.”
“That’s where they were supposed to deliver us.”