“I didn’t hide them. They’re tied.”

I raised my arm to show Lux my bound wrist.

―Really! Being tied like that seems fun, squeak?

“……?”

“Did you tie this, squeak?”

“No.”

It’s not like I’d bind it like this on my own.

“While we were asleep, it seems someone else tied this knot.”

“Another human? Why, squeak?”

“Well… let me think.”

In truth, I had a suspicion as to how the situation had come about.

“I was sold. To the dark market.”

While working as Lady Mallon’s maid, I heard something.

‘They said it’s just noisy and quite troublesome to move, so they conveniently administer a sleeping potion.’

The Director, too, had undoubtedly considered convenience when giving me a sleeping potion.

If I hadn’t thought of such a situation, it would have been a lie.

However… I let my guard down. I thought the connection with Lady Mallon had been severed.

Anyway, now I had one priority.

Escaping from this place.

“Lux, can you perhaps untie this rope?”

“Recently, my teeth have become weak… I might not be able to, squeak!”

“Really? I didn’t know that, but earlier during stew, you gave me carrots and potatoes. I must have been lacking in consideration. I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll exclude everything and just provide the broth.”

“Wait a moment! Upon second thought, I think I can do it, squeak!”

“No, you don’t need to sacrifice your delicate teeth.”

“Ani! I’m a brave mouse! I can do it, squeak!”

Before I could stop him, Lux climbed onto my wrist and gnawed at the rope.

With a crisp sound, the rope split. I asked, hearing the sound.

“How is it? Can you undo it?”

“The rope isn’t as tough as I thought, so I might be able to do it, squeak.”

That’s a relief. Actually, I didn’t expect the situation to improve significantly even if I cut the rope.

‘But still, having free hands is better than being bound.’

I wondered how long I’d entrusted my wrist to Lux like this.

The rattling carriage, which had been moving steadily, came to a halt.

Have we arrived already?

In surprise, I fumbled with my hands, barely catching the hem of my sleeve.

“Lux, come inside! And don’t make any noise! Got it?”

“Got it, squeak!”

Fortunately, without further questions, Lux promptly hid inside my sleeve.

I quickly lay down on the floor, pretending to be asleep.

Creak, a rusty sound scratched my eardrums. Similar to the sound when the cage opened earlier.

The door opened, and an incredibly bright light poured in, far brighter than the dimness inside.

Voices followed one after another.

“What’s this? Still sleeping?”

The voice was so low and resonant that it startled me involuntarily. It wasn’t just one person speaking.

“When we brought the kid earlier, the Director gave her a sleeping potion. We find it convenient and nice.”

It was indeed a sedative.

“But still, isn’t she sleeping for too long? It’s been half a day.”

“Did you see how carelessly the Director handles things there? Probably just shoved it into the kid without thinking. Think about the mute girl in the facility.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“She asked for a medicine to stiffen her tongue, but she didn’t know it would be fed to the kid in the facility continuously.”

Listening to the men’s conversation, I couldn’t hide my shock.

There was only one person they could be talking about, and that was Big Sis Marie.

I knew she had lost the ability to speak due to a post-traumatic incident.

But I always thought it was due to the accident…

“Anyway, that woman is ruthless. As a director of an orphanage, she wouldn’t let go of the kids, even making a healthy person mute by feeding them the stiffening medicine.”

“…”

“I first realized that women could be cruel to children when I saw her. Don’t women have maternal instincts or something?”

“I don’t know. Haven’t seen that in the Director.”

As the voices gradually approached, someone suddenly lifted me like a sack of potatoes, wedging themselves against my side.

Ugh, I’m going to die!

My stomach was instantly compressed. The pressure was almost enough to make me scream.

“Hold her properly. We don’t want her dropping.”

“Thinking of dropping this small kid? If you drop her, I’ll crawl between your legs.”

“You crazy bastard, watch your mouth.”

Despite the laughter, I couldn’t laugh at all.

Every time the man moved, my body shook!

Fortunately, there was no sign of the stew making a reappearance, but my stomach felt queasy, and the heightened perspective was frightening.

Anywhere was fine; please just let me down.

‘My stomach hurts…’

Fortunately, the man let me down before my waist could snap.

Clank, a metallic sound echoed, and the previously bustling surroundings fell silent.

“Did they leave?”

Peeping open my eyes, the men seemed to be gone.

“They left.”

Relieved, I fully opened my eyes and was startled. There were not only me but also many kids my age around.

I quickly realized where I was.

“I had a feeling, but…”

They really sent us to the dark market.

“Ani, can we go out now?”

“Ah, yes.”

At my words, Lux emerged from my sleeve and climbed onto my shoulder.

“There are a lot of humans, squeak.”

“……Yeah.”

“Should I gnaw through the rope as well?”

“Yeah, if you would be gra…”

Gnash, thud!

Just as I was about to respond to Lux, the door swung open forcefully.

The door hit the wall with a loud bang, causing it to vibrate slightly.

But I didn’t have the luxury to stare at it for long. It was because of the man with turquoise hair who barged in, slamming the door open.

“I heard there’s someone new brought while I was away.”

The man examined the faces of the children, spotted me and grinned through the bars.

“Ah, it’s you.”

Though the man was relatively short, he had broad shoulders and well-defined muscles.

Considering his overall appearance, he looked quite comical, but the large scar beneath his crew-cut hair and the bulky body glimpsed below were intimidating to my young self.

Moreover, if he was involved in such activities, his habits were undoubtedly questionable. Just imagining those thick hands made me shiver.

While I was frightened, the man opened the iron-barred door and sat down in front of me.

Unexpectedly, he caught my chin.

“Uh.”

At his inconsiderate touch, I grimaced, but the man didn’t care and turned my face this way and that.

“Hmm, you’re quite cute. You might become a beauty when you grow up. Whether you’ll grow up or not is a different matter, though.”

The man chuckled, seemingly in a bad mood, and let go of my chin. Then he looped a thin cord, which he had been holding on his wrist, around my neck.

“It’s better to stay quiet. Even if my opponent is a kid, I don’t show mercy. Got it? Nod if you understood.”

Following his instructions, I nodded, and the man seemed satisfied, chuckling unpleasantly.

“Good. Let’s just stay like this until the auction in two days.”

“….”

“And don’t take off that necklace. If you do, you might lose a part of your body on your way to the lower floors.”

Lose a part of my body…?

I stared at the necklace the man had given me.

Upon closer inspection, a small pebble was attached to the end of the string.

“Well, your hands are tied, and Miss Yujin will check regularly, so there’s no way to remove it.”

Miss Yujin?

Wait, did this man just say ‘Yujin’?