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[1] This refers to how some people, when lacking money, would go to extreme lengths to earn it by stealing or being a prostitute, etc., which are bad things to do. But on the other hand, if you have a lot of money, you wouldn't need to do any of that.
My whole life can be summarized into one word: unlucky.
But, I suppose there was no use explaining this fact haltingly to the man with golden hair and dull-blue eyes, who flippantly crossed his legs in front of me as I tried to make him somewhat understand my situation.
At the back of the room was an alchemy furnace. Bright sunlight streamed in through the open window adorned with curtains. There was a red chair and an office desk, a cute lamp in the shape of a mushroom, and an infinite space trunk filled with lots of materials.
All of these were purchased with my own money. And the man who sat on the sturdy black leather chair, looking a bit worn and thin but with a strong physique, was also bought with my money.
His disheveled golden hair was messy and a little dry but still retained some of its original beauty. He had a somewhat dirty bandage wrapped around his right eye, presumably serving as an eyepatch. Meanwhile, his beautiful, left dull-blue eye gazed at me with boredom.
His long legs were spread out in a disrespectful manner, extending from his tattered black coat. A few stiff belts were wrapped around his leg-hugging pants, while his frayed boots were covered in mud.
Both of his hands hung limply between his legs. Attached to both of his hands were magic cuffs with no keyholes; a red snake-like ring made of magic power, resembling a Mobius strip. A magic handcuff designed for slaves that could only be released when their master applied magic power to it.
His back was curled up in a hunched position. To put it mildly, his posture was far from good, making it seem as if he had no trace of his former glory.
“Listen well. From today onwards, I am your master. Alright, now, what is my name?” I said while standing in front of the man with my hands on my hips.
I could see my reflection in the man’s dull eye. My slightly wavy, shoulder-length hair with a tinted peachy gold hue and tied with a laced triangular handkerchief. My eyes were a slightly darker shade of pink than my hair. White skin. I wore knee-length drawers under the red apron dress and brown boots so I could roam freely. Modestly speaking, I was quite the beauty.
I am the most unlucky woman in the kingdom. My name is—
“Chloe Seigrit, was it?” said the man in a slightly sweet but profoundly powerful voice.
“That's correct, Julius Kraft-san, or ‘sama’? Would you prefer that I call you ‘sama’? If it makes you feel better, I can call you ‘sama’, you know.”
“What an annoying woman. I don’t care.”
“Did you just call me ‘annoying’ again? Listen carefully, Julius-san. I am the master, and you are the slave. I bought you with my own money, so from today onwards, you are my slave. Well, it was a good purchase if I do say so myself. After all, I could buy the ever-victorious general, the Black Prince Julius, for only five million gold. It’s a good deal, wouldn’t you agree? Five million gold is an amount that can be easily earned right away by making one mysterious elixir. Alchemy is amazing, you know. You can make incredible profits with no material costs. There’s no better business than this.”
“So? What are you going to use me for after obtaining me with only five million gold, young lady? Are you going to take over the kingdom? Or perhaps, seek revenge?”
“Julius-san... Seeking revenge is not very profitable, you know…” I said, sighing at Julius, who spoke those words with a cruel smile on his face.
You don’t understand at all, Julius.
Revenge is not profitable. There might be cases where it is, but those are very rare.
The most important thing in this world is money. With money, you can do anything. Money is the only thing you can trust. Even the verdict of hell is determined by money[1].
In other words, I don’t want to do anything that won’t give me any profit.
“Listen well, Julius-san. My name is Chloe Seigrit, who used to be the only daughter of the prestigious Duke Seigrit. Do me a favor by listening to what I’m about to say. Because I have a story to tell you, a story that will bring tears to your eyes.”
“I’m not interested. But you’re probably going to talk on your own anyway.”
“Now, don’t be like that. You’re probably bored anyway, Julius-san. As long as these magic cuffs are on you, you can’t do anything, you know.”
Julius clicked his tongue with annoyance.
How uncouth.
“You see, Julius-san. I used to be the daughter of the prestigious Duke Seigrit. You might not know much about the nobility in the Astoria Kingdom, being a former enemy general and all. But, the Seigrit family had fallen into ruin.”
“...Go on.”
“Oh my, Julius-san. You seem quite interested. Are you that curious about me, the legendary young beauty alchemist called Chloe-chan”
“You’re not exactly in the age range of a ‘young beauty,’ no?”
Julius’s unexpectedly precise response made me feel relieved. I had been worried about how to interact with someone who wouldn’t communicate with me, since I don’t have the financial comfort to keep a big, uncommunicative man by my side.
“Well, I’m twenty, so you could still say I’m a beauty.”
“I wouldn’t agree to that.”
“You’re so noisy, Julius-san. Moving on, there’s a deep reason as to why the Seigrit family fell into ruin. When I was around thirteen years old, my mother died, and my father remarried. My stepmother, who had been having an affair with my father for many years, already had a child—my half-sister, who happened to be a year younger than me. Around that time, I was engaged to the prince of this kingdom, Cyril Astria.”
“Cyril Astria… The First Prince?”
“Yes, that’s right! As expected of Julius-san, you catch on quickly! And so, I thought we’d get married just as planned, but three years ago, at the noble academy’s graduation ceremony, he suddenly broke off our engagement.”
“Broke off the engagement?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right. Even though I had no idea why. I was publicly thrown into prison, but I managed to save my life. After that, my family fell into ruin, and I was thrown out of the royal capital, alone.”
“How many sins have you committed, even though you look like you wouldn’t even kill a bug?”
“Don’t say such nasty things. I didn’t do anything wrong. My little sister, Aliza-chan, exposed the Seigrit family’s crimes. I didn’t know a thing about it, but apparently, my father had been up to no good behind the scenes. Kidnapping children, human trafficking, loan sharking, murder, and even selling bad drugs. It’s like something out of a suspense novel. I had no idea.”
“Did he really do all that?”
“I don’t know. After I was told all of that, I was suddenly thrown into prison, and then I was dumped in a back alley in the royal capital. My father was executed and our family fell into ruin. I didn’t know what was going on at all. But still, I had to survive, so here I am, a self-made alchemist. A popular one at that. Oh, how fortunate I am to be able to use magic. On top of that, alchemists make more money than regular mages these days.”
For the first time, an emotional sparkle lit up in Julius’s eyes. It was like a cruel flame, quietly flickering in the depths of his eyes.
“So, you do want revenge, Chloe. If you want, I can slaughter all of your enemies for you.”
“No, that’s not what I meant, Julius-san. I don’t want to do that. You truly don’t understand what I’m saying at all, do you? As I mentioned before, revenge isn’t profitable.”
“Your little sister, the one who trapped you, is she living comfortably now?”
“Quite comfortably, indeed, and now she’s the crown princess. She seems to have married Cyril without a hitch. There was even a parade to announce their marriage recently. Thanks to that, my special fireworks, ‘Flower Fireworks,’ were a big hit and sold very well. It was fantastic, if I must say.”
“Well, your story is quite common, but aren’t you angry?”
“Is my story really common to you? Is falling into ruin that ordinary?”
“It’s a common and simple story.”
“I thought I was the unluckiest girl in the kingdom. That’s strange... Well, I can’t say I don’t feel angry at all, though. However, Julius-san, the most important thing in this world is money. Money won’t betray you. That’s the reason why I bought you from the slave arena with my own money.”
I was actually afraid to go to the slave arena, but I did my best. After all, I had heard a rumor that Julius the Black Prince could be bought for five million gold.
“And here I’m asking you if the reason you bought me is for you to seek revenge. If that’s what you command, I’ll gladly bring you Cyril’s head—the man who betrayed you. And if you want torture, I’m willing to bring him to you alive.”
“That’s quite gruesome, Julius-san. But I’ve already told you, it’s not like that.”
“Then what is it? What did you buy me for? Do you intend to make me your male prostitute? It seems like you must be in dire need of a companion.”
“That’s a bit vulgar of you, Julius-san. Money is more important to me than men. I don’t need a marriage partner, much less a male prostitute. It wouldn’t earn me a single coin.”
“So, what is it then?”
“Listen to me, Julius-san. For good alchemy, you need good materials. And those only come from strong monsters. That’s why, Julius-san, I’ll have you work for me like a carthorse from now on, and you’re going to accompany me in hunting monsters for materials.”
Julius turned away from me, looking uninterested, and muttered in a small voice, “So that’s it?”