After Putting the Slayer of the Night to Sleep, I Ran Away - Chapter 104

The morning I secretly hoped wouldn’t come, dawned.

Leo frowned and stalled at the news that someone had been sent from the Imperial Palace. Only after Isla pushed him in the back did he finally get up.

Immediately after finishing getting ready to leave.

Leo looked at Isla, who had come to see him off, and said seriously.

“I think it’d be better to quit now, even at this point.”

“You’re not going to, are you? Just get going already.”

“Aren’t you even a little sad? I’m the only one who is, only me.”

Isla chuckled as if amused by his grumbling, and Leo looked at Isla and smiled helplessly.

“I’ll be back.”

“Yes. I’ll come see you soon.”

“I’ll be expecting it. Oh, and…”

Leo glanced at Diana and continued.

“Play nicely with Diana. Don’t open the door for anyone, even if they come looking…”

“That’s going to be difficult. Vivian is coming to visit, and Bella will be back soon.”

“Where is that Shan woman always wandering off to?”

“Didn’t you know? She’s looking for any Shan people who might be held as slaves.”

“Alone?”

“How could she go to a place like that alone? Sir Theodore went with her.”

Leo looked surprised at her words.

“Theodore? Why would he?”

“What is it, aren’t you paying enough attention to what’s going on at your own mansion?”

Isla glared at him as if he were being unreasonable and added.

“The two of them are seeing each other, you know.”

“What?”

“Sir Theodore confessed to Bella. Even the Count knows.”

Leo glanced sideways at Lucas at her nagging and cleared his throat.

“…I see. So, has she had any luck?”

“Bella?”

“Yes. If they’ve already been taken as slaves, it won’t be easy to rescue them.”

“Unfortunately, it seems she hasn’t found any yet.”

“I see. If she does find any, tell her not to hesitate to tell me. I’ll lend a hand, whatever it takes.”

“Really?”

Leo said softly.

“It’s your friend’s business, so it’s my business too.”

“Thank you!”

“More importantly, when did you get so close to the people at the mansion? You seem to know more than I do.”

“Everyone is so nice to me. And they’re family, aren’t they? Living in the same house.”

Seeing her smile so proudly, a mix of pity and pride washed over him.

Leo wordlessly reached out and ruffled her hair.

“You’re doing a good job.”

“Of course. Whose wife do you think I am?”

“Haha. Looks like I need to step up my game.”

Leo laughed heartily and pulled her into his arms.

Then, he forcibly pulled away from her and said a word to Lucas.

“Count. Take good care of Isla.”

“You don’t need to worry. Just get going.”

“Oh, come on. Aren’t you being a little too biased?”

Leo grumbled and got into the carriage.

It was time to say a reluctant, short farewell.

A few days later, the town house was bustling with activity for the first time in a while.

“A brighter color would be better. The walls of the Grand Duke’s castle are dark.”

“Then you might want to refer to these fabrics.”

“Let’s see. Hmm… I like these two.”

Isla ran her fingertips over each of the pieces of cloth the merchant had brought, checking the texture.

“What do you think, Diana?”

“They’re both nice but I like this one better, Sister.”

“Then let’s go with this one. Make sure the length is sufficient.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Isla scanned the memo she had prepared with the items to buy, checking once more to make sure nothing was missing.

“Let’s start with this for now. Send all the goods to the Grand Duke’s castle, and next time you come, bring some tableware samples. Something of high quality, good enough to serve to distinguished guests. It would be nice to include imports from the Argenta Kingdom or tableware from the Verce artisan.”

“Understood, Your Highness. Tableware from the Shatar Kingdom has been getting a lot of buzz lately, should I bring some of that too?”

“Sounds good. Bring it along.”

“Understood. I should be able to visit again in about three or four days.”

“I’ll see you in three days, Mr. Lucas.”

Isla smiled contentedly and saw the merchant, Lucas, off.

Then, she turned to Dex and said with satisfaction.

“He’s a good merchant, just like your aide said. He has a wealth of knowledge about goods, and his work is very clean. Ah, of course, I’ll have to check the goods he brings as well.”

“He’s someone we’ve been trading with for a long time. He’s a merchant group that grew with our investment, so you can trust him.”

“Is that so?”

She didn’t know they had invested in a merchant group.

Isla thought that the power of Eisen Felt might be spread out much wider than she had thought, and moved her feet.

Her heart was busy.

“You haven’t forgotten that you’re going to see His Highness today, have you, Aide?”

“How could I forget? If I did, I’d be cursed to the point where I wouldn’t even be able to gather my bones. The preparations are perfectly complete, so all you have to do is depart.”

Isla laughed at Dex’s jest and headed to the dining room.

“I’ll just grab the lunch box I asked the chef to prepare and head out.”

“Understood. I’ll have the carriage waiting.”

Isla took a short breath and exchanged glances with Dex.

The day, which had been busily prepared and moved since morning, was already drawing to a close towards evening.

When she entered the dining room, a neatly packaged lunch box was placed on the table. Isla brightened and picked up the lunch box basket.

“Thank you, I’ll make sure he eats well!”

“Have a good trip, Your Highness.”

Leaving the mansion with the kitchen staff’s farewells, she saw the waiting carriage.

It was a simple carriage that looked like a hired carriage, a preparation to avoid unnecessary attention on the way to the slums.

“Even the Count came out?”

Isla’s eyes widened as she found Lucas, who had come out to see her off.

“The Grand Duchess is going out, of course I have to come out to see her off.”

“It’s less than an hour away…”

Lucas smiled kindly at Isla, who was embarrassed, and said.

“Don’t stray from the knights, and be careful.”

“Yes, Count. I’ll be back.”

Isla boarded the carriage with the Grey Wolf Knights, including Dex.

Including the driver’s seat and the passenger seat, there were a total of five escorts.

The slums were much dirtier and colder than she had imagined.

The rows of buildings were old and dilapidated or broken, and the narrow alleys between the buildings were filled with various garbage and filth, giving off a stench.

Children with empty stomachs were playing on the roadside, which was hardly worthy of being called a road, and old people sitting in various places were muttering something and begging passersby.

As the reality she had only heard about unfolded before her eyes, Isla felt a sense of blockage.

This place was collapsing from too deep within to be solved with just a desire to help.

“…It’s much worse than I thought.”

Isla, who had been staring out the carriage window with her mouth tightly closed, muttered quietly, and Dex next to her nodded.

“I was also very shocked at first. I didn’t think there would be such a difference even in the capital.”

“I know… I knew there were places called slums, but I didn’t think the environment would be this poor. I understand why His Majesty chose it as the theme of the competition.”

The carriage, which had been traveling through the narrow alleys for a long time, stopped.

When the escort opened the door, the entrance to a building was immediately visible, along with the damp air.

It seemed that the carriage was deliberately parked at the entrance to avoid attracting people’s attention.

“We’ve arrived. You should go inside first.”

Following Dex’s guidance, Isla opened the door and stepped inside under the escort of the knights.

Rather than a lodging, it was as if a building on the verge of collapse had been roughly repaired and forcibly maintained.

The walls were cracked, letting in cold air, and the ceiling showed signs of rainwater leaking from various places.

“You’re staying here…?”

Unable to continue speaking, Isla hugged the lunch box basket tightly.

No matter how good the intention, this was too much.

The only good thing was that at least the furniture seemed to be intact.

“He’s a guy who sleeps well even in worse environments than this. You don’t have to worry.”

Dex spoke lightly, but Isla felt even more heartbroken by those words.

What kind of life had he lived to be able to sleep well even in worse environments than this?

What kind of environment had he, who was of the noblest status, been placed in?

“Where is His Highness?”

“He’s probably in a meeting with the representatives of the slums right now.”

“Can I go see him?”

At her words, Ian replied as if it were obvious.

“There is no place that Your Highness cannot go. If you tell me, I will take you there.”

“Then please, Commander. I don’t want to just hide here and wait after coming all this way.”

She wanted to feel what he was seeing and hearing together.

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