"You have to get out of here. Not just anyone can simply waltz into the Slave Pens!" The Blackguard Lieutenant spoke as he walked angrily towards us.

Vivian, as an 18-year-old noble, who fancies nothing but greatness and nobility, couldn't stand still being treated this way or let anyone simply order her around.

At that moment, she initialized Villainess Mode to full throttle, equipping herself with the cannons of sophistication and beams of classical literature.

"Your insolence knows no bounds, sir! To accuse my esteemed self of trespassing upon this ungodly ground and then spew forth such venomous utterances is an affront to decency itself. Pray, reconsider your comportment, lest you find yourself bereft of all civility and regard."

The Leiutanent paused and it seemed that his brain short-circuited while hearing Vivian just now. In truth, most of the people around, except for Esmeralda, had to take a second to digest what Vivian said.

"Amazing, my Lady." Esmeralda clapped for Vivian lightly.

"I… I was saying… this is a place restricted for clients." The Lieutenant felt as if he stepped into some sort of unwanted trouble.

"By the Saints above, you shall not abscond unscathed from such insolence! Behold, gaze upon this spectacle: a slave of yours, in a reckless display of negligence, has wrought injury upon my person. I demand redress for this grievous transgression, for justice shall not be denied in the face of such egregious disregard for decorum and duty!" Vivian mercilessly spoke as she showed the blood on her hand demanding retribution.

"So noble!" Esmeralda was shaken by Vivian's nonsense like never before.

The Lieutenant realized that even with the authoritative airs he put on while entering, he held no candle to that person… whoever she was.

"I… I apologize on behalf of all the personnel. You shouldn't have been accompanied here without Blackguard's supervision. All the responsibility falls upon us. We shall severely punish those slaves." The Lieutenant said, "Still, you can't stay here. Please, let me invite you to my office and discuss the matter in a cleaner place. And while we're at it, I'll summon someone to look at your wound. It may get infected."

"Absurdity! I, Vivian of House Moore, shall exact vengeance upon a grand scale, unfurling its tendrils a thousandfold, yet absolving the blameless from culpability. This wretched knave who dared inflict harm upon my person shall find solace only in the confines of my family's dungeon, where his final days shall be suffused with unrelenting torment and anguish." Vivian replied without giving space for negotiation.

"Thank you, God." Esmeralda was in a deep state of ecstasy just from hearing Vivian.

As the situation seemed difficult to handle, the Lieutenant felt that if Vivian was this impossible to talk to, he could just claim to be in the right.

"I am afraid there is nothing I can do here other than to discipline the slaves. All the craftsmen under the Blackguards are protected from being traded. It is simply non-negotiable."

Vivian's eyes widened with rage and she seemed like the most troublesome child in the world.

"Should this slave not be delivered forthwith, I shall not hesitate to register a formal complaint with both my esteemed father and your superior. Furthermore, I shall not shy away from recounting today's lamentable incident before the august tribunal of the law. Though my unwitting transgression may be acknowledged, rest assured, when your superior discerns your culpability in this affair, upon whom do you surmise the weight of reproach shall fall?"

"This is the best day of my life." Esmeralda held her beating heart with joy and fulfillment.

As for the main situation, it didn't take a genius to understand Vivian's threat. She is going to complain to everyone even if she has to take legal action just to annoy the Blackguards. At that point, the Lieutenant's Boss, who is most likely the Market's Overseer, will have to fire the Leiutanent to appease House Moore.

The reputation of the daughter of House Moore as a villainess is recognized nationwide and this is one of the many accidents that she usually causes. Even the Lieutenant knew better.

"But the rules…"

"Are meant to be broken."

He wanted to refute but Vivian didn't give him a chance. He looked to his side and glared at Vladimir, who came running to him with his head lowered.

"What is going on here?"

"I am terribly sorry, sir. The Animal, he attacked her… I don't understand what is going on at all." Vladimir quivered and spoke with a humble attitude despite how confident he was.

A Blackguard lieutenant is usually a minor noble from a rural area looking to make some money by serving as a Blackguard mercenary. This was the same case with Baron Hewes, whose son was the one to be betrothed to Vivian after the Prince broke his engagement with her. In other words, lieutenants were still powerful and could trample over any slave no matter what their worth was but with moderation, of course.

"This Animal, who is he?" The Lieutenant asked.

"Well… all I know is that he's a nutjob. Was in this pen longer than most. Since his head isn't alright, he's rather aggressive and he doesn't talk… well, he didn't until…"

"I don't care about his life story! Is he useful?"

"No! Not at all, he may have had some talent back in the day but the only thing he can do now is shovel work at the coal depot."

Somehow, the Lieutenant sighed since this wasn't really anything important. It seems that this Duergar holds no particular value. As for the rules, it would be difficult to sell him unless he becomes some other sort of slave.

"Fine. For this particular slave, the trade can be managed."

Vivian was about to dance from joy but she restrained herself.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Excellent. I am satisfied that we have at last reached a mutual understanding. I seldom broach the subject of pecuniary matters, but I am compelled to inquire: what sum do you deem appropriate for the freedom of the Duergar in question?"

The Lieutenant frowned and turned to Vivian.

"I am sorry. Freedom? You are not going to buy this slave?" He asked.

Vivian's face suddenly became shocked with disgust.

"At what juncture in our discourse have I purported an intention to procure a slave through purchase? Do you perceive me as one who would assume the mantle of a master over another?" She said.

"Well… I just assumed… Never mind!" The Lieutenant gave up and opened the way out of the slave tent, "Please, let's continue this at the reception hall."

***

The negotiations started with the Blackguards mercenaries and the Lieutenant, whose name I didn't care to ask about, managed to do a very smart thing.

Before I paid for Voros' freedom, he was listed as a labor slave rather than an artisan slave. Since a labor slave is very cheap compared to almost any other sort of slave, the price took a steep drop but since the Lieutenant was taking a huge risk pulling that stunt, he damned 50,000 pounds.

According to Jane, a Master Metallurgist for the price of 50 gold pounds would be a world-class steal. Of course, she hasn't even dared to assume that Voros is a Master Metallurgist.

Voros was brought to the guest room in the reception hall where he was still the mess he was but now as I took a look at him outside the cage, he was even messier.

"You'll need a lot of grooming, Mr. Voros." I spoke to him and he looked at me with distracted eyes.

He then looked back at his hands and there were three cards I gave him. The Lover, the reversed Hermit, and the reversed Devil.

He laid them out once again on the table inside the guest room and waited for me to offer him the fourth card and last card.

I put the cards on its face north of the other cards and waited for him to turn it.

It was the Star.

Tarot doesn't have rigid rules and there are many ways to get a reading. The simplest is the three cards layout but the more cards you add, the more detailed a reading can become. The Celtic cross layout, for example, involves ten cards and it is very popular but since I only use the major arcana cards, I use small layouts. After all, I am also a beginner.

This four-card layout can read into the past, present, and future, and finally the result of one's reading.

"Your past is the Lovers, you had found love and it was warm and beautiful, I can say that because looking at the current you, I see that you are a husk of your former self, reduced to an Animal.

Your present is the Hermit reversed, you suffer from loneliness and isolation, and you lost your way, probably because you lost your love, but since the Lovers card is not reversed, it means that your love is not one-sided and you only need to search for the one you love.

Your future is the Devil reversed, while the Devil is a dangerous card representing materialism and greed, its reversed form represents freedom and restoring control. You gain your freedom and get yourself together.

Finally, the result is the Star. As long as you move forward, be armed with faith because your path is that of healing and hope."

That was a beautiful tarot layout. I couldn't help but feel emotional and Voros too was leaning against the table and sobbing two streams of tears that whitened his lower face.

I am not the type to sympathize with every tear-jerking case I run into but sometimes one must remember they are just people like us at the end of the day.

"Sir Fabian, please escort him to the mansion but make sure he is not seen. Acquire the help of one Oliver West, a gardener apprentice, and hide him at one of the shacks that aren't being used by anyone at the side of the garden. Tell Oliver to serve food and bathing water to Voros and guard them well until I get home."

I gave command to Sir Fabian who was the other knight following me aside from Logan and he followed suit.

"Moment!"

But as I was ready to wrap things up, Voros started acting on his own.

"Where are you going, Duergar?" Logan asked him.

"Get things." Voros replied.

As my knights feared he was escaping after I freed him, the two of them followed but I told them not to. He promised to work for me and I know he will honor his words.

I went outside and watched as Voros got back to the slave pen.

"Hey, what are you doing back here?" Vladimir stood up against Voros but was pushed aside.

A few seconds later, I could hear the sound of rummage and metal breaking before Voros appeared from the tents and his shoulder was a few metal bars.

"HEY! Why did you break the cage? Do you know how bad this will make us look?" Vladimir chased after Voros but Voros suddenly turned and punched Vladimir right in the face.

"BLAH BLAH BLAH!"

In a completely eccentric and wild attitude, Voros stood above Vladimir and started making voices to convey that he was annoyed by Vladimir's constant nagging.

"You filthy bastard! You dared… you dared lay a hand on…" Vladimir was upset but Voros cut him short with another punch.

"Scum Duergar! Weak mind! Slave mind!" Voros said and raised his short Duergar legs before stomping Vladimir's chest violently and walking over him.

On his way, he ripped off the door of the tent and I could see the inside. Since he pulled most of his cage apart, it seems that rows of cages around it all toppled down.

"Miss Jane, I'll appoint you as my temporary financial officer. Please, see to the damages caused by our new employee, Mr. Voros."

"By your orders."

Voros was done with his affairs and wrapped those iron bars in the cloth he ripped before coming to follow me. It seemed that the Blackguards were protesting his behavior but since I was covering the damages, it wasn't much they could do.

"Ready." Voros came towards me and spoke.

"Alright. Sir Fabian here will take you to a place where you can eat, bathe, and sleep. Once I get home, we will have much to discuss."

"Animal, thankful."

"I know that your name is Voros. The tarot told me all about you."

"No. Voros weak. Animal strong."

"I don't care. Your self-respect is an extension of my respect and it is not a matter to be taken lightly, Mr. Voros. If we can't agree to that, we should part ways here and now."

"NO… No."

Voros seemed hesitant even with his eccentric way of… everything. He seemed to be thinking hard and finally accepted it.

"Voros… alright."

"I hope that one day you come to good terms with your past self. As for now, you will be my employee and I will give you a job and salary as a freeman."

"No… no salary. Just food… and help."

"Alright. What sort of help."

Voros then returned the cards to me but withheld one.

The Lovers.

He gulped before returning it and spoke a name.

"Anastasia."

"You want me to find her."

He didn't reply, just a nod was enough to convey his will.

"I promise you I'll do everything in my power to find her wherever she is."

He nodded in affirmation and held his sack of metal tight.

It was still 9 in the morning as all this drama was converging. I sent Voros with Sir Fabian and got back to my carriage.

"You know what, Logan."

"Princess?"

"You were right. The first true smith I will meet will make me punch him."

"Glad to be right."

"Then there is the matter of punching you."