The big tent of the Red Sparrow Troupe was located in the Emerald Square near the Golden Goose Tavern.

Compared to the formal troupe with their well-dressed stars and special effects lighting, the touring troupe's shabby appearance was pitiful. The half-height wooden platform was simply separated into front and back stages by red-dyed burlap, and there were only a dozen chairs placed below the stage.

Colorful lamps powered by magic crystals were hung sparsely on the top of the tent, and only turned on to enhance the atmosphere during the climax of the performance to save energy.

Albert restored his original appearance in a secluded alley: a two-meter-tall, ugly man covered in numerous pale pink scars that concealed his ghostly white skin. He packed his expensive clothes into a small suitcase and changed into pants and a vest made of cheap fabric.

The expensive clothes Albert had been wearing at the bank were obtained by selling the gems that the Master William had given him. Now, he only had a small amount of cash left

"Ten days," Albert thought. "If the manager is as greedy as rumors say, then my plan will succeed."

"I've designed a despicable trap, but if he's a person of high moral character, the trap will be meaningless. Whether he becomes prey or not, it's up to his own choice."

Turning into the troupe from the street, the Red Sparrow Troupe occupied a large portion of the square, almost half of it, which was unthinkable in the new district. The squares that allowed campsites had already been snatched up by various troupes, and the interval between each tent was no more than two meters.

Moreover, the taxes and rent paid to the government were not something that the Red Sparrow Troupe could afford.

Compared to the new district, the burden was much lighter in the old district.

This was just a small touring troupe, including the boss , there were only five girls and three handymen, , and a covered wagon and two small trailers. The handymen were children under the age of majority and could only help with odd jobs. They had difficulty completing any physically demanding work.

Albert believed that this was why the boss agreed to let him join the touring troupe. Although he was ugly, his two-meter height and incredible strength were not only useful in setting up the tent and other heavy work, but also made him a good choice as a coachman or bodyguard when traveling between cities.

Albert tried to find a job and integrate into society to better carry out his revenge. However, his appearance was so repulsive that even the most open-minded employers dared not hire him.

"God, please get out of here. None of the customers would dare to come in with your appearance."," they exclaimed in shock.

In this society, superficial looks are often highly valued.

Over the past year, Albert had traveled to many places, until four months ago when he met Lydia, the owner of the Red Sparrow troupe, in a small town south of Flondeck. At the time, Lydia was struggling to find a new coachman to replace one who had quit.

"You're really ugly," Lydia said bluntly. "But that's actually good. I don't dare hire anyone too good-looking. If they sweet-talked their way into the girls' hearts and took them away, the troupe would collapse."

The monthly salary was thirty silver coins, and if business was good, there would be bonuses every six months. This was the only price a small touring troupe like theirs could afford.

What Albert needed was an identity, and he didn't care about the salary.

The boss was pretty good and treated the girls well. Albert had heard about the deeds of this type of troupe. Some large troupes would force members to do some unspeakable things to satisfy customers' abnormal fetishes, and even some girls became disabled as a result.

But Lydia didn't do this. If the girls in the troupe wanted to earn some extra money by bringing clients into the small tent used as a bedroom, she wouldn't object and didn't take a cut.

So the girls in the troupe were quite trusted of her.

But this was also why the Red Sparrow troupe couldn't grow. Customers preferred to patronize places where they could do whatever they pleased as long as they paid.

Albert stepped over the fence surrounding the campsite. The performance on the outdoor stage had already ended, and some of the girls were resting while others were working overtime. Moans of pleasure could be heard from the tents of Cindy, Alana, and Nicole.

The backstage area was a bit noisy. He had just walked past one of the small tents when Nicole poked her head out, revealing a bare shoulder. Her disheveled red long hair swayed with her body movements.

"Big guy, where have you been? Hurry over to the backstage area and take a look," Nicole said

A man's displeased voice immediately came from inside the tent. " Can't you focus a little?"

"That's because you're not exciting enough," Nicole retorted.

In the backstage area, the boss was explaining, "Miss Melissa isn't feeling well, so she's resting today."

A customer shook his money bag. "I know what you're thinking. Twenty silver coins."

"It's not about the money. I always respect the girls' wishes," the boss replied.

"Well then, you're also quite pretty, boss. How about twenty-five silver coins?" The customer counted his money.

"I haven't done this kind of thing for a long time, and I don't want to do it now."

"What are you pretending to be chaste for? Aren't all the girls in the troupe whores?" the customer said.

"If you can't show a little respect, please leave, sir!" she replied.

"Respect? A group of whores talking about respect!" The customer looked disdainfully at the boss and said.

Lydia was about to say something when she saw Albert. She shouted, "Quasimodo, come here. Someone's causing trouble."

Quasimodo was the alias Albert had given himself.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The customer was frightened by Albert's appearance and height, especially the scars and strong muscles that couldn't be covered by his clothes. He swallowed and backed away in fear.

Albert spoke in a gentle voice, "Sir, we're closed now. If you need any services, please come back next time."

"Next time? Even if you give me money, I won't come back," The customer complained as he left. "I will definitely tell my friends that the Red Sparrow Troupe is not a place worth spending money on."

"Is there anything else that needs to be taken care of now?" Albert asked the boss.

Lydia hugged her arms in front of her chest, and her impressive breasts were even more pronounced under the pressure. "Where have you been fooling around? It's been more than two days since I've seen you."

"When I was hired, I made it clear that I might leave for a few days at any time, and you agreed," Albert explained.

"A portion of this month's salary must be deducted," Lydia said.

"No problem, that's fair," Albert agreed. "Then I'll take my leave now."

Lydia sat casually on the protruding shelf in the backstage area, lightly tapping her cheek with her fingers, a puzzled expression on her mature and beautiful face.

For the past few months, she had always been curious about Albert's identity.

At first, Lydia thought he was a retired mercenary, the horrible scars all over his body were proof of that.

Due to the lack of manpower, Albert often needed to participate in performances, and his ugly appearance did not require any makeup to play some villainous roles.

But as they got to know each other, she discovered that this ugly giant had knowledge that was not commensurate with his appearance.

Once, while she was reading a book to pass the time, she encountered some unfamiliar and rare characters, which Albert casually explained to her.

Such knowledge was not something that reckless warriors could master.

Although he tried his best to conceal it, Albert's daily speech and behavior occasionally revealed that he had received professional education, which is something that only the wealthy can afford.

Casual dramas like "The Iron-Faced Man" were popular for a while, maybe he was like the protagonist in the book, a prince who was framed by an evil minister, disfigured and fled, gathering brave knights to prepare for the restoration of his kingdom?

Lydia found her own whimsical imagination amusing. If she were fifteen years younger, she might have believed in this romantic plot. But for a thirty-two-year-old woman, romance had long been buried in the passage of time, along with dolls and love.

"A strange ugly man," Lydia commented on Albert. She thought for a moment and added, "A strange, strong ugly man."

The flower car parade, usually held on the first day of the carnival, represents in a way the opening ceremony.

The beautifully decorated floral floats take turns making their way around the city, starting from the central square of the new district and completing one circuit.

The first float belongs to the city council, but its serious design is not well-liked by the people. However, when several high-ranking council members dress up in colorful costumes and paint themselves with various colors to look like clowns, the crowd still gives them enthusiastic applause.

The Red Sparrow Troupe's float was located towards the end of the procession.

The order of the float procession is also something that requires money to obtain. For example, large touring troupes such as the Cat's Paw and the Fairy Troupe can afford to pay a high price and be positioned behind the government's float.

Colorful confetti and all sorts of advertising flyers fall from the floats, and according to the customary rule, anyone who brings a flyer to purchase tickets for that troupe can receive an 20% discount, which only fuels the excitement of the crowd even more.

Each float has its own theme, and beautiful actresses dressed up as various characters from stories such as fairies and sprites on the float, throw kisses to the crowd. Their sparkling short skirts reveal their fair thighs, which makes men drool.

The Red Sparrow Troupe's float is slightly different. Compared to those exquisitely decorated floats, it looks a bit old-fashioned. Each girl on the float was dressed in elegant clothes, with long skirts that covered their ankles and even their faces were covered with masks.

But these clothes, similar to those of noblewomen, have some slight modifications that make them fit more tightly to the body, which reveals the girls' voluptuous figures beneath the clothing.

"Will this work?" Lydia asked Albert while fanning herself with a small fan, quietly.

"It's better than dressing up like the other floats," Albert replied. This was his idea. The large troupes can afford to spend one hundred gold coins to decorate their float, and their actresses, who wear expensive makeup, are indeed more beautiful than the Red Sparrow Troupe's ladies. Without any unique ideas, they would not be able to compete.

Curiosity is always the root of men's desire, and the modest yet alluring clothes worn by the girls on the Red Sparrow float could arouse their desires even more.

This did indeed have a very good effect.

Many people followed the float, reaching out for flyers while appraising the girls' figures with lustful eyes.

"Miss with the red hair, could you take off your mask?" someone shouted.

"Sir, after the parade ends, come to our troupe by following the address on the flyer, you'll be able to see her," Albert replied. He was dressed in a tailcoat, looking like a servant serving noble ladies in an elegant salon.

The ugly face under the black top hat only accentuated the youth and beauty of the girls around him.

Nicole, the one who was asked, followed the predetermined plan and turned her head to the other side, while putting a small cloak over her shoulders. This cold action only made the shouted more excited.

Modesty and chastity are far more alluring than wanton seduction.

So that afternoon, the tent of the Red Sparrow Troupe's tent was filled with people, and some latecomers didn't mind waiting at the door for two hours.

Neither the spectacular performance nor the girls' appearance after taking off their masks disappointed the audience. It was predictable that tomorrow would be even more sensational.

In the evening, after calculating the income, Lydia, the troupe leader, said to Albert, "I'll raise your salary to thirty-two silver coins per month."

"If you come up with more good ideas, I won't shortchange you," she said cheerfully.

Manager Seth walked into the bank vault once again.

"I need to check, just in case the humidity damages the painting, it would damage the bank's reputation," The manager said somewhat hypocritically.

"That's your right, sir," the guard replied strangely. The manager had only been here the day before yesterday, and no matter how serious the humidity was, it could not have eroded the painting in just two nights.

However, this was within the manager's jurisdiction, and the guard did not want to argue about it.

Closing the door to the vault, Seth took out a set of tools from his pocket and unscrewed the screws at the corners of the painting frame. Slowly, he peeled back the Dachi’s sketch, with the help of a small scraper, revealed a large portion of the hidden painting

It was an exquisite portrait of a woman in black, sitting upright with a mysterious smile on her face. The lines of the picture were beautiful, the colors realistic, and there was a signature in the bottom right corner.

The name was the same as the one on the sketch: Dachi.

Seth's heart was pounding loudly. He had many friends who were knowledgeable about art, and at parties, he had heard some incredible stories. One collector had bought an old letter for a small sum of money, simply out of his hobby of collecting, without considering its actual value.

However, one day, the collector accidentally dropped the letter near a fireplace, and the high temperature caused a few lines of text as well as a signature, all written in invisible ink, have appeared on the blank part of the letter. It was a handwritten letter from a cardinal 130 years ago, and those few lines of text solved the mystery of a major historical event.

This letter caused a sensation in the collecting world, with many wealthy people willing to pay 500,000 for it.

500,000!

The manager used a bit of force to try and separate the worthless sketch, but due to the age of the paintings, a third of the two paintings were tightly glued together. Only professional personnel using specialized chemicals and tools could slowly separate them in a few months without damaging the work.

This was a meticulous and demanding task, and one mistake could ruin the master's hard work.

"Damn it." Seth reluctantly restored the painting. He needed to consult the bank's appraiser to see if there was an easier way.

Of course, he would not reveal this potentially priceless secret.