Count Mercelc’s Villa
The three of us—Sister Emilia, Orlan, and I—left the ruins, dashed through the main street, and headed for Count Mercelc's villa in the noble district.
The villa was surrounded by high walls, and mercenaries-like guards were stationed at the gate.
As I was pondering how to put them to sleep, Orlan suddenly hoisted Sister Emilia over her shoulder and, without hesitation, leaped towards the wall.
Startled by the sudden move, Sister Emilia covered her mouth with both hands and flailed her legs. The two of them disappeared over the wall.
Seeing that the guards at the gate hadn't noticed, I activated my "Assassin" skill and leaped as well.
Upon landing over the wall, I found Sister Emilia glaring silently at Orlan, fists clenched. Unperturbed, Orlan signaled to me with her fingers and dashed silently towards the back of the mansion.
As expected of an Assassin, her movements were flawless as she infiltrated the mansion.
I placed a reassuring hand on Sister Emilia's back and we both followed Orlan. At the back of the mansion, the service entrance was open, indicating Orlan had already gone inside.
We moved cautiously down the hallway, making no noise. As we approached the stairs, Orlan was waiting for us, kneeling.
"Ian, you two stay here. I'll take care of the people in the mansion."
"Orlan, try not to kill them. Some might have information linking to the Spider."
"I'll do my best."
Orlan nodded briefly and disappeared in an instant. I had never asked what kind of blessing Orlan had, but it might be on par with my Assassin’s Blessing.
After crouching and waiting for a while, Orlan came down the stairs from the second floor.
"Count Mercelc was in his room, so I knocked him out."
"What about the others?"
"I didn't take anyone's life."
It seemed Orlan had honored my request.
As Sister Emilia and I started up the stairs towards the Count, Orlan said, "I'll check the basement," and vanished again.
She seemed to be moving ahead of us, clearing the way to ensure no one would interfere with us.
Orlan is silent but kind.
On the second floor, we found mercenary-looking men collapsed in the hallway. Their eyes were rolled back, but they were just unconscious.
Peeking into an open room, I saw a woman who looked like a servant lying on the floor.
We proceeded cautiously, checking each room as we went, and when we opened the door at the end of the hallway, we found a luxurious room with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and red carpet on the floor.
Inside, on a massive bed, lay a fat, balding man and a naked girl.
It seemed the man was Count Mercelc.
The girl appeared to be older than me, but younger than Sister Emilia. Given the late hour, they must have been engaged in some midnight activity.
The next moment, Sister Emilia forcefully covered my eyes with her hands.
"Ian, don't look."
"I can't find what we're looking for if I can't see."
"You still can't look."
"I won't look at the bed."
Sister Emilia reluctantly removed her hands from my eyes.
Believing my words, Sister Emilia released her hands from my eyes. We split up and thoroughly searched the room for anything related to the Spider.
I meticulously checked the drawers of the large desk by the window.
While I found evidence of illegal tax hikes in the territory and documents showing the flow of funds to nobles and merchant associations, there was nothing related to the black market or human trafficking.
As I finished searching the desk and looked up, I saw Sister Emilia examining the bookshelf. The moment she pressed on one of the books, a mechanical sound echoed, and the bookshelf slid sideways, revealing a hidden room.
"Ian, there's a hidden room."
Surprised, I entered the room with Sister Emilia. Piles of documents written on parchment were stacked inside.
There were also large wooden boxes filled with coins worth more than gold, luxurious ornaments, and numerous gemstones hidden away.
Reading through the documents, I found records detailing who purchased children or young girls and for how much.
Clutching the parchment, I excitedly turned to Sister Emilia.
"These are documents related to human trafficking."
"So Count Mercelc really was the mastermind behind the black market."
Sister Emilia's expression turned stern as she narrowed her eyes.
We thoroughly investigated the hidden room for any other evidence. When we emerged, Orlan was standing quietly outside.
"There are children and young girls in the basement."
So, there were still children and young girls trapped in the mansion.
Sister Emilia and I exchanged a glance and nodded, following Orlan to the basement. As we descended the stairs, we found several rooms separated by iron bars.
Inside those bars, naked children and young girls sat with vacant eyes. Some had wounds all over their bodies, and others had their ankles amputated.
These children and girls were supposed to be sold in the black market, yet they had been subjected to such cruel treatment.
Orlan used a dagger to break the locks on the bars, and Sister Emilia entered the cages, activating her Saintess’ Blessing to heal the children.
We couldn't leave the children and girls here. After some thought, I decided to request assistance from Lyshiria, the Captain of the Royal Guards.
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