Collector’s Cage - Chapter 11

Wearing an expression of utter reluctance, Hermie timidly poked her head out from under the handkerchief. She was terrified, but if she kept hiding, Marquis Froy would likely lose interest and leave.

“Come on out, sweetie. It’s okay. There’s no one dangerous here.”

Dormi coaxed Hermie in a sickeningly sweet voice.

‘Who does he think he is, treating me like a pet? That beggar of a mage bastard.’

Despite her twisted inner thoughts, she raised her head with an innocent expression. She was doing her best to act like a fairy.

‘Will he really buy it?’

She blinked her large eyes, looking around. She glanced disdainfully at Dormi, who was puckering his disgusting lips and making babying noises, then looked up at Marquis Froy holding the cage.

‘Wow.’

When she saw Dormi up close, all she could see were his pores, nose hairs, and greasiness—he was just dirty and creepy. But Marquis Froy only elicited admiration, even though he was just as colossal, filling her entire field of vision.

His flawless, clean skin, eyes as blue as the sea, and sculpted features looked beautiful.

‘He’s ridiculously handsome.’

Far from being frightening, it was awe-inspiring, like gazing upon a deity looking down upon insignificant mortals. Hermie, captivated by Marquis Froy’s beauty, stared with her mouth slightly agape.

Seeing Hermie’s face, Froy furrowed his brow.

“She’s small.”

“Yes, yes. It’s because she’s a fairy, you see?”

Dormi fidgeted, rubbing his palms together like a shady merchant pulling a scam.

‘That idiot, anyone would think he’s a con artist just looking at him.’

Dormi’s acting was so pathetic it was making Hermie anxious.

Just how was she supposed to act like a fairy? How would a fairy seeing the world for the first time behave?

To deceive Marquis Froy, Hermie began to channel a fairy.

She looked up at Marquis Froy with teary eyes, then ducked back into the handkerchief. She was unleashing her full acting skills, imagining the heart of a fairy.

“Huh? Wh-why is she doing this? What’s wrong? Come back out!”

Flustered by Hermie’s strange behavior, Dormi shook the cage roughly.

A true fairy wouldn’t just casually flirt. She would fear the cunning, evil humans and long for her homeland!

‘You crazy bastard, stop shaking it!’

Hermie tumbled around inside the cage but didn’t come out from under the handkerchief. It was excellent acting, undeterred even by Dormi’s interference.

Just then, Froy stopped Dormi.

“Enough.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve frightened her.”
“Ah…?”

It worked. If he had thought Hermie was human, Marquis Froy wouldn’t have stopped Dormi. It seemed if she could just be handed over to him like this, it would work out.

“Then, shall we just gently pull back the handkerchief? You’ll need to see her condition, right?”

Dormi, lacking all tact and sense of the atmosphere, overplayed his hand.

‘That son of a b***h, seriously!’

Hermie under the handkerchief was naked. Dormi’s words were essentially telling Marquis Froy to look at her naked body.

“Hmm.”

Hearing Dormi’s words, Marquis Froy nodded as if he needed to verify it.

A finger slipped between the bars. Dormi grabbed the corner of the handkerchief and slowly pulled. Hermie clung to the handkerchief with all her might. But there was no way her palm-sized body could win that tug-of-war.

Dragged along as the handkerchief slid out of the cage, she eventually lost her grip entirely. Hermie collapsed like a tragic heroine, looking up at Froy with a dazed expression.

Tears welled up. This time, it wasn’t an act. She was genuinely scared and miserable to the point of tears.

‘Why… why am I in this state…’

Remembering the immense ordeal of the day, a surge of resentment and heartache made her loathe the entire world.

Seeing Hermie’s full figure, Froy showed an intrigued expression, pulling up one corner of his mouth.

The slender, pale, naked body and the adorable face sniffling in fear… He liked it. The unusually black hair for a fairy felt rare and pleasing to him as well.

“How much?”

“Ahem! Since this was an incredibly difficult find…”

The fact that Marquis Froy asked about the price meant he intended to buy the fairy. And once the Marquis set his mind on buying something, he purchased it no matter the cost.

Even from those who insisted they wouldn’t sell. No one had ever refused to sell to him. They just hadn’t been offered enough.

To extract the maximum amount, Dormi spun a fantastical tale about how he discovered the fairy and what magic he used to capture it. Every word was a blatant lie.