Chapter 35
But there was no way a fairy could live openly in a place like this. Not just anywhere, but in the territory of Lord Ragnar.
There was a story that if a fairy’s wings were broken, they would grow back, making it impossible to hide.
“…Burn scars?”
A shiver ran through him.
At that thought, the merchant urgently pulled on the donkey’s reins. The donkey stopped abruptly and shook its face.
A strange light flickered in the merchant’s gleaming eyes.
What if that part was burned to prevent the wings from growing back?
What if the wing marks were hidden beneath severe burn scars so no one could notice?
“Hmm….”
The merchant wiped his greasy face. The fake jewels hanging from his body clinked busily.
It was absurd. It couldn’t be. But, but…
“I want to know why fairy hunters hunt fairies.”
Perhaps it was so obvious because it was right in front of him that he hadn’t noticed.
Just like everyone in this village.
Among those killed in the fairy hunt, the majority were human women. Although the fairies were almost exterminated in the large-scale hunts, the temple remained silent about the many human women who died alongside them. As if it never happened.
Even those in the territory who enthusiastically hunted fairies had never actually met a real fairy.
Therefore, they couldn’t even imagine it.
The prey they all eagerly wanted to hunt might be hiding among them in the most humble and fragile form.
But the merchant had seen products traded made from fairy bodies.
To the merchant, fairies were concrete merchandise.
“When hiding a person, it’s best in a crowd…”
The merchant twirled his beard and muttered.
In fact, what gave the merchant the strongest certainty about Arzeletta’s identity was nothing else but her unbelievable beauty.
It convinced the merchant more powerfully than any rational argument.
“Hah, could it really be…”
The merchant’s heart began to beat faster.
If things went well, this could be a chance to change his fate.
Thinking of a trustworthy fairy dealer, the merchant hurried on his way.
He couldn’t rush and mess things up.
If he suddenly kidnapped the maid, things would escalate.
His carefully hidden secret identity might be exposed, and he could lose the precious merchandise.
Unlike fairies captured in the forest, he had to approach very carefully.
Suppressing his impatience was incredibly difficult.
What if it wasn’t? What if she wasn’t a fairy?
It didn’t matter. There were plenty of markets willing to buy a beauty like her. Judging by the atmosphere of the Rosenburg territory where he had stayed for several days, it was certain Arzeletta had no protector.
No one would find it strange if a maid living under such persecution disappeared.
Now the merchant was certain of Arzeletta’s identity.
There was no way he was wrong. That beauty… that transcendent grace was not human.
“To whom should I sell her?”
With a swelling heart, the merchant entered the mountain path. The market value of a fairy whose wings were broken was somewhat fixed.
Recently, he recalled a certain marquis who had soaked liquor in the heart of a fairy he had kept as a mistress for a long time.
He also seemed to have a hobby of preserving the beautiful faces of the fairies he kept.
It was said to be a work of art more beautiful than any sculpture made by an artist.
The merchant’s face flushed bright red with greed as he quickened his pace.
‘I am going to be rich now.’
The merchant headed deeper into the forest, thinking of all the wealth he would soon have.
Though the traces of a great fire from long ago still remained here and there, the greenery was surprisingly lush.
“……!”
And the merchant suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Even until the moment his huge body was severed, the merchant’s neck wore an expression that did not understand what had just happened.
Thud.
The head fell first. Then the body collapsed with a heavy sound.
The neck had been so cleanly cut that the nerves were still alive.
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