Life was like a wheel; there were times people got to the top, and some were left behind. Depending on one’s efforts and some obvious and subtle factors, one could either thrive or fall.
Nevertheless, there were instances where both fates coexisted. One example was the fate of the Kingdom of Astley. After the revolution, former king Richard XV was kicked off his throne, and then Prince Paul was crowned as the new king.
Other than the rise of newly crowned Paul Astley, the Raevender family got their deserving rewards. From a viscounty, the Raevenders rose up to the rank of marquisate.
Other than the fall of the previous king, his noble cohorts ultimately met their downfall, and the foundations their ancestors had established unfortunately collapsed as a result of their own foolishness.
There were some heirs who were not as bad as their predecessors, so the king gave them chances to prove themselves and let them continue the legacy of their respective houses. Due to that, some families were spared and did not get punished.
As the houses crumbled, their members, if their lord was proven guilty, were condemned and castigated as well. A significant number of the members of the fallen nobility had been detained inside the rooms of several legitimate slave shops.
Even though they were slaves, the establishments they were in were patented, so they should be treating the slaves properly in accordance with international law, so there was almost no mistreatment among the purchased and unpurchased slaves inside stores. They were well fed and provided a little freedom for leisure time.
Since there was no concept of the Geneva Convention in this world, almost no one would question if a prison of war or the family of the fallen nobles were to be sold to something as relatively tolerable as slavery. They just thought it was better than any genocidal attempt. 𝘳𝘦.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Depending on some factors, such as their former ranks in nobility or their individual qualities, the way the former nobles were treated varied. The quality included the outward appearance and the capabilities of the slave.
For those who came from the houses of a marquis or above and a portion of the counts, those who excelled in combat, or individuals with intellectual attributes, would be sold in auctions for high prices. Women of peerless beauty, regardless of rank, would be auctioned as well; their purity would substantially raise their final price.
The leftovers, such as the widows and their children, young and adults, the servants, and some slaves of poor quality, could be purchased directly in stores. Not meeting the higher standards meant that they would be sold relatively cheaply.
“This way, Lord Raphael and Lady Louise.”
And in one of the luxurious slave shops in the city of Richtpole, Big Sis and I, along with the owner of the shop who personally accompanied us, were walking along the hallway of iron doors with jail-like vision panels, passing by the peeking gloomy faces of those former nobles as we moved forward.
On his led, we had been following this stout owner as he guided us to a certain cell. Obviously, the reason we were here in a slave shop was to buy some slaves.
After the war, many nobles were sent to slavery. And since we were looking for some people to work in our mansion in the dungeon, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to hire some.
Riley had been hired to work inside the dungeon some time ago, but the dungeon was quite huge for one servant, so we needed to hire more. But before anything else, we were also here at the request of someone important to us.
“We are here, milord and milady.” The owner stopped before facing us. “This is where the people you have been looking for are detained.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kauffman; let us check on them.”
“I understand.”
After a few minutes of walking, we reached our destination. After he gave us a light bow, Mr. Kauffman took out the keys hanging on his hips and unlocked the door before us.
Screech.
Once unlocked, he pushed the heavy door, piercing sounds out of the hallway. Upon opening the door, an illuminated room flashed before us. Big Sis and I walked inside the room, and there we found two people in plain white tunics.
One was a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties. She was well-endowed, and she had light blue eyes and straight, long blonde hair with bangs.
She was currently sitting on the bed where the slaves were meant to sleep inside their rooms. The other one, on the other hand, was a little girl of the same color who was soundly sleeping on the woman’s lap.
Upon our arrival, the woman kept staring at us with faints of hostility. She was probably thinking she was about to be sold, so her reaction was completely valid. But after some time, as if recognizing us through our appearances, her hostility seemed to subside, but she still showed us some wariness by stroking the girl’s head.
“Are they who you are looking for?” asked Mr. Kauffman.
“Yes, they are.” Upon confirming their identities through my Analysis, I affirmed. “They are the people we have been looking for—Sarah and Mabel Randell.”
The woman before us was named Sarah Randell, the wife of a viscount of Astley, who was currently behind bars. Mabel, the twelve-year-old girl sleeping on her lap, was her daughter, of course.
But before Sarah got married to her husband, which was actually an arranged marriage, her maiden name used to be Sarah Annallet. Therefore, this mature woman was actually Mary’s older sister, and that girl was her niece. We were here to save her at Mary’s request. .
“Um… are you two perhaps Raphael and Louise Raevender?” Sarah hesitantly asked with her mature voice.
“Yes, we are,” Big Sis responded. “As we promised to Mary, your sister, we are going to save you and your daughter.”
“Is that for real? Mary did make a request to save us.”
“Really,” I responded this time. “She could not bear seeing her sister and niece in the hands of any other people, so she asked us if we could take care of you. So if you don’t mind…”
Sarah gently caressed the hair of her sleeping daughter and stared at her for a while. After that, she looked at us with a gentle smile before she said…
“If the Raevender family were to keep us under their wings, then we don’t mind. But how about you? Are you certain you are fine taking us?”
“Well, we are actually looking for more servants, so aside from you, we will be buying a few after this.”
“I actually don’t mind working as a servant since I have experience with housekeeping, and my daughter has told me that she wants to be a servant as well.”
“Is that so?”
Sarah made a dry laugh after she said that. Her only child made a decision she probably could not accept immediately, so it was probably hard on her part. Nevertheless, as Mary’s niece, our family had decided to adopt her anyway, so she would be treated the same way as Yuki, Inari’s daughter.
“Well then, it’s decided. Please do take care of us… Master and Mistress.”
After that, we paid Mr. Kauffman fifteen gold coins, ten for Sarah and five for Mabel, and through a slave-master contract, Sarah and Mabel had become my servants. The next thing Big Sis and I did was find suitable slaves to be the servants of the dungeon mansion.
𝘦𝑎.𝒸ℴ