“Mason passed away a little while ago, but Molly is still doing well. She’s bedridden these days, though,”
After chatting with Luna for a while, Dorothy led her to the room where Molly was.
Luna explained to Dorothy, “I became a wizard’s apprentice, but the wizard who bought me died, so I continued my training under his master.” Dorothy seemed to understand from this explanation.
“Molly, don’t be surprised. It’s Luna. She’s become a wizard,”
Dorothy said as she ushered Luna into Molly’s room.
Molly was sitting up in bed, staring out the window at the children playing outside.
She had become quite an old woman, but her posture was upright, reminding Luna of how Molly used to be.
Molly didn’t turn to look, perhaps not hearing what Dorothy had said.
“She’s aged a lot recently. It’ll be fine if you get closer. I need to look after the children, but you should talk to Molly. She’s been worried about you for a long time,”
Dorothy said before closing the door and leaving.
“Molly,”
Luna called softly as she sat down on a chair beside the bed.
Molly turned her head slightly.
“Luna? What happened to you?”
she asked with a kind smile, a smile Luna had never seen while living in this mansion. Recognizing Luna at a glance, Molly didn’t seem to find her youthful appearance unusual.
“A lot has happened,”
Luna replied with a wry smile, reacting to Molly’s comment about her appearance.
“Are you happy?”
“I’m not sure,”
“Well, it’s good that you’re alive. After all, you were bought by a wizard,”
Molly said, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Luna.
“You were worried about me when I was sold, Molly. I remember,”
“You secretly told me, ‘If it’s too hard, come back anytime,’ and warned me, ‘He’s a wizard, so you never know what he might do. Work hard to protect your life.'”
“You remember well, Luna,”
Molly smiled.
“Of course, I do. You even gave me this,”
Luna said, pulling out a razor from her pocket.
“Do you remember what you said when you gave me this? ‘If it comes to it, use this to cut your throat,’ you said to a young girl like me. I was so scared my hands trembled.”
Molly stared at the razor.
“I gave those razors to the children who went to bad clients. I thought it was better for them to kill themselves than be killed by those people. No one ended up using them, thankfully. But I never knew what happened to many of the children after they were sold.
How was Khan, the wizard who bought you? Wizards have a particularly bad reputation, thinking of children as nothing more than magical materials,” M
Luna shrugged.
“Well, you were right. But I did have a chance to use the razor. Khan wasn’t interested in what I did at all. No matter how hard I worked, he didn’t react much. I thought he bought me for some nefarious purpose.
But when I asked, ‘May I shave your beard?’ he surprisingly trusted me enough to let me. He didn’t tense up like Mason. He closed his eyes and relaxed. It made shaving easy.
I realized then that he trusted me. I was happy, so I didn’t use the razor that way. Khan was awkward but not a bad person,”
Luna said, putting the razor back in her pocket.
“I see. Well, it’s good that you’re alive,”
Molly laughed.
“But I was attacked by kidnappers once. Was that Mason’s doing?”
Luna asked, recalling an encounter with kidnappers in the forest while gathering herbs. She thought Mason might have sent them to retrieve her and sell her again for a higher price.
“Mason valued his reputation, so he wouldn’t do such a thing. That was my doing. I wanted to take you back if you were still alive. After I paid the upfront fee, I thought you had run away because there was no contact from them. I’m glad you did your job well,”
“I’m sorry, those people are dead,”
Luna said, without much guilt.
“It’s fine; they were no good. So, what happened to Khan? Is he still alive?”
“He died about forty years ago,”
“That’s early. What did you do after that? You could have come back here,” Molly said.
“I got into some bad things. Yes, I almost became something evil. You could say I nearly became a demon. It was a tough time. I even thought about becoming a demon because it would have been easier.
But I didn’t. I found it strange myself. I wondered why I wanted to remain human despite the suffering. Why? Why do I keep trying to be a person when it’s so hard for me?
If it weren’t for you, Molly, I think I would have chosen the easier path. If I had been with any other buyer, I would have become a demon. But I was raised as a human, so I couldn’t become a demon.
You taught me that humans persevere. So, I couldn’t take the easy way out. In a way, my hardship was also your fault, Molly,”
“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, but it sounds like you’ve had a tough time,”
Molly said, reaching out to gently stroke Luna’s head.
Luna was surprised but tilted her head towards Molly, letting her do as she pleased.
Her gaze fell to her lap, where tears started to fall and soak her knees.
“It was tough. Really. I tried so hard,”
Luna’s voice trembled.
“Yes,”
Molly’s voice was gentle.
After a quiet moment, Luna spoke again.
“Molly, why did you become a slave trader? Why didn’t you run an orphanage like you do now?”
It was something Luna had always wondered.
“You’re such a fool, Luna. Who would leave their children at an orphanage for free when they could sell them for money? Warrior King banned human trafficking, which made orphanages possible. Most other traders went out of business, but we were one of the few who turned into an orphanage,”
“Oh, I see. That makes sense,”
“Plus, the orphanage gets support from the country. We owe a lot to Warrior King,”
Luna realized that Warrior King had created a clean country without human trafficking.
“I was sold to a slave trader too. I ended up in a brothel. It was a high-class one, so I received an education, but I never had the hope of freedom. It was better to be able to read and write because it was more popular among the nobility. But business was business, so I had no hope of being free, I couldn’t have children. Mason bought me from the brothel.
Mason was a third son of a noble family, a good-for-nothing playboy, but he was good at making money. For some reason, he took a liking to me.
I told Mason I wanted to be a slave trader, to raise children who could fend for themselves. He agreed easily and set up everything, buying this mansion and starting the business. He was a good man, Mason was.
I worked hard to teach the children, so they wouldn’t have to become prostitutes. The children hated me, though,”
“You knew that?”
Luna laughed.
“Of course, I knew. But Mason told me, ‘Don’t say you love them. You’ll get too attached, and it won’t be business anymore.’ He understood me well. If left alone, I wouldn’t have let the children go. So he made the decision to sell the child. Well, otherwise, the business wouldn’t have been viable.
I didn’t want to sell you either, especially not to a wizard. But you were worth a lot as an Asura, and the price we paid for you was too high. Mason said, ‘If you don’t sell he, we won’t be able to continue and we needed the money,”
“Why did you buy me if I was so expensive? Mason’s policy was to buy low and sell high,”
“I bought you because you were cute with your blonde hair and red eyes. I wanted to make you my daughter. I ended up selling you, though,”
“I’m still grateful. Thank you, Molly. I’m glad you bought me,”
Hearing Luna’s words, Molly took a deep breath.
“I’m glad to hear that. I worried about you all this time. I lived this long just to see you again. I have no regrets now.”
Molly’s magical flow was weak. Luna knew she didn’t have much time left.
“Molly, do you want to live longer? Stay healthy and live forever?”
“What kind of question is that?”
Molly laughed.
“No, I don’t want that. You shouldn’t outlive your children. Life has an order. I die first, then Dorothy and you. If you died before me, it would be more painful than my own death. I don’t want such a life.”
TLNOTE : While waiting, I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- When the Monster Meat I Ate Led Me to the Throne (LN)
- Who killed the Hero?
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
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