Calika Nehu
"Take off your veil!"
The one giving the order was a maid who had just dismounted from a horse.
I placed all my belongings down and removed the veil obediently, raising my hands to show surrender.
Just this maid alone could kill me with a single slap—my body was that frail. There was no point in resisting.
When my face was revealed, everyone surrounding me froze, their eyes wide, before they began whispering among themselves. The maid quickly returned to the carriage.
Soon, two maids hurriedly stepped down to escort a portly middle-aged man from the carriage.
The man was impeccably dressed from head to toe, exuding the air of a wealthy gentleman. His accessories—rings and necklaces—were lavish and exquisite.
When he looked at me, his eyes widened instantly.
"Lower your weapons and step back!"
The guards swiftly obeyed his command.
Then, he walked up and stopped right in front of me.
"May I know the name of a young lady such as yourself?"
"Dania, no family name."
I had no reason to trust anyone anymore.
"Don' t lie to me. I' d rather not use my lie-detection skill, so please tell me your real name and family name."
"..."
I had heard before that some adventurers in certain professions had skills to detect lies, so I reluctantly told the truth.
"Calika… Nehu."
"A pleasure to meet you, Calika. Your name is truly beautiful. How is your family doing?"
"I' m alone."
I didn' t know what he wanted, but I would never let him involve my family.
"And I am Istaf Granot, the leader of the [Chain of Fire] guild."
I swallowed hard, trying to suppress my trembling so he wouldn' t notice my fear.
This guild was the largest slave-trading guild in the kingdom.
Unless someone committed a grave crime or willingly sold themselves into slavery, they couldn' t be forced into it—that was the kingdom' s law.
But for someone like me, a slum-dweller with an [F-rank] status and a false crime pinned on me, becoming a slave was as easy as them throwing a serious accusation my way.
And even if I tried to appeal, they wouldn' t uphold the law to protect me.
While I was lost in thought, a man rode up on horseback, stopping a few meters away. He dismounted and handed Istaf a document.
Istaf read it, then looked up at me with a smile.
"The Nehu family now consists of only three people, all women, living in the slums, and each with one criminal charge. Do you have anything to say, Calika?"
This meant that the moment I gave my name, his men had already investigated without him even needing to order it.
"But since a beauty like Calika says she has no family, I' ll believe her. The information might be wrong, after all."
Istaf handed the paper to a maid, who burned it with a torch. Then he turned to me with a sincere smile and spoke in a polite tone.
"So, those two other Nehus who aren' t related to you—I' m thinking of capturing them as slaves."
The [Chain of Fire] guild was notorious for its cruelty to slaves. Their collars and chains were made from monster parts that retained heat exceptionally well.
And if the heat was intense enough, they would ignite and couldn' t be easily extinguished without magic.
But that wasn' t even the most terrifying thing—compared to the guild leader' s skill.
I' d heard people in the slums say it was better to surrender than to be tortured by the [Chain of Fire] guild leader' s skill.
"W-What do you want?"
"I love people who catch on quickly like you. Are you really willing to comply with my request?"
Did I even have a choice to refuse?
"If you don' t touch my family… I' ll comply."
"Don' t say such scary things, Calika. You' re misunderstanding me. I' m not threatening you with your family at all, right?"
I pursed my lips tightly before forcing out a bitter response.
"…Right."
"Then, Calika, how about taking my family name, Granot?"
…Huh!? What' s going on!?
*****
Istaf Granot, Leader of the [Chain of Fire] Guild
I was born into my father' s ancient slave-trading family.
It was a lucrative business that began to decline after the war ended and new slavery laws were enacted.
By the time I was old enough to understand, I was forced to learn everything—inspecting goods, purchasing, training, punishing, and selling.
My dream was like any other kid' s: to become an adventurer. But that dream was crushed instantly.
At fifteen, my father handed the entire business over to me, offering only advice while I had to handle everything myself. If I got scammed or made mistakes, I had to take full responsibility.
My own problems were heavy enough, but dealing with disobedient slaves was even worse, not to mention the endless issues with my subordinates.
Whipping didn' t work on the tougher ones, and excessive punishment lowered the goods' value or made them unsellable.
Stressed, I decided to abandon everything and flee to get my rank evaluated. If I wasn' t an [F-rank] , I could escape to another kingdom and start a free life.
But fate seemed predetermined. My evaluation came back as [A-rank] , with the profession of Tamer and a unique skill to boot.
My parents were furious at first, but when they learned about my profession and skill, they threw a grand celebration, even crying with joy at our ancestors' graves, proclaiming that the Granot slave-trading family would rise to greatness again.
Realizing this, I couldn' t escape. I decided to continue.
Not understanding my skill, I experimented on unsellable or near-dead slaves in front of the others.
The results were remarkable. Old slaves became more obedient than when punished conventionally, and new, defiant slaves were tamed by my skill, never daring to resist again.
My reputation grew until it reached the king' s ears.
The king tested me, tasking me with taming monsters and even the knight commander.
When I succeeded, the king made a deal: I would serve as his personal interrogator, and he would fully support my slave-trading business.
As long as the targets were slum-dwellers or non-citizens, the king would turn a blind eye.
Thus, the Granot family' s slave trade rose to prominence again.
I registered it as a slave-trading guild for benefits like reduced slave taxes and expanded hunting grounds.
By the time I turned eighteen, an unresolved headache emerged: the issue of an heir. My parents forbade me from marrying anyone without status.
Families who heard of my cruel reputation avoided letting their daughters near me.
Instead of lowering their expectations, my parents grew angrier, claiming those families weren' t worthy of me.
They set a rule that I could only marry a high-ranking noble or an [S-rank] adventurer.
So, I decided to wait until they passed away, then marry a beautiful slave girl and mock their graves.
On a day when I was heading out to hunt for goods, my guards reported spotting a well-built slum-dweller passing by our carriage.
I ordered the carriage to stop and had her detained.
At first, I thought I' d let the maids handle it as usual.
But when a maid rushed to tell me about her stunning appearance, I felt indifferent.
I' ve hunted and sold countless beautiful goods—honestly, none had ever caught my eye.
But when I stepped down and met her gaze…
I saw a girl who shouldn' t belong to this world.
Her face was dirty, her clothes tattered like any slum-dweller' s, and her body was covered in bloodstains. Yet her beauty shone radiantly, as if the filth couldn' t diminish her worth in the slightest.
A beauty among beauties.
I immediately ordered the guards to lower their weapons and step back to avoid scaring her.
I needed to verify her identity first. If she was a disguised princess from some kingdom, I' d bow, apologize, and offer everything to convince her to marry me.
If she was a noble, it would be much easier.
I have a lie-detection skill, though it' s not entirely accurate.
So, I tried using some psychological intimidation, and surprisingly, I got her real name easily.
She wasn' t royalty or nobility—no arrogance, no pride, and she yielded quickly. Still, I needed to be thorough.
My capable guards rode off to investigate, and soon they returned with all the information.
Luckily, this girl was just an [F-rank] slum-dweller with no backing.
That made things simple.
I' d take her in, clean her up, and teach her manners.
Then, I' d find a low-ranking, easily manipulated noble to adopt her in exchange for elevating their family' s status.
Marrying into my family would ensure their comfort for life—they' d definitely agree.
When she came of age, I' d propose according to plan.
As for Calika' s sisters, if they were as beautiful as her, I' d arrange for powerful families to adopt them for alliances.
With multiple powerful backers, even if the king changed, my family would never fall.
Her elder sister' s disability and her younger sister' s illness weren' t issues. I' d ask the king to connect me with an [S-rank] healer, and it' d be resolved.
I' d pay any price to win Calika' s loyalty.
Who knows? After the healing, the king might be so pleased that he' d arrange for a prince to marry one of her sisters.
"Then, Calika, how about taking my family name, Granot?"
By asking her to be my wife, everyone present would know that Calika was to become the lady of the Granot family.
No need to wait for her answer—she' d have to agree.
"Take my future wife to bathe and dress her. Ensure the bathwater smells like something she loves and the clothes are ones she adores."
"Yes, my lord," the two well-trained maids responded firmly before flanking Calika to attend to her closely.
"Please board the carriage, Lady Calika."
"Don' t be afraid, Calika. Until you' re eighteen, I won' t lay a finger on you."
Rising from a slum-dweller to a lady with hundreds of servants, with her family benefiting too, must be making Calika tremble with excitement.
"And don' t worry, Calika. I' m a one-woman man. Once I' ve arranged your adoptive parents, I' ll propose to you immediately. I promise you' ll be my only wife for life."
I ordered the cancellation of the hunt and a return to the guild instead.
Consider it charity for those slum-dwellers, in honor of meeting my beautiful wife.
I never imagined meeting my dream girl would bring such joy.
I' m so excited I wish she were eighteen already so I could mark her as mine.
And then, a child in her womb would bind her to me forever.