* * *

‘Huh? They’re selling ice cream in Blenz Square.’

Comvest had a mild or cool climate year-round, so cold treats weren’t particularly popular or well-developed.

Finding a shop specializing in ice cream within Comvest was rare.

And yet…

‘When did so many ice cream shops pop up here?’

It wasn’t just one or two shops—there were several.

While the locals seemed only mildly curious, outsiders appeared intrigued and delighted.

Still, the shops weren’t exactly bustling with customers.

“They’re selling ice cream? I don’t think I’ve seen that before,” Bennex remarked, echoing Chaeyi’s thoughts.

Regardless, it was one of those things you didn’t miss when it wasn’t there but appreciated when it was.

“Ben, how about ice cream?”

“Are you having some, too?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Then I’ll have ice cream, too!”

Chaeyi, who already loved ice cream, and Bennex, curious and intrigued, approached the shop for their own reasons, with Ferdinand silently following.

“Fern, you?”

“I’m not really interested,” Ferdinand replied curtly.

Still, his eyes scanned the numerous ice cream shops.

He, too, was puzzled by their sudden appearance and sought to uncover the reason.

His gaze stopped on a logo beneath one shop’s sign.

‘What’s that?’

The logo belonged to a merchant group connected to the Lancaster family.

Since the group wouldn’t engage in unprofitable ventures without a compelling reason, it was clear someone influential was behind this.

And Ferdinand didn’t need to guess twice to know who.

“Chaeyi, you like ice cream, don’t you?”

“Huh? How’d you know?”

Startled by Ferdinand’s matter-of-fact statement, Chaeyi looked up from where he was waiting for his order.

Even Bennex turned curious eyes toward him.

But Ferdinand only gave a knowing smirk.

“If they’re running shops at a loss, it speaks volumes.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Let’s head back.”

Waving dismissively, Ferdinand turned to leave.

At that moment, Chaeyi, holding the freshly served ice cream, began to turn, inadvertently colliding with someone.

Thud!

Caught off guard, Chaeyi’s ice cream toppled onto his shirt, and the person he bumped into fell to the ground.

“Oh!”

Startled by the wasted ice cream and the fallen stranger, Chaeyi hesitated.

Bennex quickly asked if he was okay, while Ferdinand, who had started walking away, turned back upon hearing the commotion.

“I’m fine. Can you get up?” Chaeyi extended a hand to help the man.

But as Chaeyi approached, the man recoiled like a cornered bug, clasped his hands together, and began pleading.

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me! Don’t hurt me!”

Momentarily speechless, Chaeyi froze.

The man, repeatedly apologizing, then tried to wipe the spilled ice cream off Chaeyi’s shirt with his sleeve.

Snapping out of his daze, Chaeyi grabbed his arm to stop him.

“It’s okay. I’m fine, really.”

“P-please don’t hit me!”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Chaeyi quickly released the man and stepped back to reassure him, but the man continued trembling in fear.

Passersby glanced at the scene but hurried on, as though wanting to avoid involvement.

“Is he… a slave?”

Ferdinand, who had approached with a sigh, muttered under his breath.

Chaeyi, flinching at the word, looked up at him questioningly.

Understanding Chaeyi’s unspoken query, Ferdinand shrugged.

“Slavery is illegal in Astarius, but some nobles still keep them under the guise of servants or adopted wards. It’s hard to prosecute them.”

‘So that’s how it is.’

Chaeyi now understood the indifference of the onlookers and why the protagonist of the novel—once a slave trader—could move so freely despite his crimes.

Nobles, after all, were the main patrons of the trade.

The ones committing illegal acts were usually the powerful, and it was the reality that people had to tread carefully around them.

Chaeyi, feeling conflicted, cast a quiet gaze down at the man trembling before him.

Coincidentally, the man, who had been shivering, glanced up and locked eyes with Chaeyi.

And at that moment—

“Ah…”

Chaeyi’s eyes wavered with unease.

The instant he clearly saw the man’s face, a fragment of an old memory surfaced.

That is… this frail man, now pale with terror before him, had once been one of the victims sold by “Novel Chaeyi”—the version of himself from the fictional world who had operated as a slave trader.

If he recalled correctly, his name was… Yosin.

Apparently, Yosin recognized Chaeyi as well.

With a look of despair, Yosin crumpled to the ground and clasped his hands together desperately.

“I… I’m sorry. I won’t try to run away again. Please, just spare me.”

It seemed that Yosin, while trying to escape from his current master, had unfortunately crossed paths with Chaeyi.

He appeared to have misunderstood, believing that Chaeyi had come to capture him and report his attempted escape.

“……”

Of course.

Having profited from the slave trade, it was inevitable that there were slaves Chaeyi had directly sold.

The issue, which he had avoided confronting for so long, now struck him with force.

Though it wasn’t something the current Chaeyi had done—those were the deeds of “Novel Chaeyi”—the memories they shared left him overwhelmed with a mix of anger and guilt.

Chaeyi watched Yosin’s pitiful state with trembling eyes before biting the inside of his cheek.

“Yosin!”

At that moment, a stern voice called Yosin’s name.

Chaeyi turned to see a middle-aged couple approaching them.

Judging by their attire, they appeared to be nobility.

The moment Yosin noticed them, he began trembling uncontrollably, like a leaf in the wind.

Despite being fully aware of his reaction, the couple approached with brazen smiles, pretending to act as his parents.

“Oh my, I thought you looked familiar—it’s Lord Ferdinand, isn’t it? And this must be Young Master Coneller? Fancy meeting you two here. It seems our child has been disrespectful. Please accept our apologies.”

“He’s always been a bit peculiar. We’ll make sure to reprimand him thoroughly once we get home.”

Chaeyi silently scrutinized their faces.

Searching through “Novel Chaeyi’s” memories, he found no recollection of these two. Instead… another memory surfaced.

In that memory, Chaeyi had sold children at an illegal auction for profit, and among them had been a younger Yosin.

Based on this, it seemed likely that Yosin had first been auctioned off and later ended up in this couple’s hands.

“…Fer.”

“Yeah?”

“Is there a way to free a slave?”

At those words, cracks appeared in the couple’s composed expressions.

Ferdinand glanced at Chaeyi and shrugged nonchalantly.

“There are ways.”

“What nonsense is this? Who are you to speak of slaves like that?” the man snapped. “Which noble family do you belong to? Your words are incredibly offensive.”

Their sharp glares bore into Chaeyi, who had effectively accused them of exploiting Yosin as a slave.

Clearly, they were wary of him now.

Ferdinand sighed and stepped in front of Chaeyi, subtly releasing his pheromones to shield their group.

Though it was broad daylight and there were plenty of witnesses around, Ferdinand wasn’t taking any chances.

If one of the couple was a dominant omega and used their regular ‘Inhynx’—a mental ability capable of influencing others—it could cause chaos.

While such powers usually had a short duration and were ineffective against strong-willed individuals like Chaeyi, it wasn’t worth risking the safety of their more vulnerable companions, like the trembling Yosin.

“Proving that they’ve purchased and are exploiting a slave as a slave isn’t as simple as it sounds,” Ferdinand explained calmly, his eyes meeting the couple’s unflinchingly.

“Most slaves don’t even have proper birth registrations, and the nobles buying them are untouchable.”

“Lord Ludvis! What are you saying…?” the couple stammered.

“And if they’ve forged the slave’s identity, it’s even more complicated. Without proper evidence, all we can check is their identification tag, which is usually fake anyway. However…”

Ferdinand’s lips curled into a sly smile.

“That also means they have no protection if someone forcibly takes the slave away or if the slave is lost.”

* * *