As the gentleman with an ecstatic expression pointed at her, a massive cheer overtook the entire hall.

Everyone, without exception, prepared to raise their bids by holding their bidding paddles high.

Princess Layna of Solum Kingdom. Her hand covered her exposed skin. The once pale and dignified princess now had her face twisted in sorrow as her eyes filled with tears, scanning the crowd.

The gaze of the citizens who had once admired her shifted in an instant. 

"...Haah... Haah..."

Layna's body shuddered.

She was terrified of the menacing smiles surrounding her. Her color drained as she broke down, her tears flowing.

From the height of royal splendor to this fall into degradation, her situation quickly shattered the mind that had once been her only anchor.

*Thud.*

She collapsed to the ground, hiding her face in her hands like an unfortunate tragic heroine.

Just moments ago, she had exuded the grandeur of a princess.

But now, she was sitting there, weeping inconsolably.

Her face, smeared with tears and snot, was utterly ruined. 

Though she had once been beautiful, her face was marred now. Still, she didn’t look quite as pitiable as one might think.

In fact, in some ways, there was a twisted sort of attraction about her.

‘Found you.’

Keyal’s body emitted faint magical energy. It spread quietly, unnoticed by anyone around him, as he carefully began executing his plan.

The black magic dispersed in a mist, gathering and dissipating repeatedly, forming the shape of a small snake.

The tiny snakes slithered across Keyal’s body.

They crawled along the ground, carrying out their purpose.

As the magical energy drifted away, Keyal sighed in relief, a small exhale escaping him as a gentle smile formed on his face.

Soon, the snakes that had scattered began to reassemble, coming together into a single shape.

A sphere. A magical pearl containing the power of the yokai. Unlike the fox pearl, this was an entirely different kind of magic—a pure, dense form of dark energy encapsulated within the orb.

The *magic pearl.*

Keyal stared into the sphere.

Among the chaotic scene, one figure stood out—Princess Layna, her body trembling, her voice broken as she sobbed. It was clear from the sphere that it was her essence within.

---

### **The Auction and Keyal’s Plan**

As expected, Keyal didn’t have enough money to participate in the auction.

At best, he had only about eighty gold, which was quite a substantial amount for a commoner, but in a place where bids started at a hundred or a thousand, buying Layna with money was nearly impossible.

So, the first thought that crossed his mind was:

‘I’ll have to take her.’

Yes, kidnapping.

‘But what if I get caught? Wouldn’t that ruin me?’

Of course, if he were caught, Keyal would face severe consequences. But that wasn’t the point.

The point was that if he didn’t get caught, the plan would work. There was no need for him to do it directly.

There was a way to take her without repercussions.

The skill *Demonic Legion.*

A skill that summoned soldiers imbued with dark energy.

Though the number of summoned creatures was small, creating only a few weak monsters, it was still better than having nothing.

In a situation like this, it could be more useful than expected.

Just before Layna was about to be sold, Keyal, surprisingly, remained calm.

---

### **The Target: The Baron**

The first thing Keyal needed to do was target the Baron.

Second in wealth only to the king in Solum Kingdom, the Baron had long harbored desires for the princess’s beauty.

Only one person had an obsession with the princess strong enough to stake his life on it.

Brown Lawrence.

A long-eared black dog beastkin. He drooled as his gaze fixated solely on one woman.

His eyes burned with a madness that seemed almost delusional as he imagined the princess, now a slave, under his control. His pupils dilated with hunger and obsession.

This was the man who had once admired his former idol—no, now he was simply fixated on the fallen royal who had become a slave.

“10000!!”

“Ugh! Fine! 15000 gold!”

While Brown Lawrence was lost in his fantasies, the bidding for the princess’s body had already reached 10,000 gold.

The battle for the princess had escalated quickly.

The woman with the red hair and the red pupils, elegantly wielding a black lace fan, was none other than the noblewoman who had bought the elf earlier in the auction.

‘Tch, more pointless actions.’

Anyone living in Solum Kingdom would recognize her easily.

There was only one woman with red hair like hers in the kingdom.

Brown clicked his tongue, recognizing her intent. She was preparing to buy another slave and take her home, just like last time.

And, as usual, these slaves would be treated like her children and released when the time came.

She was a foolish woman. After all, slaves were property, not people. The fact that she could buy and use them however she pleased was within her rights as the owner.

And this belief was not just hers. Anyone born of noble blood would likely share the same view.

Slaves were objects, living objects that existed to serve their masters.

That was the essence of slavery. No matter how great their lineage, those who were cast out of favor were doomed to fall.

Talk of equality and slaves having emotions? Nonsense.

Such ignorant ideas had already faded away on the Philoria continent long ago.

Suddenly, Brown froze in place.

‘Hmm… but... was there really such a person on the continent?’

It felt familiar, yet something seemed missing. Keyal had ignored it until now.

‘Something I shouldn’t have forgotten... I think I’ve forgotten something.’

For the first time, Brown paused, deep in thought, trying to dig through his memories.

---

### **The Night and Layna’s Fate**

Tick-tock.

The kingdom’s clock tower moved. The sun set and the moon rose.

The black dog beastkin tugged at the leash, dragging the woman along with him.

‘...’

Even as her feet scraped and bled, Layna felt an unfamiliar sense of shame and humiliation as she was dragged through the streets.

The nobleman’s expression darkened.

He looked at the woman with a glimmer of something twisted in his eyes, his lips curling into a smile.

He thought of what he would do once they were back. The tiger beastkin had a rapid healing rate, and he had heard rumors that they made the best sexual slaves.

Of course, all members of the royal family were of noble blood, so it had been dismissed as a joke. But now, things were different.

One of those royal beastkin was in his hands.

As they walked through the streets, the eyes of the common folk followed them. They pitied the princess, glaring at Brown as if they wanted to kill him.

‘Hmph. What do they think they can do?’

But Brown didn’t care. No matter how much they glared at him with contempt, the lowborn had nothing they could do.

There was no one who could stop him.

And now, even the princess was in his grasp.

His lips curled into a wide grin, like a rabid dog.

‘Normally, I’d ride in a carriage, but...’ 

No one could stop him now.

The princess was already in his hands.

The nobleman’s grin widened as they entered a narrow alley.

There was a slight possibility of encountering the kingdom’s soldiers on the way. If they found out about the princess’s sale, they might try to stop him.

Of course, an ordinary soldier could do nothing but try to detain him for a moment, but it was an inconvenience he didn’t want.

Brown continued down the alley with the princess.

---

Suddenly, a sharp bell rang out.

“What... What’s going on...?”

Brown flinched. His beastkin instincts caused him to unsheathe his claws instinctively.

The guards nearby drew their spears, standing ready to protect him.

The sound that had echoed through the alley faded.

Brown twitched his nose again.

Something was coming closer.

“...?”

It wasn’t just Brown who felt it.

Layna, too, reacted, though she didn’t feel anger, only a strange sense of unease.

---

The sky darkened with a tinge of red, and the wind picked up violently. Layna, her eyes still closed, opened them slowly, glancing around nervously.

The nobleman holding the leash had disappeared.

This was the alley where Layna had been dragged.

Then, once again, the harsh clang of a bell filled the air.

An unknown presence whispered into Layna’s ear.

- *You’ve been kidnapped.*