If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Chapter 62

Georgiana hid herself in a shadowy alley where the sunlight barely reached.

Her heart pounded as if it had moved to her ears. Her forehead was drenched in sweat.

She had never chased anyone, nor had she ever been chased. The sight of a group of policemen armed with guns terrified her. Unlike them, she only carried a small handbag, and even that was made of thin leather.

How much was the bounty on her head?

The reward was absurdly high, befitting the status of Senator Edmund. No one could blame the people on the streets for chasing her; the amount was enough to make a commoner a noble instantly.

She had heard that in the New World, shooting someone would result in immediate execution by firing squad. For other crimes, one could be released on bail, but guns were treated equally regardless of status.

It was said that the law was established because of excessive gun violence in the early days of settlement.

But Lockwood had shot none other than the head of the Senate. They must think he deserved to die.

Georgiana’s vision darkened.

She had only just arrived in the Northwest, but now she had to figure out where to flee.

Whether it was a carriage or a boat, she needed to decide on a destination, but her mind was blank, and she couldn’t think of anything. Though she stood in an open space, she felt as if her limbs were tied, unable to move.

She couldn’t just stay there.

An old woman selling fruit across the street kept glancing at her suspiciously, perhaps wondering why Georgiana was lingering in the alley.

She had to go somewhere.

Georgiana thought of the place where she could board a hired carriage. It wasn’t far from where the Hansons had dropped her off, but the problem was that she had to pass through a crowded square.

What if someone from the ship was there?

She had no choice but to take that risk.

She wore a wig and a hat, so she hoped she wouldn’t be recognized as she cautiously turned around.

Even after only a few blocks, cold sweat ran down her back.

She had expected it to be difficult, but not to this extent.

She ran into policemen at almost every corner. They held sketches and checked the faces of passersby.

Fortunately, the picture of her in the sketch showed her with shoulder-length hair. Currently, she was wearing a long wig, which helped her narrowly pass the inspections. But she couldn’t afford to be careless.

She finally reached the area where she could hire a carriage, but there were policemen there too, checking people’s identities. On the wall they were leaning against, dozens of wanted posters were pinned, with hers and the two others’ sketches at the very top.

Her head throbbed.

Realizing that taking a carriage was impossible, she turned to find another way, but someone grabbed her shoulder.

***

It was an ordinary day.

The autumn sky was endlessly high, and the wind was cool.

A painted smile adorned her mother’s face as she saw her father off at the door. Once he left, the smile would disappear with her worries, but in that moment, her mother always smiled like the happiest person in the world.

Just before boarding the carriage to the base, her father called out to Locke.

“Is your enlistment tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“I told you there was no need to volunteer.”

“I am merely fulfilling my duty.”

The family line of soldiers continued with Locke, even after coming to the New World.

He was a boy who seemed destined to be a soldier.

From an early age, Locke had exceptional self-control. He could handle anything without losing his composure.

The only regret was that his looks were too striking for a soldier. Soldiers who often faced enemies benefited from having a more ordinary appearance, as it allowed them to blend in better.

It was a well-known fact that the less noticeable one was, the greater the chance of survival.

The colonel, who was just as stern as Locke, patted his son’s shoulder.

“Locke, I believe you will do well wherever you are.”

“I will not disappoint you.”

“What about me?”

Next to them, Raymond looked up at his father like a puppy wanting praise.

His golden eyes, inherited from his mother, shone warmly like the sun. Raymond had an innocence that made it hard to believe he had just had his coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen. He was the opposite of Locke in every way.

People were often surprised that the two were only two years apart.

Despite following Locke as the top student at the academy, Raymond’s soft and kind demeanor earned him many friends.

Their maternal grandfather, who ran a large plantation, had long ago chosen Raymond as his successor, saying his personality was perfect for business. Locke, whose dream was to be a soldier, had no choice but to accept that arrangement from the start.

After patting Raymond on the shoulder, their father departed.

Their mother watched the carriage until the dust settled. Though it was a familiar sight, she seemed to linger longer than usual that day. Raymond comforted her by wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“Mother, don’t worry. The independence forces have been quiet lately. He’ll return safely this afternoon.”

“Even so… I’ve heard that he keeps releasing the independence fighters taken as slaves, and there are many in the navy who oppose him because of it. I’m worried he might have drawn the ire of the higher-ups.” Their mother sighed deeply.

Raymond nodded in agreement. “I also oppose slavery. The independence forces were originally people who wanted to escape the exploitation of the Empire’s nobles. Over time, they grew in numbers and gained the strength to fight. I don’t think it’s right to capture those people and use them as slaves.”

Slavery had indeed been abolished in the Empire. Even if they paid a pittance, people had to be hired and paid for their labor, regardless of the work.

In some colonies, however, the evil of slavery persisted, and the New World was one of them, where indigenous people, slaves brought in from different systems, and the Empire’s poorest debtors formed a large slave market.

Recently, with movements for independence growing, those people were also being captured and made into slaves. Their father, a naval colonel, was one of the few high-ranking officers who opposed it.

If anyone else had made such arguments, they would have been dismissed long ago. But as a count with a long history of military service, no one dared to touch him.

“Don’t say things like that, dear. You’ll be labeled an independence sympathizer. These days, anyone suspected of that is arrested.”

“One day, this land will have to be independent too. There are too many people from the Empire, and the land is vast. The Empire can’t govern it forever.”

“Watch your words. We must always remain loyal to the Empire. That’s why we came here.”

Locke, who had been listening quietly, cut in at Raymond’s escalating remarks. Though he also opposed slavery, he knew what happened to families that went against the Empire, and he wanted to protect Raymond.

Raymond shook his head. “Brother, you’re always so rigid.”

Raymond went up the steps with their mother, while Locke went for a ride, exercising his horse before returning to the estate. Strangely, the nearby village seemed more unsettled than usual.

That evening, some friends came by to take him to a tavern, celebrating his last night as a civilian. Raymond, who also had friends from the academy visiting, ended up meeting Locke at the same club later that night.

“Brother? You came to a place like this?”

Raymond’s eyes widened at the sight of Locke, who rarely drank, holding a glass.

“Even your brother is human. I may look like I wouldn’t bleed a drop if cut, but I’m still a person.”

Locke’s friends laughed at the joke.

The two groups joined together and drank until after midnight. When Locke said it was time to leave, they ended the gathering.

Locke took the flushed Raymond home.

“Huh? Is the sun already rising? Has that much time passed?”

Raymond, hanging his head out of the window to sober up, pointed at something and shouted. Locke, who had closed his eyes, opened them to see what was causing the commotion, and his heart sank.

In the distance, the entire estate was engulfed in flames.

The fire was so massive that, as Raymond said, it looked like the sun from where they were

“Go faster!”

Locke, pale, urged the driver to speed up.

The carriage went so fast that it seemed it might separate from the horse, but when they arrived at the estate, the once grand structure was now a charred shell, barely standing.

“Mother! Father!”

People who had gathered to help extinguish the fire held Raymond back as he tried to rush inside.