"Yes, we are looking for a household servant," Damian stated. He didn’t look at the suffering around them, playing the part of a man who saw humans as nothing more than inventory.

"Follow me," the man rasped. His gaze lingered uncomfortably on Eilika, his yellowed eyes raking over her until she met his stare with a sharp, visible frown. He gave a low, unsettling chuckle before turning away.

They followed him closely, their boots crunching over shards of glass and filth as they navigated a narrow, suffocating alley.

The stone walls seemed to lean in on them, damp with a foul-smelling moisture. At the end of the path stood a tall, decaying building of blackened brick, a structure that looked as though it were rotting from the inside out.

The man led them through door and down a dimly lit corridor. Finally, they were ushered into a small, private room furnished only with a wooden table and two chairs.

"Please, wait here," the man said. He lingered in the doorway for a second too long, offering a toothless, creepy grin before retreating and clicking the door shut behind him.

Eilika immediately turned to Damian. "That man... the way he looked at the children. How can this be allowed to exist?"

"Such places have been existing for a long time," said Damian. "It’s not nothing new. We need to play the role well."

"Such places have existed for a long time," Damian said in a low voice. "It is nothing new. We must play our roles perfectly if we are to end this. Control your expressions."

Eilika gave a nod, fidgeting with her fingers.

Damian had noticed how that creepy man looked at her, so he decided to eliminate him later.

Shortly, a middle-aged woman stepped inside, her presence far more chilling than the man who had led them there. She was dressed entirely in austere black, her hair pulled back into a bun so tight it seemed to stretch the skin of her face.

"I heard a merchant couple is in search of a household servant," she said, her voice like grinding stones. "May I see your identifications?"

Without a word, Damian pulled the weathered, forged cards from his overcoat and slapped them onto the wooden table. The woman picked them up, squinting at the ink before her gaze drifted upward, traveling slowly over their modest attire. She lowered herself into the chair opposite them, a mocking grin touching her thin lips.

"Judging by your dress, you two don’t seem like particularly wealthy merchants," she remarked.

"If we were wealthy enough to flaunt it, we wouldn’t be scavenging for bargains in a place like this," Damian countered smoothly. He leaned forward, projecting an air of arrogant confidence.

"Do not let the clothes deceive you. I am well-funded for what I require. I simply prefer not to advertise my coin to every cutthroat on the street."

The woman chuckled, a dry, rattling sound. "I like the fire in the young merchants like you. Very well. What is your preference? Do you require a boy or a girl for your household?"

"A boy," Damian answered instantly.

"Bring the finest ones we have," the lady commanded, gesturing to the man lingering by the door.

Within minutes, five young boys were ushered into the cramped room. Eilika felt an ache in her chest as they filed in, their heads bowed and shoulders hunched. They were barely teenagers, some even younger, with visible bruises mottling their thin arms. High collars on their tattered tunics unsuccessfully hid the angry red welts of lash marks on their necks.

"The younger the servant, the easier they are to mold to your liking," the lady stated, her eyes tracing the boys with the coldness of a butcher. "Each one is no less than a hundred sheels."

Damian’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists beneath the table. "Are they all orphans?" he asked.

"Why does their history concern you, young merchant?" the lady asked, her eyes narrowing with a sudden suspicion.

"Because we don’t wish to invite legal trouble into our home," Eilika interjected. She turned to Damian, her eyes glistening with a desperate, silent plea. "Dear, they all look so capable. Can we not take all of them?"

The lady’s eyebrows shot up, a greedy glint appearing in her gaze. Damian looked at Eilika with a smile and nodded.

"If you say so," Damian said if he were simply indulging a wife’s whim. He reached into his overcoat and pulled out a leather pouch, tossing it onto the wooden table with a thud. "There are more than five hundred sheels in there."

The lady’s composure fractured for a split second as she snatched up the pouch. She loosened the drawstring, and the dim light of the room caught the glint of the high-quality copper coins within. Her eyes shone with a predatory greed. She signaled the scarred man to begin counting the payment immediately.

"Now, answer the question," Damian prompted. "Are they all orphans?"

"We don’t disclose the ’provenance’ of our stock, young merchant; it’s bad for business," the lady stated, her fingers still hovering near the coin pouch. "However, I can assure you that no one is coming to look for them. You are far from our first customer. We have operated within these walls for a very long time without a single whisper reaching the ears of the law."

Eilika felt a shiver run down her spine. The lady’s confidence was a testament to the corruption that allowed such a place to thrive. She looked at the five boys, who stood frozen, their eyes darting between Damian and the woman, unsure if they had just been saved or sold to a new nightmare. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"If that is the case," Damian said, standing up and towering over the table, "then we shall take them immediately. I have no desire to linger in this hole."

"Of course, of course," the lady chirped, her attitude shifting to one of hospitality now that the coin was hers. "The paperwork will be brief."

As the man finished counting, he leaned over and whispered something into the lady’s ear, his eyes darting toward Damian’s hands.

"As you said they are more than five hundred. We will send these boys to your carriage," the lady stated.

"It’s far away. We will take them," Damian stated, rising to his feet. Eilika already went to the boys, giving them a gentle caress on their heads.

’We will rescue all the kids here and find out who’s established this,’ Eilika thought, glancing at Damian.

~~~~

Sheel is a currency used in the novel.