Another three days passed.
During these three days, besides familiarizing herself with the layout of the mansion and the guard distribution inside and around it, Liyami spent her time subtly probing Lant and the other guards for information about Furnace Hook’s eyepatch.
It had to be said—the Charm Magic skill was incredibly useful.
Most guards, even if they didn’t want to pay attention to Liyami at first, would end up licking their wounds to come over and talk to her as soon as she used even a little bit of charm.
Thanks to this skill, gathering intelligence became much easier for her.
She even started to think that being a woman was somewhat advantageous after all.
Of course, only somewhat.
However, she didn’t dare use charm on the Guard Captain.
After all, the Guard Captain’s rank was much higher than the others. If she failed and was discovered, it would be a serious problem.
That said, even without using charm, she had ways to extract information from the Guard Captain.
Unfortunately, no matter how she questioned the other guards or Lant, none of them knew what was hidden beneath Furnace Hook’s eyepatch.
Lant only knew that Furnace Hook had lost his left eye because of an Orc.
Even when she tried to pry from the Guard Captain, though he was very cautious and said little, Liyami caught a fleeting look of doubt in his eyes.
It was clear that even Furnace Hook’s most trusted Guard Captain didn’t know what lay beneath the eyepatch.
It seemed that whatever Furnace Hook was hiding was extremely important to him.
He hadn’t revealed a single clue to anyone, keeping it perfectly concealed.
From this, it was impossible to learn Furnace Hook’s secret from others.
It wasn’t just the guards who were in the dark—the main reason was that Liyami’s time was running out.
Previously, she had used the excuse of her physiological period to stall Furnace Hook’s advances, but now three days had passed.
Though she didn’t know exactly how long a normal woman’s period lasted, Furnace Hook was clearly growing impatient.
Recently, he had started asking if she was feeling better and whether they could proceed with “that matter.”
If she kept investigating at this sluggish pace, she might first have to deal with issues of chastity.
Therefore, Liyami planned to act tonight.
No matter what Furnace Hook’s secret was, she would find a way—simultaneously neutralizing and assassinating him.
She refused to believe that a mere slave trader could have such a powerful ace up his sleeve.
Perhaps she had just been overly suspicious all along.
Laura opened her eyes and woke from sleep.
She had just dreamed of everyone in the village and her parents—all safe and calling out to her.
She dreamed of her childhood friend Alan inviting her over to his house after dinner and of her parents preparing a delicious meal waiting for her return.
But sadly, it was only a dream. Everyone from the village had long been sold off by the slave traders, and her childhood friend Alan’s home had already burned down to ashes.
Her parents were brutally killed by mercenaries who had invaded the village—and it happened right in front of her.
Laura didn’t understand what it meant to pick the wrong side or to be guilty of aiding the Demon Clan Remnants.
She didn’t understand why everyone in the world had started slaughtering and enslaving the Beastmen, or why she herself had to endure such misfortune.
She only knew that she had once lived peacefully in the village, where her parents and the villagers made a living by hunting and small-scale farming.
She had never even seen many humans before, let alone demons.
But things happened just the same.
Human mercenaries claiming to be on a campaign to eliminate the Demon Clan Remnants invaded the village.
They killed all the elders and those who resisted, and sold the survivors into slavery through the slave traders.
Laura had no idea where everyone had been sold or what their lives would be like.
But she could imagine that life after being sold would be no better than it was now, so she didn’t want to be sold.
More than that, she wanted revenge—for the mercenaries who had killed her friends and family.
Therefore, before that could happen, she had to escape.
Otherwise, she might never find those mercenaries again.
She wouldn’t give up struggling like the others; she would do everything she could to escape this place and take revenge on them!
Of course, reality was harsh.
Even though she constantly thought about escape, there was simply no way out.
She was too weak from hunger to move, and her thoughts were near paralysis.
The guards only gave them just enough food each day to keep them from starving—nothing more.
She didn’t even have the strength or method to break free from her shackles, much less deal with the guards outside.
Especially after the slave trader had moved them to a new location for unknown reasons, the guards outside had become more numerous and more vigilant.
At this point, even Laura felt a flicker of despair.
It seemed she could no longer escape.
Was she doomed to be slaughtered and sold like cattle?
But if she didn’t want that, what else could she do?
Just then, Laura noticed the guards outside had started slacking off and dozing again.
Maybe now was the perfect chance to run unnoticed.
But what would she do after escaping?
And before that, she still needed to figure out how to remove her shackles and open the cell door.
Just as her thoughts grew more muddled, the cell door was opened.
Laura stared in shock at the open door, not understanding what had just happened.
At that moment, she felt a shadow flash past her and her shackles suddenly loosened.
Who was it?
Who helped unlock my shackles and cell door?
Why help me?
What were their intentions?
Looking at the wide-open cell door, Laura couldn’t think much further.
She slowly stood up, carefully conserving the faint strength she had left.
She cautiously approached the guards and found them all sound asleep, utterly unresponsive.
She took the key from one of them, then turned back to the cell and suddenly noticed several pieces of bread had appeared at the door.
Laura froze for a moment, then gratefully picked them up.
She returned inside the cell and unlocked the shackles binding her companions.
She would escape with them!
No matter what dangers awaited outside, she had to seize this one and only chance—to break free from this prison, to escape these shackles!