Staring at those innocent eyes tinged with a hint of pleading, Sophia found herself unable to steel her heart and use force against such a pure, fragile girl.
It seemed Selim had noticed the anger on Sophia’s face. Pretending to have just realized something, she changed her tone and said, “Oh, right, payment. Thank you for lending a hand, Miss Knight. Of course, the reward you deserve won’t be lacking.”
Only after hearing that did Sophia’s frown ease slightly. Her emerald eyes grew more scrutinizing as she corrected Selim’s words. “I’m a Demon Hunter, not a Knight.”
“A lone Noblewoman in the wilderness, aren’t you afraid of a Demon Hunter?”
As a largely neutral, semi-official group, Demon Hunters had a terrible reputation. Sophia, who operated on the very edge of the rules, could even be considered rather professional compared to many others.
Frankly, Demon Hunters were looked down upon by the Nobility everywhere and feared and shunned by commoners. There was a reason for it.
Selim gave a gentle smile. “Why would I fear my savior? Miss Sophia, if I said I dreamt my lady knight would come to rescue me, would you believe it?”
“Besides that, I know many Secrets unknown to others in this world. How about exchanging one for your help?”
Of course, Selim wasn’t about to threaten Sophia with her Secrets right now. After all, out here in the wilds, saying the wrong thing could easily get her killed on the spot.
Some things could only be revealed at the right time and place for the best result.
Her current words were simply to play the role of a pitiful but slightly clever fallen Noblewoman.
If it had been any other Demon Hunter, Selim would never have taken the risk of provoking them. If they decided to kill her, there’d be no one to complain to.
But her opposite was Sophia—someone a bit greedy, but ultimately soft-hearted.
“A Secret? Fine, but you’ll have to tell me first, so I can judge its worth.” Sophia stroked her chin, thinking for a moment before agreeing.
To her, using a Secret as payment was just a normal haggling tactic.
As a Demon Hunter, information deals were part of everyday life. Sophia didn’t mind trading a valuable Secret for her reward.
After all, a Secret was information, and information was as good as gold Coins.
“Heh heh.” Selim cleared her throat and said, “For example, I know your Secret right now. You need a large sum of money for something very important to you, don’t you?”
A long silence.
Sophia swore to the heavens, if the other girl wasn’t both a pretty young lady and a member of the Nobility, she would have beaten her face into a pig’s head by now.
To Sophia, this was practically an insult to her intelligence.
“Who in this world doesn’t need money? Do you think you’re being funny?”
With a sneer, Sophia mocked Selim, “That Secret is so valuable, it might as well be a Prophet’s Prophecy. Should I be paying you instead, hmm?”
Of course, Selim heard the sarcasm in Sophia’s voice and didn’t really expect such baseless words to convince her. But she was happy to play along.
“If you’d like, I can be a Prophet too,” Selim continued. “This is a fated encounter. Meeting me here is the greatest luck of your life.”
“Smooth talk won’t get you out of paying what’s due.” Sophia shot her a look, not taking the boasts of an underage girl to heart.
“Right now, you have two choices. Either pay up, or trade some valuable information.”
“Otherwise…” Sophia’s voice grew low.
She wasn’t really planning to kill her over unpaid dues. At worst, she’d use the Demon Hall to squeeze some Coins out of Selim’s parents.
But if she used the Order’s resources, they’d take a cut. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Sophia preferred not to settle through a middleman.
And yet, Selim kept babbling.
“Some Secrets are too deep to tell. It’s better you don’t know,” Selim replied, ignoring Sophia’s threat.
It wasn’t that Selim wanted to toy with Sophia, just that people feared loss far more than gain.
She was simply playing on that human weakness, building up the sense of loss for Sophia with every vague promise.
Now, if Sophia gave up, she wouldn’t just lose her reward—she’d also lose a Secret.
That pain of loss would gnaw at her, pushing her to become less rational and slowly force her to compromise.
Selim was like a spider weaving a web, patiently waiting for her prey.
It worked—Sophia was clearly starting to get hooked.
Slapping the side of the ornate Carriage, Sophia declared, “Enough of the mysterious act. Pay up. At the very least, your payment can’t be less than this Carriage is worth.”
Blinking, Selim replied, “Would you take a lot of money with you when you travel? If you want, you can take the Carriage home.”
“It’s broken, and how would I even sell a Family Carriage legally?” The slap made the Carriage let out a grating creak.
“Then I don’t have any other way,” Selim said, nearly stumbling from Sophia’s sudden slap.
“So, you really intend to shirk…” Sophia clenched her jaw, face flushed with anger.
Seeing Sophia’s expression, Selim steadied herself and held out a hand. “I mean… take me home, and I’ll pay you, alright?”
“Being an escort is extra,” Sophia’s face softened a bit, realizing Selim wasn’t trying to avoid payment.
“I’m just asking you to come with me to get my money. How does that make you an escort? Or should I take it that you’re giving up your Demon Hall bounty?”
Even for Sophia, becoming a robber on the spot was a bit much.
Selim still had a fortune from selling off her assets before leaving the Capital, all stashed in her game backpack. She could easily pay.
But her real goal wasn’t befriending Sophia, it was capturing her, possessing her.
Only by luring Sophia back to her own Estate could she use those servants—who currently didn’t listen to her—for her own ends.
Though this body was, in name, the Marquess of the Rhine Territory,
If her memory served, in the game, this Beginner Area—the Rhine Territory—Selim’s authority had already been stripped. All her people had become traitors.
But… they could still be used.
Like these so-called mercenaries escorting her, who were actually monitoring and transporting Selim—they were just stepping stones for meeting Sophia.
“Are all Nobles as stingy as you?” Sophia could tell she was about to get nothing, but couldn’t think of a way to recover her losses.
People say sunk costs shouldn’t affect decisions, but Sophia just couldn’t accept working for free. In reality, she was already affected by them.
She didn’t want more dealings with Nobles, but she also couldn’t stand to let her payment slip away. After thinking for a while, Sophia said, “Fine, I’ll take you home—but it’ll cost extra.”
Decision made, Sophia didn’t leave any room for Selim to bargain. Just as she was about to turn away—
“Wait.”
As Sophia tried to turn, Selim called out to her.
“What now…”
Sophia, about to lose her temper, turned back and saw Selim looking pitifully at her.
Selim raised her hand, her slender fingers pausing in a deliberately hesitant motion, gently tapping her own slim knees.
“I… I had an accident earlier. I can’t feel anything below my knees, so I can’t stand up.”
She bit her lip, and her eyes filled with just the right amount of tears.
“Can… you help me?”