Grasping and Shaking Weaknesses (3)

“Arrived.”

The carriage stopped, and the coachman knocked on the window. After fixing my hair once more, I jumped out of the carriage.

“Young master. Until when….”

The coachman turned his head towards me, his eyes widening.

“Y-young master?”

“What?”

“Y-your hair….”

He tried to point at me with his finger but quickly realized it was rude and retracted his hand.

“I-I’m sorry.”

My hair was reflected in the coachman’s trembling eyes. To be precise, it was a wig made of wheat-colored hair.

“Does it not suit me?”

I brushed my hair back to check if the wig was slipping.

‘Hmm, it’s secured well.’

Then I looked at my reflection in the carriage window.

Abel’s face closely resembled Diego’s. His masculine, thick eyebrows and sharp features formed a wonderful harmony.

I thought he was just a child picked up because of his twisted personality.

“Blood can’t be hidden.”

The sharpness in his gaze was no joke. It was a face that intimidated people in a different way than my father did. Moreover, my natural hair was a blue color, symbolic of the Kindrial family. No one would fail to recognize my identity upon seeing this.

“Is this enough?”

Covering my face with a common wheat-colored wig diluted the atmosphere significantly.

Standing in front of the carriage was a tall, slender young man with a sharp impression. With my hair color changed, it was hard to associate him with Abel at first glance.

“N-no, it doesn’t not suit you. How could that be?”

The coachman, sweating profusely, watched my reaction.

“What hair could possibly not suit the young master? I was just a bit surprised…”

The coachman’s complexion was ashen. His eyes were speaking.

‘What are you trying to hide by wearing a wig?’

He was curious about why I wore the wig but was too afraid to ask.

I brushed off my clothes and said,

“You can go back now. I’ll find my way home.”

“But…”

He was about to protest, but when I glanced at him, he immediately wilted.

“Yes, understood.”

“Tell the butler properly.”

“Yes.”

He was the coachman who drove the carriage every time I went out. Therefore, he knew well what to say to the butler. In fact, it wouldn’t matter if he told him about today’s events, as it was Philip who prepared this wig for me. I turned away and began to walk without regret.

Kader, right next to the Ovest territory at the southwesternmost part of the Empire.

Thanks to the Ovest territory blocking monsters at the front line, we enjoyed a comfortable life without worrying about them.

However, if you go deep into the alleys, you can witness this comfort being transformed into something else.

“Hey there, brother, want to stop by for a bit?”

“Sister will treat you well. Come here.”

Even though it was still daytime and the sun hadn’t set, the alleyways were filled with prostitutes.

Their eyes were hazy with drug-induced stupor, and their bare skin was fully exposed between their loosely undone clothing.

“Ugh.”

I quickly crossed the alley with my head bowed.

Seeing such women evoked no feelings or desires in me. Just a sigh escaped my lips.

‘It’s no wonder such professions arise in this environment.’

The knights of the Ovest territory were known for their strict discipline. A moment of carelessness or a slight lack of skill could lead to being trampled by monsters.

That’s why the Ovest knights achieved the title of triple champion. They had the highest training hours, the lowest pay, and the highest mortality rate among all knights in the empire.

Given such circumstances, the knights desperately needed an outlet to relieve their pent-up frustrations. Naturally, brothels sprang up like mushrooms in the neighboring Kader territory, which bordered Obest.

‘Diego turned a blind eye to all of this.’

He knew that if he controlled this, there could be a mass exodus of knights.

‘You can’t endure everything just with a sense of duty.’

As I clicked my tongue and quickened my pace, a sultry voice brushed against my ear.

“Honey, is this your first time here?”

“……”

This was already the third time a prostitute had spoken to me.

I completely ignored her and walked past.

‘Can people really not recognize me just because I’m wearing a wig?’

Abel frequented the entertainment district of Kader as if it were his home. He would often toy roughly with with high-class prostitutes of considerable beauty.

As a result, courtesans would clamp their mouths shut like clams the moment Abel appeared, trying their best to avoid drawing his attention.

But the place I was in now wasn’t one of Abel’s usual haunts—it was a shabby back alley.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it, alright?”

The prostitutes failed to recognize me and eagerly flirted, mistaking me for a naive newcomer to Kader.

The particularly dim surroundings, making it hard to identify faces, only added to the confusion.

‘I should’ve just put on the wig as soon as I arrived.’

Frustration surged, but I couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. The best course of action was to quickly pass through this area.

Without responding, I hastened my steps, but the whistling and jeering grew louder.

“You came here knowing what this is, right? Why so shy?”

“The first time’s hard, but the second’s nothing.”

One of the women reached out with a grin, her jewelry jingling.

“Feeling shy, are you?”

The moment her scarlet-painted nails brushed against my forearm,

"Get lost."

I coldly slapped her hand away.

"Huh?"

The woman clasped her wrist, letting out a coquettish laugh. She must’ve thought my reaction was due to embarrassment, as her smile deepened.

"Come on, don’t be like that..."

"I said, get lost."

At my low, menacing tone and the glare in my eyes, her expression froze.

"W-What?"

Her lips trembled in disbelief.

"Ah—"

I clamped my hand over her mouth. Letting her say that name here would be troublesome.

"..."

She blinked in confusion, her complexion paling rapidly.

"M-Mmph..."

She tightly shut her eyes and lowered her head, bracing as though a slap were imminent.

'Looks like she knows the rumors about me.'

I released her face, speaking with an icy edge.

"Watch your mouth."

The women who had been chattering like birds fell silent. A chilling stillness crept over the alley.

I glanced at the top of the woman's head and then moved on. After her, no one else tried to stop me.

A deeply satisfying silence filled my surroundings.

Upon reaching the end of the alley, I spotted a small wooden door. It was an ordinary door with no signs or markings around it.

‘Looks like I’ve found the right place.’

In Kader, there are several such ordinary yet extraordinary doors. They are scattered throughout the territory, making it difficult to find them without knowing their locations and characteristics.

Of course, at this point in the original story, Abel does not know about this place. But ‘I’ do.

As I grasped the doorknob and turned it, a typical tavern came into view.

“So, what’s happening at the border right now…?”

“Lord Diego is…”

Inside the tavern, it was quiet except for the sparse murmurs of people. Everyone was engaged in conversation with a drink in front of them, and there were no drunken patrons shouting loudly.

The people glanced at me as I entered but quickly turned their gazes away, as if they had made a silent agreement to ignore me. They absolutely refused to look around, focusing only on those sitting at their tables.

And this was proof that I had indeed found the right place.

‘Shall we get started?’

I approached the bartender with a leisurely stride.

There were two bartenders in total. I spoke to the one wearing a red tie.

“I’ll have a ‘Dawn’s Eye.’”

“What’s the base?”

“Cold.”

“How would you like the glass?”

“Sweet.”

It was a riddle-like exchange. However, the bartender showed no signs of surprise and nodded.

“Understood.”

Then, the other bartender, who wore a yellow sash, stood up.

“Please come this way.”

Following his guidance, I entered the side door. The room inside was very cramped, and there was another door directly opposite where I entered.

There was no furniture at all. The only thing present was a curtain hanging on the wall.

Clink.

I pulled a gold coin from my pocket and flicked it to him. The bartender skillfully caught the coin and bowed.

“You can go down below.”

As he pulled back the curtain, a staircase leading down was revealed.

“You know the rules, right?”

A simple white mask was now in the bartender's hand.

“Of course.”

I casually responded while taking the mask. As I flipped it over my face, half of my face was concealed.

Currently, only my lips and chin were visible, along with the cold blue hue shining through the eye holes.

“Have a good time.”

The bartender bowed politely.

I nodded silently and approached the stairs.

As I descended, the stairs seemed well-maintained, making not a single creak. After navigating a very narrow and steep slope,

“All in!”

“Oh no! Just one more step!”

“Are you stopping here?”

The sounds of various people’s voices and the clinking of chips rushed in.

Tables were set up throughout the softly lit space. At each table, dealers in uniforms stood, conducting games.

People were enjoying card games or other games using various tools at those tables.

Technically, it was gambling.

I whistled softly as I looked down from the top of the stairs.

“It’s bigger than I expected.”

In this territory, where all sorts of illegal activities took place, this was the place where the biggest sums of money changed hands.

An illegal gambling den.

The only legal gambling establishment was located in the capital. Even that was widely known to be effectively run by the royal family.

Regardless, other gambling establishments operated discreetly like this one.

They had installed maze-like entrances scattered throughout the taverns in the territory, allowing entry only after speaking a complex password.

Originally, each dealer would guide only trustworthy individuals—though a gambler’s trustworthiness was questionable—and the passwords were shared through connections.

But for me, I had already seen the answer key.

“The answer key from the original work.”

I chuckled to myself as I strolled slowly through the gambling den.

Who would have thought there would be such a large space underground? Whoever built it was truly impressive.

With a leisurely pace, I pretended to ponder what game to play. However, my eyes behind the mask were meticulously scanning the people playing games.

‘Where is he? He should be here today on duty.’

Everyone was enjoying gambling while wearing masks. Therefore, recognizing their identities was nearly impossible.

Even if I did recognize them, the principle here was to pretend not to know each other.

Whether they were an ordinary farmer, a street thug, a wealthy merchant, or the lord’s son.

This was a place where everyone became equal, this illegal gambling den.

“I’d like to exchange some chips.”

And even the lord’s knights were just gamblers here.

“-!”

I spotted a man approaching the dealer and my eyes lit up.