chapter 12

Presently, Mirabelle was locked up in a metal cage. Her tiny hands were secured with heavy handcuffs. She gradually saw what was around her under the dim lighting. There were only a few young elf girls quietly waiting in cages here. There were also many vampire products scattered around the area. This was probably backstage. These were the [products] that the vampire was selling.

"Damn that slave trader… ugh, let's calm down and think about how to deal with this…"

Mirabelle was trying to console herself, but she really was panicking quite a bit inside. Not only would escaping from this cage be impossible… She couldn't even walk freely in the cage.

Luckily, she was in a VIP cage to herself. This was probably since she was the elven princess. Still, this wasn't much to be happy about. Wasn't it only the difference in treatment between a regular prisoner and a special prisoner?

Both were still prisoners…

"Princess, how come you were captured and brought to such a location!?"

An elf girl in a cage next to Mirabelle's started talking to her. This elf girl had orange long hair and was sitting next to her. The girl's face and body were really dirty. It was impossible to see any clean location on her.

-It seemed likely that she hadn't showered for several days?

She wore nothing apart from a tattered black rag. At this moment, Mirabelle discovered that she was basically the only elf here who was rather clean. It was probable that the elves weren't even allowed to wash themselves. That was why they were so dirty.

"Eh? How come you know my real identity?"

Mirabelle asked out of curiosity, not minding the other elf's dirty body. It wouldn't be possible to recognize her as the elven princess just because she was clean, was it?

The dirty elf girl smiled.

"My mother told me that the elven princess has blue hair and a royal crown birthmark on her ear tips."

"A royal crown birthmark on my ear tips? I didn't even know I had a birthmark there…"

Right when Mirabelle looked at a nearby mirror, she saw this birthmark that the elf girl had mentioned.

"It's true! You're amazing! Just how did you know?"

"My mother is from a family of maids that's served the elven royalty for generations. That's how mother was able to tell me such a secret."

-Was that how it was? Mirabelle looked in a mirror every day, yet she had never noticed such a birthmark before.

Yet, the elf girl had noticed it so easily even behind her long aquamarine hair. The elf girl had definitely been confident that she was the elven princess.

"So, were you captured and brought here as well?"

"No, I was actually born at the [production facility]. My mother then raised me until that slave trader transported me here."

"Where is your mother now?"

"…"

The elf girl had a dark expression from the moment that Mirabelle asked this question. Even someone like Mirabelle noticed this, so she awkwardly apologized to the elf girl.

"Is that so? I'm sorry…"

Mirabelle glanced over at the other elf girl who was in the same cage as this elf girl. This other elf girl had eyes resembling that of dead fish, with no emotion at all. Mirabelle had no idea what must have happened to her to become like this.

Mirabelle activated her [Data Analysis] ability. She looked over this metal cage that she was locked in. She learned its name and stats.

Item name: Iron Cage

HP: 500/500

With Mirabelle's meager strength stat of 10, she would have to hit this cage several hundred times in order to break it. However, it was certain that her tiny hand would break from trying to hit the cage so many times. Mirabelle sighed deeply after realizing this obvious fact.

"If there's an opportunity, are you willing to come with me? I'll take you to someplace safe…"

"Eh? Princess, are you wanting to escape?"

"Yeah. While they're not on guard, I…"

"It's useless…"

The elf girl interrupted Mirabelle with an icy voice.

"There are many powerful vampires and also vampire nobles gathered here. It's impossible for us to escape…"

Mirabelle slowly sat up in the ice-cold cage as she heard this. The chains on her hands made loud clanging noises. Even her cape had been taken away. All she wore was a one-piece dress.

"What will happen to us if we can't escape from here?"

A look of despair appeared in the dirty elf girl's orange eyes when she heard this question.

"We might go to a new master. If the new master is nice, then maybe they won't do much to you. However, if the new master really likes violence, you might get beaten to death, or you might become food for a vampire."

"!!?"

Mirabelle widened her eyes in astonishment. Beaten? Become food? How could such a thing happen to her! She was the elven princess! Nobody had ever hit or scolded her. Even back on her original world, her family had always protected her. That was why such a thing could never happen to her. For instance, becoming a vampire's blood slave.

Sounds of cheering came from outside as Mirabelle was thinking this. She then heard some words from the stage which caused her brain to suddenly short-circuit.

"And now, our auction is about to begin. We'll be auctioning all sorts of elven girls. Of course, their flesh and blood are of excellent quality. Most importantly, the star product of our auction today is the former elven princess!!"

"Whoaa—!"

The vampire nobles started a commotion when they heard the words "former elven princess". The elven royal bloodline. Naturally, this bloodline was the best of all elven bloodlines.

The elven queen had died due to difficult childbirth. The elven king had died in battle. Apart from them, there was only one other with this elven royal bloodline: the newly-born elven princess.

The vampires had previously searched for the elven royal bloodline in this city and had spent an entire month searching for the elven princess. However, they were unable to find her.

Some vampires believed that she had likely escaped from this city already. Thus, the majority of vampires gave up on the search. Yet, she unexpectedly appeared in this auction today.

"The elven princess has the elven royal bloodline. This will be an excellent medicine for improving any vampire's magic power. She'll make the best possible blood slave candidate. And now, the auction will begin!"

The auctioneer was mentioning her so that more customers would know about the star product of the auction today. The other vampires would spread the word through the entire city. Thus, the auction holders would be able to sell off this elven princess that they obtained for [free] at an even higher price.

"Are they talking about me?"

Mirabelle's face was filled with disbelief as she asked the other elf girl for confirmation.

"Yes, they're talking about you."

"They're going to sell me to those vampires!?"

"That's probably why they captured and brought you here…"

Mirabelle widened her eyes. The thing she wanted to hear the least was really occurring. If it wasn't for how she didn't have a weapon which could open these handcuffs and iron cage… She would have long since escaped already, saying goodbye to all these vampires.

Was being sold off her only option? No, there was likely still an opportunity the moment that the cage was opened. She couldn't give up so soon. No matter if her new master was gentle or not, it was certain that a vampire who purchased her would never treat her as a 'person'.

In that case, she could only rely on the ultimate technique that she had been saving—

"Princess, you really shouldn't struggle. If you fight back and they capture you, your treatment will become even worse. You should consider what to do after the auction. If you meet a relatively gentle master, your future life will still be alright. If you meet a cruel and heartless master, your future life will become worse than death."

"..."

Mirabelle clenched her fist, wanting to tell the elf girl about her escape plan. However, she still relaxed her first. She then began to ask the elf girl some questions.

"After talking so much with you, I still don't know your name yet. What's your name?"

"Me? My name is Nim. I was born in the [production facility], so I don't have a family name."

"My name is Mirabelle, Mirabelle Brillana. If… I'm just saying, if there's a chance to escape from here, are you willing to come with me?" Mirabelle asked the girl named Nim.

"Escape?? Princess, you're daydreaming too much. There are countless vampire nobles here. With your strength, it'll be…"

"Don't ask so many questions. If we can escape, are you willing to come with me?"

Nim's orange eyes shone with light.

"If we can really escape, I'm willing to serve the princess, doing the same job as my mother…"

"Yeah, we can talk about it then…"

Mirabelle spoke quite confidently as if she truly could escape from here. However, even if Nim didn't say anything, Mirabelle could sense it. Large numbers of vampire nobles were coming over here.

The guards here were also abnormally vigilant. That was because they needed to guard the elven princess. The guards would be paid quite handsomely if she could be sold for a high price. That was why they were so highly vigilant tonight.

Mirabelle sat down and began to use [Data Analysis] together with her mental minimap. A super large map appeared in her eyes. Mirabelle created a perfect escape route based on the vampires' levels and strength.

Originally, she thought that her plan was flawless, but then she broke out into a cold sweat as she observed the minimap. Mirabelle could sense someone incredibly powerful. A vampire with overwhelming magical might was rushing over towards the auction.

Unexpectedly, Mirabelle wasn't even able to determine this vampire's level and stats. Normally, Mirabelle's [Data Analysis] should have been able to give her the full status of any vampire noble. This vampire was the only one that Mirabelle couldn't see any stats of at all.

Mirabelle could even see the stats of a Level 382 vampire noble, the highest-level one present. Could it be that this vampire was even higher level than Level 382, to an unimaginably powerful extent?

Mirabelle hoped that this vampire wouldn't get involved. She hoped that this vampire wouldn't become her new master. Otherwise, her possibility of escaping would be 0%. She didn't want to become someone else's possession.

Mirabelle was a really prideful elven princess. She would rather die than become something like a slave or a toy. She could tell that this was an unfathomable existence so she broke out into a cold sweat.