Chapter 1 I've Long Since Wanted to Die!

"Hey, beautiful, want a drink?"

Carol felt a tap on her shoulder.

She frowned and turned around.

Illuminated by the dim light of the tavern, Carol saw a scruffy middle-aged mercenary leering at her.

She sighed, then flipped him off without turning her head, "Go home and drink with your mother... and for the record, I'm not here to sell myself."

Amidst the laughter of the onlookers, the middle-aged mercenary left with a face as blue as steel.

Having dealt with the annoyance, Carol's gaze returned to the distance.

She wasn't averse to men hitting on her, it all depended on who was doing the hitting.

For instance, the young man sitting at the bar at the moment.

He was called a young man because judging by his somewhat slender figure and the occasional profile glance this way, he wasn't very old, perhaps still a fledgling.

There were several empty bottles on the table beside the young man, and though he was evidently drunk, he kept drinking non-stop.

As if burdened by memories he couldn't forget.

Of course, the point was that the young man had beautiful jet-black hair.

Even though it was a bit messy and slightly curly, it symbolized the noble lineage of the Saint Laurent Empire.

Though she didn't know which family the kid belonged to, his intricately made deerskin boots suggested he came from a very well-off family.

He was an excellent candidate to become "prey."

In fact, this was already the young man's third day in this tavern.

Based on her observations over the past few days, Carol had roughly surmised the truth of the situation.

The young man probably had a falling out with his family, so he ran away in a huff, only to realize how harsh the outside world was, yet he didn't want to give in, thus he was stuck in a dilemma, drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

To her, these inexperienced noble sons were simply tender, juicy sheep.

With that thought, Carol could no longer contain the excitement in her heart.

She downed her glass of wine in one gulp, then stood up and gracefully made her way to the bar.

"Aren't you going to buy me a drink?"

She sat down confidently next to the youth with black hair.

The black-haired youth didn't seem too surprised, and snapped his fingers at the bartender, "Bring this lady an amber."

Amber was the most expensive drink in the place, costing ten silver coins a glass, only a fool would order it.

Seeing this, Carol's face lit up with a sly smile, radiant and charming, "My name's Carol, and you are?"

"Is that important?"

He was not standoffish but didn't bite as easily as she'd expected... Was it because of noble pride?

Taking the glass pushed over by the bartender, Carol took a small sip, then lightly licked her lips, brushing her knees ever so slightly against the young man's thigh.

In these inebriated moments, it was easiest to get swept away by emotions.

Just as Carol was about to say something, the young man spoke first.

"Since you've had this drink, I have some questions I'd like to ask you," he put down his glass, "Lady, this is your third day hiding in the corner and secretly watching me."

"If possible, please give me a reasonable explanation."

Was she found out?

Carol, who was a bit carried away before, now sounded the alarm bell in her heart.

But at this point, she couldn't possibly give herself away because of a simple inquiry.

So, Carol tilted her head, letting her chestnut hair cascade down, half-joking and half-serious, "Because... you're good-looking?"

This was the truth.

Frankly, the young man in front of her was the kind of person who made a good impression at first glance.

Handsome, with dignified mannerisms, bright blue eyes, with one tear-shaped mole at the corner of his eye that only added to his delicately effeminate charm, rather than ruining his face's beauty.

The only flaw was the dark circles under his eyes, he probably spent too much time with women and was physically weak.

But that just played into her hands.

After hearing Carol's explanation, the young man gave a "Hah, women" look and averted his gaze.

Brat... Carol twitched the corner of her mouth as she understood his look.

However, she immediately put on a pitiful look, "You don't think I'm out here selling myself, do you?"

That I-see-pity look was enough to soften even the most stoic man.

But the young man before her... was clearly not just anybody.

"Is that not the case?"

Hearing this, Carol looked a bit upset.

In truth, only she knew that after so many years of struggling in the slums of this frontier city, not a single man had had the privilege of climbing into her bed.

But before she could say anything, the young man spoke again.

"In fact, we're all out here to sell something," he said nonchalantly, "it's just that everyone is selling something different."

This extinguished the anger that had just flared up in Carol's heart.

Moreover, after thinking about it carefully, she even found it to be quite philosophical.

This guy...

Feeling as though she had been teased by him, Carol felt a bit embarrassed, so she straightened her skirt, her cheeks flushing, and she lowered her voice, "Since it's come to this, don't you want to take me home?"

The black-haired young man eyed her warily, "Human trafficking is illegal."

Carol's insides churned with frustration.

Was this kid playing dumb or really dumb?

Considering her plans for the evening, she gritted her silver teeth and stopped beating around the bush, "I mean, buy me, I'm yours for the night."

To her surprise, he instinctively covered his pocket, "I have no money."

"It won't be very expensive."

"Lady, I'm not the kind of scum who takes someone home after just meeting them. Please do not insult my character," he responded.

"Free..."

"But then again..."

...

Indeed, all men are the same.

After entering the guest room on the second floor of the tavern, Carol superficially surveyed the room's simple furnishings and layout, while in her heart, she definitively concluded.

Every time she thought of the other party's pathetically ridiculous excuse, her heart filled with contempt.

So Carol said with a forced smile, "Wasn't I supposed to see a cat do a backflip?"

She had expected him to smile awkwardly before revealing his lewd and ugly face.

Yet, to her surprise, the dark-haired young man pointed towards a black lump lying on the bedhead, "There it is."

Following the direction of his finger, Carol was taken aback.

She saw a small black cat yawning as it got up from the bedhead, elegantly stretching itself, and then looked over with emerald eyes.

The young man snapped his fingers, "Little Black, show this 'auntie' a trick."

Auntie... Carol's face darkened, just as she was about to say something, but the black cat seemed to respond by meowing.

Then, before her eyes, she watched the little cat perform a backflip in a manner that defied logic.

Carol was stunned.

No way, you can actually do it???

She had thought that the "my cat can do a backflip" line was just a lame excuse lecherous men used to deceive women into spending the night at their place.

She never imagined it would actually happen before her eyes.

Has the world gone mad?

Carol's temples throbbed as she felt that everything happening tonight was utterly unpredictable.

No, this won't do.

She couldn't keep arguing with this kid, or she feared her blood pressure would go through the roof.

So, without further hesitation, Carol seized the opportunity while the young man was distracted and stepped forward to push him over.

Watching the dark-haired young man lying on the bed, Carol saw a look of shock on his face for the first time tonight.

The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, very satisfied with his reaction.

Then, as if she had lost her footing, Carol "Ouch" and fell into the young man's arms.

The situation took a dramatic turn.

Little fellow, you're not getting away from me that easy.

Carol was quite confident in her own attractiveness.

She looked down, and at that moment, the two were so close they could feel each other's breath.

Looking into his eyes, as blue and deep as the sea, Carol, who intended to tease him, found herself at a loss for words.

Not only that, her heartbeat slightly quickened.

Up close, he looked even more handsome... No, that's not the point!

Finally snapping back to reality, she heard the young man speak in a somewhat troubled tone, "This, this isn't very appropriate, is it?"

"What's not appropriate?"

"I haven't taken a bath."

"That's okay, I don't mind you."

The young man shook his head, "I meant you haven't taken a bath."

Carol: "..."

She clenched her silver teeth and took a deep breath to ease the throbbing in her temples.

Don't take him seriously.

If you take him seriously, you lose.

So the next second, Carol executed a perfect zero-delay start, letting out a theatrically high-pitched scream.

"Ah!!!"

"Bang—"

Almost simultaneously, the wooden door to the room was burst open.

A burly man charged in, clutching a revolver in his hand.

He first helped the "quaking" Carol to one side, then turned his gaze to the dark-haired young man on the bed.

Yet, his look clearly harbored a tinge of guilt.

Obviously, this must be his first time pulling such a stunt.

But the burly man still tried his best to look fierce as he pressed onto the youth on the bed, pointing the gun at him.

"Don't move!"

Seeing this, Carol wiped away fake tears, "I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't expect things to turn out like this..."

Most people in these situations first react with panic, and then, they try to calm things down.

Especially the high-status nobility, who value their reputations greatly.

Who knew that the young man showed not a hint of panic, only looking the burly man up and down, "Are you her husband?"

"Of course!" the burly man feigned calmness, "You slept with my... my wife, give me one reason not to shoot you dead!"

Hearing this, not only did the young man not argue back, but he also sighed with a pained expression.

"I can't think of one."

The burly man was taken aback, "What?"

"I can't think of any reason for you not to shoot," he said earnestly, "If you really are her husband, then honestly, I think you should shoot me dead."

This response struck the burly man speechless.

He turned his head doubtfully toward Carol, looking for help.

Idiot... Carol cursed inwardly, still maintaining a pitiful demeanor, she continued sobbing intermittently, "This, this is my husband Andre, he's killed people before... You must not defy him, he will shoot."

"Yes, I will shoot!"

The burly man came to his senses, clutched the revolver tighter, and swallowed hard.

"Then you've really done me a huge favor." With that, the young man seemed overjoyed, "Come on, I've been longing for death!"

The next second, the young man reached out, took hold of the gun barrel, and pressed the muzzle against his forehead.