Episode 1: A Villainess’ Wish (7)

A two day solace provided by Oben Academy which gave students freedom to do anything they wished—the weekends

The school gates were open to anyone who wished to leave campus and explore the town. Students had plenty of options for spending their rest days, with the consideration that one should avoid anything that might get them expelled.

Lowe headed out the city for a stroll. With each step she took, the hem of her soft sunflower dress fluttered.

Accompanying her was Tiffany, her roommate who also wore a similarly humble light blue dress. 

They stood before a pawnshop.

“A pawnshop? What are you going to do here?” Tiffany asked.

“Can you wait for me outside Tiffany? This won't take long,” Lowe excused, appearing conflicted. 

“Are you going to exchange something?” Tiffany blinked, Lowe nodded. “Oh…”

Lowe was going to pawn something important to her for funds—that was the hypothesis Tiffany came to. Not wanting to provoke her further, Tiffany stopped asking questions. 

The pain of sacrificing something dear to the heart just to survive another day was a reality every commoner knew all too well. Of course, unbeknownst to Tiffany was that the item Lowe wanted to pawn wasn’t a personal possession, but the diamond brooch Her Grace Astraea gave her.

The idea came to her very quickly that this ‘gift’ from the ice princess could be turned into a few hundred gold coins at least. That would be more than enough to sustain her comfortably for the rest of her three year stay. 

However, it weighed upon her conscience to part with something so invariably precious. 

It was a gift from the princess herself—was this really the correct thing to do? Sell off her good will for personal gains? 

When Lowe came to, the diamond brooch was in the hands of the appraiser. Her breath hitched.

No… this isn’t right.

“This is incredible. I have no interest in how you came to acquire this, however, allow me to offer a high price for this gem.” The appraiser looked at Lowe with his monocles dangling. “375 gold coins.”

“A-Ah no. I think I’ve changed my mind… can you give it back?” Lowe bit the inside of her cheeks.

She reconsidered. There was no reason for a noble to give a commoner something so precious unless… said noble had intentions to make her a follower. 

It was the most reasonable explanation Lowe could come up with.

Then… did that mean Her Grace took an interest in her? Was that a good thing or bad thing that she did? And if it really was the case, then wouldn’t selling the brooch be a big, big mistake?!

Even if the brooch’s value was spare change in Her Grace’s eye, that did not mean Lowe had the permission to throw away something given by her! 

“A pity.” The appraiser snickered, sliding the diamond brooch back to Lowe. She grabbed it and held it tight against her bosom.

This gift Her Grace had given her was something irreplaceable. It was something that unlike money, she could never get back once lost.

“Thank you.” Lowe stowed the brooch back into her bag and ran out of the pawnshop.

The appraiser stretched his neck out the counter. He spoke to the ‘guard’ standing near the door of the pawnshop. “Hey, you saw that right?”

The thug cracked his knuckles and neck with a popping sound. A wide grin formed on his face. “Got it boss.” 

The thug planned to follow when a man who just walked in the shop grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall.

The thug spat out saliva and gagged. He struggled to free himself from the man’s steel-like grip.

His strong presence quickly dominated the room, an air of slaughter permeated the space. 

Drew Raven turned to the broker, his lips curled knowingly into a twisted smile.

“Looks like someone is in the mood to die.” The neck of the man he held snapped with a crisp sound.