122 Deal With the Devil (1/2)

Li did not move, nor did he change his expression much, looking at the two as if he had said nothing out of the ordinary. He did not want to pressure them into fear or anger or any other possible reaction. He wanted them to naturally react to his words so that he could gauge exactly how complicit they were with this as well.

It may be that they did not know at all about the slaves, that perhaps Chevrette just snuck them there, but Li seriously doubted that.

”I knew it!” Ada's husband stood up, his knees wobbling. He pointed an accusing finger at Li. ”I thought your strength far too unnatural. You are with the duchess, are you not? An undercover hero come to bring reckoning upon our sins.”

Ada became panicked as her husband's frantic energy infected her, and she looked between her husband and Li, not knowing what to do or what to say. He could tell that she too had known about the slaves from her panic and the fact that she had been rather nervously fidgety the whole time they had been talking.

”That's…pretty far off from the truth.” Li shrugged. ”But I guess that proves you did know about the slave trade. My moral compass doesn't point at slavery as something commendable, and I know I'm not alone here – it's been banned by the laws for a reason.”

Li pointed a finger down to the wooden floor and stared at Ada's husband. The man was starting to inch backwards, mostly out of sudden fear, but Li did not want to spend the effort to catch him if he was making some kind of foolhardy escape.

”Sit,” said Li as his eyes widened ever so slightly, his other hand balling into a fist. ”I'm not done talking.”

Ada's husband spied Li's fist and gulped, deciding to sit down again, though a fair bit farther away than before.

”Closer. Back where you were,” said Li.

The husband scooched forwards with shaky arms, and Li nodded with satisfaction.

”Good. Now you two will tell me everything you know about your business with Chevrette. Don't skimp on details, either.”

Ada spoke, her voice strangely weary and tired where Li had expected it to be panicked.

”When I married me husband, we tried at first to tend papa's land.” Ada shook her head. ”But the land lacked life, not to mention we lacked papa's skills, and by that time, papa himself was of no use anymore. We tried sellin' the land to try and buy a spot in the city, but none would take it.

Sir Chevrette, though, saw our plight and told us he saw mighty fine entrepreneurs within us, solicited us with sly words from that silver tongue of his, and promised us a handsome loan to buy out a property and turn it into our own business. He even picked the property out himself, tellin' us not to worry bout' all them complicated real estate matters. Even let us keep ownership o' the farm, made sure to warn us never to sell it, that it was terrible that we'd have to sell off a family heirloom.”

”I'm assuming some strings were attached to this deal?” said Li.

”Aye, mighty many. A mighty many we wished we'd known fore' we got into this whole mess, but alas, the poor like us ain't got much luxury to be thinkin' hard when money's shoved in our faces.

Oh, sir Chevrette was so very nice, provin' all the rumors about him right. So many tales of him givin' generous loans to the strugglin' in Lower and Middletown to prop them up, to the point that there ain't anyone mongst' use poor that ain't heard o' him.

For years, I suppose we did live well and honest, startin' on a bakery – my husband's trade fore' his own father's place shut down. We were happy, aye, happy as could be, with my beautiful daughter on the way.

It was then that Chevrette brought over the first few slaves.”

Ada's hands started fidgeting uncontrollably again, and her husband drew her hands into his, calming them.

”That night marked the start o�� our own hell, though I am certain Helius will condemn our souls regardless,” she said. ”There he was, sir Chevrette the golden, the same happy smile and understanding ol' look on his face. Cept' this time, he had em' slaves next to him. Told us there was a special space here that ought to hold em', that he'd be back for em' soon, to not worry bout's us bein' caught, that this only an one time thing, that he'd never make us lift a single finger, to please understand him.”

”I see,” Li said. ”And I'm assuming this didn't end up being the last time. That he kept pressuring you two.”

”Aye. Was just what he said to make us stomach it the first time around. Make us complicit in his scheme. But not like we could've refused him the first time round', considerin' we were still payin' out his loans. He had our entire life, the entire foundation we built for our little baby girl, in his fingertips.

I've no illusions about what we've done, letting him sift his slaves through our little bakery. I know those poor girls and boys, no matter them bein' beastmen or not, will suffer their whole lives.”