Chapter 019: Contracting

Du Fan nodded indifferently and asked, “What kind of goods are there in the square?”
Old Mark smiled slightly and replied, “The advantage of the goods in this square is that although they are all slaves, they are not ordinary slaves.”
“Oh?”
“For example, some wealthy merchants or nobles who need money urgently can sell their household maids and servants. These people have received the most systematic training and possess absolute loyalty, which is why many people favor such slaves… In fact, in the eyes of many, only the slaves sold in the square are true slaves, while those outside are at most nothing more than laborers like animals!”
Du Fan raised his eyebrows and said, “Is that all?”
“Of course not, my young master,” Old Mark said mysteriously. “Besides those, there are also so-called ‘official slaves’… As you must know, after the coup, the nobles who sided with the Crown Prince will surely face a terrible fate once he falls. Although Prince Fischer may not go on a killing spree, most of those nobles will spend the rest of their lives in prison… As for their families, children, and servants, most of them will be turned into slaves. Such people are the most popular… You must know that the servants from these wealthy families are by no means comparable to ordinary slaves, and as for the young masters and ladies from these families…”
At this point, Old Mark fell silent.
But Du Fan already understood completely… Among these so-called “official slaves,” the most popular ones were probably the young ladies from noble families… After all, most people have this mindset—subjugating those arrogant noble ladies and torturing them slowly must be an incredible pleasure!
As for the young masters from noble families, although no woman would openly buy them, keeping a few male lovers wasn’t considered a big deal in the imperial nobility circles. There were also nouveau riche who preferred handsome young boys and had even more interest in these young masters from noble families…
Thinking of this, Du Fan couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. If he sided with the wrong side during this coup, he would rather fight his way out than surrender at the last moment.
But these so-called “official slaves”…
Du Fan frowned and said, “Has the empire itself gotten involved in the slave trade?”

Old Mark shook his head and said, “Of course not…”
“Then these…”
“Young master,” Old Mark replied calmly, “although the empire doesn’t interfere in slave trades, it surely won’t keep these people turned into slaves for its own use, right? So, these so-called ‘official slaves’ are always ‘contracted out’ to large slave traders. Such contracts not only require a large upfront payment but also demand a hefty amount of gold coins every time a new batch of ‘official slaves’ is sold. Yet even so, these contracts, which are renewed every three years, are still highly sought after.”
Du Fan nodded and said, “This ‘contracting’ business? It sounds pretty good… The empire must make quite a lot of money from this so-called ‘contracting’…”
Old Mark smiled and said, “It’s good that you understand. Even those large slave traders know this principle. Although the cost to obtain this status is high, having it means receiving the empire’s protection—which is the most important factor for many merchants. After all, with the empire’s support, the benefits are numerous… Moreover, even in such a seemingly loss-making business, there are often profits, like with those famous ladies in the Elven Residence in the capital. Most of them came from noble families but fell on hard times and had to become slaves… Later, they were bought at high prices by the people of the Elven Residence…”
At this point, Old Mark merely glanced at Du Fan before falling silent.
Seeing Old Mark’s half-smiling expression, Du Fan’s heart pounded. It seemed Old Mark already knew about his trip to the Elven Residence with Prince Fischer and likely also knew about Miss Eileen agreeing to meet him… Otherwise, he wouldn’t be looking at him like that…
And since Old Mark knew this, it must mean that in the noble circles of the capital…
Thinking about how his good reputation suddenly became tainted with a scandalous label for no reason, Du Fan couldn’t help but burst into tears…
Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Old Mark didn’t say much more and simply continued, “Of course, aside from these so-called ‘official slaves,’ there are even more exquisite items… For example, three years ago, someone suddenly brought an elf to sell—the situation was truly astonishing… I’m sure you understand how deadly attractive an elf is to ordinary people.”

“Elves?” Du Fan touched his nose. “Is it really possible to catch such legendary creatures?”
Old Mark nodded and said, “Young master, elves are not just legends. In the jungles of the south, there truly exist elf tribes… It’s just that ordinary people can’t find them. And those who do manage to locate these elf tribes usually don’t end up well… So, if my guess is right, the elves that occasionally appear in slave markets are probably lone elves captured by some adventurer group deep in the mountains… This shows just how precious these elf slaves are.”
Du Fan became interested. “Then who does that elf from three years ago belong to now?”
Old Mark replied calmly, “The one from three years ago? She’s dead… As you must know, elves are extremely proud creatures. So after that elf was taken back by the buyer, she was forced to… well, that very night, she committed suicide.”
Du Fan frowned, suddenly feeling a strange sense. But given his personality, he wouldn’t attribute this feeling to his own compassion for now.
As they talked, Du Fan followed Old Mark deeper into the square at the end of the street. For some reason, the platforms filled with slaves became fewer as they went further in. Apparently, the sellers knew that those who went to the deeper parts of the square weren’t interested in lower-quality slaves, so they didn’t waste time there.
On both sides of the road, there were many people with cold expressions. Among them were old and young, men and women, but most of them had a cloth strip wrapped around their arms—some white, some black.
These people wore tattered clothes and looked unwell. They would glance at passersby but say little.
Du Fan wasn’t sure what these people were doing. After observing them carefully, when he saw a five- or six-year-old girl standing among the crowd with a white cloth around her arm, he couldn’t help but glance at Old Mark.

Seeing Du Fan’s gaze, Old Mark immediately understood what he meant. He glanced around before lowering his voice and saying, “Young master, these people are not slaves but commoners of the empire… though most of them are those who can hardly survive… Look at those with white cloths over their hands—they indicate that they volunteered to become slaves… Once bought, most of these slaves accept their fate, which is why many people still buy them. As for those with black cloths over their hands, most of them have some skills—either as stablehands or cooks, or even low-ranking warriors… These people tend to be somewhat arrogant and unwilling to become slaves. The black cloth simply means they are willing to serve their masters, but definitely not as slaves…”

“Warriors?” Du Fan couldn’t help but stop in his tracks. “With the number of warriors in Roland Continent, how could they end up in such a situation?”

Old Mark replied calmly, “Young master, although becoming a warrior requires talent, a warrior still needs to eat… Warriors at level three or above who have developed combat energy are fine—they can mostly work as enforcers for nobles or find a place in the army… But those at levels one or two are different. They may have some talent, but not much. They have some skills, which are better than ordinary people—they can fight a few opponents, but against a well-trained soldier, they’re no match… So, they can only end up like this, waiting to see if some noble young master will go crazy enough to hire them for show, or if some merchant guild will buy them for labor… That’s basically their entire lives…”

Listening to Old Mark’s words, Du Fan’s gaze fell on several warriors dressed in tattered warrior robes. They mostly stood at a distance from the crowd, with an air of arrogance on their faces, holding somewhat rusty swords, their expressions solemn.