Chapter 23

Charlotte's pov
　　Sandy said to me, "Think of you as a snake ready to attack, and you must avoid the search of your prey. "
　　She demonstrated to me how she looked at that moment, and I learned from her. "Very good!" Sandy nodded, and she didn't mince words in complimenting me.
　　"Your eyes make you full of seductive power, plus your looks. I'm sure no man can resist you."
　　This was my first day learning how to seduce men, and I had already achieved a great victory.
　　For the next month, Sandy kept correcting the tone of my speech.
　　"You must be gentle and whisper. It's like you're licking his ear with your voice."
　　Sandy taught me how to make my voice sound like it was full of honey.
　　I learned awkwardly, but I was not born to please men. So this left me a little confused.
　　"Charlotte, do you still want to go to the black market?"
　　After I had learned it at least ten times, Sandy felt a little impatient and annoyed with the results of my study.
　　"You sound like a rusty door bolt!" Sandy chided me as she clenched her fist fiercely.
　　"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sandy." I pretended to bow my head submissively, which eased her tantrum a bit.
　　Sandy had always thought my seduction skills couldn't compare to hers, and were nowhere near her level.
　　I had to reluctantly admit it.
　　After a month or so, the atmosphere between Sandy and me finally eased up a bit.
　　She no longer taught me in a harsh tone. Instead, she began to encourage me with some words and started to tell me some incredible-sounding ideas.
　　"You have to learn to please the man you want to seduce in front of you, Charlotte!"
　　Sandy said to me seriously.
　　"You have to learn to find his weakness and use it well!"
　　Sandy told me languidly as she took a sip of white wine.
　　"Do you think I'm sincere with Thomas?" She asked me.
I nodded in feigned trust, "I suppose so, I think."
　"Who would want to treat a murderer like that if they weren't trying to survive?"
　　Sandy closed her eyes and she blocked her face with her arms. It made it impossible for me to read her expression.
　　Maybe it was because I naturally gave people a feeling that they could be trusted, Sandy had long ceased to look like the serious teacher she once was in front of me.
　　She began to show her vulnerable side to me. She even told me some dangerous opinions.
　　I sat next to her and handed her a napkin .
　　"It's okay, you can tell me everything. I can be there for you and help you."
　　I reassured her gently.
　　"I was an orphan, and I lived in a run-down bar until I was sixteen."
　　Sandy's voice was muffled, like it was coming from a long way away.
　　"When I was seventeen, I was kidnapped by Thomas and brought to this place. They lied to me, they said they would help me find my mother and family. But..."
　　I noticed at this point Sandy her face was left with two lines of tears and she was sobbing and sobbing.
　　I reached out my hand and patted her on the back. I tried it and it worked for the crying.
　　"I'm here, you can talk to me without worrying." I reassured her.
　　"As soon as I show any thought of wanting to get out of here, Thomas will find someone to rape me! He never cared who my rapist was, he just wanted to ruin my life!"
　　Perhaps it was because of some of the alcohol she had consumed today, Sandy's tone began to become shrill.
　　She was whining and crying out in pain.
　　She clutched the dress on her chest and said to me, "All I can do is put in the effort to please Thomas! But he uses me as a tool to teach you to please men!"
　　I felt sad and angry for what happened to Sandy. I stressed that she didn't need to feel guilty.
　　And, I told Sandy that I understood how she felt because I was in the same situation as her.
　　Sandy seemed to be in a very bad state today, and she kept crying beside me. She was crying beside me and cursing Thomas with broken words.
　　I gave Sandy a big hug and told Sandy, "I won't tell Thomas what you said, you can rest assured."
　　Sandy was lying on the table beside me and she said to me in a daze, "I know, that's why I'm telling you this."
　　After that, she fell into a deep sleep like a flower that is destined to fade in autumn.
　　I opened the door and there was a thin guard standing outside. He was smoking a cigarette.
　　I said to him, "Sir, Mrs. Sandy is drunk, and I think she needs a good rest most of all now."
　　The guard put out the cigarette with his foot and said to me impatiently, "Tell her maid to take her back to her quarters! It's none of my business!"
　　"But I don't know where I should find her Lady Sandy's maid!"
　　The guard's attitude made me feel a little angry. But I did not produce a retreat in words.
　　Sandy had told me that I had a certain power over the guards. Because I was Thomas' favorite slave, he had high expectations of me.
　　Although these guards looked down on me, these guards wanted to please me so that they might get an extra share of the money or get some more favors with Thomas.
　　"Get the hell out of here and call Mrs. Sandy's maid of honor! Don't make me remind you twice!"
　　I pretended to scold the guards sternly. These guys are bullies, they are used to pleasing the strong and bullying the weak.
　　His face was full of disbelief, but one of the guards still turned around and ran to Mrs. Sandy's residence in a hurry.
　　After three minutes, he returned with a few attendants.
　I stood by Lady Sandy's side and instructed her attendants to take care of Lady Sandy.
　　"Mrs. Sandy is drunk, and she doesn't look in a good state today."
　　The maidsmen were not too surprised by such Mrs. Sandy, and they skillfully carried Mrs. Sandy back to her room and gently put her on the bed.
　　I was surprised because not many people paid attention to us all the way.
　　You know, in the past, where Mrs. Sandy walked, she would cause men to cheer and whistle.
　　But today Sandy and I were like transparent people, not attracting anyone's attention.
　　A maid of honor quietly explained to me, she said, "Because today is the day she was brought here by Thomas. Every year on this day, Mrs. Sandy drinks like a puddle."
　　This made me suddenly understand why Mrs. Sandy was telling me about her.
　　Perhaps she had been repressed by Thomas for too long and tried to release her stress completely on this day.
　　But looking at her drunken appearance, I began to feel worried for her again.
　　"Won't Thomas reprimand Mrs. Sandy like this?"
　　"No, Thomas and Lord are already used to Mrs. Sandy like this. He will only reprimand Mrs. Sandy verbally, but there will be no punishment."
　　It turned out that everyone had acquiesced to this kind of behavior, and no one would care how sad Mrs. Sandy's heart was today.
　　Everyone thought that Mrs. Sandy had already gotten used to this kind of life.
　　Only I was the only one who discovered that under Mrs. Sandy's usually lazy eyes, there was the pain and helplessness after compromising with reality.
　　Facing violence and force, no one accepts it voluntarily. Even if she has good material conditions at the moment.
　　What happened to Mrs. Sandy made me even more determined to leave this place.
　　It was getting dark and I returned to my room. At this moment I had a part of my freedom.
　　But it was still a completely different life from the one I had longed for.
　　Thomas sent someone to my room and dropped a package for me.
　　The man said to me, "Tomorrow morning at six o'clock, Lord Thomas asks you to change into these clothes and wait for him downstairs in front of the carriage. You are already eligible to go to the black market and be put up for sale."
　　With that, he turned and left.
　　"Hey? Why do you want me to do this? What exactly is in this package?"
　　I hurriedly asked him. But as if he did not hear me, he left me alone.
　　When I opened the package, a tattered white dress appeared in front of me.
　　Was I going to wear this dress to the black market? Come on, it's not summer, and the early morning temperatures can almost freeze a person out.
　　Besides, Blackout Pack is in the north of the continent, where the temperature is even colder than Wind Pack.
　　Well, I reluctantly admit it. This outfit made me look even thinner and more pathetic, which made my heart pity.
　　The next day came quickly and I put on this dress and casually fixed my hair.
　　I walked up to the carriage as promised, and Thomas and his guards had a look of surprise on their faces when they saw me.
　　Thomas coughed twice and looked at me with a smug expression.
　　Thomas said to the beater beside him, "See, she will be liked by the buyers, I swear."
　　I was blindfolded and thrown into the trunk of the wagon with my hands and feet tied.
　　The carriage was so bumpy that I couldn't tell where we were going to drive. I couldn't tell the direction either.
　　I became anxious as to how I would find this place if I could be free. What could I do to save Mrs. Sandy and Coco?
　　I silently counted the time, and after about an hour, the carriage stopped moving.
　　"Come down." It was Thomas' voice, and he sounded in a good mood.
　　"Is this the black market?" I asked, surveying my surroundings.
　　"From now on, I need you to shut up. Or else you're going to get my whip!"
　　No sooner had I reacted than a sharp pain came from my arm!
　　I reflexively shrank up, and I noticed that my arm had a red scar from Thomas' whip.
　　The smile on Thomas's face became cruel and terrible as he pulled me by the hair and dragged me to the curb.