"What are we going to do now, brother?"
Muran's question woke Ox up from his daze. Although the desert was not hot anymore since it was nighttime, the intense cold was nothing pleasant.
He looked at Muran and sighed before answering reluctantly.
"The search party was supposed to come after us. But I won't lie to you, brother. I don't think we should rely on them heavily."
Squinting his eyes a bit, Muran carefully inquired, "Who is the leader of this search party?"
Ox's face fell as soon as he registered that question. He grimly nodded while pointing at the sand beneath them.
Due to the moonlight, the white sand looked silverish. It glowed faintly, emitting a holy light.
"Ah. The Silver Sand tropes?" Although he asked, Muran did not need any confirmation. He held his temples and let out a choked groan.
In Exezia, there were three main tropes. The White Sand tropes, the Red Sand tropes, and the Silver Sand tropes.
The three tropes were not in an outrageous dispute, however, their rivalry against each other was at its peak. Each of them had various resources and connections to different investments too.
The Silver Sand tropes were usually at the top. They served a very important post in the palace and thus had a very good grasp of the internal and external affairs of the kingdom.
Their own military power was the biggest in the palace as well. That was surely the reason behind them being the search party that was sent in this situation.
Meanwhile, Muran and Ox were under the Red Sand tropes. The animosity was not that much between the two tropes, but their rivalry would make it difficult for them.
"We can't allow them to know about that," Ox's gaze fell on the white-robed princess as he whispered.
Muran agreed with him. Even if anyone knew about Isadora's real identity, it should not be known by the Silver Sand Tropes.
"They will definitely try to take hold of her. That's why we should never trust them much, brother."
The two traders were in agreement regarding that.
Isadora's memories helped her to connect some of the dots and reach a conclusion where this search party seemed to be pretty dangerous.
However, the danger was not just on her, but on the traders as well.
She rubbed her chin a bit, humming thoughtfully.
'I need to escape them somehow. But escaping this place on my own is a risky move.'
Given how the sun was like a deadly poison against her skin, Isadora was unwilling to scramble under the sun alone.
What she needed was a companion, a guardian that would help her to escape and fend off against the wild beasts and the dangers of the desert.
But looking at these slaves and the two traders, Isadora gave up on finding someone in this group.
'Dead eyes, lost hope, and two greedy beasts chasing after their benefits. I cannot choose anyone from these.'
Having no other choice, Isadora resigned to her fate temporarily.
'Perhaps after meeting the search party, I can try and pull some of them to my side.'
As for the time being, Isadora decided to not fight or do anything. She ducked her head down and took the posture of a meek slave.
Until the right moment came, Isadora was planning to not let the two traders take notice of her.
That night passed quietly while Isadora was resting to gather what little of her strength left for her. She drifted into the dreamland while listening to Ox and Muran's soft murmurs about her fate.
Once the morning sun rose to the sky, however, the slight comfort Isadora felt dissipated into thin air.
'Hot!'
She screamed internally once the light touched her skin, attempting to wrap herself in her white robe.
Her skin was emitting a hot steam due to being in direct contact with the sunlight just earlier, which made Isadora frown.
'Something about this situation seems familiar. But I am unable to pinpoint it yet.'
Despite the pain, her head was clear. Isadora's mind was not clouded even for one second as she fought the pain of her skin burning slowly.
'Sun is bad... I am sure I heard this somewhere in my world. This is not a curse like how some people may think, I believe it is a different bloodline running through my veins.'
The slaves around her noticed her wobbling and two female slaves came to aid her. She nodded to them and gave them a soft smile before realizing something.
"...!"
Her eyes widened once she noticed the difference between her and everyone else. Their appearance.
The fair skin she had was as if she did not live in the desert with them. The scorching sun did not touch Princess Isadora's skin, that was the only explanation.
But then, a question came to her.
'Why?'
Even if she was protected due to her condition, that did not explain her fair skin. Given that she had at least ten years before her condition was triggered, Princess Isadora should not be that fair.
'Then, this means that the princess was caged even before that. There must be a reason for this.'
Why would the Pharaoh hide his precious, gorgeous gem? It was not like he could not protect her. Thus, there must be a reason behind her being hidden far away from the sun.
It was as the Pharaoh knew something.
Just as she felt she was about to grasp something, a shout from behind her made her jump.
"We are going to move! Enough rest!" The command was accompanied by the loud sound of a whip lashing against the older slave's back.
Ox commands were colder, more unfeeling and void of any sympathy. It was a slight shock for Isadora who had noticed how this trader felt more alive in comparison to Muran.
His feelings and expressions all gave her the hint that this guy could be used by her. And would even be easier to twist rather than Muran.
All her expectations were crushed upon seeing his trader's persona, though.
A person who could switch his attitude like that made her a bit defensive. His black eyes merely scanned her figure before focusing on the other slaves who were lagging behind.
One glance was enough to make Isadora feel something weird about this trader.
'Those eyes... They don't fit with the playful personality he had with his so-called brother since yesterday.'
It was as if a bottomless abyss was hiding deep within those black irises.
'Ugh. I wonder who this man is,' Isadora groaned as she was pushed forward with the other slaves, starting their group's movement again.
As curious as she was about the reason behind them not waiting for the search party anymore, the woman felt like she could always save those questions for another time.