Shoara city.
Shoara is one of the three cities owned by the family of Count Bayezid and always bustling with people.
It was not only the central hub of northern logistics where two rivers converged, but also a city that thrived by the power of the Bayezid family, a prestigious family in the north
Therefore, people often referred to the Shoara city as the "lighthouse of the north" because it shone as brightly at night as it did during the day.
However, there were always shadows under the lamp.
There was one area in the city where everything was concealed under the radiant city lights, and everyone knew it but turned a blind eye.
That place was the slum area, where all the dirty and filthy things of Shoara were gathered.
"The candle of the second floor cost 20 silver, and the third floor cost 30 silver."
"....Is there a discount if I buy a lot at once?"
"20 silver, 30 silver."
"Hey Vlad, remember how many loaves of bread I gave you when you used to beg on the streets? Can you give me a little extra!"
A middle-aged man with half of his head shaved shouted in a tongue-twisting accent, but the blond boy paid him no mind.
"If you don't have money, go home and rub your wife's ass."
"Ah~! Look at this little punk. Is it because you don't have parents to teach you? Don't…."
The air was damp with desire and lust.
The continuous music and people's shouts filled the extravagantly decorated four-story building, but...
".....eyes, what's with your fucking eyes!"
The middle-aged man, who was now quite drunk, could no longer hear any sounds.
The only thing all his senses could see was the blue eyes of the blonde boy sitting in front of him.
He had eyes that carried a strange heavy weight that did not look like that of a boy who had just turned 16.
".....Maybe because you don't know who your father is, and your mother died a long time ago, you turned out like this."
Vlad lowered his head and tapped the table with his fingers.
"Your children also hope that their father lives a long and healthy life, so they don't end up like me."
"Give me 3 candles for the second floor!"
The middle-aged man regained his composure after avoiding Vlad's gaze. He quickly grabbed the candles and dropped the silver coin as if tossing it away.
"Customer-nim, this is a 100-silver coin, you know?"
"Just take it, you bastard!"
"Have a good night, customer-nim!"
"You blue-eyed bastard!"
Earlier, Vlad had been looking at him like he was going to eat him, but with the unexpected tip, Vlad didn't hesitate to bow deeply.
"....Tastes good."
Vlad said as he looked at the 100-silver coin in his hand.
Although Shoara was a developed city with numerous brothels, there were few places as renowned as the "Rose's Smiles."
This place was famous not only for the exceptional beauty of its owner and madam, Marcella, but also for the quality of its drinks, women, and occasional services.
Therefore, even someone like Vlad, who simply sat here and sold candles, had no difficulty collecting a penny or two in the name of tips.
Of course, the process could be quite rough.
"Aaaaargh!"
"You damn bitch! Just sell your body quietly, why are you scamming people!"
In the corridor on the second floor, one of the prostitutes was being dragged out by her hair and beaten by a customer.
"How did I scam you?"
"I've been a mercenary for 20 years! You're selling useless drugs!"
The brown-haired prostitute had her arms stretched forward as if she was more afraid of the man's fists swinging in front of her than the shame of her exposed breasts.
"There's never a quiet day."
Vlad sighed and picked up the candles in front of him, then headed upstairs to the second floor.
"Customer-nim, what's going on?"
"Vlad! Please save me!"
"Why's this damn little kid here? Call your Madam over here, you bastard!"
Vlad quietly placed the tray he was holding in the corridor and sighed.
"If you want to meet our Madam, you'll need gold coins, not silver coins."
"What kind of gold coins are you talking about when you are running such a shitty business! You bastard! Bring your mother if madam is not here!"
Several people who were drinking in the first floor lobby began to watch with interest as the commotion that had started in the second-floor corridor spread throughout the building.
Prostitutes were engaged in debauchery while being on their knees.
Everyone was holding beer in their left hand and cigarettes in their right, as if eager to watch the most entertaining fight in the world.
"...Tell me your problem."
Vlad asked the man who claimed to have been a mercenary for twenty years while covering his eyes with his palms.
"This candle!"
The man, frustrated with Vlad's questioning, threw the candle and yelled, "Isn't this a 7-minute candle? Why the hell is it burning all the way down just after I take my pants off!"
Vlad watched the slowly rolling candle with indifferent expression.
The rose candle is used as a timekeeping tool.
It took seven minutes to burn completely. The candle served as a standard for measuring time between customers and prostitutes, as well as the means of transaction.
"Alright then."
Vlad rummaged through the box he had put down and picked up one of the candles used on the second floor.
"Do you see that clock over there? I will light this candle and let's see if it lasts for exactly seven minutes."
There was no clock to tell the passage of time in the lobby of the first floor, where people had to have fun, but there were clocks on the second and third floors where people were sensitive to time.
"Why should I listen to you swindlers?"
The man, who had claimed to be a mercenary, crossed his arms and refused Vlad's proposal, but...
"Let's do it."
"...?"
The man could not help but nod his head as he looked at the blue eyes of Vlad.
Those eyes that could dominate anyone with just a glance.
Jorge, the boss of the organization, had once commented on Vlad's eyes that he could be the boss of any alley just by looking at people.
"If it doesn't last for 7 minutes, you can decide whether to spare the girl or not."
Vlad muttered as he struck a match against the sole of his shoe.
"But if this candle lasts for 7-minutes, then I will beat a shit out of you."
"...What?"
Before the mercenary could react, Vlad lit the candle right in the middle of the corridor, then put it down.
"Vlad..."
Only the pitiful prostitute, who seemed anxious, was looking at Vlad instead of the candle.
1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes passed.
As time went on and the attention of everyone gathered in the corridor began to focus...
"Huh?"
The eyes of the mercenary widened in surprise but he was still holding onto the prostitute's hair.
"It's been 7 minutes, you bastard!"
Vlad swung the club he had slung around his waist with lightning speed.
Bah!
Red blood splashed from the mercenary's head because of a fierce blow.
"Aaargh!"
The mercenary loosened his grip on the hairs of the prostitute because of Vlad's sudden attack and she managed to escape.
"You're done for today!"
Vlad grabbed the mercenary who was still unconscious by the collar and dragged him into the room they had just left.
Click!
"You tried to deceive us first! A 20-year veteran mercenary like you has grown this much of a belly, how?"
Crack! Crack!
"Kwaaargh!"
"And why are so many people looking for my mother today of all days? Do you think I would live in sorrow under the sky without parents?"
The door locked.
Everyone heard the sound of blows and a man's screams from the room.
Vlad, with all the anger he had suppressed earlier, focused on beating the man in front of him.
"Ah... stop!"
"Shut your mouth, you bastard!"
The spectators, who had been hoping for a fight, turned their attention back to the prostitutes when they couldn't see what they had expected.
Bah!
The sound of the club and the man's screams.
The music from the band grew even louder when a black-haired woman on the fourth floor gestured downwards.
Some people shouted, others seethed with anger, but all of it was drowned out by the loud music.
This is Shoara.
This is Rose's Smiles.
It was just a place where passing lives gathered and stagnated for a moment.
***
After a noisy night, the quiet morning sunlight settled over the Rose's Inn.
The morning atmosphere, decorated with elegant ornaments, gave the feeling of a noble's villa.
Each luxurious decoration contains the tears and sweat of the black-haired woman, but few would recognize it.
"Vlad."
"Oh, Anna."
There was a woman calling Vlad, who had brought the last remaining customer and placed him politely on the alley floor.
"The area around the eyes has turned blue. You should take a few days off."
"That's true. But nothing's broken, so it's fine."
She was the brown-haired prostitute who had suffered from the mercenary's violence the previous night.
"Thanks."
The woman with swollen and bruised eyes smiled faintly and handed something to Vlad.
Vlad watched with a blank expression as he waited for her to offer whatever it was.
"I'll eat it well."
It was an egg.
"Eat it here now. It's a boiled egg."
"Hmm..."
Vlad observed Anna, who was smiling at him with a meaningful look.
"Alright."
Vlad cracked the bottom of the egg using his fingers and started eating the yolk.
Anna watched with satisfaction as Vlad's Adam's apple moved while he swallowed.
"Men these days have become rough. At times like this, I need a man I can trust for sure..."
"I've eaten well."
Anna looked at the eggshell on her palm with a bitter smile.
"..... Let me know whenever you change your mind. I won't charge you more than that little red-head brat."
"Maybe I will."
With those words, Vlad changed his direction and started walking away.
"Oh, by the way, Anna!"
"Yes? What is it?"
Anna looked at Vlad with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but...
"Aren't you opening your front door too much? It's still winter, and you should take care of your health."
"...This is also a sign of gratitude."
After Vlad pointed it out, Anna covered her breasts.
Vlad had disappeared down the end of the corridor when she looked up again.
"The only thing that I can sell is my body, but that won't bring in much..."
In the middle of an empty corridor, a woman with nowhere to turn sighed and smiled sadly.
***
"Jorge, I think someone messed up with the candles."
The first floor was the lobby where they sold drinks and food.
The second and third floors were for customers and prostitutes.
The fourth floor was the living quarters for prostitutes and employees.
Vlad reported to a man in the dining area on the fourth floor, where he was having breakfast.
"It wasn't seven minutes."
"Is that so?"
Jorge, a man with a massive build, didn't seem to care much about Vlad's report.
"It wasn't seven minutes."
"Yeah. That's right. That's what you said."
Fried sausages, black pudding, hash browns, and white bread.
Jorge's breakfast was always the same, and he himself was a man who didn't change.
"Do you understand what I'm saying? Someone put candles in our meal."
"No, who dared to do that!"
The black-haired woman who was preparing breakfast in front of Jorge interrupted with a mischievous smile.
"We have to find out who did it."
"Of course, we have to find out!"
"Should I look for it?"
"You look for it!"
"What should I look for?"
"To be honest, I've already found it."
"Who is it, Marcella?"
Marcella, the owner of Rose's smiles.
She possessed exceptional beauty that is ranked among the top five in Shoara.
And despite being in her mid-30s, she still maintained her beauty. She was a woman who had the appearance of a voluptuous lady and the smile of an innocent girl.
"It's me. I messed up with the candles. I wanted to suck some honey easily from drunk people."
Trashy words came out naturally from the plump red lips that any man would lust for.
"Ha..."
Vlad lowered his head as if he couldn't believe it.
"I just screwed over that stupid guy….."
The owner said that, but what can the employee say?
".... If I had put the candle on the railing instead of the corridor floor, it would have caused a commotion."
Vlad deliberately placed it on the floor just in case.
If he had not done that, all the onlookers on the first floor would have realized that the candle did not last for seven minutes.
Having heard Madam's explanation, Vlad weakly rose from his seat.
"Where are you going? Eat and then leave."
"I'll be back in a moment."
"Why?"
"...I'll go and give a blanket to the guy I just threw out."
"You are so kind!"
Vlad walked down the stairs with hesitant steps. Even though he felt no remorse for bashing an innocent man's head, it was one of Vlad's beliefs that he should still do the bare minimum as a human being.
It was the law of the back alley that one gets swept away quickly by dark waves if one's beliefs were not firm.
"Hey! my proud junior!"
Someone shouted and grabbed Vlad as he came down to the first floor.
"Don't touch me. I'm tired today."
"I heard you did something yesterday, right? As expected of my proud junior!"
He was a man named Burleigh who belonged to the Jorge family.
"You got some tips while selling candles yesterday, right? We need some money right now."
Vlad's gaze finally fell on the members of the Jorge family.
"Screw off."
"No, don't say that, just listen to me. We're not scumbags who forcibly take money from our juniors."
Burleigh approached Vlad and put his arm around Vlad's shoulder.
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
"It's about giving and receiving. If you give us money, we'll give you something in return. That's what I mean."
"What is that?"
Burleigh narrowed his eyes as if his words were finally getting through.
"Come with me."
When Burleigh gestured with his chin, other members of the Jorge family made way for them.
"It's in the basement."
Following Burleigh's lead, Vlad walked with him into the basement of Rosa's smiles.
This place was essential for operating Rosa's smiles, as it stored alcohol and food supplies, and was managed by Burleigh, who was highly regarded by the Jorge family.
In other words, this place was Burleigh's territory.
"What the hell..."
"How is it? A familiar face, isn't it?"
Vlad was still the youngest in the Jorge family and needed Burleigh's permission to take something from this place.
"How about this? I'll give it to you for just 40 silver. It's really cheap. Where else can you find such a generous senior?"
There was something wriggling behind Burleigh, who was smiling mischievously.
It was a child who had dark skin. He looked at Vlad with a pitiful expression and blood dripping from his forehead.