I Became A Black Merchant In Another World

Christina Modina was finally able to rest peacefully.

“It’s the first time I’ve slept this comfortably since my father was murdered. Until now, I could only doze off, unsure of who might come to get me.”

Even with those words, her face was still marked with dark circles.

About every three hours, she would have nightmares about her beloved family—parents, brothers, and sisters being executed miserably at the gallows.

The one who would have felt the most unjustly wronged would have been her father himself, who had urged her not to dream of impossible revenge but to secretly use his hidden savings to seek asylum in a place like the Lion Kingdom.

He had constantly apologized, saying he was sorry he couldn’t protect her older brother and younger brother from the evil hands of the Pereira clan.

Her mother, who tried to soothe her baby sister, who couldn’t even grasp the concept of death, by forcing a smile even as she suffered.

Her siblings, who despite undergoing all kinds of torture, didn’t reveal their whereabouts, saying, “You must survive, Christina.”

Just remembering it made her teeth grind together.

“Father, Mother. I will surely avenge you. Even if it means selling everything I have.”

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door of the room she was staying in.

Is it the Medici Young Lord? Or someone else?

She quickly tidied up her ragged outfit.

No matter how pretty someone is, wearing rags means they’re still rags, so there wasn’t that big of a difference anyway.

“Come in, you’re welcome,”

“Excuse me,”

Chloe opened the door and entered.

In her hands, she carried a white bathrobe and a cloth for covering her chest, something suitable for bathing.

“The Young Lord instructed me to take care of Noble Lady Modina. I’m dedicated to my master, so while I’m here, other maids will mostly take care of you.”

“Thank you.”

This was no empty compliment.

Even though she had no social value left, Chloe treated her with utmost politeness as if she were a noble lady.

You could feel her treating her as a comrade with the same goal rather than rushing to pity her, even knowing her circumstances.

‘If I have nowhere to go, staying with the Medici Clan wouldn’t be bad.’

With the money her father left behind, she could live as a minor landowner in a quiet rural area, but on her way to seek asylum, she might encounter bandits or other nefarious individuals.

In the worst case, someone in the village might try to frame her and seize her property.

Feeling a bit better, Christina made a joke.

“Does this bathrobe mean you’re asking me to attend to the Young Lord at night?”

It was a playful comment she couldn’t have made when she was the daughter of a merchant.

But now, as a fallen noble lady who was technically a lower class than a peasant, she could make such mischievous remarks.

Chloe shook her head vehemently.

“Such embarrassing words…”

As she continued speaking, Chloe’s face turned as red as a perfectly ripened apple.

Then she bowed her head and stuttered, “I couldn’t measure the Noble Lady’s clothes size, so it’s temporary until I can get your measurements and bring new clothes. If it were any other noble young lord, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but my lord would never, ever use his money and power to take advantage of women!”

Hearing Chloe’s words, Christina concluded, with her social skills honed from being a merchant’s daughter,
‘He truly loves his master.’

Otherwise, there would be no way Chloe could be so flustered and stuttered with anger.

She raised her evaluation of Fabio a notch.

As a woman, it was looked down upon to threaten other women for romantic relationships; being a person who doesn’t do that at all was a point for him.

It’s quite rare for a lowly maid to genuinely fall in love with her master, but there was also the fact he possessed a character that could make one fall for him completely.

“I apologize.”

Chloe shook her head when someone so much higher than her rank, especially one whom Fabio had instructed to care for, apologized to her.

“No, my lord is the one who says it’s normal to act like this in other households. However, our Young Lord is definitely not that kind of person.”

Saying this, Chloe put on a bittersweet smile.

While being respected was nice, she actually wanted to be loved more by her master now.

“And please, stop with the formalities when addressing me. I’m just an ordinary maid, and Noble Lady Modina is a guest of the Young Lord.”

“Then I will do so.”

“Yes, Noble Lady. Now, I’ll measure your clothes size.”

Chloe took out paper, a pen, and a measuring tape from her apron pocket.

Then, she began to measure with very clumsy movements.

“Chest: 87, waist: 58, hips: 89. Height: 168…”

Though Christina had been on edge because of revenge, seeing Chloe measure so earnestly made her naturally smile.

Her writing was a bit crooked even for maid standards, but…

With a cute appearance, a round vibe, and gestures showing she was genuinely trying her best.

“You’re lucky to have a maid like her, Young Lord Medici.”

“Really? My lord always tells me I’m cute.”

Seeing her innocent smile made Christina relax her guard quite a bit.

‘Maybe I don’t have to be cautious around this kid, even if I have my doubts about Fabio de Medici.’

So she naturally asked Chloe,
“What kind of person is the Young Lord?”

Hearing that, Chloe replied honestly.

“My lord is said to be both scary and kind by the butler and others.”

“No, I meant, what do you think of your Young Lord?”

If asked that by another maid or servant, they probably wouldn’t answer.

They might deduce family secrets just from that alone.

But Fabio had instructed Chloe to respond to any such questions.

‘She needs to let her guard down around the Noble Lady Modina, so answer anything she asks.’

Since Christina would have to share life and death with Fabio for a while, and even though Chloe was a dedicated maid, the ‘secrets’ she knew would not pose any threat to Fabio.

“My lord is a kind person. Despite being busy, he spends time with me every day and eats cakes he doesn’t especially like.”

“Why does he eat something he doesn’t like?”

“Cakes are expensive treats, and if I eat them every day alone, the other maids and butlers might not look at me kindly.”

“I suppose if he made such an expensive treat just for you, others might get jealous.”

Truthfully, all the maids and junior butlers were envious of Chloe.

The level of jealousy varied from person to person, though.

Nevertheless, since the maid was the one sharing a meal with her master, they couldn’t just scold her for being oblivious…

Chloe had never been bullied even once.

Actually, there was one maid who tried to bully her, but that girl ended up facing very severe consequences.

She didn’t die, but her father, a craftsman from a certain guild, was suddenly fired and banished to the countryside.

“So maybe that’s why people don’t really envy me. Instead, I’ve become close with butler Sebastian and other maids. I think the Young Lord gets bored just being with me all the time, so he sometimes gives me pocket money and a carriage to go out to the outskirts.”

“Wow, he really takes care of you.”

“And all the other servants love the Young Lord too. He takes care of everyone’s celebrations and pays them well.”

Nobles, particularly those of Fabio’s caliber, usually don’t pay any attention to servants’ celebrations.

At best, they would give money for the celebrations of the head maid, who was the right hand of the concubine, or the head butler, who was the right hand of the house’s lord.
Wages were often significantly different based on one’s role.

For lower-level maids or butlers, they usually received half a silver coin as part of housing and meals.

The rest was filled either by using the “power of the clan” or just satisfied living off the provided meals until they could find another job or get married.

“So after getting married, other maids tend to want to stay with the family.”

Hearing this made Christina admire her.

Taking care of mere servants might not seem very useful in usual times, but when a family crisis strikes…

‘Everyone would band together to protect the clan.’

“How did you become a maid for the Young Lord Medici?”

Even wanting to become a maid requires a certain network.

From Fabio’s perspective, they belonged to the ‘middle class’ too, so they would need connections to get introduced to the role.

But how could a clumsy girl like her have any such connections?

If she had networking skills, she’d likely have had at least basic training to be a maid from a young age.

“When my lord first received his territory, he took me along and said I was his.”

Fabio never mentioned such a thing, but it was not entirely incorrect.

“Before that, there had been a huge famine in the village, and I almost lost my family and was sold into sexual slavery. I really hated those kind people in the village until then.”

“You’re similar to me, then. Do you want to take revenge?”

At that, Chloe shook her head.

“If you ask if I want to, then yes. But it also became the reason I’m next to the Young Lord, and anyway, those villagers are still subjects of my lord. If I say I want revenge, my lord would be put in a difficult position, so I decided to give that up.”

“Do you really like your lord that much?”

With a smile only a girl in love could have, Chloe replied,

“Happy just seeing my lord’s face, every single hour of the day, every day of the year. When he pats my head, I feel so blissful. I hope I can keep living like this. No, it wouldn’t be lonely to express it a bit more dramatically.”

Christina, who had gone days without food, felt she was actually getting full just from watching her expression.

“So I learned how to write and do math to help my lord. One day, I want to support my lord’s work. The head butler said I’d have to learn for several more years to reach that level, though.”

Most dedicated maids, especially those as favored as Chloe, wouldn’t want to make any effort beyond maintaining their figure and keeping their status.

Studying was a hassle, and putting in effort was exhausting.

After all, it was comfortable at that moment.

‘Moreover, a girl who has never studied in her life…’

“Then for the Young Lord…”

Hearing this, Christina assessed Fabio again.

She didn’t know how capable he was, but character-wise, he was top-notch.

She asked Chloe, who seemed to have found a new family.

“Do you really not care about revenge?”

“Just being next to the Young Lord brings me so much happiness that I don’t have time to think about such things. Instead, I’d like to make other efforts during that time.”

Efforts typical of a dreamy maid: like exercising when her lord isn’t watching to maintain her figure or doing breast massages for Fabio, who liked larger breasts.

However, Chloe didn’t mention those efforts.

And Christina recalled Fabio’s last words.

Life continues even after revenge, and living happily after completing it is part of the journey.

She murmured under her breath, softly enough for Chloe not to hear,
“I suppose it’ll take time for revenge, so can I stay here during that time or even afterward?”

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