Chapter 451

Chapter 451: Chapter 451

Obviously, she was not doing anything wrong because her owner was already dead and there was no one there to miss her absence.

"Mm... but I am bringing her with me."

Brittany took the girl who was shivering in fright, as if afraid that the killer would come for her as well and retreated with Zach to their carriage.

The two of them rushed back towards the carriage that was still far away from the two of them. They had to run amongst the chaotic crowd, but Brittany managed to maneuver in between the rushing audience while always keeping the girl safe in her arms.

Zach tried to take the little girl away from her so that she wouldn’t have to carry her by herself, but Brittany was being quite stubborn about not letting her leave her person even for a second. Therefore, Zach didn’t insist and let her do what she wanted.

Panic and chaos caused the people in the marketplace to only think of their survival instead of bothering about other things. None of them were concerned that Zach was a Viscount at this point.

For their own survival, even if they had to step over the cold corpse of the same Viscount, they would gladly do so at this point.

Therefore, Zach didn’t have any delusions regarding this and rushed non-stop towards his carriage.

When the carriage was in sight, Zach rushed ahead to open the door with a thud. He seemed to have lost control of his strength momentarily due to his urgency.

The carriage driver let out a sigh of relief as Zach and Brittany got seated inside the carriage. He had already taken his position at the head of the carriage and had gotten ready to leave the chaos behind as soon as possible.

Just a few minutes later the three escapees were in the safety of Zach’s home.

Zach felt as if the lady luck had finally diverted her lustrous smile in his direction after a long time. Luck had been quite an important factor in various situations that he had encountered so far but he had always drawn the short end of the stick. But today he had experienced the opposite phenomenon and couldn’t help but feel happy at the thought of getting something he desired quite easily.

All his power, his strength, his political influence, and his hold on the community was worthless in front of a mass gathering. As long as he wanted to stay alive to say the next word, he would have no choice but to support popular opinion amongst the public.

Zach rued the fact that despite holding so much power, he had felt helpless when Brittany asked for his help. Being her master, it was his duty to fulfill her wishes if he wanted to keep her in his service.

Anything illegal that he did in the public could come back to bite him in the ass in the future. Therefore, he had no choice but to be exceptionally careful when he planned to do something that might elicit a public opinion towards him.

Feeling his own powerlessness, he recalled Jack’s final words to him. Although he had readily disregarded Jack’s suggestion due to his opinion of the person and his past deeds, he was now feeling a bit regretful. He could have tried to help Jack turn a new leaf here.

Although it was a bit hypocritical of him, he now realized that he needed Jack’s services in order to stay pristine in the eyes of the public.

Still, he was even more impressed by the woman who had made a quick work of the merchant who kept spouting nonsense in public. He wondered who that woman had been.

Although he couldn’t comment on the intent behind the woman’s actions, he could still admire her timely actions that saved the life of a little girl from being ruined. If possible, Zach wanted to meet her in person and hire her services.

Jack’s advice was haunting him consistently during his journey home. The merchant had truly rendered him speechless and powerless in front of the audience. It was the reason he was finally taking up Jack’s advice of hiring a black glove to deal with the problems he faced while he orchestrated everything from the shadows.

This need was further maximized after he entered the political circle. Since he needed to be pure and pristine in front of the public, he needed someone who wouldn’t care about dirtying their hands while dealing with troublesome matters that might bring harm to the Smith family in the long run. It would not only limit his future growth but would also compromise the safety of his family.

Since he had already decided to go against the royal family for Christina, he needed to be ready to dirty his hands if needed just as they were. Otherwise, they would swallow him whole using their scheming minds.

While Zach was lost in thought, Brittany was worriedly wiping the tears of the little girl. Her tears were akin to an endless trickle that refused to stop. They dripped from between her large eyelashes and swam their way down to her chin before dripping onto the floor.

Brittany didn’t stop her from crying. Instead, she just kept wiping her eyes from time to time while rubbing her back gently.

She comforted her and allowed her to take her time to adjust to her new reality. She was no longer a slave and could live freely.

Brittany knew because she had gone through the same thing in the recent past.

The little girl had to reach that conclusion all on her own or it would start another cycle of slavery where she would become dependent on Brittany and Zach for all her decisions.

"Th-Thnak...Thank y-you...Thank you...t-thank you f...for saving me."

"All that can wait. You need to calm down first. Take a deep breath...exhale slowly...again..." Brittany guided the little girl patiently as she caressed the little one’s hair gently while coaxing her to cry her eyes out.

When the girl had calmed down sufficiently enough, she looked into Brittany’s eyes with infinite trust and affection before turning her head towards Zach in the same flow.

Zach didn’t say anything but displayed a smile on his face so that the little girl wouldn’t be afraid of him.

Although the little girl had been saved by Brittany, she already knew that Brittany was but a maid of the man beside her. It was ultimately his choice to save her and therefore, she belonged to that man as well.

The thought that she could be free hadn’t even entered her mind. She believed that she had just encountered a kind master who would not starve her.

Even that had been enough for her to shed so many tears of happiness. Her earlier master had been truly cruel. Seeing him lying on the ground without a head had even made her a little happier.

Now she hoped that the new master was not the same as the previous one.

Several changes took place in her eyes as they went from her earlier gratification to resolute. She had vowed in her heart to do her best to serve the master with all her heart if he showed her the same concern that he showed the big sister who had saved her earlier.

Rehearsing the words several times in her mind, she opened her mouth to convey her intentions to Zach and Brittany.

"Master, I-I can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to serve you. As long as you give me food to eat, I will do ANYTHING for you. I know how to clean the dishes...and wash clothes...and do chores...and...and..." The little girl struggled to remember what else she could do but all that she had rehearsed earlier vanished into smoke.

Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought that she had ruined her first impression on her new master. She kept sneaking glances at Zach while trying to remember what it was that she wanted to say to him.

But it wasn’t Zach who responded first. He was still feeling a bit emotional from her words. The little girl had definitely been traumatized by her time in captivity. She probably didn’t even dare to think that she could be free now.

At the same time, he felt furious at the merchant for treating her so badly that the first request she made was to not deny her food even though freedom was right in front of her.

Brittany was already seeing her past self in the little girl. She couldn’t hold back her tears from pouring out.

She reached out and pulled the little girl into her embrace. Her skinny figure broke Brittany’s heart. It was obvious to her how malnourished she was.

Cursing the merchant in her heart, she put on an encouraging smile and pulled her face slightly backwards so that the little girl would be able to see her face clearly and said, "You don’t have to worry about food anymore. You can eat as much as you want and whenever you want. No one will ever starve you or hurt you or treat you badly as long as you are here. No one will force you to do anything you don’t want to do. In fact, you don’t have to do anything at all. You are free now. You are not going to be a slave anymore."

The little girl looked up at Brittany’s face with disbelief. She even considered if Brittany and Zach were playing some kind of cruel prank with her.