Tangled By Fate

She urged her, "You girl, your performance will start soon. Hurry up and get ready."

The fat woman grabbed Veronica's arm and pulled her to the restaurant and then closed the door.

"!!!"

"…"

"…"

Sebastian and Merlin stared at the scene in shock.

They couldn't understand why that woman took away Veronica thinking she was a performer.

They also couldn't understand why she thought they were that woman's subordinates.

Sebastian nervously asked, "Should we tell our Master? Once Darius told us that a few performers had gone missing from this restaurant a few times. Now that I think of it, it's suspicious."

Merlin prevented him from doing anything by saying, "Wait, Mistress Veronica is right. We can investigate and figure out who is behind this human trafficking. I know what you are thinking. I'm suspicious of the restaurant too."

"So, are we going to investigate without informing others? If something happens to Mistress–" Sebastian didn't finish the sentence and gulped.

They would be dead for sure if something happened to her. He didn't have to tell Merlin about that.

Merlin patted his shoulder to assure him. "That's why we will go and become her secret bodyguard. At the same time, we will investigate."

"So, how are we going to get close to her? If we go inside as that fatty woman's underlings, we will surely be caught. She just couldn't see us properly in the dark and she was in a hurry." Sebastian looked frustrated.

"You come here often. Do you know where the performers show their talents?" Merlin inquired.

Sebastian was tongue-tied. He uncomfortably averted his gaze. He hesitated to speak.

"They perform in front of drunkards," he finally said. His face started to grow hot, feeling embarrassed.

Merlin didn't understand why he was being all shy. He didn't bother thinking.

They needed to focus on the main target.

He initiated the plan, "First, we go as customers. Since the performers dance in front of drunkards, we will be able to notice if anything is unusual."

"Okay!"

Merlin didn't understand why Sebastian looked so uncomfortable back then.

He realized it after they entered the inner hall of the restaurant.

It was for the customers who wanted to have drinks only.

He glanced at Sebastian in a new light. Tonight, he was enlightened to a certain degree.

Sebastian felt a stare making a hole in his face. He blushed.

"D-don't look at me like that! Focus on others," he stammered.

"Sure, I will," Merlin nonchalantly replied. 'After all, it wasn't easy to get the inside here.'

He was right.

It was indeed hard.

Only the members of the restaurant could enter the inner hall.

The members had to be regulars in the restaurant and they couldn't have any connection with the Magic Tower. The rules were surely intriguing. It sparked the boys' interests.

Sebastian realized it was time for him to use his lethal power. He gathered all the women who worked in the restaurant and knew him.

Thanks to his connection with the pretty women from the kitchen, they were recommended to the manager. They vouched for Sebastian's frequent visits to the restaurant and that he wasn't part of the Magic Tower.

No one knew that he was associated with the Magic Tower or Arthur. As a spy, he always kept his identity secret.

"What about him?" The manager pointed at Merlin.

Sebastian hugged Merlin's shoulder and laughed. "He is a real mama's boy. He never comes to a place like this. He came back after his business was done. He will get married soon. Before that, I want him to teach me some good stuff."

The manager was pleased with the explanation. He was like a middle-aged pervert.

Only after the formal procedure, money payment, and signing papers, they were given golden tokens. The golden tokens were like the membership cards.

And, when they entered the inner hall, Merlin was dumbfounded.

Most of the chairs were full. The men were all drunk. Their lustful eyes were looking at the stage.

The performers were dancing and singing on the stage. Most of them were barely wearing proper clothes.

As their bodies seductively swayed with the rhythm, the customers roared in joy.

Merlin couldn't help but look at the man beside him and Sebastian couldn't take it.

"I wonder how you know what happens here when you don't have the token," Merlin muttered.

"Who do you think I am? I can gather as much information as I want without spending money," Sebastian proudly stated. "The girls who helped us previously, Always let me enter the inner hall secretly whenever I requested them."

Merlin was truly confounded. "I never thought you would go that far to seduce women to come here."

"I did not!" Sebastian hissed like a snake. "It was all Darius. He came here and slept with those girls. He is also a member of this restaurant. He would sometimes drag me here. That's how I got to know about the beauties and the inner hall."

"And then you sneaked in here whenever Darius wasn't able to accompany you." Merlin finished the story.

'So, it was Darius. Why am I not surprised?' he bitterly thought. 'His flirting ability is growing stronger. What do women find in a bald guy?'

He looked at the stage absentmindedly and noticed something strange. He asked Sebastian, "Why are these people throwing red-colored pouches of coins on the stage?"

Sebastian explained, "Oh, that's because when a customer likes a lady's performance, he throws money at them. The coins go to the performer."

He hesitated before continuing, "…Later, the performer has to sleep with those generous customers who paid them a lot of money."

Merlin frowned. He gritted his teeth in anger and spoke in a low tone, "This is an open prostitute business. This should be illegal if the girls are being forced!"

"It is illegal, but no one is complaining. Look over there," Sebastian signaled him.

Merlin followed his direction and noticed a group of a young generation. They were ministers' sons. They were wearing simple yet expensive clothes. It was hard not to notice.

'They are backing up the restaurant well.' Merlin cautiously looked around and then suddenly, he saw something unusual.

Hmm?