"No back door.. today?"
I rolled my eyes at the old man smiling devilishly behind the counter.
"Not today," he repeated.
Ugh. Count Graye would open the door any minute, and I didn't have time for games with stingy old men.
"Fine," I growled, slamming a few silver coins on the counter. "Now is there a back door?"
The man glanced at the coins and then back up at me, his slimy smile stretching even wider.
"Right this way, Ma'am."
I followed the man's painfully slow hobble down the hallway behind the bar, all the while growing more impatient.
Old people naturally move more slowly, he's not doing this on purpose, I chanted to myself, feeling a vein begin to bulge on my forehead.
Before we even reached the end of the hallway, the old man stopped and raised a shriveled finger toward an equally aged wooden door.
I crossed my arms.
"You don't honestly expect me to believe this leads outsi-UGH!"
With the strength of ten old hobbling men, the tavern manager shoved me through the door, slamming it closed behind me.
"Haaaa."
The left corner of my lips twitched as I straightened up and dusted my skirt.
Did this old creep really think he could kidnap me like this? No, wait..
Had I just uncovered a branch of the super secret, uncrackable underground slavery ring?!
I whirled around, eagerly whipping my notebook out of my pocket. To think I'd discover such a precious lead so easily! I could use this information to-
Except there were zero signs of this room ever being used to hold somebody captive. No matter how I looked, it was really just a regular storage closet. I reached for the door handle. The old man hadn't even bothered locking it.
Or maybe it couldn't be locked in the first place.
Because it was just a regular storage closet.
I was in the midst of groaning in disappointment that I had not, in fact, been kidnapped when an unfamiliar voice startled me.
Immediately, I pulled back from the door, leaving it slightly ajar.
I couldn't see anything through the crack, but I could hear a conversation happening between the old tavern manager and… a young man?
"Is there, perhaps, a back entrance in this building, Manager?" the young man was in the middle of asking.
That had to be Count Graye.
"Sorry Sir. There's no back door today."
I could picture the manager's sleazy smile accompanying his words.
After that, the two men fell silent, and I heard a faint jingle and slight thud.
It seemed the Count (assumed) was bribing the manager exactly as I had. But from the sound of it, he offered a much greater sum.
"Right this way, Sir."
Honestly, did so many people try to escape through this exact tavern's back door that the manager had time to rehearse this money-making ploy to perfection?
But more importantly, was he planning on leading Count Graye (assumed) to this same storage room?!
Or, could it be that the Count (assumed) was the one behind the slavery ring, and the old man had delayed me here on purpose?
'Slave ring leader?' I scribbled in my notebook, preparing to perform my crying-kidnapped-girl-begging-for-help routine.
"A-ahem." As the footsteps drew nearer, I cleared my throat and blinked rapidly until water began welling behind my eyes.
Just when a shadow stepped in front of the door crack, I took a deep breath in…
Only to let it out seconds later as the two men passed by the storage room entirely.
Eh?
Not only that, but I soon heard another door open to reveal a myriad of distinctly outdoor noises, a brief exchange of pleasantries, and then the same door closing again.
"You stingy old jerk!!" I boomed, bursting out of the closet. "There was a back door this whole time!"
"What can I say?" the old man rubbed his hands together greedily as he waddled back down the hall. "That man was incredibly generous."
"Right. Of course, it's about money." I mumbled through gritted teeth.
"There's nothing back there a young lady like yourself would enjoy anyway," the man smiled, waving me back into the main room. "Just a long, grimy alley that puts you out about five blocks from here."
Yes, well, I very much would have liked to be five blocks from here which is why I asked in the first place.
"Ah.." the old man paused, rubbing his grubby chin. "That is if they ever unblocked the end of it. I can't quite remember."
The end of the alleyway was blocked? Who the heck even built a ridiculous road like that in the first place?
And had this man really just sent the Count (assumed) on a five block trip only to have to turn around and come back?
"Pfffft." I smirked as I realized Count Graye (assumed) had been the true victim of this scammer.
"Now run along, Missy," the manager chuckled with me. "I reckon it won't take that man very long to find his way back here."
Whether it was actually the Count who had been scammed into a dead end alleyway or some other fool, the coast was clear for me to make my escape. Without wasting any time, I headed to the nearest carriage station to book a ride home.
Count Graye may not have been one of the pillars of a dirty underground crime ring, but I still had a few plausible leads to follow up on. All in all, I'd say my first reconnaissance mission on the kingdom's most eligible bachelor hadn't been a complete failure.
Plus I found an old coot whose sou-I mean, loyalty could be bought for the right price, and seemed to have a soft spot(?) for vulnerable-looking women.
Not that I look vulnerable.
"Excuse me, Miss, do you need a ride?"
Ugh. I just said I don't look vulnerable!
Obviously I needed a ride, seeing as I was at the carriage station. And clearly I was in the middle of securing one myself, since I was AT THE CARRIAGE STATION.
Rolling my eyes, I looked over to see which narcissistic noble was attempting to be a knight in shining armor.
The man who had called out to me was a driver, trembling as he sat on the bench of an all black carriage pulled by black horses.
"How.. excessive.." I mumbled.
There was only one person such a carriage could possibly belong to.
"P-please, Miss," the driver's voice cracked as sweat beaded along his brow. "Please let me give you a ride."