I'm Trying To Go Broke, So Why Do I Keep Getting Richer?!-Chapter 221: No wonder humans are hateful!

Leo stepped away from the window, the cool night breeze lingering on his skin. He needed to think fast.

If the mansion was crawling with goblin guards, he was in severe disadvantage. He had no weapons, no knowledge of the place, and a leg that throbbed with every sudden movement.

He limped over to the wooden stool where his original clothes rested. The clothes still had the blood stains, and the robe was still torn, something done by him.

If he had a storage ring, he never would’ve worn these blood stained clothes. However, in this situation, they appeared to still be better than the loose patient clothes that he was wearing which was no different than wrapping a thin sheet over his body.

At least they didn’t throw my things away, he thought, quickly discarding the loose nightshirt he had woken up in. He dressed in his own clothes, the familiar weight offering a small, psychological comfort. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

However, comfort wouldn’t save him if things went south. He scanned the dimly lit room for anything that could serve as a weapon.

His eyes landed on a heavy, wrought-iron candlestick resting on the bedside table. He removed the thick wax candle, gripping the cold iron base. It was unbalanced, and heavy, but it was better than his bare fists.

Just as he finished, a sound made his mind go blank.

Creak.

It was the floorboard in the hallway. It wasn’t the heavy march of the goblin guards he had seen outside. These footsteps were lighter, hurried, and accompanied by two distinct voices.

They were coming back. It made no sense... Why would they return to the place which they had already checked.

Leo tried to rush to the window, but saw the goblins outside. If he stepped out, they might have a clear view of him hanging out the window.

The window was no longer an option. He knew that with goblin guards actively patrolling the courtyards outside, climbing out now would be practically begging to be shot with an arrow.

Leo’s eyes darted across the room, desperately seeking cover. The bed was too low; the guards had already checked there anyway. But in the far corner of the room stood a massive, dark oak wardrobe.

Clutching the iron candlestick, Leo hurried across the room, his bound leg dragging slightly. He pulled open the heavy wooden doors, slipping inside and pulling them shut just a fraction of a second before the bedroom door swung open.

Through the narrow slits carved into the wardrobe’s wooden doors, Leo held his breath and watched.

Two figures stepped into the room. Leo’s eyes widened slightly.

The first was the woman he had heard earlier. But she wasn’t a goblin. She was undeniably human, or at least, she looked entirely human. She was strikingly beautiful, her crimson hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of fire, contrasting sharply with her elegant, deep red gown.

Behind her trailed a young boy, perhaps no older than sixteen. He had messy, ash-blond hair and wore a simple but refined blue attire. He looked incredibly distressed.

"I’m telling you, he was right here!" the boy pleaded, gesturing wildly toward the empty, unmade bed. "He was hurt! There’s no way he could have gotten far."

The boy wasn’t a human, but he wasn’t a goblin either. He was an elf..

The red-haired woman, Lia, crossed her arms, her expression a mix of anger and exhaustion.

"And I’m telling you, Elian, that you are a fool for bringing him here. Look at the chaos you’ve caused. The entire estate is on high alert."

"Do you have any idea what the High Council will do to our house if they find out you smuggled an otherworlder past the Veil? You should’ve let him die, if you couldn’t get yourself to kill him."

"Instead, you said you wanted to use him to find out about outsiders, so you wanted to heal him and win his trust. How did it go?!"

Leo narrowed his eyes in the darkness of the wardrobe. Otherworlder. The Veil. High Council.

The puzzle pieces were starting to form a picture, even if he didn’t like what it revealed.

"He’s not like the Outsiders that we have seen, sister," Elian argued, stepping further into the room. "When I found him in the Woods-"

"Enough! I don’t want to hear your excuses! You better find him before His Majesty returns from his crusade against the Demigods! If not, you would be held responsible!"

The woman didn’t want to hear any excuses. She rushed outside the room, grumbling, "If he escaped, he might have already gone back to the outsiders. We are fortunate that no one was killed!"

Elian looked like he wanted to argue, but was unable to find the courage to stop her.

He also couldn’t help but mumble, as he stepped out, "I wanted to use that human. Who would’ve thought that he would be cunning enough to escape. That’s why these humans are worth less than beasts."

"It’s no wonder His Majesty hates humans so much, to the point of enslaving any human found inside the empire."

With a defeated slump of his shoulders, the boy followed her out of the room.

The heavy wooden door closed. A moment later, Leo heard the distinct, heavy clack of a metal falling into place, followed by a strange, high-pitched voice that vibrated through the floorboards before fading into silence.

Leo waited for three full minutes, listening intently until the sound of their footsteps completely disappeared down the hallway.

Slowly, he pushed the wardrobe doors open and stepped back out into the room. The situation had just escalated from confusing to dire. He wasn’t dealing with mindless monsters, and this place was definitely far from friendly towards humans like him.

The boy, Elian, might have saved his life out of some naive belief in a prophecy, but Seraphina was a pragmatist. She would have him crippled just to avoid a political scandal.