Chapter 184: 184. HEAVENLY MERCHANT (SSS)

Emily’s eyelids fluttered open slowly, her lashes were damp with tears that had dried against her skin.

For a brief, fragile moment she believed she had simply awakened from an ordinary night’s sleep and stretched her arms, wondering how soft the bed felt today.

Her mind had not yet caught up to reality. She shifted to the side, thinking of sleeping for a few more minutes as she felt fabric smoother than normal.

Then suddenly a violent memory crashed into her, jolting her awake.

She remembered getting beaten by a whip when the door had suddenly shattered and some strangers had entered her house out of nowhere.

She remembered hearing her husband’s screams and panicking out of fear.

Her eyes had snapped fully open now. Panic flooded her veins, erasing the last traces of drowsiness.

She pushed herself upright abruptly as alarms rang through her mind while she searched for her baby boy.

What she saw around her made no sense.

She was lying on a wide bed layered with silk cushions and draped with delicate canopy fabric. The room was vast, lit by filtered sunlight passing through tall windows framed by gold-trimmed curtains.

Carved wooden furniture lined the walls. The air smelled faintly of expensive incense and fresh linen.

The chamber felt unmistakably like it belonged to royalty; even if she hadn’t herself stepped into such a room her entire life, the descriptions she had heard from people around the slums lived up to reality.

She suddenly remembered the people telling her that they had killed her husband, and now a terrible premonition rose in her chest.

Her baby was nowhere in sight.

Her head turned frantically from side to side.

At that very moment, a soft cry reached her ears. She followed the sound and saw a maid entering the room, cradling her child carefully in her arms.

Emily moved before thinking. She rose from the bed and rushed forward, snatching her baby back with trembling hands.

She retreated instinctively, placing distance between herself and the maid as if she might be attacked at any moment.

Her fingers searched over the infant’s tiny body in frantic inspection. She checked his face, arms, and torso, looking for bruises or marks. The only difference she detected was a faint, clean scent clinging to his skin.

She realized that he had been bathed.

“Do not panic, my lady,” the maid said gently, taking a cautious step forward. “You are safe. I just washed him. Please, allow us to prepare you. You must bathe before meeting the duke and the guest.”

Emily’s mind struggled to process the words.

“The duke?” she questioned in a hoarse voice.

The maid did not elaborate much and kept reassuring her that she was safe.

After several minutes of resistance and uncertainty, Emily finally allowed herself to be guided away, though she refused to let her child leave her arms until another maid gently insisted that he would be returned shortly.

She was escorted to a bathing chamber larger than her entire former home. Warm water scented with herbs filled a marble basin.

Multiple attendants assisted her; they scrubbed away dirt and soot from her skin, combed her tangled hair, and dressed her in clean garments far finer than anything she had ever worn.

Throughout the process, embarrassment burned across her face. She had never been bathed by others in her life. The intimacy felt overwhelming and humiliating.

Meanwhile, Maris entered the bedroom quietly and instructed the maid in charge to take the baby out temporarily. The maid complied immediately, leaving the room at once.

Maris sat patiently on a sofa chair waiting for Emily.

After several hours, the door to the room opened again. Emily stepped inside, accompanied by several attendants.

Her hair was neatly arranged, and she looked much more elegant and beautiful than before. The maids withdrew after receiving a subtle signal from Maris.

The moment Emily recognized the masked woman seated before her, shock and fear surged anew. She lowered her gaze instinctively, unable to meet those steady eyes.

Only now did she fully understand that she had been brought into a duke’s estate. The walls themselves spoke of wealth and power.

“Raise your head and sit,” Maris instructed her calmly and gestured towards the seat in front of her.

Emily obeyed awkwardly. She had no knowledge of noble etiquette, but even then she tried to follow it. Her every movement felt stiff and unnatural as she lowered herself onto the couch opposite Maris.

When she finally forced herself to look up, uncertainty trembled across her features.

“Do you know why you have been brought here?” Maris asked.

Emily shook her head.

“You have endured a difficult life in those slums,” Maris continued without any accusation that Emily was anticipating. “You were beaten regularly by the man who forced you into marriage. You suffered his cruelty daily.”

Emily remained silent. There was nothing to deny.

“Your husband did not owe us any money. We were not there for him,” Maris clarified. “We were there for you.”

Emily’s eyes widened slightly. Why her? She had never bothered any powerful people in her whole life. She had never drawn needless attention in any way.

“I serve Lord Eternal Sovereign,” Maris said. “My lord is merciful. He recognized your hidden talent in commerce and trade.”

The words struck Emily like a hammer.

Emily’s breathing faltered.

She had lived her entire life believing no one would ever notice. She appeared to the world as nothing more than a slum dweller scraping by through minor exchanges of food and goods. Yet she carried a secret she had never shared with anyone.

Her talent.

An SSS ranked talent.

Circumstances had suffocated its potential. Poverty, abuse, and gender discrimination had prevented her from expanding beyond trivial barters among other women.

Patriarchy ruled the lower districts harshly, and she had been one of its victims since birth.

Now someone had said her deepest secret out loud.

Her eyes instinctively focused inward as the familiar panel surfaced in her vision.

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HEAVENLY MERCHANT (SSS)

Effects:

-Value Appraisal: Instantly discerns the true value, hidden properties, origin, durability, growth potential, and future worth of any item in whose trade they are involved in.

-Worth manipulation: Can manipulate the value of an item to a certain extent and make it appear of less or more value for a limited period.

-Perfect Negotiator: Understands the optimal negotiation path, pressure points, and psychological leverage of any party involved in a deal. All trades overseen by the host automatically sense deception and hidden clauses, and fraud becomes impossible.

-Bringer of prosperity: Resources under the host’s control grow more efficiently. Businesses flourish, investments mature faster, and new territories stabilize.

-Economic Foresight: Senses impending economic collapse, betrayal in agreements, or shifts in markets before they occur.

-Lucky trader: Every successful transaction generates tangible benefit beyond material gain, increases luck temporarily, and creates new opportunities.

-Scarcity Manipulation: The host can subtly influence supply-demand perception to a limited scope, creating temporary artificial demand or scarcity in localized regions.

-Debt Mark: Those who don’t repay monetary and material debts to the host in the confined time are left with a debt mark that brings financial bad luck and loss of prosperity until they return the debt with interest.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep