After holding that posture for a while, Audrey finally accepted that whatever image she had in Mozo's eyes was beyond saving.
Letting out a long breath, she dropped the act entirely.
After confirming the door was locked and the final rune barrier she had set was still functioning, she sat down on the sofa, leaving her coat loosely draped open.
Looking at Mozo seriously, she said:
"It seems there are quite a few misunderstandings between us. But let's set that aside for now. I need to ask—has the mark on my body been removed?"
Mozo turned slightly away again, avoiding looking at her.
"If my memory serves me right… I'm afraid not, Miss Hepburn. It hasn't disappeared—just turned invisible."
Audrey couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief at his restraint…
though the earlier frustration of being completely ignored crept back in.
Women really were complicated like that.
She pulled her coat closed this time and asked:
"Then can you deal with it? Or at least tell me what it is?"
Mozo hesitated, then answered honestly:
"It's a slave mark. Something the elves used on captured outsiders—a sign of servitude and a binding."
"Slave—?!"
Audrey's head spun at the word.
She hurriedly asked:
"Then can you remove it?"
Since he had already started, Mozo saw no point in hiding anything.
"There are ways. But none of them are easy."
"What are they?"
"First—someone at Sequence Four or above could forcibly remove it."
Audrey didn't even pause before cutting him off:
"Tell me the second option."
Sequence Four? That was practically a demigod.
There was no way someone like her could ever get help from a being like that.
Mozo nodded.
"I wasn't finished. Aside from Sequence Four, certain specialized Sequence Five paths might manage it too. For example, a Puppeteer could transfer curses onto a construct."
"Then don't bother. I can't reach someone like that either."
Her tone turned bitter.
A low-level, unaffiliated supernatural like her simply didn't have those kinds of connections.
Still, she asked cautiously:
"What about a Sequence Seven Puppet user? Could they transfer it?"
"Probably not. They can only transfer curses affecting themselves."
Audrey sighed and pressed her forehead.
"Then… the second method?"
Mozo replied:
"Find whoever placed the mark. It's an elven technique—only the caster can undo it."
Audrey immediately shook her head at the thought of the terrifying construct.
"No. Absolutely not. If it sees me again, it'll kill me on the spot!"
Mozo almost said that elves didn't casually destroy their slaves—after all, slaves were considered property of the Twin Sacred Trees, the Sun King, and the High Lords.
But seeing her reaction, he held his tongue.
After all, his knowledge came from dreams.
And even those memories were… inconsistent.
"In that case," he said, "could you tell me what exactly happened?"
Audrey hesitated.
But instead of answering, she asked:
"What kind of payment do you expect for this information? I don't have much money right now, and my mystical materials are nearly gone."
As she spoke, she lowered her head slightly… then loosened her coat again.
"If you insist on equal exchange… this is all I have left…"
Mozo glanced over—and immediately turned away again, raising his hand to stop her.
"Miss Hepburn, I may not be a noble, but I'd like to think I'm at least a gentleman. Please stop. I appreciate your sense of fairness, but that won't be necessary."
Audrey let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly fastened her coat—
then suddenly asked:
"…Am I not attractive?"
Mozo blinked.
"What? No—you're very beautiful. Really. But that's not the point. I just think obtaining a woman's body like that is… disgraceful."
Audrey studied him quietly for a moment.
Then she stood and bowed.
"Thank you for your generosity—and your restraint. But I won't accept this for free. If not that… then I can only pay you in money."
She hesitated slightly before adding:
"Would… two hundred gold pounds be acceptable?"
Two hundred?!
Mozo stared at her in disbelief.
"Two hundred gold pounds?!"
He was shocked by the sheer amount.
But Audrey misunderstood completely.
She thought it was too little.
Even she knew that what Mozo had provided wasn't simple information.
Without him, she would have had to figure it out on her own—likely failing, and possibly losing her life in the process.
Two hundred was… cheap.
So she quickly waved her hands.
"That's just what I have on hand right now! I'll pay you five hundred in total!"
Mozo nearly choked.
Five hundred?!
"…Five hundred… right. Fine. Five hundred it is. No rush, though—just give me a hundred for now. You seem a bit tight on funds."
Audrey looked like she'd been pardoned from execution.
She bowed again.
"Thank you once more."
Then she reached into a hidden pocket in her dress and handed him ten gold notes.
"One hundred now. The remaining four hundred—I'll have it ready within two months… no, within a month and a half."
Mozo took the money, face blank.
Inside—
his soul was trembling with joy.
He had just said a few sentences—
and earned more than he had in over a decade.
Sure, in his dreams he'd been unimaginably wealthy.
But dreams weren't reality.
If his real life hadn't been so bleak, he wouldn't have clung to those dreams so desperately.
Honestly—
he had originally planned to ask for maybe two hundred copper pennies.
And even that had felt a little greedy.