The Junefort Escape

Iordera scratched her head sheepishly, “Um, I’m not entirely sure, but how much exactly is twenty gold coins?”

Nina replied, “For the three of us, just for food, it’s three gold coins a month. That’s ten silver coins a day, and one gold coin is equal to a hundred silver coins.”

‘Hmm, if three people’s monthly food expenses amount to three thousand, then one gold coin is roughly equivalent to a thousand yuan (TL Note: Chinese currency, ‘kuai qian’) from my previous life, and one silver coin is ten yuan.’

‘Thinking further, my selling price was three hundred thousand gold coins, which means… three hundred million?’

‘Good heavens.’

Nina hummed cheerfully, “In any case, with initial funds and the ability to find work at the Adventurers’ Guild, supporting two maids should certainly be no problem. Take good care of us, Young Lady Doll, valued at three hundred thousand gold coins~”

Yuna chimed in, “Young Lady Iordera~”

Relieved from the prospect of becoming a nobleman’s concubine and able to continue their lives, the two sisters were overjoyed.

Mrs. Sanders apologized to her, “Nina and Yuna are my friend’s daughters. I couldn’t bear to see them sold, so I’m afraid they’ll be a burden on you from now on.”

Iordera quickly waved her hand, “No trouble at all, truly.”

She herself had been rescued by Mrs. Sanders, and her situation was even more dire than becoming a nobleman’s concubine; she was meant to be sold as a doll.

Since her rescuer had a small request, Iordera naturally wouldn’t refuse, especially as Mrs. Sanders had also provided them with travel funds.

Twenty gold coins, twenty thousand yuan (TL Note: Chinese currency, ‘kuai qian’), would be enough to last for several months.

Mrs. Sanders let out a long sigh of relief, then stood up and said, “That’s good, that’s good. You all wait here for a moment; I’m going to grab some things, and then I’ll explain how to make your escape.”

She quietly left the warehouse, leaving the three young girls alone in the room.

Suddenly alone with two beautiful young women, Iordera felt a touch of awkwardness. “Um, hello. You can just call me Iordera.”

Nina nodded, “Understood, Young Lady.”

Yuna added, “Alright, Young Lady.”

“…”

Maids they were, maids at heart; though they might be fond of good food and idleness, their outward duties were always impeccably performed.

The girls sat down and chatted for a while; as fellow wanderers adrift in the world, soon to rely on each other for survival, they quickly found common ground.

Nina inquired about everything from Iordera’s hobbies to her dining preferences, making herself appear a responsible maid, as if it were all genuine.

Yet, about Iordera’s identity or origins, the two of them showed no curiosity whatsoever.

Iordera couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to ask how I came to be here?”

Nina shook her head, “Don’t want to ask, don’t care. It seems like too much trouble.”

Yuna added, “We only care about how you *disappear*.”

“…”

This topic brought the conversation to an abrupt halt. Iordera had just perished in a car accident in her previous life, then barely managed to reincarnate into this异世界 (TL Note: ‘different world’ or ‘otherworld,’ commonly referring to a fantasy world) and reclaim a life, only to have her maids muse about how she might ‘disappear’ again.

No wonder the merchant caravan wanted to sell them; not only were the sisters lazy, but they also had a knack for being infuriating.

She continued, speaking to herself more than to them, “Alright, well, I’ve had a pretty rough time, and all sorts of things happened before I ended up here. Luckily, I met Mrs. Sanders; she helped me escape and even gave me money. She’s been incredibly kind to me.”

Nina suddenly spoke up, “She was always good to you; it would be strange if she weren’t.”

Yuna affirmed, “It’s only natural.”

Iordera tilted her head in confusion. “Why do you say that?”

Nina explained, “When the Aether family first issued the commission, and Mrs. Sanders and the others went to the collection room to organize the goods, she was the one who personally carried you out. For months afterward, she was the one who consistently cleaned and maintained your body.”

Nina pointed to the silk dress Iordera was wearing. “Even this dress, she found the time to sew it herself.”

Iordera touched the fabric with her hand. “This?”

Nina clarified, “Yes, because the box you were kept in was quite small, your body had to be folded in various ways to fit inside. Rough cloth clothes, like ours, would be stiff when folded and wouldn’t fit.”

“Everyone else said you didn’t need clothes, since you were just a doll anyway. But Mrs. Sanders said, ‘How can a young girl not wear clothes?’ and then she took her only formal dress, cut it up, and made the one you’re wearing now.”

“Everyone else said Mrs. Sanders treated the doll as her own daughter.”

“So, of course she’s good to you!”

****

Not long after, Mrs. Sanders returned, carrying a large sack. She didn’t notice the somewhat somber atmosphere in the warehouse, merely thinking the young girls were rather quiet.

Mrs. Sanders began, “Listen carefully. The caravan will reach Junefort in a few days. Recently, some changes have occurred there, and to resolve them quickly, the lord has declared Junefort to be in a semi-quarantined state. The city’s teleportation gate only allows passage out, not in; anyone wishing to enter the city must walk.”

Teleportation gates were a sophisticated fusion of magic and alchemy, capable of transporting people between various cities across the continent, sparing them from arduous long-distance travel.

Mrs. Sanders pointed to the large sack she had brought. “The caravan has some goods to deliver to Junecity, but they absolutely won’t linger there for long. At that time, Iordera, you’ll slip inside this sack. The rest of you will take the sack, pretend to go out for supplies, and then find a place to hide.”

“The Countess doesn’t want trouble in Junefort. If only two maids go missing, she most likely won’t wait, and will have the caravan proceed directly through the teleportation gate to the next city. Junefort’s teleportation gate only allows exit, not entry, so even if she later discovers something is missing, it would take a very long time to return.”

After Mrs. Sanders finished speaking, she looked at the three young girls. “Is that all clear?”

Nina and Yuna both nodded, while Iordera asked worriedly, “But what about you? If they discover I’m gone, won’t they blame you?”

‘She still remembered her worth: a full three hundred thousand gold coins, approximately three hundred million yuan (TL Note: Chinese currency, ‘kuai qian’), a sum that would undoubtedly be traced to its very end.’

Mrs. Sanders smiled. “It’s alright. I’ll simply feign ignorance and deny everything. The Countess will then have no choice but to investigate and send people to gather information. Once they inquire, they’ll discover that you’re alive. Then I can tell her that you came to life and ran away on your own.”

“She’s a merchant, not an alchemist, so she can’t be sure whether a doll has the ability to pick locks.”

“By the time the Countess discovers the loss, gathers information, and travels back to Junefort by road—that whole process will take at least half a year. By then, you will surely have long since made your escape.”

Mrs. Sanders had spent days preparing; her plan was detailed, thorough, and accounted for every contingency.

Nina patted her skirt and stood up. “Understood. So, the most important thing for us to do now is to go back and get a good night’s sleep.”

Yuna added, “To conserve our energy.”

Mrs. Sanders stood up, opened the warehouse door, and looked back. “Go on, go on. Iordera, you should also get some good rest.”

“Mmm…”

Click. The door closed, leaving Iordera alone in the warehouse. She silently crawled back into her small box, using her head to pull the lid down and close it.

Having listened to Nina’s words that evening, her emotions felt somewhat complex. Mrs. Sanders was, in a way, her ‘family’ in this异世界 (TL Note: ‘different world’ or ‘otherworld,’ commonly referring to a fantasy world) identity. Though she hadn’t experienced anything like it before, she had fully felt Mrs. Sanders’s kindness towards her over the past few days.

Yet, Iordera had no choice but to leave; if she didn’t, she would eventually be sold to someone as a doll.

Inside the box, the white-haired loli yawned, “Sleep, sleep, I’m utterly exhausted. This异世界 (TL Note: ‘different world’ or ‘otherworld,’ commonly referring to a fantasy world) even has teleportation gates, it’s truly amazing (TL Note: ‘Zheng liu a,’ a playful mispronunciation of ‘zhen niu a,’ meaning ‘truly awesome’ or ‘amazing’).”

Her catchphrase from her previous life, ‘Zhen niu a,’ had now been assimilated by her loli voice, and she couldn’t change it.