Women's Thoughts

Watching Solam guzzle the cheap liquor without the slightest regard for his image made Scarlett dizzy with frustration. She had shown him goodwill countless times already, yet things had only gone against her wishes. Sometimes, Scarlett even wondered whether the man before her was another punishment Beshaba had inflicted upon her.

Beshaba had told her that to lift her curse, she had to make this man fall in love with her. Only then would Beshaba spare her, allowing her to truly choose her own fate and no longer be held hostage by Beshaba.

But the problem was that, aside from in bed, this man did not meet any of Scarlett's expectations for a partner. The two of them were simply too different.

Though Scarlett scraped by among the Shadow Thieves, she had received a fine education. Though she lived in a brothel, she was not one of those lowly women. She possessed the manners of an aristocrat, loved elegance, pursued art, and longed for a peaceful, happy life. The main reason she had ended up with the Shadow Thieves was the helplessness of life itself. For a beautiful woman to live carefree in such a dangerous world was simply far too difficult.

Solam, on the other hand, was different. He was crude. Of course, that was not to say Solam was incapable of elegance. He had received a higher education, after all. Both his mentor Arando and Mevis had put considerable effort into teaching him proper etiquette. But he simply disliked forcing himself to perform behaviors he considered affected and pretentious. He preferred doing whatever felt comfortable. In that sense, Solam was a natural through and through.

Scarlett liked pursuing a refined quality of life. She liked handling art objects, elegant music, exquisite things, expensive wines. When the mood struck,