I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 118

Khalid remained silent, trying to mask his subdued demeanor. Not that Nox wouldn’t notice, regardless of Khalid’s efforts. Nox viewed the situation cynically. The man who was once his slave now stood as his equal, and Khalid likely didn’t know what to say.

Khalid silently picked up his cutlery. Nox followed suit, and the meal or rather, the pretense of one commenced. Neither man brought food to his lips. Only the meaningless scraping of knives on plates filled the silence.

Khalid was the first to speak. “…I thought you wouldn’t accept the invitation.”

“Then you shouldn’t have sent it,” Nox retorted coldly, toying with his cutlery. Khalid’s face hardened as he stopped cutting.

“…I heard you’ve hired new aides.”

This wasn’t a genuine query about Nox’s aides. Specifically, he was curious about, and irritated by, the man rumored to have entered Nox’s bedchamber: Esterion Launder. Khalid tried to conceal his feelings, but it wasn’t very effective. Nox spoke with a hint of sarcasm:

“I didn’t bring him along.”

“…”

“He’s someone I value quite a bit, you see.”

Khalid’s hand, gripping the cutlery, tightened. A vein stood out, and his skin blanched. Ah, he’s going to break a plate, Nox thought indifferently, then calmly set his cutlery down. Could he be jealous? Nox almost laughed. How dare he display jealousy in front of me? A chill filled his chest. He disliked that gaze, still attempting to assert ownership over him.

“Although we haven’t known each other long, I feel comfortable with him.”

“…Is that so?”

“As you know, I was a slave, wasn’t I?” Nox’s words stung Khalid. Khalid’s expression shifted continuously. Nox observed his face, then continued, “When everyone else showed perverse interest, he was the only one who looked at me with an honest gaze.”

“…So, you like him?”

“Yes.”

“Enough to bring him into your bedchamber?”

Hah, Nox scoffed. He can’t even hide something like this; truly, he’s disqualified as a noble. Such blatant language should neither be given nor received. Unless we were intimately close. But there’s nothing left between us but ruins, Khalid.

“You ask rudely,” Nox said, rising from his seat. Khalid, looking as if he had made a mistake, followed suit.

“I haven’t stayed long, but I don’t think I can eat anymore, so I will take my leave.”

“…Already?”

“Well, if I’d been inclined, I would have stayed longer, but after that question, all desire to do so vanished.”

Khalid looked at him blankly, as if speechless for a moment. Nox left the table, as if to say he would leave if there was nothing more to say. Khalid hurriedly turned his body.

Nox strode purposefully towards the dining room door. Khalid frantically approached Nox. He reached out a hand, then flinched and stopped, calling Nox once more.

“Duke.”

At that voice, Nox turned back to Khalid. He looked at Khalid’s face and thought, Ah, he can’t touch my body. Nox let out a hollow laugh. I haven’t changed, but just my position this is how it is. The way you treat me changes with my status. So long ago, you loved me, and I loved you, but that was utterly useless.

“…I apologize.”

“It’s fine. It’s an apology I’d accept or not, either way.”

Khalid’s outstretched fingertips were trembling. Nox glanced at his hand and let out a long sigh, as if exhausted. Khalid bit his lower lip hard.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going.”

At that, Khalid frantically spoke. Unable to even grab his wrist, his lips marked from being bitten, “I was wrong. So, please, don’t leave now…”

Nox narrowed his eyes at those words. What appeared on Khalid’s face was longing, desperation things Nox didn’t need to understand. Nox took half a step closer to him. Khalid’s shoulders stiffened. Nox lightly brushed his body against Khalid’s. You can’t touch me, but I can touch you. Even if it’s disgusting. I can, and you can’t. Thinking that, Nox whispered, “Come to the Imperial Palace in one week, at this time.”

“…To the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes. If you truly wish to apologize to me. Then perhaps, someday…”

…we might spend more time together. Thud. Nox left the dining room, leaving only those words behind. Khalid stood there blankly, the only one remaining.

Khalid could not understand Nox’s intentions. But if Nox wanted it, if he commanded it, Khalid had no choice but to obey. He was the one who had ruined this relationship. He had ruined it with his own hands. He had no choice but to cling to it in any way possible. No matter how ruined the relationship, he didn’t want to let go. Khalid briefly covered his eyes with one hand. The taste of blood filled his tightly bitten lips.

“Is it alright to leave like this, Your Grace?” the aide asked Nox, who had climbed into the carriage. Nox gave his aide a chilling look and said, “I don’t recall telling you to speak.”

“M-my apologies.”

“Ah, and please send a letter stating that I will visit the Imperial Palace in one week.”

“Understood.”

Giving sustenance with one hand, and setting fires with the other. Nox looked out the carriage window with a rather unpleasant expression. The method he had conceived was so primal and simple. But it was also something he could be confident would succeed.

“Only unwanted tasks keep increasing.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

The carriage returned quietly to the Rainerio mansion. Nox’s aide, as commanded, sent a request to visit the Imperial Palace, and the news immediately reached the Emperor’s ears.

The Emperor pondered Nox’s request. He knew Nox wouldn’t come to see him without a reason. Though he had asked him to show his face when he returned to his cousin, that surely wasn’t the reason.

A week. It was a tight deadline for the Emperor, yet he had no choice but to accept. The Emperor gazed at the request, which wasn’t even in Nox’s handwriting, then put it into his pocket. Even though Nox hadn’t written it himself, it was the first trace of him he had held since then.

***

Exactly one week later, at the same time he had visited Khalid’s mansion, Nox arrived at the Imperial Palace. He tossed the response permitting his visit onto the floor. It was the butler’s job to diligently pick up the invitations Nox discarded. But despite his casual dismissal of the permit, he visited the Palace as promised.

He stepped out of the carriage and looked up at the Emperor’s palace.

“Welcome, His Grace Duke Rainerio.”

The Emperor’s chamberlain was there to greet him. Nox merely nodded instead of replying. Following the chamberlain’s guidance to the Emperor’s reception room was, for Nox, far from pleasant. He was going to meet someone he didn’t want to. Instead of frowning, Nox took a short, deep breath.

When the chamberlain opened the reception room door, the Emperor was visible, seated not at the head of the room, but on a sofa below it. It was a grand gesture of deference, but Nox stood impassively by the door. As if under specific orders, the usual attendant by the Emperor’s side was absent from the reception room. The chamberlain who had guided him there soon closed the door and left. In the quiet room, Nox paused in silence, then slowly offered his respects.

“I greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”

“Have you been well?”

“I didn’t realize you cared that much, Your Majesty. To answer, I haven’t been particularly well.” Nox replied in a calm voice. At that, the Emperor, like Khalid, pressed his lips together.

“…Please, sit first.”

“Very well.”

Nox sat opposite the Emperor, casually crossing his legs as he gazed at him. The Emperor’s eyes immediately met his.

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Nox. A perfectly fitted suit. A straight back and shoulders. Nox was the epitome of a noble, enough to make the Emperor momentarily forget he had once been a slave. The Emperor let out a short, suppressed groan. He was the one who had, even for a brief time, taken everything from Nox. No, even now, he was still gnawing away at what Nox deserved. The rumors of him being the plaything of the Emperor and Duke Via hadn’t easily faded.

“So, the reason I wished to see Your Majesty is…”

“Straight to the point, then?”

“I don’t believe there’s any reason for us to have a more extensive conversation.”

“…Indeed.” The Emperor conceded readily. Nox placed his clasped hands on his knee and stated, “I wish to acquire a portion of the diamond mine’s shares.”

“What did you say?”

Despite the Emperor’s startled tone, Nox effortlessly repeated himself. “I said I wish to acquire a portion of the diamond mine’s shares.”

“…Do you think that’s possible?” the Emperor asked in a low voice. Nox then offered a faint smile, almost a sneer.

“It is possible,” Nox replied in a self-deprecating tone. “As the Emperor’s favored lover, how could I not receive at least that much?”