I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 122

At her words, the butler stared at Angela blankly for a moment. Angela tilted her head, smiling brightly, her face betraying no hint of what the problem might be. The butler, rubbing his aching head, tried a different approach.

“What did you two talk about?”

“Hmm, two other maids came with me, but His Grace told them to leave and only I should stay.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“I don’t know?” Angela merely tilted her head again, still with that adorable expression, though this time to the opposite side. The butler concluded this maid was foolish. It would have been better if one of the other two had been chosen. Of all the luck.

“…From now on, report all conversation details to me.”

“Why?” Angela’s counter-question made the butler frown deeply. In such cases, a simple “Yes” was customary. Not only was that the usual relationship between a butler and a servant, but all the servants in this household had been placed there to observe and monitor Nox Rainerio anyway.

“Do I have to explain it?” the butler asked sharply, and the maid immediately nodded.

“Okay.”

“…Alright, you may go then.”

Angela spent her precious break time conversing with the butler, then returned to Nox. As soon as she arrived at Nox’s room, she smoothly approached his desk, placed both hands on it, bent her waist casually, rested her chin on the back of her hands, and said, “The butler wants me to report everything?”

Nox, who had been looking at his documents, asked, “So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Oh, the butler’s side is no fun,” the maid’s eyes sparkled. Perhaps it was because she was an information guild member, but her personality was unpredictable. Nox, as if telling her to do as she pleased, said, “It doesn’t matter if you report about me to them. But make sure to report to me how the butler moves and what the servants are saying.”

“Understood.” Angela rose from her position, bowed gracefully, and went to her designated spot, standing perfectly straight. Standing still, she looked like a beautifully crafted bisque doll. Nox resumed sorting his documents.

Rustle, rustle. Only the sound of turning pages filled the office.

***

Khalid watched the fireplace, burning the butler’s single-line reports that accumulated daily. Crack, crackle. Though the weather had warmed, a fire always blazed in the grand mansion’s hearth. Khalid frowned, a weary expression on his face. The image of Feltion (likely a misremembered name for Nox or a past lover) and Nox’s kiss lingered stubbornly in his mind.

A wave of fury would rise, only to be coldly extinguished when he thought of Nox’s face. From the start, he was someone I should never have desired. He wasn’t someone I could hold forever just because he had fallen. And he was the one who had forcefully brought about that fall.

That truth gnawed at his sanity. Crackle, crackle. Khalid gazed steadily into the fireplace. The fire blazed. Staring at it, it felt as though it were his own insides. His stomach burned intensely, yet nothing came out. Only black ash accumulated in a corner of his chest, festering. Khalid slumped onto the sofa before the hearth, alone. He reached for the side table beside him. His hand fell upon a loosely placed roll of tobacco.

Khalid slowly placed the tobacco in his mouth. He struck a match that lay beside it, and the matchstick’s end ignited. He applied the flame, inhaling deeply, and the tobacco caught fire. Khalid swallowed and exhaled the smoke, watching it dissipate into a hazy mist until it vanished.

It was by chance that his eyes fell upon the orange-red flames. Khalid shifted the tobacco to his left hand. Then, as if possessed, he rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. His arm, bearing numerous faint scars from past tumbles, was revealed. Khalid knew well what marks were left on Nox’s arms.

“…Cough.”

Sizzle, with the sound of flesh burning, Khalid extinguished the tobacco he held in his left hand against the inside of his forearm. The skin immediately flared red, then quickly swelled. In that brief, dizzying pain, he clenched his teeth. Slowly, he grimaced at the escalating heat. Khalid remembered. He remembered Nox calling this “breath.” Even the image of Nox softly murmuring that he felt alive every time he did this.

But Khalid felt only pain. I don’t know what your breath was. I don’t know why you felt alive in such pain… Khalid tossed the extinguished tobacco onto the floor. And then:

Sizzle, thud!

He lit another roll of tobacco. And just like before, he inhaled a few puffs. As the smoke billowed before his eyes, he pressed the tobacco again beside the inflamed wound. The smell of burning flesh, the sharp, rising pain. Khalid’s breath hitched for a moment. He hated and despised himself for this. I only thought of holding you in my arms; I never once tried to understand you. If I had tried to understand you, would something have been a little different? Perhaps just a little.

But even now, he was a fool who couldn’t understand Nox. He only felt jealousy at the sight of Nox kissing Feltion (a reference to Nox’s assumed identity or a past relationship with the Emperor). How ugly.

“From the beginning, I shouldn’t have done it.”

When the Emperor playfully offered to help with Nox’s education, he should have refused. Because I hated Nox Rainerio, the liar who abandoned me, and couldn’t accept myself for loving him, I now regret abandoning you to the Emperor’s hands under the guise of ‘education,’ regardless of your will.

“Foolish. So foolish.”

Khalid extinguished the third roll of tobacco on his forearm. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. Drip, a bead of sweat fell from his chin to the floor, and Khalid squeezed the burning inside of his wrist. The pain of the circular blister being pressed, combined with the searing heat, intensified.

“…Nox.”

Khalid hunched over, calling his name softly. I can do nothing for you, yet I still want to see you. It was my foolishness that made me lie when you foolishly asked if I resented you, and it’s a sin to think I want to beg you now. All of it, a sin committed by my own stupidity.

Khalid remained there for a long time, clenching his teeth against the burning pain. Until this feels like breath. I want to understand even a sliver of you. And if this helps me understand you even a little, I want to beg for your forgiveness immediately. Even if it’s too late.

Just then, someone approached Khalid from behind. It was the butler.

“All the new knight order members have assembled.”

“…I’ll be there soon.”

“Understood.”

Khalid rose from his seat. I don’t expect forgiveness. I just want to be a pawn you can use. Whatever it takes, whatever you do.

***

As the days grew warmer and the sun hotter, a rumor swept through high society: Marquis Demitri Andelass, who had been living quietly since the current Emperor’s ascension, was holding a birthday banquet.

People tried to hush it up and pretend not to care, but an undeniable piece of news accompanied it: Duke Nox Rainerio had expressed his intention to attend the banquet.

“Duke Nox Rainerio?”

“He’s been making appearances in society lately, but he’s still a difficult man to see.”

“Perhaps… it wouldn’t be bad to go see him?”

The nobles began to stir. The quick-witted and those captivated by gossip quickly sent their intentions to attend the banquet to Marquis Demitri. However, not all nobles were interested in the event.

After all, it’s just the attendance of someone who fell to being a slave. Those who feigned nobility lifted their chins, pretending it had nothing to do with them, and spent their time trying to look elsewhere. But after a few days, even more surprising news reached their ears.

“Did you say Khalid Via is attending Marquis Demitri Andelass’s banquet?”

“Didn’t even His Majesty the Emperor say he would attend?”

“As expected… it must be because of Duke Nox Rainerio, right?”

“What exactly is the relationship between those three?”

“I don’t know. But surely, if we go to that banquet, we’ll find out, won’t we?”

The nobles exchanged sharp, raven-like glances. They began to subtly send letters to Marquis Demitri Andelass, expressing their intent to attend the banquet. Marquis Demitri Andelass saw this and let out a faint laugh.

“To think I’d need the help of that Duke.”

His name had faded significantly. Normally, many nobles would have ignored the plight or news of someone who was once the leader of the noble faction. But the gossip-obsessed nobles were too foolish and too eager to ignore the prey that was Nox Rainerio.

He ordered his butler to organize the flood of RSVPs and looked out the window. “Things are about to get interesting.”

And he was also curious if, as Nox had previously hinted, he had truly acquired a share of the diamond mine.

It didn’t seem likely that Nox Rainerio would carelessly dabble in society and politics without a deeper plan. This was, in essence, his grand debut.

“I’ll set the stage just as he wishes…” He’d better not disappoint me. Marquis Andelass thought, stroking his beard.