I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 137

Feltion glared at Nox, but Nox avoided his gaze. His refusal that he didn’t want Feltion’s touch and would prefer someone else was absolute.

The Emperor strode purposefully toward him, and without Nox’s permission, grabbed his shoulder firmly. Nox winced.

“Don’t touch my body…!”

Before he could finish his protest, a rustling sound came from somewhere. Both men quickly turned their heads in that direction.

Rustle, rustle. The figure emerging from the bushes wasn’t clearly visible. Feltion instinctively moved Nox behind him, raising his sword.

Nox, still frowning, looked ahead, then, as if to say it was fine, used his uninjured hand to push the Emperor back, stepping forward himself.

“…Khalid?” the Emperor asked, blinking.

Khalid, who had just emerged from the forest, was covered in blood. It didn’t seem to be his own; he looked like he’d been drenched in someone else’s. Nox’s lips pressed into a tight line at the sight.

“There was a huge wolf,” Khalid said.

“Not just one?” the Emperor questioned.

Khalid nodded. The blood soaking his body was clearly from wolves. Feltion’s face grew serious as he looked around. Then Khalid looked at Nox and said, “I handled it well.”

Nox offered a faint smile at that look. For Khalid, stealing a glimpse of Nox’s smile, avoiding Feltion’s gaze, was an overwhelming reward. And as if knowing this, as if giving him a prize, Nox extended his arm to Khalid.

“…Your arm,” Khalid said, his face contorted in a grimace as he looked at Nox’s injured limb, then at the dead wolf on the ground. It was clearly injured by the wolf. Khalid stepped forward, then flinched, stopping himself from reaching out. Unlike Feltion, he hesitated.

Nox then spoke to him. “It seems I’ll have trouble riding alone, so please help me.”

Khalid’s and Feltion’s eyes widened at Nox’s words. Khalid, his hands visibly trembling, reached out.

“…Anything.”

“…” Feltion, on the other hand, gritted his teeth. Nox, who had utterly refused his touch, had now allowed Khalid’s. Khalid felt a strange sense of triumph as he took Nox’s outstretched hand.

Nox swayed slightly, lightheaded from blood loss. Khalid quickly embraced him, holding him close for a moment before slowly leading him to his horse.

“Can you get on?”

“Perhaps.”

Khalid grasped Nox’s waist and effortlessly lifted him onto the horse. Once Nox was safely seated, Khalid swiftly mounted behind him. Feltion watched, consumed by a strange sense of defeat.

Nox, seemingly devoid of strength, leaned back against Khalid’s chest, relaxing into his embrace. Khalid felt Nox’s cold body against him and his heart pounded with urgency, knowing Nox needed immediate treatment.

“We should return to the tents at once,” Khalid urged.

“…Do so,” Feltion conceded.

Khalid and Nox rode ahead, with Feltion following closely behind. Feltion’s gaze remained fixed on the two figures, nestled together.

They whispered to each other, their voices too faint to discern, only the faint sounds of their breathing carried on the wind. Feltion gripped his reins tightly. ‘Why is it that I can’t, but Khalid Via can?’

Feltion, now burdened with the very thoughts Khalid once harbored, stared at the two men’s backs with a chilling expression. And those two men, feeling Feltion’s gaze, quietly exchanged words that shouldn’t be overheard.

“Any sword marks?”

“None, there shouldn’t be.”

“Well, it wouldn’t matter even if there were.”

Nox forced his fading eyes open. Realizing the extent of Nox’s blood loss, Khalid spurred the horse faster.

As the three men returned to the tents, the area was already in an uproar over the sudden appearance of the wolves.

“Wolves have appeared!”

“Wolves in the capital’s forest?”

“These aren’t wolves that belong in the capital. This must be…!”

As panic erupted among those who had fled the wolves, returning to the tents, nobles quickly gathered around the Emperor, Feltion.

“Your Majesty! Are you alright?”

“Did you not see the wolves?”

Their attention shifted from Feltion to Nox, who was riding on Khalid’s horse, one arm drenched in blood. Their faces paled.

“S-surely not, from a wolf…!”

“Call the healers,” Khalid snapped, cutting them off. Healers were always on standby during hunting competitions for unforeseen injuries. Nox felt the pain in his arm gradually dulling. This is getting serious, he thought. As Nox began to dismount, Esterion, who had been waiting nearby, rushed over.

“Your Grace…!” His face hardened at the sight of Nox’s injured arm. Khalid tried to support Nox by his waist, but Nox quietly pushed his hand away. Khalid flinched, stopping. Nox, ignoring Khalid’s reaction, leaned into Esterion’s outstretched arm and dismounted, his demeanor now distant toward Khalid, as if to say his role was over. For a brief moment, Khalid could only feel the lingering warmth of Nox’s body against him.

Just then, the sound of something large being dragged could be heard from somewhere. The people in the tents murmured, then instantly froze.

Rustle.

Breaking through the bushes was Demetri, dragging the carcass of a large wolf with one hand.

“Ah, is everyone alright?”

“Sir Demetri!”

“Did you catch a wolf?”

“It was a bit dangerous, but thankfully, I wasn’t hurt.”

Feltion’s face hardened. The presence of such a fierce beast, unnatural in the capital, implied someone had intentionally released it. The Emperor fell into thought. What’s the reason? The wolf didn’t appear trained; it looked as if it had just been captured from the wild. Unleashing such a beast would mean attacking allies and enemies indiscriminately.

Emperor Feltion called for his attendants, ordering, “Summon the Imperial Knights. We must clear them all before the common people are harmed.”

“Understood.”

Just then, a pale-faced Viscount, trembling and stumbling, rushed back to the tents. He immediately knelt before the Emperor. Feltion initially thought him simply timid, but then the nobleman, lifting his head, uttered a shocking statement:

“A-a corpse…!”

Feltion’s brow furrowed. Could a noble have fallen victim to a wolf? It wouldn’t be surprising, given the circumstances. Few participants could face such large wolves alone. It wouldn’t be strange for anyone to die…

“I saw Duke Ellerdine Weiss lying collapsed!”

Feltion’s eyes widened. Ellerdine Weiss. Who was he? The Emperor’s face blanched, and he stumbled. An attendant moved to support him, but a swifter hand intervened: Khalid.

“I will go and check,” Khalid offered.

“…Yes, you are here, Khalid,” the Emperor said, unable to hide his shock and confusion. Khalid calmly looked down at Feltion’s bewildered face, then helped him upright before asking the kneeling noble, “Where was the presumed body of Duke Ellerdine Weiss?”

“T-to the north from here, straight ahead.”

“Understood.”

Khalid headed into the forest without even mounting a horse, his sword drawn. He headed north. To be precise, he went to the exact spot where he had killed Ellerdine Weiss.

Pushing aside knee-high vegetation, he arrived at a place reeking of blood. Khalid gazed at Ellerdine Weiss’s face: his half-torn face, eyes wide in death. Next to him lay one of the wolves Khalid had killed. He slowly scanned the surroundings. Ellerdine’s body was gruesome; his stomach was ripped open, guts exposed, and his limbs twisted at unnatural angles, likely from the wolf feasting. The area was a pool of blood.

Suddenly, a snarl echoed nearby.

There’s one more.

It clearly looked like the wolf had been interrupted while feeding. Khalid drew his sword. Shing, the small metallic sound drew an immediate lunge from the wolf. Khalid lowered his shoulder and swung his sword, slashing its exposed underbelly as it leaped at him.

Whine, yelp!

With a splash, blood and guts burst from the wolf’s instantly gashed belly. Thud, the wolf whimpered, writhing on the ground. Khalid approached it and thrust his sword into its gaping maw. Gasp, and then the wolf’s body went limp.

Khalid looked at Ellerdine Weiss’s corpse one last time. He couldn’t forget the look in Weiss’s eyes as they last met him.

‘You…!’

The moment the wolf appeared, Khalid had grabbed Ellerdine Weiss by the scruff of his neck and shoved him into the jaws of the lunging wolf. That look of overwhelming betrayal remained etched in his memory. But then…

‘It didn’t matter, after all.’

He placed a hand over his left chest. The warmth where Nox had briefly leaned still seemed to linger. Khalid unknowingly chuckled softly. Ah. It pleased him that Nox was satisfied. Disgustingly so.