I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 25

Valtias Deron was holed up in his room, biting his fingernails. He was supposed to attend the banquet at the Emperor’s summons, but when Khalid announced he was bringing his slave, Valtias knew he had to forfeit his attendance. Nox Rainerio, the true owner of the credit he’d stolen.

“Marquis, are you sure you don’t need to attend the banquet today…?”

Valtias immediately grabbed a book nearby and hurled it at the butler. Thwack! The butler staggered from the blow, then quickly straightened himself, bowing his head in silence.

“Sh-shut up. I’m thinking.”

“My apologies. I’m sure you had something in mind.”

Valtias continued biting his nails, then looked down at them as a stinging pain flared. His thumbnail was half-eaten, bleeding. He scowled and then put his index finger in his mouth. He was anxious. Anxious that Nox Rainerio might talk about the credit he’d stolen. No one would listen to a slave now, but he was terrified that His Imperial Majesty might somehow find out the truth.

“I have to shut his mouth…”

Blood soon appeared on his index finger too. But he didn’t stop biting his nails, lost in thought. How could he keep Nox Rainerio’s mouth shut?

When Valtias Deron was a spy in the Rainerio family, he fed Feltion information he’d extracted from Nox’s hands. Nox, with his calm eyes and steady fingertips, was always composed even when smuggling important family documents. He was unlike Valtias himself, who would tremble as he received the papers.

Valtias Deron felt a bitter jealousy towards Nox Rainerio. A man who possessed what he, Valtias, did not. And so, he had stolen Nox’s credit. He had everything anyway, Valtias rationalized. Isn’t it fair that someone who’s never crawled at the bottom gets a taste of it, and someone like me, who had nothing, gets a chance to soar? He rationalized it again and again.

“H-how do I shut his mouth?”

His eyes gleamed in the dark room. His mind was consumed by Nox. Nox, Nox Rainerio. How could he silence him? Valtias Deron agonized over this unanswerable problem.

At that very moment, the Emperor was clucking his tongue, looking at Khalid who had come to find him.

“So, you’ve come to complain because I touched your slave, even just a fingertip?”

“…”

“Exactly as I guessed. No matter that he’s yours, didn’t I ultimately bestow him upon you? Why is it that neither of you listens to me? Isn’t that right, Weiss?”

“Indeed, Your Majesty. Marquis Deron also suddenly claimed illness today and didn’t attend the banquet, and now this one dares to complain to Your Majesty about touching his slave. It’s a grave sin. Truly.”

“When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound so grave after all. You tend to exaggerate.”

“Is that so?”

Khalid interjected between the two men who were bantering as if playing a game, rubbing his temples.

All he wanted was to greet the Emperor, then take Nox back to the mansion. Once they were back, he’d lock Nox in his room and not seek him out for a long time. And he would cast away every single one of those fleeting ‘lovely’ thoughts.

Khalid let out a low growl again as the thought of Nox resurfaced. Noticing his knight’s discomfort from his actions, Feltion stifled a laugh and asked,

“Why did your slave do something you dislike?”

“…No.”

“Oh, come on.”

The Emperor lightly patted Khalid’s shoulder, his brother-like companion. Then he whispered softly, “Will you bring him to my chambers?”

“…”

“You don’t know how to handle a slave. Perhaps it’s because your nature is gentle, or because I’ve been imperial-born since birth, but either way…” He spoke as if giving advice to his brother. “I can teach you. The methods, the demeanor for dealing with such a one.”

Khalid gritted his teeth. If he learned how to handle a slave, could he then discard these absurd feelings? Could he erase this sickening part of himself that thought Nox, trembling in his arms, was lovely? Khalid, his teeth clenched, asked the Emperor,

“If I learn, will anything change?”

“Anything you wish, in the direction you desire.” The Emperor spread his arms. The gesture seemed benevolent, yet to some, it would be no different from hell. Yes, to Nox Rainerio, it would be.

“If I learn how to handle a slave…” Khalid’s voice was dry, but Feltion didn’t miss the confusion deep within that arid tone. “…can I stop thinking he’s lovely?”

“Haha, you. You were thinking that?”

The Emperor laughed as if genuinely amused. But his eyes weren’t smiling in the slightest; only his lips were parted in a fake smile. Feltion approached Khalid and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“A slave is an object.”

“…”

“Do you find a table lovely?” Feltion asked, looking into Khalid’s eyes. Khalid didn’t answer. It was a question that needed no reply. No one finds a table lovely. Feltion was implying that Nox was no different from that table.

“You need to learn the proper demeanor for handling a slave.”

“…”

Khalid remained silent. His mind slowly began to turn. Nox Rainerio deserved to be miserable. He deserved to writhe in pain, as much as he had made Khalid suffer.

Khalid wanted to make him that way. To find him lovely was utterly preposterous. And so, Khalid gritted his teeth and said,

“Teach me. …Teach me how to handle a slave.”

Khalid didn’t hesitate to plunge Nox into a pit of suffering. Because he, Khalid Via, was bound to hate Nox Rainerio fiercely.

* * *

Nox was left abandoned on the terrace. He was a person who could be abandoned. Nox, without much thought, simply sat on a bench on the terrace, holding his torn shirt closed with one hand, all its buttons gone.

From inside the ballroom, the constant sound of music, light laughter, footsteps, and chatter continued. Nox felt as though he were in an aquarium next to them. Submerged in blue water up to his head, like a mermaid from a fairy tale. Yet, a mermaid so ugly that no one would bother to look.

Time flowed on like that, and Nox was able to fully immerse himself in his solitude. If no one had invaded his aquarium, he would have remained submerged. Someone pulled back the curtain and stepped onto the terrace, then paused.

“Ah, there was someone already here.”

“…Oh.”

Nox didn’t know how to react, unable to easily part his lips. What was here was not a person, but a slave. In that case, it would have been right for him to leave the terrace, but now that Khalid had left without any further command, he had to remain quietly in the spot where he had been abandoned.

“…I will go elsewhere.”

The person seemed to recognize Nox. And they were quite kind. Nox gave a slight nod in response.

“…Thank you.”

“Not at all. And…”

The man briefly scrutinized Nox. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation, just a careful appraisal. Nox tightened his grip on his shirt. If looked at closely, his disheveled appearance would be obvious.

“I plan to return soon.”

“Ah, I see.”

Nox was momentarily puzzled, unable to understand why he was being told this. The man then took off his own outer coat and offered it to Nox.

“So, please wear this.”

“Oh, you really don’t need to…”

“It’s not an expensive item.”

“…”

Indeed, as he said, the coat he offered was neither from a famous tailor nor adorned with lavish decorations. Nox knew he was being shown kindness. Meeting the only man who offered him goodwill in this banquet hall, otherwise filled with enemies, felt… better than he expected. Nox bit his lower lip hard, then replied nonchalantly,

“…I will surely return it someday.”

“You can use it and discard it if you wish; it doesn’t matter.”

The man said this, then approached Nox and placed the coat in his hands. Nox cautiously accepted the coat. After handing it over, the man immediately turned to leave the terrace without a moment’s hesitation. Nox, however, stopped him.

“Perhaps, could you tell me your name…?”

The man pondered for a moment, then replied, “Esterion Londer.”

Londer. Nox knew the Londer family well. They were a family whose fortunes had declined about five years ago due to the head of the household’s business failures. A common, fallen noble family. But their situation was incomparable to his own. Nox pressed his lips together and nodded.

“I will… surely repay you.”

“It’s fine.”

The man replied gruffly, then exited the terrace. Nox was once again left alone on the terrace, clutching the outer coat. But because of someone’s thoughtless kindness, Nox felt a little easier to breathe. It was as if someone had breathed air into his aquarium.