I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 3

The moment his mother was mentioned, Duran let out a low, bitter scoff. He was terrified of her so much that he couldn’t defy even the smallest of her words. And yet, he persistently showed Khalid a discomforting sort of attention.

Nox, fully aware of his father’s depraved tastes, worked all the harder to protect Khalid.

Before marrying, his father had been a vile man who preyed on children under fifteen. After marriage, his noble-born wife Nox’s mother found such behavior disgraceful and, as the story went, kept him under strict control, like a rat caught in a trap. Thanks to that, he seemed to restrain himself for a while. But once Khalid entered their home, his eyes began to gleam again, always watching for an opportunity.

Nox drew a firm line.

“I’ll be taking my leave.”

“You’re just like your mother, looking down on ”

He didn’t bother listening to the rest. The man, swollen with self-loathing, had no intention of changing. All he did was stand in place, busy indulging his filth.

“Master…”

“Shh. It’s alright.”

Nox spoke softly, as if to calm Khalid. He gently wrapped an arm around the boy’s shoulders and walked forward, making sure to match his pace with the child’s.

Khalid’s ears flushed red before he even realized it, and Nox noticed it clearly. A faint smile tugged at his lips.

Sometimes he felt a small joy at the thought that he might be this child’s first love. But it was quickly followed by pity that Khalid had fallen for someone like him.

After all, he was just another noble with the same filthy blood running through his veins. Nox didn’t want to give his heart to the boy. He only wanted to protect him. He swore, again and again, that he would never harbor the kind of desire his father had.

Every morning after training, Khalid would help him change with those tiny hands of his.

Nervous as always, the boy’s fingers trembled as he tried to undo Nox’s buttons. Watching him struggle, Nox would often let out a quiet sigh and undress himself instead.

“S-sorry…”

“It’s fine. Go draw the bath, will you?”

“Y-yes!”

Khalid would scurry off to prepare the bathwater. Nox, meanwhile, would slowly undress, hang his clothes loosely on a chair, and put on the robe Khalid had set out. Then he’d head to the bathroom.

There, he would find Khalid checking the water’s temperature.

“Go rest for a bit.”

“Huh? B-but what about the bath service?”

At that, Nox raised an eyebrow.

He had never once asked Khalid to assist with his bath.

“Where did you hear something like that?”

“I-I overheard some adults talking. They said… if you want to be favored, you’re supposed to help with the bath…”

Nox folded his arms and looked at him carefully. From the way it sounded, that “bath service” probably didn’t mean anything innocent.

“Do you even know what they were really talking about?”

“Um… isn’t it just helping someone bathe?”

Nox let out a dry laugh. It was so absurd, he couldn’t even be angry.

“No, that’s not it. Go rest. I’ll handle it myself.”

“B-but…”

“Shh.”

Nox silenced him with a light scolding, and Khalid, crestfallen, got up from his spot. It was hard for Nox to see the boy look so down, so he reached out and gently patted his head.

“I’ll call you again when it’s time to eat. Don’t worry.”

And just like that, Khalid’s face lit up.

“Y-yes!”

“Good.”

Peace settled between them. Khalid, despite his small hands, did his chores well. And Nox never demanded too much from him. Everything seemed balanced as if they had found the perfect rhythm.

Perhaps it was that peace that made Nox lower his guard.

One day, during a family event on his mother’s side, Nox had to leave the house. Because Khalid was still young and inexperienced, it was difficult to bring him along to the strict and formal event.

“All you’ll be doing is simple chores.”

“Yes.”

“And stay away from Father’s room. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ve asked Maeta to look after you. You’ll be assigned to the annex and won’t have to do anything else.”

“Got it, Master.”

Khalid understood Nox’s anxiety well. So he smiled as brightly as he could, trying to ease his master’s worry.

“I promise I’ll do everything you said. Don’t worry.”

Nox forced himself to smile and nodded. Then he left with his mother.

To others, it was just a week. But to Nox, it felt like forever. He should’ve taken the boy with him.

Even at the party, Nox found himself thinking of Khalid. He told himself there was nothing to worry about as Khalid was in the annex, far from Father. And Father, cowed by Mother, wouldn’t dare make a move.

But the unease refused to leave. A persistent anxiety kept clawing at his mind.

“Why are you so distracted?” his mother asked.

“S-sorry.”

Annoyed by his behavior, she snapped at him. Nox straightened up, trying to gather himself.

No way, he thought. That coward wouldn’t dare disobey Mother’s orders. He kept whispering to himself: It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.

And finally, the week ended. When he returned home, something was off.

“Where’s Khalid?”

Maeta, the head maid, looked utterly guilt-ridden as she bowed low.

“He… he’s gone.”

She didn’t even lift her head as she glanced nervously at Nox. His brows furrowed deeply. She knew how much Khalid meant to him.

“I told you not to take your eyes off him.”

“The last time I saw him, he was definitely in the annex…”

Nox narrowed his eyes. The boy had been in the annex and vanished without a trace?

There was something she wasn’t telling him.

Caught under his gaze, Maeta finally gave in.

“The moment you and the lady left, the Duke summoned Khalid.”

“…What?”

His heart dropped. He hadn’t expected his father to act so brazenly. Or had he just chosen not to see it?

Without another word, Nox ran.

“Master! Master!”

Maeta called after him, but he didn’t stop. He sprinted down the hallways, abandoning any noble decorum, and arrived at his father’s room, hair and clothes disheveled.

He didn’t even knock. The moment he flung the door open, the stench of alcohol hit him.

“You barge into your father’s room without permission now?”

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

“Khalid. Where is he?”

“Khalid?”

Drunk and dazed, Duran paused for a moment, then clapped his hands.

“Oh, you mean that pretty little brat!”

“What did you do to him?”

Duran burst out laughing. Then, suddenly, he hurled the bottle in his hand to the floor. Crash! Glass shattered loudly, but Nox didn’t flinch. He stared at his father coldly.

Duran met his son’s gaze, those green-tinted dark eyes and that black hair, all too reminiscent of his wife. He couldn’t stand the look of contempt in his son’s face.

“You show more respect to a lowborn servant than your own father!”

“I’ve never done that.”

Nox lied without hesitation. And the lie drove Duran into a rage.

He stepped forward, heedless of the glass crunching beneath his feet.

Nox was still young, so Duran loomed over him. But that was all. In the boy’s gaze, there was only cold disgust, like ice.

“I asked what you did to him.”

“I couldn’t do a damn thing! The brat wouldn’t stay still!”

He raised an arm, almost in frustration. On his forearm were clear bite marks.

“He dared lay teeth on a noble! I should’ve punished him on the spot, but he ran off before I could. I have no idea where he went!”

Nox’s eyes darkened with deeper contempt. Duran couldn’t stand it.

“Get out! Get out, I said! Don’t look at me with those damned eyes!”

Duran stumbled over to the bed and collapsed onto it.

Nox stared at the pathetic figure for a long moment. Then he turned on his heel and slammed the door shut behind him, heading straight for the annex.

Thankfully, the boy had escaped his father’s grasp. But where he had run off to Nox had no idea.