I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 4

“Khalid.”

Nox turned the annex upside down. He searched every corner, like he was combing through a battlefield but there was no sign of the child. Not in the annex, not in the storage rooms. He even checked the stables, just in case, but there wasn’t even a single strand of the boy’s hair.

A creeping anxiety took hold of him. What if the child had run away? What if he couldn’t find his way back? Nox clenched his fists and, having exhausted every corner of the annex, headed straight for the main house. If the boy was there, at least that would be something.

He searched all the guest rooms in the main building. The sun had started to dip below the horizon, and still, no Khalid. A sigh escaped his lips as he wiped the light sheen of sweat from his forehead.

“Where could you have gone… Khalid…”

As he sighed again, a thought struck him sharp and clear. A place the boy might feel safe enough to hide. Somewhere he’d believe he was truly protected.

He hadn’t checked his own room.

Nox’s heart pounded as he made his way there. He looked around but again, no sign of the boy. Still, he carefully searched the room, gently calling out:

“Khalid…?”

No reply.

“Khalid. It’s me, Nox.”

Then a sniffle. A quiet, stifled sob from somewhere nearby. He turned toward the sound, which came from inside the wardrobe tucked in the corner of his dressing room. Slowly, so as not to startle him, Nox opened the door.

There, curled up in the small dark space, was Khalid.

The boy looked up at him with swollen eyes, his cheeks stained with tears. He’d grown noticeably thinner in just a week, frail and ghostlike. Without a word, Nox wrapped his arms around him. Khalid collapsed into his embrace like he’d been waiting for exactly that.

“L-Lord… Lord Nox… Hic… Ahh…”

“It’s alright, Khalid. I’m here now. I’m here.”

He held the child tightly, murmuring his name over and over again, smoothing his back in a rhythm meant to calm. The boy buried himself deeper into his arms, his body so thin it felt like their bones might clash.

So this is where he’s been all week. Hiding in that tiny wardrobe, waiting for him.

Nox felt a heat rise behind his eyes. He could feel almost physically just how afraid Khalid had been, alone in the dark.

“…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Khalid.”

“Hic… mm…”

Nox swore to himself then and there he would never, ever let Khalid out of his sight again. The boy had cried so much he couldn’t even shed tears anymore. Gently, Nox lifted him and carried him to his bed. Even as he laid him down, Khalid clung to his sleeve, unwilling to let go.

“It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

He climbed in beside him and held that small, brittle frame close, whispering a silent vow never to leave him alone again.

—

While Nox was with the physician, seeing to Khalid’s care, his mother Olga Lainerio was in her chambers receiving a report from Maeta.

As she stared at the teacup in her hands, her gaze slowly shifted to the side.

“And?”

“Well… the boy ran off, and Master has been drinking ever since.”

“And Nox?”

“I-I’ve been told he’s with the physician now, my lady. He seems to believe Khalid needs treatment after starving for an entire week…”

“Ha.”

A single, heavy exhale. Maeta flinched. She knew too well what that sigh meant. Another maid cracked open the window, letting in a warm breeze that ruffled Olga’s pale hair and stirred the silence in the room.

“My husband first… and now my son…”

She murmured to herself and took a sip of tea. The warmth was just right, and it soothed the fury bubbling in her stomach.

She looked at the maid, who bowed her head the moment their eyes met.

“Tch. I suppose we’ll wait and see.”

Her voice was cold as frost. Maeta bowed even deeper, trying not to provoke her further. The maid who had opened the window leaned in gently.

“The young master is sharp. I’m sure he’ll come to his senses.”

“Yes, he will. He must.”

Olga said it firmly, and the maid nodded, reaching out to clasp her hand. Olga let her hold it for a moment, then turned to Maeta.

“If anything happens between Nox and that boy, I want to know immediately.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Olga set her teacup down and stared at the last of the crimson tea. Her son was intelligent. He’d come to his senses soon enough and stop wasting his attention on a mere servant. But if he didn’t…

Her eyes grew cold. The maid, sensing her thoughts, offered a nervous smile. The young master better snap out of it soon, she thought to herself.

—

It took three full months for Khalid to recover. Nox stayed by his side the whole time, watching over him with care. And Khalid, as if to return that kindness, got back on his feet quickly. By the time he was well again, summer had arrived in full heat.

Now even healthier than before, Khalid resumed his duties with energy. One day, as heavy rain poured down and the knights’ training was canceled, Nox stayed in his room, buried in books, focused on writing.

*Click.*

A teacup was gently placed on his desk. Nox looked up to see Khalid, holding a teapot. Nox nodded slightly, gesturing for him to set it down. Khalid placed the pot on another table, then came over to Nox’s side.

“Can you read?” Nox asked suddenly.

“N-no…” Khalid lowered his head in embarrassment.

Nox didn’t blame him. Commoners had little time or need to learn letters. He motioned for Khalid to come closer and pulled out a blank parchment. Taking up a pen, he began writing the alphabet.

“I’ll teach you.”

“Eh?”

“Do you not want to learn?”

“No, I do! I do!”

Khalid nodded vigorously, his gray-blond hair shaking like a puppy’s. Nox, almost without thinking, reached out and gently ruffled it. The boy’s cheeks flushed red. Amused, Nox lightly touched his ear.

“Ah…”

Khalid flinched slightly, uncertain if he was embarrassed or ticklish. Nox withdrew his hand and casually remarked,

“You had something on you.”

“Y-yes…”

A flimsy excuse. Khalid touched his ear with fingers still warm from Nox’s hand. And Nox… Nox remembered how soft the boy had felt under his touch. He looked at that flushed face.

He liked being loved by this boy. It was selfish especially when he knew he could never return those feelings. Letting them grow like this was cruel.

“How ridiculous,” he thought.

A foolish father. An overbearing mother. A noble house that looked perfect but was hollow inside. And in that emptiness, this gentle, wool-soft child clung to him.

Because it felt like love. Because it made him feel like someone worth loving.

Nox shook off the thought and returned to the lesson.

“Like this…”

He carefully taught Khalid how to pronounce each letter. The boy listened intently, memorizing quickly, desperately following Nox’s hand. Nox didn’t realize the boy wasn’t watching the letters.

He was watching Nox.

The clean edge of his fingernails. The hand that gently guided him. Every little detail Khalid took pride in helping shape. His feelings had already grown far bigger than Nox could imagine.

“You’re doing well,” Nox said.

“…Thank you.”

Khalid tried hard to hide it, his heart bursting at the seams. If you knew how much I adore you, young master, you’d be shocked, he wanted to say. But he also knew it was a love that would never be returned.

Still…

It didn’t matter. As long as he could stay by Nox’s side, watch him grow, even if he became a man taller and stronger than him, it didn’t matter. Even if Nox never looked at him that way

Even if he married someone else.

It would still be okay.

Nox and Khalid shared peaceful days. Nox was always kind to him, softer than he was with anyone else. And Khalid, in return, gave him his whole heart. It was like something out of a perfect painting.

That wretched father stayed out of sight. The estate was stable. Even the weather turned pleasant after the rain.

But then, as if to signal the end of their happiness, Nox’s once-formidable mother fell ill.

—

It was the winter Nox turned fifteen. The trees were bare, the earth frozen. The cold wind stabbed through coats and cloaks alike, and in that season, her sudden illness shook the entire household.

“Get out!”

*Crash!*

A flowerpot flew across the room and shattered against the wall, narrowly missing a maid. She screamed and dropped to her knees. Olga stared at her own trembling arm and shrieked furious at herself, at everything.