I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 93

In the past, Nox gave a ring to the Second Prince. And then, he said he was abandoned.

Since Nox referred to Feltion not as the Emperor but as the Second Prince, it was easy to deduce that something had happened in the past. But Khalid didn’t want to think that way.

If something happened between him and Nox while I was gone, then that would be…

Useless imaginings clouded his mind. Nox offering his ring, and the Second Prince Feltion accepting it. Khalid’s imagination effortlessly superimposed the smile he had once seen on Nox’s face, and Feltion…

Splash!

He stood up from the tub. The Emperor had never once spoken about Nox. They had lived almost like brothers. Of course, living like brothers didn’t mean there were no secrets between them. Khalid bit his lower lip.

‘…I have to go see him.’

He dried himself and left the bathroom. Servants were already waiting to prepare his clothes. He glanced at the bed; Nox was still asleep, unable to wake up.

A sudden urge to wake Nox and confirm surged within him, but at the same time…

‘What if he and the Second Prince shared a deep connection, even their hearts?’

The thought of not wanting to confirm that directly from Nox also crept into the cracks of his fractured heart. If he saw Nox answer, confessing he had shared his heart with him, then he…

Khalid’s jaw tightened.

Khalid stared at Nox’s tear-stained eyes, then quickly put on his clothes with the help of the servants and left his room. Creak, thud. He exited with the servants in tow.

Upon leaving the room, Khalid decided to see the Emperor first. If something had happened between Nox and the Second Prince during that time, the Emperor would know best. Khalid didn’t want to hear the story of the past, a past without him, from Nox’s own lips. He would rather confirm the facts with the Emperor and bind Nox more tightly. He wanted to make it impossible for Nox to even recall those memories; he wanted Nox to be solely his.

Khalid headed to the imperial palace and was able to have a private audience with the Emperor, who looked surprised at his quick arrival.

“You left with such an attitude, I didn’t expect you to come back so soon. Why, have you come to warn me?”

The Emperor sat opposite Khalid, jokingly, almost teasingly. No, it seemed half-serious. Having spent so long together, Khalid could roughly gauge his mood just by looking at his eyes.

“I didn’t come because I wanted to.”

Khalid sat opposite the Emperor, hands on his knees. He paused for a long moment, then clenched his fists and asked. As soon as he made up his mind, he went straight to the point.

“Did Your Majesty abandon Nox?”

“…”

The Emperor subtly frowned. Whatever the meaning of that reaction, to Khalid, it seemed difficult to speak about.

“Nox said that when you were the Second Prince, Your Majesty abandoned him.”

“…Nox did?”

The Emperor considered this. For Khalid to come and ask, it must mean Nox had indeed said so. But the Emperor had no significant contact with Nox during his time as Second Prince. He hadn’t even dreamed of bringing the Ducal House of Rainerio into his faction.

It was only natural, as Nox’s father, the family head, had actively supported the Crown Prince as the next emperor. And the only time he had been involved with him was…

‘That ring.’

When he had insulted him. That was the only time. The Emperor suddenly understood what Khalid was thinking, what he had come to confirm. Yes, the ring. The word “abandoned.” When these two things were combined, a typical cliché from a third-rate novel naturally came to mind.

The Emperor feigned silence, pretending to ponder. He was quite miffed at having Nox, who had been in his grasp, taken away. Moreover, Khalid was reportedly spending leisurely time with Nox. This fact subtly ignited his jealousy, almost beyond his own awareness.

“It was just something from a long time ago.”

So he told Khalid a slight lie. If asked if it was for Nox’s sake, no. He was merely seeking a small outlet for his own frustration. Just to relieve his own mind.

“What do you mean by that?”

Khalid frowned.

“A mistake from our youth, you could say.”

The Emperor smiled leisurely. Khalid’s insides began to boil. A past between the two of them that he didn’t know about? Khalid clenched his hands, glaring at the Emperor.

But the Emperor merely looked at Khalid calmly, legs crossed, as if he had no intention of elaborating.

In truth, there was nothing more to elaborate on, but the Emperor merely wanted to slightly, just slightly, upset Khalid.

“We weren’t suited for each other. That’s all.”

A grinding sound was heard.

“And yet you embraced Nox so well.”

“He’s just a slave now. Easy to handle.”

When the Emperor spoke with a smiling face, Khalid’s tightly clenched hands trembled. He had never imagined such a secret between the two. Khalid had grown up knowing nothing of aristocratic society, and his meetings with the Emperor were always clandestine.

Therefore, he knew nothing of Nox’s past: what had happened to him, how he grew up, or whom he had met. The Emperor soon shook his head.

“I don’t wish to discuss this further.”

“Is that why you did it?”

But Khalid showed no intention of stopping; he growled, demanding, “What you said about letting Nox choose.”

The Emperor secretly scoffed at him.

“Yes. It was Nox’s will to choose me, literally.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. The Emperor now understood the meaning behind the act of dropping the ring to him.

“I thought if I gave him another chance, he might choose me.”

Foolish Khalid became even more foolish when it came to Nox. Blinded by jealousy, he worried Nox would escape him, ultimately resorting to forcibly keeping him by his side.

“Or perhaps someday,” the Emperor continued.

“…”

“I hope you’ll abandon Nox to me when you no longer need him.”

“I wasn’t aware you had a hobby of picking up what others discard,” Khalid retorted.

“If it’s Nox, the story changes. We were quite ‘special,’ to put it mildly.”

A grinding sound was heard.

“And,” the Emperor added, driving the point home, “Nox will still be longing for that time.”

The Emperor had deliberately poked at Khalid’s sore spot. This too was an utterly foolish act. A shallow, selfish thought, aiming to sully what he couldn’t possess.

“The only reason he’s bound to you is simply guilt from the past.”

Khalid shot to his feet. The Emperor made no move to stop him. Khalid left without even a rude farewell, and as soon as he was gone, the Emperor let out a deep sigh.

“What a pathetic thing to do.”

The Emperor scoffed at himself. He knew well that this was nothing more than throwing a tantrum over something he couldn’t have. Yet, what he couldn’t control was his undeniable jealousy. He had no idea what impact this would have on Nox. The Emperor had easily done something he would deeply regret someday. Truly, it was effortless.

***

Nox woke up around that time. His eyes opened blankly; he couldn’t recall anything from yesterday. He remembered falling onto the bed with Khalid, but that was all. What they had said or talked about was completely forgotten. Nox got up, washed, and dressed. He then hesitated at the door for a moment.

Khalid wasn’t there, so he wondered if he should go outside.

“Ha…”

He cautiously opened the door. He figured since he had permission to roam the mansion again, it would be fine as long as he didn’t go into the garden. His body felt stiff, and he thought some movement might do him good.

So Nox wandered aimlessly through the mansion. His steps were steady but undirected. As he roamed without purpose, he encountered a fair number of servants. They didn’t know how to treat Nox, so they all pretended not to see him and passed by. Nox somehow felt like he was a ghost haunting the mansion.

Nox went between the first floor and the top floor until he felt there was no point, then headed back to Khalid’s room. Tap, tap. The sound of footsteps was solely Nox’s. No, it should have been only his.

Clatter!

A sound of hurried footsteps came from Khalid’s room, specifically from the dressing room next to it.

Nox climbed the rest of the stairs, looking bewilderedly in that direction. Then, someone entirely unexpected emerged from his dressing room.

“…Ena?”

“…No, Nox?”

Ena was the child who often came up to keep Nox company. But the problem was that she had just come out of the dressing room. Only authorized servants were allowed in the master’s dressing room.

‘Did she go in out of curiosity?’

It was a serious offense, but since only he had seen her, it seemed it would be alright. Nox approached the child to gently admonish her. Yet, he noticed the child was visibly flustered. She was clutching something tightly to her chest. Nox’s steps, which had been approaching the child, halted.

“Ena, are you carrying…?”

Clutched in the child’s hand was a gold ring. Nox frowned. The shape of the ring, glimpsed briefly, was not unfamiliar. But that wasn’t what was important right now.

“Ah, no. No. No…!”

“Ena, shh. Calm down.”

Nox calmly looked around. By Khalid’s order, servants were not allowed on the top floor without permission. So, Nox was the only one aware of this situation. This was the child who had recently seemed so unusually troubled. Nox somehow felt he knew the reason; he knelt to the child’s eye level and extended his hand.

“It’s okay. Everyone can have bad thoughts. But if you get caught, it’ll be a really big deal, Ena. Come here. And give it back.”

Ena looked at Nox, her face on the verge of tears.

“M-my mother’s illness has worsened. The healer said if she doesn’t get proper treatment, she might not make it past this month.”

“…Ena.”

“S-so. So…”

“Shh, good girl. It’s okay. No one will know about this. No one.”

Nox spoke in a soft tone to soothe the child. It could still be managed. No one knew this fact, and Nox had no intention of reporting Ena. He thought it was a mistake made in fear of her mother dying. The child sobbed and slowly approached Nox, placing the ring in his hand. No, she tried to place it.

“What are you two doing?”