I Became a Slave to the Man I Abandoned Novel (Completed) - Chapter 98

A man was running through the imperial palace corridors. Khalid didn’t want to believe the video he’d seen on the magic stone. Nox Rainerio had fallen. Thrown himself off. He ran through the palace, his mind a blur, heading for the stables. He was too distraught to pick out his own horse. He shouted for any horse, and the stablehand, trembling at his roar, brought out Khalid’s horse. As he mounted, the Emperor, gasping, also caught up to him.

“We must go.”

“A healer, we’ll need a healer.” The Emperor said in a desperate voice.

“…A healer.” Khalid’s lips moved, then he nodded. And immediately spurred his horse forward. The Emperor called for his own healer and, belatedly, mounted his horse. They had to arrive as quickly as possible, so the healer was seated behind the Emperor.

The imperial palace and the Rainerio mansion weren’t far apart. That, if anything, was a blessing. It was as good as over the moment he jumped, but they prayed and prayed.

Please, just be alive. They cursed Nox. That curse to live. His heart felt like it was tearing apart. Everything, from whipping him directly to forcibly violating him and locking him in a cold, dark room, churned in his mind.

Why, why did I do such things? If he asked himself, there was only one answer: he wanted him. Wholly his own. But Nox Rainerio refused and ultimately escaped. He fell, as if abandoning himself, and Khalid had to admit that fall was the kindest way to escape this world.

Because this world had been too cruel to Nox, even if it meant falling and shattering his entire body, it must have been the kindest death Nox could give himself.

Khalid felt his eyes grow hot. He gasped for breath. His throat was dry and parched. And soon, he reached the Rainerio mansion.

“Ah…”

A red stain was visible on the flowerbed. A blood-soaked body. He was wearing the black clothes that suited him best, but his white shirt was drenched in blood, still dripping fresh.

“Hah, ugh…” Khalid immediately jumped off his horse and pushed through the untended weeds to get closer to him. The small iron railing, installed to divide the flowers, pierced his chest. Khalid bit his lip hard. His eyes were wide open, and Nox’s pale, bloodless hand lay limply on the ground.

“…Nox.” He called him. But there was no answer. Drip, drip. Only the dripping blood answered him. Khalid stretched out a trembling hand. He dared not touch him. He thought he should rather preserve him there.

He, a member of the world that had been cruel to him, dared not lay a hand on him. Yet, Khalid touched his body, feeling as if he were committing a sin. Still…

Still warm.

Khalid’s eyes widened. “He-healer…!”

In the distance, the Emperor was seen riding his horse. And the one riding behind him was surely the healer he spoke of. Khalid embraced Nox’s body and screamed madly.

“Healer! I need a healer! Your Majesty, please!”

The Emperor practically leaped off his galloping horse and, at the same time, pulled the healer from behind him. The healer was almost dragged as he knelt before Nox.

His entire body was a mess. His limbs were twisted, and the amount of blood spilled was not one a living person could lose. Most importantly, a large iron railing was embedded in his chest. Fortunately, it wasn’t a long one, so he could be lifted as he was, but it didn’t seem possible to save him.

“Pl-please, the body, no. Please lay him straight.”

Khalid grabbed Nox’s shoulder with trembling hands. His touch was incredibly careful, slow. The Emperor, unable to watch any longer, pushed him aside.

“What are you doing! At a time like this, every second counts!”

The Emperor pushed Khalid away and lifted Nox into his arms. Blood gushed from Nox’s chest where the iron bars had pierced him. Thud, thud, as blood soaked the flower bed, the Emperor gritted his teeth. He desperately tried to regain his composure and laid Nox before the healer.

The healer immediately began to pour magic into Nox’s body. What a grotesquely injured corpse—no, patient. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed as if Nox had thrown himself off.

The healer subtly glanced at the two men’s faces. Both were grimly set. Then he looked down at Nox’s face.

As he treated him and looked closely, he realized who Nox was. He was Duke Via’s slave, and the one who supposedly frequented the Emperor’s bedchamber. In the past, he was of noble lineage, but he had been stripped of his status for treason—a valuable slave.

As the healer infused more magic, Nox’s body gradually returned to normal. His twisted legs straightened, and his dislocated wrist and arm found their places. The problem was the wound that had pierced his chest.

Fortunately, it seemed to have missed his heart, but as it was a penetrating wound, it required an extremely long time and a lot of magic to heal.

“For now, all emergency treatment has been completed, but the chest wound is too deep, so continuous treatment will be necessary…”

“Don’t worry about that.”

The Emperor said, trying to lift Nox. But someone else’s hand reached out one step faster. It was Khalid. He cautiously lifted Nox’s blood-soaked body, like someone holding something that would shatter with the slightest pressure.

“…I’ll go get the carriage.”

Khalid remained silent, gazing only at Nox. His eyes had deepened from bright blue to a dark, ocean-like blue. He reached out to stroke Nox’s still-pale cheek, then slowly withdrew his trembling hand.

“Nox…”

As he uttered Nox’s name in a hoarse voice, the Emperor mounted a horse and began to return to the Imperial Palace. A carriage was needed to move Nox. Even as the Emperor departed, Khalid couldn’t tear his eyes away from Nox. My desire to possess you was my greed.

It was my sin to try and cage you entirely within my grasp.

Khalid repeated it to himself countless times. You were someone I should never have held. While you were breaking, I was merely burying my face in your skin, satisfied.

Khalid recalled his childhood. When did I start loving you? He cradled Nox’s head with trembling hands. The faint remaining warmth felt like proof that Nox was still in this world, and something welled up inside him.

Khalid remembered the faint smile Nox had reserved only for him when they were children.

Yes, that was it. That’s why I came to love you. But after I took you, I never saw you smile. All I did was unleash my anger upon you.

“This can’t be…”

He looked down at Nox’s face, gritting his teeth, trying desperately to hold back his tears. Had it all gone wrong from the moment I decided I would drag you into the same abyss as me? Where, and how far, had it all gone wrong? It wasn’t hard to realize.

It went wrong the moment I met you again. It went wrong the moment I asked for you to be mine.

Khalid panted. His arms, wrapped tightly around Nox, trembled violently. He buried his forehead in his blood-soaked shirt, unable to do anything but hold him. Until the carriage the Emperor brought arrived. Nothing. Nothing but holding him close.

***

“All external injuries have been treated, but…”

“But what?”

“He hasn’t woken up.”

“Hasn’t woken up, you say…”

The Emperor and Khalid looked down at Nox, lying on the bed. Nox, treated by all the healers in the Imperial Palace, now looked simply asleep. Scars were unavoidable, but scars didn’t matter to them. Only the fact that he had survived mattered. The Emperor looked down at him, quietly gritting his teeth. He clenched his fist. He couldn’t blame Khalid.

Khalid wasn’t the only one who had burdened Nox’s life with hardship. That’s why Nox had ultimately chosen to leave and find himself, rather than compromise with anything or settle by giving his heart to someone.

The Emperor slowly took a breath, then covered his mouth with his hand. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Beneath his eyelids, he couldn’t bring himself to look at Nox, so he simply kept his gaze downwards.

Khalid stood silently by his side for a moment, then moved towards the door. The Emperor, sensing his movement, asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’ll find a way to wake Nox.”

The situation with Nox is dire, as he remains unconscious despite receiving extensive healing for his severe injuries. Khalid and the Emperor, both deeply affected, are now desperate to find a way to revive him. Khalid’s guilt and regret are palpable, as he reflects on his past actions and their impact on Nox. The Emperor, while showing concern, also seems to be grappling with his own role in Nox’s suffering.

What steps do you think Khalid will take to find a way to wake Nox?

“Wake him?”

“Then, should we just leave him like that?” Khalid retorted sharply. Nox probably wasn’t opening his eyes because he didn’t want to wake up. So, Khalid would have to force him out of it.