Chapter 3. Lowly Slave
“…A slave?”
“You can think of it as something We’re bestowing upon you. He’s quite handsome, so his value is set high. We’ll grant you ownership of him.”
Recalling the past, Alexio clicked his tongue again out of habit.
The youngest princess of Vertia had a hobby of collecting handsome slaves.
Since it was hardly a sightly pursuit, the king, thoroughly fed up, must have foisted the slave the princess wanted onto Alexio.
Simply because one of his daughters was in the same Pelsio.
‘Because of that girl Razel, I’m stuck bringing back something unnecessary.’
Alexio despised lowly slaves of unknown origins, who might carry who-knows-what diseases. They felt like mere parasites, needless to say.
And since it was bestowed by the king, he couldn’t just discard it carelessly.
‘She really does bring misfortune.’
It was then, as he shook his head thinking of his second daughter, that a decent idea suddenly flashed.
‘If there’s no major flaw with him, I’ll have to give him some work. Anyway, Razel needs a servant or two.’
She required a few attendants assigned to her. Filling one spot with that lowly fellow seemed fitting.
A guy who probably had no special skills— he could be used as an errand boy from time to time.
Since he was bestowed by the king, it provided a good pretext to place him under his daughter who had recovered her health and returned, and it would save wasting other able-bodied manpower.
‘Yes, that should work.’
Having finally decided on the fellow’s use, Alexio contentedly pulled out a cigar and put it in his mouth.
* * *
Alexio returned in the late afternoon.
As soon as he arrived, the carriage set off for the Count Ephor estate. Besides Razel’s luggage carriage, an unfamiliar one had been added.
It was only by lunchtime the next day that Razel arrived at Ephor Castle, immersed in the unfamiliarity.
‘I’ve really come here…’
From the moment the carriage window began to capture the longed-for scenery, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from outside.
“Welcome home, Razel.”
As she stepped down from the carriage and found herself unwittingly moved, Alexio said to her.
Razel, her eyes now brimming with excitement, lifted her head to look at him.
“Father, where’s Mother? And Sister?”
Blinking as she searched for the other family members she hadn’t seen in so long.
For some reason, only the servants were there to welcome her; neither her sister nor mother was in sight.
“Well, they must be too busy to come out.”
“Ah…”
“Everyone has their own affairs; there’s no need to set them aside just to come see you. You’ll see them at dinner later.”
The count reacted nonchalantly, patting Razel’s shoulder.
Though a bit disappointed, Razel’s attention soon shifted elsewhere.
“Come to think of it, I have a gift for you, child.”
“A gift?”
The count’s gaze turned behind Razel. To the area where luggage carriages were lined up and servants bustled about.
“Ah, here he comes.”
At Alexio’s raised voice, Razel also turned her steps to look that way.
There, a servant was bringing someone over.
More precisely, it looked like someone was being dragged.
Though dressed in new clothes, with unkempt hair and hands bound, he didn’t appear to be an ordinary hireling.
Since such a shabby appearance was new to her, Razel stared at him in a daze.
The count let out a hearty laugh and said,
“His Majesty the King bestowed this fine slave upon me in recognition of my merits. In honor of your return, I’ll give him to you as your personal servant. From now on, have him handle your errands and chores.”
My personal servant?
This thing?
Hearing her father’s words, she examined the person who had come before her.
He was a boy about her height. Just then, he stealthily raised his gaze.
His head hung low, giving him a shrunken appearance, but the eyes that met hers were unexpectedly not timid.
Blue eyes cold like winter held a strangely fierce quality. And they were astonishingly beautiful.
For some reason, feeling as if she were being drawn in, Razel snapped back to reality while staring blankly at him.
It was due to the sudden foul odor piercing her nose.
‘Is this smell coming from him?’
Razel was greatly shocked.
She had heard from her father in childhood that slaves were dirty and lowly, but she hadn’t expected such a bad stench.
‘He doesn’t look that way on the outside…’
Trying her best not to inhale, she took a step back.
Her brow furrowed involuntarily, and at that moment, she had the illusion of meeting his gaze.
“The reason Father stepped out briefly yesterday was to fetch that servant for you. Since he came from the same Pelsio, I thought he’d be perfect to assign to you.”
“…Is that so?”
“You can work him as you like, and if you’re in a bad mood, torment him all you want. He’s yours now.”
Razel, who had glanced at the slave, looked up at her father again.
With a soft smile, she hugged Alexio’s arm.
“Thank you for the gift, Father. I’ll cherish it for a long time.”
“Good, I’m glad you like it.”
“That said, I want to tour the house soon. Let’s go inside. It feels cold too.”
“Oh dear, alright. We can’t have your recovered health worsening again.”
Those jewel-like blue eyes kept lingering in her mind.
However, Razel entered Ephor Castle with the count without glancing back at the boy once more.
Though bestowed by the king and gifted by her father, he was a dirty, lowly slave. Neither of them likely intended for her to treasure a slave.
Since he was deemed meaningless to her life, she paid him no great attention.
That’s what she thought.
Unaware that this mere slave of a man would come to shake her life profoundly.
…Unaware that she would end up giving him everything she had.
* * *
“Oh my, Razel!”
It was only at dinnertime that Razel’s sister, Ronedy, appeared, widening her eyes and rushing over in one bound.
“How long has it been?”
Ronedy, scrutinizing Razel thoroughly, smiled vibrantly like a blooming flower cluster.
Razel was quite pretty herself, but not to the extent of Ronedy, who was nearing adulthood.
Unlike Razel, who still had a childish air, she exuded the aura of a mature and composed beauty.
Moreover, while Razel resembled their mother, Ronedy took after their father, making their vibes distinctly different.
Razel replied readily.
“It’s been a year since Sister last came to Pelsio.”
“Goodness, has time passed that quickly? It feels like we saw each other just the other day.”
Ronedy parted her lips slightly. Razel felt a bit offended by her exclamation.
It sounded like she hadn’t particularly missed her.
‘We’re not that close anyway…’
Since they didn’t see each other often, perhaps it couldn’t be helped.
Unlike Razel’s confined life, her sister’s open one must be filled with busy matters.
‘For me, seeing my family was only once or twice a year…’
Ronedy, who had imparted a sense of disappointment to Razel, amiably wrapped her arm around Razel’s as if to remedy it.
Then, chattering away, she led Razel—who would be unfamiliar with Ephor Castle—toward the dining room.
“I heard you arrived this afternoon, but I couldn’t go because I was walking the puppy.”
“A puppy…?”
“Ah, you wouldn’t know. I’ve been raising a little puppy for a while now. It gets so much love from Father and Mother. But it likes going on walks with me, and the timing when you arrived…”
Am I worth less than a puppy right now?
As Razel’s mind grew complicated, the two arrived at the dining room.
Sitting at the table while listening to Ronedy’s ongoing puppy stories, the countess soon arrived as well.
“Ah, hello. Mother…”
Aware of her, Razel tensed up involuntarily.
Countess Clonda was Razel’s stepmother. Her birth mother, who had been as frail as Razel, had passed away early.
If even her blood relatives like her sister and father felt distant, how much more so her new mother.
Clonda Ephor scanned Razel with her characteristically upturned eyes and said in a stiff voice,
“Welcome home, Razel.”
Though her words welcomed her, her expression didn’t seem so, leaving Razel disheartened.
“Mother, you’re here? Ah, come to think of it, I had something to tell you…”
Unlike Razel, Ronedy smiled warmly and addressed Clonda.
‘…Stories I don’t know about.’
The awkward atmosphere dissipated, but for some reason, Razel felt like she alone was isolated.
Of course, it seemed she was the only one thinking that.
Razel had to make frequent efforts to join their conversation.
Shortly after, Alexio entered the dining room.
“Oh, everyone’s gathered. Come, let’s eat.”
