Chapter 9

Good Heavens!

Aaron, Evan’s brother, was not fit to be an army officer, but his excellent brain and loyalty, like Evan, allowed him to be a deacon and assist Alexandro. Right now, Aaron’s biggest concern was the discord between the Grahams. After witnessing their interaction during the Title Ceremony, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

As though unaware of Aaron’s worries, Alexandro sat indifferently inside his office, frivolously drinking wine, not caring to attend the victory party following the ceremony. Well, not like he went out often anyway.

“His Highness asked you to join the dinner tomorrow.”

But to be precise, Alexandro did go out, just never to the imperial palace. Since his father resided in the imperial palace to rule in place of the emperor, he tried his best to avoid going there. Alexandro simply hated the hassle and formalities when it came to visiting the palace. Moreover, he didn’t want to meet his father.

“Your Grace.”

“Reject it.”

“No, there is no more reason to refuse. Your Grace, you’ve got piles of work related to tax to deal with. Why don’t you stay in the capital and…”

“I’m going back to my estate after training the knights.”

“The imperial battle competition is approaching soon. Isn’t it better to finish it all at once rather than return to the capital again?

The order of knights was the only thing Alexandro cared about. It’s where his comrades whom he played and trained with since young were, and most importantly, he didn’t have to be involved in the imperial palace’s schemes.

“Your Grace, it would be better for you to attend tomorrow’s dinner. His Highness has announced that he will fix your marriage this year.”

“Oh, father… he’s the same as always…” Alexandro chuckled to himself. Despite the fact that people saw him as a war hero, how could his father simply announce his marriage like this? Alexandro knew that his father considered himself to be the emperor and that no one could oppose his whims and fantasies, but the fact that Alexandro wasn’t even the emperor and yet his marriage was being decided like one, made him laugh.

“If you don’t express your discontent to His Highness  at the dinner tomorrow, he might prepare for marriage without your consent.”

Ever since Duncan awarded him with the title, everyone started referring to Alexandro as the Archduke. Alexandro shook his head; his father was too stubborn. There was no way he could win against him.

“You go in my stead. Tell him that I’m in love with one of the knights. Leo would be good.”

Aaron burst into laughter as his master cracked an unexpected joke.

“Alright.”

On the outside, his master was a cold-hearted, fearsome warrior belonging to an elite family, but on the inside, he was a man of heart who loved animals and cherished his knights and attendants. Of course, he didn’t express it much, but he was kind to his people.

Due to his family history, he was utterly indifferent to women and power, but he didn’t hide his affection for what he cherished.

Still, Sir Chris would be a much better option.

Aaron commented as he left the office with a somber face.

* * *

Everything was executed at a fast-pace.

Evan separated the slaves into two groups and assigned one group to the order of knights and the other to his own family. Since he was the eldest son of his family and the vice-captain of the order of knights, the slaves assigned to his family would automatically be subordinated to the order anyway. However, if too many slaves were assigned to the knights, then the other nobles would create a ruckus.

So only on paper were they assigned to his family. After all, although the order of knights was an imperial troop, they were pretty much the Graham family’s private soldiers.

Evan was adept at this kind of work. The great Empire was a united kingdom and its military power was its strongest weapon. Nobody complains when Evan handles the matter because he spends nearly one-third of the finances into strengthening the military force.

Until the end of the slave arrangement, Chloe fortunately didn’t encounter Leo, who had been continually harassing her before.

Perhaps, that jerk is busy back in the Empire…

Even the captain of the knights never came around anymore, so it was a real relief. Apparently, he won the title of a Archduke for conquering Elpasa.

Everyone was talking about the same story. How the Grand Duke was a title even higher than the Duke’s and was right below the emperor. So, it was obvious he was still in the Empire. He was soaring in the sky while she, was chained to the ground.

At least, we don’t have to see each other anymore.

Chloe became a slave for Evan’s family. The first thing she did was cut her hair. In this continent, a black-haired girl was exotic, and would easily stand out. She didn’t want to catch any attention from anyone as she did with Leo, so she cut her waist-length hair short.

It’s not like any man would want to marry a slave.

Chloe knew very well what would happen if she drew any attention.

She managed to find a young boy slave’s pants and wear them instead of the dress usually worn by female slaves. It’s not like she wanted to disguise herself as a man; she just didn’t want to look feminine.

Fortunately, she got assigned to the pharmacy that belonged to the nursing unit, so her job was to only clean and run small errands.

Not a lot of maids from Elpasa’s royal palace were brought to the Empire. Hence, after all of them were assigned their work and lodgings, the maids who had been with her throughout the travel were separated from her.

Everyone around her was a new face. Chloe decided to let go of her life as a princess completely. In the first place, it’s not like she was treated nicely when she was a princess or was happy with her marriage.

Beatrice isn’t my real name anyway. And, there’s no way to return to Elpasa. She was a mere slave now, but she felt satisfied. Princess Alicia’s death served as a constant reminder as to how fortunate she was that she was still alive. If she was a real princess, she would have been killed and hung at the gates.

She also owed her life to Evan, if it weren’t for him, she would probably be living as a pleasure slave by now. Or worse, she could have died a miserable death being the lone survivor of the royal family of Elpasa.

Nothing will happen if I live in obscurity from now on, she consoled herself. I had been a slave before.

If the other maids would hear of this, they would surely pass out. But, she won’t make this mistake.

Chloe promised to herself, now that she was in this state, she would try to live contentedly, even if that would mean hiding her identity…