Chapter 114 [Bonus chapter] Hidden Past

All the way to the stage, Hazel was thinking about what he said in the end. Her eyes continued to look around with vigilance as if someone was hiding in the dark and waiting for her to keep her guards down so that he could attack her.

The girl looked so amusing that Rafael had to muffle his laughter a few times to continue making a serious face as they walked towards the backdoor of the stage.

“My lord, it is our honor to see you again. After last time, we have thought..“ The man halted in his speech when he noticed Rafael’s eyes narrowing at him with a dark look on his eyes.

“I am not the one who brought the slave, my wife did. It is her first time buying a salve so please guide her well.” Taking the hint that he did not want to talk about the past in front of his wife, the auctioneer bowed his head with a flattering smile.

“I should have known. Such a good eye could only belong to a lady! We are glad that you like our products and hope we will see you again.

Here is your product.” a man brought the boy with a chain dragging him like a dog while there was a collar in his neck that was attached with the chain.

It felt so inhumane that her eyes turned cold.

“Take the chain away! And let him walk like us.” the worker who was dragging the slave was taken aback by her cold voce and halted in his steps for a second before resuming again.

The auctioneer stared at Rafael and then at Hazel with astonishment and then chuckled.

“Oh my! Now I know why the lord asked me to explain to you.

My lady, the slaves of his caliber and dangerous since they are strong enough to kill their master. Though they are trained, you never knew when a dog might go berserk even after long training.

So, we keep a collar in their neck that had magic installed in it.

Thanks to the lord for forgiving a few witches that had worked for the benefit of the empire since the start. They have made a collar that had a spell in it.

Whenever the slave would think of hurting its master, he would feel a jolt of lightning and feel pain all over his body.

It is only to keep you safe. You can also use the spell if he did not listen to you. These things made them a faithful dog, they should be!” Without any remorse or guilt, the man continued to call the human as a degraded animal as he passed the chain in the hands of Hazel who stared at the boy that was around her age.

“Even if that is the case, take the chain out so that she could walk properly. As far as you explained, the collar had nothing to do with the chain. Is it?” The eyes of the boy flickered and he raised his head a bit to see his new master but just as their eyes met, he bowed his head again as if he was scared that he would be punished.

Hazel frowned when they continued to look at her as if she was a fool but did not take any action to take out the chain from his neck.

She took the chain from the men and bent herself to take it out from his neck that stunned not only the staff working there but other slaves who looked at Hazel with longing and her slave with envy.

Most of them were treated no more than an object, so even if they felt a bit of pity, it made their heart warm that they wanted to lean on it further.

“My lady, i think you are…” the man was about to give her a piece of advice but when she raised her head, the cold gaze was enough to keep his mouth shut.

“I thought that I would be the owner after paying up!” He had thought that the girl was easy to deal with, looking at her kind smile and frail stature but her tongue was as sharp as her husband.

“Shall we leave?” looking back, she asked the slave in a soft voice but he did not reply as if he did not hear her at all.

Before she could share more warmth, she felt the cold eyes of Rafael on her back and stood straight.

“My lady, this is the ring to control him and punish him when needed!” a man brought a small red box with a black stone ring in it.

She wanted to refuse that she was not going to punish him when she remembered the last words of Rafael and took it just in case he would really attack her.

“Are we going to take him to the count palace?” Hazel did not know why she felt he would be treated worse at the count palace than the slave establishment.

“Hmm, no! He would be sent directly to my palace. If you are done looking at me we are getting late!” Hazel nodded as she gave one last glance to the slave before walking out with Rafael.

Her eyes staring at the distance where the crowd seems to decrease with only a few people roaming on the road. The sky was already red with a tinge of orange but it was still not late.

“Do you have a slave too?” she asked as she remembered how the man had stopped when his gaze had met hers.

It made her curious as to why he did not want to talk to her though she had decided so many times that she would not meddle in his affairs.

“I used to have, the girl was beautiful.” She waited for him to tell further but he did not continue it and she knew when to stop and let go.

“Do you believe in watching the future, Hazel? Or the past you are not sure about? How about watching a show where you are the protagonist?” A look of bewilderment passed her eyes as she could not connect the dots of what he was talking about when he took her into a small shop instead of the carriage while he had told her that they were getting late.

“I thought, we are going to the count’s estate!” she muttered softly as she looked around.

The place looked eerie with dark paint on the walls and strange decorations like skeletons and crystal balls.

If she did not know any better, she would have thought that they were witches doing black magic. But thinking about the animosity between Rafael and witches, he let go of the idea as quick as it formed.

“I did not know that you believe in such things!” She had heard about these magic balls but always took it as a trick to fool innocents who are eager to know what might happen to them in the future.

“There is never smoke without fire. Though many of them are frauds these days, you still did not know what might be hidden between those fools.”