CH 4

“No!”

Cassadin seemed to have misunderstood that I bought him to quench my desires. If that weren’t the case, then there would have been no reason for him to talk about serving me.

…Feeling the desperate need to correct his misunderstanding, I quickly snatched Cassadin’s wrist away.

“I didn’t bring you to serve me at night.”

“…”

After hearing my words, Cassadin cocked his head with a puzzled look on his face.

“Master, then why did you…”

“Cassadin.”

When I called his name, a faint light flickered in his empty eyes momentarily. Not missing the opportunity, I rebuttoned up his shirt that he had tried to take off.

I could feel Cassadin’s gaze, staring at me almost as if he were observing me.

It was a ridiculously bold action for a slave to show his master.

I smiled at Cassadin, who was still boldly looking down at me, and said,

“Are you curious why I bought you?”

“Yes, Master.”

Cassadin nodded, not taking his eyes off me.

“You didn’t say it directly, but I couldn’t ignore that look in your eyes, begging for salvation.”

He cocked his head again, the puzzled look not leaving his face.

I frowned after rebuttoning his shirt. As soon as I could return to the mansion, the first thing I would deal with was this ragged outfit that Cassadin was wearing.

“I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see your eyes begging for help… It just so happened that I was the one who was able to read that desperation.”

‘Actually, there’s a reason I bought you. I intend to take you in as my younger brother.’

If I told him that, then Cassadin would definitely be wary of me. Therefore, it was necessary for me to mix the truth and lies skillfully to him, who was still analyzing me.

“There won’t be any need for you to serve me at night in the future as well.”

“…Master, what do you mean by that? Then why on earth would you…”

As I continued to smile at him, I added while facing his face full of confusion.

“It’s just as I said. Originally, I bought you to set you free.”

“…”

“But if I just set you free like this, you might end up being dragged back to the gladiatorial arena and fall into that debauchery again. Am I wrong?”

I actually never intended to set him free in the first place.

While quietly listening to what I said, Cassadin lowered his eyes. His purple eyes beneath his long eyelashes were beautiful, but they were still devoid of life.

“Poor thing… You have scars on the back of your hands as well.”

There were numerous small scars on the back of Cassadin’s pale hands.

I pulled out the ointment I always carried with me from the hem of my clothes. Then, after applying the ointment to the back of Cassadin’s hands, I immediately placed my hands on top of his.

Cassadin’s body flinched, likely surprised by my sudden action.

“Master…?”

I gave Cassadin a bright smile.

To me, healing such scars was incredibly easy.

But since I couldn’t just reveal that I had healing abilities to the man I just saw for the first time today, I just pretended to apply an ointment and heal the scars on the back of his hands.

After keeping my hands on the back of Cassadin’s hands for a few seconds, I lifted them to reveal that the scars disappeared almost like magic, as if there had never been any scars on them in the first place.

“How on earth did…”

Light flickered in Cassadin’s lifeless eyes. With an incredulous expression, he touched the back of his own hands, twisting them around.

“It’s a magical ointment that’s been secretly passed down in our family.”

“Master, why would you use such a precious thing on me?”

What I actually applied to the back of his hands was just an ointment mixed with a bit of medicinal herb. Fortunately, Cassadin didn’t seem to realize that I possessed healing abilities.

“No matter how precious it is, it cannot compare to a human’s life.”

I put the ointment back in my pouch as I spoke. He was staring at the back of his hands in wonder, then locked his eyes with mine. His eyes now held a faint hint of hope, as if there hadn’t been a time when they were empty.

“Master, I have killed many people.”

“That was an inevitable choice for survival. Those who pushed you to do so are the evil ones, not you.”

Cassadin’s mouth slightly fell agape at what I said. From his reaction, I knew that my answer was what he had been hoping to hear.

“You didn’t kill people because you wanted to. Isn’t that right?”

“…Yes.”

“But, how did you become a slave gladiator? What about your family?”

“…”

The topic must have been sensitive since Cassadin didn’t open his mouth. It was only after a few moments had passed that his tight lips loosened.

“I have no family. They all died a long time ago.”

“!”

“Once I was left alone, I wandered from place to place until I drifted into the arena…That’s all.”

No emotions could be seen on Cassadin’s face as he spoke of his past. However, his figure emanated bitter loneliness when he talked.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why would you apologize, Master?”

“Because I asked you about it thoughtlessly without even considering what could have happened.”

Cassadin shook his head as if to say he was alright.

“I’m fine. But, Master.”

“Hm?”

“May I dare ask about who you are, Master?”

He paused his narrative, then, for the first time, Cassadin asked me a question. Seeing that he was attempting to change the subject quickly, I responded to him with a smile.

“I am Aren Serkia from the Earl Serkia family. My family only consists of me and my father.”

“…What about your mother and other family members?”

“My mother had always been frail, so she passed away not long after giving birth to me. And I don’t have any siblings.”

“…”

Cassadin remained silent. He seemed to have a habit of choosing his words carefully rather than speaking rashly. I stared at his silent face for a while, then soon opened my mouth.

“How old are you this year?”

“I am eighteen.”

“I’m two years older than you. So, about that…”

I intentionally paused to pretend I was contemplating something, then continued.

“How about you become my younger brother?”

Cassadin’s elegant brows furrowed slightly at my suggestion. His violet eyes blinked several times, then he tilted his head as if trying to confirm whether what he heard was real.

“…A younger brother?”

“It’s just as it means. You would become my younger brother, completely escape the status of a slave, and become a member of our family.”

“…A member of the Earl’s family?”

“Yes.”

Until then, Cassadin had managed to maintain his composure, but this time, his eyes wavered with uncertainty.

Watching him blink several times to confirm what he heard was correct, I added more words with a wide smile.

“If that happens, you won’t need to live miserably like in the past, and you won’t need to kill others in order to survive. Moreover, no one will be able to look down on you.”

“…”

“Will you become my family, Cassadin?”

Speaking with the gentlest voice I could muster, I extended a hand toward him.

Cassadin alternated his gaze between my extended hand and my face. In reality, there was no need for him to hesitate.

“If it is your wish, Master, I would do anything…”

Cassadin’s face relaxed after answering. His previously empty eyes now shone with life, and his tightened lips curled into a faint smile.

That was all that happened, but strangely, the entire room seemed to brighten.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Aren Serkia from the Earl Serkia family.”

Cassadin seemed hesitant to accept my extended hand, so I reached out to him first and wrapped my hands around his.

His eyes narrowed slightly for an instant, but he quickly composed himself and opened his mouth.

“…Miss Aren Serkia.”

“You don’t need to address me so formally. We’re going to be family.”

“Family… Are we truly family…?”

As he muttered the word ‘family,’ his voice was tranquil, just like the wind flowing within a deep cave.

“That’s right, family. So from now on, call me ‘Sister.’ Because from now on, I am your sister.”

“…Sister.”

“That’s right, Cassadin.”

“Sister, Sister…”

Cassadin repeated the word ‘sister’ as if he took a liking to it, playing the word in his mouth over and over again, like a child trying to memorize a new word.

“Thank you, Sister.”

“…”

“You have such a warm heart, dear Sister.”

After murmuring ‘sister’ to himself for a while, Cassadin spoke to me with a gentle smile. But for some reason, that made me feel a bit uneasy.

Was it because of his excellent adaptability? Or maybe it was because I caught a fleeting glimpse of a subtle change in his expression.

“That’s really flattering. I’ll be depending on you from now on.”

“Yes, Sister.”

However, whatever he was thinking wasn’t important to me.

After all, my reason for urging Cassadin to be my younger brother was not for Cassadin’s benefit. It was solely for me and my father.

I did consider bringing him in as an escort knight, but if so, he would just be a knight and not a member of our house. Therefore, it would inevitably be my father who would have to go to the battlefield.

But if we accept Cassadin as a family member, that story would completely change.

If he becomes a member of our family, even if the Crown Prince does have his eyes on him, he wouldn’t be able to take him away, and he would be a reliable shield against Damian.

‘Of course, that’s assuming I’m able to tame this guy.’

Cassadin met my gaze and smiled, the corners of his eyes folding into a crescent. Though I’m still not sure if he was sincere.

Well, a clever fox was going to be better than a fool if they had to face Damian. So I also returned his smile.

“Now, let’s go to where you truly belong.”

“Yes, Sister.”

The hesitation he had earlier was now gone, and Cassadin answered by gently grasping my hand.

My precious younger brother.

My sword and shield, Cassadin.

May I wish you to use me, as I am using you.

After stepping out of the inn, I was planning to board our family’s carriage with Cassadin. That was supposed to be the plan, if it weren’t for the crowd that had gathered as soon as we left the inn.

“Look, there they are.”

As soon as we exited the inn, complete strangers crowded around Cassadin and me.

The crowd ranged from young women and men to even the elderly. For some reason, they all seemed incredibly angry.

“Where are you taking that slave boy?”

I glanced around. Judging by their clothing, they didn’t seem to be commoners, rather, they looked like nobles.

Did these nobles follow me from the arena just because I took Cassadin away?

“What’s going on?”

Despite my calm attitude, the crowd’s faces were full of displeasure.

“Darn it. The sword fights were my only means of entertainment! How are we supposed to enjoy it if you take him away like this?”

“Hey, blondie. Are you trying to show off that you’re rich?”

This was ultimately just a sort of vent about their source of entertainment disappearing.

I could hear from every single word they spat out how exactly they treated ‘slaves.’ Something less than human, existing purely for the sake of satisfying their boredom.

“If you had a complaint, you should have said so at the arena earlier.”

“…”

“I can’t understand what this is supposed to be. Following us here without consent. Especially for nobles like yourselves.”

Looking at the faces of the people who had followed us, I didn’t find any that were familiar. They were nobles from the outskirts—those who wouldn’t even get an invitation to the Crown Prince’s birthday party.

That’s probably why they used such cheap language.

“Didn’t you also buy this pretty boy to have fun, Miss? Though I didn’t expect you would pay 5 billion gold for a mere slave…”

An old man suddenly appeared among the hostile crowd. He was the old man who bid 500,000 gold to spend the night with Cassadin at the arena.

“Please don’t drag me down to the same level as you all. It’s incredibly unpleasant.”

I could feel Cassadin’s gaze fall upon me as I said this.

“Let’s go.”

Regardless of whether the nobles expressed their discontent or not, I held Cassadin’s hand and pushed past them. I wasn’t too sure because I was looking straight ahead, but I thought I heard Cassadin’s soft laughter in my ear.

After pushing through the large crowd surrounding us, I immediately boarded our family’s carriage with Cassadin.