CH 24

“A slave?”

“Yes, the slave was brought from a distant foreign land. It was a struggle to prevent him from attempting suicide by biting his tongue. He is a rough one indeed.”

Even if slaves were treated as less than livestock in the empire.

‘Why would he think of gifting a slave for the Crown Prince’s birthday?’

I grimaced unconsciously. Was Damian actually preparing a slave as a gift? Or could it be that he was intentionally late to the banquet because of his heart condition?

Seeing my expression darken, Damian started to list reasons for his present that I had not asked about.

“It seems like there’s been a misunderstanding, Milady, but slaves with exceptional physical abilities are sold at a very high price due to their rarity.”

“…”

“There was even a case about a month ago where a mere gladiator slave was sold for five billion gold.”

‘He must be talking about me.’

I didn’t know Damian would have already heard about me bringing Cassadin from the gladiator arena. Well, it wasn’t common to buy a slave for such a large sum of money, after all.

I suddenly recalled the scene when Damian was conversing with Cassadin after arriving at the banquet.

Then, could Damian have already known that Cassadin was a slave when they were talking?

What if the two already knew each other before I met Cassadin?

Seeing as how Cassadin intentionally used an herb from the northern region, there was a possibility that the two had engaged in some sort of deal unbeknownst to me. Nor did Cassadin ever tell me about his destinations when going out.

My dear younger brother, who only spouts out lies with each word.

I decided that I would reveal one of the cards in my hand in order to see Damian’s reaction. But merely revealing my card would just put me at a disadvantage, so I needed to confirm whether what he was saying right now was true or not.

“Your Grace.”

My voice dissipated quietly into the air.

“That slave, give them to me.”

“…Did you just ask to take the slave?”

“Yes.”

In response to my answer, Damian’s lips curled into a subtle smile. It was an elegant smile, but his eyes were dry, as if they were looking at a rotten tree.

“Do you understand what the words you just said mean?”

“Yes, I am well aware.”

I extended one of the cards in my hand to the man who was looking down on me dismissively.

“Are you aware that the decisive reason why Your Grace ended up in prison was because the plant used to poison His Highness only grows in the northern regions?”

Damian’s smiling mask cracked slightly.

“What are you talking about? A poisonous plant that grows in the northern regions?”

“It’s just as I said. His Highness told me himself. It was because of the northern poisonous plant that Your Grace was imprisoned.”

I was basically the one who imprisoned Damian, since I was the one who seeded suspicion into the Emperor’s mind.

So I mixed in some lies into the story so that Damian couldn’t realize the truth.

“They found out the components of the poison, and it just so happened that Your Grace appeared late to the banquet.”

“How did you learn about this, Milady?”

“I’m acquainted with His Highness, so I heard it directly from him.”

Then I raised my head proudly and puffed up my shoulders.

“Hah. Who could dare do such a thing? I did think it was strange that the knights were convinced I was the culprit just because I arrived late to the Crown Prince’s banquet.”

Damian let out an empty laugh.

“I’m incredibly curious about who the culprit could be, causing such an incident and disappearing into thin air. It is to the point where I personally want to meet them and ask why they did this.”

It seemed like Damian genuinely wanted to do so. His straight eyebrows were arched, but the sharp green eyes beneath them were twinkling with curiosity about the culprit.

Seeing that, I was relieved that Damian did not have the means to contact Cassadin.

And it would have to stay that way. The person Damian was curious about was Cassadin, but he was to be my lovely younger brother who would protect me and my father for the rest of our lives.

“It seems as though you are quite close with His Highness, seeing how you’ve heard that much information from him.”

“Of course I am.”

I nodded vigorously and smiled brightly. Maintaining a light blush on my cheeks, I daintily gathered my hands in front of me and looked at Damian with a suggestive look.

“Actually, the things I said earlier about my feelings for Your Grace disappearing were all lies.”

“…Why would you tell such lies?”

“I was hurt that Your Grace didn’t seem to believe me, so I carelessly blurted out anything. How could my love for you disappear so easily?”

Damian’s lips drooped into a small frown. Though he still seemed skeptical of my claim, he appeared quite interested in me. More precisely, it was the ‘value’ I held that he was interested in.

“Very well. Milady, I would like to hear the reason why you want this slave.”

“If you hand over the slave to me, I will persuade His Majesty and prove Your Grace’s innocence. I need visible evidence for His Majesty to believe my explanation after all.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed even further. After taking a long moment to gaze at me as if to evaluate my value, he then slowly parted his lips.

“Though it did take considerable effort to acquire that slave, it wouldn’t be much of a loss if Milady says so. But in return.”

“…In return?”

“I would like some of your time, Milady.”

Damian lifted the corners of his mouth into a refined smile. But I knew all too well that unfathomable cruelty was hidden behind that sunny, elegant smile.

Damian simply wanted to utilize me for his own benefit.

‘Of course. You wouldn’t just give away the gift you diligently prepared for the Crown Prince without anything in return.’

Regardless of whether I helped him or not, Damian would soon be released from prison. His request for my time was merely an excuse to extract information from me about the Crown Prince.

Then I’ll just use that to my advantage.

I put on a bright smile for the deceptive man, even welling up in tears to pretend I was deeply moved by his offer.

May I seem like the greatest fool in the world in your eyes!

“My goodness… Is this a date proposal? This isn’t a dream, is it? Your Grace, when should we meet then? Let’s select a date right away.”

“We can plan the details once I leave this cell.”

When I nodded enthusiastically as I responded, Damian smiled with satisfaction.

“I will arrange for a servant to send the gift separately.”

“Yes, of course!”

“I sincerely hope that Milady and I will be able to enjoy time together in the near future. Please tell His Highness about this.”

I looked at the hypocrite Damien with a curved gaze and replied,

“Of course, Your Grace. I’ll tell everything to His Highness, so do not worry. I’ll be dearly awaiting the day we meet again.”

After achieving my objective, I left the place where Damian was imprisoned.

We were midway down the staircase around the fourth floor when Cassadin, who had been leading the way with the torch in hand, suddenly stopped.

“Sister.”

“Yeah?”

“Is what you said to him earlier true?”

“About what?”

“…About falling in love at first sight.”

With only Cassadin’s back visible in my line of sight, I couldn’t tell what expression he was making, or what thoughts he had when he questioned me.

“How are you going to return to the mansion in this state? Are you planning to return to the mansion in the Imperial Knight’s uniform?”

So I chose to deflect Cassadin’s question, just as he had done to me. Though even if I was facing Cassadin’s face instead of his back, I would have done the same thing.

“…Of course. Now I will be able to leave the palace on my own.”

Cassadin’s voice sounded like a chilling wind blowing through a deep cave. I could tell from my younger brother’s unusually cold tone that he was not in a good mood.

“Sister, you should head to the mansion first.”

“Why? Can’t we go together?”

“Yes.”

After what was a rather lukewarm response, Cassadin resumed walking. I got the feeling that Cassadin was refusing to speak from the aura he gave off, so I decided to just follow close behind instead of talking.

As we came out of the tower, I found that the sun was already setting, and the sky was considerably dark.

“It’s dangerous, so I’ll escort you to where the carriages are waiting.”

Despite his seemingly annoyed state, my younger brother was still unnecessarily considerate. I gave him a bitter smile and said to him.

“It’s okay.”

“…”

“Please be careful when you come back to the mansion. I’ll be waiting for you until then.”

I patted Cassadin’s shoulder a few times.

“…Alright.”

With one final word, Cassadin turned away from me.

After waving until Cassadin completely disappeared from my sight, I then recalled my memories of where the Crown Prince guided me out of the palace.

After safely riding back to the mansion on the carriage, I immediately called for Sasha.

“What happened to the information I asked you to investigate?”

“I’ve already told you about Lord Damian. Ah, do you mean about the Hyran Kingdom? Just a moment, Miss. I’ve put it around here somewhere.”

The quick-witted girl rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a worn, neatly folded piece of paper. As she unfolded it, I saw a drawing that looked similar to a map.

As I alternated gazes between the paper and Sasha’s face, I asked her.

“What is this?”

“The thing is, Miss, no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find any information about the Hyran Kingdom. So I went to an information broker in the back alleys and obtained this.”

“…Sasha, going to the back alleys alone is dangerous.”

“Thank you for your concern, Miss. But I’m fine. I knew something like this would happen someday, so I’ve made acquaintances with them in advance.”

How could a maid be this fearless?

“I’ve thought long and hard about how I could use the jewelry box that Miss gave me.”

“Sasha.”

Sasha’s freckled cheeks were flushed with excitement. Every time she spoke, her short brown hair bobbed along with her gestures. Sasha pointed at the drawing on the paper and explained it to me.

“According to the information broker, if we go to the location written on this map, we could learn everything we need about the Hyran Kingdom.”

Could the words of a back alley information broker be true?

“It won’t be false information, Miss. I threatened him that if it were, then he’d need to return the jewelry he received tenfold.”

Sasha clenched her fist tightly. Seeing her reaction, I answered calmly.

“Then tomorrow morning, let’s go to this location together.”

“Yes, Miss!”

Sasha openly expressed her delight after hearing I would accompany her. After exchanging a few more words with Sasha, I changed out of the dress into comfortable clothes and took out a book from the bookshelf to read.

I lost track of time as I read the book, and it was only after I finished it that I closed it to examine my surroundings. But although the full moon had risen high into the sky, I didn’t hear any sound of the door in the next room opening.

Perhaps Cassadin was caught by the Imperial Knights while trying to leave. If it is the Cassadin I know, then he should be able to escape even in such a situation.

As I continued to visualize worrisome scenarios in my head, I heard a knock on my door.