A Slave Of Rubelfast – R15 - Chapter 26

Hearing Ellor’s voice after about ten years, Ellier’s heart was thrown into turmoil by a whirlwind of emotions, making it impossible for her to compose herself.

 

However, if she caused any trouble here, it could ruin everything.

 

Ellier managed to respond to Ellor.

 

“I, I, I am, no, just a sl*ve. Uhh, I can’t see Her Highness, the Princess, in person.”

 

Her breathing quickened, her voice faltering like a trembling sl*ve consumed by fear.

 

“Oh, poor thing, you seem to be quite frightened. I personally gave permission, so it’s alright. Get up quickly.”

 

It was an order.

 

Ellier knew that upsetting Ellor’s mood here would only worsen her anger.

 

With shaky breaths, Ellier slowly raised her knees and rose from her seat.

 

In her past life, Lilliette had been taller than Ellor, but in this life, due to not having proper nutrition or perhaps because she was supposed to be of this size, she was slightly smaller than Ellor.

 

Even as she lifted her head, Ellier kept her gaze lowered.

 

While a sl*ve shouldn’t look directly at a Princess, her main concern was not losing her composure by looking at Ellor’s face.

 

“Hmm… how should I put it? You look like a bundle of dust.”

 

It was an expression that made Ellier curious.

 

How did people come up with the phrase ‘looks like a bundle of dust’? Where did that phrase come from, nestled in the corners of those little minds?

 

At that moment, Clyde, beside Ellor, chuckled and playfully stopped her.

 

“Your Highness Ellor. It looks like dust in front of Your Highness, but by normal people’s standards, she is pretty cute.”

 

“Is that so? Still, even for the Duke of Ventiark, they could’ve brought a prettier sl*ve along. They must have enough money for that in the Ventiark family. Right?”

 

Despite Ellor’s rude question, Tariq’s expression did not change.

 

“She is a sl*ve anyway, so why bother about her face? As long as she can handle her chores, appearance is of little concern.”

 

“Heh, that means the Duke of Ventiark doesn’t bring such sl*ves to his bedroom? Okay, got it.”

 

Ellor, who seemed to have scratched Tariq’s insides satisfactorily, lightly turned around and exited the tent.

 

Even though Ellor had left, Ellier’s hands were tightly clasped, and she stood rigid. Her heart was still pounding fearfully.

 

‘It’s over. It’s okay now.’

 

Ellier tried to reassure herself, but it was still too early for relief. Clyde turned around, looking at Ellier again.

 

“By the way… what’s your name?”

 

In response to Clyde’s sudden question, Ellier instantly raised her gaze toward him.

 

“Ah…!”

 

When her gaze met his blue eyes, which she hadn’t seen in over ten years but had never forgotten for a moment, it felt like something would surge forth from within her.

 

Ellier didn’t know what that feeling was.

 

Was it anger, remorse, resentment…?

 

As Ellier stared at him without answering, his wheat-coloured hair fluttered lightly in the wind that came just in time, and the eyelashes brushed against his hair and flickered.

 

She loved Clyde’s delicate beauty.

 

His fragrant hair, eyelashes that seemed to hold smiles, lips that slightly parted as if about to say something more…

 

But all of that had been a lie.

 

To him, she was just a foolish woman with enough value to be used, and her love was merely an object of ridicule.

 

She had to reply, but Ellier couldn’t even part her lips because her teeth were clenched.

 

It was Tariq who stepped in at that time.

 

“May I ask why Sir Kassir is curious about her?”

 

“…Somehow, my attention was drawn to her. Who knows, right? What if I were to buy this child from Duke Ventiark?”

 

“Do you think the Duke would easily let go of a child who knows his matters just like that?”

 

“What does a sl*ve child know about his matters?”

 

“If the so-called genius Sir Kassir were to take her, who knows how he might make use of the child?”

 

The sl*ve child kept her mouth shut, and Tariq replied sharply, so eventually, Clyde seemed to give up on pressing the matter further.

 

“It was just a casual question, but your serious reaction piques my curiosity even more. Anyway, I understand. I’ll take my leave for now.”

 

Clyde left the tent without losing his composure.

 

Tariq, grinding his teeth at his back, glanced at Ellier and muttered.

 

“What’s wrong with that girl who looks like a broomstick? He’s just messing around, trying to find out what to do!”

 

Ignoring Tariq’s grumbling, Ellier rushed straight out of the back entrance of the tent. Then, she collapsed in the grass and vomited everything she had eaten earlier.

 

“Aggh! Ha, ha, ugh, ugh!”

 

It felt like her stomach was being squeezed, and tears welled up.

 

‘With such a casual face, you…!’

 

It was a lost future. It was a past that did not exist. Ellier knew it, but that made me even more uncomfortable.

 

If it was going to be something that never happened, shouldn’t all these feelings disappear together?

 

Why should she be the only one holding onto this pain?

 

Ellier was crying all over the place, but she heard Tariq, watching her from inside the tent, muttering nonchalantly.

 

“I thought you were fearless, but are you still concerned about people’s opinions? But what can you do? Our Lord has to fight against such people, and our Lord’s enemies are our enemies. Steel your heart!”

 

Ellier, breathing heavily, wiped the tears with her sleeve and barely stood up.

 

‘Tariq is right. I can’t just vomit my stomach every time I have an enemy to fight in front of me.’

 

Ellier pressed down on my heart, which was still whispering. She couldn’t ruin this life because of the memories of her previous life that only she knew.

 

Her clenched fists were still shaking, but Ellier took a deep breath and turned around with a composed expression.

 

“Oh wow, I was so nervous I thought I was going to die. Tariq, do you have any leftover food?”

 

Tariq shook his head as if wondering when Ellier, trembling and vomiting just a moment ago, had acted this cheeky. Nevertheless, he proceeded to pile bread and meat onto her plate.

 

***

 

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

 

“Long time no see, Vedell.”

 

A tent stood tall where the Emperor was staying, and Vedell appeared.

 

The greetings exchanged between Vedell and the Emperor seemed familiar.

 

“I was a little worried because I hadn’t heard from you in a while.”

 

“I apologise. I didn’t have enough time to gather information because I was going back and forth between the Ventiark estate and the palace.”

 

“I see… Seems like Slarhan has been quite demanding of you?”

 

“Thanks to that, I gained his trust, so it wasn’t a waste of time.”

 

“As expected, you’re the head of the capital’s best information guild. Gaining the trust of that cautious fellow couldn’t have been easy.”

 

The Emperor wore a satisfied smile.

 

“So, how has my excellent nephew been doing lately?”

 

“There has been no major change before or after the announcement of His Majesty’s succession. It seems like the Duke has little ambition for the throne, but he strongly feels the weight of the expectations around him and the well-being of the vassals.”

 

“He still pretends to be clean even if he’s on the brink of death.”

 

The Emperor thought of his younger brother Irdel, who was unmoved by money, power, women and pleasure.

 

He held on to pleasures he could never let go of, while Irdel easily gave up on them.

 

When he couldn’t trust his brother enough, Irdel said a noble title wasn’t necessary for him. He intentionally left the title alone while destroying the rest.

 

He deliberately excluded Irdel from any business that could have made a profit, seized the estate, and isolated him from the social world…

 

However, Irdel did not collapse until the end. He only tried to protect his wife and son but did not move to gain greater wealth and power.

 

The Emperor was upset even more.

 

He didn’t like it that much because he felt like his own ugly and dirty face was reflected in Irdel’s eyes, which were as clear and blue as the clear sky.

 

Perhaps he had pursued it further just to understand whether Irdel was truly clean.

 

However, Ventiark was stimulating the filthy inner side of the Emperor.

 

“How was Irdel’s funeral? It could have been considered an act of rebellion.”

 

“Your Majesty, I must say it went surprisingly quietly. Heavy rain poured down that afternoon, quickly ending the funeral ceremony. As soon as it ended, the attendees departed without exchanging words.”

 

“Haha… I clearly killed his father, but he didn’t even dare to storm in with a sword. He’s quite a cowardly fellow.”

 

The Emperor chuckled heartily and raised a glass of wine nearby to take a sip.

 

He never regretted all the evil he did in his life, but he regretted killing Irdel.

 

After realising that not all royal children were his own, he understood that Irdel was the only person he could trust.

 

He had another brother, Zerik, but he couldn’t trust that b*st*rd.

 

If Irdel had existed, Noah would have given him the position of the next Emperor and ordered the death of the Empress and concubines who deceived him and all the offspring who did not share the blood with him. He could have used Irdel’s wife and son as bait.

 

If it were Irdel, he would have known Noah’s worth and supported his older brother to the end…

 

Regrettably, in the current situation, Slarhan was the best alternative.

 

Slarhan resembled his father in not considering rebellion against the royal family, no matter how much they tormented him. Making Slarhan his successor and eliminating the other Imperial heirs seemed satisfying.

 

However, before that happened, Vedell needed to grasp one certain weakness of Slarhan’s.

 

Finding it was Vedell’s mission.

 

“Well, besides Slarhan, is anything interesting happening around him?”

 

At the Emperor’s question, Vedell instantly thought of Ellier.

 

After the sl*ve’s arrival, he felt that the atmosphere in the Ventiark mansion had changed a little, and Slarhan was showing too much favour to the clumsy sl*ve.

 

The only change that took place around Slarhan was that sl*ve.

 

“Suddenly bringing in a sl*ve girl and seeming quite fond of her…”

 

“Oh ho, has he developed a fondness for a sl*ve?”

 

“Oh, did you use the chimney?”

 

“That wasn’t the case. He brought her in out of pity for her dying state.”

 

“Is she worthy of being Slarhan’s weakness?”

 

“Unfortunately, not really. It seems she’s an interest that will wither away soon.”

 

The Emperor clicked his tongue in disappointment. Information about a mere slave was not all that important.

 

“Are there no other women you’ve noticed?”

 

“There was not a single woman…”

 

“Any new meeting or banquet he’s attending?”

 

“None.”

 

“Drinking or gambling?”

 

“All he drinks is a glass of wine at mealtime, and he doesn’t even play cards to pass the time, let alone gamble.”

 

The Emperor’s brow furrowed even further.

 

“Well, then, how does he spend his time for fun?”

 

“…I’ve been living in the Ventiark mansion for the past year, and I, too, was curious about that.”

 

In fact, looking at Slarhan recently, it seemed that playing with Ellier was his only hobby, but it was probably not a big deal.

 

“I get it. Be careful not to let him notice your investigation and focus on finding just that one weakness. Do you understand?”

 

“I will do my best.”

 

With a sigh, the Emperor turned his head towards his attendant, who handed a bag of gold coins to Vedell. Taking the bag, Vedell discreetly exited the Emperor’s tent, just as quietly as when he had entered.