A Slave Of Rubelfast – R15 - Chapter 29

After the hunting contest was over, the sl*ves followed some servants to a place to eat.

 

Everyone was excited about finally enjoying a hearty meal with meat after a long time.

 

However, Ellier glanced sideways and slowly dropped to the very back of the group, hiding among the shrubbery while everyone else was preoccupied with the dining room.

 

She slipped away between the bushes and disappeared into a secret tunnel.

 

‘Alright, I don’t know when I’ll come to the Imperial Palace again. I might as well finish everything today.’

 

What Ellier was aiming for was the belongings of Duke Irdel hidden inside the Imperial Palace.

 

It was true that someone stole Irdel’s belongings when sending the body. But it wasn’t the work of the assassination squad. Nor was it the Emperor’s doing.

 

‘Iris is surprisingly cunning.’

 

Iris, who had thought she might need to pull Slarrhan into her influence someday, had done it. Iris had been interested in the throne for quite some time.

 

Although Renscher pretended to be the Crown Prince, Iris had been steadily preparing to become the Crown Princess as if she felt something intuitive.

 

Judging by the sheer number of nobles who gathered under her when the competition for the throne began, or rather, by the fact that she had waited until now without getting married despite twenty-five potential candidates, it was clear.

 

She has been quietly laying the traps all this time.

 

Stealing Irdel’s belongings was part of that.

 

She might have intended to use it to entice Slarrhan into becoming part of her group, but she probably hadn’t expected him to become a candidate for the throne.

 

‘And she didn’t know what to do after she stole it. What would you do if you had something you wouldn’t be able to use anyway?’

 

In her previous life, Iris had never even made a plausible attack using the belongings.

 

Clyde, who found out that she had the Irdel’s belongings, had manipulated the situation between Iris and Slarhan, leading to Slarhan launching a fierce attack on Iris to retrieve his father’s belongings.

 

Meanwhile, Lilliette and Clyde persuaded Count Roland to sign a contract. That was around the middle of next year.

 

Ellier, who had initially intended to handle things slowly as she had enough time on her hands, had decided to resolve everything at once after meeting Clyde and Ellor.

 

Ellier, who had been crawling all the way in a straight line, turned to the right at a certain point.

 

If you look toward the ceiling, which was broken in some places, a side door led to the outside.

 

‘It should have been here…’

 

Ellier carefully opened one of the side doors, looked around, and went outside.

 

It was near where the rooms of the sl*ves living in the palace were gathered.

 

The place where Iris hid Irdel’s belongings, absurdly, the room of her sl*ve.

 

She was overflowing with her maids and attendants, and even though she was a Princess who did not need to be a sl*ve, Iris had one of the sl*ves by her side.

 

She had claimed that she had found him dying on the road when he was twelve and had saved him.

 

Did she say his name was ‘Eden’?

 

In any case, because Iris had saved Eden, he absolutely obeyed Iris.

 

‘The twist was that the sl*ve she thought was a girl was actually a boy.’

 

The fact that the unmarried Princess kept a male sl*ve around was once a source of gossip, but it did not last long.

 

And Ellier believed what Iris had said that she had no romantic relationship with her sl*ve.

 

Iris, who values her own goals as much as her own life, would never do anything to jeopardise them.

 

It was just that Ellier had doubts about whether even Eden didn’t have some hidden motives.

 

Ellier walked on tiptoe silently and stood in front of a door with a small plate reading ‘Eden’.

 

The sl*ves’ doors had a small barred window so that they could look in from the outside.

 

At night, the guard used these windows to check on the slaves. At this moment, Ellier realised how grateful she was for that window.

 

‘As expected, he’s not in the room!’

 

Today, all the sl*ves and servants in the palace must be out.

 

As expected, Ellier checked the empty sl*ve room and took out two thin iron rods from her sleeves. She quickly unlocked the lock.

 

Ellier, who had sneaked into the room, took a quick look around the room, which had little furniture.

 

Even though he was the Princess’s sl*ve, the room was as simple as a normal sl*ve’s room. There was a wooden bed, a small table and chair, and a chest of drawers with three drawers.

 

‘It must be here.’

 

The only place in the furniture where you could hide something was a chest of drawers.

 

Carefully, Ellier opened the lowest drawer, making sure not to make any noise. She presumed that if someone were to hide something, they would place it in the most hard-to-reach spot.

 

‘Tsk tsk. How sloppy.’

 

Although it was meant to be hidden, Ellier, who had created various secret places in her past life, quickly noticed that the depth of the drawer was shallower than expected.

 

In cases like this, there would typically be a divider within the drawer.

 

When the bottom of the wooden board was tapped, the upper part was pushed outward, revealing the inside that the wooden board was blocking.

 

Inside, which was not very wide, was a small wooden box with a padlock attached. Iris probably had the key.

 

Ellier took out two thin pins from her chest pocket and carefully pushed them into the keyhole, focusing her attention on her fingertips.

 

The chest’s lock was far more elaborate than the sl*ve’s door lock. However, Ellier’s lockpicking skills were not something she had learned as a mere pastime.

 

‘I like my teacher.’

 

In her previous life, she learned from the Knights Templar’s youngest member, a commoner who lived on pickpocketing and robbery.

 

Even after being caught, he giggled and raised his nose, saying he was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone with lockpicking.

 

Thanks to such an excellent teacher, Ellier could unlock the wooden box in three minutes.

 

As expected, the white pouch inside the wooden box contained Irdel’s belongings.

 

It was a locket necklace, a brooch, a small pocket knife and a handkerchief, but the handkerchief was stained with blood, probably Irdel’s.

 

Ellier quickly stuffed the white pouch inside her chest pocket, returned the box to its original place and closed the drawer.

 

When she finally realised that she had obtained Irdel’s belongings, a feeling of relief surged through her, and Slarhan, who would be quietly happy to receive it, came to mind.

 

‘Boy, you better be grateful to this lady.’

 

It was the moment when Ellier was about to get up and go out with such a proud feeling.

 

“I’ll just change my clothes and come back soon.”

 

“Are you really okay?”

 

“I’m fine. The bleeding has stopped.”

 

“Anyway, it’s hard to be too handsome.”

 

“Haha.”

 

Ellier heard someone coming this way.

 

But there was nowhere to hide in the room. Even under the bed, it was obvious that she would soon be noticed.

 

Ellier pressed herself against the wall, hoping that the person was not the owner of this room.

 

However, the ominous premonition was not wrong, and the door opened abruptly.

 

And the sl*ve, Eden, who met Ellier’s eyes, stepped back in surprise and screamed.

 

“Who are you!”

 

“Ah… that, that’s…”

 

When Eden shouted, the colleague who came with him also ran to ask what was going on. Ellier furiously racked her brains over how she could escape this situation.

 

“Who are you!”

 

“I-I’m sorry! I’ve fallen for you!”

 

“What…?”

 

Even if she didn’t have to recall the conversation she had heard earlier, Eden was a very beautiful-looking sl*ve.

 

Until he was sixteen, he pretended to be a girl, so Ellier guessed it.

 

He wasn’t bulky and masculine-looking like Slarhan, but he was thin and delicate enough to be mistaken for a woman at first glance. His beautiful silver hair and blue eyes were impressive.

 

“I thought it would be difficult to see each other outside… I knew it was rude, but I hid and waited for you. Sorry. I just wanted to see you one more time.”

 

“Haah… again…?”

 

The man, who seemed to be Eden’s friend, sighed and shook his head.

 

It was even more absurd that this wasn’t the first time this had happened. But from Ellier’s point of view, it was a good thing.

 

“Are you Eden? Today, when I saw you standing next to the Princess, I doubted whether I saw an angel. Oh, my heart feels like it’s going to explode. Can you hold my hand just once?”

 

Ellier approached him step by step with a more ardent attitude.

 

“Are you crazy? It looks like you’re a sl*ve too, but I won’t let you go! Guard! Guard!”

 

Grinding his teeth, the sl*ve went out into the hallway and called the guards loudly.

 

If Ellier pretended to be infatuated with him, he would let her go, but this guy seemed to be too bothered by this.

 

“What’s going on!”

 

“An outsider has sneaked into my room!”

 

“What? That can’t be! We’ve been patrolling this area, so…”

 

“You said the same the other day, but even then, some crazy woman was hiding in my room. Why the hell does this keep happening? I will report it to the Princess!”

 

“Haha, I’m sorry! I left Sophie for just a moment to come here, and someone slipped in? But seriously, was she completely undressed again?”

 

The two guards who rushed to Eden’s cry pushed their faces full of curiosity, but when they saw Ellier wearing all her clothes, they looked disappointed.

 

“Better than last time. At least she is wearing clothes. Seeing that the bed is still intact, it doesn’t look like she’s even rolled over on the bed.”

 

Ellier felt sorry for the sl*ve’s situation now. However, at this moment, she needed to prioritize her safety.

 

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! You’re so beautiful that I think I momentarily lost my mind. Can you please forgive me just this once?”

 

“Haha! Ridiculous! If you don’t want to die, reveal your identity first!”

 

“Huh! I-I’m also a sl*ve. If this matter becomes known, I will die. Please, just look at me once. Please?”

 

“You don’t seem like a palace slave. You probably came to the hunting competition today. This woman would cause a big fuss if we took him back. I will take her away. Don’t be too hard on her. And hey, keep it a secret from Her Highness the Princess. Okay?”

 

The guard ignored Ellier’s pleas and only looked at Eden, and the man who seemed to be his friend comforted Eden by patting him on the shoulder.

 

“Oh wow, you are very lucky today. Outside, you get slapped for not being served. Inside, a perverted slave is hiding… Handsome isn’t always a good thing, Eden.”

 

Upon hearing his words, Ellier saw Eden’s cheeks were red and swollen.

 

His nose was bleeding from being hit on the cheek, and there were bloodstains on his shirt.

 

“W-who… hit you? Why?”

 

Ellier asked, involuntarily worried, but Eden looked down with a cold gaze and sneered.

 

“I’d rather get slapped than confront a pervert hiding in my room. Guard! Please take this person out!”

 

“Uh, that, yes!”

 

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