Tamed A Blackened Slave Man - Chapter 57: A Kiss

At my suggestion, Father promised that he would accompany me to the Founding Day festival.

“Aren. If that is what you wish, let us do so.”

Several days passed after hearing Father’s answer. There was still no news from Cassadin after he had left the mansion, and nothing else had changed.

No. There was just one thing that had changed. It was that Damian started to send me all sorts of gifts.

Every single day.

Thump!

Today was yet another one of those days, as the people sent by Damian were putting down several large boxes in front of the mansion entrance early in the morning,

Inside the boxes were not only valuable jewels such as rubies, sapphires, emeralds, pink diamonds, and others, but also expensive accessories and fancy dresses.

“They are gifts from His Grace. He has told us to ask if Milady wants anything else.”

“…You can tell him that he doesn’t need to send these gifts to me.”

“His Grace said that these are just an expression of friendship, so there is no need to feel burdened by them.”

As the workers saw Damian place down a final box holding several rare teas, they added on.

“And His Grace has asked Milady to please attend the Founding Day festival tomorrow.”

“Tell him that I will.”

“Thank you. Master will also be happy to hear that. That is all, so we will now take our leave.”

The workers left our home after bowing to me at a ninety-degree angle.

When this routine happened for not just one, but several days, Father must have realized that something was strange and switched his gaze between the boxes in front of our entrance and me, as he asked me,

“Just when did you get close to the Grand Duke? And all of these gifts…”

“I just happened to come into contact with the Grand Duke while I was out searching for Cassadin.”

“…Goodness, Aren.”

His mouth dropped open in shock, and Father ordered the servants to bring the boxes inside. Staring intently at my face, he then asked me with a serious expression.

“Don’t tell me. Do you perhaps have feelings for the Grand Duke?”

I immediately answered my father’s inquiry,

“It isn’t like that.”

I couldn’t possibly like the man who killed me in the past. I was just trying to give back what I had received.

“…Is that so? But it seems like the Grand Duke has feelings for you.”

Hearing that, I wordlessly smiled at Father.

‘The only reason he is doing this is because he wants my healing abilities.’

It was in Damian’s nature to use people who had opened their hearts to him like tools, so the moment I accepted his favors as they looked on the outside, it would become a repetition of what had happened in my past life.

Then, all I had to do was use those favors to my advantage.

I had no intention of forgiving Damian for pushing me to the brink of death in my past life.

Just when he arrived at the false conclusion that he had my healing ability in his hands, and when he finally believed that I had completely become his side, I was going to push him down to the pits of hell.

The despair and misery I had felt in my past life.

I was now going to return that despair to him.

Another day at the mansion without Cassadin was ending.

Maybe it was because the Founding Day festival was just tomorrow, but I had an especially hard time falling asleep today. It had been a while since I’ve lied down in bed, but my mind was still wide awake.

The pink curtains on the windows fluttered about in the wind. My body shivered, likely because of the cold air.

I left the bed in order to close the open windows.

Clack.

After closing the windows, I stood there and peered up at the sky. On the dark curtain that covered the heavens was a large full moon.

It had also been a full moon on the first night that Cassadin had visited my room with the excuse that he couldn’t sleep.

There were many questions I wanted to ask him once we met again.

Why did he leave the mansion without telling me? And how did he know all of these things that I didn’t tell him about?

‘Father, please consider this. We have healing abilities, but that doesn’t mean we can disobey the law. If a war ever breaks out, Father will have to go out to the battlefields as the only man in the family…’

Did Cassadin overhear the conversation I had with Father right after I had brought him to this place?

Then, did Cassadin also know that I had these healing abilities?

It has already been ten days since I saw Cassadin. Instead of fading from my memories, Cassadin only became clearer in my mind as time passed.

‘If it is the world you want, I will place it in your hands.’

Staring straight into my eyes, you said that to me. I wanted to trust the true you that you had shown me without covering anything up with lies.

I wanted to trust you, who even had the same enemy as me.

‘It’s fine if you don’t become my family. So just show me proof that you didn’t betray me, Cassadin.’

Just please come back to me safely. If you hadn’t betrayed me, then I would also put my trust in you and tell you everything.

‘So come back to me, Cassadin.’

I laughed at myself for just how ridiculous I sounded. Cassadin had already left the family. It was his choice whether to return or not.

No matter how many times I shouted internally for him to come back, he would never…

“Sister.”

I heard a low voice that couldn’t possibly be heard from my room.

First, it was the illusion of Cassadin I had seen in Damian’s mansion, and now I’m hearing his voice as well.

Shaking my head from side to side, I closed my eyes.

“Sister.”

I heard the hallucinations once more. It was closer than the last, coming from right behind me.

But that couldn’t be possible.

I reopened my closed eyes and slowly turned around to where I had heard the voice come from. In the moonlight, his silver hair glittered like jewels.

For some reason, I could smell the metallic scent of blood from the man in the black robe, who was silently staring down at me.

“….Cassadin.”

Hearing his name, Cassadin’s firmly closed lips curled gently.

He, who had beauty even the stars envied, quietly embraced me with his large hands.

Thanks to that, I was now locked inside Cassadin’s large arms.

The warmth from the contact and the warm breath that touched my neck suddenly brought me back to my senses.

This wasn’t an illusion. It really was Cassadin.

“……”

I was so surprised that words were unable to leave my mouth. My mouth bobbed open and shut a couple of times before I was finally able to muster out a couple of words.

“…Are you really Cassadin?”

With his face buried in my shoulder, Cassadin nodded without speaking.

“Ahh…”

A dumb sound escaped my mouth. Perhaps it was because I still couldn’t believe he had returned.

“Sister.”

Though he was no longer my younger brother, Cassadin still called me Sister. He raised his head from my shoulder, then met his eyes with mine.

When our eyes interlocked, Cassadin’s eyes folded neatly into crescents.

“…I’ve missed you, Sister.”

As soon as he said that, Cassadin gently caressed my cheek with his large hands. I could feel only kindness in the touch of the hand that caressed me.

I’ve also missed you.

But, as much as I missed you, I also held resentment towards you.

“Cassadin, why did you leave the family without telling me anything? Why, after all this time…?”

My head was in complete turmoil. Which was why a pathetic voice came from my mouth.

I hated you.

But even then, I found myself relieved when I saw your face.

“Do you know just how much I’ve suffered because of you?”

“……”

“Cassadin, where have you been all of this time? I thought you’d betrayed me, that you’d abandoned me…”

I didn’t express it to anyone, but I thought about you every single day. Just as you had sunken into me, I had sunken into you.

“Do you know just how worried I was…?”

The trembling voice that I heard come out of my mouth reminded me of the voice that had come from Cassadin when he tried to harm me after his identity was revealed.

It was a sorrowful voice, like the dead, leafless trees of winter.

Feeling my throat tighten the more I tried to speak, I paused for a moment. Cassadin remained still, listening to what I had to say.

Finding his lack of response strange, I grabbed onto the hem of his cloak, since I felt that if I didn’t hold onto him, he would leave me again.

At the same time I grabbed onto his clothes, Cassadin pulled his hand back from my cheek. But he took that same hand and pulled my head closer to him.

“What are you…?”

I was not able to finish that sentence because Cassadin had completely leaned into me and collided his lips with mine.

When something foreign infiltrated my mouth through its parted opening, my mind went blank.

Cassadin violently upturned every corner of the inside of my mouth, stealing away my breath. Under the full moon, our breaths were taken from each other.

This entire situation was so unbelievable that the strength in my body drained away. When the grip I had on his clothes loosened completely, Cassadin parted his lips from mine and spoke to me with a hypnotic expression.

“This feeling. It’s to the point I can’t do anything about it…”

His voice fell deep.

“I love you.”