FSTE 12

Chapter 12

Since becoming a slave, Rian had not stepped outside the mansion even once.

In this country, slaves were not allowed to go out unless accompanied by their master, and even then it was troublesome. On top of that, Isabel was an extreme homebody to begin with. She rarely went out, and during the winter she hardly left the house at all. Even when she did have business outside, she never brought Rian along.

“You’re asking permission to take Rian out with you?”
“Yes, Lady Isabel. I’d like to take him to the government office with me.”

Isabel rolled her eyes thoughtfully at Diego’s request, sinking into contemplation.

Was she worried that if she let him out, he might seize the chance to run away?

“With how he is now, it should be fine. Go ahead.”
“Thank you for your permission.”

Thankfully, Rian’s first outing was approved without incident.

‘Yes! I finally get to breathe some fresh air!’

Rian cheered inwardly.

No matter how grand and luxurious the mansion was, being cooped up inside for months had been stifling. He felt grateful enough to Diego that he almost wanted to lift the usually irritating old man up in celebration.

“Have a safe trip.”
“Mm. You all keep up the good work too.”

Rian stepped out onto the street together with Diego and two guards assigned as escorts.

Perhaps because spring had truly arrived, the atmosphere felt completely different from when he had first come to the mansion with the head of the slave traders.

The bleakness of late autumn and early winter was nowhere to be found. The streets were overflowing with flowers, fresh green sprouts, and lively crowds.

Spring was in full bloom.

“Wait—no matter how Lady Isabel gave verbal permission, don’t we need some kind of paperwork?”
“It’s a rare outing, so I was worried we might run into trouble.”

A slave going out without their master required a travel permit. Of course, even without one, he would simply be detained by the city guard and returned to his owner as lost property.

Still, it was something that could be resolved with a single document. There was no need to complicate things.

“I thought you were a clever one, but you really do say something stupid every now and then.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Think about it. What exactly is my job?”
“Well, accounting, and other things… Ah!”

Though Diego held the title of accountant, that alone didn’t quite capture his role.

In practice, he was the chief financial officer of the Azure Gem Trading Company, as well as Isabel’s economic and legal representative. Which meant that bringing along one of Isabel’s assets—Rian—could be smoothed over with a bit of discretion.

‘Wait. If I ever inherited Old Man Diego’s position… what would happen then?’

It felt like he’d stumbled upon a legal loophole.

Of course, that would only be possible if the cranky old man crossed a line or chose to retire on his own. For now, it was probably pointless to think about.

“But now that I’m out here, there sure are a lot of slaves around.”

Looking around the streets, Rian noticed people here and there wearing collars around their necks.

“About one-tenth of the island’s population are slaves, I’d say.”
“Wow… that many?”
“What’s so surprising? Back in the days of the Madella Kingdom, it was closer to one-third.”

That explained why slave-related laws were so strict—the history behind them was just as old.

“Let go of me! I already showed you my travel permit!”
“You illiterate fool. Did you really think such an obvious forgery would work?”

Because slaves were so common, Rian even witnessed a runaway being caught and dragged away by the city guard.

“No! That can’t be right! Let go! I don’t want to go back there!”

Perhaps the slave had fled after being abused by their master. Setting aside the shabby appearance, there were countless old bruises and scars visible on their body.

‘Why does it feel like people keep staring at me…?’

Even amidst the commotion, the one drawing the most attention on the street was Rian himself—especially the nakedly jealous gazes of other slaves.

Slaves carrying enormous bundles like pack animals, wheezing as they followed their masters.
Slaves so emaciated it was hard to tell if they were even fed properly.

Even without such extreme cases, most slaves wore dirty clothes and had lifeless eyes.

One glance was enough to understand how slaves were usually treated.

“That collar… he’s a slave, right?”
“If he’s with Old Man Diego, is that the rumored one?”
“Damn! Three hundred gold coins, huh? He’s definitely worth his looks!”

And it wasn’t just slaves. Even among free citizens, it was rare to find someone dressed better than Rian on this street. The same probably went for what he ate and where he slept.

If not for the collar marking him as a slave, most people would have assumed he was a noble.

‘No wonder I can’t give this life up.’

Rian felt it clearly during his first outing in a long time.

Compared to the harshness of the world, Isabel’s flaws were nothing more than trivial inconveniences.

The government office at the South Harbor, which oversaw the commercial district, felt more like a chamber of commerce than an administrative building.

The clacking of abacuses echoed everywhere.
Desks were buried in ledgers and vouchers.
Officials wiped sweat from their brows as they mediated disputes between merchants and artisans.

And on several boards and blackboards were countless charts and graphs…

“Huh? Graphs?”
“Hmm? Ah, those. Thanks to you, anyone who plays with numbers uses them these days.”
“Man, I should’ve charged a fee every time someone used them!”
“Tch. You trying to put a price on my wisdom? What a highway robber.”

Rian shrugged shamelessly and followed behind Diego toward the counter.

Still, it felt oddly satisfying to know he’d caused real change in the world.

“You’re from the Azure Gem Trading Company, right? I’ll assist you here.”
“Rian, hand over the documents.”

Rian pulled a bundle of papers from the bag he was carrying and passed them to the clerk.

“I’ll review these. Please wait a moment.”

The clerk began carefully examining the documents, cross-checking them against ledgers and vouchers. After some time—

“C-Commander Leon! What brings you here…?”
“I’ve come to see the administrator. Is he available?”
“Yes! Please wait just a moment!”

At the appearance of a knight wearing a red cloak symbolizing the city guard, the noisy office instantly fell silent.

Black, slightly wavy hair. Thick eyebrows. A neatly groomed mustache and beard.
Judging by his appearance and the people’s reactions, he was clearly a high-ranking official.

“Sir, who is that?”
“Leon Monteir. The commander of the South Harbor city guard.”
“Monteir…?”

Rian had definitely heard that surname before.

“Yes. He’s the lord’s eldest son.”

The son of the local lord.
An old trauma threatened to resurface.

Call it prejudice if you like, but he really didn’t want to get involved with someone like that.

Unfortunately, the world rarely cooperated.

“Well, if it isn’t Diego of the Azure Gem Trading Company!”

Leon spotted Diego and strode over.

Rian heard Diego let out a quiet sigh.

“It’s been a while, my lord.”
“Haha! How is Isabel doing?”
“She’s well, thanks to you.”
“I heard there was an unfortunate incident at her estate recently, so I was planning to pay my respects. Guess I see you first instead!”

He must have been referring to Pedro.

That incident had been officially ruled an accidental fall.
Was he really here just to offer condolences?

“Hmm? Looking closely, that’s a slave, isn’t it? Then this young man must be…”
“Yes, my lord. This is Rian, Lady Isabel’s slave.”
“Haha! So Isabel’s goat is taking Isabel’s dog for a walk? What a rare sight indeed!”

As expected, the words “the lord’s son” only reinforced Rian’s negative assumptions.

Fortunately, the uncomfortable encounter didn’t seem like it would last long.

From deeper inside the office, a plump middle-aged man in fine silk clothing came running out in a panic.

“My lord! If you were coming, you could’ve sent word ahead of time and I would’ve—”
“Wait.”

Leon raised a hand without even looking at him.

“Tell me, Diego. Does Isabel have any intention of selling this one again?”
“…That’s not something I’m in a position to answer.”
“Hm. Fair enough.”

Leon nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on Rian.

He looked like the sort of man who might wear a mask and secretly moonlight as a rapier-wielding hero—yet he asked questions like that right off the bat.

“Rian, was it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard something interesting about you. Isabel originally asked for one hundred fifty gold coins, but you insisted on three hundred yourself, didn’t you?”
“That did happen.”
“Then let me ask—what do you think your price is now?”

His own value.
Considering what he’d accomplished over the winter and what he’d earn for the company going forward, he wanted to say ten times as much.

“…That’s something you should ask my owner, Lady Isabel.”

Rian decided to learn from Diego’s way of handling things.

“Honestly, that woman always gets the best goods first.”

Leon scratched the back of his head with a bitter smile, looking genuinely regretful.

“Well then, Lord Leon, perhaps it’s time to stop wasting time on someone like that and—”
“Administrator. I told you to wait.”
“Ghk…!”

Leon finally turned his gaze toward the administrator—cold and sharp.

The administrator, clearly humiliated, glared resentfully at Rian, his plump cheeks trembling. Thanks to that, Rian’s first impression of him was utterly ruined.

“One last question.”

Leon, utterly unconcerned, continued ignoring the administrator and spoke to Rian.

“That fellow—Pedro, was it? Do you really think he just slipped while drunk?”
“If the city guard said so, then that must be the case.”
“Is that so?”

Leon’s sharp gaze pierced into Rian.

“I heard it was you who crippled his leg. A slave, no less.”

A slave with no right to self-defense inflicting irreversible injury on a free citizen.
If Pedro pressed the matter later, it could’ve become troublesome.

That was probably what Leon wanted to imply.

But the law was always open to interpretation.

Rian subtly turned his body so the sword at his waist was clearly visible.

“Lady Isabel gifted me that sword. I merely acted according to her will and protected her property.”
“Then it was a lawful act of self-defense.”

If Leon accused him of deliberately cornering Pedro, there’d be little Rian could say—but that was a moral issue, not a legal one.

“Very well. Let’s end it here for today.”

Just as the unpleasant first meeting was about to conclude—

“I wonder who will meet with another ‘accidental fall’ next.”

Leon left that unsettling remark behind as he patted Diego’s shoulder, and Diego’s face went pale.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Administrator.”
“N-Not at all! This way, please!”

Finally freed from his long wait, the administrator hurriedly led Leon toward his office.

“Hah…”

Diego, who had been holding his breath the entire time, finally let out a deep sigh and slumped even further.

“I suppose it’s about time I let go…”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”

Diego’s muttered words left his face looking far more exhausted than usual.

That muttering hadn’t been misheard.

A few days later, near the end of dinner, Isabel suddenly brought up Diego.

“Diego says he’s quitting at the end of this month.”
“What? He didn’t say anything to me.”
“He probably didn’t think it was necessary.”

He’d thought they’d grown closer, even if the old man was still prickly.
Had that only been Rian’s illusion?

And quitting so suddenly—what about the handover?

“So, how much have you learned from Diego?”
“There’s not really anything left to learn anymore. Lately, I’ve basically been handling almost everything myself—wait.”

Thinking back, there was barely anything to hand over at all.

Maybe that visit to the government office had been Diego’s way of introducing him.

“Then you can succeed Diego without any issues.”
“I don’t know if I’d call that ‘without issues.’”
“Why? What’s the problem?”
“Well… my status as a slave, for one…”

By the calculations he’d mentioned to Leon, he’d already paid off half his value.
After this spring, he’d more than finish paying it off entirely.

“My property taking over my work—what’s the problem?”
“…I suppose you’re right.”

Still, Isabel didn’t seem inclined to remove Rian’s collar anytime soon.

Rian wanted to negotiate about that, if he could—but—

“Would you like me to remove that collar?”

Isabel met Rian’s gaze with deep, searching eyes.

A hallucination of tiny insects scratching at his ears filled the air.
A chill ran down his spine, as though spiderwebs were being drawn beneath his feet.

Rian gently stepped back from the tightening web and smiled.

“As long as I can stay by your side, Lady Isabel, I don’t care what form that takes.”

If that form happened to be a kept man rather than a slave, even better.

“That’s why I like you, Rian.”

I think I can keep you around for a long time.

Clearly pleased with his answer, Isabel smiled warmly.

“I’ll give you one year. Until next spring, run the company your way. You can do that, right?”
“I can—but why?”
“Produce results that satisfy me. Then I’ll take off your collar.”

It was the most powerful temptation Rian had ever heard.