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Chapter 6
Arslan Taya Shan.
The heir and last surviving member of the Blue Mountain Tribe, which had been wiped out by the Second Prince, Owen.
He was a man who had abandoned even his own name, dedicating his entire life to avenging his family and tribe.
And it wasn’t just empty words.
He had truly thrown his life away for that purpose.
Though, considering the outcome, he hadn’t accomplished very much.
Again and again, he had attempted to assassinate the Second Prince.
Twice, he had come within a hair’s breadth of succeeding.
But that was all.
The First Prince and the King had both been poisoned, while the Second Prince—the one Rashan most wanted dead—had ultimately destroyed himself.
In the end, the only royal Rashan personally beheaded was the First Princess, Olina.
What had my “older sister” been thinking when Rashan came to kill her?
Before Ariana’s return to the past, Olina had first seen Rashan here in the Gray Corridor and fallen in love with him at first sight.
She had immediately purchased him as her slave warrior.
Olina adored handsome men as much as she loved luxury and pleasure, and Rashan’s striking face combined with his fierce, untamed aura had been beyond even her ideal type.
Proud and ostentatious by nature, she paraded him around everywhere after making him her slave, constantly showing off what belonged to her.
Rashan had refused to share her bed, so she never succeeded in forcing him into it…
But had she managed even that, she probably would have displayed him before her followers simply to boast even more.
How vulgar.
It was a truly depraved form of amusement.
Yet no one possessed the courage to pry into the secret pleasures of a princess.
Of course, it also helped that Olina was the twin sister of the Second Prince, who was locked in a bitter struggle for the throne against the First Prince.
But this time will be different.
It had to be.
Otherwise, there would be no point in changing the ending she had once lived through.
Of course… you’ll stay the same, won’t you?
As the crowd roared with almost fanatical excitement, Rashan stood proudly in the center of the arena.
At that moment, Ariana smiled beautifully.
Their eyes met.
The distance between them was considerable, but there was no mistaking it.
His cold, midnight-black eyes were staring directly at her.
Just like…
The day they had looked into each other’s eyes across the execution platform.
The difference was that back then, Ariana had been the one standing between life and death.
Now…
It was Rashan.
I died standing on that boundary.
But you won’t.
Will you?
Unable to tear his gaze away from her, Rashan watched as Ariana gently waved a hand at him.
Her lips moved silently.
We’ll meet soon.
His brow furrowed slightly, as though he had read her lips.
Perhaps she was imagining it.
It didn’t matter either way.
Simply confirming that she had truly returned to the past filled her with quiet delight.
“That is Rashan, the champion of the Gray Corridor.”
Seeing the graceful curve of Ariana’s crimson lips, Ruben stepped beside her and spoke.
“He has never lost a match. Not once. An extraordinary slave.”
While Ruben was talking, Rashan finally looked away from Ariana and disappeared through the arena gate.
Only after watching him vanish did Ariana slowly speak.
“I’d like to meet him.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s an extremely expensive slave. A very expensive one.”
Watching Ruben answer with an uncomfortable expression, Ariana nodded inwardly.
She knew exactly why he was refusing.
He’s trying to keep his plan of introducing Rashan to Olina from falling apart.
Before her return, Rashan had become Olina’s slave warrior entirely because of Ruben’s assistance.
She still didn’t know why he had been helping Rashan and the other “avengers.”
She could only assume there was some profit in it for him.
That meant there was only one thing she needed to do now.
She had to convince him that she, not Olina, could offer him the greater reward.
The problem is… I hardly have any money right now.
Realizing once again that she was a princess who possessed almost nothing of her own, Ariana let out a faint laugh.
She silently added “earn money” to her growing list of things she needed to accomplish before speaking again.
“No matter how expensive he is, a slave is still a slave.”
“Princess…”
“Call me Arina.”
“…Lady Arina. That slave is truly valuable. If even the slightest harm comes to him, the losses I’ll suffer will be enormous.”
His expression genuinely troubled, Ruben lowered his brows apologetically.
Ariana thought calmly:
If I have nothing to bargain with… then I’ll threaten him instead.
“If something happens, Father will compensate you.”
“…”
“But will that really help? Even if you’re paid for damaging such an ‘expensive’ slave, it won’t matter much if your head is cut off first.”
For a man secretly running an illegal arena…
It was an extremely effective threat.
Ruben’s face instantly became expressionless.
Seeing that, Ariana burst into cheerful laughter.
The bright, crystal-clear sound of her laughter felt completely out of place in such surroundings.
Ruben frowned.
“You have a remarkably aggressive way of… persuading people.”
“So?”
“Your answer?”
“…I’ll arrange the meeting. But you must be careful. He’s an exceptionally dangerous slave.”
Apparently, he had disliked her threat immensely.
He warned her in a sharp tone, clearly intending to frighten her.
Still smiling, Ariana turned away.
Maia, who had been quietly observing until now, had approached her side.
“Lady Arina.”
“What is it?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“No. It isn’t.”
“But…”
“The owner of this place knows perfectly well that nothing can happen to me.”
She looked directly at Ruben.
“Isn’t that right?”
His face twisted visibly.
“So you do understand.”
Turning to Maia, Ariana smiled.
“What do you think?”
Everyone knew Ariana was the King’s most beloved daughter.
Wasn’t he the very king who had declared from the moment she was born that he would raise her as the Flower of Molvian?
If she were injured here…
At the very least, the owner of this establishment could lose everything he had built in Molvian.
Some might think that was no great loss.
But for a merchant, losing the foundation of one’s business could be worse than losing one’s life.
Especially if there was something that absolutely had to be accomplished in Molvian.
So…
She was perfectly safe.
Holding that confidence, Ariana looked back at Ruben.
After a long sigh, he finally bowed his head.
“I can’t give you much time.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
“…I had no idea the youngest princess was so unreasonable.”
“This much is enough to surprise you?”
Ariana smiled—a smile that would undoubtedly have earned another look of admiration from the King himself.
* * *
After ordering a servant to escort Ariana to a reception room, Ruben watched her slowly disappearing figure.
He clicked his tongue.
When he’d heard that the Second Princess was coming instead of the First Princess, he’d assumed another wealthy fool had wandered into his lap.
“But the rumors were wrong.”
A flower raised in a greenhouse.
A naïve princess who had lived her entire life without a care.
That had been the public’s opinion.
And after gathering information, Ruben had reached the same conclusion.
Yet the woman who had just smiled sweetly while threatening him into submission…
Was nothing like the princess described in his reports.
“I’ll have to place more people inside the royal palace.”
He had never paid much attention to the youngest princess.
She wasn’t an important factor in his plans.
But after today’s encounter…
He had changed his mind.
Perhaps…
She would become the greatest obstacle to everything he intended to accomplish.
“If an obstacle can’t be removed… the best solution is to make it yours.”
He brushed his gray hair back with one hand.
“…Though that’s impossible.”
Given his ultimate objective…
There was simply no way.
“So…”
“What should I do?”
Just then—
“WAAAAAH!”
The next match began.
The spectators erupted into deafening cheers, drawing Ruben’s gaze back toward the arena.
The tribal slaves whom the Kingdom of Molvian and the Darsen Empire dismissed as nothing more than “savages.”
Gathering them together, one by one…
Was merely one piece of his far greater plan.
But it was also where everything began.
He couldn’t afford to make mistakes.
“First…”
“I should let him know.”
Thinking of Rashan, who was likely resting in the waiting room by now, Ruben started walking.
After all, Rashan was the one who had designed the framework of this entire operation.
His opinion needed to be heard first.
“WAAAAAH!”
“Kill him!”
“Kill him!”
As the crowd’s cheers grew louder and louder…
Darkness quietly filled the place Ruben had just left behind.
