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Chapter 06
“Yes. But I don’t want to die.”
At least, I don’t.
“Slave trading is illegal in this country.”
No matter the form, slavery has now been completely abolished. On top of that, the punishments have been strengthened. I heard that those responsible will at the very least have their wrists cut off and be exiled—or else be killed.
In other words, to really bring Xavier down, we’d have to wipe out the entire slave ring.
Of course, that’s impossible for me alone.
“Need… help?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
The purpose of bringing him here was clear. So I answered honestly, without adding a single lie.
“Not the slave traders—Mr. Matthias, you know the place where you’ve been staying until now, right? Please tell me what kind of place it is. Don’t leave anything out.”
“…….”
“If you help me, like I said earlier, I’ll take care of your food, clothing, shelter, and even compensation.”
Matthias, who had been quietly listening, cautiously asked,
“A-and… other things?”
“You don’t have to.”
In case there was any misunderstanding, I answered firmly.
“You just need to tell me what you know. How many people there are, where they are—things like that.”
What else was there?
As I thought it over, I decided to organize it properly later.
“So just think about it comfortably and tell me. Until then, you can stay here and relax. Ah, you can refuse if you want, but, um… I’d really like it if you’d help……”
“If I do it.”
He muttered timidly. Without realizing it, I perked up my ears.
“If I stay… here.”
Matthias glanced at the bread he had been eating until just now.
“Together.”
He clenched the bread tightly.
“Can I… eat with you?”
“Huh?”
At the completely unexpected question, my eyes rolled around.
‘I didn’t think that far.’
“Uuuh. Well.”
Eating together, at least. Honestly, that wasn’t a difficult request. Eating together once in a while should be fine, right?
“Okay. While you’re staying here.”
“I’ll do it.”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Matthias put the bread down.
“I’ll stay. Here.”
“Uh, o-okay……”
Is that it? Did it work? No—was it really this easy? I didn’t expect him to accept so quickly.
‘You shouldn’t just follow someone because they give you food, my guy!’
Coming from the person who actually lured him with food, I didn’t really have room to talk, but still!
‘You can’t just give in that easily!’
How are you supposed to survive in this harsh world like that?
But contrary to Aria Renesty’s worries, Matthias wasn’t thinking about anything at all.
“Please rest.”
After the maid left,
Matthias, left alone, blankly looked around the room. Aria had said that starting today, this would be his space. A room where he could sleep, eat, and rest comfortably. Had he ever had a space like this in his life?
‘N-no.’
His life had always been the worst.
There hadn’t been a single hopeful day.
He’d been abandoned on the street at birth. Without even knowing who his parents were, he was kidnapped by some organization.
After that, his life was unbearably cruel.
There wasn’t a day he wasn’t beaten, and there were many days when he was so hungry he caught sewer rats and ate them.
Even those were gone now—he’d eaten too many. Fresh vegetables, meat—those were privileges reserved for the people who tortured him.
Things a mere slave could never even dream of.
But he didn’t particularly resent it. Because this had been his life since birth. So he didn’t even know what was wrong, or what an ordinary life was supposed to be.
There was nothing to regret.
All Matthias knew was his own name and age.
Even that was information necessary to use him as a slave. If not for that, he was certain he would’ve lived his entire life without knowing even those.
But one month ago, for the first time, he felt anger toward this life—starting from when he happened to overhear the truth about his birth.
—
“C-crazy… what? Where? Frombel? Shit. That bastard’s the grand duke’s kid? Aren’t we all dead then? The real boss said that?”
“Yeah. So don’t go running your mouth anywhere. Besides, we’re not dead, you coward.”
“W-who are you calling a coward! Hey, if the grand ducal family finds out he’s alive, do you think they’ll let it go? They’ll try to wipe us all out!”
“Idiot. Think about it the other way around. If he’s a grand duke’s son, why haven’t they found him all this time? It’s not that they couldn’t—it’s that they didn’t. He’s a bastard. Obviously abandoned.”
—
The grand ducal family. An abandoned child. A bastard.
For the first time, Matthias felt something called anger.
And that anger was directed at everyone except himself.
Abandoned, exploited. Not a single thing had been his choice. He’d always been dragged around, his life controlled by others.
Just an hour ago, he had no sense of self. He lived by accepting and obeying everything. He had no other thoughts.
But the moment he became aware of that fact, an uncontrollable rage boiled up inside him.
‘Should I kill them?’
But in the end, Matthias didn’t kill the slave traders.
No—it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t.
Even if Matthias himself was strong, they were a group. He’d barely managed to escape. Beating all of them down was realistically impossible.
So he decided to plan for the future. Matthias couldn’t forgive Frombel, who had thrown his entire life into the abyss.
And so, at the very edge of the world—
—
“Would you like to come with me?”
—
He met Aria.
—
“I-I mean, I’m not a suspicious person or anything. I’m enemies with the person who brought you here, you know?”
“If you help me scold that guy, I’ll take care of your food and living arrangements. A-and payment too!”
—
‘A strange woman.’
That was the thought that suddenly crossed his mind the moment he first saw her.
A woman who immediately insisted on her harmlessness was someone he had never encountered before.
—
“I-I’ll go.”
—
While everyone else was busy blaming and using him, Aria showed no such signs.
It was clearly their first meeting, yet she was far too kind.
But after talking for a short while—after realizing that this woman didn’t seem like she would harm him—Matthias felt confusion for the first time in his life.
‘What is she?’
Who was she, to treat him this well?
—
“F-for now, shall we go home?”
—
But Matthias was smart. The moment he felt that she wouldn’t harm him, he realized that pushing her away would be the stupidest choice possible.
Besides, those guys were still nearby. Even if he managed to escape safely, he might just starve to death like this.
If they committed a crime in such a crowded place, they’d attract even more attention.
But more than that—
—
“…I want to go.”
—
The warmth that pulled him along, urging him to go somewhere warm, was too intense. And so Matthias willingly chose to follow the woman in front of him.
And that was a very right choice.
—
“Mr. Matthias.”
“‘Mister’… what does that mean?”
“Oh. It’s a polite form of address! Um, it feels awkward to just call you by your name?”
“T-take it off. Casually.”
“Oh, you want me to just call you by your name? Is that okay?”
“Speak… simply.”
“Then you should speak casually too, Matthias. It wouldn’t be fair if I was the only one.”
—
‘She even gave me food.’
And that wasn’t all. Clothes, a room, clean blankets, gentle treatment. Everything he had never experienced before poured out from someone called Aria.
Sitting on the soft bed, Matthias bit his lip. Soon, a metallic taste spread.
Since it hurt, it wasn’t a dream—but when he touched the soft fabric, fear suddenly struck him.
What if all of this was just a dream?
‘No.’
Matthias shook his head firmly. He spread his hand wide.
The hand that had touched hers while eating earlier was still burning. There was no way this warmth was a dream.
‘Warm.’
Matthias clenched his open hand into a fist.
In truth, even if he left, he had nowhere to go. The Frombel grand ducal family? The thought surfaced briefly, but… would they really accept him after abandoning him?
Matthias frowned.
“No.”
He was certain.
This place, which had chosen him, was safer and more meaningful than the grand ducal family that had abandoned him.
So he would behave as quietly as possible. At least until he found out how that woman intended to use him.
“Aria Renesty…….”
The fact that he, too, has teeth sharp enough to bite—
is a secret known only to her.
