Chapter 2 …

The Slave Is Too Handsome!

The slave who had been acting threatening just moments ago swept his gaze over Eloise’s face, now revealed without the mask, with surprisingly gentle eyes.

Eloise did not avoid his gaze and looked straight back at him.

“Not going to lower your eyes?”

Only after the slave trader smacked the back of the slave’s head did their peculiar exchange of glances come to an end. Eloise dusted off the mask handed to her by a knight and put it back on.

“I’ll take this one.”

“An excellent choice, my lady.”

Unlike the slave trader, whose face bloomed with a bright smile, the man’s expression became even more twisted.

‘Is she insane?’

Even after his threats, she hadn’t flinched once and had actually smiled as if she liked it. He didn’t know which noble family’s daughter she belonged to, but she clearly had a screw loose. Or perhaps she had strange tastes.

Otherwise, why would she willingly crawl into a place like this?

“One more thing.”

“Yes, please tell me anything.”

“Prepare about three more who look similar to this one.”

Eloise spoke as casually as if she were picking out a hat she liked.

Frederick’s expression gradually stiffened.

“Similar-looking men? Yes. Understood!”

The slave trader answered excitedly.

Eloise smiled softly at the man.

“See you soon.”

The man replied only by glaring at her.

Led away by the collar around his neck, he disappeared into the darkness with the slave trader.

“Hurry up! Bring me A-rank—no, S-rank ones!”

The slave trader clapped his hands as he shouted.

Soon, several men in relatively good condition and with decent appearances were lined up before him.

“Hm.”

This one has an ugly jaw.

That one’s eyes are dull.

This one looks like he’s in terrible shape.

The slave trader silently evaluated them and selected the three who seemed the most presentable.

The platinum-blond man who was chosen first slung an arm around the blond-haired man beside him and whispered,

“I heard we’re being sold to some noble lady? We hit the jackpot!”

Unlike the grinning platinum-blond man, the blond man’s face remained stiff.

“What’s with that expression?”

“……”

“Hey, it’s way better than being sold to some old woman or a guy with weird tastes. Right? Your life’s turning around.”

The man turned his head away as if he didn’t want to hear any more.

The slave trader shouted at the four slaves.

“What are you standing around for? Follow me!”

Two carriages raced through the filthy streets.

After cutting through the darkness for quite some time, they stopped at the rear gate of the ducal estate.

“My lady, you’re back already?”

“Did everyone fall for you again today, my lady?”

Upon hearing that Eloise had returned, all the maids gathered at the entrance and chattered excitedly.

Some tilted their heads in confusion.

The ball should still have been in full swing, so they couldn’t understand why she had returned so early.

“I’m tired. Prepare a bath for me.”

Eloise handed her mask to the nearest maid.

The maid who received it promptly dropped the mask.

“Eek! What in the world is this?”

Behind Eloise stood Frederick, accompanied by four sturdy men.

Everyone stepped back in shock.

“My lady, what is all this?”

“Ah. Give all of them rooms in the knights’ quarters. Have them bathe first and then give them something to eat. You all understand, right? This stays a secret from Father.”

“My lady, weren’t you supposed to be at the ball?”

Mary, her personal maid, approached and asked.

Sensing the lecture that was about to begin, Eloise declared that she was tired and quickly headed toward her bedroom on the second floor.

Ah, I feel alive again.

Eloise immediately flopped onto her soft bed.

Her eyes slowly drifted shut.

The tension left her body as she thought about having successfully completed a major mission.

Just as she felt she could fall asleep right there, Mary’s nagging arrived.

“My lady! Get up and explain yourself!”

“I’m tired. Later.”

“You didn’t even go to the ball—where on earth have you been!? Huh? If the Duke finds out about this…”

“That’s why I told you to keep it a secret from Father.”

Eloise barely turned her head to look at Mary and answered irritably.

Even so, Mary had no intention of staying quiet.

“I don’t know what you’re plotting this time, but you should have attended today’s ball! You’ve rejected every tea party and evening gathering invitation these past few days!”

“Why would I waste time on such pointless events?”

“Pointless? Do you know what kind of rumors are going around lately?”

Looking frustrated, Mary started twisting the front of her white apron.

Here we go again.

It was a habit Mary often displayed whenever she challenged her.

In the end, Eloise sat up from the bed with a frown.

“What rumors?”

Truthfully, Eloise couldn’t care less about whatever rumors were circulating.

The gossip spread by fools wasn’t worth paying attention to.

Still, she needed to humor Mary a little right now.

“Well! There’s a rumor that you’re going to marry Baron Graham! Isn’t that completely insane?”

Unlike the agitated Mary, Eloise showed almost no reaction.

Unaware that her indifference only irritated Mary further.

“You know it too, my lady! That Baron is sooo old, has a huge belly, barely any hair left, and he’s an idiot!”

“I know.”

Eloise had seen Baron Graham at parties before.

He was an elderly man whose face was always red from drinking.

There were rumors that he enjoyed gambling in the back alleys, and judging by his lack of wealth, those rumors probably weren’t false.

It was only natural that he remained unmarried well past forty.

“You’re not even angry? A ridiculous rumor like this is spreading!”

“It isn’t true, is it? Why waste energy getting upset over a false rumor?”

“My laaady! Are you really going to be like this?”

Mary scolded Eloise.

I should’ve just agreed with her.

There was no need to argue.

As Eloise rubbed her tired face, Mary spoke again.

“If you knew who started the rumor, you wouldn’t be making that expression.”

“Who?”

“Don’t be surprised.”

Mary glanced around the room, though only she and Eloise were present.

She pulled a chair over, sat down in front of Eloise, and leaned in to whisper quietly, as if someone might be listening.

Her expression was unusually grave.

“Young Master George.”

Eloise’s eyes wavered for a moment.

Catching that reaction, Mary finally looked triumphant.

George?

George La Croix.

Eloise’s stepbrother, and the illegitimate son that Duke La Croix had with a common woman he had been seeing before his marriage.

And that wasn’t all.

Even after marrying Eloise’s mother in a political marriage, the Duke had openly continued his relationship with that woman—his mistress.

Her mother had said she met the mistress on the very first day of her marriage.

The two women gave birth to children in the same year.

Because he had been born a few months earlier, George became the older sibling.

But even now, Eloise refused to acknowledge a bastard as her brother.

“Eloise. Never let anyone take your place.”

After her frail mother died when Eloise was four years old, her father openly brought the mistress and her son into the ducal household.

Perhaps he pitied the stigma attached to an illegitimate child.

The Duke, who barely spared a glance for his daughter, doted on George endlessly.

To an outsider, it would have seemed that Eloise—not George—was the illegitimate child.

From the day the unwelcome mother and son entered the ducal estate, Eloise and George had effectively been competing for the position of heir.

Unlike Eloise, who was beautiful, elegant, and intelligent, George lacked everything.

He was short, unattractive, and above all, stupid.

Nor did he possess any particular talent in martial arts.

The competition itself was absurd from the beginning, but because George enjoyed the Duke’s complete favor, everyone seemed to regard him as the future Duke.

To make matters worse, George had even begun calling himself the Young Duke.

I’ll never allow that.

It seemed George intended to damage her reputation and remove her from the picture.

Eloise suddenly sprang to her feet.

“My lady?”

“I need to go to the ball after all.”

Mary’s face immediately brightened.

At last, my lady has made the right decision!

Excited, Mary hurried toward the vanity.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll redo your makeup.”

“No need.”

“Pardon?”

Eloise was already opening the bedroom door and walking out.

Mary’s expression darkened.

“You’re going like that?”

“It’s fine. Even if I look a little disheveled, I’m still pretty.”

It wasn’t exactly wrong.

But couldn’t you at least put in a little effort since you’re going anyway?

Having already exhausted her daily quota of nagging, Mary could only puff out her cheeks and remain silent.

By then, Eloise had already left through the front entrance.

Meanwhile, the ball at the Miller Count’s estate was still in full swing.

The hall was crowded with guests.

“Lady La Croix still hasn’t appeared today.”

A young nobleman sitting beside Second Prince Camilo glanced at him as he spoke.

Prince Camilo was already resting his chin on one hand with a bored expression.

Despite his splendid attire, his eyes were filled with weariness.

Having arrived early, he had not danced with a single person all evening.

Just what in the world has she been doing?

Prince Camilo had already set his sights on Lady Eloise of House La Croix as his future partner.

Though he had never gone around saying it openly, there was no one who didn’t know that Camilo was interested in Lady Eloise.

That was why he paid little attention to the rumors circulating these past few days.

His gaze landed on Baron Graham, who was standing near the balcony with a wine glass in hand.

Pathetic.

A long piece of music came to an end.

The young ladies gathered around the tables to rest for a while.

Their topic of interest was, unsurprisingly, Lady Eloise.

“So the rumor must be true?”

“You mean the rumor that she’s marrying Baron Graham?”

Despite speaking in sympathetic tones, smiles spread across their faces.

They wanted to get rid of Eloise somehow—the woman who had captured the attention of nearly every man.

At that moment, the attendant standing by the doors announced loudly:

“Lady Eloise of House La Croix has arrived!”

As if rehearsed beforehand, every head in the ballroom turned toward the entrance at once.