The Fiancé You Don’t Want to Lose (3)
It seemed my life was ruined.
At this point, hoping for a miraculous recovery would be sheer, shameless greed.
“Lord Theorad, at least try to explain yourself!”
Sorry, Ashley, but I already tried explaining myself.
You can hate me now. I've become rather used to playing the villain…
I sat there with my mouth hanging open, unable to think of anything to say.
Ashley clicked her tongue and rose. She shot me one more furious look, then gathered the hem of her skirt, went over to the elf, and knelt beside her.
“Stop picking up the glass. Even if you're a slave, you shouldn't have to obey such unreasonable orders.”
“N-no, please…”
“I know this isn't something you want to do. You mustn't put yourself in danger just because you're frightened.”
She wasn't wrong.
If she'd been saying those things to me instead of to the elf, she'd have been absolutely right.
As far as I could tell, the elf was doing all of this because she wanted to.
Even now, her eyebrows twitched as Ashley fussed over her. To me, it looked like she wanted the young lady to go away and stop interfering.
Of course, Ashley had no way of knowing that.
“How can anyone call a life this pitiful and wretched a life at all? Does even the God of Light, who watches over all people, discriminate against other races? How awful.”
I had a feeling those words were aimed at me.
Was she accusing me of violating the God of Light's teachings? Even so, that was going a bit far!
“That's blasphemy, Ashley.”
“Lord Theorad, be quiet.”
Eek.
Her fierce eyes were terrifying.
I sighed and reached for a snack. I tried to hide it, but my hand was trembling.
What man wouldn't be crushed when the woman he loved kept looking at him with contempt? If there had been a button I could press to die without pain, I would have pressed it on the spot.
“This won't do. Elf, what's your name?”
“P-pardon? I'm Master's sex slave…”
“I'm not asking for that degrading title. I'm asking for the precious name your parents gave you at birth, under God's blessing.”
“I… I don't know… A slave like me has no need for a name…”
“You mean you don't even remember your own name?”
Ashley looked bewildered. She took the elf by the wrist and tried to help her stand.
“That will change now. Come with me to the castle. You can live comfortably there…”
No! Anything but that!
Passing this ticking bomb into someone else's hands might sound appealing, but what happened if she exploded at the count's castle?
I shot up out of my chair.
“Ashley! That's going too far! I paid for this slave!”
“What? Do you think a deed of sale lets you own a person who can think for herself?”
“I paid for her, and I have a claim under the contract! You can't simply take her away. Take your hands off my slave!”
“Lord Theorad, you really…!”
Ashley clenched her teeth. She released the elf's wrist and stood, struggling to contain her emotions.
After a deep breath, she looked me in the eye.
“Fine. Then let's settle it this way. Whichever of us this elf chooses—”
“I-I…”
The elf interrupted her, clutching the hem of my trousers.
“I swore to devote my body and soul to Master. Even if Master gets me pregnant and abandons me on the street, I'll accept it. I don't want to go away and serve anyone else…”
Thank you. Now Ashley has absolutely no doubt that I'm trash.
You damned elf.
“What…”
Ashley looked back and forth between us. Then she turned away and started walking toward the door.
Even her normally graceful steps seemed weighted with disappointment.
The servants heard her approach and opened the door. She left without so much as a glance over her shoulder.
She must have been terribly upset.
“Hic… I'm sorry, my lord… It's all because of me…”
I didn't even have the strength to be angry anymore.
I collapsed back into my chair.
Havid, sensing something was wrong, approached.
“My lord, what on earth happened…?”
The old steward broke into a sweat when he saw the elf crouched on the floor, gathering broken shards into her maid's apron, and me sitting there with my head hanging as though my soul had departed.
“Why is the teacup broken…? More importantly, are you all right, my lord?”
“…I'm fine.”
My body didn't have a scratch on it.
Only my heart.
My heart was broken.
Inside the carriage returning to the castle, Ashley rested her chin on one hand and stared dully at the changing scenery beyond the window.
Theorad was definitely strange today.
The Theorad she knew was a dignified aristocrat with a kind heart.
He treated his servants well and never spoke harshly to his slaves.
That didn't mean he was weak. When he thought something was wrong, he said so, and he was confident enough to voice his opinion even in front of her father, the count.
He never let his privileges come before his duties. His willingness to work hard at everything should have served as an example to other aristocrats.
He was nothing like the nobles who carried impressive titles while doing nothing worthwhile.
Ashley had been drawn to Theorad for years. When she was younger, she'd even begged her father to arrange their engagement.
She'd believed Theorad was someone she could trust with the rest of her life.
Then why?
How could a man with such a gentle nature turn into an utter bastard overnight?
Ashley couldn't understand it.
Was I deceived by that elf?
The elf he'd recently purchased as a sex slave.
Ashley hadn't been pleased to learn about the purchase, but she hadn't felt entitled to object too strongly, either. Keeping a sex slave was hardly unusual among nobles. Even if she herself had no taste for such things, she understood that men sought ways to satisfy their desires.
But when she actually saw the elf at Theorad's mansion, she felt an unexpected pang of jealousy.
She was beautiful.
Even Ashley, who was frequently praised for her looks, had to admit that the elf possessed an extraordinary, pale beauty.
Her long, flowing silver hair looked like transparent silk, and her red eyes shone like precious corundum.
Her glossy lips and graceful curves only added to the effect. She was so beautiful that she might have put a succubus to shame.
Still, Ashley had decided not to reveal her jealousy. Doing so would be beneath a noble lady.
She'd greeted Theorad cheerfully and delivered the message she had come to give.
And then—
“It's the perfect work for someone as vulgar as you.”
Theorad had begun verbally abusing the elf.
It wasn't the Theorad she'd always known. His behavior had seemed unnatural, almost as if he were acting out the part of someone else.
“Hmm…”
Ashley considered the matter.
Why would Theorad suddenly behave like such an idiot? Was there some reason he had to?
Does he want to break off our engagement?
That didn't make sense.
Marrying the count's second daughter would bring House Deharem both prestige and considerable advantages.
In aristocratic society, where personal connections meant everything, a marriage into a higher-ranking house could raise an entire family's standing.
More than that, Theorad had never been shy about showing his affection for her.
He'd sent her a carriage filled with flowers. He'd given her handicrafts he'd made himself, presenting them as if they were nothing special. On one occasion he'd even recited a poem he had written for her.
How could a man like that become a completely different person in the space of a few weeks?
It was a contradiction.
Then…
If he wasn't trying to break off their engagement, the only other strange element in his life was the elf.
Could Theorad be behaving that way because he's trying to accommodate his slave?
That was contradictory in its own way.
Neither explanation made sense, yet she couldn't dismiss either of them. No matter which possibility she considered, she couldn't find a reason that brought all the facts together.
Her head began to ache.
Ashley frowned, closed the carriage window, and leaned back against the seat.
I'll find out soon enough.
Before long, Theorad would come to the castle as regent. There would be chances for the two of them to speak privately then.
Perhaps they could clear up this misunderstanding and discover the truth.
I won't tell Father. Not yet.
It would be foolish to judge a person by one troubling incident.
Ashley decided to keep Theorad's behavior to herself for the time being.
Late that night, I sat before the stone statue of my father, clutching at my hair.
“Damn it…”
I have a disease that kills me if I'm kind to slaves.
What kind of idiotic bullshit was that?
No matter how desperate I'd been to make an excuse, I should never have said something so ridiculous.
If only the elf had committed some genuine offense the day before. Then I could at least have explained my harsh treatment as a scolding. That might have prevented this catastrophe.
“Haaah…”
One sigh followed another as belated regret washed over me.
People said regretting the past wouldn't change anything. That was easy to say if your past held nothing worth regretting.
Even if I desperately wanted to forget what had happened, how could I, when the scene kept replaying itself in my head?
And of all the people I could have disgraced myself in front of, it had to be my fiancée.
Ashley and I cared for each other. We'd been growing closer little by little, and now I'd destroyed everything in a single afternoon.
That damned elf.
That wicked devil of an elf had driven me into disaster on purpose. Was she trying to break every relationship I had, until I belonged to her alone?
I ground my teeth, but it changed nothing.
She held my life in her hands. However much I struggled, I was still trapped in her palm.
It was enough to drive anyone to despair.
But the deeper I sank into despair, the more I played into that devil's hands.
For now, I had no choice but to go along with her demands. That didn't mean I could stop looking for a way out.
If I kept trying, surely an opportunity would present itself someday…
Rustle.
While I was forcing myself to cling to that hope, someone held out a letter.
A letter?
I'd never seen the emblem pressed into its sealing wax before.
I studied it in confusion, then realized what it must be.
The slave trader's reply.
I'd sent my letter by the witches' daily express service, so the trader had probably answered as soon as he received it.
He'd surely agreed to take the elf back, hadn't he?
“Ah. Thank you for bringing me the letter…”
My spirits lifting, I accepted it and raised my head.
Every part of me went cold.
“You're welcome.”
The person who had handed me the letter—
“Master.”
—was none other than the elf.