Tamed A Blackened Slave Man

Immediately after I made the shocking announcement, the palace knights dragged me away.

Since I had caused the scene for Cassadin, it was somewhat natural for me to be dragged away.

“Aren!”

I was the one being escorted, but it was the Crown Prince in his red uniform who desperately called out my name.

‘He’s got a lot of heart to share.’

Just as I chuckled to myself and was about to be taken away, I took one last look at Cassadin.

Cassadin glared at the palace knights holding onto my arms with a deadly gaze.

With a faint smile, I shook my head to the side at Cassadin.

‘I’m alright.’

Although he understood what my look meant, Cassadin’s expression was sadder than ever.

His sharp jawline, nose, and silver hair resembled the snowy plains of winter.

I saw his deep purple irises quiver like a candle in the wind, shaking precariously.

In order to keep my gaze on the man in the blue uniform wearing a sad expression, I continued to look back even as I was dragged away.

“So Lady Serkia has never considered Sir Cassadin as family?”

“Wait, then why did she take Sir Cassadin into her family?”

“Didn’t you hear her? Sir Cassadin has always been the victim. We’ve all been tricked by Lady Serkia all this time! Lady Serkia took him in to keep him tied to her under the name of family.”

“How horrible…”

I could hear the people’s criticisms all around me.

It was a relief.

That the criticism was directed at me, not Cassadin.

“To be truthful, I did think something was strange after hearing that Lady Serkia had spent 50 million gold to buy Sir Cassadin from the gladiator arena.”

“She hadn’t considered him family, yet brought him as a younger brother. How odd she is.”

“I’m quite disappointed in Lady Serkia. She never considered Sir Cassadin as family, yet she went around lying that they were siblings.”

“To think that she brought him into the family while thinking of him as a lover. If her true reason for bringing him into the family was to keep him beside her, she is frighteningly obsessed with him.”

The people’s harsh words flew toward me, but for some reason, I felt fine.

‘I am relieved that I protected you.’

It didn’t matter that my reputation was suffering.

I protected the reputation you had worked so hard to build.

That was all that mattered to me.

With a loud thump, the banquet hall doors closed. The palace knights continued to drag me by my wrists somewhere.

After passing through several long golden hallways, a massive iron door decorated with a lion statue came into sight.

“Your Majesty, Lady Serkia is here.”

The shut doors slowly opened with metallic creaks at the palace knight’s announcement.

Creak.

As soon as the doors opened, I was met with the sight of the Emperor sitting on a large red chair. Surrounding him, as if to protect him, more palace knights and the emperor’s aide stood.

There wasn’t even a carpet laid on top of the cold marble flooring.

‘Is this an interrogation room?’

Likely having heard what happened at the banquet hall, the Emperor’s gaze was cold as he looked at me.

“Kneel.”

I was forcefully brought down to the floor by the knights. My knees, where they met the ground, grew cold instantly.

Another command was given by the Emperor once I was kneeling with my head down like a criminal.

“The rest of you may all leave.”

“……But Your Majesty.”

“Did you not hear my command?”

After realizing that the Emperor’s statement wasn’t a suggestion, I heard the people who had been assisting the Emperor leave the room.

Creak. Once the doors closed, a heavy silence filled the room.

Several minutes passed in this manner.

Then finally, while my head was still lowered, the Emperor’s voice hit me like a heavy weight.

“Lady Serkia.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Raise your head.”

Following the Emperor’s orders, I raised my head. His golden eyes stared back at me, frigidly cold.

The Emperor stroked his beard as he began to speak to me.

“I had originally planned to meet Lady Serkia in the throne room, but after what Milady has done, I had no choice but to bring you to the interrogation room.”

“……”

“So you’ve said that you love Cassadin.”

After saying that, the Emperor stood up from his seat and walked toward where I was kneeling.

The reflection from the Emperor’s crown followed his footsteps like a trail. The crown was embedded with countless jewels, from emeralds and sapphires to diamonds.

‘Just what is the worth of that crown that makes the Emperor and Damian so intent on bothering me and Cassadin?’

As I pondered this, a dark shadow fell over me. The Emperor had, at some point, arrived in front of me.

“Why have you said such a thing?”

His eyes narrowed as if to scrutinize me. However, the words that emerged from the Emperor’s mouth soon after almost made me burst into laughter.

“……I had thought up to this point that Milady liked Grand Duke Damian.”

I shook my head vigorously and refuted the Emperor’s claim.

“Your Majesty, I must tell you that I do not like His Grace.”

Hearing this, the Emperor made a small ‘hm’ sound and rested his hand on his chin.

“So does that mean you truly do like Cassadin?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“……I see.”

Deep wrinkles formed on the Emperor’s forehead.

“I’ve spent the last two months observing Sir Cassadin, and I must say, he is a remarkable man.”

“……”

“Cassadin is what one could call a perfect human. His handling of matters is flawless, and he hasn’t made a single mistake during that time. Not to mention his blessed appearance.”

It was clear the Emperor wanted Cassadin for himself.

If that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have tried to give Princess Bella to Cassadin in the first place.

“I can understand more than enough why Milady would love Sir Cassadin.”

“……Your Majesty.”

“It was likely inevitable, was it not? Although you brought him in as a younger brother, no human could avoid harboring feelings for a man such as Sir Cassadin. He has, after all, even caught me, the Emperor’s eyes. Since you have lived in the same residence as him for this entire time, it is only natural that Milady might mistake that feeling for love.”

‘Mistake?’

Mistake that feeling? As if.

‘Does the Emperor think I’m foolish enough to misinterpret my own feelings?’

As I continued to look up at him without responding, the Emperor’s wrinkled eyes stretched thin. His lips curled into a crooked smile.

Only after I saw that disturbing smile did I realize.

The Emperor intended to completely separate me from Cassadin.

I looked up at the Emperor as I said to him,

“Your Majesty, it is not a mistake. I truly do…….”

“No, Milady is currently making a very dire mistake. You have failed to differentiate sympathy from affection. You are, after all, the Serkia Family’s warmhearted healer.”

“……Your Majesty.”

“Lady Serkia, I intend to send Sir Cassadin to the battlefield in the near future. Should he complete that task successfully, I will appoint him as the Commander in Chief of the knights.”

The Commander in Chief title was the one Cassadin had held in the past.

It was Cassadin’s title when he had been the Crown Prince’s right-hand man.

‘Why does it feel like things are progressing in a way similar to the past?’

The war had broken out much earlier than before. Lillian, whom I should have met three years later, appeared before me as if nothing was unusual.

“Lady Serkia. As Milady is aware, Grand Duke Damian does not possess the right to inherit the throne, yet he is still considered royalty. So, technically speaking, you cannot claim that Milady has violated the unspoken agreement between the royal family and the Serkia Family.”

Something about the Emperor’s words was strange.

His statement almost seemed like he was encouraging me to form a positive relationship with Damian.

“I will personally grant Milady permission to make arrangements with the Grand Duke.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Judging by what I observed in the banquet hall, it appears the Grand Duke genuinely harbors affection for Milady. Heal his heart disease for him.”

‘This is madness.’

I looked straight at the smiling old man and infused my words with my true sentiments.

“I have not the slightest intention of engaging with the Grand Duke, Your Majesty.”

“I did not instruct you to marry the Grand Duke. I merely gave you permission to meet him.”

“……Your Majesty, I’m afraid I must decline that proposition.”

The instant I rejected his offer, the Emperor’s smiling face immediately turned icy.

What the Emperor had just proposed was utterly unreasonable.

Just to maintain control over Cassadin, he was trying to force me into a connection with Damian, fully aware that Cassadin and I were in love with each other.

“The Serkia Family’s healing prowess is exceptional, and Milady’s skills are particularly outstanding in the history of the Serkia Family.”

So, now he was resorting to threats involving my family because I had rebuffed him.

“It was I who allowed Milady’s sole family member, Earl Zigen, to avoid participating in the war, even to the extent of defying the law.”

“……Your Majesty.”

“What I request now is not an order to engage in a relationship with the Grand Duke. It is merely to feign as if you are doing so.”

He was using my father to threaten me into becoming his pawn, one that would watch over Damian.

How cruel it all was.

“Your Majesty, why do you command me to do such things? This is completely unreasonable.”

“……”

“The one I truly love is Cassadin. It is neither sympathy nor compassion. I am not so foolish that I cannot understand my own emotions. But to tell me to hold a relationship with the Grand Duke, I cannot even pretend to do such a thing.”

“Milady.”

A voice colder than the winter winds pierced my ears.

“My son, Leon, is currently not thinking clearly because of Milady. Did you not see him at the banquet hall? He is intent on confronting even his own father for Milady’s sake.”

And what does that have to do with me? I didn’t tell the Crown Prince to do that.

“He had never gone to such extremes before meeting Milady.”

“Your Majesty, I simply healed His Highness when he was poisoned. The one who requested that of me was none other than you, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor remained silent for several minutes before he finally spoke again.

“From what I have observed at the banquet hall, it appears that the Grand Duke is already aware of Milady’s relationship with Sir Cassadin.”

Hadn’t he, the Emperor, also known about our relationship?

I glanced up at him with resentment in my eyes.

“I do not wish for Cassadin to be hindered by insignificant matters such as love. Thus, I suggest it would be wise to relinquish those emotions as soon as possible.”

“I cannot relinquish them, Your Majesty.”

“Are you suggesting that you will refuse the Emperor’s command? If I so desire, I can always imprison Milady.”

“Then why not do so now?”

I met the arrogant Emperor’s gaze defiantly.

“Even if I am imprisoned, I will not be broken.”