Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I made eye contact, calling his name quietly. His eyes gleamed with hatred. I could tell that he intended to kill me as soon as he recovered from the choker’s effects. I couldn’t take him to the manor like this. Biting my lip, I considered briefly before removing my mask.

“Look at me, Eckles,” I said. I could think of no other way to calm him. I hoped he would come to understand his current situation. “Look at me. I bought you for a hundred million gold.”

I moved the mask away and I could see the moment he saw my face, his ashen pupils dilating for a moment. I guessed it was because of Penelope’s seductive beauty, so out of place among the cells of the slave house. I looked him right in the eyes.

“I didn’t buy you for that exorbitant sum because I’m rolling in money. Under normal circumstances, no aristocrat would be crazy enough to waste a hundred million on a slave from a conquered foreign country. Do you understand?”

This was true, considering that the last bid for Eckles before I entered the fray was ten million gold. One hundred million was enough to purchase a castle on the outskirts of the capital.

“Suppose you defy me, a member of the aristocracy, continue to fight and manage to escape. What will you do after that? Your home country no longer exists.”

I seemed to have hit a nerve. Eckles gritted his teeth. He struggled to shake free from my hold on his chin, but I only gripped harder, forcing him to look at me again. I leveled an intimidating glare at him.

“I hate fools who don’t know their place. I saw potential in you, and that’s why I invested so much money. That is the reality of our situation.”

I hadn’t invested only money, of course. It had been a lot of hard work to get to this point.

“You’d better prove your worth to me so that the hundred million gold I spent won’t be a waste.”

“...”

“Otherwise, I will send you back here without a second thought. Do you understand?” I asked, my eyes flashing. If I was honest, I was surprised at how harsh I sounded.

Perhaps this was how desperate I was to survive the crazy game I’d found myself in. The only way to calm him was to show him the cold harsh truth, cruel though it may seem. He was no longer the noble he had once been. Now, he was nothing but a slave to be sold.

Eckles’ intense stare wavered as he seemed to realize I hadn’t bought him for my pleasure or entertainment.

“Nod if you understand. I need to go home now,” I said.

It took him a long moment, but he eventually gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. Thankfully, his affection score remained unchanged. That was good enough for me.

“M-my lady! Are you hurt?” the slave trader asked, hesitantly approaching after I’d replaced my mask and risen to my feet. He gripped his whip tightly like a lifeline.

“You,” I called.

“Y-yes! D-do you have a command for me, my—”

I gestured at Eckles with my chin as he staggered to his feet.

“Release him from the shackles.”

“Wh-what?” he stuttered.

“I said, release him.”

“B-but my lady! This slave is—” he protested.

“Leave the handcuffs and choker but remove the shackles. And the gag as well. I’m taking him with me,” I spat irritably.

The slave trader gestured to a worker, unable to deny me. Soon, Eckles was free of his restraints, barring the cuffs on his wrists. The workers and trader backed away quickly, but he stood still, no longer enraged.

“And you,” I said, pointing at the worker who’d whipped Eckles with the most enthusiasm.

“M-me, my lady?” he asked.

“Take off your clothes,” I demanded coldly.

“Wh-what?”

“Give him all your clothes except for your underwear.”

While the slave trader and worker stared, aghast, I threw down the pouch of gold coins I’d brought with me. It flopped to the ground at his feet.

“Any hurry up.”

Soon the near-naked slave was dressed presentably enough to not cause a stir on the outside streets.

* * *

Sunrise was beginning to paint the sky gold by the time I exited the auction house with Eckles trailing behind me. It had been a tense, sleepless night, and I was exhausted. I sighed heavily when I noticed that dawn was breaking. I’d managed to make my way here, but I had no idea how to get back to the manor.

“Come with me,” I ordered, glancing back at Eckles.

He said nothing. It wasn’t an acceptable response from a slave, but I didn’t have the energy to rebuke him. I led him into the first alley I could find after exiting the auction house. I wanted to find the main road so I could ask for directions. The alleyway twisted and curved, and I was turning yet another corner when a large group of men rushed at us.

“There they are!” screamed a voice.

The narrow path was completely blocked.

“Hello.” A man I’d never seen before emerged from among his men and greeted me. He was short and very large.

“Who are you?” I asked guardedly. The man laughed as if I’d said something absurd.

“Ha! You don’t recognize me?”

“Am I supposed to know who you are?” I asked.

“I am the famous Kluy—”

“M-master!” interrupted one of his men, preventing him from proudly revealing who he was.

The man cleared his throat, realizing his mistake. “Ahem. I’ve been waiting here for a while because...” he trailed off dramatically.

“...”

“I want you to hand over that slave,” he said, his eyes traveling to Eckles.

I suddenly remembered: It was the man who, along with the old lady, had been one of the last bidders.

“Eckles, stand back,” I positioned myself so he was behind me, hiding him from the man’s greedy eyes.

A mistress must know how to protect her people.

I was his mistress now, so I needed to be brave and handle the situation myself. I had another motive, of course.

This might help me increase his affection score.

The man’s thugs looked intimidating, but I doubted the situation would escalate much. I was the only daughter of the powerful House of Eckhart. My internal pep talk complete, I looked down my nose haughtily.

“Did you forget that I bought this slave for a hundred million gold earlier?” I asked.

“W-well...” His face immediately flushed an angry red. “I didn’t bring that much gold today. I’ll pay you ten million in advance and give you the rest in two weeks’ time, so—”

“One billion.”

“Wh-what?”

“I came intending to pay ten times the final bid.”

“But th-that’s—” he started.

“If your bid had been a hundred million, I’d have bid one billion. That means the final value of this slave is one billion gold.”

The large man screamed, “That’s nonsense!”

“I’m not the one talking nonsense here,” I countered.

His face was now a bright red which reminded me of a balloon about to pop.

It seems he had assumed I would part with Eckles easily. With every refusal, he was becoming more upset.

“J-just hand him over already! Why are you making this so difficult? Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

“I could ask you the same question,” I countered smoothly.

I was willing to remove my mask, if necessary, as I had given Derrick’s gold button to the slave trader and had no other means of identifying myself. My dark pink hair and blue-green eyes would clue him in as to who I was. I would have likely done so, but the large man was faster.

“Why, you impudent little girl!”

With a gust of air, his enormous hand was flying toward my face. I realized a moment too late and tried to back away.

“Aaargh!”

The man’s hand came to a halt in front of my nose, bent at an unnatural angle, held there by the arm that had shot out from behind me.

Wasn’t Eckles wearing handcuffs? I stared blankly, wondering.

“Ow! Oh! Jack! Jack kill... kill them both!” The man screamed at the top of his lungs, cradling his broken wrist.

“Please stay back,” Eckles said. Polite hands nudged me backward, and what followed was a second round of the violence I’d witnessed at the auction house.

The sound of bones breaking filled the alley. The wave of opponents seemed to pose no threat to Eckles. With every movement, multiple thugs were thrown to the ground with a thud, the sounds of battle chilling in the early morning light.

“Whoa...” I backed away hesitantly.

This was different from sitting safely in the audience and watching him fight some hyenas. This was a slaughter. Blood splattered with every swing of his hands. I suddenly felt my chest tightening at the sight of crimson everywhere, reminded of the crown prince’s beheading of the assassin at the palace. I felt the same terror, and the same metallic stench filled my nose.

I’m scared...

I began to tremble, clinging to the wall, as Eckles continued to slaughter the men like some kind of killing machine. The fight was over before it had really begun.

The man from the bidding sat amid the bloody bodies, frozen stiff with the same look of horror that no doubt painted my own face. A dark spot formed under him and began to grow into a yellow puddle.

I didn’t have the capacity to be disgusted, instead rooted as Eckles approached me. His handcuffs were destroyed, hanging limply from his wrists. Sticky blood dripped down his arms and hands. I gasped for air, terrified of the expressionless man with gray-brown hair.

How had I dared to threaten him earlier? Luckily, I hadn’t removed my mask; otherwise, he would have seen the look of pure terror on my face.

“Mistress,” Eckles said, falling to his knees at my feet. I was still processing the sight when he said, “I killed them all.” He stared at me intently with his ash-colored eyes, pushing his face against one of my hands. “Please praise me, Mistress.”

He then rubbed his cheek against my palm like a puppy, the friction warming my cold digits. I failed to realize the hand he was nuzzling was the one that wore the ring controlling the choker. I stood frozen, staring down at the top of his head.

[Affection Score 18%]

Choosing him had been the correct decision.