Chapter 9

“I had no idea I would see you here!”

said the lady, in a voice of joy and helplessness.

She was so thrilled that she was about to shed tears.

But Kian looked noticeably dark.

Having been self-absorbed and one-sidedly enjoying their reunion, she belatedly noticed my existence and asked.

“Is the person next to Kian, your new master?”

I could guess her identity from the fact that she was referring to me as a new owner.

When I nodded, she said with a refined smile.

“I’m Veronica Lawrence, Kian’s ex-owner. Countess Lawrence, please.”

The nobles who were the masters of Kian in the novel were all horrible people. So I wasn’t happy to see her.

However, I knew enough to swallow my heart and return the introduction.

I said with due courtesy. “Olivia Ashford.”

She was Count Lawrence’s wife. I don’t know why she came all the way to the capital, but she can’t keep running into Kian like this.

While agonizing over what to do with this woman, the Countess requested,

“I know it’s rude to ask you a favor like this, but could you spare me a moment? It’s imperative for me….”

“········.”

There’s a quiet cafe near here. Can we talk there?”

There was a nuance that it was not a matter that would end with one or two words.

She also proposed talking elsewhere, away from the famous restaurant with esteemed guests and the ears of noble society.

I’m sure our talk won’t be pleasant. But if I refused, I was confident that this brazen woman would show up again and point at Kian.

I needed to nip this in the bud.

Once I heard her out, I decided to keep her away from Kian by any means necessary.

***

Countess Lawrence lead us to a discreet and quiet cafe.

I found out why, right away.

The coffee tasted surprisingly bad.

At least one could talk easily here without the distraction of other customers. The place was empty.

“I’ll get to the point since I know you are busy,” the Countess said bluntly.

“Sell Kian to me.”

“……!”

I took a sip of my stale coffee and almost spat it out.

It was an unexpected shock. What is she saying now….?

I put the teacup down calmly with a firm’ clink’.

Then, politely expressed my refusal.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I have no intention of selling Kian.”

But the Countess did not easily step down. She tried to carry on the conversation tenaciously, confessing her circumstances that I did not ask for, nor did I care for.

“It was never my will to sell Kian. My husband forced him away from me. But a year ago, my husband was killed in action, and I thought I’d like to get him back, even though it’s late. And today, I came on a trip to the capital, and I happened to meet Kian. So, please return him….” the Countess appealed with tears in her eyes. (ugh gross)

The only thing I heard was that she thought I had taken Kian from her.

“No matter how much you paid for Kian, I’ll pay twice or three times as much.”

The Countess said in a quivering voice.

It was Kian.

“Master ···.”

“…..··.”

There was a note of uneasiness in Kian’s light blue eyes.

Did he really think I was going to sell him?

It’s obvious what will happen if you sell Kian to that woman—you die.

I turned my head towards Countess Lawrence.

“Countess, you said you would pay twice…… no, three times the amount I paid for Kian, right?”

“Of course.”

The Countess had an aura of arrogance; she was probably the sole inheritor of her deceased husband’s estate. She carried the attitude that no matter how much I demanded from her that she could easily pay.

But I don’t think you would maintain that confidence after hearing what I paid.

“Then, can you prepare 300 billion gallons right now?”

The Countess’s mouth dropped stupidly.

“Oh, you didn’t know I bought Kian for a hundred billion gallons, did you?”

The Lawrence estate lies thousands of kilometers from the capital’s aristocratic society. So it’s not surprising that she’s in the dark about the circumstances and rumors surrounding me.

Maybe that’s why she fearlessly offered to buy back Kian three times more.

The Countess stuttered in a quivering voice.

“300 billion gallons! Come on, that’s ridiculous. That’s too exorbitant a price, right?”

The count’s wife bit her lips as if she was struggling with defeat.

I smiled and told her, “You don’t seem to have the ability to pay Kian’s ransom.”

The Countess’s face was distorted.

Her cheeks blushed with shame.

“It seems this is the end of our conversation. We are leaving.”

I took Kian out of his seat, leaving her shaking with indignation.

We took a few steps, a sharp voice came. “Wait a minute!”

I kept walking, ignoring the Countess’s cry.

It’s not worth it anyway. But the next moment, I had no choice but to stop walking, even if I didn’t like it.

“Kian… is he still good in bed?”

***

“….!”

I turned back with a stiff look, and she smiled, narrowing her eyes thinly.

“Oh, you didn’t know.”

“……..”

“Oh my, did Kian neglect his service?”

I avoided an explicit expression. For a second, it didn’t occur to me to recognize the actual sword behind her words.

And how it would affect Kian.

Kian’s shoulders trembled thinly. He looked down, trying to disappear, and the blood drained out from his face. He was pitifully pale.

Because I read the original novel, I knew that Kian was a night slave.

However, I didn’t anticipate facing his tragedies and his traumas in this cruel way.

I clenched my trembling fist.

How many nights he must have suffered doing unwanted things?

How long those nights, when he was forced to embrace someone, must have been for him?

Just thinking about it makes me feel enraged……that woman, that criminal··· she is opening and cutting into Kian’s wounds just to provoke me······

When I registered that fact, my reason snapped.

I strode before the Countess, raised a cup of coffee, and threw it on her face.

“Argh!” cried the Countess.

Tepid coffee dripped from her wet hair and smelled dirty—it suited her.

“What the hell is this?” cried the Countess, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

I looked down at her with cold eyes and rebuked her, “You dare mock and discuss my private life! Do I have to endure such insults?”

‘Is Kian still good at bed?” Kian neglected his service?’

Her loose mouth spilled insults that she could be punished for.

She assumed I had forced Kian. But the Countess came out red-handed.

“I just wanted to give you some helpful information as a former owner of Kian. Rather, you insulted me. I’ll never let this go.”

I snorted at her pathetic provocation.

If you don’t just let it go, are you going to take me to court? I decided to let her know kindly because she still doesn’t seem to understand the situation.

“Madame, you know, I have a lot of money. I’m willing to pay 200 billion gallons or 300 billion gallons to bring you to justice and convict you. But what about you Countess? How much are you willing to spend to punish me?… In fact, can you pay?”

“…”

It’s an unfair truth, but there’s nothing in the world that can’t be done with money.

Even this obtuse Countess must be well aware of the fact.

You look like you’re going to die of anger, but you can’t respond, can you?

I warned her in a harsh voice.

“If you don’t want to go to jail for insulting my honor, get out of here right now.”

The Countess’s face contorted uglily.

She left her seat as if she were running away without wiping all the dripping liquid off her face.

***

Dinner at the restaurant has been postponed to another day.

Kian’s condition deteriorated after meeting the count’s wife.

We decided to return to the mansion for a light dinner.

The employees served the food, but Kian could hardly touch it.

Eventually, I stopped eating and ordered the servants to clear the table.

I took Kian back to my room. He’s been avoiding my gaze and dropping his head down.

“Kian, please show me your face,” I imploringly requested.

Kian finally slowly lifted his face.

Because of the count’s wife, the past that he wanted to forget and hide is revealed.

He looked precarious as a man standing on a cliff.

I tried to hold his hand to console him.

But as soon as our skin touched, it was as if he touched fire, and he pulled his hand away.

“My body is dirty and filthy,” he spoke with difficulty.

“Whatever life you’ve lived in the past, it wasn’t Kian’s will. So don’t belittle yourself. You did nothing wrong. Don’t feel bad for surviving.”

There was so much to say. But words were so incomplete.

I’m afraid my clumsy words will hurt him even more.

But, still. I stretched my arms toward Kian, who bowed his head. And then I clasped him in my arms.

“…..!”

Surprised, Kian recoiled.

Kian struggled as if he were trying to get away from me.

The more he did, the tighter I hugged him.

I don’t know if it’s right to do this.

I was too incompetent to heal someone’s trauma.

Forget heal— I don’t think I can comprehend all his tragedies.

However, at least I wanted to try to understand and help bear a few of his burdens.

I gently swept Kian’s back.

How long have I been patting his back?

Little by little, his resistance died down.

Soon, he stopped trying to escape.

Kian, wrapped up in my arms, asked with his hurt in his throat.

“Doesn’t master hate me?”

“Not at all.”

“·····.”

I gently stroked his shivering back.

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I picked my words poorly. “You didn’t do it because you wanted to. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Kian didn’t push me away like he did before.

By the hair on his shoulders trembling up and down, I knew he was sobbing in silence.

I don’t think any words of consolation would be enough.

I only gave him a steady hug until he let out all his tears.