Out of curiosity, I went to the door and gently tried turning the handle. To my surprise, it opened smoothly.

I stood at the doorway, contemplating what to do. The stifling feeling had risen all the way to my throat. Even in the duchy, I had never experienced this kind of confinement. At the very least, I had been free to move around the castle.

“I want to go outside.”

I took one step forward. But then I sank down where I stood.

-I have no intention of abandoning you.-

If I broke my promise to him again, this time he would truly abandon me.

That thought terrified me.

It would mean losing the one protective barrier I had left. Now the fear of being abandoned alone in the world outweighed any hope for my remaining life.

I was a helpless person who knew how to do nothing. And now I couldn’t even use my hand. Even if by some luck I escaped, this body of mine couldn’t even work as a maid at an inn.

I looked at my right hand, immobilized in a splint. The slave brand hidden beneath the bandages.

This is my reality.

My desire to go outside dissipated. I deliberately closed the door, returned to my room, and stood by the window.

“How beautiful. Were those called bluebells?”

In the garden illuminated by lanterns and moonlight, the blue flower buds of the bluebells sparkled. The blue bell-shaped clusters of flowers were beautiful even when viewed from afar at night.

Why did I envy them so much for swaying gently in the breeze? Those little things could enjoy the fragrant spring breeze and warm spring sunshine. As I continued watching, the desire to go outside began to creep back.

“I should sleep.”

If I stayed like this, I would succumb to the temptation to leave. Forcing myself to calm down, I lay on the bed. I turned off the light and closed my eyes, trying to invite sleep that wouldn’t come.

After quite some time, the door opened slightly.

“Tch, she’s still here? What am I going to tell the Imperial Princess? She’ll be angry that I failed.”

Kelly? I felt a chill run down my spine.

It wasn’t a mistake. Perhaps even the claim that Lucifer wasn’t at the mansion was a lie.

I felt afraid of this one-sided hatred and slander. I wanted to grab Kelly and demand why she was treating me this way.

But what good would confronting her do?

I remained still, holding my breath until I heard the door close and the lock turn.

When the annex fell silent again, I carefully got up from the bed.

“I’m so angry… what did I ever do to deserve this!”

I grabbed a pillow and threw it at the door. After throwing all the pillows from the bed, I started grabbing whatever objects were nearby and hurling them too. Some of the things I threw shattered loudly when they hit the door. But no matter how much I threw, the knot in my heart wouldn’t loosen.

I had resented people before, but I’d never hated or despised them. I always blamed and pushed myself, thinking everything was my fault, never blaming others.

But now I had become someone who could only vent with my left hand. Wasn’t that enough?

People more like the dark clan than me, more like demons than me!

“Aaargh! This is horrible!”

What’s most horrible is that I can’t say anything while being treated less than a human.

I grabbed a nearby water glass with my left hand and threw it hard at the door. The glass passed through the suddenly opened door. It hit Lucifer’s navy cravat before shattering on the floor.

“What… is all this?”

Lucifer frowned at the mess in front of the door. He paused at the entrance, carefully surveying the room.

Seeing him appear before me after two weeks, all my pent-up resentment burst forth.

“Why did you bring me here as a slave? You should have just killed me then and there.”

“What’s the meaning of this sudden outburst?”

“Or you could have at least worked me to death like the imperial slaves in the mines?”

“Leitria, I’m asking what exactly you’re dissatisfied with.”

Kelly came up late, drawn by the commotion on the third floor. She covered her mouth dramatically at the sight of the messy room and Lucifer. 

Then, pretending to be a dutiful maid, she brought a broom and cloth and began cleaning the room.

How disgusting.

Acting this way after trying to trap me by colluding with the princess.

“What exactly is my role here? You call me a slave but give me no work, put me in nice clothes, keep me in a nice room, and for what? Yet you don’t even desire my body.”

My patience seemed to have snapped. I was speaking faster and more articulately than ever before.

“Does being a war trophy mean I’m just a doll locked in a display case? Is that my role as a slave? Or did you bring me here to be a punching bag for your future duchess?”

Kelly, who had been cleaning, watched silently as I shouted in agitation. Probably planning to report this to the princess?

Lucifer, seemingly aware of her presence, remained silent without hastily answering.

“Are you finished?”

“Ah, yes, Duke. I’m done.”

“Then you may go now.”

“Yes.”

She gathered her tools slowly, reluctant to leave. But Lucifer calmly waited. Disappointment lingered in Kelly’s eyes as she finally opened the door and left.

“Wait.”

“Yes, what is it, Duke?”

“Tell the doctor to come to the annex immediately.”

“Ah, yes, understood.”

After Kelly left, Lucifer closed the door firmly. Then he pulled a chair next to me and sat down.

“Is that really what you wanted to say? I doubt you want to go to the mines or have me embrace you?”

“I want to go outside.”

I started with the smaller issue. That was probably one of the reasons my patience had reached its limit.

“I told you it’s not allowed.”

“Why?”

“Are you asking because you truly don’t know?”

That look of contempt. The resolute voice that suggested he would never listen to me.

“So you mean I should just suffer here until I die?”

Was it because I was already exhausted? My response came out sharp and twisted. Even though I knew he was the benefactor who had saved me when I was lost and wandering.

“Leitria!”

He called my name harshly.

Even knowing I was wrong, I couldn’t bring myself to apologize. It was because of his contradictory actions.

Slave and war trophy. The treatment that didn’t match those labels brought jealousy and contempt. This man didn’t understand that was what tormented me now.

I stared at him with wide eyes. Tears welled up, but I held my head high and held them back. As I tried not to blink to prevent crying, Lucifer slightly bowed his head and sighed.

“Fine. Then as originally promised, I’ll allow you to move around the annex and its garden.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll also send the old woman back to the annex.”

I liked the last promise the most. But afraid he might change his mind if I showed my happiness, I just blinked several times without revealing my feelings.

A few tears escaped as I did so.

“In exchange, I’ll assign Terseon as your escort.”

“Isn’t he your knight commander? To make such a person a slave’s escort is…”

“Yes, it’s a demotion.”

“That’s…!”

Impossible. What wrong had he done to deserve following around a slave? He was someone who had followed and fought alongside Lucifer during the war.

“If you don’t like that, you can just stay obediently in your room?”

What a cruel person. 

I just stared at him with resentful eyes, and he shrugged his shoulders.

“First, let’s heal your hand. Then you can decide whether to become my mistress who offers her body to me, go to my mines, or clean horse dung in the stables. Two months should be enough for your hand to heal.”

“I can’t wait that long.”

“Why not?”

Because… I have less than nine months left to live. But I couldn’t speak aloud about my limited time. Because of my oath to the Emperor.

“I’ve given you options. Think about them carefully.”

He instructed the doctor who had just arrived to prescribe a sedative to calm my agitation. After being forced to take the medicine, I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

I finally woke up around lunchtime the next day. Soon there was a knock, and the door opened. Grandmother Fabella stood there.

“Miss, have you been well?”

My throat tightened at her kind voice. When I could only sniffle without speaking, she approached me.

She hugged me tightly and patted my back gently.

“It’ll be alright. You’re still young, so your hand will heal quickly, won’t it?”

“How did you come here? You’ll get in trouble if the Duke finds out.”

“Of course the Duke sent me.”

“He did?”

Fabella separated from me and stroked my hair with her wrinkled hand.

“My, you seem even thinner. How can this be when I’ve been sending all those nutritious meals?”

“I’ve been eating and resting well.”

“Yes, I confirmed that you cleaned your plates… Was the nutrition insufficient?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Goodness, what are you sorry for?”

I didn’t mind her scolding. No, I loved it. Because it was scolding mixed with affection.

Aunt Ann, the Headmistress, and Carden had all treated me this way.

“But really, why have you become so thin?”

I knew the reason. It was a sign that I was racing toward death. It meant that erasing the power of the silver liquid had been useless.

Or perhaps it hadn’t been erased at all.

“Was His Majesty the Emperor’s holy power not effective?”

I flinched at the grandmother’s observation that precisely identified my anxiety.

What if she noticed my condition and found it ominous?

“Actually, there’s been a rumor going around. That His Majesty the Emperor no longer has holy power.”

“Really?”

“Yes, well, it’s a rumor spread by the former crown prince who lost the struggle for imperial power. Our Duke caught all those involved and punished them.”

Is that how Lucifer gained the Emperor’s trust?

“Anyway, you’ve been through a lot of emotional distress, haven’t you? How troubled must you have been for your body to suffer too? Now that I’m here with you, don’t worry and focus on recovering.”

“That’s not possible. If we do that, Terseon will…”

“Why? Do you dislike seeing the knight commander neglecting his duties and loitering around here?”

“That’s not it. He’s losing his promising future because of me.”

I couldn’t raise my head due to guilt.

The grandmother laughed heartily.

“That pup is already preparing to kick away his good fortune. He’s considering quitting and retiring to the countryside.”

“What? Why? He always respected and wanted to follow the Duke.”

New wrinkles formed on the grandmother’s already wrinkled forehead. She looked quite displeased.

“It looks like the Imperial Princess will become the Duke’s wife no matter what.”