I heard the man who had been chasing me collapse to the ground. I kept my eyes tightly shut, filled with fear.

I would be next.

But the sound of a sword cutting through the air never came. Instead, I heard Lucifer jumping off his horse.

I also heard him kicking away the fallen man behind me.

“So this is where you ran to?”

Then came that cold voice. When I opened my eyes, I discovered Lucifer’s furious face. Honestly, I would have nothing to say even if he strangled me right then. His eyes radiated killing intent.

It was understandable. A slave had escaped, so of course he would be angry.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“…”

He didn’t continue speaking for a moment. His still cold gaze shifted to my hands.

From his thoroughly displeased face came a forcibly suppressed voice.

“I see you don’t plan to strike me with that axe?”

At Lucifer’s words, I looked down at my hands. The axe was still gripped in them.

“Well… my hands are uncomfortable, so I was trying to break the chains…”

A strange excuse popped out. How was saying a slave wanted to break chains any different from saying they wanted to escape?

“Are you saying you want to escape from me?”

As expected, a low growl came from him. He snatched the axe from me and threw it away. It seemed to have landed on the fallen man’s back.

“It would be pointless anyway. I’m the type who never lets go of what I’ve caught.”

I lowered my head. There was nothing to excuse. The fact that I had run away from him couldn’t be changed.

“Were you planning to raise the duchy again with its citizens after escaping?”

“No, absolutely not…”

Emotions threatened to surge up. Just moments ago, I had nearly been dragged to the lake to become a living sacrifice again at the hands of a duchy citizen…

I exhaled deeply. I thought excuses wouldn’t work anyway.

Better to be honest about what I wanted.

“There’s somewhere I want to go.”

“Somewhere you want to go?”

“Yes, anyway all that’s left for me is life as a slave. I knew I would be caught even if I escaped… But if possible, there’s someone I want to meet.”

Lucifer’s face contorted strangely. But he didn’t get angry or scold me. So I decided to be brave.

“I’ll do anything you order me to do as my master. Cleaning, cooking, anything.”

“You’ll do anything?”

“Yes, so please stop by there before we go to the empire.”

“What do you think I’m going to order you to do?”

The man smiled somewhat frighteningly. I almost stepped back at his chilling cold smile, but I couldn’t back down.

I knew a slave couldn’t hope for a humane life, a free life. But I didn’t plan to just resign myself and live being pushed around like before.

I wanted to secure a chance to walk and run with my own will, even if just one step. That way, I would leave no regrets in my remaining year of life.

“I’m prepared to handle anything. So before I serve you as my master, please take me there just once.”

Perhaps it seemed ridiculous that I was acting this way when I was going to be a slave anyway? The man stared at me blankly with no change in expression.

His right eyebrow twitched as his mouth opened.

“Where exactly do you want to go, and why?”

“The orphanage in Solanie Village on the empire’s border.”

Lucifer’s twitching eyebrow stopped. His eyes gleamed coldly. His voice broke off even more coldly than before.

“Why there?”

“It’s where I lived before going to the duchy.”

“I’m asking why you want to go there!”

He kept pressing. But I couldn’t honestly tell him.

“I want to meet my first love.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Lucifer’s brow furrowed. Then laughter burst from his lips. The breath escaping through his laughter looked quite chilly.

I felt somewhat indignant. I couldn’t understand why this was something to laugh at. While I silently glared at him, his laughter stopped.

“First love…”

Lucifer lightly grabbed my chin. His touch was strangely warm, even hot.

But his face remained coldly frozen.

“Look, princess. You don’t seem to understand your situation…”

Lucifer’s face rapidly drew closer. Close enough that I could see myself reflected in his gray eyes.

Yet his face pressed even closer to mine. Almost to the point where our lips would touch.

Lucifer’s breath gently touched my lips. Was it melting my frozen lips? My lips felt unusually ticklish.

“You’re being taken to the empire as a slave. This isn’t the time to leisurely reminisce about your first love.”

His lips remained hovering just in front of mine. Now it was my turn to respond.

But if I spoke, our lips would likely collide. It felt like I would lose if I backed away for that reason.

I gritted my teeth for a moment.

“Yes, since I’m a slave, I must do everything my master commands. Even offer my body if ordered.”

Sure enough, our lips brushed. The tickling sensation became more intense than when his breath had touched me.

“I want to let go of my attachments before I prepare for that.”

“You’d offer your body too?”

“Yes. Aren’t you taking me as a slave instead of killing a princess who knows nothing, intending to do that anyway? So before I’m defiled by a man I don’t love, I want to find purity one last time.”

I spoke somewhat provocatively.

It might be dangerous to provoke him, but I felt an inexplicable confidence.

Based on his actions so far, he wouldn’t do anything to me right away. He even talked about purifying me, the daughter of the dark clan.

At night, he had me sleep in a separate tent. He only kept me bound without touching me.

Lucifer’s hand gripping my chin tightened.

“Fine.”

Lucifer’s face moved slightly away. But the sneer at the corner of his mouth remained chilly.

“If you’re truly prepared, I’ll consider it.”

His grip tightened. But I thought I needed to endure for a slightly better future.

I knelt down. After touching the ground, I slowly lowered my upper body.

“Please become my master.”

I decided to kiss the tip of his dirty boots. As a slave, to signify serving a noble master.

But Lucifer’s feet disappeared from my sight. Then my arm was roughly grabbed, pulling me up.

“Are you crazy? There might be monster blood on my boots, and you’re putting your mouth there?”

Lucifer was angry again. Have I made another mistake?

I looked at him with somewhat blank eyes. He let out a short, cold sigh.

“Is this how you survived in the duchy? By abandoning your pride, offering your body or whatever else, is that how you protected yourself from the dark clan?”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying. I hadn’t survived… Why would he ask such a question after seeing me driven to death?

“So the monster’s wife…”

“Commander! Did you catch the escaped slave? As expected, you’re amazing!”

A group of imperial soldiers appeared. Their eyes gleamed fiercely at me. The hostility toward the former princess of the duchy touched my skin directly.

“Shall we execute her immediately?”

Eyes that looked ready to kill me at any moment. What would Lucifer answer?

He hadn’t yet agreed to become my master. Though it wouldn’t matter since he was already my master.

“We’re going back.”

“What? But a war slave escaped? If this woman somehow recruits rebels from the duchy…”

“She says she saw monsters and ran away in fear, getting lost. She never encountered monsters in the duchy…”

He made excuses I hadn’t even given.

What was going on in this man’s head? When I stared blankly at Lucifer, he subtly avoided my gaze.

“But who is that man?”

“I killed him because he tried to r*pe the princess.”

I decided not to correct the misunderstanding.

Fortunately, Lucifer’s subordinates didn’t challenge their superior’s words.

And Lucifer returned to his usual taciturn self.

“Everyone, return to your tents.”

* * *

That night, I had to face a different environment than usual.

“Um, am I supposed to sleep here tonight?”

I looked at Lucifer in bewilderment, but he was quietly sitting at the desk in his tent, just reading documents.

No answer came for a long time. Tired of waiting for a response, I briefly scanned the inside of the tent.

The tent, decorated with banners bearing the light pattern symbolizing the Holy Empire, was immaculately clean. Documents were neatly arranged on the desk, and Lucifer’s sword and armor were cleaned and stood upright.

Even the bed was well-organized. The only portable bed in the tent.

“Haah…”

Until yesterday, I had stayed in a separate tent. Instead, I had additional shackles with heavy weights on my ankles, and sentries at the entrance.

But why was I sent here now…

Since there were no shackles on my ankles, was I expected to serve him at night? Lucifer continued to look at his documents without saying anything.

I was getting sleepy from the exhaustion of trying to escape… Thinking a slave couldn’t sleep on the master’s bed, I crouched down beside it.

Burying my face on my knees and closing my eyes, drowsiness poured over me. I must have been tired from not sleeping properly for several days.

My increasingly heavy eyelids were inviting me into the world of sleep.

“Hey, princess. Why are you needlessly getting in the way on the floor?”

Lucifer shook my shoulder to wake me.

“I’m sorry.”

Awakened from sleep, I jumped up. Looking at Lucifer with drowsy eyes, I saw him standing with his arms crossed.

“Should I help you prepare for bed?”

He ignored my question again. His eyes looked somewhat pitying.

Focusing on him, I understood why he was acting this way. He had already bathed, his hair still damp. He was wearing nightclothes that revealed well-toned muscles where the front was slightly undone.

“I’m going to sleep now.”

Lucifer climbed onto the bed.

I remained standing there blankly. He sighed pitifully.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“What?”

When I didn’t understand, Lucifer pointed to the space beside him.

“You said you’d do anything I order in exchange for visiting where you want.”

His face somehow radiated triumph.