“My goodness…”

“Oh my…”

Small exclamations burst out here and there. Letia too was staring at Raiden in a daze, her face red like a beet. This kind of manner was very unfamiliar to the female knights who wielded swords daily.

While nobles were naturally more accustomed to such manners than commoners, this was quite refreshing behavior for the women of the knight order who guarded the Imperial family. 

They didn’t wear dresses like other women of the Empire, but always carried long swords at their waists and wore form-fitting uniforms. They even wore uniforms at banquets in case of emergencies, so it was perhaps natural that male courtesy was unfamiliar and foreign to them.

What noble man would show such manners to women who wore no makeup, dressed in stiff uniforms, and looked ready to join battle at any moment? What if there were misunderstandings? 

When beautiful, well-dressed women were everywhere, there were naturally few men who would cast seductive glances at knight order members who trained more like men than men and appeared strong.

In any case, to them, seeing a handsome man—and a slave at that, not a noble—elegantly cutting meat and offering it to the knight captain was unfamiliar yet enviable, fascinating yet thrilling. Even though strictly speaking, it was just a small kindness performed by a servant for their employer.

There weren’t many servants bold enough to show such manners to their masters in the first place, but Raiden was a man whose face alone could earn forgiveness for anything he did, so no one criticized his ingrained manners. 

Of course, Rihana herself, who received the plate from Raiden, was so flustered by the situation that she couldn’t manage her expression.

Rihana looked at Raiden in the sudden situation. Raiden was elegantly putting the meat Rihana had messily cut into his mouth while answering Letia’s questions.

“Eat it even if it doesn’t suit your taste.”

Raiden said quietly enough for only Rihana to hear, without turning his gaze to her. Not “please eat” but just “eat.” For a slave, he couldn’t be more natural about it. So this man… perhaps his claim about losing his memory might actually be true.

Feeling heat around her neck, Rihana stabbed a piece of neatly cut meat with her fork and brought it to her mouth. Her heart pounded so hard it seemed ready to burst from her chest that she unconsciously squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before opening them again. 

She thought she shouldn’t be getting so excited over such simple kindness, but contrary to those thoughts, her heart was racing wildly at this kindness she had never experienced before.

No, maybe not never. Quite long ago, before Rihana became the family head. At a party shortly before her coming-of-age ceremony, Casian had personally brought her a drink.

He had been smiling constantly among the women, but when he saw Rihana arrive at the party a bit late with Letia due to guarding the Emperor, he immediately came to her with a drink. 

She only realized later that he had been annoyed being stuck among those women and wanted to escape, using his nominal fiancée as an excuse, but regardless, that moment when Casian first offered her something was so special to her that she could never forget it.

Had she felt this way then too? She wasn’t sure. It seemed similar yet somehow different, but since both the situation and the person were different, that was natural.

This really wasn’t good for her heart. This handsome face, this gentleness that seemed ingrained like a habit. And most of all…

“If that doesn’t suit your taste, try this.”

This thoughtfulness that kept caring about her meal.

When Rihana wasn’t eating well, Raiden placed other food from the front in front of her. Then he spoke quietly again, only loud enough for her to hear.

“Eat at least a little, or you’ll collapse.”

Rihana felt her throat tighten because Raiden used formal language when speaking loud enough for others to hear, but used casual speech when whispering just for her. She wouldn’t collapse from skipping just one meal. The words she couldn’t voice swirled in her mouth.

She really was weak to this kind of kindness. Perhaps it was because her parents had passed away earlier than others. Just as she was thinking how grateful she was for Raiden caring for her so warmly, Letia’s sudden words made Rihana’s eyes widen in shock.

“Captain. Can’t you lend me Rai for just one day? I want to have a taste of him.”

“Letia…!”

Flustered, Rihana shouted while looking at Letia. She had been watching Raiden care for Rihana with her chin propped up, and apparently finding him genuinely desirable, she spoke directly.

“Why not? With the captain’s personality, you won’t use this good thing for nighttime service anyway, right? It’s a waste to use him as just an escort slave. This face, this body. So let me have a taste, okay?”

“Your words…!”

“Rai. You want to sleep with a woman sometimes too, right?”

Pretending not to see Rihana’s flustered red face, Letia asked Raiden. Raiden, who had been elegantly chewing the meat Rihana had messily cut, raised his head slightly to meet Letia’s eyes. She felt like she might be sucked into those deep blue pupils.

Letia unconsciously gulped, swallowing dry saliva. What a desirable slave indeed. She wished she had been the one to go to the black market and buy Raiden.

“Ha, this isn’t a joke, I really want him. Sister, please lend him to me for just one night.”

Though Rihana was a year older, Letia never usually called her sister. Captain, or Rihana. Seeing the word “sister” come from her mouth—something that happened only a few times a year—showed she was really worked up.

Instead of answering, Rihana frowned and muttered not to treat people like objects, and Raiden turned his head sharply to stare at her. Feeling his gaze, Rihana also looked up to meet his eyes. 

Jewel-like sparkling blue pupils locked with pitch-black dark pupils. Despite hearing the request to borrow him for a night, Raiden had a very calm face. No, expressionless would be more fitting.

Rihana suddenly felt irritated by Raiden staring at her intently, seemingly waiting for her answer.

“No.”

Rihana turned her head sharply in annoyance and stabbed food with her fork, putting it in her mouth.

“Why?!”

“Because he’s not an object.”

“What, you won’t lend me one slave? Is that all our relationship amounts to?”

“Letia.”

“I’ll just play with him for one night and return him. I won’t leave any marks. If you want, I won’t even leave kiss marks…”

“Letia.”

“Ah, really. You don’t even use him for nighttime service, but when I want to use an unused area, what’s so difficult about that?”

“Leti…”

“Frankly speaking, Rai is also a healthy adult male, so there must be times when he wants release. Right, Rai?”

At Letia’s words, Rihana turned to look at Raiden again. At her face that seemed to ask if that was really the case, Raiden elegantly put down his fork and knife and, with equally elegant movements, picked up his napkin to wipe his lips. It was truly a movement imbued with refinement that one couldn’t imagine from a slave.

“Well, since I’m also a healthy adult male, I can’t say there aren’t such times.”

“See?”

Letia added while looking at Rihana.

“Ladies bring in bedroom slaves to do it when they want to, but leaving a vigorous adult male alone is like t*rture, you know? Do you think slaves don’t want to do anything? Since the captain said with her own mouth that Rai isn’t an object, show some consideration as a human being. Who knows if Rai suffers from loneliness every night?”

“…”

“Anyway, I gave you books and talked to you about such things since we were young to enlighten you. This blockhead sister still can’t abandon that nun-like rigid personality.”

“…”

“Just because the captain has no interest in such things doesn’t mean preventing others from doing it isn’t ab*se of power, right?”

“I didn’t prevent it.”

Rihana cut off Letia’s words with a grimace.

“I just… Ha, why do I have to talk about this…”

“So just lend him to me.”

“How many times do I have to say he’s not an object? And why do you keep telling me this?”

“You’re the owner, so who else should I tell?”

“That’s… Ha, anyway, this kind of thing should be done when the person involved wants it, right? No matter how much it’s my order, Rai might not like it.”

“Do you dislike it, Rai?”