Dolsi and Megan were the Count’s concubines. They treated the maids harshly but tucked their tails in whenever the Count, Countess, or Khalid appeared. This was because the Countess would furiously whip them for even the smallest mistake. Concubines were more despised than maids.
The Countess was beautiful too, but wrinkles were gradually forming around her eyes. Whenever she saw the young Dolsi and Megan, she struck their heads with her fan.
“What are you doing here! Didn’t I tell you to stay out of my sight?”
“…We’re sorry! My lady. We were hungry.”
Dolsi and Megan trembled. But the fan mercilessly struck their faces.
Khalid sat regally in his chair, glancing at them occasionally, while Count Steven had gone into his study.
Swish.
The violence against the concubines continued for a while. It was just a fan, but the concubines’ hair became disheveled like criminals’, and red scratches appeared on their faces.
Alice, who was standing beside Khalid, watched them too.
Dolsi and Megan had been slaves who became the Count’s concubines due to their exceptional beauty. And now they lived while being beaten like this.
‘…I must never end up like that.’
Her mother had been right. Alice avoided becoming a noble’s concubine because she disguised herself as a man. The fate of concubines was miserable; if the Count stopped seeking them out and forgot about them, the Countess would immediately sell them to a brothel. This was even more likely since they were slaves, not commoners.
“Noel. Let’s go to my room.”
Noticing Alice’s troubled expression, Khalid took her hand and tried to lead her to his room. Alice felt his warm touch.
[…You’re lucky. With your pretty face, even the young master likes you.]
‘Daisy must be mistaken.’
Alice was disguised as a man. So she thought there was no way Khalid could like her.
Upon reaching Khalid’s room, Alice could finally breathe. Though it wasn’t her business, seeing those former slaves being beaten gave her a strange feeling.
‘I’ll work hard to save money and definitely start a new life.’
With 20 silver coins, Alice would gain freedom as a commoner. However, she never considered stealing the Countess’s jewels or Khalid’s cufflinks. Alice wanted to escape slavery solely through her own efforts.
“Noel. Are you okay?”
Khalid brought his face close to Alice’s, who was lost in thought. When Alice startled and tried to turn her face away, Khalid firmly held her face.
“…Noel.”
“Yes, Master Khalid.”
“You’ve been talking to Daisy in the kitchen a lot lately. Is that type of woman your preference?”
“…What?”
Khalid stared intently at Alice with serious eyes. Alice blinked and shook her head.
“N-no.”
“…I didn’t know you liked older women. Moreover, such a masculine woman…”
“Master Khalid. You’re really misunderstanding.”
“I’ve seen you glancing at Daisy from the corner of your eye sometimes. Yet you say it’s a misunderstanding?”
“Ah…”
She had glanced at Daisy. She had even admired her.
‘I just wished I had muscles too… that’s all it was.’
Upon reflection, Alice thought it might be better not to clear up Khalid’s misunderstanding.
‘If I say I like Daisy, he’ll definitely think I’m a man, right?’
“Actually, I do like Daisy.”
Khalid’s mouth fell open. Seeing him move his lips without being able to speak, Alice blinked.
‘Is it that shocking that I like Daisy…?’
“Impossible. You… you… have such tastes.”
“…?”
Khalid gripped Alice’s shoulders tightly.
“You like men! Otherwise, you wouldn’t like such a burly woman. Yes, you must like men!”
“No!”
‘How did the conversation turn this way? Well, of course I like men since I’m a woman, but in this situation where I’m disguised as a man…!’
Khalid looked at Alice, whose build was more delicate than his own. Two years older than him, Alice had a waist thinner and more beautiful than a woman’s. But Alice was a man with quite unusual preferences.
“Noel. Would you like me if I became muscular?”
“What?”
“If you like muscular women, couldn’t you like men too?”
“Umm…”
Looking at Khalid’s serious face, Alice couldn’t help but smile. Seeing Alice chuckling, Khalid blushed.
“…Am I wrong?”
“Master Khalid. I’m a man. How could a man like another man?”
Alice giggled and completely denied Khalid’s words. Khalid’s face darkened, but she didn’t notice.
“I like women.”
She needed to firmly establish that she was a man in the still-young Khalid’s mind.
Khalid looked at Alice with an extremely confused expression.
“Right. You’re a man, so you’d like women. Right…”
Khalid mumbled those words repeatedly with a gloomy face.
“Noel. Can you give me some time to think?”
“…Pardon?”
“Get out.”
“Ah…”
Alice was kicked out of Khalid’s room.
Was what she said so shocking? Alice lingered in front of Khalid’s room but returned to her own room when night fell.
A month later, Khalid, unable to resist the Countess’s nagging, entered a school with a dormitory.
* * *
Six years passed.
At 22, Alice’s height stopped at 160 centimeters. She didn’t grow any taller, and no muscles developed. Her thin body had fat that went to her chest, which was the only part that grew.
Alice wrapped bandages around her chest to hide it.
‘…How long can I keep hiding?’
It had been seven years since she came here. She had saved eight silver coins, but it would take another ten years to save more. Slaves received lower wages than commoners, so even eight silver coins had been hard to accumulate.
She was harvesting fruit from a tree in the garden. There were places she couldn’t reach, but Tom skillfully picked apples for her.
Tom, who had been similar in height when they were young, was now 180 centimeters tall. Standing next to Tom made Alice look incredibly small.
‘Even Mariam, a maid, is 165 centimeters tall.’
Tom and Mariam were commoners, and both had homes outside the mansion. Alice envied them because they could quit their jobs anytime they wanted.
Having been sold as a slave, Alice needed permission to go anywhere and required at least one companion.
Recently, a slave had tried to escape but was killed as an example and left in the garden.
[“My goodness…! I heard they sliced him up with a knife?”]
[“Don’t even mention it. They tortured him too.”]
[“Terrifying.”]
Death was the fate of runaway slaves. And even slaves who didn’t run away didn’t live long.
The Count’s concubines, Dolsi and Megan, were sold to a brothel. Once they passed their mid-twenties, the Count stopped seeking them out, and the Countess seized the opportunity to sell them.
[“My lady! Don’t do this! We’re still young and pretty!”]
[“Don’t abandon me. Please!”]
In place of the two who were sold to the brothel, a new concubine entered the Walsh household.
The new concubine was also a slave, but at the young age of 20, with blonde hair and green eyes, she was the most beautiful slave they had ever seen.
The Count lived with her by his side for a while, so the Countess couldn’t openly criticize her. The new concubine, Leah, was arrogant and insolent.
“Count. Shouldn’t we have a party on the day Master Khalid arrives?”
“Hoho. Yes, Leah. You’ve made a good point.”
Leah, sitting on the Count’s right, acted coquettishly. On his left sat the Countess, grimacing as she drank her wine.
Countess Vanessa knew well. No matter how pretty Leah was, once she passed her mid-twenties, Count Steven would abandon her. The only person who didn’t know this was probably Leah herself.
Alice watched all of this while serving the meal.
Her heart beat strangely at the news that Khalid, who hadn’t visited the mansion even during vacations, would come here after graduation.
Translator
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sahari
Eso de “soy hombre OBVIO que me gustan las mujeres” se me hizo un dialogo gracioso e hilarante, claro, es que “homosexualidad” es el nombre de un analgésico. Ha ha ha.
Tan fácil que hubiese respondido con otra pregunta o ser sincera y decir que le gustaría ser más fuerte.