I Tamed the Slave Male Lead Chapter 10

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Creak.

“Welcome back, my lady.”

As we entered the mansion, we were greeted by the butler, his face stern and solemn.

He looked slightly startled when he saw my swollen, flushed, feverish face, then quietly disappeared, saying he would call the family physician. It was good that he was quick and efficient, but he could have at least offered a word of comfort or concern.

The maids, too, merely bowed expressionlessly in greeting before walking past me with busy steps, showing little interest in my condition.

One thing was certain now. Arabella being sick was apparently nothing particularly unusual in this household.

‘But I’m seriously ill today. I only just came back from the dead a few hours ago. Do I really have to be treated like nobody even at home?’

It was one of those moments when I could understand why children deprived of affection grew into mischievous little brats. Perhaps sensing my mood, Becky hurried to support me.

“Please hurry to your room and lie down, my lady.”

“Yeah. But, what about Mother?”

At my absentminded question, Becky looked surprised.

“Her Ladyship went to the countryside with Young Master Lucas. It’s already been half a month. Don’t you remember?”

“Oh, did she? My head hurts so much that I’m not thinking straight.”

Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered something like that. It was certainly inconvenient not being able to remember recent events properly.

In any case, saying I wasn’t thinking straight wasn’t a lie. The worsening fever and itching made my entire body feel as though it were burning from the inside out.

Seeing me struggling even to remain standing, Becky narrowed her eyes at Yusiliph.

“Don’t just stand there staring blankly. Why don’t you help support my lady?”

But Yusiliph merely stood there with his arms crossed, silently staring at me with an expressionless face.

His handsome face seemed to ask, ‘Why should I?’ and I gazed wistfully at the broad back beneath it, clicking my tongue in disappointment.

‘It would be so comfortable if I could just get on his back and have him carry me.’

But there was probably nothing to gain from showing weakness in front of the male lead this early on. I turned my gaze away from his prickly expression and forced myself to take another step when suddenly, an angry shout shook the air.

“Arabella is here?”

The person who appeared amid heavy, thudding footsteps was none other than Greham Maiona, Arabella’s uncle.

With a sharp appearance, a goatee, and a triangular glare, he immediately frowned at the sight of me and began berating me.

“Arabella. Just what were you thinking, making such a disgraceful spectacle at the Crown Princess selection ceremony? The entire Imperial Palace is buzzing with talk about you. I can hardly even show my face in public!”

Despite his stern, scolding tone, his eyes were quickly scanning me from head to toe. If I hadn’t been mistaken, what flashed across his face in that moment was unmistakable dismay and irritation.

“A disgraceful spectacle? That hurts, Uncle.”

I answered him in my hoarse voice.

“That’s awfully cold of you to say to a niece who just came back from the dead. Anyone would think you weren’t happy that I came back alive.”

At my words, Greham became even more agitated.

“What? Came back from the dead? What nonsense. How are you ever going to become Crown Princess if you make such a fuss over something so trivial? And who is that suspicious-looking man?”

As he spoke, Greham glared at Yusiliph standing beside me.

But rather than shrinking under his gaze, Yusiliph stared straight back at him with a heavy, intimidating look.

I quickly stepped between Greham and Yusiliph.

“This person is… well, a guard I hired. After what happened earlier, I was so shocked that I thought it would be safer to have at least one guard accompany me.”

Judging by the fact that Greham already knew what had happened at the Crown Princess selection ceremony, it was obvious he would soon find out that I had taken Yusiliph back from the Princess as well. Since I didn’t want to give him anything to pick a fight over right now, I casually made up a lie.

As expected, Greham flew into a rage.

“A guard? Who gave you permission to hire someone like that? And whose money are you going to pay his wages with?”

“…Don’t worry. I won’t ask you for the money, Uncle. I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Hah! All you have is that mouth of yours, yet you dare answer back at every turn. No wonder you disgraced yourself in the Imperial Palace after being taught manners like that.”

The way he clicked his tongue and spewed insults made it clear just how much he had looked down on Arabella all this time.

‘Arabella… you really don’t have a single person on your side in this house.’

Suppressing a sigh, I opened my mouth.

“Uncle. I didn’t do anything particularly improper at the Imperial Palace. I simply ate food laced with poison and nearly died.”

The color drained from Greham’s face the moment he heard me, and I didn’t miss it.

“Wh-what? Poison? What kind of absurd nonsense is that? I heard it directly from the Imperial physician. They said you told them yourself that you merely had indigestion!”

“I only said that because I didn’t want to be examined at the Imperial Palace and needed an excuse to leave.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The Imperial physician, the greatest doctor in this country, examined you personally. If it really had been poison, there’s no way he wouldn’t have known! What on earth makes you think you can go around making such an outrageous claim, Arabella?”

“That’s—”

“If it really had been poison, the Imperial Palace would have been thrown into an uproar by now! You know perfectly well that all the utensils used by the Imperial Family are made of silver! You must have used silverware at the scene as well, didn’t you? If I’m wrong, then tell me I’m wrong!”

Greham relentlessly fired questions at me in an aggressive tone, as though he didn’t intend to give me even a moment to argue back.

Was it really just my imagination that his words sounded so unnatural, almost as if he were reciting lines someone had taught him?

I stared straight at him, intending to refute him, but the dizziness that suddenly swept over me made the ground feel as though it were collapsing beneath my feet, and I staggered pathetically.

My temples throbbed as if they were splitting apart, and every breath I took came out burning hot. It was becoming nearly impossible to keep my mind clear.

‘So this is what it’s like to have a body with a limited lifespan.’

Clenching my teeth against a pain I had never experienced in my life, I forced myself to straighten my body and glared at Greham with all the strength I had.

“Indigestion? Uncle, have you ever seen someone become like this just from eating something that didn’t agree with them?”

I leaned my red, rash-covered face toward him as I asked, and he frowned as though I were making him sick.

“…There’s no way I can know that when I’m not a doctor. But if you really ate poison, would you be able to walk around like this right now? Besides, none of the other young ladies who took the test under the exact same conditions as you were affected!”

“That’s because there’s a reason for that.”

“What? What kind of sophistry are you going to spout now—”

“I already know what poison I ate, Uncle.”

“…What?”

I caught the moment Greham’s eyes wavered.

‘I was hoping I was wrong.’

Suppressing the bitterness rising in my throat, I continued calmly.

“The reason the other candidates were unharmed is because it was a poison that only affects me.”

“What does that—”

“Urutu Mountain kumquats.”

“What? Th-that can’t be. That’s impossible!”

As I watched his flustered face, as though I had struck him right where it hurt, I became even more certain that my suspicion had been correct.

Wild kumquats grew in the rugged mountainous regions of the Urutu Mountains. Their pinkish flesh made them visually distinctive, but they were an unpopular ingredient due to their extremely difficult harvest and their sour, astringent taste. Other than starving slash-and-burn farmers, hardly anyone bothered to touch them.

Yet this ordinary, insignificant fruit happened to cause fatal abnormal symptoms in the direct descendants of House Maiona.

The symptoms seemed similar to what had been called an ‘allergy’ in the world I had inhabited before possessing this body, and it appeared to be a hereditary trait found only among the direct descendants of House Maiona.

But this fact was completely unknown to the outside world. For obvious reasons, if it reached the ears of their political enemies, it would become a fatal weakness, so it was a top-secret piece of information passed down strictly within the family.

Exhaling a feverish breath, I took out what I had tucked into my dress pocket and held it out toward Greham.

“This is it. The cookie I ate today—the one that nearly killed me.”

I unfolded the handkerchief, revealing an unsightly, crumbling cookie. It was the piece of evidence I had carefully brought with me even while hurriedly leaving the Imperial Palace earlier.

A pinkish piece of dried fruit was clearly embedded in the center of the cookie.

“If you don’t believe me, why don’t you eat it yourself and find out?”

As I extended the handkerchief toward Greham, he recoiled in horror and backed several steps away from me. The way he practically jumped away as though he were afraid it might even touch him was almost painfully transparent.

Swallowing a bitter smile, I spat out each word with deliberate emphasis.

“It seems someone inside our family passed information about Urutu kumquats to those who wanted me eliminated. What an utterly shameless thing to do. Selling your own family to their enemies.”

At my words, Greham’s triangular eyes flashed fiercely. But like the sly fox he was, he managed to conceal his agitation.

“…That’s an outrageous leap. Nothing has been proven yet, has it? What can you possibly learn from some mangled piece of cookie? Give it to me. I’ll have the Imperial Palace investigate its ingredients…”

He reached out as though he intended to snatch the handkerchief from me, but stopped just before touching it, apparently unable to bring himself to do so.

I gave a bitter smile and shook my head.

“No. I nearly died from poisoning at the Imperial Palace. I have absolutely no intention of entrusting the investigation to someone from there.”

At my firm refusal, Greham’s cheek trembled slightly with anger.

“You! Why are you being so impossibly stubborn today? What would some girl who’s done nothing but stay at home know…”

“Even a girl who’s done nothing but stay at home can tell right from wrong.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry. Uncle seems to be terribly busy going in and out of the Imperial Palace lately, so I’ll personally investigate the ingredients of the cookie that nearly killed your ill-mannered niece.”

With that, I turned around before he could argue back. I wanted to appear cold and decisive, but the truth was that I no longer had the strength to continue the conversation and was practically fleeing.

However, before I could even take a step, Greham’s ominous voice stopped me.

“You… just what are you thinking? You do realize that if you go around making baseless claims about nearly being poisoned at the Imperial Palace, you could really end up dead without anyone ever knowing what happened.”

“At least that would be better than being killed like a stray dog after being stabbed in the back by the family I trusted.”

“W-what…!”

I could hear Greham exploding in fury behind me, but I paid him no attention and continued walking. I hurried toward the stairs leading to my room.

The truth was, my condition was so terrible that even taking a single step required me to squeeze every last ounce of strength from my body.

I could hear something buzzing indistinctly behind me, but the constant ringing in my ears made it impossible to understand what was being said.

A chill ran down my spine as it felt as though my entire body was screaming a warning that it was about to stop functioning altogether.

‘Wait. If every one of the cursed, short-lived descendants of House Maiona died within a year of turning twenty, doesn’t that mean they could die at any time before that full year is up?’

In other words, there was nothing strange about me dying right now.

The moment I realized that, all the strength drained from my body. And in the next moment, I lost consciousness for just an instant and stupidly missed a step.

“My lady!”

Becky, who had been walking ahead of me, turned around with a pale face and stretched out her arms toward me. I saw it as though in slow motion.

But my body was already falling backward much faster than she could reach me.

‘Damn it. It hasn’t even been a day since I came back from the dead….’

As I muttered those words inwardly and squeezed my eyes shut, I unexpectedly felt two strong arms catch me around the waist and back at the same time.

The moment I realized they belonged to Yusiliph, the back of my head naturally came to rest against his shoulder.

As I leaned against his shoulder, far broader and sturdier than it appeared, the fatigue that had been building inside me crashed over my entire body like a dam finally bursting.

“…You really are something else.”

A displeased voice reached my ears, and soon, I lost consciousness.