I Tamed the Slave Male Lead Chapter 15

“It’s not opening.”

“That’s strange. Why isn’t it working?”

I repeatedly pressed the seal against the doorknob with a flustered expression. But, cruelly enough, the door showed no response.

Under Yusiliph’s sharp gaze boring into my back, sweat gradually began to bead on the top of my head.

“Wait. There’s a pattern above the doorknob that looks like a seal.”

Just then, Yusiliph whispered into my ear and placed his hand over the one holding the seal.

‘Ah, you startled me.’

Whispering into my ear in such a perfectly deep voice was cheating, you self-unaware male lead.

I grumbled inwardly as I shrank back.

His body temperature was remarkably high, and warmth quickly spread into the hand he was holding.

Calming my thoroughly tense nerves, I focused my attention on the place where he was trying to press the seal.

Sure enough, I could see a pattern engraved directly above the doorknob, almost identical to the one on the seal.

“Haha, I couldn’t see properly because it was so dark. I’m not very good at seeing in the dark.”

I made that excuse cheerfully as I pressed the seal against the pattern together with him, our hands still overlapping.

Vzzzt—

In an instant, an extremely faint light seeped from the pattern, yet somehow it sent a chill all the way down to my bones.

Click.

The door opened.

‘Huh?’

The moment I saw that light, an eerie sense of déjà vu flashed through my mind.

But before I had time to retrace that feeling, Yusiliph reached out and opened the door to the archives.

Whoosh—

Despite looking as though it were covered in rust, the door opened smoothly without making even a creaking sound.

I quickly pulled myself together and stepped inside the open doorway.

‘Now isn’t the time to get distracted. I need to focus on finding the swordsmanship manual. I have to find it with my own hands and make Yusiliph trust me!’

Just as I stepped forward with what I intended to be a confident stride, Yusiliph suddenly wrapped an arm around my waist, covered my mouth with his other hand, and leaped into the air.

“Shh. Someone’s here.”

He whispered into my ear in that same dangerous low voice.

I had naturally assumed the archives would be empty at this hour, so I was completely caught off guard.

‘Who could possibly be here at this hour? And if they’re allowed to enter this place, that means they’re a member of the Imperial Family….’

But I had no time to wonder.

Yusiliph had already hoisted me over his shoulder like a piece of luggage and was silently racing through the darkness of the archives.

As though darkness were no obstacle at all, he moved rapidly through the enormous archives, hiding behind cover as he went.

He didn’t make a single footstep, nor did his breathing become even slightly ragged, so the unknown person inside the archives seemed not to have noticed our presence yet.

‘I think… I’m starting to get used to hanging over Yusiliph’s shoulder.’

Thinking that, I relaxed my body completely and entrusted myself to him.

The sensation of the muscles flexing beneath the skin where we touched made my skin itch for no reason, but I covered my mouth and endured it well, careful not to let even the slightest sound of breathing escape.

Whoosh.

Soon, he dropped me somewhere in the darkness of the archives.

He did it so effortlessly that my weight seemed to be nothing at all to him.

‘But who exactly is here?’

Smack!

As though answering my question, a vicious cracking sound rang out from the darkness.

“Ahh! —Brother. I’m sorry…. Please, forgive me just this once….”

“No matter how stupid you are, how could you make such a pathetic mistake at a time this important?”

At the ensuing conversation, I instinctively perked up my ears and swallowed hard.

‘Could it be Princess Regita and Crown Prince Sota?’

Before long, my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and I could make out two figures beyond the bookshelf where we were hiding.

The person who had been knocked to the floor and immediately dropped to her knees was Regita.

And the towering figure standing before her, looking down at her, was unmistakably Sota.

‘Oh my. What are those two doing here at this hour?’

As soon as I thought that, I heard Regita’s voice as she tried to make excuses to Sota.

“It’s just… I really couldn’t help it at the time. That Arabella girl suddenly pulled out the contract and caused a scene in front of all those nobles and reporters….”

“Arabella Maiona. Are you seriously trying to use the excuse that you allowed the Imperial Family’s property to be taken right before your eyes because you couldn’t handle one mere young woman?”

I was slightly surprised as I watched Sota coldly berate Regita.

Until now, I had thought of Regita as the Imperial Family’s precious darling and spoiled princess.

But the way he treated her was merciless, as though she were nothing more than a subordinate.

What was even more jarring was that Regita didn’t argue with Sota or try to act cute around him.

Instead, she behaved submissively toward him as though it were only natural.

“I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t exactly yell at her like I usually do with everyone watching….”

“Silence! If the dignity and authority of the Imperial Family had been fully evident in you, would that woman ever have dared shove a contract in your face?”

“But, Brother….”

Smack!

His hand struck her cheek again without hesitation.

Even I flinched at the merciless violence.

“Sniff, sniff….”

Rather than resist him, Regita simply covered her cheek and sobbed bitterly.

Sota looked down at her helplessly crumpled figure, his eyes chillingly cold.

“You couldn’t even begin to imagine what you’ve done.”

“B-Brother.”

“Of all people, you had to put those two together. At this exact moment! Those two!”

Bang! Crash!

Sota punched one of the bookshelves, sending it toppling backward.

The books stacked upon it came tumbling down all at once, creating an enormous noise and a cloud of dust.

Watching the scene, my mind suddenly went cold, as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.

Part of it was the chill of having witnessed Sota’s true nature.

But there was another reason, too.

A strange realization had just occurred to me.

‘Is he angry not simply because Yusiliph was taken from him, but because “Arabella” was the one who took Yusiliph?’

Even in the original story, Sota knew about Yusiliph’s regenerative ability, which was why he used Regita and Dorothea to get his hands on him.

Come to think of it, that had always been strange, too.

If Sota needed Yusiliph, he could have simply bought him as a slave himself.

So why go through the trouble of using Arabella?

Perhaps he wanted to make use of Yusiliph while ensuring that no connection remained between the two of them.

But what if that wasn’t the reason?

This was merely a hypothesis, but what if there was some reason why it had to be Arabella?

My head, which had just gone cold, suddenly felt hot again.

‘Could there be another hidden truth beyond the chain of cause and effect revealed in the original story?’

Yusiliph, standing beside me, remained silent, but he must have had his own complicated thoughts running through his mind.

Then Regita, who had been trembling, opened her mouth as though speaking the thoughts I was having myself.

“W-Why Arabella? Does that girl have some connection to Yusiliph? Could it be that she sent Yusiliph to me because she had some ulterior motive…?”

“……”

But Sota simply glared at her without answering.

His irritated expression seemed to say he didn’t even want to speak with her.

Regita flinched, but forced herself to continue.

“Somehow, Arabella was really strange yesterday. Unlike usual, she glared at me with this intense look in her eyes, and she kept saying these bizarre things that I couldn’t understand at all….”

“Bizarre things?”

“She said that if I took that slave, Brother wouldn’t like it. But then she went on to say that was actually exactly what she wanted!”

“What?”

“She acted as though it didn’t matter whether you liked it or not. It was ridiculous. When was the last time she wasn’t trembling at your every word and practically groveling before you…?”

“Did Lady Maiona really say that?”

Sota asked the question again, looking thoughtful for a moment.

Seeing that he had reacted to what she said, Regita seized the opportunity and began badmouthing me.

“That girl must have hurt her head when she collapsed that day. Otherwise, why would she suddenly be running around stirring up trouble everywhere as though she wanted to make an enemy of the Imperial Family?”

But Sota seemed to have lost interest in what she was saying and cut her off coldly.

“What are you going to do now? We had to successfully complete the exploration of the sealed labyrinth this time, but you ruined the entire plan.”

“B-Brother, you’re a Swordmaster. You’ll be able to succeed without relying on some slave.”

At her words, Sota scoffed.

“Who said I was relying on that slave? Think before you speak, Regita.”

“I’m sorry….”

“Bring that bastard back before me. Regita. I need him for this expedition. Absolutely!”

I could feel Yusiliph beside me holding his breath as he listened intently to their conversation.

“I-I will, Brother. I definitely will. So, um… the elixir… You’ll still give me my share as planned, right?”

My ears perked up at the word elixir that Regita uttered in an anxious yet servile tone.

‘Elixir? Could it be that Regita has been taking the elixir, too? But neither the original story nor Arabella’s memories ever mentioned anything being wrong with Regita’s health.’

But Sota rejected her request without a moment’s hesitation, as though he had been waiting for her to ask.

“Find that slave first. Only then will I consider sharing the elixir with you.”

“But, Brother! The Oculous Festival is coming up soon. Without the elixir, I won’t even be able to go outside. I’ll have to stay locked inside my bedroom. Please don’t do this to me, Brother. Please….”

Regita suddenly threw herself onto the floor and began sobbing, making me gasp in surprise.