I Tamed the Slave Male Lead Chapter 21

At the touch of Arabella’s hand stroking his head as though she were petting a puppy, he immediately growled.

“…What are you doing?”

“Congratulations, Yusiliph. You did so well. You actually won.”

Arabella ignored his irritation and vigorously ruffled his hair.

“Honestly, I want to hug you and jump up and down, but I’m holding myself back because you’d definitely run away if I did.”

Her slender fingers burrowed into his hair, carrying a cool body temperature. The heat radiating from his head, which had been burning with murderous intent and fighting spirit only moments ago, seemed to cool somewhat.

Yusiliph realized that, without even noticing, he had quietly accepted her touch for several seconds. He abruptly straightened up in surprise.

“If you know that, then don’t touch me.”

“Okay, okay. Anyway, did you bring the prize money?”

At her question, Yusiliph pointed to the heavy sack slung over his shoulder. It looked like nothing more than a shabby sack, but inside were three gold bars worth a thousand gold each, personally awarded by the Emperor.

“Yusiliph, you’re rich now.”

Thinking she was making a pun, he gave a bitter smile. Naturally, the money earned by a slave belonged to the owner. In any country, it was impossible for a slave to possess private property.

But Arabella paid no attention to his reaction. She grabbed his sleeve and began dragging him somewhere.

“Come on, let’s go now. Becky is waiting with the carriage.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out when we get there. Now, hurry!”

Her black hair rippled smoothly in the sunlight as she hurried ahead. His vision was filled with her small, delicate figure as he reluctantly followed.

 

***

 

“What do you want me to do?”

The white-haired old man standing before the two of them frowned deeply and scratched his ear.

The old man’s name was Nadim. He was the slave merchant who ran the largest slave market in the capital. His main source of income was traveling throughout the continent, purchasing slaves and supplying them to the nobles of the capital.

Dark-skinned slaves, snow-white-skinned slaves, slaves for physical labor, slaves for menial work, slaves for nighttime services….

Whenever nobles placed an order, he could almost magically figure out their preferences and procure an appropriate slave for them.

But he had never encountered a noble with such a strange request as the young lady who had come to see him today.

“I want to have the slave document for the slave I own destroyed.”

“……”

Nadim looked at the woman in front of him suspiciously. She was somewhat petite, but judging by her well-made clothes, delicate features, and confident bearing, she was undoubtedly a noble. The slave document she had handed him was also certainly one that he had issued.

Then why was this perfectly normal-looking noble lady spouting nonsense in broad daylight?

“Did this slave cause some kind of trouble? Even so, I can’t offer a refund, Little lady.”

“I’m not asking for a refund. I want you to destroy the slave document altogether. I want Yusiliph to become legally free, with no strings attached.”

“What? Are you serious? You’re actually going to free a perfectly healthy slave?”

Nadim was so dumbfounded that his voice rose. In thirty years as a slave merchant, this was the first time he had ever heard such an absurd request.

“I’m serious, so hurry up and take care of it. I heard that since the slave document was issued by you, your seal is required for the cancellation to have legal effect.”

Nadim continued arguing with her for quite some time. In the end, he only stamped the document after she signed a declaration stating that she would never demand a refund for the price she had paid when purchasing the slave.

“Here.”

Yusiliph stared at the document Arabella held out to him and was momentarily speechless.

The aforementioned slave has become a free person through the owner’s voluntary relinquishment of ownership rights. Therefore, this document is hereby voided.

Arabella forced the confirmation of the cancellation of the slave contract, bearing Nadim’s seal, into Yusiliph’s hand and smiled brightly.

“You’re free now, Yusiliph.”

“……”

He simply stood there with an expressionless face. He had no idea how else he was supposed to react.

She had really destroyed his slave document.

She had obtained his freedom for him just like that.

Even when Arabella had whispered into his ear that morning, he had thought she was merely joking.

‘Once today’s match is over, you won’t be the slave swordsman anymore. You’ll just be a handsome silver-haired swordsman, Yusiliph.’

He hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was just another silly joke. She was a woman who often said things he couldn’t make heads or tails of, after all.

And in truth, the moment she had whispered those words to him, that strange heat had swirled inside his dantian again, leaving him no chance to think deeply about what she meant.

But she had actually meant it.

Arabella smiled brightly as she watched Yusiliph stand there dumbly, unsure of how to react.

“Why are you so surprised? I promised you I would.”

Only then did he remember the three promises she had made to him.

The first was to save Alin.

The second was to make him a Swordmaster.

And the third was to free him from slavery.

Of those three promises, she had already fulfilled two.

He had not yet become a Swordmaster, but since she had allowed him access to the Imperial secret sword manual, it was practically the same as placing the means to become one directly into his hands.

“…Unexpectedly. I thought you’d keep using me for quite a while longer before keeping your promise.”

Yusiliph muttered those words as he looked at Arabella standing beneath the brilliant sunlight. Her eyes, illuminated by the early summer sun, shimmered with a vivid blue like the summer sea.

Again.

That strange heat bubbled deep inside his dantian once more.

The moment he firmly pressed his lips together, she smiled brightly and spoke.

“I always keep the promises I make to you.”

“……”

She took his hand and forcibly placed the slave document in it. Then she winked toward the sack hanging from his shoulder.

“Since you’re no longer a slave, all the prize money you earned today belongs to you, too.”

Yusiliph wondered if he had heard her correctly.

“Are you serious? You don’t exactly look wealthy enough to give up three thousand gold.”

“Well, actually, I made quite a bit of money today, too.”

“?”

He frowned, wondering what she could possibly mean by that, but she merely smiled pleasantly without elaborating.

Yusiliph quickly looked away from that innocent smile.

The sunlight seems unusually strong today.

That was what he muttered inwardly.

“Hey, Yusiliph.”

She started chattering again, drawing his attention back to her. Every time her small lips moved, that same unfamiliar heat swelled up in his stomach once more.

But then she said something completely unexpected.

“Since you’re no longer a slave, you can leave whenever you want.”

At her unexpected words, he hesitated.

It was clearly something he should have been delighted to hear, yet he couldn’t understand why he didn’t feel happy about it.

Only after a moment did he remember the reason he couldn’t follow her words and open his mouth.

“…You haven’t fulfilled your first promise yet.”

He was referring, of course, to her promise to help him save Alin.

“Ah, of course I have to keep that promise. What I mean is, if you want, you don’t have to follow me to the Maiona estate anymore. You can stay wherever you want.”

Yusiliph pressed his lips shut again.

There was nothing wrong with what she said.

He was now a free man, and he had a staggering three thousand gold in his possession. He could go anywhere he wanted and stay wherever he pleased.

‘But… I don’t want to?’

He frowned.

The happiness he had felt to the point of being dazed by winning the gladiatorial match and being freed from slavery was somehow plummeting.

The afternoon sunlight was far too bright, offering no shelter for his expression. Watching his reaction, Arabella cautiously spoke again.

“But, if you’re okay with it… I’d like to offer you a new contract.”

“What?”

At the word ‘contract,’ his eyebrow twitched. Arabella hurriedly waved her hands and explained.

“Of course, it’s not a slave contract or anything. I want to offer you an employment contract.”

“Employment… contract?”

“As you know, I nearly died from an attempted poisoning not long ago, and after what happened with you this time, I’ve fallen out of favor with Crown Prince Sota and Princess Regita. So I have no idea what might happen to me next. And as you know, my body is also incredibly weak.”

“……”

“So I want to formally hire you as my bodyguard… What do you think? You can think of it as a mercenary contract if you want.”

With his gaze drawn to Arabella’s lips as she earnestly continued explaining, Yusiliph delayed his answer for a moment.

It wasn’t because he disliked her proposal.

If anything, he was holding himself back from immediately blurting out that he would do it.

To be honest, the thought of leaving her side did not appeal to him in the slightest right now. The very first emotion he felt upon hearing her offer was, unexpectedly, relief.

Trying to explain this inexplicable turmoil within himself, he desperately searched for a reasonable explanation for why he felt this way.

‘…Could it be because of that?’

He recalled the voice of Crown Prince Sota that he had heard in the Imperial secret archives.

‘You can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve done.’

‘Of all people, you had to bring those two together. At this particular moment! Those two!’

He had thought about what those words meant the entire time, but he couldn’t figure it out.

Why was it so important that he and Arabella must not meet at this particular moment?

Was the reason he felt that the secret the Crown Prince was hiding had to be some filthy, ugly truth simply because his deep-seated hatred of humanity was getting the better of him?

He stared at Arabella.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

Until now, he had been dragged along frantically wherever she led him. But the moment he accepted her proposal, he too would gain control over the direction of that relationship—and would likewise have to bear the corresponding responsibility.

After a moment, he quietly opened his right hand and held it out to her.

“Then let’s set a time limit. Three months from now. I’ll work as your bodyguard for exactly that long. During that time, I’ll finish rescuing Alin, and I’ll pay whatever price you want in return.”

If he thoroughly investigated the secret the Crown Prince was hiding during that period, then perhaps these strange feelings he had toward Arabella would sort themselves out as well.

“Okay!”

Arabella grabbed his hand, practically jumping for joy.

When her small, cool, soft touch met his, the heat churning inside his stomach strangely subsided at once.