I Tamed the Slave Male Lead Chapter 5

What would happen if he killed that woman right here and escaped?

Yusiliph stood silently, contemplating the possibility.

The cell door had opened for the first time in three days, and the guard had disappeared somewhere, perhaps to give them some privacy.

If he dealt with the woman and fled quickly, he could escape, at least for the time being, without any obstacles in his way.

He had already imagined escaping this place countless times, so there were numerous scenarios mapped out in his mind. He had also made a point of familiarizing himself with the geography of the capital whenever he traveled between the gladiatorial arena and the Imperial Palace.

But what then…?

He could not return to Awinka alone, leaving his sister Alin behind.

Nor could he storm into the Magic Tower and rescue her right away. Even if the power of magic had declined considerably, Duke Ameshika, the master of the Magic Tower, was the strongest mage alive, and the Magic Tower was heavily protected by ancient magic. It was impossible for Yusiliph alone to break through its barriers.

Besides, there was something he had to do. A mission he could never abandon.

In the end, Yusiliph slowly relaxed his fingers, which had been tightly clenched.

“You’re… going to save me?”

“Yes.”

At her confident reply, a hollow laugh escaped Yusiliph’s lips.

“You’ve got quite an inventive way of talking bullshit.”

“Bullshit? That’s such a hurtful thing to say….”

“Weren’t you the one who bought me as a slave and turned me into this? And now you’re saying you’ll save me. What exactly are you plotting?”

“Could you just hear me out first?”

“Get out. I don’t even have the energy to exchange this kind of nonsense with you.”

Before she could finish speaking, he tried to shove her aside and close the door. At that moment, she hurriedly cried out and wedged her foot between the door.

“Please, Yusiliph. If you don’t trust me now, you might die here today!”

Pfft.

A crooked smile appeared on Yusiliph’s lips.

He found it both amusing and strangely satisfying that even that self-important noblewoman did not know everything. She could never have dreamed that he possessed a body that could never die easily, at least not in a place like this.

But right then, as though she could see straight through his thoughts, the woman cautiously opened her mouth.

“Oh, right. You can’t die, can you? At least, um… unless your head gets cut off.”

“…?!”

For a moment, Yusiliph wondered if he had heard her correctly. He opened his eyes wide and stared at Arabella in disbelief.

“How do you…?”

Could it be? Was this woman aware of his most important secret, something no one besides his father and sister knew?

Unable to continue speaking from the shock, Yusiliph looked at her as Arabella smiled cautiously and added in a soft, reassuring voice,

“Don’t worry, Yusiliph. I won’t tell anyone your secret. I mean it. I promise.”

Yet the fact that she called his name so familiarly, as though they were well acquainted, only caused Yusiliph’s expression to darken further.

 

***

 

“My lady, are you really all right? Why did you go down into the underground area of the arena? How could a noble lady go into such a dangerous place all by herself?”

My maid Becky followed closely behind me, questioning me in a timid voice. Since I had given her a separate errand, she had been unable to accompany me into the underground area of the arena earlier. With no good answer to give her, I brushed it off vaguely.

“I just had something to take care of. More importantly, did you bring what I asked you to get from the estate?”

“Yes, here….”

I took what Becky held out and tucked it safely into my clothes, my expression filling with relief. Taking advantage of the moment, Becky began pestering me again.

“My lady, but please, can’t we just go back to the estate now?”

“……”

“How are you planning to watch the match looking like this? If the master finds out that you’ve been walking around outside looking like this, he’ll never let me off.”

She looked ready to cry.

Well, I supposed it was understandable. A count’s daughter wandering around in this state was certainly enough to invite ridicule.

‘But who cares? It’s not like I’m going to become the Crown Princess anyway.’

Becoming Crown Prince Sota’s wife? Just thinking about it was horrifying. Since today’s incident had made it permanently impossible for me to become Crown Princess, it was actually a tremendous stroke of luck.

I pretended not to notice Becky’s pleading and strode confidently into the arena.

“Wait, isn’t that Lady Maiona?”

“Why did she come here looking like that?”

“She must be crazy….”

As expected, whispers arose from all around me. But I paid no attention to their reactions and confidently took my seat in the section assigned to House Maiona. Unfortunately, it was right in the middle of the noble seating area, making it the perfect spot to draw everyone’s attention.

“What happened to Lady Maiona’s face?”

“I heard that just moments ago, during the Crown Princess selection ceremony….”

The rumor quickly spread even among the nobles who had not attended the selection ceremony. Soon, even the reporters seated below the nobles’ section began buzzing with excitement.

“I heard Lady Maiona nearly lost her life during today’s Crown Princess selection process?”

“She collapsed after eating one of the cookies served with the refreshments… Could this have been poisoning?”

“No way. If that were true, would the Imperial Family really remain silent? A Crown Princess candidate was almost poisoned.”

Heh. Good. Keep talking.

I glanced at several people who looked displeased and curled up the corners of my lips.

You may want to bury this incident and move on, but that’s not going to happen.

Now that today’s incident had spread even among the reporters, those targeting me would not be able to make any rash moves. I intended to use that opportunity to recover my health and figure out a way to survive from here on out.

Even as I enjoyed the curious whispers around me, I remained perfectly still, staring down at the arena. Because what mattered right now was not them, but whether Yusiliph had accepted my help.

I recalled the menacing look Yusiliph had shot at me moments ago.

‘So you’re telling me to drink this suspicious medicine and liquid you’re giving me, then go out there and fight?’

The hostility in his gaze had been so sharp that it felt as though dozens of needles were pricking my entire body.

‘You haven’t eaten anything for three days, have you? If you enter a gladiatorial match in this condition, the outcome is going to be disastrous. There’s no question about it.’

‘Of course it will be, but wouldn’t that just make for better entertainment for you people?’

‘Losing the match isn’t the only problem. Do you know who your opponent is today? “Jack the Butcher.”’

‘…!’

At the name, Yusiliph had visibly stiffened. Naturally.

“Jack the Butcher” was notorious for his brutality even among gladiators. He was a troublemaker in the arena who, even after his opponents admitted defeat, would become frenzied and commit bizarre acts such as hacking their limbs apart.

It was not uncommon for spectators watching his matches to vomit or faint.

In truth, the Yusiliph of normal circumstances could have easily subdued someone like “Jack the Butcher.”

But his condition now was the worst it could possibly be. If he faced “Jack the Butcher” with that body, it was obvious he would end up in a horrific state. Just as I had read in the original novel.

He would lose one of his arms today. And from this day onward, he would fall to darkness and live a hellish life every single day.

‘Just kill me, you bastards!! Stop playing with me like this and just kill me, damn it!!’

On this day in the original novel, Yusiliph was reduced to a horrific state by “Jack the Butcher” and left rolling across the arena floor.

‘It’s a monster!’

‘It’s a magical beast! Kill it at once!’

The spectators were horrified when they saw that not only was he still alive despite having practically lost an arm, but his wounds were already beginning to heal at a speed that was utterly inhuman.

“Jack the Butcher” chased after the immortal Yusiliph, huffing furiously as he relentlessly swung his axe, eventually severing Yusiliph’s left arm completely from his body.

And yet, Yusiliph did not die.

Spit, filth, and stones rained down on him without end, and he had no choice but to crawl across the dirt floor like a worm, taking every bit of it.

Princess Regita watched him from above alongside the other nobles, roaring with laughter.

‘Look at him! Oh, how vulgar!’

‘Good heavens, could that slave really be a monster?’

‘Yes, he is not a monster.’

Regita’s eyes gleamed as she smugly boasted.

‘He’s a quarter-elf.’

‘A quarter-elf? Good heavens. I heard the elves have practically vanished from the world by now… So there really are survivors among them! But did elves possess an ability like that?’

‘I said he’s a quarter-elf, not an elf. He probably has some other semi-human blood mixed in too, and that’s what caused such a mutation. Regeneration? He’s not a starfish, for goodness’ sake. Isn’t it truly horrifying?’

Thinking of Regita smugly spouting those words made my blood boil all over again.

In the original novel, Regita tormented Yusiliph relentlessly.

Once she discovered the ability Yusiliph possessed, she exposed it in the cruelest way possible, and afterward, she exploited him even more viciously.

She dragged him around to all kinds of parties and social gatherings like a beast on a leash, deliberately injuring his body and turning the process of watching his wounds heal into entertainment for others.

When she eventually grew bored of playing with the increasingly broken Yusiliph, she handed him over to her own brother, Sota.

And Sota sent Yusiliph into the sealed labyrinth as part of the advance team, making him endure all manner of suffering.

Because his body could regenerate, he was assigned the task of taking monster attacks head-on and gathering information about their ecology and methods for defeating them.

He spent hellish days inside that labyrinth. If anyone other than him had suffered what he did, they probably would have died hundreds of times over.

It was no wonder that Yusiliph eventually fell into darkness after enduring such a life. In fact, just before meeting Dorothea, Yusiliph, consumed by madness, nearly fell into a major crisis after attempting to massacre humans.

‘If I want to keep that from happening, you absolutely have to win today’s match. And for that, you have to believe me.’

I bit my lip as anxiety welled up inside me.