The Slave Is Too Handsome!
004.
“Hah.”
Camillo let out a low laugh.
The more he saw Eloise, the more he liked her. She casually threw out remarks that could easily be mistaken as an insult toward the imperial family—or even treasonous words. Yet there was something fascinating about her.
A desire to conquer her burned within Camillo’s heart. He wanted to break that arrogant pride of hers, that perfectly raised chin.
While Camillo was lost in his sinister thoughts, Eloise gracefully held the hem of her dress and gave a polite bow before walking past the prince and leaving the mansion.
“Are you leaving already?”
Frederick glanced back at the mansion. The sound of music could still be heard, so it didn’t seem like the ball was over yet.
Eloise walked past Frederick and headed toward the carriage.
“I showed my face. That’s enough.”
Yawning, Eloise climbed into the carriage. Frederick followed after her and closed the door, and the carriage slowly began to move.
“I’m going to get some sleep until we arrive home.”
Leaning her back against the carriage wall, Eloise gently closed her eyes.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and Frederick could see every little movement.
He had always wondered where such a small figure got so much energy and charisma from.
Despite saying she was going to sleep, Eloise’s mind was working busily.
The biggest gain from tonight was the information she had obtained about the Emperor.
The long-standing Finestra Grand Empire.
The current Emperor had an Empress, two Imperial Consorts, four princes, and three princesses.
Actually, there should have been five princes.
If only the first prince, the son of the Empress, had not been kidnapped when he was five years old.
The missing first prince, Valencio Ses Floren.
That was also the reason why the position of Crown Prince remained empty despite the Emperor having so many children and several grown sons.
‘I’m so tired of him still going on about the first prince.’
It seemed the Emperor still had not given up on the first prince.
And it was understandable.
The first prince, who had looked exactly like the Emperor since birth, was not only blessed with a beautiful appearance but was also extremely intelligent. They said he learned to read and write at an astonishingly young age.
Not only that.
Despite being a child, he had such a kind heart that when servants made mistakes, he would simply smile and tell them it was fine.
Naturally, he became loved by everyone in the Imperial Palace.
‘Now that I think about it, they said Imperial Consort Nora was suspected of being behind the kidnapping.’
Imperial Consort Nora was Camillo’s mother, the second prince’s mother. Whether it was coincidence or fate, she became pregnant in the same year as the Empress.
And that was not all.
Camillo was born exactly thirty minutes after Valencio was born.
The two children born in the same year were naturally compared in every way.
Usually, Valencio was the one who received affection, while Camillo was the one who received criticism.
So when Valencio disappeared, it was only natural that Imperial Consort Nora became the first person suspected.
After all, with Valencio gone, Camillo had become the most likely candidate for the position of Crown Prince.
No evidence was ever found against Imperial Consort Nora, and the search for the kidnapper eventually faded away.
But people still suspected her.
Fifteen years had passed since the first prince disappeared.
‘If the first prince were alive, he would be around that age now.’
Eloise thought of the golden-haired slave she had brought back several hours ago.
He looked about nineteen or twenty.
First of all, his appearance passed.
He was tall and had a good build.
He was on the thinner side, but that could easily be fixed by feeding him properly.
From the brief look she had gotten, his posture was also quite refined.
Most importantly…
‘He’s incredibly handsome.’
He was close to her personal taste as well.
If properly groomed, he could claim the title of the most handsome man in the empire.
No.
Perhaps he could become the most beautiful Emperor in the history of the empire.
‘Because I’m going to make him that way.’
At that thought, the corners of Eloise’s lips slowly rose.
It was a satisfied smile.
‘Come to think of it, I never asked his name.’
At that moment, the carriage carrying Eloise stopped in front of the Duke’s residence.
After stepping down from the carriage and heading toward the annex, Eloise suddenly changed direction and walked toward the residence of her personal knight order behind the annex.
She had told them to give rooms in the knights’ quarters to the slaves she had brought.
They should all be there.
Since she had thought of him, she wanted to see him again.
‘It’s late. Maybe he’s already asleep.’
She had planned to simply look at his face if he was sleeping and leave.
But contrary to her expectations, the lights in the quarters were still on despite the late hour.
It seemed Butler Arthur had placed the four of them together in a corner room on the first floor.
Standing in front of the door, Eloise lightly knocked before opening it.
The platinum-blond man shouted.
“Master!”
At his words, everyone turned to look at Eloise.
Inside the small room were two bunk beds.
“You were all still awake.”
The moment Eloise finished speaking, three men immediately approached her, knelt down, and bowed their heads.
Then, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand, they shouted loudly.
“We will devote our loyalty to you, Master!”
Their appearance reminded Eloise of newly born puppies filled with curiosity.
She smiled with satisfaction.
However, unlike the three men who rushed toward her immediately, the golden-haired one—the troublesome one—was still lying on the bed.
“Hey!”
Only after being called by the platinum-blond man did the golden-haired man slowly get up and awkwardly kneel.
Eloise waved her hand as if saying it was unnecessary, and the four of them stood back up.
One of them quickly brought over a chair.
When Eloise sat comfortably, the men sat casually on the floor with her in the center.
Eloise looked over the faces of the slaves she had brought.
“I still don’t know your names.”
The platinum-blond man with freckles on his face raised his hand first.
He seemed to be the friendliest one.
“Please call me Ned, Master.”
Ned smiled brightly.
“I’m Finn. I turned seventeen this year.”
“I’m Gabe.”
The man with mixed brown and golden hair spoke next.
After him, a man with a heavy voice and pinkish blond hair introduced himself.
Ned, Finn, Gabe.
Finally, Eloise’s gaze turned toward the most dazzling golden-haired man.
“What’s your name?”
“……”
The golden-haired man only stared directly into Eloise’s eyes.
He said nothing.
The one keeping his mouth shut was the golden-haired man, but the others were the ones feeling nervous.
Eventually, Ned slapped the golden-haired man’s back.
“What are you doing? Master asked you something.”
The golden-haired man glared at Ned before answering.
“I don’t have one.”
“Really? Then I suppose I’ll have to give you one.”
The golden-haired man gave a mocking smile.
Ignoring him, Eloise stared at him intently, lost in thought.
“Lucian. Lucian sounds good.”
“……”
“How is it? Do you like it?”
Instead of answering, Lucian buried his face between his knees, which he had pulled close to his chest.
Finn, sitting beside him, turned pale.
“Wow, you’re lucky. Master personally gave you a name.”
Ned spoke in a high voice, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Finn and Gabe joined in, but Lucian’s closed mouth refused to open.
Eloise added.
“Even if you don’t like it, there’s nothing you can do. Because I like that name.”
“A brilliant choice, Master. This guy was like this even at the slave market. Don’t worry, I’ll educate him properly.”
Ned carefully watched Eloise’s expression before adding.
Eloise let out a small laugh at his words and stood up.
It was time for her to return.
“Have pleasant dreams!”
Hearing the enthusiastic farewell from the three men, Eloise returned to the annex.
“……”
Even after lying down on the bed she had longed for, Eloise could not fall asleep easily.
She thought she had found the perfect man to use as her substitute.
But his personality seemed to be far from ordinary.
‘When am I going to turn that one into a proper person and send him out into the world?’
Of course, this was much better than a weak personality.
He would be much more interesting to train.
Lost in thought about how she would educate Lucian, Eloise eventually drifted into a light sleep without realizing it.
Maybe because she had been too exhausted.
Eloise suddenly opened her eyes after falling asleep.
Seeing the dim blue light filling the room, she realized it was still dawn.
“!”
Between the fluttering curtains, she saw the silhouette of a man.
‘This isn’t… a dream?’
Eloise blinked her sleepy eyes again.
She thought she was seeing things because she was half-asleep.
But it was clearly reality.
A man was standing by the window.
Because he had his back to the moonlight, his face could not be seen clearly.
Pretending to shift in her sleep, Eloise reached toward the drawer and pulled out a dagger.
Meanwhile, the man approached her bed.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Eloise quickly sat up and pointed the blade toward him.
The finely sharpened dagger gleamed.
The man let out a quiet laugh.
“Isn’t that a rather dangerous item for a noble lady to be carrying?”
There was mockery in his voice.
The man in front of her was…
“Lucian?”
In the darkness, his pale white face and blue eyes appeared.
The intruder who had entered her room under the cover of moonlight was Lucian.
“Ah!”
For a moment, Eloise’s eyes wavered.
Lucian easily took the dagger from her hand.
As if that was not enough, he casually spun the dagger around in one hand.
Eloise wrapped both arms around herself and spoke.
Her voice trembled.
“I’m scared. Give it back.”
Lucian let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Sorry, but that act won’t work on me.”
The moment he finished speaking, Eloise dropped her frightened expression and returned to her usual cold, sharp look.
“Yeah. I figured it wouldn’t work on you. I was just testing you.”
“……”
“But you speak as if you know me very well.”
“I can tell just by looking.”
At his confident tone, Eloise gave a mocking smile this time.
So this was his true personality.
After lowering both legs from the bed and crossing one leg over the other, Eloise asked.
“So, why did you dare come to your master’s room in the middle of the night?”
The smile disappeared from Lucian’s face.
“It’s unfortunate, but I don’t have time to play along with some ignorant noble girl’s games. Anyway, since you went through the trouble of taking me out of the slave market, I came to give you my final farewell before I leave.”
