Tamed A Blackened Slave Man

“This is the first time I’ve seen a participant without a weapon. Not to mention that he won.”

The Emperor was watching Cassadin with interest. But I wasn’t able to celebrate this situation as it was. I nodded in agreement to the Emperor’s comment on the outside, but internally, I was concerned about Cassadin.

‘What is he thinking?’

I could understand him participating in the event without telling me, but this was crossing the line.

We had only confirmed each other’s feelings last night, and he was just casually doing all of these dangerous things.

I wouldn’t have thought this if he had even a sword in his hand. But fighting without any weapon? What if he got hurt?

“Looking at how remarkably superior his movements are compared to the other competitors, this fighting competition seems to have quite a few skilled participants.”

The Emperor must have taken a liking to Cassadin, as he was looking down at him with a pleased expression. On the other hand, I was watching Cassadin with a grim expression.

Cassadin was talking to the host for some reason, and the crowd was chanting Black Robe as they cheered him on.

I had been quietly watching Cassadin with my hands gathered together on my lap, but then I saw the knight who received the Emperor’s order running our way.

“Your Majesty.”

“Ah, you’ve come. Well then, why has the Grand Duke participated in this event?”

“That is, Your Majesty…”

Trailing off as if it were a difficult topic to explain, the knight then seemed to make up his mind and opened his mouth.

“There is no reason.”

“There is no reason he participated?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Grand Duke didn’t write a reason for his participation on his application form…”

“Hah.”

The Emperor chuckled with exasperation.

“He must be certain that he will win the competition.”

“……”

“The Swordsmanship Competition must not be enough for him, so now he’s trying for this fighting competition that is the only method of rising up in status for others. What a greedy man the Grand Duke is indeed.”

The Emperor scowled as if that fact made him displeased.

And I could see that the Emperor greatly disliked Damian from that expression. He must not have liked him from the start, but Damian suing the imperial house must have definitely created a large chasm between the two of them.

Though Damian had revoked the lawsuit, it had been long after the imperial house’s prestige had fallen to the ground. Not to mention that they were unable to find the culprit of the poisoning incident, so the Emperor’s frustration must be on the verge of bursting at this point.

Because Damian’s father had withdrawn from the heritage battle, Damian didn’t have the right to claim the throne, but that didn’t make Damian any less of a threat to the Emperor’s crown.

‘I do feel bad for the Emperor, but it’s a good thing that Damian participated in this event for me.’

Because Damian had participated in this fighting competition, the Emperor’s distrust in Damian will now grow even further. However, I still didn’t understand why that germophobe was participating in this event.

I would have to ask Cassadin later. He must know something.

“That reminds me…”

With his eyes still narrowed, the Emperor turned his head towards me.

“I have heard news that the Grand Duke has been sending gifts to Milady.”

“…….”

The Emperor had known this since the start, so he sat me down next to me on purpose in order to test me.

‘To see whether I’m on his side or on Damian’s.’

“…Not to mention that he has given Milady tickets that only royalty is permitted to buy.”

Then, the Emperor’s eyes narrowed even further as he gazed at me. His eyes glimmered with the same golden hue as Leon’s.

“Since when has Milady become so close with the Grand Duke? Or perhaps Milady has feelings for the Duke?”

He questioned me in a testing tone.

In response to the Emperor’s prying question, I wordlessly peered down at Cassadin.

The Crown Prince of the fallen Hyran Kingdom that I had once tried to tame.

A man I forcefully claimed as my younger brother, who had the unfortunate fate of becoming a gladiator slave.

‘How could I ever hate you? From the start to the end, you have always been my savior.’

Even knowing everything, you called me your savior.

Then, since when have I liked you? Was it when you broke our masks as a family and confessed to me? Or much before then, when you stared at me with those crazed eyes?

But what I was certain of was that… As you have called me your savior, you were also my savior when I had been chained to the shackles of my past.

Your twisted ways reminded me of myself. So in the end, we were each other’s saviors.

‘You’ve shown me your courage, so it is now my turn to show mine.’

With a faint smile on my face, I gazed back at the Emperor and answered him,

“…I am afraid to say this, but I already have someone else in my heart, Your Majesty.”

The one who had reacted to my answer was not the Emperor, but my father.

“What? Aren? Wh-what did you just say?”

“…….”

“Say that again. Who is that bastard?!”

Only then, realizing that we were in the Emperor’s presence, did Father apologize to the Emperor for causing a scene.

“It’s alright, Earl Serkia.”

Though the Emperor was smiling kindly, there was still a hint of suspicion in his eyes as he gazed at me.

“What relieving news that is to hear. That you have someone else you love.”

“……”

“But that person doesn’t happen to be my Leon, is it?”

The Crown Prince? I’m sorry, but I was the one who wanted to turn him down.

But if I said that, then the Emperor might lock me up for defaming the imperial family. So I said the following instead,

“Your Majesty, I am well aware of my place.”

“…Haha! Hahahah!”

The Emperor burst into laughter at my response. With an incredibly pleased expression, the Emperor stroked his beard as he opened his mouth.

“Hearing Milady’s answer truly brings me relief.”

Indeed, these so-called royal seats were glorified interrogation chairs set up for the Emperor. Then, wishing for time to pass quickly, I turned my gaze back to the arena.

Feeling Father’s resentful gaze next to me, I smiled sheepishly.

---

“The matches for Round 2 will now commence!”

The more the number of participants lessened, the time it took for each match to end also quickened. From twenty-five contestants to thirteen, thirteen to seven, then seven to four.

Starting in the second round, Cassadin started to use a sword. But even then, Cassadin had chosen the most worn-down sword that had been inside a box provided to each participant.

However, Cassadin fought perfectly fine with that dull sword. There was a saying that only an incompetent worker blames his tools. And Cassadin was proving just that.

While the other competitors fought with powerful weapons such as massive maces, dual swords, and crossbows, only Cassadin competed with his dull sword.

Because of that, Cassadin’s popularity rose as much as Damian’s.

Everyone must have been yelling too much, as the people in the crowd were all yelling with raspy voices.

Whether it was by chance or on purpose, Damian and Cassadin hadn’t fought once during the competition.

Which was why the two men met at the final match.

“Now, this is the final match, the final round. It’s now the mysterious Black Robe versus the Master of Swordsmanship, Grand Duke Damian.”

Even the host must have felt anxious, as he swallowed loudly. And the rowdy audience had become deathly quiet.

It was as if they didn’t want to lose a single moment of this match and that their cheers would hinder the match.

So, Cassadin and Damian entered the arena. For some reason, Damian had his lips curled up into a grin. And Cassadin returned the man’s gaze with an expressionless gaze.

When the two men grabbed hold of their weapons, the host swallowed one last time before speaking up with a trembling voice.

“L-Let the match begin!”

The match started, but the two men remained completely still. With his hands grabbing hold of his broadsword, Damian then opened his mouth.

“I believe you told me not to go easy on you.”

“……”

“So I will take your word and do just that.”

Cassadin bowed his head down in response as he spoke.

“It is my honor.”

The one to move first was Damian.

Clang!

The sharp sound of two blades colliding filled the arena. But even with a large broadsword in his hand, Damian moved smoothly as if there were nothing in his hand.

Damian’s title as the greatest swordsman was not an exaggerated statement. Though his movements were graceful, his powerful blows caused people’s mouths to fall open as they spectated the match.

His attacks were ones that ordinary people would have been unable to avoid, but Cassadin was able to block his swings with his rusty sword. Then, a smile spread across Damian’s face. It was because of his pure interest in Cassadin that he was able to parry his attacks.

Clang! Clang!

Damian poured an endless rally of attacks onto Cassadin. His blade arced specifically into attacks that were targeted at the opponent’s vital points. His attacks were rough but also graceful.

Cassadin blocked every attack coming towards him without a single change of expression.

Maybe it was because this was the final match, but the host was enthusiastically commentating on the two men’s battle from a distance.

“Ah! The mysterious Black Robe seems to be busy defending! Is it inevitable that the Grand Duke takes the victory?”

“Maybe I had been wrong.”

Damian spoke to Cassadin with a disappointed expression. Twisting his sword’s trajectory, Damian aimed the blade at Cassadin’s throat.

Clang!

But yet again, Cassadin parried away the attack with his dull sword. However, blocking the attack must not have been enough, as Damian raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you would’ve shown me more than this.”

“……”

Cassadin merely stared at Damian’s face without responding.

His jet-black hair was an exact replica of the moonless night sky. His light green eyes under them were angled up at a sharp slant.

The man resembled an aggressive serpent. Just as expected from the son of the man who destroyed his kingdom, the man looked evil.

No matter how well he wrapped up his exterior, the man’s evil nature was imprinted clearly on his face. That was what Cassadin was thinking as he looked at Damian’s face.

“At least your sister had been interesting.”

Damian’s final remark caused a crack to appear in Cassadin’s expressionless mask. His deep violet eyes turned cold, as if they had become frozen.

“I see you react immediately to anything regarding your sister.”

“……”

“I heard you ran away from your house without any notice.”

“……”

“Which means… Aren is no longer your sister. Am I correct?”

As soon as Damian mentioned Aren’s name, Cassadin grabbed hold of his sword with his other hand and aimed it at Damian’s throat.

Clang!

But just as Cassadin had blocked Damian’s attack, Damian also blocked Cassadin’s attack.

“So you’ve been hiding your true strength after all.”

Damian’s eyes curved as he smiled. His sharp eyes arched joyfully into crescents.

“I ask you not to mention that name so rashly.”

Cassadin’s icy voice reached Damian’s ears.

The people watching couldn’t hear the two men’s conversation. They could only see their swords clash. Whatever the two men said to one another, the others couldn’t hear them.

“If you speak that name one more time…”

Then Cassadin pushed his blade towards Damian’s throat as he added,

“…I will kill you on the spot.”