Tamed A Blackened Slave Man

“Why do you wish to meet Cassadin?”

A slight edge creeping into my voice caused some cracks to appear in Lillian’s composed smile.

“…It seems Milady is quite interested in my affairs.”

In response to her wary reaction, I tilted my head, feigning innocence.

“I’m sorry if I sounded rude. I merely asked because Milady was standing in front of my house.”

“…Your house?”

“Yes, this is the Serkia Family’s mansion, and I, Lady Serkia, am the daughter of Earl Serkia.”

Upon hearing that, Lillian’s eyes seemed to narrow slightly as she gazed at me.

After studying me for a moment, Lillian’s eyes widened.

“Ah… Then you must be the lady who rescued Cassadin from the gladiator arena!”

When I nodded in affirmation, Lillian’s face lit up.

Seizing my hand, Lillian quickly launched into a stream of enthusiastic comments.

“Oh my! This must be fate. Let’s maintain close contact from now on.”

“……”

I remained silent, alternating my gaze between the hand that Lillian clutched and her face. Swiftly, I tugged my hand away from hers.

She seemed embarrassed by my rejection, and gradually, the smile on her face faded.

Continuing to watch her, I finally spoke.

“Apologies, but I have no intention of maintaining contact with you.”

“Why is that?”

She asked.

“Not only is this the first time I have met you, Milady, but I also do not know your family name. Furthermore, I have no understanding of why you have visited this place, or what your intentions might be.”

Upon hearing my response, Lillian managed to transform her frown into a smile and replied,

“You can begin to learn all of these things now, one at a time.”

I could not help but inwardly cringe at her unflinching attitude.

“I will reiterate. I have no intention to maintain close relations with Milady.”

“……”

“So, please stop blocking the entrance to my mansion and leave. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to forcefully escort you away.”

When I resolutely reiterated my position, Lillian’s face contorted with dismay.

I would have thought she would withdraw to salvage what was left of her dignity, but Lillian didn’t move an inch from the mansion.

Just as I was about to go into the mansion to summon a servant, Lillian’s voice echoed from behind me.

“Lady Serkia, you are not what I had anticipated.”

“…..”

“Is Sir Cassadin similar to you, Milady? Or, will he be different?”

I halted and turned my head, then dished out a query to Lillian that would be challenging for her to respond to.

“…I do have a question. Which family does Milady belong to?”

I noticed Lillian become flustered in response to my question. Her pink irises trembled momentarily.

It was understandable, given that Lillian was not a noble but a commoner.

Those who falsely claimed to be nobles could be imprisoned for noble impersonation.

But if she admitted to being a commoner, then our current conversation would be impossible.

Despite dressing akin to a noble, Lillian was a commoner, not a noble.

I could sense the wheels turning in Lillian’s mind as she cautiously selected her words.

I was about to enter the mansion as I shook my head.

However, I heard Father’s voice echoing from the carriage, which stopped me.

“Aren, who are you conversing with?”

I had assumed he had already entered the mansion, but it appeared that Father had remained inside the carriage, waiting to go in with me.

My father had half his head out of the carriage window, glancing at me anxiously. But before I could speak, Lillian started running towards the carriage my father was in.

“What are you…?!”

Ignoring me completely, Lillian reached the carriage my father was in. Seeing Lillian suddenly running towards him, my father stared back at her, looking bewildered.

“…?”

“Hello, Sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

With a bright smile, Lillian lifted her dress and bowed to Father.

Father simply continued to gaze at the woman who appeared out of nowhere, expressing utter confusion.

Barely able to contain my anger, I seized Lillian’s arm and questioned her.

“What kind of disrespectful attitude are you displaying now?!”

However, upon hearing my words, Lillian’s eyes started to water, and her hands shook noticeably. In tandem with the growing sense of dread within me, Lillian let out an ear-splitting scream.

“Kyaaaaaaaa!”

Hearing Lillian’s piercing shriek, all the people on the streets halted their activities and fixed their gazes on us. The tears that welled up in Lillian’s eyes began to cascade continuously down her face.

I had merely seized her wrist, but Lillian’s entire body was quaking, her face a canvas of terror. The current situation was perfectly primed for misinterpretation.

“Isn’t that the lady from the Serkia family?”

“Why does that lady appear so afraid?”

“Poor woman.”

Since this incident took place right in front of our mansion gates, all who recognized me turned their attention towards us and began murmuring amongst themselves.

Noticing that all eyes were on us, Lillian began sobbing loudly, shouting at me as though intentionally putting on a show for the crowd.

“What wrong have I done to deserve such treatment? Please, set me free!”

I was entirely befuddled by Lillian’s abrupt shift in demeanor. Her words, once gentle, were now vicious.

“Why have you suddenly cast yourself as the victim?”

Yet, my words were drowned out by the wails of Lillian’s heart-wrenching sobs. She continued to weep and writhe with intensity.

“It hurts! What have I done to deserve this sort of treatment from Milady? I simply wanted to befriend Milady, yet my goodwill is being returned in this manner.”

People were momentarily stunned by Lillian’s sudden outburst. After they heard a few of Lillian’s words, several nobles, who had already formed their own judgments of the situation, voiced their opinions.

“Is Lady Serkia actually harassing that noblewoman right now?”

“…I must say, it is not a very pleasing sight to see.”

I attempted to shake my head in refutation, but Lillian’s sobbing drowned out any response.

Even after releasing Lillian’s wrist, her tears did not cease.

Witnessing this, I leaned in and whispered into Lillian’s ear.

“It seems you are attempting to put me in a difficult position here, but I must inform you that you can proceed if you want to be arrested for impersonating a noble.”

However, in response to my whisper, Lillian began crying even louder. If a bystander were to witness this, they might believe that I had murdered Lillian’s parents, judging by the intensity of her wails.

‘She’s utterly out of her mind.’

Internally, I cursed the woman. I was on the verge of turning around and passing through the mansion gates. But just then, a man who had been watching me and Lillian, from a distance began to walk towards us.

The man was utterly unfamiliar, but from the family emblem on his clothing, I could discern that he was an Earl, just like myself.

This man had looked over at the tearful Lillian, then blushed upon seeing her face in close proximity.

Upon noticing the man’s reaction, Lillian quickly clutched the hem of his clothes.

Upon her doing so, the man’s ears instantly turned red as well.

With the seeming responsibility now upon him, the man patted Lillian’s back and addressed me,

“Lady Serkia, why are you troubling this innocent woman?”

“I haven’t troubled her. She merely started crying out of nowhere.”

“Then how do you account for the current situation?”

When I tracked the man’s gaze, I realized that we had significantly more spectators.

Those who appeared to be commoners had been watching, but turned their sights away and resumed their activities once our eyes met.

On the contrary, a few nearby nobles kept scrutinizing my response, seemingly amused by this predicament.

I gave them one quick look before turning back to the man, who had his arms draped across Lillian’s shoulders and began to speak.

“Why should I explain myself? Would you even believe me if I were to tell the truth?”

I had done absolutely nothing, yet Lillian started crying again.

Whether it was the man asking me for an explanation when I hadn’t done anything or those nobles who were observing us from a distance.

They all appeared unexceptional to me.

I fixed my gaze on the man who was looking at me with an expression of disapproval.

“Do you realize the woman you’re holding has posed as a noble? I asked for her family name, but she couldn’t give me a satisfactory answer.”

At my words, Lillian visibly stiffened. However, the man merely positioned himself protectively in front of Lillian and replied,

“Even if what you’ve said is true, it’s unjust to treat someone this harshly. How could you be so heartless towards someone who only sought friendship?”

“She was the one who came to my mansion and behaved rudely, yet you act as though I am the one at fault.”

Lillian then intertwined her fingers, which had been clutching the man’s clothes, with his.

As she did this, the man’s face became beet red, reminiscent of a ripe tomato.

“Based on your assertions, it implies that she started crying without cause. However, that just doesn’t make any sense.”

The man’s expression told me that, regardless of what I said, he was resolute in his determination to protect Lillian from me.

‘How pathetic.’

I sincerely thought that this man was pitiful. It was almost mortifying to think that such a man bore the title of Earl.

His words were no longer even worthy of my attention.

Turning towards the carriage where Father was, I spoke up.

“Father, let’s go in together.”

Together with Father, who had just disembarked from the carriage, we headed inside.

Or, to be precise, I attempted to go inside.

But Lillian’s voice stopped me once again.

“W-wait, please.”

Lillian, who had basically been held by the man, approached me.

I had planned to ignore her and leave, but in a whisper meant only for me, Lillian conveyed what she desired.

“Please, I beg you. You don’t need to stay close to me. Just please let me meet Sir Cassadin just once.”

“……”

“If you do, then I will go and tell that man right now that I was the one at fault.”

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Ara’s T/L Note: This chapter has afflicted me with cancer. Get your medicine ready, everyone. This is going to be one lumpy ride.