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“This time, you must have brought back some useful information, right?”
Maurice asked sternly, gazing at the man. The man, instead of answering, simply smiled warmly and rubbed his palms together.
Maurice had given a large sum of money to an informant who claimed to have considerable skill in the black market, asking him to investigate Najane Schnicks. However, after more than two weeks since the investigation began, all he had received were additional fees with no useful information in return.
Maurice, feeling impatient for having chosen this informant, stared at him critically. Fortunately, Lucas had not yet recovered from the injuries he sustained from Maximón, and he would need to remain bedridden for at least another two months.
Normally, due to the pain from his wounds, Lucas would have despised Maximón and demanded to learn of any weaknesses he could exploit to end their bitter relationship. But lately, Lucas had been so taken with a clown he had found by chance in the black market that he spent all his days lying in bed, watching puppet shows.
The clown had a remarkable ability to imitate others’ voices. He could mimic Maximón’s voice exactly, performing exaggerated actions or staging puppet shows where Lucas mocked and trampled on Maximón. Thanks to this, Lucas’ laughter echoed constantly in the bedroom.
Thus, before Lucas could ask what information had been gathered about Najane, the investigation needed to be completed. Lucas was determined to seize Najane’s weakness this time and finally put an end to his ill-fated relationship with Maximón.
Maurice eyed the informant suspiciously.
“How long ago did you boast about uncovering everything about Najane Schnicks? If you can’t bring back any information that satisfies the young master this time, I’ll make sure you regret it, even if I have to buy off every criminal in the black market.”
“I truly apologize, sir. It seems that the woman wasn’t from Bastronia, which made it difficult to track her.”
The informant chuckled wryly. They had convinced Lucas that with just a little more money, they would be able to uncover solid information, and they had been siphoning off Lucas’ money little by little. Half of that money had probably ended up in the pockets of the informant and his subordinates. Maurice scoffed at the situation.
“I was told that there was no one more skilled in the black market than you, but it seems that was all a lie.”
“Do you really think I would come to meet you empty-handed again?”
At the informant’s words, Maurice squinted his eyes, skeptical.
“About that woman… it seems she didn’t enter Bastronia through normal means. I have some connections at the Noctis Bureau, and after bribing them to gather information on Najane Schnicks… there was nothing to find.”
“That can’t be. There must be a record of her entry at the Bureau.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it! You must remember, sir. After too many foreigners started entering Noctis, causing the safety situation to deteriorate rapidly, His Majesty the King personally issued a decree.”
After losing their countries, many displaced people naturally settled in the Noctis Fortress. The Noctis Bureau, overwhelmed by the rapidly growing population, couldn’t keep up. The fortress quickly became a hotbed for crime.
Even though the guards, the nobles, and the king all knew how serious the situation was, they simply watched without intervening. Then, when a four-year-old child and her mother were murdered by a petty thief not in a dark alley, but right in the middle of a well-lit street, the residents of Noctis Fortress began to voice their anger.
Fearing a riot could break out, the king hastily issued a decree. The decree ordered that every resident of the fortress have their name, portrait, and fingerprints recorded. The process was costly, but because the dissatisfaction among Noctis’s residents was growing by the day, the king had no choice but to take drastic action.
Once the decree was issued, the Noctis Bureau was thrown into chaos. Artists from all over the kingdom were reluctantly dispatched to Noctis, and huge workshops to produce paper temporarily sprung up on the outskirts of the fortress. Thousands of artists worked day and night, recording every resident’s likeness.
The task took years to complete. While artists were busy painting the likeness of one resident at the Bureau, new refugees were arriving at the border.
Though some nobles opposed the decree, the Noctis Bureau somehow completed the monumental task. So, if Najane had entered Noctis Fortress through proper channels, there would have certainly been a portrait made of him after going through the necessary inspection.
“It’s clear that she entered through illegal means.”
“Illegal? Why? Noctis Fortress accepts all displaced people.”
“Most who enter illegally are trying to hide their status as slaves, but what’s odd is that this woman uses a sword. Swordsmanship doesn’t just manifest in anyone, but it’s not a skill that discriminates based on status either. So, I asked a mercenary skilled in swordsmanship… and it seems her style is likely the Powley style.”
“...Powley style?”
“It’s a swordsmanship style developed by the Powley family from the Kingdom of Elgort.”
“Powley?” Maurice tilted his head in confusion. The surname sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he had heard it before. It was a name that was clearly engraved in his memory, but strangely, he couldn’t recall when he had encountered it. Maurice frowned in frustration.
Seeing Maurice’s reaction, the informant seemed to think he had taken too long to get to the point and quickly continued.
“First of all, it’s clear that Najane Schnicks comes from the Kingdom of Elgort. So, I focused the investigation on mercenaries from Elgort… but unfortunately, there’s no information about her family. How she got into the fortress is secondary; it’s as if she just fell from the sky…”
“Wait. Did you say Powley?”
Maurice, who had been lost in thought, suddenly waved both hands and spoke urgently. The informant, startled, nodded.
“Ah, yes. The swordsmanship that Najane Schnicks uses is the Powley style…”
Maurice, slowly piecing together his memories, closed his eyes. If he focused, he felt he could clearly recall where he had heard the surname before. Frowning in frustration as he wandered through his memories, Maurice suddenly slapped his knee hard.
Luna Powley!
The slave that Lucas had received as a gift from Kieron!
Maurice’s eyes brightened as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. The informant stared at him, bewildered. Maurice, with a wide grin, shook the informant’s hand enthusiastically as if to thank him.
“You’ve been truly useful, you know that? Well done, very well done!”
Jumping up from his seat, Maurice ordered the maids to treat the informant with the utmost respect before hurriedly running upstairs.
He was eager to share the news with Lucas. Imagining how pleased Lucas would be made Maurice smile brightly. He didn’t know what kind of relationship Najane and Luna had, but since they were both connected to the Powley family, there had to be a connection between them.
Lucas had been quite fond of Luna for some time. Although he was no longer able to abuse slaves like he used to due to his deteriorating health, once his damaged face had healed, he would surely take Luna into his arms. Luna was beautiful, and she had caught Lucas’ attention in many ways.
Though Maurice had not intended for this, Lucas seemed to have taken a liking to Luna, whether he wanted to or not, as she cared for him like a child.
Upon reaching the bedroom, Maurice could hear Lucas’ innocent laughter. Maurice quickly composed himself and politely knocked on the door.
It was Luna who told him to come in.
As the door opened, Maurice saw a clown performing juggling tricks while mimicking Maximón’s voice. Lucas sat on the bed, chuckling as he watched. Luna sat next to him, feeding him spoonfuls of hot oatmeal filled with honey.
The spoon wavered in the air like a dry twig swaying in the north wind as it approached Lucas’ mouth. Luna seemed to be very afraid of him. She had seen what happened to the slaves who were summoned to Lucas’ underground chambers.
Maurice found satisfaction in the fact that Luna was afraid of Lucas. The more fear she had, the more likely she would comply and give up easily. Without anyone giving her orders, Luna continued to feed Lucas the porridge, wearing clothes so thin that her skin was almost fully visible. She even wiped the sweat off Lucas’ body and changed his chamber pot, even though no one had told her to.
Lucas also embraced Luna every night as he fell asleep. Ever since they started sharing a bed, Lucas had become a little less whiny and irritable. To Lucas, Luna was the perfect doll—beautiful and obedient, always meeting his one-sided demands and whims.
Maurice glanced at the clown, who was still hopping around like a frog, missing a few juggling tricks.
Should he tell Lucas about the connection between Najane and Luna now?
Edwin had suspected Lucas’ ability to father children ever since Lucas began sexually abusing slaves after settling in Noctis Fortress. Lucas had displayed a sadistic streak as soon as he rented this mansion, but so far, there had been no pregnant slaves.
Perhaps the slaves had miscarried due to the excessive abuse without even realizing it. Maurice hoped this was the case. Lucas had been prone to frequent illness from a young age, and the aftereffects had caused his skin to wrinkle like that of an old man.
The doctors had insisted that even if Lucas survived, he would never live a normal life. Although Lucas had defied those predictions and lived, Maurice still wondered if he might be infertile. If that were the case, it would be clear what would become of Lucas’ position in the Elgort family.
Maurice wanted Lucas to succeed Edwin and become the true head of the Elgort family.
It was absurd for someone like Maximón, who had no noble blood, to inherit the title. Maurice, standing by the door, watched Lucas intently. Lucas, so engrossed in the clown’s antics, didn’t even notice him enter.
Perhaps once his broken face healed and Lucas became healthy enough to embrace Luna, Maurice would talk about Najane Schnicks.
Lucas would likely not abuse Luna the way he did with other slaves. Maurice didn’t expect too much from Luna. He only needed her to carry Lucas’ child. Once Lucas proved he had the ability to father children, Luna could be disposed of as needed. Thankfully, there was still time. As long as Najane remained a knight in Romsoa, time was on Lucas’ side.
Yes. This time, he had to make sure it worked.
Edwin had always been a kind father, but he wasn’t foolish or incompetent enough to pass on his title to a son who couldn’t produce heirs.
Maurice carefully approached Lucas. Luna, glancing at Maurice, withdrew her spoon. Lucas, who had been muttering through his broken teeth, finally looked up at Maurice. He waved his arm towards the clown. At that, the clown quickly shut his mouth.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m sorry. I was wondering if you needed more painkillers…”
“I can handle it now. It’s not the first time I’ve been through worse than this from that bastard.”
Lucas smiled bitterly as he remembered Maximón, punching his own face in anger.
“Who gave the order to investigate?”
Lucas asked irritably, stroking Luna’s thigh. Luna flinched, quickly feeding him another spoonful of oatmeal. Though Luna wanted to slap away Lucas’ hand, which was lewdly rubbing the inside of her thigh, she held back the impulse and moved mechanically.
Maurice lowered his head respectfully.
“I’m sorry. I’m still looking into it.”
“You useless bastard! How much money did I give you, and you’re still saying you’re looking into it?”
Faced with Lucas’ fury, Maurice bowed his head even lower, looking utterly ashamed. Lucas, still fuming, glared at the clown with disdain. The clown, sensing the atmosphere, let out an odd laugh and began manipulating some puppets with both hands.
It was a puppet show. The clown mimicked Maximón’s deep voice, handling the shabby stuffed puppets as though they were his own.
Luna, scraping the almost empty bowl with her spoon, glanced at Maurice. She looked at him with a pleading expression, silently asking him to take her away from this place. But Maurice coldly turned and left the room. Luna squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again, forcing a smile as she looked at Lucas.
Just then, Lucas, who had been watching the clown’s antics, turned to look at Luna. The noon sunlight illuminated Luna’s chest and abdomen, making the contours of her body clearly visible. Luna felt Lucas’ gaze shamelessly scanning her exposed body.
If her shattered cheekbones had healed even a little, she would have been raped by now.
Her body trembled with fear and shame, but Luna forced herself to smile as brightly as possible to survive.
It felt like she was going to lose her mind if she stayed here any longer. The people working in the mansion were indifferent to Luna, the clown repeated the same tricks and puppet show every day, and Lucas, like a madman, enjoyed it every time.
Luna smiled so hard it felt like her face would cramp. She missed her sister. When Luna woke up in the basement and cried out for Emaydis, the strict-looking maid had run over and whipped her mercilessly.
Luna cried like a child from the pain, and the maid didn’t stop beating her until Luna’s tears had stopped.
The poor thing, Luna didn’t know anything. She didn’t understand why she was dragged to this mansion, how she became a slave, where the vassals who had been traveling with them to the Astien Empire had gone, or what Emaydis was doing…
She believed that in just a few days, Emaydis would come looking for her. The two of them had never been apart for long. She cried so much when the governess told her that she and Emaydis would have to sleep in separate rooms when they grew up.
Eventually, Luna couldn’t get used to sleeping alone that night and secretly went to find Emaydis. Emaydis, as if she knew Luna would come, let her rest on her arm and told her old stories until they both fell asleep.
Though the two were close in age, Emaydis had always been like a protector to Luna. To Luna, Emaydis was more than just a sister—she was like a mother. Nellis, who gave birth to them, had never shown the same love for her children as a mother would.
So Luna always stayed close to Emaydis. Whenever Luna was about to fall while running, Emaydis would hold her hand and run with her. When Luna was forbidden from eating desserts because her teeth were decaying, Emaydis secretly brought her chocolate cookies. If they got caught eating them, they’d run away together and get punished together.
The two of them had lived in confinement at the Powley mansion, so they were each other’s everything. Even when Luna was engaged before Emaydis, she cried, unable to bear the thought of leaving her sister behind.
Nellis had wanted to hurry and marry them off to other families because, as time passed, people began to suspect that Luna resembled Nellis and Leon.
Luna feared being hated by Nellis. Despite being the product of an affair, Luna tried to convince herself that she was born out of love. Believing that made her less afraid.
There were times when Luna hated Emaydis, especially when Emaydis practiced swordsmanship with Mikael. Luna was scared of being disliked by Nellis, and she wished her sister would quit practicing.
Luna knew the real reason Emaydis clung to her swordsmanship. Emaydis didn’t resemble anyone—not Nellis, not Leon, not anyone.
She probably thought that being able to use the Powley style was the only link she had to her mother.
Though Luna understood that feeling, she couldn’t help but resent how it troubled Nellis. Now, Luna regretted it. She would have preferred Emaydis to be alive somewhere, even if she had to keep using the sword. It didn’t matter if Emaydis forgot about her. It would be fine if she was relieved that the annoying little sister who followed her everywhere was gone.
At that moment, Lucas suddenly grabbed Luna’s hand. Luna flinched and instinctively smiled.
“Not fun?”
Lucas tilted his head slightly. The eyes looking at Luna shone with a chilling madness. Luna forced back tears and smiled brightly.
“…Of course not. It’s so much fun, young master. Can I also imitate other people’s voices like that clown?”
“Well? You can start slowly with animals. Try a dog’s whine, no, wait. A pig. The sound of a piglet oinking. Quickly!”
Without hesitation, Luna made a pig oinking sound. Lucas burst into laughter and pointed to the empty space on the bed, commanding.
“Crawl like a piglet, on all fours!”
Luna lay down on the bed and slowly crawled around, imitating a pig. Luna smiled lifelessly to please Lucas. It was alright. If she could just stay alive until she met Emaydis, she could endure anything more than this.
Lucas laughed until the bedroom shook. The clown, regardless of what Lucas and Luna were doing, climbed onto the rocking horse and imitated mating animals. As Luna, who had crawled to the edge of the bed, turned to return to her spot, Lucas gestured for her to come closer. An uneasy feeling arose, but Luna obediently approached Lucas.
“Turn around.”
Luna swallowed hard and kept her mouth shut, prostrating herself like a dog. Lucas lifted Luna’s thin, fluttering clothes. Her buttocks and thighs were covered in half-healed wounds. Lucas, stroking her exposed genitals, struck her thigh with a wide whip without warning. Luna screamed. But Lucas didn’t stop and mercilessly beat her white skin.
Lucas quickly became breathless. Even with a little exertion, pain surged due to his twisted face, and his entire face throbbed because of the bone fragments that hadn’t settled despite the healing procedures.
After catching his breath, Lucas licked the area where blood had formed. Luna trembled all over from the pain. Lucas scratched the wounds he had inflicted with his fingernails and commanded.
“You have to imitate a pig, Luna. Repeat after me, oink.”
Luna, her face flushed red from the pain, obeyed Lucas’ command. Lucas licked her scarred thighs and buttocks, contentedly enjoying the sound of his lovely slave snorting like a sow.
Luna was a treasure he had painstakingly found in Noctis Fortress. He had owned many slaves who were said to be beautiful, but none were as perfectly beautiful as Luna. Lucas, who had momentarily put down the whip because of the pain in his face, picked it up again.
Soon, the sound of the clown’s laughter and the sound of the whip lashing echoed through the empty hallway.