Chapter 11

No one resented the fact that their lord was a slave beneath them anymore.

Even those who took great pride in the fact that they were from Dinamis could not stand up to Riorem.

Dinamis Castle was Riorem’s second grant from the king.

It was also the closest to the royal capital.

This meant that the lord of Dinamis was either the king’s closest confidant or someone of similar status to the king.

Dinamis Castle was originally held by one of the king’s cousins.

Being a foreigner and a mercenary, it was not a fief that Riorem could take over.

So at first, neither King Arete nor Riorem thought of granting Dinamis, which had become vacant after the lord’s death, to Riorem.

The nobility would surely rebel.

Besides, Riorem wasn’t just any mercenary.

From the time he was a mercenary, Riorem had made no secret of his origins, so everyone knew that he was the third-clan slave of the Second Princess of Peroa.

For this reason, the first estate he was given was over a mountain range.

But eventually, King Arete gave him the castle.

Rather than preying on his weaknesses, it was far more profitable to keep him where he could be easily summoned and called upon whenever he needed him.

It was the greatest thing he had ever done.

‘Though it’s made me a lot of trouble, of course.

Soon they reached the marketplace.

The market was permanent.

The number of people coming and going was constant every day.

The goods for sale were almost always the same.

Still, a stranger to the market would not know that the goods were there yesterday.

Riorem quietly studied the woman on the saddle.

Her expression was barely visible through the veil.

If anything, her movements were more aggressive than usual.

Chernea’s eyes darted around her surroundings.

She had rarely been outside the duchy, let alone the marketplace, so everything was new to her.

‘Yes, admire it.’

Riorem watched her, feeling quite uplifted.

I’ve been desperate for this.

Anything I could do to increase my value.

I was desperately greedy.

I killed viciously and survived desperately.

And when that wasn’t enough, I grabbed whatever goods and power I could find.

That was why he was looking back at his estate now.

‘Don’t strain your legs, you’ll fall.’

‘Oh, I’ve been looking too hard.’

The shadows beneath her veil made it nearly impossible to see Chernea’s expression.

But Riorem had no doubt that those piercing golden eyes were taking in every detail of this street.

Besides, unlike Riorem, Chernea was honest.

‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’

Her red lips twitched.

‘You drink a different flavour of tea here than we do. Goat’s milk, perhaps? The Duchy
I’m not that far from the duchy.’

Perhaps it was because of her more restricted upbringing than the average noblewoman, but Chernea found even the simplest things interesting.

Come to think of it, I suppose I used to be like that.

Who else would have been so interested in a Seth slave who stole the towel I wiped my feet with and masturbated to it?

So I wanted it.

I wanted it because it came to me first, on a subject I dared not lay my eyes on.

I wanted to be the one who could open the door to the bedroom, not the one who hid in the bedroom at the behest of a benevolent master.

The idea of paying for it also began.

I wanted to be able to pay the enormous price that the Grand Duke had set for me, to have the right to monopolise Chernea Antonietta del Peroa.

So I endeavoured not to be a slave, not to be a mercenary, not to be a man in need of money, not to be a foreign soldier who had just been given a castle, not to be a man with no authority.

Until he realised that even then, he’d never be good enough for the Grand Duke to hand over Chernea…..

And he didn’t even need a reunion to realise it.

Reality had denied him as much power as he could ever hope to gain.

Because of that flag running up now.

‘General Riorem!’

He thought he heard the sound of hooves somewhere, and then a man on horseback rode out from the other side of the market.

The horse and rider were swift in their movements, but they were not knights of Castle Dinamis.

After all, Dinamis is on a river, so it tends to be quite humid.

That man’s wife rarely got covered in rum dust.

That meant the man was from outside.

Perhaps from the nearest city.

The man who had found Yonquedo Riorem approached the two.

A flagpole extended from the saddle, the flag fluttered in a lightning bolt.

‘General Riorem, there you are.’

The man dismounted and bowed stiffly to Riorem.

As he did so, the man revealed an object in his arms.

It was a parchment with a seal.

Riorem’s face contorted as he saw it.

The man’s precious parchment and the seal on the outside confirmed it.

It was the king’s messenger.

‘The ruler of this land, the wise and prudent Lord of Arete, seeks you.’

‘For what?’

Riorem asked, his voice cold.

As if familiar with Riorem’s reaction, the messenger replied.

‘A report from the last expedition, of course.’

The messenger’s expression was so confident it was almost condescending.

Riorem furrowed his brow.

This was ridiculous.

For three months, Arete’s soldiers, led by Riorem, attacked the Duchy of Peroa.

The duchy had fallen only a few days ago.

Or to put it another way, it was only five days ago that Riorem returned to the kingdom of Arete.

Of course, the distance between the two countries isn’t that great.

But Riorem hadn’t had a week’s rest from his departure to now.

‘And yet you’ve come all the way to the castle just to report.’

But there was no way he could refuse.

With a grimace of annoyance, Riorem took the parchment.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he signed his name at the end.

‘I’ll be on my way in half an hour.’

‘I can give you an hour.’

The messenger took the parchment and flicked his fingers at his clothes.

Only then did Riorem look down at my attire.

A plain shirt and trousers.

A far cry from the way I’d spent the morning dressing Chernea.

I had spent the morning dressing Chernea.

It was unbecoming of a king who treated himself as a tool and an ornament.

The corner of Riorem’s mouth twitched.

He couldn’t hold back the sarcasm as he realised why the messenger had given me time.

‘Very considerate.’

As soon as the messenger left, Riorem headed back to the castle with me.

The ride back was much easier than the ride there.

No need to watch me stumble along.

Without prompting, Riorem, as he knew me, put me on his horse.

Once back at the castle, it was the same story.

He dismounted and carried me to the bedroom, where he dropped me off at the door.

He didn’t say a word to me afterwards.

Not that there seemed to be time for that.

He moved swiftly, washing and even dressing himself in a matter of moments.

He acted as if he could not afford to be late at the king’s sudden summons.

As if the king didn’t want to be caught with the slightest pod.

While Riorem was preparing to go out in the room that led to the bedroom, I stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

‘Of course, I’d like to at least sit on the sofa…….

But I couldn’t get any strength in my legs.

I had just passed out in the first place,

I had just passed out, and I couldn’t move because of the bumpy road.

Riorem, who had finished getting ready, found me.

‘Hah…….’

He let out a long sigh and scooped me up in a quick hug.

As he carried me to the bed, I admired his appearance.

Even dressed, Riorem only looked long and lean at first glance, so I was surprised when he lifted me up with one hand.

It seemed strange that this man could lift me up on one hand.

But Riorem’s body is not what it seems.

Although I hadn’t seen him use it

I hadn’t seen him use it properly.

Soon, he set me down on the bed.

‘I’m not going to let anyone in the bedroom this time, so you’re out. Don’t. Not a single step from here.’

As he said this, Riorem’s outfit was quite extravagant.

His robes were very colourful.

Dark blue, similar to the colour of his eyes.

The fabric looked quite luxurious, and the silver thread embroidery on it was
was very elaborate.

His belt was equally impressive.

The silver-trimmed belt had several sharply cut lapis lazuli stones dangling from it.

The belt accentuated the silhouette of Riorem’s otherwise form-fitting clothes.