Chapter 16

From the way she didn’t take her eyes off me from start to finish, it was clear I was her objective.

Her brown eyes scanned the cloth veil covering my hair and face, meticulously.

Including the shadowed area beneath it where my eyes were hidden.

By now, I had a good sense of why the maid had snuck into the bedroom.

She was probably here to check my eyes.

I recalled what Teumesia had said:

“What do you mean, ‘so what’? Rumors are bound to spread all over Arete that the general brought a woman with red hair and golden eyes. How can you say such a thing?”

The fact that “the rumors haven’t spread yet” meant the maids who bathed me hadn’t clearly seen my features.

It made sense.

On the day I arrived here, I had been so offended by the poor treatment that I kept my head down the whole time.

The lighting in the bath and bedroom was dim as well.

So even if someone claimed my eyes were golden like those of the Serpantov royal family, none of the maids present would’ve been sure of it.

“But if it were just ordinary curiosity, she wouldn’t have checked while her master was away. Let alone bringing a knife.”

Thinking that, I half-closed my eyes.

Perhaps encouraged by my submissive demeanor, the maid lowered the hand holding the knife.

Her empty hand slowly reached for the cloth covering my hair—bit by bit. The distance between us shrank.

Eventually, the maid reached the side of the bed and touched the veil.

The moment she grabbed it, as if to sweep away the shadow over my face—

I slapped her across the cheek without mercy.

Smack!

With a sharp sound, the maid lost her balance and tumbled onto the bed.

The knife she had been holding rolled off to the opposite side of the bed.

Before she could regain her balance, I grabbed her by the hair.

She screamed as I yanked her scalp.

“Aaaagh!”

I immediately picked up a pillow and shoved it over her face.

I couldn’t risk the sound leaking outside.

Mmgh, mmph.

Mmph, mmph.

Her muffled screams thudded dully under the pillow.

“Be quiet. If you make too much noise, I might just kill you.”

I tried saying it as sweetly as I could, but it was no use.

The maid flailed her arms, trying to scratch me.

In the end, I pressed the pillow down harder with my weight and pinned her wrist with my knee.

Clank, clank.

Every time the maid struggled, the chain connected to my collar clattered noisily.

Whether that sound terrified her or she truly feared for her life, the maid started to sob beneath the pillow.

I cleared my throat, trying to speak in an even gentler tone.

“There’s no need to worry too much. I’ll only suffocate you to the point where you don’t die.”

But before I could finish my comforting words, the maid’s body went limp.

I removed the pillow and checked if she was still breathing.

Then, I laid her flat on the floor.

This was all for Riorem, who wanted me to be jealous of other women.

“He even wanted me to be upset about someone entering the bedroom, so it makes sense he’d hate it even more if someone climbed onto the bed.”

It was a bit of trouble, but I didn’t mind.

She would need to lie flat for her consciousness to return anyway.

Next, I untied my waist sash, wrapped it around the woman’s neck, and secured the other end to the bedpost.

This way, when she woke and struggled again, she’d pass out from suffocation once more.

“To think I’m doing this much for a woman.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

The knots I used to control a sex partner’s breath—used like this.

Not even Riorem had experienced that.

But it couldn’t be helped.

I didn’t want to get into another scuffle, not knowing when Riorem might return.

“I wonder when he’ll come back…”

Hopefully, he gets to the bed faster than the woman lying over there.

Thinking such thoughts, I closed my eyes.

I needed at least a bit of rest if I wanted to regain my strength.

Fortunately, Riorem returned before the woman regained consciousness.

“…And what is this now?”

Riorem, who had entered the bedroom without a sound, asked.

He wasn’t empty-handed. In his hand was a tray, carrying some fruit and bread-like food.

I pointed to the bowl of water placed at the center of the tray.

“Could you give me some water? I used up too much energy without having eaten anything—my throat is so sore.”

Riorem furrowed his brow.

Whether it was because he found it absurd that I was still treating him like a servant even in this situation, or because my hoarse voice bothered him—I couldn’t tell.

Still, judging by his expression, it seemed he didn’t like the fact that I hadn’t eaten for two full days.

Riorem set the tray down on the bedside table—within arm’s reach from the bed.

But I waited until he handed the cup to me himself.

I was far too tired to get up just to reach for it.

A long silence followed.

To prod him into action, I tossed something at him—an item I had picked up earlier.

It was the knife the maid had brought.

For a brief moment, his blue eyes lingered on the exposed blade, unsheathed.

At last, Riorem poured the water into a cup and handed it to me.

I took a slow sip of the water.

Only then did I respond to Riorem’s earlier question.

“Your maid came to me with a knife—to see if I really had the golden eyes of the Serpantov royal family.”

Even while I was emptying the cup, Riorem said nothing.

As I handed him the empty cup, I asked,

“Have anyone in mind?”

For a maid to come see me in person, taking advantage of Riorem ‘s absence—there had to be someone backing her. Someone whose influence made even Teumesia’s warning meaningless.

“…About five people come to mind.”

“You have quite a few enemies, Riorem.”

It wasn’t surprising.

Power always came with enemies, and Riorem had no real roots in this country at all.

However, it wasn’t a good sign.

“How are things with the Areté royal family? Is the king firmly supporting you? Or is it a situation where he could abandon you if things go wrong?”

“What would you do with that information?”

“So… things aren’t looking great, huh.”

His answer alone made it clear.

Though the King of Areté was certainly Riorem’s biggest supporter, he clearly wasn’t truly on Riorem’s side.

I buried myself back into the pillow.

“I didn’t know the exact state of affairs within the Kingdom of Areté… but I didn’t think your situation was this bad. So many enemies, and even your allies seem uncertain.”

“So what? If you had known how precarious it was, would you have chosen not to follow me?”
Riorem spoke in a cold voice.

“Are you disappointed? That this slave who dared to become a general doesn’t even have proper allies? No, you wouldn’t feel disappointment. You’d just find it funny. That I’m still nothing.”

“You’re saying strange things again.”

“What’s strange about it? You thought it was laughable, didn’t you? If not, why did you even say you wanted to put something so damned ridiculous into—!”

“Wait. Just stop for a moment, Riorem.”

I couldn’t keep up with his thoughts and tried to calm him down.

I really had no idea what he was going on about.

He asked if I was disappointed, and now he was getting angry.

And now he’s bringing up what happened a few days ago?

But even at my words, Riorem didn’t calm down.

Rather, he began glaring at me with clenched teeth.

“Why is it that you’re completely fine, even with your life on the line? While I, because of one thing you said, turned into an idiot who can’t even think straight?”

How was I supposed to calm this man down?

Luckily—or perhaps unluckily—Riorem didn’t get a chance to continue.

A more urgent sound interrupted from beyond the bedroom door.

Knock.

Knock-knock-knock.

A series of hurried knocks rang out.

“My lord, a letter has arrived from the royal palace.”

The butler’s voice was tinged with anxiety.

A letter from the king, then.

I quietly looked into Riorem’s eyes.

I recalled the event from a few days ago—how Riorem had responded immediately to a rather unreasonable summons from the palace.

A man like that wouldn’t delay in checking a letter from the king.

If my guess is right… then the king must know that, too.

Riorem’s throat bobbed with a heavy swallow.

Then, in a far calmer voice than before, he spoke:

“Leave it.”

The butler, having heard the answer, cautiously opened the bedroom door.

Through the narrow crack, something was pushed in—a trolley bearing a golden tray.

Creeeeak.

Without even glancing into the room, the butler pushed the trolley in and closed the door behind him.

Watching this, Riorem suddenly seemed to remember something and called after the servant.

“Bring me Teumesia.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Riorem walked past the unconscious maid and approached the trolley.