Chapter 235 - You Could Be in for a Rude Awakening

* * *

'I have to do something.'

Arbella, the woman with short green hair and white clothing, was anxious.

Being reprimanded by Maia? Of course that had hurt. She had disgraced her beloved princess by mishandling the Black Dragon Princess's reception, and the guilt made her want to bite off her own tongue.

But what made her most anxious was Barbara's behavior when she delivered Maia's orders.

'Barbara, you fucking bitch!'

Thanks to Arbella's mistake, Barbara had been assigned to entertain the Black Dragon Princess and would get to distinguish herself. She was ever so grateful.

Remembering her sister's smug words, Arbella's expression turned venomous.

She might have tolerated losing to anyone else. But she could not stand falling behind that idiot, who had the very same face as her yet not a shred of talent for medicine or pharmacology.

All the more so when Maia's foremost aide's position was at stake.

'I have to distinguish myself and make up for this mistake!'

That was why Arbella had come to Limon's lodgings before dawn. She had to uncover the secrets of this man, who might or might not belong to the Black Dragon Clan, as quickly as possible so she could pay Barbara back for mocking her.

Burning with determination, she arrived outside Limon's room and immediately flung the door open.

"How long do you intend to sleep, slave? Get up alrea—!"

"Hey, good morning."

Arbella's eyes widened, and she blurted out a question.

"Why are you awake?"

"Why else? A slave should naturally get up early to prepare for his mistress's awakening."

"... It's four in the morning."

"Hmm, so that is a little late? Then starting tomorrow, I'll have everything ready by three."

She had meant to badger him while he was still sleepy, then pry something out of him while he was too muddled to think. Finding Limon already awake at this ungodly hour had thwarted that plan, leaving her briefly discomfited.

Then she noticed something amiss and challenged him again.

"Wait. Why are you speaking so casually to me? A slave should show proper respect."

"Why should I?"

"What did you say?"

"I agreed to serve your princess. I never agreed to be your slave. So I've no reason to speak respectfully to you."

Limon's answer was blunt. Folding his arms, he gave her a sidelong look and casually asked,

"Or do you enjoy secretly appropriating your princess's possessions and feeling pleased with yourself?"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Then you shouldn't mind me speaking casually."

"..."

'What the hell is wrong with this man...?'

Arbella found herself speechless. It was utterly preposterous bullshit, but when she tried to refute it, she had nothing to say.

Ever since the Green Dragon Clan's system of slavery had been established following “that incident” in the distant past, a slave was, in principle, the private property of their owner. Only that owner was entitled to their service.

That went without saying when the owner was the Green Dragon Princess herself. No one could treat the princess's possessions carelessly, however insignificant they might be.

But even so!

A man who had become a slave only yesterday was flaunting his status as the princess's property and acting superior. Even Arbella, who had seen her fair share of slaves, was astounded by his shamelessness.

"So what do you want?"

"Pardon?"

"Whether you've got work for me or something to tell me, you must have some reason for coming at this ungodly hour."

For a moment, she was disconcerted by his unruffled attitude as he even pressed her for an answer. Then Arbella shook her head.

"Fine. Follow me, then. I'll teach you what you must do as the princess's slave."

Although she could not make Limon work without the princess's orders, there was nothing wrong with teaching him his duties.

And now that it had come to this, Arbella privately resolved to give him a very thorough education in those duties.

But she had no idea just how absurd that resolution was.

* * *

["I wonder if the Team Leader will really be all right..."]

"Are you worried?"

["Of course I'm worried. With his personality, there's no way he'll meekly play the slave, is there?"]

Yu Na-gyeong sighed. He had put on a splendid performance in the banquet hall, but that was all it was: a performance.

Knowing Limon's true personality as well as she did, she felt as though they had left a ticking time bomb unattended.

["Besides, swordplay is all he knows. Could he even do whatever they tell him to do properly? He'll just make a mess."]

As she grumbled that they might deem him useless even as a slave, force him into clinical experiments, and end up fighting him, Li Qingyu spoke with a curious expression.

"Well, will he really?"

["Huh?"]

"I see things a little differently."

["Differently? In what way?"]

Yu Na-gyeong tilted her head, utterly unable to understand what part of her argument could possibly be disputed. Li Qingyu smiled at her.

"Many people make this mistake, but the Sword Lord is not merely a swordsman."

["Then what is he?"]

"A swordsman who has lived for a very long time."

["I know that too, you know."]

"Yes, you know it. But I doubt you understand it."

Li Qingyu's smile deepened as she watched the nonplussed Yu Na-gyeong.

Starting a fire. Finding and carrying water. Obtaining food that was safe to eat.

Unlike the modern era, when technological advances had made everything simple, even the smallest task had required complicated effort in the distant past.

Travelers and mercenaries in particular, who roamed from place to place, had needed to be proficient at all manner of chores.

And Limon, who had routinely wandered the world to hunt the Seven Dragons Society or find potential disciples, was a more accomplished traveler and seasoned veteran than anyone.

Whenever Limon called himself a swordsman who knew nothing but swordplay, it also meant that he knew how to do everything a swordsman needed to do.

Could such a man fail at mere slaves' chores?

No, even if he did, would it matter?

"Above all, he is a Sword Master."

What did that have to do with anything?

The question might as well have been written on Yu Na-gyeong's face. Li Qingyu smiled at her.

"With his perfect body and superhuman senses, anyone who treats him like an ordinary person could be in for a rude awakening."

* * *

"... What on earth are you?"

"What?"

"Were you a slave before? Or are you some sort of professional slave?"

"What kind of occupation is 'professional slave'?"

Limon looked incredulous, as though he had never heard anything so bizarre in all his life.

But Arbella was even more incredulous.

From the early hours before dawn until now, she had made Limon try every conceivable slave's duty. Not merely to make him suffer, but to glean even the smallest clue to his identity.

People might sneer that she owed her advancement to her mother's achievements, but she was still Quetzalcoatl's chief researcher.

Simply by observing what he could and could not do, she had been confident she could get a rough idea of the life Limon had led and the special talents he concealed.

But Limon had shattered that confidence.

"If you're not a professional slave, why are you so used to doing slave work?"

She had not even given him a vacuum cleaner, yet he had cleaned so thoroughly that scarcely a speck of dust remained.

He had happily eaten bread so stale that it had gone beyond rock-hard and was on the verge of growing mold.

She had deliberately assigned him to sort foreign correspondence, and he had organized everything without hesitation, whether it was written in English, Chinese, or Egyptian.

Whatever she set him to do, there was nothing he could not handle. Far from learning anything, she only grew more suspicious the more she watched him.

Limon's answer to her question was simple.

"Slave work? This is just the basics."

"The basics? Even polishing an old statue until it looks brand-new with nothing but a rag?"

"A rag is enough. What else would you need? In my younger days, slaves were often made to clean without even being given a rag."

"What country were you living in as a slave before you came here...?"

Arbella looked appalled. Coming from Limon, who seemed so accustomed to slave work, those words did not sound remotely like a joke.

Whether he knew how she felt or not, Limon spoke nonchalantly.

"I've more or less learned how to do the odd jobs now. Teach me the most important duty."

"The most important duty?"

"A slave's most important duty is to attend and serve his mistress, isn't it?"

"... You intend to attend the princess? You?"

"Why? Am I not allowed?"

It took only an instant for the suspicion on her face to turn into the look one gave a complete fucking lunatic.

"There's no need. Such an occasion will hardly ever arise, and if it does, Barbara or I will attend to her personally."

"You or your older sister attend to her?"

"Leaving aside the fact that I'm the older sister...what is that look supposed to mean?"

"I was just thinking your princess has some pretty peculiar tastes."

"Why are you looking at me when you say that?"

Arbella thought to herself that, whatever Limon's true identity might be, he was certainly a professional slave with a genius for inviting a whipping.

But despite inwardly grinding her teeth, Arbella eventually led Limon to a room.

It lay on the lowest level of Quetzalcoatl's headquarters, before an artificial garden deep underground, accessible only after passing through several security doors and a long passage.

"This is as far as you're allowed to come."

"Normally, you are to wait here until the princess summons you. Enter this garden without permission, and you'll die."

"Even if you enter, don't stay long. And if you value your life, don't even think of going near the room at the back of the garden."

"Show that insolent attitude to the princess, and I'll kill you myself."

Advice, or threats?

She had punctuated every sentence with a warning. Then, as though this were the most important point, her expression grew serious for the first time.

"And one more thing. Avoid approaching the princess if possible, and above all, do not touch her royal person under any circumstances."

"Under any circumstances?"

"Never."

There would be no exceptions, whatever the situation. Arbella made that perfectly clear, then concluded with a cold look at Limon.

"If you want an easy death, you'd better remember my warning."

"All right, I'll keep it in mind."

"... Did you really understand what I said?"

"Don't worry. I understood perfectly."

Arbella felt uneasy. She could not be certain that this man, whose nonchalance verged on shamelessness, had truly taken her advice to heart.

But that feeling soon passed. Instead, she snorted as though this suited her just fine.

'Hmph. Just try acting that insolent in front of the princess. Then you'll learn how a real slave should behave.'

At the slightest breach of etiquette, she would find fault with him, work him to the bone, and pry out his secrets.

With that thought, Arbella smiled in satisfaction.

Until, a short while later, she saw how Limon behaved after Maia summoned him into the garden.

"May the blessings of life that overflow throughout the forest and glory more vast than the earth accompany my mistress, who has comprehended every principle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, whose wisdom surpasses the gods and whose authority runs deeper than death. Your lowly slave, Lee, humbly offers his greetings."

"... Arbella, did you not take his slave training a little too far?"

"..."