Without any hesitation, she untied her waistband and put her hand inside her trousers, digging to produce more herbs.
“How dare you do such a thing in front of His Grace?!”
Chloe winced at the guard’s scolding, but after calmly unpacking the flowers and fixing her trousers in place, she responded, “I did not have a bag for carrying the herbs…so I had to use my trousers.”
The guard clicked his tongue at the impropriety. Too embarrassed to observe their reactions, she sat back down and began feeding more leaves to the horse.
Even though Alexandro remained silent, his face unchanged; he was secretly shocked by Chloe’s actions.
A girl would do such a thing? The women that he knew—regardless of their social class—were all perfect on the outside like well-dressed dolls, but sly as snakes on the inside. They would do anything to save their faces and thoroughly ensure that their interests were safe. Even though they always smiled and pretended to care about him, underneath their masks, they were full of greed.
All talk and no action.
Alexandro didn’t have a relationship with women for some time now, or had even spoken with them, eliciting rumors that he simply hated them. Unlike most other aristocratic men, who had ties with certain ladies who ran high-class brothels, he refused to do business with women.
However, this anxious little slave girl was, without a trace of pride or shame, acting like a man—no, worse than that. She was not only dressed as a boy, but her hair was also messy and unkempt. Despite her white, thin legs and round breasts, she could easily pass as a man, if she wore a loose shirt.
What a strange girl. He dismissed the thoughts about the slave girl in front of him.
“He ate all of the herbs that I have harvested today. I will continue monitoring him and feeding him some more,” Chloe reported, turning slowly towards them and bowing her head. This prevented Alexandro from seeing her face.
“When will he be fully recovered?”
“Perhaps…he will need a week to regain his strength, and at most another week until he can be ridden again.”
“You have given me your word.”
“I, I shall do my utmost, sir.”
He left the stables as soon as she replied. He no longer had anything to do with the place. The sound of his unstoppable footsteps faded into the distance.
Chloe raised her head only after she could no longer hear him.
“Phew…”
The Archduke put people on edge. She had been breaking out in cold sweats during her conversation with him. This did not surprise her—had she not witnessed what he was capable of? Unlike the long hikes up and down Nalusuwan, her twenty-minute interaction with the Archduke exhausted her completely. She felt weakness all over her body, and her legs began shaking.
I hope I never see him again. Chloe was conscious that seeing this terrifying man regularly would end up depleting, destroying her soul. Her palms were damp with sweat.
“Hey, slave girl, you will remain here until the horse has fully recovered.”
Chloe stared at the guard in disbelief.
“You must be held responsible if anything happens to him. You can’t go anywhere.” As if telling her that no one would ever miss a slave, the guard turned around to leave.
“W…wait! Sir, please tell Lady Anna of the Cupiheat Mansion that I will not be able to come and serve her.”
The guard swung back and peered at Chloe. “Fine,” he replied half-heartedly and strutted out of the stables.
The stables were actually quite clean, and far nicer than the slaves’ quarters. Only the smell bothered her. Chloe sat herself down on a nearby pile of hay, the onslaught of thoughts rammed into her.
She was worried about Anna, but with the previous event, she felt more concerned about herself. Her unexpected encounter with the Archduke still rattled her.
Thank heavens, he did not recognize me at all. It had already been about two months since their first meeting at the palace in Elpasa, but she remembered him clearly. On the other hand, it seemed that he had no memories of her.
She chuckled to herself. Of course, he didn’t recognize me. Back at the palace, she was an elegant princess, clad in an exquisite dress, with long hair styled by maids. Also, given the large number of foreigners living in the empire, he might have seen a few others with dark hairs. She felt relieved of this
It did not matter whether or not he knew that she had been a princess—no, actually—it was better for him not to know. She wished to remain just a passing slave, not at all memorable to the Archduke. Getting noticed by him could never be a good thing. She trembled at her memory of that crazy knight Leo.
Then, I must cure this horse as fast as possible, and go back to the quiet life at the pharmacy.
She flung herself back onto the plush pile of hay. And stop worrying about the Archduke, knowing that fretting wouldn’t solve anything. Whether or not he recognized her, she was grateful she was still alive and was now quick about abandoning the things out of her control. Her life as a slave had taught her that this was the best way to lead a smoother, more satisfying life.
“Black horse, please get better soon and save me.” Taking a small peek while feeding him, she confirmed that the horse was male. Saving him was the only way for her to get out of the stables alive. Thankfully the animal took to the anchor flowers quite well.
I should return to the mountain tomorrow and collect more. To do this, Chloe had to stay sharp and recover her strength. Worn out from her ordeal with the Archduke, she was overcome with fatigue and could not resist the weight of her eyelids anymore…