The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The slave is far too handsome!
021.
Lucian closed his wide eyes once, then opened them again.
‘This is no dream.’
He was unmistakably in Eloise’s bedroom. Suddenly, the memory of barging in here and confronting George felt impossibly distant, like something from another lifetime.
“Mmph.”
He hadn’t misheard. Lucian moved slowly toward the sound. The soft, anguished whimper grew clearer.
“…….”
Lucian dragged his large hand across his face once. It was no dream, after all. The whimpering belonged to the sleeping Eloise.
‘Is she having a nightmare?’
It was an unbelievable sight. Without thinking, Lucian perched lightly on the edge of Eloise’s bed.
True to her usual composure, she lay peacefully with her hands clasped together as if in prayer.
‘She was really crying?’
Up close, Lucian could see moisture glistening at the corners of her eyes. In the pale blue light of dawn, her fair complexion was streaked with tears.
Eloise weeping—the sight stirred something peculiar in him.
“Mother…….”
“……!!”
At the faint, barely audible murmur, Lucian’s broad shoulders flinched. A single tear rolled down Eloise’s cheek.
“……I’ll do better.”
Unmistakably sleep talk. Lucian’s startled hand moved to steady his own chest.
‘Do better at what? She’s already doing everything perfectly.’
Then, catching sight of the transparent droplet clinging to her long lashes, Lucian found himself reaching out toward Eloise without thinking. He wanted to wipe away her tears.
In that same moment, a memory surfaced—something Brick had said once.
‘You always go soft at the strangest moments, don’t you? This bastard’s got a weak spot, I’m telling you.’
Lucian’s hand stopped in midair, lost and purposeless.
Brick had been right. Lucian was weak when it came to children, and weaker still for tears. But crying children—he was powerless against them.
‘Why did I even ask Mary about this…….’
The story he’d heard from Mary that evening circled back through his mind now.
‘The young lady and her mother were treated like leftovers.’
Lucian’s chest tightened. He ran a rough hand through his own hair.
‘Well, this is who I am. What can I do about it?’
Carefully, Lucian reached out. His thumb gently brushed away the tears that stained Eloise’s cheek. Her skin was soft beneath his callused finger.
“Don’t cry.”
“…….”
“Crying doesn’t suit you.”
Lucian murmured the words in a drowsy voice.
‘Scary as she is, smiling looks better on you than tears ever could.’
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Eloise’s expression seemed to ease. Her whimpering subsided.
That was when it happened.
Quick, hurried footsteps sounded outside. Lucian’s eyes widened. Someone was coming to the bedroom.
“Miss?”
The bedroom door swung open, and Mary appeared.
She’d rushed over after hearing from the knight standing guard that there had been sounds of distress.
“…….”
Eloise often suffered nightmares, waking in cold sweats. It was Mary, her devoted maid, who kept watch over her sleep.
Against expectations, Eloise was sleeping soundly, breathing evenly.
‘What’s that scent?’
As Mary straightened Eloise’s bedding, she sniffed the air like a hound.
It smelled like forest and something warm—vanilla, perhaps. A foreign, lingering fragrance, as if someone had just left the room.
Lucian had ducked back into his room and shut the door with barely a second to spare, his breath held tight.
‘That was close.’
If Mary had caught him sneaking about in Eloise’s chambers, if Eloise had woken—he would never see sunlight again.
Lucian slipped into bed as quietly as he could, tossing and turning for what felt like an age before sleep finally claimed him. His dreams were strange.
“Sniffle.”
A young girl was crying in the dream, her shoulders trembling as she kept her back turned.
“Why are you crying?”
When Lucian asked gently, the sniffling stopped. The moment the child turned around and their eyes met, he froze completely.
The girl who had been crying was young Eloise.
***
‘Sir! I have a question!’
‘Sir, I finished the assignment and previewed the next section too.’
‘Sir! I don’t understand this part.’
‘Sir!’
These past few days, Lucian had thrown himself into his studies with earnest devotion. If he were an Academy student, the scholarship would be all but guaranteed.
Whether he was doing it to save Brick or because he pitied Eloise, Lucian couldn’t say for certain.
‘What’s wrong with me. Worrying about her.’
A slave fretting over some noble lady—it was absurd.
Lucian caught himself drifting and returned his attention to Eloise’s lecture, taking careful notes. Still, the image of her crying lingered in one corner of his mind.
“That concludes the morning lesson.”
Of course, Eloise remained cool and distant. Lucian stretched and picked up his pen again, intending to review the material at once.
“You may take a walk if you wish.”
Lucian, who had been staring at the thick textbook, lifted his head.
“……Pardon?”
“Naturally, you won’t go alone.”
Ned, standing in the doorway, gave a wave. One corner of Lucian’s mouth began to rise slowly.
‘Has her mood softened a little?’
Catching Lucian’s faint smile, Eloise spoke firmly.
“If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“I’ll be back in a flash!”
Lucian jumped to his feet and bolted for the door.
“Sir. Isn’t one guard a bit much? Perhaps we should call Finn and Gabe as well…….”
“Ten minutes. Go and come back quickly!”
As Lucian playfully groaned, Eloise gave his broad back a light tap with her fan.
“Haha.”
Lucian laughed even as she struck him.
“I’ll be back in a flash!”
***
“Everything else comes so naturally to you, but this—you haven’t improved at all.”
Eloise sighed softly as she stood beside the grand piano. Lucian, seated at the instrument, looked thoroughly dejected.
He glowered at the keyboard before him. Eloise was right—no matter how much he practiced, the piano seemed to resist his progress.
“I’ll increase my practice time. I’ll cut back on sleep if I must.”
Playing the model student so diligently had made him one in truth. It pricked his pride somehow. As his foot pressed down hard on the pedal, Eloise shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. Let’s stop the piano for today and instead…….”
“Miss!”
Both of them blinked at Mary’s voice. But when the half-open door revealed who stood there, it wasn’t Mary at all…….
“A cat?”
Lucian tilted his head in confusion.
A Cat Mask adorned with gaudy, excessive decoration stared back at them. Then the mask lowered, and Mary’s face came into view.
“Young Master George sent it. He says it’s a birthday party gift.”
Now that she mentioned it, George’s birthday party was just around the corner.
“Is he throwing a Masquerade Ball?”
“Apparently so.”
Mary picked up Lucian’s musing. Both she and Lucian found themselves watching Eloise’s reaction carefully.
“I hear he’s invited quite the crowd. That man really does whatever he pleases.”
“…….”
“Perhaps we should just dispose of it? Burn it?”
Mary tucked the mask behind her back. Through it all, Eloise’s expression remained neutral.
“No. Leave it on the desk.”
“Ma’am?”
“You never know.”
“……Understood.”
She wasn’t actually thinking of attending that wretched party, was she? A crease formed between Lucian’s brows.
He stared intently at the back of Eloise’s head, as if his gaze alone could read her thoughts. It couldn’t.
“Now, the lesson…….”
“I’ll start from the beginning.”
Eloise tapped the piano cover lightly, and Lucian straightened his posture. The moment his thumb pressed down on middle C, she spoke again.
“Actually, no more piano. This afternoon we’re learning Dance.”
“Pardon? Dance?”
“Yes. So eat a proper lunch.”
With that, Eloise rose and left the room hastily, as if suddenly remembering other business.
As Mary followed her out, servants appeared as if on cue, bringing lunch trays.
The spread wasn’t lavish, but far more substantial than a modest evening meal. Above all, there was meat—generously portioned—which satisfied Lucian greatly.
“Enjoy your meal.”
Left alone in the room, Lucian’s eyes fixed on the roasted chicken leg, glistening with fat. There was an order to these things. He began with a spoonful of hot soup.
“Ugh!?”
Lucian’s face contorted as the soup touched his tongue. His hand shot to his mouth.
“Pah!”
Once he’d caught his breath, he spat the foreign object into his palm. A small, square case lay there—not something that would seem to have fallen in by accident.
‘What is this?’
Opening the case, he found a piece of paper, folded several times. Lucian unfolded it carefully.
<Midnight at the Back Gate on the night of the birthday party.>
Unlike the last note, there was no name, no initial—but Lucian recognized this handwriting distinctly.
‘Brick!!!’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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