The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 26

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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!
026.
Eloïse returned to her bedroom laughing wickedly with Lucian, quickly changed into her nightgown, and sent Mary away. It seemed she would fall asleep instantly.
…….
She stopped short as she approached the bed, seized by a strong premonition that she’d forgotten something.
The moment she rushed out into the empty hallway and threw open the door to the adjacent room, she realized her instinct was correct.
Lucian’s room stood empty.
“That bastard……!”
She pushed open the large window and leaned out, spotting two silhouettes crossing the distant main garden. It was unmistakably Lucian—it couldn’t be anyone else.
‘I have to catch him!’
That single thought consumed her mind. If she let him slip away now, it was clear she would lose him forever.
Eloïse burst from her room and began running like a madwoman in her nightgown.
By the time her senses returned, she was already hiding in the cargo hold of a small vessel moored at Capital Harbor.
‘I definitely saw him board this ship.’
Eloïse held her breath. She lay cramped inside a narrow box perfectly sized for her frame, dark and suffocating as a coffin.
“……!!!”
The floor lurched beneath her, and she felt it vividly through her entire body.
Ding, ding, ding.
A bell tolled. Then came the dull, grinding sound of the anchor being raised. The ship was setting sail.
Eloïse’s plan to capture the runaway slave and return home dissolved into nothing.
‘This is spiraling out of control.’
The situation had twisted into a knot, yet strangely, her mind remained calm.
‘At least I boarded the right ship, didn’t I?’
‘Where is this vessel even headed?’
‘How am I supposed to get back to the Capital now?’
Lost in thought, Eloïse was overcome by exhaustion and slipped into an unconscious sleep.
Approximately ten hours later.
“Ugh?! Hey, Captain!”
“What? Good grief, what is it? What’s wrong?”
The commotion woke Eloïse from her sleep, and she squinted against the harsh light illuminating her face.
“W-who are you people?!”
Two unfamiliar men were staring down at her with expressions of bewilderment.
***
The vast sea stretching before him for the first time in ages, the quiet night sky scattered with stars—neither stirred Lucian’s impassive face, which was shadowed in the darkness.
“What’s with that expression? You look like a dog pining for something.”
Brick, who sat on the upper deck, tilted his head back. He flashed his teeth in a grin and flopped down beside Lucian.
“It just feels strange, somehow.”
“Anyone looking at you would think you’d been dragged along by force.”
Brick was polishing a ripe apple with his sleeve to hand to him when—
“Captain!”
“Chief! Where are you?”
At the shout of the sailors, both men sprang to their feet. Three or four crew members came rushing over.
“What’s happened?”
“Well, sir, we found a stowaway!”
A sailor who emerged from the back of the group threw a woman down onto the deck.
“She was hiding in the provisions storage, sir.”
Unable to catch her balance, the woman stumbled and fell to her knees.
“A stowaway?”
Brick’s eyes narrowed.
A woman with luxuriant golden hair slowly raised her head. Her arms were bound tightly with rope, and a cloth served as a gag across her mouth.
Lucian’s eyes widened.
“My lady!!!”
In shock, he quickly moved to kneel before her. The woman was dressed in nothing but a nightgown and was barefoot—she must have followed him hastily.
“My… lady?”
Everyone except Lucian and Eloïse exchanged confused glances. Brick, who grasped the situation at once, let out a low chuckle.
“How did you even…”
The moment Eloïse’s sharp gaze met his, Lucian flinched. The sailors began muttering among themselves as they watched him.
“First, let’s undo these.”
He was reaching to unfasten the cloth and rope that bound Eloïse when—
“Wait.”
Brick stepped between them, blocking Lucian’s path to Eloïse.
“!!!”
“This is her? The damned noblewoman who worked you as a slave.”
Brick’s face hardened. He roughly seized Eloïse’s arm and hauled her to her feet, making her rise like a puppet on strings.
“So that’s why the captain called her his lady…”
“I thought as much. Her clothes, everything about her screams she’s no ordinary woman.”
The sailors who had stepped back to observe the mood exchanged words among themselves. Lucian, too, straightened his bent knees and fixed his gaze on Brick, his expression rigid.
“Brick, let go of… Eloïse.”
“Shut that mouth of yours!”
“Brick!”
Brick veins bulged in Brick’s neck as he let out a bitter cry. He was barely restraining the urge to throw the woman deep into the sea on the spot.
“What? Your lady? Have you already become this woman’s loyal dog?”
“It’s not like that……”
Lucian’s brow furrowed.
He let out a frustrated sigh and was about to explain, but Brick was already seething with rage. His eyes had rolled halfway back.
“Did you fall for that pretty face? Or is it possible you’ve been keeping her bed warm?”
“That’s enough!”
Unable to contain himself, Lucian grabbed Brick by the collar and shook him with a cold voice. In the commotion, Eloïse slipped from Brick’s grip and stumbled to the ground.
“Have you forgotten? You and I are Merchant Masters—and you in particular are captain of this ship! For someone of your station to become a nobleman’s footrest? What does that make me? What does it make everyone who trusted you enough to board this vessel?”
Eloïse flinched. She realized her calculations had been wrong.
‘I thought he was just part of a Merchant Company, but he’s a Merchant Master. How could I have missed that?’
Lucian released his grip on Brick’s collar, watching the resentment burn in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. My judgment was poor. I had no intention of shaming you or the Company’s honor.”
Lucian’s eyes swept across the faces of the sailors standing behind Brick. They averted their gazes, their expressions awkward.
“It’s true I stayed at a noble house by accident. But I swear on my life that none of the unsavory things you’re imagining happened.”
…….
“So I ask that you release… that is, Eloïse as well.”
The moment Lucian stepped toward Eloïse, Brick moved to block his path once more.
“And if I release her? What then?”
“I’ll send her home.”
“No. No, no, no.”
Brick shook his head, his gaze still sharp and cold.
“Argen, you’ve lost ground in the time we’ve been apart. Setting aside that your wits are slower, have you no pride left?”
Eloïse lifted her head to watch the two men argue. And in her mind, she rolled over the man’s true name.
‘Argen.’
Argen. A name that carried the meaning of one who rides the waves—it suited him quite well.
Only then did Eloïse realize how little she truly knew about Lucian.
“The moment I saw this woman, I thought of exactly where she belongs.”
“……Don’t say another word.”
Lucian, dimly sensing what Brick meant to say, fixed him with angry eyes.
“Tsk!”
Brick bent his knees to lower his eye level and gripped Eloïse’s jaw hard. He was determined to provoke Lucian’s nerves.
“The Slave Market would pay a handsome price for a woman like this, wouldn’t it? Don’t you think?”
“You bastard!”
Thwack!
Lucian threw a punch at Brick. Brick didn’t dodge, and took the blow, stumbling backward.
“Captain!”
“Hey, Chief!”
The bewildered sailors could neither stop nor manage the two men, standing frozen. Two who had been as close as brothers throwing punches at each other—it was a sight none of them had ever witnessed before.
Thwack, thwack!
Lucian straddled Brick and continued his assault. After taking several blows, Brick began to fight back.
The two men grappled and exchanged blows, rolling across the deck.
“What are you doing? Break it up!”
When the largest sailor shouted, the others rushed forward and barely managed to separate Lucian and Brick, then held them at arm’s length to prevent them from coming at each other again.
Eloïse watched the chaos unfold with a detached gaze. And in that moment, she understood with sudden clarity.
That brick-haired man called Brick—that raging, volatile figure—was the one who had brutally killed the slave trader.
‘A hidden threat.’
Though not quite as tall as Lucian, the man was still tall and solidly built. More than anything, a savage gleam burned in his narrow eyes.
This man, who appeared to be her peer, was a predator who, once he latched onto prey, would never let it go.
“Ptui!”
Brick spat the blood pooling in his mouth in Lucian’s direction. Lucian let out a hollow laugh.
Their faces were a mess from the blows they’d amicably exchanged.
“At least act with dignity befitting a first mate, Brick.”
Unlike Brick, who burned with emotion, Lucian’s expression remained coldly sardonic despite the punches he’d thrown.
“In front of all these men? Come now. Let’s calm down and talk about this tomorrow with clear minds.”
Lucian rebuked him like an older brother. Brick, who had been scowling deeply, reluctantly nodded. His words made sense.
Brick apologized to the sailors for the commotion and turned toward the cabin.
“Eloïse, are you alright?”
Lucian quickly approached Eloïse as he watched Brick retreat.
He first untied the cloth from her mouth. And immediately regretted doing so.
“Listen, would you make a deal with me?”

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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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