The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 29

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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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A slave who’s far too handsome!
029.
“Sit.”
Brick, who had guided Eloize to his cabin, pulled out a small chair for her.
A bed, a desk, a chair, even a small dresser—his quarters were slightly smaller than the Captain’s, but the interior was much the same.
“Drink.”
Without knowing when he’d prepared it, he handed her a steaming cup of tea.
Eloize’s eyes shifted between Brick and the teacup.
“No poison or anything like that?”
“I’ll take my chances.”
As she accepted the cup, Brick’s lips twisted. A bitter aroma bloomed across her palate.
“So what did you want to tell me?”
“About Argen.”
Before Eloize had even finished speaking, Brick answered. His gaze was quite composed.
“Good. That’s what I was hoping for.”
By the time considerable time had passed and their conversation was winding down, the door suddenly swung open.
“Eloize!”
Both Brick and Eloize, locked in serious discussion, turned their heads in the same direction.
Lucian burst in urgently. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead—he’d been searching for some time.
Lucian wedged himself between the two of them at once, making straight for Eloize.
“Are you all right?”
“Huh? Oh. Yes, I’m fine.”
Even at Eloize’s reassurance, he needed to confirm it with his own eyes, scrutinizing her with utmost care. Her words rang entirely true.
“Ha……”
Lucian promptly turned his back, positioning himself in front of Eloize.
Brick, arms crossed, let out a low chuckle.
“What were you two doing?”
“Must I report every single detail to you?”
As Lucian asked, restraining his emotions as much as possible, Brick’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“If you’ve nothing to hide, you shouldn’t mind saying.”
“What is this, an interrogation?”
“We were just talking.”
Before the two men could exchange any sharper words, Eloize cut in.
“About what?”
Yet Lucian’s sharp gaze didn’t relent. It remained fixed on Brick.
“Business-related matters…… Never mind. You won’t believe me anyway, no matter what I say! I’m tired of it, so we’ll talk later!”
“Brick!”
As Brick left his quarters with a weary expression, the matter was laid to rest—for now.
Only then did Lucian realize he’d been acting oversensitive, but the milk was already spilled.
“Let’s go. It’s getting late.”
Lucian escorted Eloize to the Captain’s Quarters. By unspoken agreement, it had become her bedroom.
“Where are you going?”
“To clear my head.”
Eloize watched his retreating back, then found herself following him. His uncharacteristic display of emotion troubled her.
Lucian’s destination was the stern of the ship—the Stern Deck. Watching the dark waves calmed him somewhat.
Eloize approached Lucian as he stood leaning against the railing with his torso.
“Eloize?”
“I wanted some fresh air too.”
Though Eloize had expected to scold him for what had just happened, she instead gazed quietly out at the sea.
The wind swept through her hair. Lucian, turning his body at an angle, held that image in his eyes.
For a long while, the two stood in silence, feeling the wind.
“Eloize, don’t you miss home?”
Ah. The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Lucian clamped his lips shut and tapped his own mouth with his hand. Why had he brought that up?
“Funny you should ask. It’s actually… better than I thought? Honestly, I haven’t missed home much.”
“……”
“Well. I do miss Mary, Frederick, and Arthur. Especially Mary’s nagging.”
Eloize spoke calmly.
The Duke’s Daughter’s Office—where Mary and Frederick would storm in at a moment’s notice. Bathed in sunlight, filled with the gentle murmur of Eloize’s voice.
Even though he hadn’t spent much time there, that place had been romanticized in Lucian’s memory like a treasured childhood haunt.
‘I’ve lost my mind. Truly.’
As if to shake off the absurd thoughts rising in his head, Lucian swept back his hair.
Eloize, who had been lost in thought, adjusted the slightly gaping collar of her shirt. Noticing this, Lucian told her to wait and stepped away briefly.
“Lucian?”
When he returned, he was carrying a blanket.
The thick blanket wrapped around Eloize’s frame. Having draped it over her, Lucian leaned against the railing again, as though nothing had happened.
Eloize turned to look at Lucian and laughed teasingly. At her laughter, Lucian felt something he hadn’t in a long time—a tremor. His lips twitched.
“Why are you laughing?”
“It’s amusing.”
“What is?”
As Eloize stepped closer, Lucian naturally stepped back. She paid no mind and poked his shoulder with her index finger.
“You. When you were in my house, you couldn’t wait to get away from my side, but now that we’re here, why do you take such care of me?”
Under Eloize’s relentless gaze, heat flooded Lucian’s face. She’d struck a nerve.
As the warmth crept to his ears, Lucian finally coughed awkwardly.
“Even when I help, you make a fuss.”
“Because it’s strange.”
“That’s…… well, you’re the only person here you can trust besides me.”
Avoiding her gaze, Lucian muttered, staring down at his feet.
In that moment, Eloize stepped even closer.
“Not just here.”
“What?”
“When we return, you’re the only person I can trust.”
At her steady words, Lucian jerked his bowed head up.
“Tell me the truth.”
“About what?”
“Finn, Ned, Gabe. Those three. They’re my substitutes, aren’t they? In case something happens.”
Lucian held Eloize’s gaze intently, as though the truth lay beyond those eyes.
Eloize didn’t look away.
“If I’d had no such intention, it would be a lie.”
“……”
“But the night you brought me here, I knew. There’s no one in this world who could replace you.”
“That night……”
“When you broke into my bedroom without permission.”
“Then?”
Lucian’s face showed surprise at words he’d never expected to hear.
Had I made such a fine impression then? No matter how hard he racked his memory, such a moment didn’t exist.
Not only had he broken into the Duke’s Daughter’s bedroom unbidden, but he’d also slipped away some gold coins and jewelry without her knowledge, and then there was the whole mess with George.
“Come back with me, Lucian.”
Eloize seized both his hands suddenly. Thanks to that, his mind, which had been dwelling in the past, snapped back to the present.
“I need you.”
“……”
Under Eloize’s desperate gaze, Lucian’s blue eyes wavered. He found himself unable to say anything.
“Wait! They’re holding hands!”
“Could the lady have confessed first?”
“Wow…… I’ve never seen the captain make that face before.”
The sailors, hiding at a distance and watching the two, erupted in a frenzy.
They were utterly absorbed, serious and intent upon the scene unfolding before them.
“The lady must really adore the captain.”
“That’s why she followed him all the way to this godforsaken place.”
The crew couldn’t help but chatter endlessly about Eloize and Lucian.
“The captain’s got real talent. How’d he manage to seduce a noble lady? And one so beautiful and remarkable at that.”
“The captain’s incredible himself, you know? Someone as handsome, capable, and good-natured as him is rare to find.”
“So are the two getting married now?”
At the word “marriage,” they each began imagining a lavish wedding ceremony in their minds.
Only Brick stood at the back, his expression blank.
“Don’t they make a wonderful pair?”
The young helmsman turned to Brick with an excited face and spoke.
“I wouldn’t know. And I don’t care to.”
As though cold water had been thrown on them, the excited atmosphere deflated at once.
The sailors stared at Brick with dampened expressions, but he quietly withdrew.
***
Morning came. The Port of Call was now within sight.
Lucian was going through provisions and spare supplies lists that needed to be filled at the port, accompanied by one of the crew—until Brick called him out.
“I was sorry about yesterday. I came on too strong.”
“I didn’t come to apologize, though.”
The two men stood on the deck, their backs to the sea as they spoke.
“That woman…… the Duke’s Daughter. I think the time has come to decide what to do with her.”
Lucian’s expression darkened considerably. He knew it too. Now was the time to reach a conclusion.
“…… I have to send her back. Only, I hoped we could wait for the Duke’s people at the port.”
As Lucian hesitated before finally speaking, Brick fixed him with a serpentine stare.
His face was marked by reluctance at sending the Duke’s Daughter away, yet he seemed entirely unaware of it himself.
“That won’t work. Forgotten already? We have to reach Kallaum on schedule.”
“…… I know.”
Lucian avoided Brick’s gaze. Seeing this side of his companion for the first time left Brick’s heart hollow.
“You really understand, don’t you? There’s a difference between Captain Argen and the merchant leader Argen and the man Argen—isn’t there?”
“Captain Argen, merchant leader Argen, and the man Argen—they all share the same heart.”
“I think I know what your true heart is.”
There was no mockery in his tone. For a moment, sadness crossed Brick’s features, then faded.
“My true heart?”
“Want me to prove it to you directly?”
Before his words had finished, Eloize appeared at their side. It seemed Brick had summoned her.
“Eloize.”
Brick grabbed the hem of Eloize’s clothes and pulled her to his side. Then he fixed Lucian with a resolute look.
“I’ve given you enough time. Choose—the Duke’s Daughter, or the Corinthes Trading Company.”
“Brick, I……”
Splash!
Before Lucian could answer, Brick shoved Eloize toward the sea as if hurling her into it. She plummeted into the deep without even time to scream.
“The moment you choose one, you lose the other. If you choose the Duke’s Daughter, we part ways……”
Before his words could finish, the deep sea tore open once more with a sound.
Ha, haha. Brick laughed hollowly, his voice low and bitter.
“See? I was right, wasn’t I, miss.”

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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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