The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 32

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

The slave is too handsome!
032.
The weather was clear, and the Harbor was crowded with people. The Corinthes Trading Company had decided to part with Lucian’s group at the port.
“If you change your mind, come back anytime.”
While Eloïse exchanged brief farewells with the sailors, Brick spoke offhandedly as he passed. Lucian caught sight of him and smirked.
“Don’t laugh. If you come back, you’ll have to start from the youngest rank again.”
“Take care, Brick. If anything comes up, get in touch anytime.”
“……Yes.”
Though he doubted he’d find reason to contact them.
Lucian embraced Brick, who stood lost in thought. The two brothers said farewell to each other for the first time since birth.
“Let’s go, Lucian.”
Eloïse pulled Lucian forward with resolve. Brick watched their receding figures until they became mere dots and vanished.
“Eloïse, where are we going?”
Contrary to Lucian’s expectation that they’d head to the inn according to last night’s plan, his mistress turned toward the city center. He quickly followed suit.
The port city was large enough that Eloïse found a pawnshop without much difficulty.
“I have plenty of money, actually. Even for a trading company proprietor like myself…….”
“Forgot? I’m your master. How could a master use the retainer’s money?”
Eloïse cut short Lucian’s words and slipped a hand between her shirt buttons, fingers fumbling at her neck.
‘Right, then. She was a Duke’s only daughter.’
As he stifled a laugh, Eloïse unfastened the small necklace she wore and handed it to the pawnshop owner.
A modest but exquisite jewel hung from the pendant.
“Please price it fairly. It’s a very precious thing.”
An elderly man with graying hair extracted a magnifying glass for gem appraisal from a drawer and examined the necklace with a lackluster expression.
Soon, his clouded eyes widened. Once he confirmed that even the string was real gold, he raised his head—but Lucian was faster.
“We’re in a hurry, so we’d appreciate your haste.”
He spoke while positioning himself between Eloïse and the man.
Before long, the two left the pawnshop with a hefty sum of money.
“I thought you’d slipped out in your nightclothes. Looks like luck was on our side.”
“Luck? I always carry that necklace as an emergency fund. You never know when you’ll need money in a pinch.”
“Wow…….”
Lucian whistled at the lady’s thoroughness.
The two set out toward their original destination.
‘Is it just me, or does Eloïse seem awfully excited?’
The Crown Prince’s birthday couldn’t be far off.
In other words, they had to return to the Capital as quickly as possible. Yet in these circumstances, Eloïse appeared almost giddy.
‘Well, she must have her reasons.’
They stopped in front of what appeared to be the largest inn in the area.
“Ugh.”
A stale stench of hay, dung, and leather pricked his nose. It seemed to be an inn with stables.
A cart laden with provisions stood in front of the inn.
A middle-aged woman was settling payment, and Lucian guessed she was the proprietor.
“Proprietress.”
Lucian flashed a look, and Eloïse, thinking the same thought, nodded and approached the woman.
“Can you arrange for a courier? I need to send an urgent letter.”
The woman turned at Eloïse’s firm tone. She’d just sent away a child asking to buy a newspaper.
“I can pay whatever amount you ask.”
Eloïse added. The woman merely scanned them both up and down with a suspicious eye, saying nothing.
‘Their appearance is shabby, but…….’
The sharp-witted woman sensed a subtle refinement in Eloïse, and above all—the scent of money.
Perhaps a lesser noble with a story.
After her quick calculation, the woman spoke.
“Please follow me.”
Eloïse seized Lucian’s sleeve as he followed the innkeeper.
“Lucian, keep an eye on the horses for me? So we can leave right away.”
Uncertain whether it was safe to send him alone, he nodded and changed direction.
The moment Eloïse stepped inside without Lucian, the bustling interior fell silent.
‘The smell of alcohol…….’
Men deep in their cups since morning raked Eloïse with sinister gazes, not a single one looking away.
‘So that’s why she told me to wear a hat.’
She lightly dismissed the lingering stares and followed the proprietor inside, settling at a corner table to write. Then she began composing her letter.
One was for Mary, the other for Frederick.
“The faster the better.”
She handed the proprietor the letters along with several gold coins. The woman’s eyes glimmered briefly at an amount exactly double what she’d quoted.
“I’ll send for the fastest courier in this city.”
Her gruff voice belied a hint of genuine kindness in her words.
The moment the proprietor pocketed the gold coins and gathered the letters, a shadow fell across Eloïse.
“Haven’t seen your face around here before. You’re not from this neighborhood, are you?”
At the stale smell and slurred voice of the man, her body stiffened briefly in surprise. It was then that Eloïse turned around, a beat too late.
“Back off.”
Lucian appeared from nowhere, blocking the man’s path and issuing the warning. The old man carrying an empty bottle flinched at Lucian’s broad frame and immediately retreated.
“You all right?”
At his gentle voice, Eloïse’s expression softened. Beyond Lucian, she glimpsed the man receiving a smack on the back from the innkeeper.
“Tch, you wretch! Drink properly! Don’t shame yourself at your age!”
“But I didn’t do anything…….”
“If you’re going to cause trouble, don’t set foot in this establishment again!”
The matter resolved itself quickly, yet Eloïse couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.
‘If Lucian hadn’t been there…….’
Lucian asked her as she pushed away that subtle sense of helplessness.
“Should we go? I’ve arranged for a decent horse.”
“Good.”
As they left the inn with the proprietor’s farewell, a handsome brown horse stood waiting at the door. The inn’s groom held its reins.
“Why just one?”
“Because we’re riding together, aren’t we?”
“Prepare another horse.”
She wants to ride by herself?
Lucian, about to convince Eloïse otherwise, saw her resolute expression and changed his mind. He immediately turned to the groom.
While waiting for the second horse, Eloïse surveyed the area around the inn.
‘Good, he’s still here.’
The boy who’d been hawking newspapers was still loitering nearby. Eloïse approached him and knelt to meet him at eye level.
“You’re the fastest with news in this neighborhood?”
“What if I am?”
“That’s impressive. I have a favor to ask you.”
As she pulled a gold coin from her pocket, the boy’s lackluster expression brightened.
“Just say the word, miss!”
Eloïse, who smirked at his suddenly polite tone, leaned close and whispered at length into the boy’s ear.
The boy listened intently, nodded, pocketed the coin, and departed.
“What did you tell him?”
Two handsome horses approached. Lucian handed her the reins.
“Nothing much. Just laid the groundwork for your path to Crown Prince, you could say.”
“Mm, Eloïse truly thinks ahead.”
“Don’t tease me.”
“I’m not teasing.”
With Lucian’s help, Eloïse mounted the horse. The way she held the reins once settled looked quite secure. Then he too mounted.
“Let’s go. Home.”
Light kindled in Eloïse’s eyes. At the word “home,” Lucian’s heart stirred anew.
‘Home…….’
Had such a place ever existed for him? Brick was like a true brother, but the monastery where he’d spent his childhood wasn’t home.
Eloïse’s cottage wasn’t home either, yet somehow it was a place he yearned for. It seemed affection had taken root without him noticing.
“Yes, let’s go back.”
***
“Did we take a wrong turn?”
The two were passing through a forest as the sun dipped low on the horizon. Not a soul—not even an ant—was visible.
“The direction is correct.”
Lucian stopped briefly to check the map and compass, muttering to himself. Unlike his serious demeanor, Eloïse remained composed.
“We’re on the right path. What’s there to worry about?”
“Eloïse, I’ve noticed it for a while now—you seem in quite a good mood.”
“Do I?”
As Eloïse’s horse began a slow walk, Lucian matched its pace.
“Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’ve traveled this far without my escort knights.”
“…….”
“It feels like an adventure. I wonder why I always stayed in that cramped manor or the Capital. Yes, so this is what joy feels like.”
When Eloïse broke into a broad smile, Lucian stared as though struck dumb.
He was about to cover his awkwardness with a cough when——
“Lucian, look over there!”
His gaze followed the direction of her finger. Below the hill sat a small cottage.
“We can ask to stay there tonight.”
Eloïse urged her horse forward with the enthusiasm of a true adventurer, moving ahead. Lucian pursued closely behind.
“Who……?”
An elderly woman holding a lamp raised her brows and peered intently at the two uninvited guests. The hat pressed low made her face difficult to see.
The old woman was the owner of the cottage, isolated like an island below the hill.
“We’re not suspicious people, m’am.”
Lucian hastily covered Eloïse’s mouth.
‘That makes it sound even more suspicious.’
Instead, he smiled warmly, eyes crinkling—his tried-and-true weapon in moments of crisis.
“My sister and I got lost on our way to a relative’s house in the Capital. Would it be possible to stay just one night, if it’s no trouble? We’ll pay well for the inconvenience.”
At his genial expression, the old woman’s stern look softened slightly.
“……Very well. One night should be fine.”
The old woman gestured for them to come inside. The two exchanged looks of relief.
“However, I only have one room. Since you’re siblings, that should be acceptable, yes?”
At her words, Eloïse and Lucian stopped simultaneously, as though following a predetermined script.

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