The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 50

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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!
050.
“Lucian?”
Eloise wondered if her eyes were deceiving her. It made sense—a figure had just materialized in the bedroom where she’d confirmed moments ago that no one else was present.
“Ha. You must be seeing things, right?”
Just as Eloise reached up to rub her eyes, a firm voice cut through the air.
“It’s me, Eloise. It’s Lucian.”
Lucian, materializing as if by magic, approached her slowly.
She blinked several times, but he didn’t vanish.
“Where were you? A moment ago, the room was empty.”
At her bewildered expression, Lucian chuckled playfully and pointed to the wall behind the bed.
Lucian rotated the lantern hanging on the wall twice clockwise, then three times counterclockwise.
The wall tilted backward, and a hidden space opened before them. Eloise’s already wide eyes grew wider still.
“What on earth…!”
Lucian extended his hand to her, his face alight with mischievous boyishness.
“Want to take a look inside?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Eloise took his hand and followed him beyond the wall into the unknown space.
Beyond the wall stretched a long corridor. It seemed to have no end.
“A secret passage?”
“I think so. Perhaps it was built for emergencies.”
The two walked along the endless corridor for some time before returning to the entrance of the secret passage.
“So where does this passage lead?”
“One end connects to the Imperial Garden. The other end—I haven’t explored all the way yet.”
Eloise nodded quietly. Her eyes sparkled as if she’d discovered something fascinating.
The two stood side by side, leaning against the passage wall.
“So, how did you discover this place?”
“That’s…”
Lucian hesitated. First the 512th shelf in the Library, and now the secret passage—both times his body had remembered and found the location before his mind could catch up.
Eloise waited patiently, sensing his internal struggle.
‘She was definitely the Empress.’
The moment Hugo accidentally broke a plate, Lucian recalled a fragment of memory that had been sealed away, forgotten for quite some time.
Crash!
It was a rainy afternoon. A sound clearer than the thunder of rain rang out indoors.
Shattered teacup fragments lay scattered chaotically at the feet of the Empress, her face twisted with fury.
‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Your Majesty.’
The young Hugo trembled violently, his face drained of color, and Lucian held him tightly. The two children had just emerged from the secret passage into the bedroom.
Lucian too was seized with terror, his small body quaking, but the impulse to protect Hugo burned stronger.
As the Empress glared at the two children and reached for another teacup to hurl, Lucian squeezed his eyes shut.
The memory ended there.
In short, he’d learned little of substance. All he’d discovered was the existence of the secret passage itself.
“Actually, Dana mentioned it to me. She said the Imperial Palace has many hidden rooms and secret passages like this.”
Lucian chose a light deflection. It was too soon to confess to Eloise that fragments of his memory were returning.
“So I explored out of curiosity and happened to find this place.”
“…….”
Eloise narrowed her eyes and studied him. His answer didn’t quite ring true. It felt as though he were hiding something.
Sensing her suspicion dimly, Lucian deliberately offered random remarks to ease the tension.
“The Imperial Palace is a fascinating place. So many secrets, so many hidden stories, so many interesting people.”
“…….”
“The more I think about it, the more I regret it. If the first Prince had simply grown up well here, he would have become a Virtuous Ruler.”
After listening silently for a long time, Eloise spoke as if thinking aloud.
“I don’t know. I think differently.”
“Hmm?”
“I think you’re the one who has the makings of a Virtuous Ruler.”
Lucian turned to look at her. He’d assumed she was joking, but her face was quite serious.
“…….”
He appreciated her steadfastness. He also appreciated the way she looked at him—as if he were someone special, as if he mattered.
“Then I’ll do my best to become a Virtuous Ruler. For your sake, Eloise.”
Lucian smiled, and Eloise smiled back.
***
“Your Highness, might it not be better to retire to your bedroom soon?”
The attendant spoke to Camilo in a trembling voice. Their lord, thoroughly intoxicated since early evening, lay slumped across a table in the Great Dining Hall, his hands trembling violently.
“What?”
His eyes, which had nearly closed, snapped open. Camilo barely managed to raise his upper body and glared at the attendant.
“Resting comfortably in your bedroom would be better for Your Highness as well….”
“Dare you command me?”
“My apologies.”
Deep wrinkles carved themselves into the attendant’s face. Empty bottles already littered the table and floor.
Not only that—he had already vented his cruelty upon the young servants.
“If you’re sorry, bring more wine.”
His shaking hand poured what little remained of the drink into an empty cup.
The attendant, contemplating how to handle this, was just about to step back when—
“Prince.”
Camilo turned his head slowly.
“Mother?”
At the dining hall entrance stood his mother, the Empress Nora, her face weary. But it was not she who had called him.
“What shameful conduct is this, Prince?”
The Empress who stood beside Nora raised her voice again. At her icy gaze, Camilo quickly got to his feet and wiped his face.
Since childhood, and now into adulthood, Camilo had always found the Empress formidable. The reason—that she was not his birth mother—seemed insufficient.
‘Like a strict teacher,’ he thought.
“My apologies.”
Camilo hastily arranged his clothing, approached the two women, and bowed his head.
“Camilo!”
His grown son wobbled and leaned heavily against his mother. Nora sighed and struggled to support his large frame.
“My mind has been so unsettled that I could not bear it without… hic… without drinking.”
The Empress Nora standing beside him felt the same, as did the Empress. A man claiming to be Valencio had appeared like a thunderbolt and was now tearing through the Imperial Palace.
His progress through the Prince Verification Process was formidable, and the Council of Elders had responded favorably. There was a real possibility that his very throne might be seized.
“Mother…….”
Nora, wrinkling her nose at the alcohol’s stench, patted her grown son’s back. To her eyes, Camilo remained a child.
A cold voice cut between them.
“Conduct yourself with dignity, Prince. You must defend your own seat. By whatever means necessary.”
“Yes, I will keep that close to my heart.”
At the Empress’s words, Camilo straightened himself. The hazy drunkenness in his eyes gradually gave way to clarity.
“Then I shall retire first.”
Camilo bowed deeply and, wavering, left the room first. The attendant quickly supported him.
Nora watched her son’s retreating figure with a troubled expression.
“Keep your mind sharp. A mother must look after her son—who else will?”
At the Empress’s blunt words, Nora smiled faintly.
“I will keep that close to my heart as well.”
Whatever others might think, Nora appreciated the Empress’s steely nature.
Her occasional rebukes carried a quiet affection. It was as if she were guiding a weakness—a foolish softness—onto the right path.
So she wished to continue as they were: not intimate, but like quiet allies, for as long as it lasted.
***
Time passed, and the final day of the Prince Verification Process dawned.
Before the third phase, Lucian and Eloise took breakfast together.
All the food on the table was pushed toward Lucian. He tapped the table with his finger and spoke.
“Am I a child?”
“You need to eat well. Stamina matters for everything, doesn’t it?”
Even as she said this, Eloise merely tasted the egg dish before stopping.
Lucian tried to push the plate toward her again, urging her to eat more, but she wiped her mouth with a napkin as if her meal were finished.
“I’ll prepare the tea.”
As the meal was ending, a servant entered carrying a teapot.
Plink-plink-plink—
Hot tea filled the warmed teacup. The servant first set a cup before Eloise.
“…….”
In the steaming dark tea, Eloise’s enigmatic face was reflected.
“Thank you.”
The servant set a cup before Lucian as well, and he quickly reached for it—but Eloise suddenly cried out.
“Don’t drink it!”
“What?”
Startled, he froze mid-motion.
Eloise jumped to her feet and, without hesitation, swung the arm holding the teacup in a wide arc.
Hot tea spilled across the floor in a gentle arc.
The moment the tea touched the well-appointed carpet, steam rose from it, and the wet patch shriveled as if burned by fire.
“…….”
Having hurled the teacup to the floor, Eloise approached the servant who’d brought the tea. The servant standing by the door had turned deathly pale.

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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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