The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 55

—————
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!
055.
After Eloïse departed the Imperial Palace, Lucian was led not to the Guest Palace where he’d been staying, but to a different residence.
“This is where Your Highness will reside from now on.”
Lucian’s new quarters were magnificent beyond comparison to the Guest Palace. The exterior alone was ornate, the interior riddled with countless rooms, and the hallways stretched so far he couldn’t see their end.
Rather than awe, he felt dizzy.
‘They want me locked away in this stifling palace, living like a puppet?’
Lucian recalled words Eloïse had spoken once, long ago. He hadn’t understood then, but now he grasped dimly what she’d meant.
***
“It’s been a while, Eloïse.”
There was a guest in the Duke’s Study. A middle-aged woman bearing the Duke’s features smiled at Eloïse with a sinister edge.
“Aunt?”
The woman was the Duke’s younger sister and Eloïse’s aunt.
“Hello, Eloïse.”
Klaus, the Aunt’s son and Eloïse’s cousin, waved cheerfully.
“What brings you to the Capital?”
Eloïse asked calmly, her expression wiped clean. The Duke never glanced at his returned daughter, only stared out the window.
“I heard news of George and came rushing up out of concern for my brother.”
“If I might be of service, I’d be honored to stand beside my uncle in this time.”
From the pair’s practiced display of concern, Eloïse read their true intent at once.
‘They’ve heard George was cast out, and now they’re here sniffing after the dukedom.’
Klaus, four years Eloïse’s senior, was the second son of a count—still unwed. Small wonder, given that his mother’s marriage into the count’s family had coincided with their decline in fortune.
“Well, since you’re here, do put on a show for us. Your father must be quite lonely.”
Eloïse, seated in the place of honor on the sofa, spoke with contempt. The hardened faces of the mother and son held no interest for her.
Her gaze fixed on the Duke at the window. She was curious about his reaction.
“Your disposition is unchanged, Eloïse! I’ve traveled far with such high hopes, and this is how you greet me?”
“Do calm yourself, Mother. We’ll be seeing much of each other going forward—let me soothe your nerves.”
The man was insufferable. Yet the Duke didn’t so much as blink at the Aunt’s nonsense. Now Eloïse understood his game.
‘He’s letting them talk so I’ll hear it. A warning—no matter how much I rage, the title goes elsewhere.’
Eloïse’s cool gaze shifted from the Duke to her aunt. When their eyes met across the empty air, the Aunt flinched and hastily changed the subject.
“Brother, remember? Our Klaus graduated from the Academy in the Capital. Not that I’m biased, but the professors all say it would be a waste to leave such talent idle. They had nothing but praise—”
“Talent? He took five years to finish a three-year degree.”
“Eloïse!”
When her aunt raised her voice first, the Duke finally turned his gaze toward them both.
“Enough.”
He tapped the floor sharply with the cane in his hand. The Duke looked at Eloïse and heaved a long sigh.
“What kind of manner of speech is that?”
The emboldened Aunt and Klaus nodded in agreement.
What came next was worse still.
“Eloïse, you’re confined to the estate, effective immediately.”
“I beg your pardon? Why?”
At this absurd pronouncement, Eloïse shot to her feet.
“I’ve already heard from Count Lorentz that you’ve been prowling through the Imperial Palace. The shame I felt hearing it—”
The Duke’s chest tightened. He rubbed his creased face with his hand.
Oh my, goodness. The Aunt, suppressing an upturned smile with her palm, added her voice.
“You’re dragging our family name through the mud, isn’t that right?”
“I wasn’t prowling through the palace—”
“From now on, you’ll stay quietly in the Annex.”
“I refuse!”
Unable to bear more, the Duke rang a small bell on his desk. The door flew open, and two menacing servants from the main house entered.
“We’ve come to escort you, Miss.”
They advanced toward Eloïse with heavy steps. The Aunt, watching this, drew back and readily made way.
“You dare lay hands on me?”
Eloïse’s fierce glare made the two servants flinch and halt. They exchanged uncertain glances toward the Duke.
“What are you doing? Follow your lord’s command!”
Klaus interjected, playing the next Duke as though the role were already his. It was almost laughable.
The servants hesitantly moved toward Eloïse.
“…Step aside. I’ll walk on my own.”
Eloïse brushed past the two attendants and left the Study. They followed in her wake like sentries.
Behind her, the Aunt’s mocking laughter echoed.
“I think we should find her a suitable husband as soon as possible and be rid of her, brother.”
With that, the Study door shut with a bang. What had never been a comfortable house had now become a nest of scheming vipers.
“Miss!”
Mary, who had been pacing near the Annex entrance, spotted Eloïse and rushed toward her.
“What is this?”
Eloïse’s carefully maintained composure cracked. The Duke’s knights stood guard around the Annex.
“They’ve been here since morning, miss—they said you cannot leave the Annex without the Duke’s permission. What on earth is your father thinking?!”
Mary’s eyes burned with fierce heat, her whole frame screaming for Eloïse to drive these men away at once.
Eloïse ignored the knights who watched her and headed straight for the entrance.
“I greet you, Miss. I am Loren, newly assigned to security at the Annex.”
A knight stepped confidently into her path and introduced himself. Eloïse glanced briefly at his face before speaking low.
“Move.”
“Should you be unaware, all matters—outings included—must be reported to me first and foremost.”
Eloïse glared at the man called Loren and walked inside.
Arthur and her other servants greeted their mistress with worried faces. Eloïse shed her cold demeanor and forced a bright smile.
“Don’t worry. Everyone carry on as usual.”
“Miss…”
“There’s nothing to fear. If those men cause any trouble, tell me at once. I’ll thrash them soundly.”
With a resolute expression, Eloïse climbed the stairs to her study.
***
“These are the instructors who will oversee Your Highness’s education beginning today.”
A few days later, the Aide assigned to Lucian brought a group of people to find him.
“We are honored to serve you, Prince Valensio.”
A stern-faced young man at the front adjusted his spectacles and bowed. The other instructors behind him bent respectfully as well.
“The honor is mine, I assure you.”
Lucian replied with a forced smile, and immediately thick volumes including “Imperial Studies” began stacking like towers on his desk.
“Ugh.”
A familiar dread seized him, and he let out an involuntary groan.
He remembered being waylaid by Eloïse into all manner of unwanted lessons.
‘During lessons, address me respectfully as “teacher.”‘
In retrospect, those days might have been the most peaceful.
Lucian, lost in sentiment over her stern face, suddenly snapped back to attention at the Aide’s explanation.
“We will hold examinations once every fortnight, and the results will be reported to His Majesty.”
“Examinations?”
The Aide nodded and produced a sheet of paper on the desk.
“And this is your schedule.”
Upon reviewing it, Lucian’s already large eyes widened further. The paper was crammed with classes from morning through evening.
Staring at the dense schedule followed by books that had completely obscured his view, Lucian let out a short laugh.
Strangely, a competitive fire ignited within him. Having come this far, he wanted to become the Crown Prince everyone acknowledged.
***
“So, what is the Prince’s level of attainment?”
Lucian’s Aide, summoned before the Emperor, bowed deeply.
Four days into Prince Valensio’s education, the Emperor was receiving full reports on his son’s every move.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Prince demonstrates exceptional scholastic ability. His progress is advancing far faster than originally anticipated.”
“I see.”
“He shows particular aptitude in Imperial Studies, Diplomacy, and Swordsmanship.”
At the Aide’s report, the Emperor smiled with satisfaction. Just as he’d thought. No son had ever pleased him quite like Valensio.
“Cough, cough.”
The Emperor’s serene face twisted instantly. His quiet cough transformed into a wrenching spasm that seemed to squeeze his lungs.
“Your Majesty! I’ll summon a physician at once!”
“Never mind.”
The Emperor caught the Aide, who had gone ashen and was bolting toward the door. Though his body had weakened, his spirit remained undiminished.
‘Not yet. There is still work to be done.’
Until he had established the Council of Elders and secured Valensio’s position as Crown Prince, the Emperor could not rest easy.
***
“A yawn…”
Lucian covered his mouth as a yawn escaped. He was heading to his Bedroom after a long day of lessons.
‘I wonder how Eloïse is faring.’
Only four days had passed since their parting, yet the days they’d spent together seemed impossibly distant.
A glimmering orange point caught his eye at the Bedroom window.
“…!”
A carrier pigeon with deep gray plumage and amber eyes was hovering at the windowsill. The one he’d been waiting for had finally arrived.
“You’ve come at last.”
He opened the window, and the pigeon flew into his embrace. A letter was bound to its leg.
Lucian untied the note and read its contents. His eyes widened.

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