The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 64

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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!
064.
Ned emerged from where he’d been hiding and examined the window from which the arrow had come. Then he vanished over the sill.
Eloïse, watching him go, squirmed in Lucian’s embrace. The hands wrapped around her shoulders and waist were remarkably solid. She felt his chest rise and fall against hers with perfect clarity.
“Lucian.”
When Eloïse softly spoke his name, he slowly released her.
His dazed gaze searched her face for injury.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Once they’d confirmed each other’s safety, their eyes turned to the same point.
An arrow was firmly embedded in the thick carpet. If not for Lucian, it would have pierced her chest without question.
“Eloïse.”
As she moved toward the arrow, Lucian seized her hand without thinking.
“There’s a message attached.”
“I’ll check it.”
Lucian held her in place and retrieved the arrow himself.
When he unfolded the note tied to it, he found hasty, jagged handwriting. Eloïse rose on her toes to read it as well.
“If you wish to live… leave at once?”
First poison, now an arrow.
Though the arrow had nearly struck Eloïse, Lucian sensed instinctively that the warning was directed not at her, but at him.
Eloïse seemed to reach the same conclusion, murmuring aloud.
“Could it be Camilo again?”
Lucian was just closing the window and examining the arrow more closely when—
“Your Highness!? What in the world is that arrow?”
Lucian’s Attendant stood at the door, his face drained of color. Behind him came the Emperor and his own Attendant.
In the Reception Room with the Emperor and Lucian, the three of them standing, Eloïse forthwith disclosed every ambush that had occurred thus far.
The Emperor’s expression grew grave as he examined the arrow and the threatening note.
“Who on earth would do such a thing?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty, but we have not yet determined that.”
“Increase the guards around the Crown Prince’s residence. I shall investigate the matter myself. Do not worry yourself overmuch.”
Having received the answer she wanted, Eloïse’s stern expression finally eased.
“Valensio, are you injured?”
The Emperor’s concerned gaze fell upon Lucian, who nodded.
“As you can see, I am unharmed. It is entirely due to Lady Eloïse’s quick thinking.”
The Emperor’s eyes then turned to Eloïse’s composed face.
After studying the spirited noblewoman’s eyes for some time, the Emperor smoothly changed the subject.
“In any case, I have only now found the occasion to thank you, my lady. I am truly grateful that you found my son.”
The Emperor smiled warmly, and Eloïse returned a small smile.
“To be of service to the Imperial House is honor enough for me.”
“Do not be so formal. If there is anything you desire, speak freely. Should it be within my power to grant, I shall grant it. The reason I summoned you today is precisely for this purpose.”
At the Emperor’s words, though her face remained serene, Eloïse’s pulse quickened. She harbored a lifelong ambition.
“I would…”
Eloïse tensed uncharacteristically. Her lips had gone dry. This might be the moment her long-cherished dream could come true.
‘Should I speak carefully? That I wish to inherit my family’s peerage? That ought to suffice.’
Yet in an instant, the color drained from her brightening face.
“But first—how do you regard our Valensio, my lady?”
“I… beg your pardon?”
At the unexpected question, Eloïse’s eyes widened.
“I believe there is no one more suited to be Crown Princess than you.”
“Ah…”
The moment the Crown Princess title was mentioned, confusion flickered across her gaze.
She had dismissed the suspicions of the ladies in high society regarding herself and Lucian without much concern, but she had never anticipated the Emperor himself would raise such a matter. This was entirely unforeseen.
“Your Majesty is most gracious, but…”
“If you say you are willing, your father will surely give his hearty approval.”
“That is to say…”
Eloïse floundered, unable to find suitable words to deflect. For Lucian, witnessing her flustered state was unprecedented.
“Your Majesty, I still have much to learn. Above all, I wish to focus on adapting to the Imperial Palace for the time being.”
Unable to stand aside, Lucian interjected diplomatically, though he could not hide the bitterness in his heart.
“Ha. Have I moved too hastily, like an old man?”
…
“Both the reward and the matter of the Crown Princess can wait—there is ample time to consider such things. However, there is one request I would make.”
“Please, Your Majesty, speak.”
“I ask that you continue to be our Valensio’s strength, as you have been until now.”
“Yes… I shall do so.”
With Eloïse’s hollow reply, the audience between the three drew to a close.
Eloïse could not remember how she had exited the Reception Room.
The two of them stood awkwardly before the Main Palace, exchanging glances. Lucian had lessons to attend, and Eloïse was to meet with Princess Danae, and so they were about to part ways.
“Your Highness, then I shall take my leave…”
“Eloïse.”
Eloïse straightened from her bow and looked at Lucian. His expression seemed oddly rigid.
“Do not wander the Imperial Palace alone from now on. I shall have someone assigned to you…”
“There is no need, Your Highness.”
At her cool response, his expression darkened further. Overcome with a surge of emotion, Lucian spoke impetuously.
“Listen to me, lady. This is not a request—it is a command.”
At the word “command,” Eloïse’s eyes narrowed, but she offered no further protest.
The Attendant standing behind them quickly summoned a temporary escort.
Lucian watched for a long time as Eloïse receded into the distance under the protection of her temporary attendant, unable to turn his gaze away, though he could not explain why.
***
Upon arriving at Princess Danae’s residence, Eloïse was immediately shown to her bedchamber.
Danae, dressed comfortably, welcomed Eloïse warmly, and Eloïse’s troubled mood improved somewhat. She recounted all that had transpired in detail.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean it was Camilo’s doing.”
As Danae listened carefully, she adjusted her glasses and spoke with cool reasoning.
“Think about it—Camilo is the most obvious suspect to everyone. Camilo isn’t a fool. Would he act so rashly?”
‘That’s true, but…’
Eloïse reluctantly nodded. Though her mind understood Danae’s logic, her heart still insisted that Camilo was the culprit.
“Then perhaps…”
“It could be the work of a noble house. Those who support Camilo would surely see Crown Prince Valensio as a thorn in their side.”
Suddenly, Eloïse recalled the lady at the tea party who had supported Camilo so steadfastly. Could that house truly be behind this?
“Don’t trouble yourself too much. Father knows the situation now, and whoever they are, they will likely restrain themselves for a while.”
“I suppose so.”
Yet despite her words, fire flickered in Eloïse’s eyes. The determination to find the culprit was evident.
“In any case, thank you for summoning me to the Imperial Palace again, Your Highness.”
Eloïse rose and bowed respectfully to Danae. Speaking her worries aloud had lightened her heart considerably.
“Oh, well… I summoned you for another reason as well.”
“Another reason?”
Danae’s expression grew sheepish, and after a moment’s hesitation, she suddenly grasped Eloïse’s hand.
“I meant what I said about entering high society, my lady.”
“Yes?”
“I… I want to stand properly before others as a princess. And for that, I need your help.”
Danae’s ears and cheeks had flushed scarlet as she avoided Eloïse’s gaze.
The princess who had always seemed self-assured in front of Eloïse and Lucian was nowhere to be found. The stooped figure before her seemed to shrink into herself.
In truth, Danae herself knew it best. Though she had evaded the matter all this while, she was painfully aware of her own immaturity and clumsiness in interpersonal relations.
After her humiliation at Princess Sienna’s tea party, she had felt for the first time a genuine desire to change.
The hands of trembling Danae, clasped around Eloïse’s own, quivered with desperation.
“Of course I shall help you, Your Highness. Just trust me.”
Eloïse placed her other hand atop the princess’s, and only then did Danae lift her downcast head to look at her.
In that moment, Eloïse seemed to Danae like a savior descended from heaven. At least, that was how she appeared in Danae’s eyes.
“My lady!”
Like a child, Danae cried out and suddenly embraced Eloïse.
‘She has her endearing side, doesn’t she.’
Though initially taken aback, Eloïse gently patted the princess as one might a younger sister.
By the time Eloïse returned to the Guest Room, evening had already fallen. Mary, who had been waiting for her, welcomed her warmly.
“Miss, did you finish your business? Shall I have supper prepared?”
Eloïse shook her head and collapsed onto the bed as though she might fall through it. Mary, following behind her, began to chatter.
“You mustn’t skip meals now. Or would you rather bathe first? Perhaps your appetite will return afterward.”
…
Eloïse lacked the energy to respond. It had been an exhausting day in every way. Had she closed her eyes, she felt she might sink into deep sleep immediately.
Watching as Eloïse’s eyes closed, Mary puffed out her cheeks.
“Gracious me. How are you to endure until the Harvest Festival? You must eat properly, you hear?”
That’s right—the Harvest Festival.
“Oh my goodness!”
Eloïse sat bolt upright and looked at Mary.
“Mary, bring me parchment and a pen.”

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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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