The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 73

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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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That slave is too handsome!
073.
After delivering Eloïse back to her chambers, Lucian stepped out toward the Crown Prince’s Palace when he suddenly halted mid-stride.
A man’s voice, trembling with sobs, drifted from somewhere nearby, followed by a woman’s tender reply.
“Now, now—a grown man crying like this?”
Lucian found his feet drawing him toward the source of the voices.
……
The owner of that trembling voice was Camilo. He leaned his massive frame against his mother, Nora the Empress Consort, while lamenting his troubles.
“I’m terrified, Mother. That wretch will steal everything from me.”
“Why worry about things that haven’t even happened yet?”
“But Mother, you saw it today—how he defeated me. I’m so frustrated I can’t even sleep!”
“You performed admirably as well, Camilo. And there will be other competitions—you can win the next one.”
“But still……”
As Camilo nestled deeper into his mother’s embrace, Nora gently patted his back in comfort.
Watching the scene, Lucian felt a flicker of envy cross his eyes. Despite his efforts not to compare, the Empress inevitably came to mind.
‘Does she not yet understand the weight of that position?’
Had the Empress been equally cold toward young Valensio? No matter how he tried to imagine it, he could not conjure an image of a tender Empress.
Feeling a fresh wave of pity for young Valensio, Lucian quietly withdrew.
When Lucian finally returned to his bedchamber late that night, sleep eluded him. Thoughts of Eloïse refused to leave his mind.
The soft sensation that had brushed his lips, the flustered expression on her face—both remained vivid and clear.
He’d brought up the Equestrian Competition merely to ease the awkwardness between them. And yet……
‘Then why don’t you do it properly right now?’
The moment Eloïse had thrown that challenge back at him, he’d acted on impulse and kissed her.
Unlike that first kiss—sudden and overwhelming—the second had been deliberate.
Her lips had been impossibly sweet, and more than anything, Eloïse had not pushed him away. She was far too endearing like that—a side he wanted only for himself, that he alone wished to see.
In that kiss, born from emotion rather than reason, Lucian had caught a glimpse of something he’d never quite acknowledged before.
His feelings for Eloïse ran deeper and far larger than he had realized.
He understood perfectly the desires of Camilo and the other men. Had he truly been a prince of the realm or a young master of nobility, he would have coveted Eloïse just as they did.
‘But……’
He knew better than anyone how desperately Eloïse longed to inherit a title. He also knew that his own feelings were an obstacle to her ambitions.
‘I should have eloped with her then.’
Lucian found himself recalling the moment when Eloïse had hidden aboard his ship, trying to follow him.
If only he had spirited her away then, wandering with her from place to place instead of returning to the Capital……
He shook his head at such fantasies. It was impossible. He could never crush her hopes with his own hands.
And so Lucian spent a sleepless night, watching the long dawn break over the horizon.
The next morning, he finally drifted into shallow sleep, only to wake with an irritating sensation crawling across his skin.
“Mm……? What is it?”
As he cracked open his heavy eyelids, he spotted a Carrier Pigeon hovering near his pillow. It must have entered through the window he’d left slightly ajar the previous night.
Wanting nothing more than a few minutes’ additional rest, Lucian turned his head and closed his eyes—only for the pigeon to peck sharply at the back of his skull.
“……Fine. I’m getting up.”
Lucian rose from his bed.
As always, a small note was bound to the pigeon’s leg. Lucian’s expression hardened subtly.
Without even unfolding it, he could guess what Eloïse had written.
Unaware of his thoughts, the Carrier Pigeon continued to peck insistently at his knee, urging him to read the note.
With trembling fingers, he untied the note from the bird’s leg. As his eyes traced Eloïse’s neat handwriting, his gaze grew dark.
Her letter began by earnestly congratulating him on his victory in the Equestrian Competition. She apologized for her emotional behavior these past few days. Only at the end did she reveal her true intention.

Lucian’s expression turned bitter. It was neither tears nor laughter, but something strange and twisted between the two.
‘So it was only my feeling, after all.’
On some level, he’d expected as much. Yet being proven right didn’t make the confirmation any less painful.
As he always did, he burned the note. He wished his heart could be extinguished just as easily.
Knock, knock—
The sound pulled Lucian from his brooding back to reality.
“Come in.”
His aide pushed open the door early in the morning.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
“Good morning to you.”
“A gift has arrived for you, Your Highness.”
“A gift?”
Lucian tilted his head. Since news of his return had spread throughout the Empire and beyond, congratulatory gifts had poured in from every corner.
All such gifts underwent inspection at the Imperial Palace before being transferred to the Imperial Treasury or the Crown Prince’s Palace storage. Direct delivery to Lucian himself was rare.
“There was a particular request that it be delivered directly to you, Your Highness.”
“Directly?”
As the aide opened the door wide, servants carried a large box inside.
‘What on earth is this?’
A small envelope was attached to the top of the box. On its face was an initial written in familiar handwriting.
‘Brick?’
It seemed the distant Brick had heard the news. Lucian’s heart quickened as he tore open the envelope and examined the letter.

He could hear Brick’s cheerful voice ringing through the very words on the page.

The moment Eloïse’s name was mentioned, Lucian opened the box. The first thing that greeted him was a finely wrought Jewel.
‘So I’m to deliver it to her.’
The thought of Eloïse receiving a gift from another man—even if it was from Brick—was unbearable.
Jealousy swelled in his chest, and an empty laugh formed on his lips. The hand holding the letter clenched involuntarily.
Just as Lucian was about to crumple the letter and discard it, he forced himself to be patient and read on.
“……What?”
His expression grew complicated as he read the rest.
***
Meanwhile, Eloïse, who had also spent the night awake, was receiving a report from one of her guards.
“Young Lady, the bottle you commissioned has been completed.”
The guard handed her a small vial. It was identical to the bottle that had contained the poison intended for Lucian during the Imperial Prince Verification process.
“You’ve worked hard for this.”
“Not at all. Rather, we did locate the person who originally created that poison, but he was already dead.”
……
Eloïse’s eyes narrowed.
Was Camilo more cunning than she’d thought? Or was it possible that the Empress herself had ordered the attack on Lucian?
It was at that moment that a dull sound came from the wall behind the bed.
“Could you step aside for a moment?”
“Yes, of course.”
Once her guard had withdrawn, Eloïse clutched the vial and approached the wall behind the bed.
The wall slid open, revealing Lucian in full uniform.
Though she’d seen him like this many times before, Eloïse felt her heart race unexpectedly. It was all because of yesterday’s accident.
The two of them stood awkwardly facing each other. Then, as before, Lucian was the first to speak.
“Good morning, El.”
“……Yes, good morning.”
“You promised to treat me as you always have, yet you still have that expression.”
Eloïse forced a smile.
“I didn’t sleep well. Have you eaten breakfast?”
Lucian shook his head lightly.
“I came because there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
Eloïse guided him to the table.
Lucian’s face grew serious as he began to explain the letter from Brick. Eloïse listened intently and nodded her head.
Just as their conversation was concluding, Lucian added something more.
“One last thing—I have a favor to ask of you, El.”
At the word “favor” again, just as yesterday, Eloïse’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“What is it?”
“……Well.”
The longer Lucian hesitated, the more anxious Eloïse became. He averted his gaze before speaking again.
What followed made Eloïse’s expression shift to one of surprise.
“I’ll do as you ask, but in exchange—I’d prefer it if you didn’t grow close to the Prince of the Montserrat Kingdom. That’s my request.”
“What?”
The Prince of the Montserrat Kingdom—he was referring to Simon.
‘Why is he suddenly bringing up Simon now?’

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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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