The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 78

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

The slave is far too handsome!
078.
“Believe in me? What do you mean…”
Lucian, momentarily startled, tried to pull his hand free from Monica’s grip, but the Young Noble would not release him easily.
It was astonishing that such a strong grip could come from a frame so small.
“All those rumors about Your Highness being a slave—I don’t believe them.”
“Ah… Thank you, Monica.”
When Lucian offered a courteous smile, Monica’s cheeks flushed crimson.
Only then did Monica realize the recklessness of her own actions, and she withdrew her hand from his.
“Then I shall take my leave first.”
“I was wondering, though…”
She seemed to have more to say. Lucian’s eyes encouraged her to continue.
Drawing courage from his expression, Monica went on with what she had left unsaid.
“Does Your Highness perhaps have feelings for Young Noble Eloïse?”
“……”
The awkward question made Lucian’s face stiffen before he realized it. He knew he should deny it outright, yet the words refused to leave his lips.
As the silence stretched on, Monica’s expression too grew steadily darker.
“So Your Highness truly…”
“It’s delicate to speak of such matters in the absent party’s presence. Shall we pretend I didn’t hear that question? Please return safely, Monica.”
Lucian hastily brushed aside the situation and stepped away first. He saw Monica open her mouth to protest, but he had no room to indulge her further.
Left alone, Monica watched Lucian’s receding figure with unmistakable disappointment on her face.
***
“His Highness Prince Valensio has arrived!”
When Lucian arrived at the Audience Chamber of the Imperial Palace with a somewhat frozen expression, it was not the Emperor or the Grand Duke who greeted him, but an unexpected figure.
“Hmm?”
The door opened, and a boy who appeared to be four or five years old scampered toward Lucian.
“Who are you?”
Lucian, who was fond of children, smiled and readily lifted the unfamiliar boy into his arms.
The child only giggled, saying nothing. Lucian’s face broke into a smile as well, and he asked again.
“Well? What’s your name?”
“……”
“Aden, you must greet His Highness properly.”
A man’s low voice reached Lucian’s ears from behind, and he started. It was a voice he could never forget.
As Lucian entered the chamber still carrying the child, a man standing beside Camilo—who had arrived earlier—turned to greet him.
It was Dominic, Grand Duke of the Essen Duchy. When he saw Lucian, something inscrutable flickered across his eyes.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness Valensio. I am Dominic Essen.”
The Grand Duke smiled brightly, and Lucian forced himself to return the expression.
“Welcome to the Finestra Empire, Your Grace. I am Valensio Sess Floreño.”
“You are quite fond of children, Your Highness.”
At the Grand Duke’s remark, Lucian gazed down at the boy in his arms—Aden.
Curly brown hair and brown eyes. Looking closer, Aden bore a striking resemblance to Grand Duke Dominic.
“Aden, come here.”
The Grand Duke called tenderly, and Lucian carefully set Aden on the ground. The boy toddled toward his father.
“Your son is adorable.”
“Is he? It would be nice if he would speak, at least.”
The Grand Duke, holding his son, smiled ruefully.
“He cannot speak yet?”
At Camilo’s question, the Grand Duke nodded.
“Since he suffered a fall from a horse last year, he has not been able to speak.”
Contrary to the pity in the Grand Duke’s gaze, Aden merely smiled contentedly in his father’s arms.
“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!”
Soon, the Emperor and his two sons, along with the Grand Duke, sat opposite one another at a round table.
“I apologize for my tardiness—I was occupied with urgent matters. I beg your pardon, Your Majesty.”
“Ha! The later you come, the longer you must stay with us.”
The Grand Duke spoke with light banter, and the Emperor responded with laughter.
Though they were meeting for the first time, the two men exchanged talk as if they had known each other for years.
Lucian glanced at Camilo. He seemed focused on assessing what sort of man Grand Duke Dominic was.
Meanwhile, Lucian sat with an unsettled expression, recalling the moment he had received Brick’s letter that morning. Though by now it felt like ancient history.

The moment Lucian read Brick’s letter, he had desperately hoped the content was false.
But at least for today, it seemed the gods had chosen not to side with Lucian and Eloïse.
Everything was exactly as Brick had said.
Unlike other diplomatic envoys, the Grand Duke of the Essen Duchy, who arrived belatedly, had once been Lucian’s commanding officer during the days when Lucian toiled as a mercenary in Callum.
The man Lucian remembered was, to put it charitably, aggressive—or to put it bluntly, a man who would stop at nothing to achieve his aims.
The reason Lucian and Brick had left the Mercenary Company earlier than planned was entirely because of Dominic.
‘You’re worthless dogs, less than garbage left on the roadside!’
He was a man who held others’ lives lightly, and his mercenaries’ lives were treated as especially worthless.
Thus Lucian and Brick had quarreled bitterly with their captain and left that place with their men.
‘I thought I would never see him again…’
Yet here stood Dominic before his eyes, and not merely as a mercenary captain but as an Imperial Prince and a Grand Duke. Lucian felt himself caught in the grip of cruel fate.
“By the way, I’ve prepared a small gift to celebrate Your Highness Valensio’s return.”
“A gift, you say?”
“Yes. Would Your Highness be pleased to accept it?”
Lucian, who had been lost in thought, finally stirred. The Emperor, the Grand Duke, and Camilo were all staring at him.
“…Of course.”
At Lucian’s reply, the Grand Duke gestured to one of his attendants standing by the door.
Presently, the Grand Duke’s attendant entered carrying a rather large box. Once the large box was placed on the table, the Grand Duke himself opened it to reveal its contents.
“This is…”
The Emperor and Camilo peered into the box with wide eyes.
‘Novadine.’
Unlike the two astounded men, Lucian maintained a composed expression.
The box was filled with Novadine—a rare mineral that could barely be obtained even in Callum.
“Your Highness Valensio surely knows what this is?”
The Grand Duke withdrew a piece of the mineral and offered it to Lucian, asking casually.
Lucian took it and examined the crimson-gleaming mineral carefully in his hand.
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know Novadine? I myself have dealt primarily in Novadine while running a trading company.”
“……”
“However, this Novadine appears to have far superior purity compared to what we obtained in Callum.”
At Lucian’s words, Camilo also reached out to feel the mineral.
“Your discernment is indeed remarkable.”
The Grand Duke smiled at Lucian with a knowing grin. That smile seemed to carry the meaning that he knew of your past, and Lucian felt a chill run down his spine.
“Recently, a new Novadine vein was discovered in our homeland. To exaggerate only slightly, the entire nation could set out to mine it and still fall short. Ha.”
While the Grand Duke laughed freely, the three members of the Imperial family did not join him.
Novadine was the cornerstone of high-grade weapon craftsmanship. Until now, Finestra had controlled the vast majority of Callum’s output.
If the Duchy had discovered a new vein, the situation changed entirely.
It was enough to shake the power balance of the entire continent.
‘I’d heard rumors of a vein being discovered, but I never thought it would actually be true. And on such a massive scale? … This is going to be troublesome.’
Even as Lucian thought this, the Grand Duke’s eyes turned toward the Emperor with something of a challenge in them.
“Your Majesty, is there perhaps something you desire?”
The Emperor’s expression hardened at the provocation in his tone.
“There’s no need for such haste. We have time—let us discuss this gradually.”
“Indeed. For now, wouldn’t it be better to enjoy a feast, Your Grace?”
Just as a dangerous tension threatened to form, Lucian and Camilo intervened with measured words.
“Very well. But before that…”
The Grand Duke, displaying an air of already having claimed victory, fixed his gaze directly on Lucian.
“I would like to have a private word with Your Highness Valensio.”
Lucian did not avert his gaze from the man’s eyes.

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