The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 81

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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!
081.
‘This can’t be right…….’
Eloïse moved through Camilo’s Office with urgent purpose.
She rifled quickly through the desk and bookshelves, but found nothing of value. No classified documents anywhere.
Had I overestimated Camilo?
He seemed simpler than she’d given him credit for. No matter which corner she searched, there was nothing worth taking.
Instead, Eloïse left the Poison Bottle hidden in drawer corners and secret book-boxes throughout the room. She had faith that it would find its use soon enough.
Eloïse returned to the Bedroom, moving without a sound.
The most obvious places were often overlooked. Perhaps something important lay hidden in the bedroom itself.
Fortunately, Camilo still slept soundly. After a quick glance to confirm it, Eloïse unfastened one of her Earrings and tossed it beneath the bed.
Next she opened the nightstand beside the bed silently, but found nothing of note.
As she quietly worked through the pillows and bedding, a large shadow fell across her.
“This is precisely why I favor young noblewomen.”
“……!!!”
Before Eloïse could respond, her vision spun.
When she came to her senses in the chaos of the moment, she found herself pinned beneath him on the bed.
Camilo sat astride her, his eyes blazing with intensity. He subdued both her arms with an ease that left her helpless.
“……Step back.”
Eloïse spoke calmly, eyes narrowed to slits. Camilo matched her stare with equal ferocity.
“Tell me. What were you doing?”
“Nothing at all…….”
“Don’t lie to me!”
Eloïse fought to maintain her composure.
“I was looking for my lost Earring.”
Camilo’s skeptical gaze flicked to her ears. Her right ear glittered with jewels; her left was bare.
“…….”
In the next instant, Camilo leaned down, closing the distance. Eloïse struggled against him, but her efforts proved futile.
Fortunately, the worst did not occur. Instead, Camilo whispered a warning against her ear.
“Listen well, young noblewoman. You can carry on like this only until we’re married.”
“…….”
“After our wedding, you won’t set foot beyond the Imperial Palace—not even beyond my Bedroom. The only thing a noblewoman like you will do is bear heirs.”
At his deliberately vulgar words, Eloïse’s face hardened. If she could, she would have loved nothing more than to strike this crude man across the face.
Stay calm. Don’t become as common as he is.
Eloïse steadied herself and met his gaze directly.
“Dream all you like. It will never come to pass.”
Their eyes locked in an intense standoff.
How am I to escape this? Camilo sighed with visible irritation.
“Eloïse!”
At the sound of the familiar voice, the shadow that had held her vanished in an instant.
As she rose unsteadily, Eloïse saw Camilo sprawled on the floor with Lucian straddling him, fist raised.
With a sharp crack, Camilo’s head snapped to the side.
“Your Highness!”
At Eloïse’s startled cry, Lucian—one hand still gripping Camilo’s collar, the other still clenched into a fist—froze.
His grip loosened, and Camilo’s body slumped to the floor.
Lucian rose and approached Eloïse, his features flushed with adrenaline.
“……Are you all right?”
Lucian’s voice trembled. The wild expression on his face was one Eloïse had never seen before.
He looked as if he were barely holding back both rage and tears.
Eloïse nodded to reassure him, but that seemed insufficient—he pressed further.
“You’re truly all right, yes?”
“Yes. I truly am——”
Her words trailed away. Camilo had risen to his feet, his eyes burning with murderous intent.
Lucian sensed the shift and spun around. But in the split second before Camilo could strike,
“Your Highness, desist!”
Camilo’s Aide seized his master, restraining him. After a moment of struggle—still glaring at the back of Lucian’s head—Camilo finally went still.
Lucian’s Aide, who had been watching anxiously from the doorway, finally stepped inside.
“What in the world is the meaning of this?”
Lucian’s fury barely contained, he stood between the two, shielding Eloïse.
Camilo’s gaze swept over them both with clear displeasure, his mouth twisting.
“Do I owe you an explanation?”
“I wonder if you’d be quite so bold before the Council of Elders.”
Lucian pressed back without yielding. At that, Camilo’s thick brows flickered for the first time.
Lucian seized the moment, pressing harder.
“You dare treat a noblewoman this way—and no less than a young lady of La Croix, a pillar house of the Council itself? Did you believe yourself beyond reproach?”
“……This wouldn’t have happened if the young lady hadn’t smuggled Retainers into the Imperial Palace!”
Camilo’s gaze fixed on Eloïse.
“And? Even if she had, would any nobleman accept her being privately interrogated in such a manner?”
“…….”
“Your reputation is already in tatters. Do you wish to ruin it further?”
“Silence!!!”
Camilo erupted, but Lucian’s answering smile was that of one holding the upper hand.
Camilo struggled to regain his composure, breathing heavily.
“Very well. In my magnanimity, I shall forgive the young lady’s transgressions.”
Camilo retreated a step, yet Eloïse’s expression remained unchanged.
“Where are my Retainers?”
“Your Retainers?”
“Yes. Not Retainers of the Imperial Guard, but my own Retainers.”
As she continued to deny culpability, Camilo let out a hollow laugh.
“By now, I’d wager they’re in the Rear Courtyard.”
“The Rear Courtyard……?”
“I permitted the retrieval of the bodies.”
“……!!”
The moment the word “bodies” left Camilo’s lips, Eloïse bolted from the Office.
“Eloïse!”
Lucian rushed after her in alarm.
Once Lucian’s Aide had also departed, leaving only his Aide in the empty Office, Camilo finally began to laugh.
The image of Eloïse’s face—ashen with shock—pleased him immensely.
“Heh heh……hahahaha!”
Camilo broke into loud, gleeful laughter. His Aide watched with a mixture of unease.
“Second Prince, Your Highness.”
At the audacious greeting, Camilo turned. A blond-haired man of dull appearance stood in the doorway with bold confidence. It was Ned, Eloïse’s escort.
“What do you want?”
Ned flinched at the sharp tone. Then, straightening himself, he asked eagerly.
“I wonder, when will my contributions finally be recognized? I stand ready to offer my loyalty to you, Your Highness.”
“Loyalty, you say…….”
Camilo advanced toward him with an unpleasant smile. Ned involuntarily stepped back.
“Whether to call you naive or stupid, I’m not quite certain.”
“…….”
As Camilo tapped Ned’s shoulder, the man’s complexion visibly darkened. This was not the response he had hoped for. Stiffening, Ned averted his gaze.
“Do I look like a fool who would employ someone who has betrayed his master?”
“……Ugh!!!”
Camilo kicked Ned’s shin with full force, and the man crumpled to the ground in a heap.
As Camilo raised his leg for another strike, Ned curled into a protective ball.
“Pathetic wretch.”
For the first time, Camilo found someone too contemptible even to bother kicking. He gestured to his Aide.
“What are you gawking at? Dispose of this trash.”
The Aide bowed in assent, and the Second Prince’s guards emerged from their hiding places. Panic-stricken, Ned cried out.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
Thus Ned was seized by the guards and dragged away into darkness.
***
Eloïse’s pace slowed as she raced from the Second Prince’s residence toward the Rear Courtyard.
“……Violet?”
Camilo’s words had been truth. In the center of the Rear Courtyard lay a fallen figure.
No. It couldn’t be.
Eloïse walked toward her escort with heavy steps and sank to her knees before the motionless form.
Lucian, catching up, came to a halt at the sight of her.
Eloïse reached out and gently touched Violet’s cheek. The pale skin was cold, stiffened beyond the chill of death itself.
‘This cannot be.’
Eloïse seized her shoulders and shook them desperately, but Violet did not wake.
Unable any longer to deny the truth, Eloïse collapsed without a sound.

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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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