The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 88

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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!
088.
“I’m the one at fault—why must Hugo be punished in my place?”
Valensio raised his voice for the first time, but the Empress didn’t flinch.
“Step aside, Prince.”
“No! Let me take the punishment instead!”
“Your Highness…….”
Hugo was the one caught between them, and he began trying to soothe Valensio.
“Your Highness, I’m all right.”
Yet Valensio shook his head, refusing to yield. The boy who usually acquiesced so readily had chosen his first hill to die on, and the Empress’s patience wore thin at once.
“Is anyone outside?”
A Maid entered at the Empress’s summons, and with practiced efficiency she pried the two boys apart.
Valensio thrashed in protest, but he was still just a child.
“Roll up your trousers.”
Hugo’s face drained of color as he slowly pushed the fabric up his legs.
Before raising the rod, the Empress turned her gaze to Valensio.
“Prince, do you know what your fault is?”
……
Valensio, held fast by the Maid, pressed his lips shut in refusal to speak, and the rebuke came swiftly.
“Not knowing is itself a sin. That means Hugo will deserve even greater punishment.”
“I—I called Your Majesty ‘Mother’ without permission!”
Valensio spoke urgently, but the Empress shook her head. It wasn’t the answer she sought.
“That’s not it.”
“Then……I apologize, but I truly don’t understand what my fault is.”
His large eyes began to glisten. He clenched his fists, driving his small nails into his palms to keep from crying, but it did little good.
“If—if you would tell me what I’ve done wrong, I promise to be more careful from now on.”
Valensio pleaded, holding back his tears with visible effort. The Empress, watching him, spoke gently.
“As the elder, you should guide your younger brother with care, not revel in your own joy while he grieves. In such moments, you must look after him all the more.”
……
“Moreover, boasting is unbecoming. For a prince, such things should be taken for granted.”
Valensio didn’t fully understand her words. Avoiding her gaze, he reluctantly replied.
“Yes, I shall remember it. Your Majesty.”
……
“I will be more careful going forward. So please, this time, grant me forgiveness…….”
Before Valensio could finish, the rod cut through the air with a terrible whistle, striking Hugo’s calf.
Ungh!
Hugo bit his lip to stifle a cry, but a wail escaped against his will.
Startled, Valensio looked at the Empress.
“Your Majesty!”
“Since this is his first time, I’ll end it at five strokes.”
The rod fell again immediately. Valensio struggled, begging to be let go, while the Maid held him fast, her eyes squeezed shut.
That day, Hugo’s calves bore raw, crimson welts—and Valensio’s heart bore a wound far deeper.
“Your Highness, why do you seem so downcast?”
The Tutor watched with concern as Valensio sat listlessly before him. The boy who usually sparkled with eagerness during lessons was nowhere to be found.
“No, no! I was simply thinking of something else. I’ll focus now, Master.”
Valensio shook his head and forced a smile. The Tutor, pitying him, distributed the Exam Papers to both children.
“Today, as I mentioned before, you’ll be taking a test.”
“Ugh, I hate this!!!”
Camilo slammed his desk and whined, but even the Tutor wouldn’t back down this time.
“Begin at once.”
While Valensio worked diligently through the problems, Camilo grumbled and stared at his paper before finally picking up his pencil.
Once the test was finished and graded, Camilo broke into a brilliant grin.
“Wow! I did better than Valensio!”
He was right. Camilo had gotten one problem correct out of ten, and Valensio had not answered a single one right.
“You should call him ‘brother,’ not by name.”
“Hehe! I’m going to tell Mother!”
The Tutor’s words fell on deaf ears as Camilo, delighted, grabbed his paper and bounded out of the Study Room without permission.
Silence settled over the room with only Valensio remaining. He stared wordlessly at his Exam Paper, covered entirely in marks indicating wrong answers.
The Tutor knelt to meet him at eye level.
“Why did you do that, Your Highness?”
“My studies have been insufficient. I apologize, Master.”
The Tutor shook his head. To his adult eyes, the child’s intentions were transparent.
Valensio had deliberately answered every question wrong out of consideration for Camilo, who was always being scolded.
“You needn’t lie to me.”
The moment the Tutor’s large hand gently stroked the back of Valensio’s head, tears welled up in the young prince’s eyes.
“You are a good person, Your Highness. Clever, and above all, your heart is warm.”
Sob—waaah!
At those kind words, Valensio’s composure shattered. Unable to hold back, the Tutor embraced the child, who then wept openly in his arms.
“I’m ashamed to have shown you such a sight. I’m so sorry, Master.”
Valensio dried his tears and tried to recover his usual composure.
“There is no shame in weeping when your heart is sorrowful, Your Highness.”
……
“But deliberately hiding your true ability is not right. I hope you won’t do so again.”
“……I understand.”
Valensio nodded, bowed stiffly with puffy eyes, and left the Study Room.
The Tutor watched the prematurely serious young prince depart with sorrowful eyes.
“Mother! I did very well on the test today!”
On his way to the Empress’s Palace, Valensio stopped at the sound of a familiar voice echoing from nearby.
When he turned, he spotted Camilo and the Queen enjoying tea in the nearby Garden.
Camilo was pestering his mother with childish affection—had Valensio done the same, he would have been scolded for impropriety.
“My, how well did you do?”
“Brace yourself. I got…… one right!”
“One? Oh my! You learned one correctly, then. How impressive, Your Highness!”
The Queen smiled warmly.
“And here’s the amazing part—Valensio didn’t get even one right! I did better than that fool!”
Camilo puffed out his chest proudly. The Queen, charmed by her son’s display, gently corrected him.
“My dear. Even so, you should call him your brother, not by name.”
“Hmph! I won’t!”
“Besides, Your Highness, you should go wash your face. You’re covered in dirt.”
The Queen gestured to a nearby Maid, and Camilo obediently followed her back into the Palace.
Alone again, the Queen sipped her tea when she sensed a presence. She glanced around and spotted Valensio standing among the neatly arranged trees.
Startled, Valensio stepped back. The Queen’s face brightened with a smile.
“Your Highness! Did you have a good lesson?”
“Yes? Yes, I did.”
“Oh, how well-mannered you are. Would you like to come sit and have a Cookie? They turned out especially delicious today.”
The Queen held out the Cookie, and Valensio, who had been hesitating, slowly made his way toward her.
“Come sit here.”
When the Queen offered the seat beside her, Valensio carefully sat down. A sweet Cookie appeared before his eyes.
“Th—thank you.”
As Valensio bit into the Cookie with his small mouth, the Queen affectionately stroked the back of his head.
Seeing his puffy eyes, the Queen spoke tenderly.
“You must be tired from your studies and from looking after our Camilo, hmm?”
“……No, it’s not that. I’m happy to have Camilo.”
At those warm words, Valensio felt the tears rising again. But unwilling to cry more, he bit down firmly on the Cookie.
The Queen watched him eat the entire Cookie. He wiped away the crumbs from his mouth with careful dignity.
“Your Highness is so mature, so different from our Camilo.”
This time, Valensio turned to stare directly at the Queen’s face.
“I……”
“Is there something you’d like to say?”
Valensio answered with a blink instead. To anyone watching, he clearly had something on his mind.
“I wonder what our prince wishes to tell me.”
With a gentle smile and an air of readiness to hear anything, the Queen prompted him gently. Valensio found his courage.
“Could I……could I perhaps call you Mother too?”

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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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