The Slave Is Too Handsome - Chapter 92

—————
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!
092.
As Lucian spoke firmly before the fire, Eloïse was at a loss for words, her eyes blinking in shock.
Only then did Lucian realize the misunderstanding and hastily backpedaled.
“No, I mean… if you stay in wet clothes, you’ll catch a worse cold. So change into something dry and warm yourself by the fire.”
“…I don’t have anything to change into.”
“…”
Without hesitation, Lucian pulled his shirt over his head. Eloïse, flustered, quickly turned away.
“Wear this, Eloïse. I have a coat too. I’ll give you that as well.”
Lucian held out the shirt with his upper body bare, tilting his head curiously. Eloïse’s cheeks, averted from his gaze, had flushed a deep red.
“…What is it, Eloïse?”
“What?”
Lucian recalled the day he’d been dragged to the Wardrobe Room in the Capital, hesitating for a moment before speaking playfully.
“You said before that seeing me bare didn’t bother you at all.”
“…”
Eloïse snatched the shirt from Lucian’s hand in answer, her gaze still fixed elsewhere.
“Turn around while I change.”
“Yes, Master.”
Hearing the old title after so long, Eloïse glared at Lucian, who was grinning. Only then did he cover his mouth and slowly turn his back.
“…I’m done.”
The moment Eloïse spoke, Lucian quickly wrapped his large coat tightly around her. He laid his jacket before the fire and seated her upon it, then gathered her wet clothes, shook off the dirt, and spread them out before the flames.
Soon he settled beside Eloïse to warm himself. When he noticed her persistent gaze and turned his head, their eyes met.
Even as she stretched her hands toward the fire to warm herself, her eyes remained fixed on Lucian.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…I was wondering if perhaps I’m dead too.”
Lucian carefully took Eloïse’s hand as she spoke matter-of-factly. Her hand was still cold, unlike his, which was quite warm.
“You’re very much alive. Both of us are.”
Lucian pressed her small hand against his cheek as he spoke.
Uncertain if any of this felt real, Eloïse moved her fingers gently, carefully tracing his face.
Her hand drifted from his cheek across his high nose. When her finger touched his lips, he caught his breath without thinking.
Just as his eyes were naturally closing at the ticklish sensation, the hand tracing his lips suddenly pinched his cheek hard.
“Ow!”
His eyes flew open in surprise, and Eloïse spoke.
“Don’t give me a fright like that.”
Lucian rubbed his pinched cheek with a hollow laugh.
“That’s my line.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“I thought I was losing my mind while you were unconscious.”
“…”
Eloïse did not look away from Lucian’s intense gaze. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a long moment.
It was Lucian who broke the silence first.
“…Is your body alright?”
Eloïse nodded.
A lie.
Lucian’s eyes remained suspicious. She must have come this far against the objections of those around her. Perhaps Mary had even fainted…
“Tell me everything that happened.”
At Eloïse’s urging, Lucian laid bare all that had occurred without omission.
His dealings with the Grand Duke, the negotiations, the hunt, his confrontation with Camilo’s Assassin Group, and even how he’d ventured to the far side of the cave to gather more firewood when he found Eloïse—everything.
Listening quietly, Eloïse clenched her fists.
“I’ll kill him.”
Lucian needed no further words to know her target was Camilo. An unfounded certainty seized him that this time, Eloïse truly would kill the Second Prince.
“And you—how did you come all this way?”
Now it was Eloïse’s turn.
She calmly explained how she’d heard news of him the moment she awoke and made her way here. Of course, she said nothing of the deal she’d made for Simon’s assistance.
When she finished her brief account, Lucian fell silent, his brow furrowed in thought.
“…”
Looking at Lucian’s creased brow, Eloïse wondered if she was about to hear a scolding like on her birthday.
But her expectation was wholly unfounded.
“Thank you for coming to save me.”
The moment she heard those words, Eloïse buried her face between her knees. She couldn’t decide what expression to show him.
Lucian noticed how red her ears had become, but he deliberately spoke as though nothing was amiss.
“Try to sleep. I’ll wake you when morning comes.”
At that, Eloïse lifted her head abruptly.
“We need to make plans.”
“It’s too late. We’ll do it tomorrow.”
At Lucian’s resolute expression, Eloïse reluctantly nodded.
As she lay back on the jacket, Lucian adjusted and drew the coat over her like a blanket.
“What about you? Won’t you sleep?”
“I need to keep watch over you.”
“…”
“I rested plenty before you arrived, don’t worry.”
Understanding now, Eloïse let her eyes drift closed. Her strength was already at its limit.
Yet despite both body and mind being pushed to their breaking point, sleep eluded her.
Watching Eloïse shift uncomfortably, Lucian called her name softly.
“Eloïse.”
His voice, soft as quilted down, caused her heavy eyelids to slowly open.
“Would you…like me to hold your hand?”
Lucian turned his palm upward where it lay on the ground, and his fingers wriggled as if urging her to take it.
Eloïse merely stared at his hand without speaking or moving.
Lucian, left alone in his embarrassment, gave a hollow cough.
“I was just…saying. Anyway, hurry and—”
Before he could finish, a small hand gently grasped his. When Lucian looked at Eloïse’s face again, her eyes were already closed.
Outside, heavy rain continued to pour without cease, but to Lucian’s ears, there was nothing but silence.
Though everything was in disarray and the future lay shrouded in uncertainty, his heart was strangely at peace. It was so for one reason alone—that Eloïse was beside him.
He could only gaze at Eloïse, who had just fallen asleep, and wish her peaceful dreams.
Lucian, who had drifted into a light sleep without realizing it, stirred awake. A faint groaning sound had reached his ears.
He rose and immediately checked on Eloïse.
“Eloïse?”
Eloïse was moaning softly in distress. She was having a nightmare.
“Eloïse.”
When Lucian gently shook her shoulder, Eloïse, who had only just fallen asleep, jerked awake after mere hours, breathing heavily.
“Are you alright? You seemed to be having a nightmare…”
Eloïse sat up, nodding with effort. Cold sweat beaded her brow.
Having witnessed this scene several times before, Lucian did not press further. Instead, he took a water canteen from Eloïse’s backpack and offered it to her.
Eloïse drank and steadied her breathing.
“Go back to sleep.”
Eloïse shook her head at Lucian’s suggestion. Her expression suggested her mood had shifted, and there was something she wanted to say.
Lucian waited patiently. He would give her time to speak when she was ready.
After a brief silence, Eloïse slowly parted her lips. As Lucian had anticipated, it was about her mother.
***
“Is finding one corpse really so difficult?”
In the dead of night, just past midnight, Camilo could no longer contain his rage and kicked over an armchair.
Before him stood the Second Prince’s Knight Order and a band of assassins, lined up with their heads bowed in shame.
“We are doing our utmost, but the torrential rain has—”
The leader of the assassins fell silent the moment he saw Camilo’s fierce glare.
Camilo struck each of the men in line across the head in turn. This interminable situation was driving him to madness.
As always, the Emperor insisted that Valensio could not possibly be dead, ranting endlessly. Without a corpse to throw at him, he would never abandon hope for Valensio.
“I should have killed that damned Valensio with my own hands that day.”
Then I could have claimed the Crown Prince’s seat and reduced the Grand Duchy to ruins. Why did I rely on someone else’s hands?
Camilo dragged a hand roughly across his face, now streaked with regret.
‘No, no. We’ve already decided—if it comes to it, we remove the Emperor. There’s no need to be impatient.’
Camilo’s eyes grew darker as he stilled his movements.
“…”
In the suffocating silence that had fallen, only Aden, who happened to be cradled in Camilo’s aide’s arms, kept watch over Camilo with bright, unwavering eyes, showing no signs of drowsiness.

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