Tamed A Blackened Slave Man

It was a starless night sky.

The only thing lighting up the dark streets was the crescent moon floating in the middle of a black canopy.

Under the dim moonlight of the winter night, Damian felt an inexplicable emotion as he gazed at the two people looking at him.

His gaze slowly slipped down to Aren’s neck. When he saw the bright red marks and her disheveled hair, Damian’s face contorted into a terrible expression.

The woman was staring at him with surprise, her hand held in Cassadin’s. Standing next to her was Cassadin, as if that were rightfully his place.

Aren was still beautiful, even after he hadn’t seen her for a while. The only reason Damian hadn’t visited her was because she had expressed her displeasure at him doing so.

He had left a mark on her collarbone, thinking that she had self-healing abilities, but Aren was unfortunately unable to heal even the slightest scratch on her body.

She was a frail woman who could heal even incurable diseases in others, but she was unable to heal any of her own wounds.

After learning this truth, Damian strangely felt elated.

It pleased him.

Maybe it had been a feeling of achievement from leaving his mark on a clean, snowy path that nobody had stepped on. Or, it could have been a sense of superiority for claiming the woman that Cassadin had desired so much first.

However, the mark that he had left on her collarbone was now covered over with Cassadin’s mark.

With his germaphobia, Damian could not understand Aren.

Did she really accept him, knowing just how filthy of a man he was? How could she do that with a sane mind?

However, the one who was crazier than Aren was Damian himself, who was, in fact, envying such a man as Cassadin.

“……Aren.”

When he called to her, she stared at him wordlessly.

Since she had taken in that filthy man, it should be right for Aren to have seemed filthy in his eyes as well. But for some reason, Damian was unable to take his eyes off of the woman.

The blue eyes of the woman, who should be considered tainted, were so clear and serene that they stirred something strange in those who saw them.

The moment he saw those eyes, Damian felt his mind become clouded, as if dark rain clouds formed within his thoughts.

Even Damian himself did not understand why he was feeling this way.

But as Damian continued to gaze at Aren’s face, Cassadin obstructed his view with his back, preventing him from seeing her.

Damian’s already sour mood worsened even further.

“May I ask what the Marquess is doing here?”

Damian posed the question, fully aware of what the answer would be. There was a clear irritation in his sharp voice.

In response, Cassadin peered at Damian with a dry expression as he replied.

“That is what I should be asking. May I ask what Your Grace is doing here at this late hour?”

Damian merely smiled at Cassadin’s question. His dry laughter echoed into the dark night sky.

Suddenly halting his laughter, Damian tilted his head towards Cassadin as he spoke icily.

“I see that you’ve mistaken my generosity for permission to overstep your bounds.”

If he had known this would happen, he would have visited Aren much earlier. Damian deeply regretted his actions. He hadn’t expected Cassadin to claim Aren after becoming a Marquess.

“I’ve heard rumors that the Emperor is bestowing the youngest Princess of the Elsia Kingdom upon you at the banquet……”

Smirking at Cassadin, Damian added,

“Bella, was it? I’ve heard that she is a beautiful maiden who makes all the men she meets fall in love at first sight.”

Cassadin responded without hesitation to Damian’s comment.

“I’m not interested.”

“Who knows, maybe your mind will change once you meet her in person. It is natural for a man’s heart to waver in the presence of a beautiful woman.”

Cassadin’s expression turned frosty as he glanced at Damian.

“If that is true, I will ask His Majesty to gift this Bella girl to Your Grace instead.”

Damian shook his head and responded.

“No, no. How could I dare accept a gift that was given by His Majesty himself?”

Using his long, slender legs, Damian approached Cassadin. His dark hair, reminiscent of the night sky, swayed with his movements.

Seeing this, Cassadin stepped in front of Aren, blocking her view of Damian. Upon seeing this, Damian’s face visibly crumpled.

Who did he think he was, protecting Aren when he himself was the most dangerous of them all?

“Poor Aren.”

How pitiful she was. It was always the purest innocence that was easiest to tarnish.

Although Damian had only locked eyes with Aren for a split second due to Cassadin’s interference, he saw it. Her pale neck and shoulders were marked by Cassadin.

Those red markings greatly displeased Damian.

Had she really given herself entirely to the beast she had taken in?

If it had been the Damian of the past, his first thought would have been to use this as leverage.

But why was it?

Instead, his first thought was that he wanted to cover those markings made by Cassadin with his own.

Staring directly into Cassadin’s deep purple eyes, Damian spoke up.

“I heard that the banquet started today, but strangely, you didn’t attend.”

“……It seems Your Grace attended today.”

And I heard that Your Grace does not enjoy banquets. Upon hearing what Cassadin had added, Damian gave a meaningful smile.

“His Majesty personally sent me an invitation, so wouldn’t it be right for me to attend, regardless of my preference?”

Upon hearing that the Emperor had invited Damian, Cassadin’s already cold expression darkened even further. Seeing such an expression of satisfaction, Damian continued.

“Oh my. The Emperor must not have told you that I attended the banquet.”

“……”

“How inconsiderate of His Majesty. I assumed he would have naturally informed you after elevating you, a mere slave, to the dual positions of Marquess and Knight Commander.”

It must be a trait inherent in their bloodline, as both the Emperor and Damian shared a distrust for those they kept close.

“Did you know that the Crown Prince is also attending the banquet?”

Cassadin was also oblivious to this.

This was due to his voluntary service as the Emperor’s hunting dog for the past two months, in an attempt to evade his scrutiny.

Despite this, the Emperor continued to test Cassadin’s loyalty. Apart from granting him power, the Emperor did not trust Cassadin.

The trials the Emperor subjected Cassadin to were varied, ranging from ambiguous questions to demanding proof of his swordsmanship.

Even though Cassadin vehemently refused, the Emperor persisted in his attempts to gift Bella, the youngest Princess of the Elsia Kingdom, to him.

It was only through demonstrating his exceptional swordsmanship and strategic skills, along with his loyalty to the Emperor, that Cassadin barely managed to secure permission to be absent on the first day.

He made sure to provide the Emperor with the excuse that he wanted to use that day to rest completely at ease.

Taking advantage of the banquet day, when the Emperor’s surveillance was lax, Cassadin didn’t even sleep and immediately headed to Aren.

His only refuge and savior, and the one who had accepted his tarnished, dirty self.

His longing for Aren remained insatiable, no matter how much he embraced her. Cassadin etched into his memory every image of Aren, from her disheveled platinum hair to her expression as she accepted him with heavy breaths.

She was so incredibly lovely that she took his breath away.

If it had been possible, he wanted to confine Aren where no one else could see her.

The reason he had built a windowless residence in a place where few people passed was so that neither the sun nor the moon could see her.

What the Crown Prince had said to Cassadin at the palace was accurate.

‘Your obsession is insane.’

Cassadin himself understood this best.

To him, Aren was his world, the only thing he had left in it.

“I was not aware that His Highness would also be attending. Very well then.”

With a rather dismissive response, Cassadin firmly grasped Aren’s hand and walked past Damian. As they did, Damian’s sharp voice rang in Cassadin’s ears.

“I knew you were a beast, but this is beyond my expectations.”

“……”

“You will never achieve what you desire.”

Why were there so many obstacles? Cassadin laughed calmly and retorted to Damian.

“Well, I won’t just stand by and watch.”

Just as it seemed Cassadin was going to walk past Damian, he turned his head towards the man and added,

“I’m aware that Your Grace had influence over the initiation of the war by the Elsia Kingdom.”

With those final words, Cassadin escorted Aren to the mansion without so much as a glance in Damian’s direction.

Likely concerned that someone else might see the marks on Aren’s body, as Damian had, Cassadin removed his jacket and draped it over Aren.

Cassadin’s touch as he wrapped his jacket around Aren was both kind and gentle.

Watching this scene, Damian’s insides were boiling with fury. But Damian himself didn’t understand why he was so angry.

“Aren, it’s getting late, so hurry inside. I will come to escort you to the banquet as soon as dawn breaks… If possible, make sure to dress warmly.”

Regardless of whether Damian was standing there or not, Cassadin smiled kindly at Aren as he spoke.

When Aren looked up at Cassadin with a worried expression, he returned a reassuring glance to her.

Seemingly at ease now, Aren nodded with a smile spreading across her face.

After waving to Aren until she was completely out of sight, Cassadin turned to Damian with an indifferent expression.

“It seems like Your Grace has much to say.”

“……There is nothing I have to say to a beast like you.”

In response, Cassadin tapped his right cheek.

“That wound on your cheek must not have been enough.”

Hearing the man’s taunt, Damian raised his eyebrow at him.

Although some time had passed since the fighting tournament, the wound on his cheek from Cassadin’s sword had not yet disappeared.

It had faded a bit, but the fact that the traces of that wound were still on his face made Damian extremely displeased.

Because that wound was the symbol of his defeat.

Pretending to be alright, Damian replied in a dry voice.

“Why would a human be angered by a mere insect’s taunts?”

“Then I wonder why Your Grace is so interested in what we insects are doing. So I ask that you stop interfering with what I am doing… Then I will also remain quiet.”

Hearing what Cassadin had added, Damian clicked his tongue and opened his mouth.

“That reminds me. You’ve left Kindel in complete tatters last time.”

“……”

“I see no better example of an ignorant beast than yourself. A savage that’s left only with its desires, one left with only its instincts instead of logic. Ah, wait, not that.”

Damian’s lips thinly stretched, then curled upwards.

“Or should I say, the last Crown Prince of the now destroyed Hyran Kingdom?”