Chapter 12
1292 Words
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"Your Majesty!" A woman burst in unannounced, and the sound of her heels ticked in a hurry.
"Lady Telisha, what brings you to this highly important meeting?" His cold eyes stared down at her, and he dropped the paper with him on his desk.
"Your Majesty, is it true that you made that prisoner a slave?!"
"Yes."
"This cannot be. That female should rot in the dungeon for all her life!" She made a huge mistake by shouting at him with her deranged set of eyes.
His office went from calm to suffocating. His brows furrowed, and his lips were set on a thin line.
The king felt disrespected.
"Are you questioning my judgment?" This short sentence was enough to leave a deep impact on her.
"Of course not, Your Majesty." She took a step back and averted her eyes. "But slavery offers that female a bit of freedom. She cannot be entitled to this. I can dispose of her for you."
He doesn't know why, but her words made him even more enraged.
He stood up and went around his desk to close their distance.
Lady Telisha dare not look up at his towering height and dominating aura.
He slowly bent down to whisper next to her ear.
"You are not even entitled to speak of this matter. Your opinion is meaningless to me. Do you understand?"
Telisha flinched and inched back as sweat coated her face.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty."
"Good. Run along, Lady Telisha. Be mindful of your manners next time."
She did not say another word. If she wants to keep her head intact, she had better not get on his nerves. She had noticed that he was not in the best mood lately.
After closing the door, she halted in her steps, eyes wide, fisted her hands, and bit her lower lip until it turned white.
"It was out of character for Lady Telisha to act like a jealous lover."
"I do not care about her feelings. She should know where she stands."
"The human female, are you sure you can trust her, Your Majesty?" His eyes then fixated on a certain female slave as they stood closer to the window. Her copper-red hair and pale skin made her stand out among the rest.
"I do not."
They watched her from his office on the highest floor.
The female was carrying rocks in a sack over her shoulder as other slave humans took chances on glancing at her, his warriors were no different.
There was something special about her; it is on the tip of his tongue, but he cannot seem to pronounce it.
"It is such laborious work for a human female. I wonder how long it will take for her to fall on her knees and give up." Beta Reeze wondered.
"The female does not look like she is suffering. On the contrary, she is enjoying her work." His lips quirked with amusement.
She was not even begging for his attention, but her beauty had already caught him.
"Do you know her name, Your Majesty?"
He does not. In fact, he curious all of a sudden, but instead he said...
"Slaves like her do not deserve their name to be uttered."
"Well, that slave gained a lot of attention with our people. It is so sad that she has to work for her life on this. Do you intend to keep her long?"
"That depends. Who knows, she might become a usefull pet."
"I believe it will not take that long... She's such a rare beauty, other kingdoms might want to steal her from you."
His words amused him and he boomingly laughed at that.
"Words are like swords that can strike deep in one's heart. If however, one of them have fallen. Ha, ha.
Come on now, Beta. Let us focus on the pressing matter at hand. We have yet to discuss more about the Ogre kingdom."
"Ah, yes. I have already sent a messenger to notify their king. I assume their reply will be expected to arrive within fourteen days."
Meanwhile, a human slave who was struggling to lift a sock of rock on his back caught her attention. She immediately offered him a helping hand. To be precise, it was an unnecessary act from the eyes of men as some of them almost rolled their eyes at her gesture.
The man was a bit thin, but he had muscles different from those buffed Lycan men. She silently observed him as he went without looking back.
She can tell that he has been struggling for quite some time. She carried her sack of rocks and pretended to be physically weak and struggling.
Many slaves offered to help lift it, and then she offered her thanks.
The risk of her strength might raise suspicions; it will be troublesome for her. So she does what she has to do.
The slaves only wore dirty white pants, while she has worn the same clothing when was in the dungeon; a sleeveless shirt and a pair of pants.
It has been a long day since he assigned her to slavery. She felt in her gut that it wouldn't be this simple in the upcoming days.
Their stare was beginning to make her uncomfortable, making her feel itchy all over. The attention given was too much; however, she acted unbothered by it.
She braided her hair swiftly when it had been too distracting for her to work. The prickling sun made her sweat, tickling her sweat down her chin. Many continued to watch but did not approach.
Thankfully for her, it was better that way. She was too furious to even talk to anyone at the moment.
Their day was about to end. And gathering the rocks beside the castle was done.
She followed her co-workers and went into the queue.
"Excuse me." She tapped a stranger's shoulder.
He was the man that she had helped earlier, but he did not know, and she did not expect it to be him.
When he swiveled his head towards her, he came into shock.
"Hello." She waved her hand near his face and frowned. She knew her eyes would make anyone react the same; it was making her feel insecure.
"Hello." After saying it, he quickly turned his back on her.
She exhaled disappointingly and asked...
"What is your name?"
"Slaves don't have names; you should forget yours. We are not allowed to have one."
"What should I call you then?"
"I do not know."
"Well, Mr. I Do Not Know. Do you happen to know where we are headed? The line is pretty long, and the wait feels like forever."
He glanced at her with a confused expression.
"That is not my name. And we are in line to receive our meal. We are only allowed to eat two meals a day."
"Oh, I see."
The word 'allowed' was striking her nerves. She is one of the slaves after all; they are controlled and their privileges are limited, which are similar to rats. But it was better than being cooped up in the dark dungeon.
"What happened to your back?"
"If you talk less and work hard, you might not get one of these scars."
She went quiet after that. It seems to her that the man in front of her will become her first companion, despite his display of annoyance towards her.
She feels like a chatty person with him all of a sudden.
"Do you happen to know where we will retire tonight?" She annoys him further with her curiosity.
On the other hand, someone was staring at her intently. Black's desperate eyes did not waver until she lost sight of her in the queue.
- Writer
