Ch.98EP.25 – There Are No Secrets That Can Be Hidden (3)

…Swish.

Levi turned her back and took off her clothes.

Ihan flinched.

He wasn’t surprised that she suddenly undressed.

It was just what was on her back.

“Can you see it?”

“…A tattoo, young noblewomen these days are quite radical.”

“Hehe, you know that’s not what it is.”

“Ahem.”

He deliberately cleared his throat.

It was a silent signal that she didn’t need to explain, but she firmly stated:

“It’s a slave mark. And quite a severe one at that.”

She blurted out this terrible truth.

“……”

“You know, Master, I don’t have parents. Literally, I’m an orphan.”

She put her clothes back on piece by piece, and Ihan smiled bitterly.

“You could have just told me with words, why go through the trouble of undressing?”

“Showing once is better than explaining a hundred times. That’s what you always say.”

“…Such a model student.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Levi was particularly talkative today.

She thought this might be the first time she had spoken so freely in front of another person without hesitation or trembling.

Though she had always been timid, facing him after revealing all her secrets made her feel like she could share everything without hiding anything.

So Levi continued even more boldly:

“I’m a slave. I was sold to the Pollet family about 5 years ago.”

She exposed her greatest weakness and secret.

“……”

…He simply listened to her words in silent contemplation.

His eyes seemed to ask what difference it made that she was a slave.

He still treated her not as a ‘slave’ but as his ‘disciple’ and simply as a ‘girl’.

A lump formed in her throat!

‘…Sigh, truly, this person.’

He couldn’t be more caring.

‘Others would be shocked or feel betrayed, but… he’s far too good a master for someone like me.’

Levi held back the tears that threatened to well up again.

She could cry after revealing everything she had kept hidden until now.

“…I’m not from Pendragon, but from Britain. Though I suppose origins don’t matter much for a slave.”

She had always been a war orphan.

Britain had long provoked countless wars with the Empire and Pendragon.

Because of this, war orphans in Britain were more common than rats, and Levi was simply another case of someone who lost her parents and became a war orphan.

And Levi was captured by a ‘slave cartel’.

Although slave cartels were supposedly banned, it was common knowledge that they still existed.

So Levi being kidnapped and turned into a slave wasn’t particularly unusual or cruel.

…This was the typical life of a child without parents or power.

“Fortunate or not, I was pretty for an orphan and had rare hair color like nobles. Thanks to that, I was classified as ‘premium goods’ and received considerable education. Those who wanted high-class slaves were quite… no, abundant, according to the merchant at the time.”

She was, whether fortunate or unfortunate, pretty.

And the slave merchant said pretty women were in ‘demand,’ so he taught her how to write and noble etiquette.

She had a talent for learning, and when they discovered she was intelligent as well, the slave merchant was even more pleased.

‘I can sell you for a higher price!’

-That was what the slave merchant habitually said to her.

“I wasn’t happy about it at all.”

…And so, while she was being educated as a high-class slave.

War broke out between Pendragon and Britain, and the slave merchant was unluckily caught in the conflict and died.

Of course, it was unfortunate for the slave merchant, but it couldn’t have been more fortunate for her.

She had gained an opportunity to escape.

But, as luck would have it-

“I didn’t know that being a high-class slave would cause problems.”

[Mark of Obedience].

That was the identity of the slave mark engraved on her back, placed there by the slave merchant who had sought out an illegal magician.

This mark was like a spell, a nightmare-like curse that could never be erased by ordinary means.

It was the slave merchant’s effort to prevent high-class slaves from escaping, and as a result, she was passed on to another merchant who absorbed the slave merchant’s organization.

And that merchant…

“Sold me to Pendragon. Since it was during wartime, they sold everything that could be converted to money. I was sold for a cheap price too.”

Ten silver coins.

That was her price.

“And where I was sold to was…”

“The Pollet family, I see.”

“…Yes.”

“Where did they get the money to buy you?”

“I think they probably borrowed it. Just a guess, but it was likely an investment concept, that man probably from the beginning…”

Intended to resell me.

– From today, you are our daughter. Levi Pollet, I shall give you this name. Haha!

On the day she was sold, the Pollet family gave her a name and surname and accepted her as their family.

Her, who was nothing but a slave.

So Levi was moved.

Ah, finally such a day has come for me, the miraculous luck from fairy tales has found me too!

She was truly happy.

But.

– Why, why are you growing so slowly! Please grow up faster!

The reason Reynold Pollet adopted a slave as his daughter was none other than to ‘sell’ her.

To marry her off to a great noble family or wealthy merchant guild.

Yes, he purchased her because he saw investment value in her.

The Pollet family.

This family was truly hopeless.

Still dreaming of reviving themselves as a knight family, they raised their heir daughter preciously, but prepared a ‘sacrifice’ to marry off… to extract money.

A hopeless family that never tried to recover in any other way or through effort.

Truly a clan of ghosts.

Levi wanted to escape as she faced their madness and incompetence.

Because it was obvious what her fate would be.

So she watched for an opportunity to escape or report them, but…

– It’s better not to even dream of escaping.

Because of the mark, the Mark of Obedience, she couldn’t do anything.

She was a subordinate being and couldn’t disobey her master’s orders.

The orders she received were mainly three:

One. She could not reveal to others that she was a slave.

Two. She could not do anything that would harm the Pollet family.

Three. She must be obedient to the people of the Pollet family.

Because these commands were branded on her like a stigma:

“No matter how disgusting, I have no choice but to be obedient to them.”

The guild member who had harassed him the day before.

When that guild member threatened her using her mother and sister, the reason she suddenly became cooperative wasn’t because she had grown fond of them or because the mother and daughter treated her well.

“I have to be obedient to that mother and daughter too.”

It was truly a curse.

Freedom didn’t exist in her life, and it seemed like only an oppressive and terrible life always clung to her.

…Terribly so.

“…But you know, ironically, I… wanted to be recognized as family by them. Because it was the first time I had a family, so… I really, re…ally tried my best.”

Effort.

The effort that Ihan had described as blind.

Through such effort, she wanted to prove herself.

Through effort, if she really did her best, wouldn’t they eventually recognize her?

If she achieved something that would bring glory to the family and produced results, maybe…!

“Maybe they would accept me as family, such… truly childish ‘fantasies’ I dreamed of.”

“……”

“Hehe, I’m really foolish and stupid, aren’t I?”

She asked back.

Thinking that he too would be disgusted by her foolishness, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Too afraid to hear his answer-

“-No, rather, I’m so proud of you that… I want to hug you and tell you that you’ve done well.”

“……”

“You’ve been through so much, truly… you’ve endured so much.”

…He still gave her the same unchanging gentle gaze.

He wasn’t pitying her.

He was genuinely proud.

He felt only admiration for her having overcome such difficult times.

“…Ah.”

Levi was momentarily dazed.

All this time… all this time she had lived anxiously wondering what reaction she would get if she revealed her secret, whether someone would despise her.

But now.

…There was someone right in front of her accepting her for who she was, and Levi’s whole body trembled.

“Well, it probably wouldn’t be nice to be hugged by an old man like me, but even if you think it’s nonsense…”

Whoosh!

“……”

“…Hic.”

“…Yes, cry. I’ll lend you my shoulder as much as you need.”

“Huuuuic! Huaaaaaaang!”

“That’s right, crying means making loud sounds like this. That’s how you release what’s inside, isn’t it?”

Levi ran to him with all her might and embraced him.

And at the same time, she resented him.

Why did he appear only now?

Why couldn’t she have met someone like this when she needed them, when she needed them so desperately?

Nineteen years of painful and exhausting life.

Finally meeting ‘family’ who truly knew how to cherish her, Levi cried sorrowfully.

Unlike the day before, with a loud voice that wasn’t just quiet…

She cried, truly sorrowfully.

“…It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Ihan gently patted her back.

Warmly.