episode_0020

Episode 20

A day has passed since I arrived at the Duke of Baston.

During the treatment, the severed tongue was reattached perfectly and could be used as before, but…

[From now on, call me ‘Master’, and if you change your mind, call me ‘Rose’.]

Rose de Baston didn’t force anyone to call her by her name this time.

Rose made me call her Master, as if she was trying to thoroughly impress upon me that I was her slave.

Since I could no longer cut out my own tongue, I was now helpless and had no choice but to do as she said, but I promised myself that I would never call her by her name again of my own free will.

But as if that wasn’t the end, she continued to impose new restrictions on me through the contract.

[From now on, crawl on all fours like a dog.]

I was forced to get down on all fours like a dog.

[Don’t eat any food other than what I give you.]

Even food was controlled.

[Lastly, make sure you sleep with me by your side.]

Even when I sleep, I have to sleep next to her.

“I’ll stop here for now. Depending on your attitude, I’ll add or remove more, so choose wisely.”

Rose said with a satisfied smile.

“From now on, everyone in the mansion is to treat Leon as they please if they see him walking around alone. Just don’t permanently cripple him or kill him.”

It feels like her intention is for you to depend on her if you don’t want to be harassed by the people of the Duke of Baston if you leave her side.

“Yes, Miss.”

Rose, who had been giving orders to the mansion’s servants, looked down at me, who was lying on all fours on the ground like a dog, with her blue eyes sparkling.

“Okay, Leon puppy? The master is going into the room. If you don’t want to get hit by those guys, follow me?”

She spoke to me as if she was talking to a dog, then turned around and left with a playful and mischievous smile.

As soon as she disappeared from sight, the servants and knights who had been waiting around began to approach me.

“Why don’t you follow the young lady now, you punk? The former heir to the Normandy Dukes is now a slave, howling like a dog! ”

The heavily built knight laughed at me and said:

“I’m standing there like a dog, but you guys are the ones who are barking.”

-Pfft!

“Ugh…”

As soon as he heard my words, the knight’s expression hardened and he kicked me in the stomach with all his might.

I wonder if he had filled his stomach with mana or not. His foot didn’t hurt, but it felt dirty.

“Hehehe, let’s see how long you can show off your pride. Since you said that as long as you don’t kill me or make me disabled, I’ll tie up all my arms and legs and make you crawl like a dog.”

The knight began to approach me with a smug look on his face, probably thinking that I would just take the beating without putting up any resistance.

‘There was no condition that said I shouldn’t rebel among the restrictions placed on me, right?’

The moment he kicked me again, aiming for my stomach, I accelerated my body with mana, dodged the kick, and moved behind him.

“What, what is it!”

-Whew…

He grabbed his opponent’s left shin with both hands and twisted it with force.

-Crack!

“Kkaaaak!!”

The knight’s desperate scream echoed along with the horrible sound of his shin bones shattering like ice.

I continued to hold on to the other leg of the knight who was writhing in excruciating pain and gave him strength.

-Wood thud!

“AAAHHHH!!! Stop! Stop it! ”

“You want to tie my arms and legs and treat me like a dog? First, I’ll break all your arms and legs.”

“Ahhh! Someone! Someone help me!”

I slowly crawled on all fours to him as he dragged his legs, his bones completely shattered, and he looked frightened as he tried to get away from me.

The people surrounding me began to look wary and bewildered, as if they didn’t know I would react like this.

“You want to treat me however you want? Okay, try it, but you’ll pay the price.”

The pain that doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.

I will survive somehow and I will definitely kill Clement de Baston.

-Wood thud! Wood thud!

“Kyaaak! My arm!! My armeeee!!”

After breaking both arms of the knight who was crawling away like tree branches, I glared at everyone surrounding me.

‘Rose de Baston, if you want to treat me like a dog, I will treat you like one.’

“Hey, who wants to bite that little shit?”

.

.

.

“You did it so splendidly?”

“…”

Half a day had passed since Rose de Baston had left me alone.

All around me, four knights of the Duke of Baston were crawling around with their limbs shattered, unable to raise their heads, as if they were embarrassed that they had failed to subdue me.

Of course, I was no slouch either.

His entire body was covered in bruises from the wounds he had received from the knights of the Duke of Baston, and blood was flowing out of his torn skin, soaking his clothes red.

But it could be said that it was my victory in that the blood of the knights of the Duke of Baston was more than mine.

“Umm… My dog broke all the arms and legs of the knights of the Duke of Baston. What should I do about this?”

She took a moment to collect her thoughts, then looked down at me and smiled.

It occurred to me that perhaps Rose de Baston might order me to never again resort to violence or rebellion against the Duke’s men.

-match!

“A good idea, Leon, join our family’s knights and get trained.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, master.”

Because of the constraints imposed by the contract, the word ‘master’ was forced to come out at the end of the sentence.

I am the Chevalier of Normandy.

How can someone like me join the knighthood of the Duke of Baston, the enemy family?

There’s no way I would accept such an offer.

“Really? Then, Leon, I’ll use the contract to prevent people from rebelling against our dukedom in the future. Is that okay with you?”

“…”

“That’s not such a bad offer for you either. Don’t you think it’s a waste of your talent to waste time without proper training during the time when you should be growing? Think about it.”

“…”

As she said, it is definitely difficult to become stronger if you continue to be treated like a slave.

I have reached the end of the third tier, but I have not yet awakened my Sword Aura, so my growth is blocked. Training from the Knights would definitely be of great help.

But pride and memories of the past keep holding me back.

My chest feels stuffy.

Clearly, I need to become stronger to take revenge on the Duke of Baston, but the only way to become stronger right now is to humiliatingly join the Duke of Baston’s knighthood.

’10 years…’

The time left until the family in the Duke of Normandy learns the truth.

I have to become strong, even if it means going back to them.

‘Yes, I will use all this humiliation and pain as a foundation for my growth.’

Haven’t I already sworn?

Rose de Baston, who had been looking down at me with amusement as I pondered for a moment, asked with a smile.

“How about it, have you made a decision?”

“…I will, Master.”

“Good idea!”

When I accepted Rose de Baston’s offer, she stroked my head with a smiling face.

-Swish swish…

-widely!

“Put it away, Master.”

I couldn’t stand her stroking my hair, so I slapped her hand away.

“Huh~ You want to get knight training by crawling on all fours like a dog?”

‘That bitch.’

“I’m trying to be good to you, but I don’t know why you keep rejecting me. Can you tell me why?”

“…”

There is no way to tell.

Because of my contract with the Duke of Baston, I cannot reveal that he is my father’s enemy, and how can I not reject the fact that she, the daughter of that enemy, has taken me in as a slave and treats me like a dog?

Rose de Baston frowned slightly, perhaps taking my silence as a sign of defiance.

“You’re not going to talk? Okay, then I’ll keep ‘educating’ you until you want to talk yourself.”

“[Continue to act like a dog, except when you are training as a knight, and bark like a dog until you get my permission.] Do you understand, Leon? [Answer.]”

“…woof.”

A dog-like barking sound came out of my mouth forcibly.

“Good job! You’re so kind, so kind~”

-Swish swish…

‘Don’t do that!’

“Grrr…!”

I wanted to slap away her hand that was stroking my head, but my body wouldn’t move.

I had no choice but to ‘grow’ like a dog to express my discomfort.

“Oh, and I prepared a gift for you too, Leon.”

Rose de Baston, who had been stroking my head for a long time, spoke to me with a smiling face.

“Ta-da! Here’s a leash for you!”

She slowly approached me, pulling out a red-dyed leather leash.

“…!”

I wanted to rebel, but all I could do was growl softly, and even that was so humiliating that I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut and endure it.

“Stay still, I’ll fill it in for you.”

‘Fuck… this is fucking shit…’

-Clang!

The cool feel of leather is felt on my neck.

“Don’t worry, if you listen well and behave well from now on, I’ll let you go, or can you politely ask me directly?”

“…”

“Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be happy to be treated like a puppy by me?”

Rose de Baston giggled in amusement as she looked at the red leather leash around my neck.

I will never ask her for anything directly or obey her again.

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It’s night.

After starving all day and fighting the knights during the day, I was very hungry and exhausted.

But as Rose de Baston had commanded me in her contract, I had to starve if she did not feed me, and no matter how tired I was, I could not sleep unless I was by her side.

Even if I wanted to rest alone, I needed to get a proper sleep because someone might find me alone and disturb my rest, and people might come to attack me the next day.

Even though I couldn’t eat, I had to sleep, so I had no choice but to sit in front of her room, struggling.

‘Sigh… Should I knock on the door?’

-Knock knock knock…

“Who is it?”

“…”

I opened my mouth slightly to answer, but then closed it again, thinking that all that was coming out of my mouth was the sound of a dog barking.

I knocked on the door again.

-Knock knock knock!!

“Huh~ Who could it be at this late hour? If I don’t answer, I won’t open the door? ”

‘Fuck…’

Obviously, they know who it is and are doing this.

-Bang!

Unable to control his anger, he slammed his fist into the door.

“Oh my, you’re a bad boy. If you rebel like this again, I’ll give you dog food… And since dogs don’t need clothes, I’ll make you run around naked.”

“…”

“Okay, last chance, who’s out there?”

“…woof.”