Chapter 98 : My past with her

The first time Glenn met Diana was at a slave market in a previous life.

Riclang’s organization had raided a certain slave market, and amidst the chaos of that place, he first saw her. Glenn—no, Riclang—still remembers that moment vividly.

She was a common slave, with a dirty appearance and ragged, mismatched burlap clothes.

But her rare purple hair and the look in her eyes were anything but ordinary.

“Hmm, a slave from a marquis family… What’s your name?”

“…”

“You won’t answer?”

“I don’t want to talk to a monster like you.”

That gaze was filled with rebellious spirit.

Her fragile, untainted, flower-like demeanor piqued Riclang’s interest.

It was as if he had discovered a new, intriguing toy.

“You sure have a bold attitude for a slave. You know the situation, right? I’m the one who frees slaves, young lady.”

“Isn’t it because you didn’t pay the protection fee to the slave traders? That’s the real reason, isn’t it?”

Riclang curled one side of his lips.

An interesting little scheme.

Where did she hear that story?

“Hmph, who would pay such petty bribes…”

“The bigger problem is that you paid protection fees to a faction opposing mine. That’s why you’re retaliating now. Am I wrong?”

This time, Riclang’s eyes narrowed sharply.

She was definitely not a simple slave.

Pathetic!

Riclang crushed his iron mace with his bare hand and stepped closer to her. Yet Diana did not change her stance.

On the contrary, she spoke even more fiercely.

“Don’t flatter yourself by calling a piece of trash like you a liberator. You’re nothing but a thug coming to cause trouble.”

“Hey, do you know that with just one word from me, your whole life could be over?”

“Then do it.”

Her attitude suggested she wasn’t afraid of death.

… Was it just simple acting? Maybe I should test her once more.

“You don’t value your life, huh? Hmm… but it’s a waste to just kill you.”

Riclang began to examine Diana’s beauty closely. He grabbed her chin, turning it this way and that, lifting her hair as well.

“Don’t.”

Diana bit her lips and refused, but Riclang paid no attention.

“Your hair color is rare, and you’re not ugly either… I wonder how much you’re worth? You could be quite valuable—”

Snap!

“Don’t touch me.”

Astonishingly, the slave girl struck Riclang’s hand away.

Though startled, a smile escaped him involuntarily.

“Ha! Interesting. Very interesting. Fine, you’re mine.”

There was a slow, delightful cruelty in breaking things.

That was how he expected to treat her.

***

Forcibly brought along by Riclang, Diana was surprised by the unexpectedly humane treatment she received.

At first, she thought she was being treated specially, but that wasn’t exactly the case.

All the slaves under Riclang’s control were treated ‘humanely.’

They had clean beds, warm meals, and proper clothing. They were even allowed some free time once or twice a month.

If Riclang permitted it, they could freely leave to the Church or town. Upon request, medical fees were paid, and if they worked well, they even received rewards.

She was shocked by these facts.

“… This can’t be real.”

This was far from normal. On this continent, slaves were more often treated as mere tools.

Of course, Riclang wasn’t lenient without cause.

Any slave caught deserting or betraying even once was thoroughly punished.

And slaves deemed useless were mercilessly sold off.

More precisely, Riclang’s kindness was extended only to those slaves who didn’t fall into slothfulness.

Therefore, all slaves working under him were recognized and accepted by Riclang. As much as he treated them well, the slaves had to work hard in return.

“Our master is very fair. Unless you seriously mess up, you rarely get punished.”

“He’s a good man. At least to us. So if anyone insults our master in front of us, we won’t stand for it.”

Is this really the same man the world calls the Empire’s Demon?

For a while, Diana struggled with the gap between the rumors she had heard and reality.

But gradually, she accepted it and began to put effort into serving Riclang as his slave.

Fortunately, Diana was quick-witted.

Realizing this, Riclang personally taught her various things.

In fact, she even became helpful in his affairs.

Her initial thoughts of toying with and then breaking her slowly faded.

“Master, here is today’s schedule. Please confirm.”

“What? Why are you using honorifics instead of your usual casual tone?”

“Because you are my master. From now on, I will pay attention to my speech.”

“I prefer your snappy attitude better.”

“Please confirm the schedule.”

Thus, Diana gradually opened her heart to Riclang.

Riclang, too, felt a strange attraction to her because her uprightness was interesting even amid a pessimistic life.

Before long, Riclang promoted Diana to be his exclusive slave.

It was a simple, routine step, but perhaps the beginning of a tragedy.

As the years passed, Riclang’s mental state worsened.

Nightmares and insomnia grew more severe, leading him to rely on drugs and alcohol.

This only deepened his condition.

A clear downward spiral.

Diana was right beside him, earnestly advising and comforting him with genuine concern.

By now, he had become someone special to her.

Though well-intentioned, her actions bore no good fruit.

Riclang began to obsess over Diana in a pathological way.

“Diana! Come here right now!”

“…Master, it’s the middle of the night…!”

“Come here, now. Hoo…”

Whenever an inexplicable panic hit, Riclang instinctively called Diana into his arms.

His hands trembling uncontrollably, his heavy breathing unsteady—but doing so brought slight relief.

He found peace in her embrace.

Diana knew better than anyone about his nightly torment of nightmares.

So she quietly complied with his requests.

Perhaps because of that, Riclang’s obsession only deepened.

“You’re mine, got it?! If you leave without my permission, I won’t forgive you.”

“Yes, I’m sorry, Master.”

He went so far as to bind her with a slave collar.

Without Riclang’s permission, she could never leave the mansion.

If she didn’t appear within three minutes after being called, he would throw all kinds of tantrums.

Yet, at the same time, he would mistreat and insult her as a mere slave.

For example, when she tried to advise him about his worsening drug and alcohol abuse, he responded like this:

“Arrogant slave girl… You dare defy me now?”

“No, Master. I’m only worried about you…”

A relationship more than slave but less than lovers—ambiguous and fraught with pain.

During their time together, Diana’s genuine feelings did move him somewhat.

Riclang, too, sincerely cared for her.

This reality gave her energy and hope amid a bleak life.

Not all people in this world are filthy and ugly.

Though it might have been an overly optimistic thought, there were indeed such days.

“You’re just a slave girl, a worthless slave I bought with money! You just do as I say, got it?!”

“… Yes, I am your slave. I won’t endure arrogance.”

But days when he drew that line and despised her were very hard to bear.

It was Riclang who wounded her most deeply.

It felt like a sapling barely growing on scorched land slowly drying up.

She realized all over again that she was nothing but a lowly slave.

Unknowingly, scars piled up inside Diana’s heart.

Unfortunately, Riclang at that time could not perceive it.

He was wandering somewhere between nightmare and reality.

Then one day,

Diana received a letter by chance.

A letter containing astonishing news.

“Mas-Master, I have a request. Do you remember the younger brother I mentioned before?”

She had a younger brother, fifteen years old, born as a bastard of the marquis family, who had suffered endless humiliation and hardship.

He was the only family she considered her own blood—and she had thought he was already dead.

But he was still alive.

He even sent her a letter.

“A request?”

“He seems to be alive. I was sure he was dead… but he sent me a letter. Please, just allow me to go meet him…”

Diana sincerely begged him, but—

Snap!

Before she could finish, Riclang struck her hand away.

“You ungrateful bitch… You dare try to betray me?! You’re alive because of me! And you dare betray me? How dare you!”

“No, Master, it’s not like that—ah!”

He refused permission.

He misunderstood that she was trying to leave him.

That night, she cried bitterly in her room.

Worried about her own fate and her younger brother, feeling betrayed by Riclang.

“Huu… huu… ugh…”

Something inside her shattered.

It felt like something barely held together was falling apart.

And not long after, another letter arrived.

“Your brother’s life is now in danger. Whether you believe it or not is your choice. But if you don’t do as we say, your brother will surely die.”

A threat.

A threat against her only family’s life.

Diana felt her mind grow pale.

“Tomorrow, put a sleeping potion in Riclang’s drink. That’s all you have to do. We know you have a special relationship with Riclang. We have no intention of killing him. He’s ill now. We plan to cure him. So cooperate with us.”

Nonsense.

Ordinary Diana would have burned the letter as soon as she read it.

But she was no longer ordinary.

Hatred, betrayal, and despair toward Riclang rejected rational judgment.

And so… that day came.

***

“Ugh! cough What is this? Why does it taste like this?”

“…It’s just a simple sleeping potion. It won’t kill you… ah!”

“You damned bitch. You treat me nice, and yet someone’s outside, huh?”

“Could it be that your brother was taken hostage? Is that right?”

“…That child… I’ll save him. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Master. I’m really sorry.”

The day Diana betrayed him.

Riclang lost his life at the hands of the Empire’s Church Paladins.

The streets rang with cheers and congratulations, saying the Empire’s Demon had been cured.

But Diana could not smile.

She only shed tears.

Soon after, she met her brother again—but it was his corpse.

… Yes, she was deceived. Foolishly so.

But this time, Diana did not cry.

She only hung her vacant eyes in emptiness and ended her life by hanging herself.

The obvious and clichéd end of tragedy.

But… what cruel twist of fate was this?

Riclang—no, Glenn—had returned to the past.

More than twenty years ago, before all the tragedy began.

***

The ambiguous, painful relationship beyond slave but less than lovers—her, Diana.

Who would have thought to see her again here.

Glenn’s reverie ended with the sound of a knock.

“Prince Glenn? Are you inside?”

“…Come in.”

Her face looked far older than the mature woman in his memories, but it was definitely her.

How could he forget that purple hair?

“Good morning, Prince.”

Seeing her enter and open the door, Glenn unconsciously bit his lips.

All sorts of emotions stirred at the sight of her face once more.

“Yes, Diana.”

… It’s been a long time, truly.