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Translator note: [1] the act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud, either when alone or or regardless of any listeners.
Editor note: Hii! I’m Clover, the new editor. But Amary is such a good translator that I didn’t have to edit much. I’ll always be here communicating through the end notes :)
It felt like I was the only one getting angry and sulking childishly, but in the end, Julius and I reconciled. With our differences settled, Julius slept on my bed as usual, and I curled up on the sofa I had brought into the room to sleep.
I couldn’t help but wonder when he would return my bed to me, but if Julius found it comfortable to sleep, I guessed it was fine.
As an apology for my petty anger, I was considering giving him the bed. After all, being smaller, I could sleep just fine on the sofa. If Julius slept on the sofa, his legs might stick out, so my bed was more suitable for him.
So I thought, as I laid on the sofa in my dimly lit room, that it would be okay to stay like this. It wasn’t like I wanted to sleep in the same room as Julius. Yup, probably not.
Probably not. But the words ‘I’m by your side’ kept echoing in my mind.
Julius must have meant that ‘as a slave’. It was undoubtedly nothing more than that. To be by my side as a slave. As long as the contract exists.
Yes, that’s right. That must be it. However, my chest felt warm.
No one has ever said such a thing to me before.
After my mother’s death, when my stepmother and Aliza arrived, I learned to fake my smiles. I never expressed my opinions, just smiled and endured whatever was said, always escaping the situation.
For Cyril, I was just a convenient fiancée who was quiet, never complained, and always smiled. But before I knew it, Cyril started going out with Aliza on every occasion, prioritizing her because she was inexperienced as an escort at social gatherings.
I was... always a clown, wasn’t I?
A liar, devoid of self—alone.
But then, I wondered if the current me could truly be called the real me. I couldn’t really believe my identity as Chloe-chan, the popular alchemist. But I had to encourage myself like that to stand strong.
Julius had called me an ‘ordinary-looking woman’ many times, perhaps because he saw through my lies. After all, Julius was much more mature than me and had lived through much more hardship.
“Will you really stay by my side…?”
Staring at the pitch-black ceiling of the room, I whispered in a small voice.
He probably couldn’t hear me; Julius was fast asleep.
“...I bear the slave’s mark, and we have a magic contract. I’ll stay by your side until you say you don’t need me anymore.”
A quiet, almost whisper-like voice reached my ears.
Then, I sat up abruptly on the sofa.
I had said something embarrassing. I hadn’t expected it to be heard, and warmth gathered around my cheeks. It was fortunate that it was dark. Julius was still lying on the bed.
Perhaps he was just sleep-talking, or maybe I misheard. As I exhaled and tried to lie back down, the voice reached my ears once again.
“Chloe, if you can’t sleep, do you want to come over here? There’s enough space for you to fit.”
I wasn’t sure whether he was serious or joking.
He was probably teasing me. If I were to be lured by his gentle words and tried to sleep together, I would likely be casually rejected.
“Well, it was originally my bed. …But it’s okay, I’m small, so I can easily sleep on the sofa. Thank you for your concern. ...Also, why did you answer?
It’s proper etiquette to pretend you didn’t hear a maiden’s soliloquy[1], you know.”
“You’re quite lively in the middle of the night, Chloe. Good for you. But I’m sleepy.”
“You just made fun of me, didn’t you? Julius-san, let’s go for a walk with Helios-kun tomorrow and have a meal at Roxy’s diner. The food is delicious. And Roxy is a beauty.”
To cover up the embarrassment of my earlier words being overhead, I spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Yeah… go to sleep soon. If you fall asleep from sleep deprivation, you might fall off Helios’s back.”
“That’s true. …Good night, Julius-san.”
“Yeah, good night.”
Once again, as I laid back on the sofa, I heard Julius’s reply.
Greetings like ‘good night’ or ‘good morning’ seemed strangely endearing.
It felt ticklish and warm. I wished these peaceful nights could continue forever.
The relationship between Julius and me was merely based on a monetary contract, and it might have seemed distorted to ordinary people, but his words affirming the contract still provided a great sense of reassurance for me.
The next day was supposed to be a morning just like any other.
After having breakfast, we were planning to take a break from the shop and go for a walk with Helios when something unexpected happened. Just as we were about to close the door and head towards the outskirts of the capital, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of us.
Descending from it was Eliza, the young lady from the Coldman Company we had met yesterday. Eliza, accompanied by her servant carrying a heavy-looking trunk, stepped down from the carriage.
Today, she wore a dazzling light blue dress, with stunning jewels around her neck and wrists, fitting for the daughter of the King of Gems. Even her headpiece alone looked like it could cost around five hundred thousand gold.
While Julius was a man worth a total of ten million gold, Eliza seemed to be dressed in attire that could easily cost around five million gold.
“Good day, Julius-sama!”
Eliza completely ignored me and spoke to Julius, who was standing next to me.
By the way, I was wearing my usual apron dress today, but it was black. Just for reference, whenever I wore a black apron dress, people in town often said, “Tomorrow’s weather will be cloudy, huh, Chloe-chan! Black is a bit much!” So I tried not to wear it too often.
Julius-san, on the other hand, was in his usual black robe since we were just going for a walk today. The loose neckline revealed the magic collar and the slave mark on the back of his neck.
“...Chloe, let’s go.”
Just like Eliza had ignored me, Julius also ignored Eliza.
It was a battle of mutual ignoring. But in order to put an end to this futile conflict, I reluctantly decided to greet Eliza back. I really wanted to ignore her like Julius did, but considering that the Coldman Company was wealthy, I couldn’t afford to be too dismissive. They might have another request for us, after all.
“Hello, Eliza-san. Unfortunately, the shop is closed today. What brings you here?”
I could have greeted her in the manner of nobility with a ‘Good day’, but I chose not to.
Julius once became displeased when I used noble language, telling me to stop because it didn’t suit me. And I agreed with him; it just didn’t feel right.
“I don’t have any business with the alchemy shop. I’ve come here to fulfill yesterday’s promise.”
“Promise…?”
“Yes! If I pay double, will you sell Julius-sama to me? Not double; I’ve even brought three times the amount. A total of thirty million gold. How about it?”
“...Thirty million gold.”
Eliza said she would buy Julius for an amount that ordinary people couldn’t earn in a lifetime. The heavy-looking trunk carried by her servant probably contained the promised thirty million gold.
For the Coldman Company, thirty million gold might have been pocket change, but still, that was quite a hefty price tag for Julius.
I wondered if Eliza truly wanted Julius that much.
Admittedly, he had a handsome appearance, but he was also a flying dragon maniac, quite arrogant, sarcastic, and seemed too eager to take lives. Handling him was quite challenging, but there were moments when he showed a bit of kindness, which I found a bit charming.
I felt like my personal feelings were heavily influencing my opinion, but anyhow, even with all that, what did Eliza see in Julius? Maybe it was just his appearance. While looks might have been important, they weren’t everything.
“Chloe.”
Deep furrows appeared on Julius's forehead. I looked up at him and shook my head vigorously.
I was just surprised by the amount of thirty million gold; it didn't mean I was swayed. I wouldn’t sell Julius just because of a dazzling sum like thirty million gold. I’m not so lacking in principles as to do such a thing overnight.
As I pondered all this, I found it amusing.
I had always believed that money was the only thing I could trust, yet the idea of being blinded by money and selling Julius seemed absurd. How strange.
Feeling a sense of amusement, I chuckled.
“What’s so funny, Ms. Alchemist?”
Perhaps Eliza thought I was ridiculing her by laughing.
I covered my mouth with my hand as she glared at me sharply.
“I’m sorry, it’s not like that. ...Julius-san isn’t a commodity, so he can’t be sold. Just as I said yesterday.”
This time, I didn’t hesitate. I wouldn’t sell Julius.
He warned me not to waver. And I could clearly express when I disliked something. After all, I am the beautiful prodigy alchemist, Chloe-chan. The timid and quiet Chloe Seigrit, disappeared three years ago.
In response to my words, Eliza crossed her arms and smiled as if mocking me.
“Father said you were in financial trouble. You, the eldest daughter of Duke Seigrit, whose father was beheaded in this square three years ago. It’s quite audacious to run a shop in the same square where your father was killed. They say misers have no blood or tears, and it seems to be true.”
“…If you think those words will disturb me, you’re mistaken. …Because I’m well aware.”
I let out a sigh.
It was something easily discoverable once you did a bit of investigation. It would have been difficult for me, as the party involved, to claim ignorance about what happened to the Seigrit family three years ago.
While I didn’t witness it with my own eyes, it was true that my father was executed in the Fountain Square of the royal capital. Now, not a trace of that vivid event remains in this bustling central square of the main street shopping district.
A place that was bright and beautiful, with a constantly flowing fountain of pure water, washing away all the impurities of the past.
“Anyway, you’re in need of money, right? If you sell Julius-sama to me, I’ll give you thirty million gold, and the Coldman Company can help arrange jobs for you as well. Besides, I know about you. I know because I had it investigated... When you were abandoned, in the back alley... Hey, are you sure it’s okay for me to say it here? You wouldn’t want Julius-sama to know, right?”
“...”
I bit my lip.
No, that wasn’t it. More precisely, it was an attempted incident, and—nothing severe happened. I was mostly unharmed because Natalia-san saved me. My throat went dry. My whole body shook, leaving shivers down my spine.
“...Chloe. ...Order me to kill this woman. I’ll finish her in a second.”
“Julius-san, please don’t. …I’m fine.”
I could sense Julius’s intense anger, and I felt a wave of cold sweat run down my back. At the moment, the more significant problem was the angry, ruthless Black Prince Julius, rather than the unpleasant memories.
Julius was always serious, so if I ordered him to, he would probably kill Eliza. Although even without an order, he seemed ready to do it. That wouldn’t do. We would become criminals in an instant. And if that happened, we wouldn’t be able to live together anymore.
“Such ancient history doesn’t matter anymore. I was saved by my master, and I’m currently a splendid and beautiful genius alchemist. Now, please leave. Julius-san is not for sale. I have no intention of selling him, no matter how much money you offer me!”
I stated firmly.
Then, turning my back on Eliza, I grabbed Julius’s hand and sprinted away towards the outskirts of the royal capital, fleeing from the scene.
There might have been no need to run, but I wanted to get away from Eliza as soon as possible.
She resembled Aliza in a way. I wasn’t fond of people like her.
Julius followed me quietly without saying anything. He could probably run faster than me, but he obediently accompanied me, holding my hand, which was quite considerate of him.