Though Gareth was excited, he didn't let it cloud his judgment. He was wary of the enslavement method they would employ on him. If he had more time, he would have liked to find ways to break it or circumvent it, but alas, he was given none.He also didn't want to outright refuse her.
If he did, the image he had worked hard to cultivate in front of her would crumble, and he could even end up drawing her ire. No one in his position would have refused her offer, which could make her suspicious of his intentions and start monitoring him closely.
Sensing his hesitation, the countess let out a soft chuckle before speaking."Fufufu, why are you thinking so much? Aren't you already a slave?" she asked. Her question, though rhetorical, caused an explosion in Gareth's mind.
While he was indeed a slave, he hadn't been branded with a slave seal. Usually, when someone becomes a slave, they are branded with a seal to make sure they aren't able to escape.
The seal is connected to a contract that the slave owner can use to control them. Since she purchased him, the countess had already received his own contract from the slave trader.
However, there was a twist no one expected. Gareth was never enslaved. The slaver was a sleazy scumbag who was very stingy with his resources.
In his mind, since his parents were already slaves, there was no need to waste resources to enslave a baby. The kid wouldn't be able to survive without its parents anyway, so it wouldn't be able to leave.
Without any knowledge of the world, the kid would be too reliant on his parents to have any thoughts of escaping. And that worked, up until the death of his parents.
After that, Gareth just continued his work as a slave, believing he was the same as everyone else. Several years had passed, and the slaver had already forgotten about him.
That was until the visit of the countess. When a subordinate of the countess came to purchase Gareth, the slaver realized he didn't have a slave contract. Panicking, he quickly scribbled his name on some special parchment, the same one the slave contract was written on.
Without being able to tell the difference, the subordinate took it, believing that all was in order. The parchment was then passed to the countess, who now believed that Gareth was enslaved.
So that meant Gareth, who everyone thought was a slave, was actually a free man. Now the countess, believing that she had control over his life, was giving him one of the most valuable items in the kingdom, without any way to ensure his loyalty.
Gareth couldn't believe his astronomical luck. He almost thought it was a joke, half expecting the countess to burst out laughing, telling him it was a prank. However, she did no such thing.
Without hesitation, he received the book with both hands while bowing to her."Thank you very much, my lady. I won't disappoint your expectations," he said while virtually bowing at a ninety-degree angle to her.
Seeing his funny display, the countess merely let out a chuckle before waving him off."Alright, you can leave now. Tell the maid to come inside on your way out."
Without wasting any more time, he left the office while passing on the message to the maid stationed outside. He walked briskly back to his room, having already memorized the way.
As soon as he entered, he quickly made himself comfortable on his bed, eager to begin reading. He stared at the book, carefully inspecting it. There was no name on the cover, making it appear ordinary.
He opened it and began reading. However, before he could even finish the first line, a soft knocking sounded on his door.
He was a bit annoyed at the interruption but quickly got up to open the door. As soon as he saw who it was, his annoyance faded away.
It was Miria, and in her hands was a tray of food. As soon as he saw the food, it was as if a switch flipped in his mind. His stomach, which had been silent earlier, began growling in hunger.
Only now did he remember that he hadn't eaten anything for the whole day. Well, who could be blamed? Today was just too eventful.
He had arrived at the countess' manor, took a bath with the two maids, was given a makeover, met the countess, and ate her out.
'Hah! Truly an eventful day,' he mused to himself.
"I brought you your meal." Miria's voice woke him from his thoughts. He quickly stepped aside for her to enter and set it down on the table.As she did that, her gaze moved to the bed, where the Ardent Cultivation Technique was. Seeing it, her eyes widened in shock.
She wasn't expecting the countess to give something that valuable to Gareth. She had assumed that he was just another one of the men she used to pass the time.
Clearly, the countess valued him much more than that. She didn't know what the countess saw in him, but since she was an Ardent, perhaps there was something about him she had noticed.
This realization stirred something within her. The shock on her face slowly morphed into desire as she stared at the technique on the bed.Gareth, who had been watching all this, didn't fail to notice her desire for the technique.
'It seems she wants to be an Ardent,' he thought to himself. It wasn't like there was anyone in this kingdom who didn't want to be an Ardent.However, the look in her eyes was far more than simple desire. It was more similar to... greed.
'Heh! It seems I've found an in,' Gareth smirked to himself. He walked closer to her, and just as he was right behind her, he spoke.
"Thank you for your help, Miria," he said while his body was almost pressing against her slightly hunched-over frame.
Hearing his voice so close, Miria flinched before quickly spinning around in surprise.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I didn't publish any chapters yesterday, so I'll make up for it today.