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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Yours is Mine, Mine is Mine
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In a way, it might have been far too cheap a price compared to her own sins.
As a woman—
No, even before that, as a human being, there were realms she never wanted to expose to others.
The shame and dignity hidden deepest within her existence now had to be laid bare before the eyes of someone who knew nothing. The thought alone squeezed her heart.
But they said there would be no pain.
No blood would flow, no further demands would follow.
She just had to endure a very brief moment of suffocating shame.
In return, precious ingredients that a commoner could never afford in a lifetime.
When she thought of the annex's daily struggle to scrape by, the temptation felt all too real.
So Aira tried to convince herself.
This wasn't a sacrifice—it was a choice.
"How about we become secret friends while we're at it? Aira."
"Secret... friends?"
Walter smiled gently.
Like someone bestowing a favor, with a calm and leisurely demeanor.
"You're already the slave of my 'precious little sister.' By Argent law, even illegitimate children can't just claim another child's slave as they please."
He continued in a tone like reciting rules.
"But that just means you can't own them. It doesn't prohibit contact."
Secret friends.
Aira understood exactly what that meant.
It meant being summoned whenever he needed her.
It meant, like today, never refusing his demands.
When he quietly turned and approached from behind, Aira instinctively shrank back.
A very subtle movement.
Just the faint brush of his presence sent a chill rippling across her skin.
As if an invisible hand were trailing down her back, her breath grew shallow.
She wanted to back away right now.
The cold, unpleasant, unbearably anxious sensation.
But her feet wouldn't move.
Because this proposal wasn't just her personal matter.
Lucas and Piel, and the everyday life of the annex they shared.
The moment she recalled their hunger and deprivation, this choice ceased to be merely about her own shame.
Aira bit her lip.
In that brief silence, so much had already crumbled.
"Actually... we've almost run out of detergent lately. We can't even properly wash the dishes, just rinsing them with water..."
"Oh, that?"
Walter nodded as if it were no big deal.
"I've got plenty stockpiled in my estate's warehouse. I'll send over enough for about ten years."
"...Pardon?"
Aira blinked, wondering if she'd misheard.
"And water too... sometimes we don't even get hot water..."
"That's even simpler."
Walter held up one finger.
"Firewood for the stove. I can send enough to last until the end of winter."
Aira pressed her lips together tightly.
After a moment's hesitation, she finally brought up what she least wanted to say.
"No matter how carefully I cook... the meat we get is... just too tough..."
Her words trailed off.
Walter chuckled lowly, as if her reaction amused him.
"Can't be helped."
He said it nonchalantly.
"The meat going to your annex was originally meant for livestock feed."
"..."
"But."
Walter tilted his head, adding softly.
"If I just snap my fingers, starting tomorrow, only the finest cuts will go there."
At those words, Aira swallowed hard.
The finest ingredients...
Not just one or two, but a table laden layer upon layer like a royal banquet.
Roasted lobster infused with subtle butter aroma, its shell split to reveal steaming, plump flesh.
Crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside meats, simple dishes seasoned only with herbs and salt.
Even the vegetables and sauces placed like decorations—things unimaginable in the annex.
She pictured Piel and Lucas sitting side by side before such a feast.
Piel would surely sparkle with delight at the meat, true to her beastkin nature.
Even before, with the tough lamb steak, her eyes had lit up as she called it delicious.
Her orange eyes growing even brighter, her tail swishing happily—it was vivid in her mind.
If she had a little sister, it might feel like this.
The thought warmed a corner of her heart.
And Lucas.
The man who had pulled her from despair after she became a slave and lost all will to live, simply awaiting the end.
He didn't stop at caring for her but made her see the world anew.
Always comforting and praising her, despite her being a flawed high elf... If Piel was like a little sister, Lucas was like a gentle big brother.
The two of them, next morning, surrounded by dishes rivaling the imperial table, laughing and chatting.
Thanking her for bringing the ingredients. Imagining that scene made Aira's breath hitch.
Swish.
"Oh! Starting to undress means... you'll be my secret friend, right?"
"...Of course. I'll be your secret friend, Young Master Walter. So please... continue to look after Lucas and everyone in the annex."
"Heh heh, naturally."
Walter laughed in satisfaction.
"Tomorrow, I'll send a whole crate of that lobster you wanted. I'll mix in the rest too."
For her family.
For those two.
Aira decided to offer the cheapest thing she had left.
Her own body, which she'd always deemed worthless—if it could change the annex's table, she could bear it, she told herself.
"Come on. Keep smiling while you undress."
Walter chided gently.
"Fold your clothes neatly to the side, and when you're done, kneel before me and thank me properly. You can do that much, right?"
"Of course..."
Her hands first went to her waist.
Untying the apron strings tied habitually, the fabric lightly slipped from her body.
The mark of a worker vanished first.
Next came the dress.
Undoing the buttons at her neck one by one from the top, loosening the laces cinched at her waist—the garment could no longer hold and slid down her body.
As the weight enveloping her fell away, the air on her skin sharpened her awareness of his gaze.
After shedding even the thin underlayer, only one final piece remained in her hands, barely qualifying as clothing.
There was nothing layered beneath.
Underwear had always been a privilege for nobles and royalty; after becoming a slave, it hadn't even been an option.
Once this was gone, there would be nothing left to hide or delay.
But.
'Hold... endure it.'
Aira gripped her hands tightly, urging herself on.
Just finish it quickly.
Endure the brief shame, and it would be as if nothing happened.
This was a slave's body now.
Worthless—she had to think that way to move forward.
And yet—
Drip.
Not onto the floor, but from herself—she finally realized.
She was crying.
"Ooh... Aira, that's hot...!"
An excited voice pierced her ears.
"Yes, cry if you want. But keep smiling. Don't stop your hands."
She had to smile.
At that single command, Aira forced her lips upward.
The heat in her eyes lingered, but she mimicked a smile.
She'd already lost everything worth losing.
No pride remained at this point.
So she endured. Swallowing her tears, she chose to smile.
For her family.
For the master she served—ultimately, for the one man whose origins she'd set aside.
The moment he saw that scene, Walter's lips twisted.
"Ah... fuck, I can't hold back."
He'd meant to just watch. Truly intended to.
But the sight before him left no room for restraint.
"Really... can't hold back."
As Walter stepped forward—
"Yeah. Can't hold back."
"Huh?"
It wasn't words next.
Crack—!
"Pfft?!"
A dull impact sent Walter's body flying sideways.
His teeth scattered across the floor, and he crashed down.
Thud!
His head slammed into a corner of the pantry.
Shelves shook, spilling ingredients everywhere.
Walter rose, vomiting blood, trembling at the shattered teeth in his palm.
He knew best—they couldn't be healed.
And.
Oblivious to the chaos.
"Lu, Lucas... sir?"
The one who grabbed her shoulder, holding her collapsing final line.
Her master, Lucas, casually tossed aside the bloodied club.
Then, for the first time, he unleashed his fury toward Aira without hiding it.
"What the hell were you about to do?"
"P-Pardon? I-I was—"
"When did I ever order you to go this far for something?"
His gaze was sharp.
Open anger she'd never seen before.
She'd strived so hard not to be hated—facing it like this was unbearable.
Aira's lips quivered.
All her pent-up emotions burst forth.
"I'm, I'm sorry...! I just wanted to see you... and Piel... smiling...!"
Sobs swallowed her words.
"And... it's my body anyway... I'd just be the one losing out...!"
In that instant.
Grip.
Lucas's hand clamped firmly on her shoulder.
No chance to flee—her gaze was forced upward.
Then he spoke.
"Why is your body yours!!"
It wasn't mere anger.
Unlike any scolding she'd heard.
It was the roar of a male lion, erupting to protect, to not let it be taken.
"Aira."
Lucas's eyes fixed solidly.
"Whose slave are you right now?"
"...Yours, sir."
"Then whose is your master?"
"...You, sir."
He didn't pause a beat.
"Exactly."
His voice lowered.
"So whose is that slave's body?"
"...!"
As if not even waiting for an answer, Lucas declared firmly.
"You're mine, Aira."
Her breath caught.
"That body that filthy bastard Walter wanted to ogle."
His words were brutally clear.
"Face, waist, hips—even the sensitive insides of your groin. All of it!"
Aira swallowed.
"It's all mine."
Watching, touching, taking responsibility—only I can do it all.
It wasn't comfort.
Not permission, not compromise.
It was simply a 'declaration.'
A body she'd never once heard 'you can have it' for in her life.
A flesh called noble blood yet never chosen by anyone.
After slavery, deemed worthless and prepared for discard—now clearly, explicitly claimed as his own.
In that moment, Aira could endure no more.
"Hic... huwaaaang...! I was wrong...!"
She collapsed into Lucas's arms.
A sob mixing shame, fear, grievance—all of it.
Like a big brother.
No, even more than that.
The first time her body was chosen as 'someone's.'
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