Chapter 6
“Ray, could you turn around for a moment?”
At Luna’s words, Ray hesitated before slowly turning around.
But goodness, even his already-worn shirt was half soaked with blood.
Well, it would have been strange if he had not been injured after being hit by such a sharp piece of wood flying at such incredible speed.
“Even after seeing his back, you’re still saying Ray should be punished? No one will be held responsible for what happened today, so don’t argue anymore. Understood?”
Only then did the knights lower their heads, unable to object.
“Ray, you need to get treatment first. After that, I will personally give you a reward.”
The knights’ eyes widened at the thought of a young lady personally rewarding a mere foreign slave.
Of course, the person most shocked was Ray himself.
Despite his large, bear-like body, he slightly trembled his shoulders and glanced at Luna.
Goodness, was it possible for someone with black hair and red eyes to be this cute?
Seeing Ray’s wide-eyed, big-dog-like expression, Luna almost let out a scream of excitement.
There was no way she could let Raizent steal this huge puppy-like bear from her. Absolutely not.
“Ray, follow me. Let’s go back, Raizent.”
“Yes, sister.”
Seeing Luna’s dignified way of handling the situation, Raizent followed behind her like a fox riding on a tiger’s back, acting quite proudly as he walked along.
When Ray hesitated, Luna looked back and gestured for him to hurry.
Only then did Ray glance at the knights’ reactions before quickly following behind Luna.
Luna was gently dabbing disinfectant-soaked cotton onto the wound on Ray’s back, which was as wide as a training field.
Ray kept flinching whenever the disinfectant stung.
The cut was long, but fortunately, it was not deep enough to require stitches.
In her previous life, Luna had such a strong aversion toward men that aside from Woo-joo, she had barely even held another man’s hand.
But now, touching the bare skin of a man who was perfectly her type made her head spin.
However, strangely enough, she did not dislike it.
If she had known it felt this good, she should have tried it sooner.
“Miss, wouldn’t it be better if I did it instead? If the master finds out that you personally treated a slave’s wounds, he will not stay quiet.”
Lily, standing beside them, looked nervous, probably worried about being scolded by the count later.
But Luna calmly replied.
“The person who got hurt because of me is right in front of me. How could I leave this to someone else? Besides, someone as small as you couldn’t properly take care of a man this large, could you? He still needs his bandages wrapped.”
At the words “a man this large,” Ray unknowingly shrank his body.
“Ray, I wasn’t saying that for you to hear. Just relax. And also, thank you very much for earlier. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would have happened…”
“N-no, Miss.”
Her words sounded noble, but the truth was that Luna had no intention of giving up the perfect back of this black-haired, red-eyed, big puppy-like bear to Lily.
A woman who had spent her whole life seeing men like stones might never again get the chance to touch the bare skin of such an innocent and wonderful man.
Besides, she had already decided to give up on Shuindel, the man she had loved from afar.
If the man she liked had become an unreachable dream, then she should at least keep the person who saved her life by her side—even if he was going to become a slave attendant or perhaps a slave knight in the future.
“Ray, can you spread your arms a little?”
Without understanding why, Ray obediently did as Luna asked and spread his arms.
Luna unfolded the bandage in her hands and began wrapping it around his back from behind, as if embracing him.
Even though she stretched her arms as far as she could, Ray’s back was so wide that it was difficult to bring the bandage around to the front in one go.
But Luna refused to give up and successfully wrapped the bandage diagonally across his back and chest.
As expected, Ray flinched every time Luna’s hands lightly touched his back and chest.
He looked so adorable that Luna almost reached out to pat his head.
How nice would it be if all men in the world were this pure-hearted and had such wonderful bodies?
At that moment, the door suddenly opened, and Raizent hurriedly entered.
He had a letter in his hand.
“Sister, a letter from the Imperial Family arrived for you. The butler was bringing it, but I brought it instead.”
Wow. If Ray was a big puppy-like bear, then Raizent was a tiny little puppy.
After fainting and waking up, he had stayed by Luna’s side constantly, and he seemed to have grown much closer to her.
“From the Imperial Family? Give it here.”
Since she had read plenty of romance fantasy novels, Luna confidently picked up the paper knife on the desk and cut open the sealed envelope like an expert before taking out the letter.
「Lady Luna de Mirage,
I have heard that an unexpected incident occurred while the Crown Prince was staying at the Mirage estate.
You must have already had many concerns because of the memorial ceremony for Young Lord Proint, and both Count Siltburg and Lady Luna yourself must have been greatly shocked.
I hope you recover your health completely soon.
Furthermore, I will soon be holding a tea party.
I would be delighted if you would attend and grace the occasion with your presence.
— From Cluke di Lievero, the Princess who worries for the Siltburg Count Family」
The Mirage Count was apparently also serving as the Imperial Family’s financial supervisor.
Even though he was neither a duke nor a marquis, the princess herself sent a letter because his daughter collapsed?
Cluke di Lievero…
Wasn’t she the older sister of Line Empire’s Crown Prince Fanen di Lievero by five years?
Her memory was unclear, but she thought that although the woman looked gentle on the outside, she was actually extremely cold-hearted.
If she had known this would happen, she should have at least finished reading the parts uploaded on the platform.
Anyway, this meant the Mirage Family was a household that even the Imperial Family paid attention to.
Being too noticeable would only become troublesome.
“Sister, what does it say?”
Raizent asked with sparkling puppy-like eyes.
Seeing how cute he looked, Luna unconsciously reached out and gently rubbed his hair.
“The princess said she will soon hold a tea party.”
Under Luna’s gentle touch, Raizent immediately forgot about the contents of the letter.
No matter what the letter said, it no longer mattered.
He wanted to receive his sister’s touch a little longer, so he deliberately pushed his head closer and rubbed against her palm.
Luna let out a small laugh at his behavior.
Then she looked to the side.
Ray, the large man standing there with bandages wrapped around him, was also clasping his hands together and staring at her hand with envy.
As expected of a web novel world, the reactions were so dramatic.
Seeing the adorable reactions of the two men, Luna felt grateful for the first time that the little universe she had created had designed male characters exactly according to her taste.
But did I originally like this kind of puppy-like men?
I don’t think I did.
But somehow…
“Ah, I forgot. Ray, come here. Raizent, can you stand beside me for a moment?”
Raizent reluctantly moved to Luna’s side.
Ray also approached as she asked and knelt before her.
“Uh, you don’t have to kneel like this.”
“No, Miss. I have always done this elsewhere. I am used to it.”
Goodness.
Who in the world could become used to kneeling?
Of course, this was an era where slavery existed and the relationship between master and servant was strict.
But wasn’t this man originally not a slave?
“How long has it been since you came to our house?”
“A little over half a month.”
“Where were you before that?”
“I was at a baron’s estate. I did various chores, and also…”
Ray hesitated repeatedly.
“…I also served the master and mistress in their… personal matters.”
Seeing Ray struggle to speak, Luna frowned.
He had probably avoided saying it directly because Lily and young Raizent were nearby.
But Luna could guess what kind of “service” a slave was forced to provide.
It was clearly night service.
And he had been forced to serve both the master and the mistress.
What kind of pain had this young man endured?
Luna felt a heavy sadness in her heart.
She felt ashamed that she had tried to satisfy her own desires, even if only a little.
“Ray, you aren’t from this country, are you? Where were you originally from?”
Ray felt extremely confused.
No one had ever asked his name first, much less asked where he came from.
When he was sixteen, he had been sold to the distant Line Empire because of his mother’s debt.
For nearly ten years, he had wandered from place to place.
He had suffered through harsh labor as well as humiliating and degrading experiences.
But not once had anyone treated him as a person.
They only cared about his exotic appearance or satisfying their own selfish desires.
To them, Ray was nothing more than property that could be handled however they wanted.
“I… I lived in a small country called Paradiso. It takes about two months by ship from here to reach it.”
“Paradiso?”
Luna had only known that Ray was an exotic slave.
This was the first time she learned that he came from a country called Paradiso.
A question she had casually asked while thinking of giving him a reward somehow became interesting.
The name Paradiso itself meant “paradise.”
Was it some kind of paradise on earth?
“What kind of place is it?”
Seeing the sincere curiosity in Luna’s eyes, Ray’s heart began beating faster.
“P-Paradiso is truly a wonderful place to live.
It is a small country, but because the weather is good, it is neither too cold nor too hot throughout the year.
The sunlight is strong, but people don’t sweat too much. Since it has a sea, there are plenty of seafood, and many fruits grow there that cannot be found here.
The people are kind, and everyone lives with a relaxed attitude.
That was how it was when I lived there… I-I don’t know how it is now.
Anyway, perhaps because it is small, it is not even part of the Line Empire.”
Ray spoke excitedly, chattering away despite his huge body.
A country that was not part of the Line Empire and required a two-month boat ride…
At that moment, Luna felt like a good idea was forming in her mind.
“Ray, can you use a sword?”
Luna asked.
If Ray knew how to handle a sword, she wanted to keep him beside her as both an attendant and a personal guard knight.
“A sword?”
Ray suddenly looked startled, as if Luna had struck the exact point he was hiding.
“Yes, a sword. Judging from how quickly you appeared and saved me earlier, you seem to have good physical ability too.”
Under Luna’s expectant gaze, Ray rolled his eyes around before speaking quietly.
“I learned how to use a sword in my hometown since I was young. I trained hard because I thought I might become a mercenary in another country someday…”
His expression darkened.
“But because of my mother’s debt, suddenly…”
Perhaps remembering the day he had been sold to another country, Ray looked as if he might cry at any moment.
He had been sold all the way here because of his mother.
Luna remembered her own mother in the real world—the woman who had caused her so much pain and eventually passed away.
The circumstances were different, but Luna still felt sorry for Ray.
So, to help both herself and Ray, Luna decided to take the plunge.
“Is that so? Ray, you must have suffered a lot until now. Since you saved my life, I will give you the greatest reward I can. How about becoming my attendant and my personal guard knight?”
