Chapter 22

His eyes met mine when I called his name. Danger shone in his eyes.

I knew he would kill me as soon as all the pain was gone.

I couldn’t bring him back into the mansion if he continued like this.

I bit my lower lip and fell into deep thought. With my free hand, I removed the mask.

“Look at me, Ikris.”

Other than that, I couldn’t think of a better way to appease him. I can only hope he faces the truth.

“Look at the man who just bought you for 100 million gold, your master.”

My face, which had been covered, was finally revealed, and his light gray eyes widened.

Probably because he hadn’t thought that someone with a beautiful and attractive face like Penelope would come to a place like this.

Meanwhile, I continued to stare at him, with firm eyes.

“It wasn’t because I had a large amount of gold coins to squander that I bought you out. There isn’t any noble who would make such a crazy move as to spend 100 million gold coins just for a slave who has just been claimed from a defeated country, you know?”

It was true that no one in the auction would spend a hundred million gold for a slave as she did.

One hundred million gold could build a castle on the outskirts of the capital city.

“Even if you escaped the auction, where would you go? You don’t even have a country you can go back to.”

As if being stepped on in pain, Ikris clenched his teeth and incised.

He struggled, trying to get out of my grasp. But it only caused me to tighten my grip on him and raise my hand.

I gazed down at him.

“I really hate idiots who don’t understand their situation. I saw useful value in you and bought you, that’s all.”

It wasn’t just the hundred million gold, he had no idea how much it had cost me to bring him out of that place.

“So you have to prove to me that you have the value of that hundred million gold. Or I will send you back to that place, do you hear me?”

“…….”

“If you don’t accept that, then I will have to send you back to that place. Understand?”

I questioned, a dangerous gleam in my eyes.

The old fable says I never thought I could go this far myself.

I didn’t realize I wanted to live so badly in this paranoid game.

There was only one way to try to calm him down and get him to accept reality.

Accepting the fact that he was no longer a noble high up in a country, but just a slave for sale.

Ikris’ eyes wavered.

It seemed as if he realized that I didn’t buy him for entertainment purposes or to play with him like a toy.

“Nod your head if you understand me, I need to get home as soon as possible.”

And so we stood in silence until he gave a slight nod, so small that I almost didn’t notice. Thankfully, his favorability rating didn’t drop. That was enough for me.

“Little, miss! Are you hurt?!”

As I put on the mask and stood up, the auction host, who had hesitated for a few moments, came up to ask me.

The host, who seemed to be in awe of Ikris, approached me with a whip in his hand.

“You.”

“Yes! Do you have anything ……”

I turn my head sideways to Ikris who stumbles and shades trying to get up. Gesturing.

“Unshackle him.

“What did you say?”

“Unchain him.”

“But …… Miss! This slave is ……!”

“Unchain everything that binds him except his necklace and bracelets. I will take him away myself.”

When I began to press him in a tone that felt tiresome, the slaver then signaled his subordinates with a look.

With the exception of his hands, Ikris regained his freedom.

The moment Ikris was unshackled, the slaver and the staff immediately stepped back.

But Ikris didn’t do anything, just stood there silently.

“You.”

I pointed to the man who had mercilessly whipped Ikris earlier.”

“Me?”

“Take off your clothes.”

“Huh?!”

“Take off all the garments you’re wearing right now except for your underwear and give them to him.”

I threw a small cloth bag containing gold coins at him.

Clanking and taunting a few times a

“Move faster.”

A few minutes later, the slave, who was still half-naked in the party, walked out of the auction house wearing the man’s clothes.

It was late at night when I left that dilapidated house. And I was tired from harboring my wariness at all times throughout the night.

“Phew……” I exhaled and looked to the sky.

A sigh slipped out of my lips as I looked to the already dawn sky.

After going to that place after all the trouble, I didn’t have a clue as to how to get back to the mansion.

“Just follow me.”

I said while glancing at Ikris who was standing behind me.

He didn’t reply back. For a slave, such an action is certainly a big disrespect. However, I did not correct him out of my voice because I was too tired.

I led Ikris into the alley closest to the dilapidated building.

I had planned to go straight down the biggest road so that I could ask for directions from anyone who passed by.

Just as I turned down that twisty alley.

“Look over there! They’re coming out!”

A group of people who had been standing not far from us swarmed towards us, blocking the way there.

“Hello A.”

A short, rotund man made his way through the crowd to me.

“Who are you?”

Raising my guard to the highest level, I asked the question defensively

“You don’t know who I am? Ha.” Upon hearing my question, the man faked a laugh in disbelief, trailing off with a series of contrived chuckles.

“How would I know who you are?”

“I’m the rumored Hope, the legendary Cruy

“Lord, Master!” A servant strung out from the sidelines, blocking the man with the pickled, sleepy figure who was about to reveal his identity.

The man coughed a few times, cleared his throat, and spoke again, “I waited for you to come out for no other reason…”

” ….”

“Give me that slave.” His eyes drifted over me, landing on Ikris behind me.

I finally remembered the man.

He was the one who had just competed with that granny in the auction until the last minute

“Ikris, back off.” I protectively blocked in front of Ikris, trying to isolate that man’s greedy eyes.

‘Since the beginning of time, masters have to know how to protect their subordinates.’

Now I’m Ikris’ master, so I have to handle this without fear.

In fact, that was just an excuse. I had another purpose.

”Take this opportunity to earn as much of his favor as I can. No loss.”

This pig-headed subordinate is a bit scary, but the direction of things shouldn’t be too bad.

I, am the only Duke’s daughter of that famous and only Duke Eckhardt’s family in the Empire.

After instilling this thought in myself I raised my head and chin, assuming a noble stance.

“Are you forgetting that he was sold for 100 million gold coins?”

“That, that’s ……”

After hearing my words, the man’s face flew red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“It’s me who didn’t bring enough of that money today. I’ll hand you ten million gold coins first, and I’ll give the rest to clear …… next week.”

“One billion.”

“Sh, what.”

“I was going to shout from ten times the number that the final bidder shouted.”

“Then…then I!”

“Even if you had shouted one hundred million in the first place, I would have succeeded in bidding on him because I raised it to one billion. So the real number would have been one billion.”

The pig-headed man started snarling towards mine, “Don’t be ridiculous! You’re being unreasonable and forceful!”

“I’m not the one being unreasonable.”

The man’s face rose even redder with rage, so red even that Penelope thought he could explode at any moment.

He probably thought he could snatch Ikris effortlessly, and so he began to show, unable to hide under his anger. Did he think she was a vegetarian and a bully?

“Do you, do you have any idea who I am? You should have done it when I told you to give him to me!”

“I’ll give you the question back, do you even know who I am?”

As a result of having just pledged Derrick’s cufflinks, I didn’t have anything that could prove my identity. But if anything happened, the dark pink hair and lime green eyes under the mask would be the best proof.

It would let him know exactly who I was.

Just as I was about to take off the mask a

“You ungrateful brat ……” The raised hand quickly swung down towards my face quite a

He put it into action faster than I expected.

Just as I was about to dodge the slap a

“Ahhhh!” The man let out a pig-killing scream.

‘I’m pretty sure his hands are cuffed ……”

“Aaaah! Jack, get me this thing!” Breaking free from under Ikris, he screamed.

“Stand back.” Ikris politely pushed me away.

What happened next was like that jackal show in the auction.

The size of the crowd was no problem for Ikris at all.

Every time Ikris moved, one more person fell to the ground.

“Oooh…wow…” as I slowly fell backward away from the scene.

It was nothing like being in the audience watching a jackal show on stage.

I, Penelope, was standing at the scene of carnage. Torn limbs, blood flying and burning all over the place.

Looking at this breathtaking scene reminded me of the scene at the banquet when the crown prince swung his sword down and the killer’s head fell to the ground.

The feeling that shocked me and made me retch surged up along with the stench of blood.

”So …… scary.”

I slowly fell back until my back was pressed against the cold wall. Upset and trembling, I watched Ikris move like a killing machine.

It didn’t take long for the sight to end, and the man who had been screaming just moments before, dropped stiffly to the floor, his obese body shaking, the shock in his eyes exactly as it was in mine.

A few seconds later, the color of his pants darkened and a yellow itch appeared on the floor.

As for me, I was so shocked that I overlooked the fact that the man’s behavior was disgusting.

Ikris was stumbling towards me. On his wrists, completely destroyed handcuffs were wobbling around, with threads of sticky blood dripping from the bottom, and my body shook with fear.

“Well.”

The gradually approaching, gray-haired and expressionless man startled me.

What was I thinking just now, trying to threaten such a dangerous guy.

It’s good that the mask on my face is still there, the face expression of fear didn’t show.

“…… Master.”

Ikris came to me and knelt down. Before I could react, he spoke, “These people, I have taken care of.”

His light gray eyes cast into mine with no hint of falsehood in their sincerity. Immediately afterward he took one of my hands in both of his and gently moved it to his left quite.

“Please approve of me.” As he said this, he rubbed my hand against his face like a puppy seeking affection.

My cold hands gradually warmed up from rubbing his face quite.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that the hand was the one with the ruby ring.

I was just staring blankly at the top of his head.

[Favorability 18%]

My choice.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.