The Freed Slave Is Obsessed
The Freed Slave Is Obsessed
"Get the fuck out of my sight right now."
Renoa issued an order of expulsion.
Manumission.
The goal Irion had held ever since the moment he fell into this world.
To break free from the shackles of slavery and seize freedom.
The master who held his leash had declared his liberation with her own mouth.
If he left right now without looking back, it would be over. The moment he stepped out the door, he would be a free man.
But Irion's feet did not budge, as if they had taken root in the floor.
Instead of his body feeling light enough to fly, it grew tense.
The emotion that arrived at a moment that should have been joyful was neither ecstasy nor a sense of liberation, but a bitter, fishy aftertaste that lingered dryly in his mouth.
That person who had shone so arrogantly.
That spiteful woman who, despite the label of an illegitimate child, had crawled up from the bottom to finally claim her place.
The fact that she had crumbled so miserably scraped harshly at his insides.
"......."
A mana core eroded by poison.
There wasn't a single person she could rely on.
If he turned away now, it would truly be the end for Renoa.
It was obvious she wouldn't even be able to endure until tomorrow morning with a sane mind.
All sorts of idle thoughts clashed violently in Irion's head, wondering if it was okay to leave her like this.
"Didn't you hear me tell you to get lost?"
The blade-like order of expulsion sliced through the air once more.
After a long deliberation, Irion...
"...I understand. Thank you for everything."
He turned around.
Because staying by her side right now would be meaningless.
The sound of footsteps receded, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.
After that, only silence remained.
Renoa lay slumped on the bed like a corpse, doing nothing but breathing.
The meals left by the maids outside the door grew cold, untouched. She didn't drink a single drop of water.
Because of her mana core being gnawed away by poison, her whole body would burn like a fireball, only to shiver from a chill that seeped into her very bones.
Yet even as her body wasted away, Renoa did nothing.
She had no interest in the antidote Iskalon had mentioned.
Because the fact that she had been deceived by someone she trusted had completely withered away what little vitality she had left.
An extreme lethargy, where neither motivation nor even anger arose, dominated her.
Her vision grew hazy and clouded.
Crushed clusters of light filtered through from beyond.
The process of blurring into a blinding white, then turning sunset red, and finally staining into ink-black repeated endlessly.
The alternation of day and night was the only flow of time Renoa could perceive.
"......."
Then one day, a person's face faintly emerged above the ink-blackness, whether it was the ceiling or her eyelids.
Irion.
Where and what would he be doing by now?
It was the freedom he had longed for so much. There had been more than enough time for him to have left the city already.
Since he had left after unshackling himself from slavery, he must be enjoying complete freedom for the first time in his life.
Since he was someone who radiated brilliance even as a slave, he would surely reach heights that someone like her couldn't even imagine.
Feelings like betrayal or regret did not bloom. Because it was the result of her cutting him off and pushing him away with her own hands.
She thought it was for the better.
Because she didn't have to show him this shabby state of hers, rotting away like a corpse.
Because she didn't want to show him, of all people.
The hunger and pain that lasted for several days completely crushed Renoa's sense of reality.
Her consciousness sank endlessly beneath the distant surface of sleep. A shadow wavered at the edge of her clouded vision.
That tiresome yet familiar silhouette, who should have been enjoying freedom after leaving her, stood tall in a corner of the room.
It was an illusion.
It was clear that the thoughts swirling in her head had tangled with her uncontrolled consciousness to create a crude phantom.
But Renoa couldn't take her eyes off that silhouette.
"Iri......on."
A voice so fragile it seemed it would break at any moment leaked out.
Toward the phantom that seemed like it would scatter like mist, Renoa unconsciously reached her arm into the air.
But her body had long since been exhausted.
Her fingertips, reaching through the air, buckled weakly, and her body, losing its balance, tumbled helplessly out of the bed.
At the moment she sensed she would crash straight onto the cold floor.
-Tak.
Something softly supported her falling upper body.
Renoa's worn-out consciousness did not immediately perceive the situation.
It took a long time for her to realize the presence embracing her.
A familiar outline filled the center of her blurred vision.
And then, a voice.
"Just how much do you have to worry me before you're satisfied?"
"......."
She didn't even have the energy to be surprised.
Only a thin gasp leaked through the cracks of her parched lips.
The tension that had been tightening around her neck finally reached its limit.
Surrounded by a familiar scent and warmth, Renoa's vision went black.
The sound of a conversation reached her hazy ears. The drowsiness weighing down her consciousness slowly lifted.
Renoa laboriously pushed up her eyelids, which felt heavy as lead.
Her blurred pupils gradually came into focus. Through that, the profile of a familiar figure caught her eye.
"The emergency treatment is finished. I've temporarily suppressed the poison spreading through her body and restored her depleted energy to some extent."
A magic physician wearing a robe stood up while packing their bag.
"But fundamentally, her body is in a weakened state. You must start with a liquid diet and force her to eat something, even if you have to."
"I understand. Thank you."
"Then I shall take my leave. I pray for the Gongnyeo-nim's speedy recovery."
The doctor gave a polite bow and left the room.
Returning to the bed, Irion locked eyes with Renoa, who had just regained consciousness.
"Are you awake?"
"Iri...on......?"
"Yes. It's your slave, Irion, Agassi."
"Why...... are you... here...?"
"Are you curious? Then get up and have a glass of water."
Irion wore his characteristic sly smirk. He approached the bed and tried to help Renoa sit up.
Renoa reached out a hand that lacked strength and weakly pushed him away.
She forced out a voice that wouldn't come out as she wished.
"Don't play around.... Just answer what I asked."
"No water, no answer. The choice is yours, Agassi."
"......."
Renoa didn't even have the energy to bicker with Irion.
She tried to lift her upper body from the bed, but even that didn't go as she wanted. Eventually, she sat up with Irion's support.
Irion brought a glass of water to her lips.
"Say 'ah'."
"Don't mess with me.... I can drink by myself."
Renoa snatched the glass from Irion's hand.
She tried to drink the water as if it were nothing special, but her body, neglected for days, betrayed its master as if seeking revenge.
Deol-deol-deol.
The fingers gripping the handle trembled minutely.
It was before it even reached her lips. The glass shook violently, spilling water everywhere.
In the end, she couldn't even take a proper sip.
"Oh dear."
A short, exaggerated sigh.
Irion retrieved the glass from Renoa's trembling grasp.
"So your clothes come before your own parched self? Truly, such a noble disposition befitting a Gongnyeo-nim. A mere slave like me could never keep up."
"......."
It was blatant teasing, but Renoa could only bite her lip in shame, unable to say a word.
Meanwhile, Irion, having refilled the glass, brought it back to her.
Realizing that in her current state she couldn't even drink water as she pleased, Renoa reluctantly opened her lips.
A slight curve formed at the corners of Irion's mouth as if satisfied. He slowly tilted the glass.
Renoa gulped down the water like a baby bird receiving food from its mother. Gkol-kkak-gkol-kkak.
Her mouth and esophagus, parched like a desert, greedily took in the moisture as if they had found an oasis.
Only after she finished the entire glass did Irion pull his hand away.
"That's enough. Now, tell me why you're here."
"Before that, just a moment."
Irion hurried out of the room and returned. In his hands was a bowl.
It was soup with faint steam rising from it. He scooped up a proper amount with a spoon and pushed it toward Renoa's lips.
"Eat first. If you just pour in water on an empty stomach, you'll get sick."
"Answer me first......"
"Now. Say 'ah'."
Once again, a one-sided command was issued.
Renoa glared fiercely, but Irion didn't even bat an eyelid, as if it were laughable.
Instead, he tapped her lower lip with the tip of the spoon.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
Renoa pressed her lips tightly together.
She vowed that this time, she would never get caught up in that arrogant man's pace.
But once again, her body had no regard for its master's petty pride.
-Gko-reu-reu-reuk.
In the tense silence, an extremely primal and honest sound rang out.
The savory aroma of the warm soup had stimulated Renoa's stomach, which had been starving for the past few days.
"......!"
Renoa immediately realized that the sound came from her own stomach. She hurriedly wrapped her arms around her stomach, but it was already too late.
-Gko-reu-reu-reu-reuk.
The sound of her hungry stomach rang out repeatedly.
A burning heat surged up her pale cheeks.
Watching that sight, the corners of Irion's mouth stretched even wider.
"You say that, but your body is quite honest."
"Shut the fuck up......"
"Aren't you going to eat? I won't stop you. I'll just sit here and listen to the music."
There was no way Renoa didn't know that the 'music' he referred to was a roundabout way of describing the sounds from her stomach.
She wanted to smack that face right now, but miserably, her hand could only scratch at the bedsheets.
In the end, even her last remaining pride knelt before her shame.
With the corners of her eyes reddened, Renoa slowly opened her lips.
"See, if you had just done as you were told from the start, you wouldn't have had to blush. Honestly, you're so pointlessly stubborn."
Irion pushed the spoon into Renoa's mouth.
He fed her the soup little by little, slowly, so her stomach wouldn't be shocked by the food it hadn't had in a long time.
By the time he had fed her a bite or two, Renoa turned her head away.
"That's enough."
"No. You have to finish all of this. The doctor said you need to eat well to recover."
Renoa shook her head, refusing strongly.
"Stop messing around and answer my question. Why are you here? You clearly left."
"I left? Me?"
"...What?"
Irion gave a beaming smile to Renoa, who couldn't grasp the situation.
"I've been here from the very beginning, though?"