Chapter 310: Experiencing Slavery (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 310: Experiencing Slavery (3)
Typically, one would panic upon being gender-swapped.
After living your whole life as a man, I suppose becoming a woman overnight is a relief, right?
Of course, if you become a pretty girl, there might be some leeway, but panicking is still the default reaction.
But even though I'd gone from Karami to Rami, I wasn't particularly bothered. After all, I knew the cause of this, and I knew the outcome.
It was just a temporary change due to Mirabelle's magic; it's not like I have to live as a woman forever. I'll turn back into a man eventually.
There was no anxiety about the future.
So, all I had to do was enjoy the present as much as possible before that moment came.
With the mindset of playing a female character with a slave-maid setting.
And so, I experienced a noble's banquet for the first time since coming to this world.
Duke Laurentius and his wife.
The eldest son, Alberic.
The second son, Claude.
The eldest daughter, Violeta.
The second daughter, Isabelle.
And the youngest, Evan.
Seven people in total.
My impression, watching from a step behind, was:
Are they at war or something?
Not a single word was spoken.
No one made eye contact.
There was only the clattering of silverware.
To an outsider, the atmosphere was so murderous you'd think they were dining with the enemy, not their family.
While it's mannerly not to speak during a meal, this went far beyond that.
During this meal, a blatant stare pricked my skin.
From between messy, unkempt bangs, a pair of eyes was fixed on me.
It was the youngest son, Evan, staring at me instead of focusing on his food. He gave off such a gloomy vibe, like someone obsessed with the occult.
Not really wanting to deal with him, I looked away.
Clatter, clatter.
The meal continued.
As if displeased by the heavy atmosphere, the Duchess finally broke the silence.
“Violeta, it seems you have a new handmaiden.”
And just like that, I was the topic of conversation.
“That's right. I bought her at the slave market.”
“The slave market?”
At those words, the people who had kept their eyes glued to their plates the entire meal started to look at me.
“How unusual. You, going to a slave market.”
“Keeping slaves is all the rage these days, you know. I was bored, so I bought one. A good purchase, don't you think?”
“…She has a unique air about her. Was she perhaps from a noble house?”
“Absolutely.”
“And do you know which house?”
“She wouldn't tell me.”
“Hmm.”
The second daughter, Isabelle, spoke up.
“So what if she won't talk? A little fire will make her sing. Want me to do it, sister?”
Claude wiped his mouth and said, “We are in front of Father, Isabelle. Watch your words.”
“What's with him all of a sudden? Who was it that was just shouting at the dinner table recently?”
“You know why? It's because he's horny for her. He even asked me to give her to him earlier, you know?”
“Don't slander me, Violeta!”
“It's not slander, I'm just stating a fact. And you should call me 'big sister,' not Violeta. You ill-mannered little brother.”
“Quiet down, both of you.”
They fell silent at the Duchess's intervention.
So even for nobles, sibling relationships are all the same.
It was a very familiar scene.
This is what siblings are supposed to be like.
Now they finally seem like a family.
The Duchess looked at me and asked, “What is your name?”
“My name is Rami.”
“Rami, what did you do before you were a slave, and how did you become one?”
“I was a merchant. I became a slave after being captured by bandits.”
“Your parents?”
“I have none.”
The Duchess nodded calmly. Then she looked at Evan and gave him a gentle smile.
“Oh, my little rascal is so quiet today. Do you like that slave so much?”
“Ah, well…”
“If you want her that badly, why don't you take her?”
“What are you talking about, Mother? She's my slave. I bought her. She's mine.”
“But your little brother wants her. It's not a big deal, and you have other slaves, don't you? As the older sister, you should know how to yield. Give her to the boy.”
“Mother, you always tell me to give in. I don't want to.”
Violeta glared at Evan.
“You're not even dry behind the ears, and you're already chasing after women? I wonder who you take after.”
“Violeta is right this time, Evan. You're too young. Besides, there's an order to things in this world. I asked first, so I'm first. You're next.”
“And he calls himself an older brother. Ugh.”
What in the world do these people think a person is?
Am I some home run ball at a baseball game?
Just give me away because someone wants me?
Am I a toy for a visiting cousin during the holidays?
Sob, sniffle…
Apparently, I was.
Evan suddenly started sniffling.
The first to cry wins. This was clearly not his first time; the speed at which he squeezed out tears was extraordinary.
“Evan, are you all right? Claude! Violeta! How could you make your little brother cry! Apologize to him at once!”
“Did I say something wrong? It's because you spoil him so much, Mother, that he thinks he can get anything by crying. What a cunning little brat.”
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
“Violeta!”
Bang!
Unable to bear it any longer, the Duke slammed his hand on the table. Everyone froze in an instant, as if struck by lightning.
Only the eldest son, Alberic, continued to eat leisurely.
“To think the House of Laurentius would be thrown into such an uproar over a single slave. A most troublesome woman has entered our home.”
The Duke glared at me fiercely.
“Alberic.”
“You called, Master of the House.”
“You will take charge of that handmaiden.”
“Father! She is my slave, how could you…!”
“Do you not know where the money you use to purchase slaves comes from? I will hear no arguments.”
The Duke rose from his seat.
“Take responsibility and train her so that no more disturbances occur, Alberic.”
“Yes, Father.”
My master changed in a single day.
And of all things, from a woman to a man.
*
One day after arriving at the duchy.
I'd been promoted from a young lady's handmaiden to the young lord's.
My career was on a ceaseless, soaring trajectory.
Could there be another handmaiden in the world who had risen through the ranks faster than I? Probably not.
That's me, all right.
Surviving in any environment. I must be a talent perfectly optimized for this era.
But in any era, it was the law of nature for people to envy the successful.
“You're the one? The girl who supposedly caught the Duke's eye by selling her body?”
Behind the deserted mansion. Alberic's handmaidens had called me over, then dragged me here. They trapped me in a corner and surrounded me.
“Selling my body? No. I just happen to have a very pretty face.”
“What? Ha! This bitch must be crazy. Who do you think you're playing word games with? I'm your senior. I heard you were a slave; you must not be in your right mind.”
“Not just a slave, a former noble, they say.”
“So that's why you still don't know how scary the world is.”
Not a former noble, a former man, actually.
This was a moment that brought to mind Brother Ssangkal's famous saying: "All women who slander a pretty woman are ugly themselves."
“This won't do, girls. It looks like we'll have to teach this little lady a lesson, since she still thinks she's a flower in a greenhouse.”
The handmaidens slowly approached, spouting lines like third-rate villains.
What should I do?
Believe it or not, I'm the type of person who doesn't hit women. Because if I fight them, I'll lose.
Even in my original body, I was weaker than women, and now I've become one myself. And it's four against one? To overcome such a numerical disadvantage with no one on my side, would I have to get pregnant with triplets or something?
“How dare you look away when we're standing right in front of you?!”
A handmaiden pulled her shoulder back and swung her arm wide. Just as a slap was about to explode across my cheek—
Smack!
The handmaiden's arm was caught in mid-air.
“Wha—? Who-who are you?”
The one who had caught her was none other than Alberic. The young lord of the House of Laurentius and my new master.
“Y-Young Lord?”
“What is going on here?”
“Well, we were just… training the new girl…”
Alberic's gaze swept over the area.
“The Master of the House personally entrusted this handmaiden to my care. Were you planning on leaving a scar on her?”
“We have committed a crime worthy of death!”
“I will not interfere with the staff's training policies, but I will not permit violence.”
“We are sorry.”
“Do you have any further business with this girl?”
“None at all!”
“Then I shall take her with me.”
Alberic grabbed my wrist and walked past the handmaidens. He led me to a bright spot where the sunlight reached.
I didn't have the strength to shake him off, so I was just dragged along.
“Excuse me. I can walk on my own.”
“…I see.”
Only then did Alberic let go of my hand.
“There's no need for thanks. I only helped because you were an eyesore.”
“Thanks for what?”
“…What?”
“If you're going to grab someone, you should at least control your strength. A woman's skin is so delicate.”
I rolled up my sleeve to check, and sure enough, a red handprint remained.
He must have gripped me so tightly.
Even I'm so careful when I have physical contact with my slaves. Anyway, here's a guy who knows nothing about women, just copying something he saw somewhere.
Sigh.
I rotated my stiff wrist to loosen it up. I shot Alberic a displeased glare.
“Do you need something from me?”
“Not particularly…”
“Then I'll be on my way. I don't feel like dawdling with a man. May I go?”
“…As you wish.”
I walked away from Alberic with quick steps.
Ah, is it because I'm a woman now? I keep getting so irritated.
Trivial things I would have just ignored as a man were now all grating on my nerves. My senses felt heightened, making me want to pick a fight over every little thing.
Is it because of the change in hormones?
I think I'm starting to understand why women live such tiring lives.
*
Left alone, Alberic gazed intently at Rami's back as she quickly disappeared from view.
This was Alberic, the man known as the next head of the Ducal House of Laurentius. Not even a king could treat him carelessly.
And yet.
And yet.
A mere handmaiden.
A slave, no less.
Instead of thanking him, she had the audacity to talk back to him.
She unhesitatingly committed an act of disrespect for which soldiers would come running to strike her head off at a snap of his fingers.
Such foolishness, unable to comprehend her own immediate future.
How absurd.
Truly, how absurd.
“Heh. Heheheh…”
It was so absurd that Alberic couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
For Alberic, who had only ever seen people groveling before him, this was a fresh experience, the first of its kind.
It was only natural that he would become interested in Rami, the one who had made him feel such a sensation.
He licked his palm.
A sweet taste.
It seemed she would be fun to torment.
Rami, was it?
Alberic savored the name of the woman who had entered his sight, repeating it over and over.