Three Women at the Dinner Table

The vice-commander’s voice carried an undeniable conviction: You’ve done more than enough. He swallowed the hot surge rising in his throat and scanned the knights around him. Their eyes held no contempt for the slave—only a crushed reverence in the face of overwhelming strategy. At last the vice-commander lowered his head in heavy acceptance.

I broke the thick silence and spoke to him. “Your tactical insight was excellent, Vice-Commander. The specialized maneuvers that took Arzen’s terrain and manpower into account had a sharpness even our instructors hadn’t calculated. In mock battles the side that moves first is usually at a disadvantage, yet you displayed such superb tactical understanding. It gives me confidence that House Arzen will only grow stronger from now on.”

The praise softened the vice-commander’s expression. Once the atmosphere on the training ground had settled, the knight commander approached me and whispered so the others could not hear.

“Talents like these could serve as imperial strategists without shame. Are all five instructors truly at this level?”

“Only these five?”

At my short reply the commander’s pupils trembled violently. He stared at me for a moment, then recalled the day he had marched alone into my mansion full of bravado. Back then he had not fully trusted Vivian’s decision. Shaking hands with the slave trader who had driven House Arzen to the brink, entrusting the family’s survival to an enemy—it had been humiliating. A wretched reality with no better options, mixed with boiling hostility, had driven him to the mansion intending to cut my throat the moment he detected even a trace of bluff in my proposal.

The scene unfolding before him now kept shattering the walls of common sense he had built. A being of bottomless ability who commanded powerful subordinates, Victor now felt like an insurmountable wall. The pain of his own ignorance—having thrust his head into the lion’s jaws without knowing its true nature—cut deep. The knight commander suppressed the shiver running down his spine and swallowed the bitter realization that his shallow pride had nearly dragged the entire family into the grave.

He hurried back to the training ground and began delivering a stern lecture ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the still-dazed knights. I looked at the combat slaves and murmured quietly, “Better than expected. While you stand on Arzen soil you will live not as slaves but as instructors to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this house’s knight order. Do not lose the dignity that role demands.”

The combat slaves’ eyes sharpened like honed blades. At that moment Evelyn, who had been waiting for an opening, leaned her body softly against my arm and whispered languidly.

“Master, you look even more magnificent today. Watching such a splendid atmosphere has set my mouth on fire. When we return to the mansion, I want to drink that sweet, hot thing you give me yourself.”

At Evelyn’s blatant remark, Elina’s shoulders stiffened slightly as she held Lua. Elina sent a faint flicker of jealousy through her gaze, but Evelyn only smiled with open delight and toyed with her own hair.

My slaves and I headed to the reception room where Vivian waited. The moment the door opened, three women gathered in one space and filled the room with a strange tension and dazzling splendor. Vivian wore her brilliant golden hair elegantly pinned up, radiating an arrogant beauty. By contrast, Elina in her combat attire possessed the restrained physique of a sharp blade and a pure charisma, while Evelyn displayed fatal allure with her silver-white hair, pale translucent skin, and slender, flexible figure. The sight of three different peaks of beauty gathered in one place was nothing short of breathtaking.

“Welcome, Lord Victor.”

Vivian greeted me with intelligent eyes. She tried to maintain the dignity of a cool-headed duchess, yet the moment my gaze lingered, a faint pink flush bloomed on her fair cheeks. She cleared her throat theatrically, attempting to hide her shyness behind a solemn expression. Just then Lua wagged his tail and ran to her. Vivian happily lifted the small, fluffy creature and exchanged silent greetings with Elina. Her eyes then stopped on Evelyn.

“And who might this be?”

“This is Evelyn, a slave I am introducing for the first time.”

“One of the slaves we agreed to lease to our house?”

I shook my head at Vivian’s question. “No. I brought her to properly demonstrate the dignity of House Arzen.”

Evelyn instantly read my intention. She gracefully lowered her slender body in a bow as refined as any young lady from a prestigious family. Vivian looked back and forth between Evelyn and Elina, then curved her lips in a mysterious smile.

“It seems you place appearance as the highest condition when acquiring female slaves, Lord Victor?”

“It is an indispensable condition. After all, a beautiful sword is more pleasant to wield, is it not?”

At my smooth reply Vivian briefly averted her eyes as if flustered. She soon regained the cool gaze of a duchess and brought up the main topic.

“I watched from afar, but the instructors’ skills have been thoroughly confirmed. With talent of that caliber, there is no shortage in entrusting them with our knights.”

“Then shall we proceed with the instructor rental contract?”

When Vivian nodded, I produced the mana contract I had prepared in advance.

As the previously written terms flowed once more, the air in the reception room grew heavy. When Vivian and I signed the contract, a vivid red mana light burst from the document and roughly coiled around the combat slaves. The crimson brand sank into them near their hearts and settled there. Vivian watched the instructors as the red light faded, looking satisfied.

“Now I truly feel they have become part of Arzen. Shall we celebrate this perfect contract with a meal?”

Vivian rose, once again stealing glances at me. Though she tried to walk with perfect posture, the faint trembling at her fingertips betrayed the excitement hidden behind her intelligent mask. She guided us to a private dining room deep inside the ducal residence, far from the eyes of her retainers. Normally, a slave sharing a table with a duke would be impossible under imperial law, yet Vivian cleared her throat loudly with deliberate dignity and instructed the servants.

“Today’s luncheon is… an extremely private gathering. These people are Lord Victor’s closest aides, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prepare their seats without any discourtesy.”

At the unprecedented order from their lady, the servants looked startled but quickly set the table. Vivian sat across from me and gracefully folded her hands. Her posture was impeccable, as expected of a duke raised under strict family discipline, yet every time our eyes met, her long fan-like lashes trembled.

She shyly hid her lips behind a wine glass. The girlish excitement hidden behind the intelligent duchess’s facade showed through clearly.

“Your eye for quality is always astonishing, Lord Victor. How do you manage to keep only such beautiful people at your side? Lady Evelyn’s cool gaze in particular is truly captivating.”

At Vivian’s compliment Evelyn elegantly tilted her pale neck hidden beneath silver hair and smiled. Her characteristically slender figure created a fatal line with the slightest gesture.

“I hardly know where to put myself at such praise from the duchess.”

Evelyn smiled sweetly and, beneath the table, secretly stroked my thigh. Vivian’s pupils shook violently as she witnessed it from directly across. Flustered, she toyed with an innocent napkin and lowered her head.

Vivian neatly cut a piece of meat, placed it in her mouth, and gently swirled her wine. The red liquid inside the crystal glass rippled, reflecting the candlelight on the table. I took a sip of wine and broke the silence first.

“The empire’s war shows no sign of ending. How is the pressure regarding mana stones?”

Vivian set her glass down with a slightly bitter smile. “It seems word leaked that the mana-stone mines have been normalized. The empire’s monthly quota has suddenly increased. It feels strange, as if they’re looking into every detail of our family’s situation.”

“They must have inferred enough. For now, the best course is to fill the amount without complaint.”

“I agree. That’s why we’re meeting the delivery deadlines without objection.”

Vivian drank her wine and nodded at my opinion. I sliced my steak and continued.

“What about monster influx around the mines?”

“Fortunately, after the previous incident when monsters from the adjacent habitats all rushed in at once, influx is almost nonexistent now. Once we have enough personnel I’d like to completely clear the habitats around the territory… but as you know, that’s still a distant story, so it’s frustrating.”

Vivian’s voice carried both the anguish of a duchess and regret at realistic limits. As if to change the mood, she turned her gaze to Elina and Evelyn beside her.

“By the way, you two are truly… unrealistically beautiful. Lady Elina’s noble aura and Lady Evelyn’s mysterious atmosphere…”

At Vivian’s praise Elina bowed politely. “I was taught that the beauty of a woman bearing a family is as deep and vivid as the weight of her responsibility. Only now do I understand for whom that phrase was written.”

Evelyn swept her silver hair back and smiled sweetly. “Elina is always so stiff. Duchess, our Master is rather picky, you see. Appearance is the baseline—if there isn’t something more, he won’t even spare a glance.”

Perhaps the wine was taking effect; a faint blush spread across Vivian’s cheeks. She sipped her wine, then stared at Evelyn and asked, “Lady Evelyn… what sorts of things do you learn from Lord Victor? Is that fatal charm also the result of his teaching?”

Evelyn’s eyes sparkled with mischief as if she had been waiting for the question. She slid her hand even higher along my thigh beneath the table and answered in a sultry voice perfect for misunderstanding.

“It’s less education and more… correction. Master knows exactly how to handle the most sensitive parts of my body so that my true nature comes alive. Sometimes he drives me so relentlessly all night that I can’t even breathe properly. It seems he’s only satisfied once I melt completely in that heat.”

The more explicitly Evelyn described it, the more Elina’s chest rose and fell. She tried to steady her breathing as she had been taught while bearing her family, but the mental image of Victor and Evelyn eventually made her close her eyes and let out a deep sigh. It was closer to a crushing sense of defeat over a realm she had not yet reached than mere disappointment.

Vivian hurriedly drank her wine at Evelyn’s naked description, then choked and coughed violently. “Ah… all night… performing… correction…”

Vivian’s eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shook wildly as they turned toward me. Though the words carried the unique metaphor of a vampire progenitor, they were more than enough to stimulate the listeners’ imaginations. Vivian kept gulping wine to hide her burning cheeks, then suddenly turned to Elina beside her as if a thought had occurred to her.

“Then… does Lady Elina also receive that kind of… intense correction from Lord Victor?”

The question left Vivian’s voice trembling faintly. Receiving both Evelyn’s provocative smile and Vivian’s curious gaze at once, Elina gripped the napkin tightly for a moment. She soon regained the calm composure befitting the duke’s eldest daughter and spoke.

“Perhaps because I am not as flexible as Lady Evelyn, Master tends to discipline every corner of my body far more strongly and strictly.”

Elina’s voice was calm, yet its content carried far greater destructive power than Evelyn’s. “From how to hold a sword to the small, sensitive places in my body I myself had never noticed… there is no spot Master’s touch does not reach. Especially when he personally strokes and corrects the twisted parts inside me…”

The wine glass in Vivian’s hand shook precariously. Whether she was imagining a powerless, sweat-drenched Elina beneath me as I reigned over her, she now wore a dazed expression as if she had forgotten how to breathe.

“Ah… every corner… reaching… inside Lady Elina…”

Vivian shook her head fiercely to regain her senses, then pressed a hand to her bursting chest and looked at me. In her eyes swirled fear, reverence, and a strange yearning she herself had not yet realized. Over the dinner table now settled a silence so thick and scorching that imperial politics could find no room to intrude.

Unable to endure the explosive embarrassment, Vivian suddenly clapped her hands and stood.

“W-well then! The air has grown far too heavy. Shall we rise?”

But she had moved too hastily. The hem of her voluminous dress caught on the edge of the tablecloth with a scream-like scrape, and the taut fabric sent the wine glass before me toppling helplessly.

Clink—.

Before I could reach out, the blood-red liquid stubbornly soaked into my white shirt. The cold liquid touched my chest, and the thin fabric clung obscenely to my skin, clearly outlining the muscles beneath.

“Ah…! What have I done, Lord Victor! I was too—”

Vivian turned deathly pale and rushed to my side. Her flustered hands hovered near my chest before carefully touching the wet shirt. Through the wine-stained cloth, the warmth of my body transmitted fully to her slender fingertips.

“I’m sorry, truly… I wasn’t thinking…”

Vivian’s eyes, now close, shook violently between my damp torso and her own hand. The explicit descriptions of “correction” that Evelyn and Elina had just uttered seemed to flash through her mind; her breathing grew noticeably ragged. Evelyn, watching from the side, licked her lips with an intrigued gleam in her eyes. Elina, who had been about to pull out a handkerchief to wipe me, froze at Vivian’s touch and frowned.

I gently seized the wrist of the panicking Vivian. The sound of a wine droplet rolling down my shirt and falling to the floor broke the silence.

“Duchess, calm yourself. It’s only a change of clothes.”

“B-but… I have spare clothes in my study. There are high-quality silk shirts my father used to wear… You should change there first.”

Though Vivian flinched at the warmth touching her wrist, her hand pulling me along carried a strange determination. Her face had flushed redder than the spilled wine itself.