CHAPTER 42: THE ARRIVAL OF THE DUKE

Sylas looked around. No one cared.

"Hey! Stop, why are you beating him?!" Sylas shouted as he approached.

Obi grimaced in pain, looking at Sylas who had just arrived. His eyes widened when he saw the man with Kai.

"Kaiii!" he shouted in disbelief. The slave was still alive!

Obi almost jumped with joy and relief. He stood up and ran toward the slave, making sure Kai was truly alive and unharmed.

Kai looked happy too. But he didn’t know why Obi was being punished.

"Thank God you’re still alive," said Obi, unable to contain his happiness.

"Over here, you little brat!" shouted Gim, pulling Obi back to his place.

"Arrgh!! Yes, yes!" cried Obi, pouting.

Sylas tried to stop him, but John held him back. "Leave him alone. He deserves his punishment."

"What? But he was whipped!" Sylas couldn’t believe his eyes.

"You’re really naughty! Am I so evil that you had to steal a chicken? Just tell me if you need it! Why did you steal it and cause me trouble?" Gim scolded, swinging his stick again.

Obi grimaced in pain again, his hands clenching into fists with each lash on his back. But he didn’t complain. No one would help him now, not even his mother. Grace had even asked Gim to punish him so he would learn his lesson.

In the dining room, Sylas looked at John. "What did he do to deserve to be whipped?" he asked, still curious.

Grace came over to greet him, carrying a basket of food in her hands. She had heard that Kai and his master were coming down to eat. She saw how handsome the master was. No wonder Kai wanted to return to him so badly. Although she was still wondering what the slave had done to make Vlad let him go—something that had never happened before.

She then overheard John and Sylas talking about Obi and smiled.

"Sir, you don’t need to worry. He’s my son. He’ll be fine. Gim won’t kill him. He deserves it," said Grace.

Sylas stared in disbelief. "What did he do?"

Grace smiled. "He’s too kind. He wanted to give food to the poor, but he didn’t say anything to us. Instead, he took the food secretly and left us confused."

Sylas fell silent, nodding in understanding. He realized he shouldn’t have interfered. "He did a good deed. He deserves a lighter punishment."

"Oh, you don’t need to worry. Gim knows what he did," replied Grace. Then she stroked Kai’s head, making the slave lower his face and blush.

"I thought you weren’t coming back. I’m glad you’re okay," Grace said. She held out the cookies in front of the slave. "Eat a lot. You have an excellent master. I hope you’ll be happy."

Kai looked up at Grace and smiled. He nodded. "Thank you."

Sylas looked at Kai, who seemed happier—even though the slave was sick. Seeing his smile made Sylas smile too. He didn’t know why Kai liked following him. It felt like finding a puppy on the street that didn’t want to let go. But that made Sylas want to protect the slave even more.

Sylas grabbed a piece of bread and asked for permission to eat it.

"Are there many poor people here? Do they come to people’s houses?" asked Sylas.

In the capital, they made sure no one had to beg. The kingdom also provided houses for them to live in, with some conditions—like having to work.

So, hearing that there were still poor people who had to beg for food made Sylas concerned. For several reasons, it might have escaped the king’s attention.

"I don’t know what’s really going on. I sometimes give them food when I go out. But lately, more people have been coming from Rhovan. They say there are many conflicts between the villages. Life there is unsafe. So they left. But it’s not easy to find work here. They’re starving," Grace explained, after forcing Obi to tell her what had happened and from her own knowledge.

Sylas was stunned.

Rhovan... his uncle’s territory.

Prince Virouse was having problems in his land and was busy trying to seize the throne. Sylas calmly ate the bread in his hand, his mind wandering.

If something happened to his father, he swore he would never let Prince Virouse live in peace.

It was early afternoon when Terion’s troops arrived. Not only Sylas, but everyone in the manor was stunned, watching the group.

The slaves in the garden stared without blinking.

The Duke’s carriage looked majestic. But that wasn’t what caught everyone’s attention. It was the hundreds of knights on horseback surrounding the carriage. The whole scene felt like the start of a war.

The coachman stepped down to open the carriage door. Terion emerged, his imposing figure wrapped in an official summer cloak. He made no effort to hide his status.

He immediately looked for Sylas and smiled. The knights dismounted, surrounding the manor, and some entered the area with Terion. Among all the knights he brought, only one stood close beside him.

Everyone bowed respectfully as the Duke entered the manor grounds. They had known he was coming, but they didn’t expect his arrival to draw so much attention.

Terion walked up to Sylas and bowed respectfully to the prince.

"Your Royal Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you," Terion greeted.

Sylas bowed in return. "Duke Terion, I apologize for the trouble."

John and Grace looked at each other, clearly shocked. Who would have thought the man they were serving was royalty?

John cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Master Vlad informed me of your arrival. What can I prepare for you, Your Grace?" John asked.

"I have brought everything I need. Tell him I will take Prince Sylas with me. Thank you for looking after him," Terion replied.

John nodded, then looked at Sylas and knelt before him.

"Forgive us, Your Highness. We didn’t know you were a prince. Please forgive us if we caused you any discomfort," John said, realizing his mistake.

Sylas smiled. "No, it’s okay. I liked being treated like a normal person. You were all very kind. Thank you." Sylas helped the man to his feet.

John bowed awkwardly.

Sylas looked toward the place where Vlad was staying. Then he looked at Terion.

"Lord Terion, I need my knight. Lord Vlad has him. Can you persuade him?" Sylas asked. He had to bring Alvaro.

Terion looked in the direction Sylas was pointing. The dark building stood tall and majestic. But after hearing Sylas’ request, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. He knew what Vlad was like.

"I’m afraid I can’t help you, Your Highness."

"I’ve been accused of harming my father when I left the palace. Alvaro is my only witness. I must bring him," Sylas insisted.

Terion remained silent. After thinking for a long moment, he finally nodded and asked John to take him to see Vlad.

But as expected, Vlad wouldn’t let him take Alvaro.

In the dark room, Alvaro was tied up again on the bed as Terion spoke to Vlad.

"You can’t hold a royal knight like this, Vlad," Terion said.

"I don’t care, Terion. I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave my side."