The Place Where I Was Sold as a Slave Was the Imperial Palace

＜ Tears of blood flow in the prince’s chest ＞

* * *

Rudy saw the giant’s figure.

Since he is short, he has to look up for a long time to see the top of his head.

After raising his head to the point where his throat hurt, Rudy came to a conclusion.

‘It’s impossible.’

If you fight this giant, you will die instantly.

It is impossible for Rudy to fight and win from the fact that he was originally a battle slave owned by an individual nobleman.

The other day, when I saw the scene of the execution of the battle slaves of the Duke of Watoringu, I had heard of it from others.

There are several types of battle slaves, the cheapest and cheapest being those used as meat shields in war.

Regardless of whether they were young or old, they were the ones who were taken to the battlefield with a single spear.

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Depending on your ability, you can survive a little longer or you can die as soon as you are dragged away.

If you happen to have talent and ability and make a contribution on the battlefield, it will only become a meat shield that receives a little decent food from the speared meat.

After all, they were nothing more than meat thrown on the battlefield for the nobility.

But they all will eventually die on the battlefield.

Even if it was a battle slave with a slightly better situation than that, there would be no big difference.

Instead of a battlefield, they were dragged to a gladiatorial arena to fight for their master’s stake, or to be dragged as mercenaries, but most of them were just meat consumables.

He is overworked until he dies, and in the end dies because of a few pennies. Whether it’s because of the payment, or the cost of food or medicine, money will be the cause of death anyway.

On the other hand, the situation is completely different with high-class battle slaves owned by nobles.

It is certain that they were also slaves, but there was a big difference in price.

Skilled battle slaves are more expensive than high-class slaves who are sold as s*x slaves because of their beauty.

Most of them were owned by aristocratic families, so they were rarely put up for sale.

If captured by the enemy in war, most are killed on the spot.

In a way, it is natural.

It is said that battle slaves owned by nobles receive special education from an early age.

Just as children from farm families run errands for their parents from the age of three or four and help with housework, children to be raised as battle slaves begin training at that age.

I heard that if the parents were battle slaves, they would sometimes make them hold a sword from a toddler.

Children who will become battle slaves are fed different foods from an early age in order to properly grow their skeletons and muscles.

And old battle slaves who no longer fought on active duty were trained.

The training is immediately connected to the actual battle, and the children risk their lives fighting each other to reduce the number, and in the end, only the few who remain until the end become true combat slaves.

By today’s standards, that’s a lot of money. It costs money to raise a proper battle slave that cannot be dismissed as mere slavery.

But what really matters to battle slaves is loyalty.

They also serve as escorts by the side of nobles, and they are allowed to wear weapons 24 hours a day.

Since such a dangerous thing could not be allowed to those who were not loyal, the nobles showed unconventional consideration for them.

A little money is given to know the pleasure, and a wife and a house are given.

They could have children, and if the trust of the nobility was strong, they were given the freedom to go outside alone during breaks.

I heard that some battle slaves had multiple wives.

A battle slave who is deeply trusted by his master is no different from a normal aide, only wearing a necklace.

Such things go back to loyalty to the owner, which eventually leads to the generation of children.

Among those battle slaves, if it were a skilled man who had never lost in a gladiatorial arena, yes, that would really not be an opponent that a child like Rudy who knew nothing about fighting could handle.

And, of course, the emperor knows that too.

According to Rudy, the Emperor himself fought on the battlefield with a sword just ten years ago.

He is both an emperor and a warrior.

If you take off that fat belly, it might be muscle.

Rudy quietly lowered his head.

‘Hold on, just a little more… Don’t be afraid to act without thinking. If you call the firebird prematurely, that man might find out.’

From nob le mt l dot com

Don’t make premature judgments.

That man has ruled this empire for decades.

In the meantime, there are many countries that have invaded and made them vassals, but I heard that no country has succeeded or regained independence by attempting a rebellion.

No matter what he may look like, the emperor is a capable and skillful person.

If you say you fought in a battlefield, your eyes will be sharp.

If Rudy uses the firebird to do something, he might notice.

Besides, maybe, just maybe, the emperor might already know that there is such a thing as the phoenix.

Because no one knows what might have been in the report of the imperial palace, or what was in the stories secretly passed down to the imperial family.

“…”

Rudy forced his heart to calm down and clenched his fists.

*

Nadiagra, who was standing next to him, trembled and clasped her hands as if in prayer.

“…Your Majesty…My Emperor, whom I love with the sacrifice of my life…Please have mercy… This child is too young… X… X… is…”

A small, wind-like sound escaped from Bhimama’s trembling lips.

It was so small that no one would know, but to Rudy’s familiar ears, it was clearly ‘Rico’.

Little by little, it seems that Nadiagra’s mind is starting to get confused.

Rudy tilted his head slightly to see Bhimama’s face.

Tears dripped from her large pupils and crashed on her fingers. Tears ran down my wrist and made a small path.

“It’s okay, Bhimama.”

I said it in a low voice, but I can’t seem to hear it. Nadiagra’s eyes were fixed only on the Emperor.

“Nadia!”

The emperor looked at Nadiagra with a twisted smile.

Part of the emperor’s beard rose crookedly, and a thick tongue poked out in his mouth. The tongue lightly touches the lips buried in the beard and goes back in.

The emperor narrowed his eyes and held out his hand to Nadiagra.

“Come here, my dear rain.”

“···your majesty!”

Nadiagra’s body trembles and seems to be unable to move properly.

As she leaned forward, the dress touched the floor, slightly breaking its round shape.

It looks like it will collapse any minute.

Rudy quickly reached out his arms and held Nadiagra’s hand.

It seems that the weight of Bhimama has been carried on little Rudy’s body.

Small hands and small power, but maybe that helped, Nadiagra barely moved forward with a single step.

The dress, spread like a bell, moved slowly as if it were flowing on the floor, and headed towards the emperor.

After taking a few steps forward, I received Nadiagra’s hand from Rudy as if the emperor were taking over.

The emperor laughed in a low voice as he wrapped one hand around her waist and pulled her.

“You are still beautiful, Nadia.”

“···your majesty···!”

The sight of Nadiagra looking up at the Emperor with tears in her eyes was also beautiful in Rudy’s eyes.

And there seems to have been a woman who thought so beside the emperor. Even though the feeling is the same, the thought seems to be completely opposite.

The empress glared at Nadiagra with tearful eyes.

The movement of the empress, who had been like a graceful butterfly just a moment ago, had become as stiff as a stone statue.

As if clenching her teeth, the empress smiled.

“Ho-ho-ho. your majesty. The ambassador is waiting for an answer.”

“Oh, yes. It was a story about attaching that child to the ambassador’s battle slave.”

The emperor pulled Nadiadra’s waist deep, kissed her forehead once, and smiled.

“Our empress always comes up with interesting ideas. But sticking that giant with this little kid would end too easily. What fun would that be?”

The emperor looked around at the faces of the people standing in the room before continuing.

“In a sword fight, it is fun when both sides have the same strength and it is close enough. If I can’t raise this child’s ability, I have no choice but to lower that giant’s ability.”

The emperor’s gaze turned to the owner of the giant, the ambassador.

“How is it, Ambassador! To cut off an arm or a leg from your slave. Then I wonder if it would fit.”

“!”

Contrary to the exclamations of “Ho!” coming out of people’s mouths, the ambassador’s face became earthy.

Perhaps that battle slave who never lost was not his own.

It may belong to an aristocrat higher in status than oneself, or it may be the property of a king. Maybe it was just borrowed to build up the country’s prestige…

“It is… that…”

When the ambassador was at a loss for an answer, the emperor laughed loudly and said,

“ha ha ha. No matter how hungry you are, it would be unreasonable to cut off the limbs of other people’s slaves at will. If that’s the case… that’s right, what about the property of the crown prince?”

The emperor’s gaze moved slowly to the crown prince.

“Can you give me one of yours for your pleasure, son?”

When the emperor held out his arm that was not holding Nadia, one of the attendants politely extended his arms as if he had been preparing in advance. A large knife was placed in the attendant’s hand.

As the emperor grabbed the handle of the sword and pulled it, the sword fell out of the scabbard with a gurgling sound.

Receiving the light from magic tools, etc., the sword glowed white.

It must be an incredibly good sword.

This time, the faces of the empress and the prince became earthy.

* * *

If you ask me what is the scariest thing in this world, I will answer my father.

Crown Prince Roberto is afraid of his father, the emperor.

It wasn’t like that from the beginning.

As a child, I admired my father.

Looking at his father’s big back, which everyone says is a great emperor, he made endless efforts to become a son whom his father believed and relied on someday.

I wanted to be loved and acknowledged.

It was my wish to hear that you are my son.

But I don’t know what to do to please my father.

If he wants to be friendly, he will immediately throw him away coldly, and if he is afraid and trembling, he will tell his father that he is too cold and laugh lonely.

At first, it was only a moment of longing that the emotion turned into fear.

Under the capriciousness of his benevolent but quick-tempered father, Roberto shrank little by little, and now he is a trembling idiot worried about when his father’s words will change.

To him, his father was a gigantic mountain where fire-breathing dragons lived and a stormy sea. If you go inside, you don’t know when you will be burned and sink in the sea.

Although the emperor is said to be great by everyone, in Roberto’s eyes, he only looked like a child-eating monster.

This time the fear was at its peak.

His father gave a strict order that he must secure the infant of Dicoquaria, but he failed to keep it.

When he arrived at the castle of the Duke of Watoring, the most important castle had already been destroyed.

It is unknown whether Edieru, the heir to the duke, is alive or dead.

There were eyewitnesses who went into the office, but no one saw the child after that.

With prize money, people were sent to the border as well as the duchy to inquire, but no one saw the dark-haired child.

I missed the return date while I was frantically wandering around to get any clues.

That seems to have bought his father’s wrath.

Later, an aide told me that the emperor seemed angry even though he did not say anything.

From then on, I was restless.

After hastily finishing the work, he led his aides and returned to the empire.

At that time, rumors had already spread that the crown prince was incompetent.

But my father said nothing.

It is important to put magic possession into the blood of the imperial family.

Among the treasures possessed by the imperial family, there are many magic tools that cannot be activated without strong magical power.

It was the same with other noble families, so securing a magical owner was the most important condition for a family to survive.

Excluding a few, most of the magic tools were left unused even in the imperial family.

Some are so old that they don’t even tell you how to use them.

So it shouldn’t have failed.

Not all of the Corea Dynasty could see the magic ceremony. Without a coat of arms, even the Corea Dynasty is useless. Such people are only useful because there is a possibility that later generations will be gifted with crests.

The existence that appeared in such a situation is Eddieru.

Eddieru, a child possessing unprecedentedly strong magical powers and bearing the coat of arms of the Corea Dynasty.

Having missed the opportunity to secure such an existence, I could see how great and strong his father’s wrath was without seeing it.

Mother doesn’t seem to have the slightest idea that the prince’s position will change, but Roberto knows.

For his father, being a bloodline with the right to succeed to the throne of a neighboring great country, or being the legitimate prince of a royal empress, had no value whatsoever.

What matters to a father is whether he is competent or not, whether he is useful to him or not.

Roberto was no help.

Then the end would be simple.

Roberto entered the Empire with the determination that this time he might become an aborted prince. On the contrary, I even thought that it would make me feel more comfortable.

But my father doesn’t say anything.

Just quietly, time passed.

until this very moment.

Instead of reprimanding him, his father tells him to hand over the slave he has been with since childhood.

Whenever my heart is painful and sad, I am the only one who kept pouring strength into him, saying that I am on your side.

He cares more about him than a mother with many sons, and wants the life of the slave who took care of him like a father more than a father through blood.

The only slave in the world who was completely his own will disappear today.

That was the punishment his father gave him.

Breaking hearts and being infinitely lonely alone.

Roberto forcibly forced his trembling legs and lowered his head.

“May everything be done as you wish, as you wish.”

Nothing came out of his eyes, but bloody tears flowed from his chest.

＜ Tears of blood flow in the prince’s chest ＞ End