Elena paused.

Her smile faded slightly as she considered this.

"No," she said finally, shaking her head. "I'm not going to give him a plaything. I killed Helena for him to be alone. Not to enjoy tormenting someone."

She turned to leave again.

And then Gareth spoke.

"And... he was saying how he should have not ignored you, Lady Elena."

Elena stopped.

Her entire body went still.

Slowly—agonizingly slowly—she turned back around.

Her smile was gone.

"What did you say?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Gareth's mind screamed at him to shut up. To run. To do anything but keep talking.

But Viktor's instructions were clear.

//"She has one weakness—her twisted possessive hypocrisy. She still thinks she did all of this to gain his attention."//

Gareth forced the words out.

"Sir Viktor was... crying," he said, his voice trembling. "Saying it would have been better if he'd just given his time to Lady Elena."

Silence.

Elena's assistant let out a mocking laugh.

"So he finally opened his mind?" she sneered. "How pitiful. Is he stupid? Really?"

The other maids joined in, their laughter sharp and cruel.

But Elena didn't laugh.

She stood there, her expression unreadable, her blue eyes fixed on some distant point.

"It's already too late," she said quietly. "I should have understood it before. Now I don't need him."

She turned away, her blonde hair swaying.

But then she glanced at the maids.

At their faces.

At the expectant gazes, the looks that said, | You've grown. You've moved on. You're stronger now. |

Elena's jaw tightened.

She looked down at the contract in her hand.

And then, with a flick of her wrist, she threw it toward Gareth.

The parchment fluttered through the air, landing at his feet.

"Just give it to him," Elena said, her voice flat. "It can be my last gift to my ex-fiancé."

Gareth stared at the contract.

For a moment, he couldn't move.

And then reality crashed into him.

He'd done it.

He'd actually done it.

"Hic..."

A tear slid down his cheek.

His body moved before his brain caught up. He dropped to his knees, slamming his forehead against the cold marble floor.

"Thank you, my lady!" he gasped, his voice breaking. "Thank you! Thank you!"

He hit his head again. And again.

The excitement, the relief—it was too much. His chest heaved, snot running from his nose as tears streamed down his face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Elena's voice was sharp now. "Get up. Don't ruin my dress."

Gareth scrambled backward, clutching the contract to his chest like a lifeline.

Elena turned away, disgust flickering across her face.

"Let's go," she said to her maids.

They filed out, leaving Gareth alone in the chamber.

He sat there for a long moment, gasping for air, his hands trembling as he stared at the contract.

And then he remembered.

The pouch.

He fumbled at his belt, pulling out the small leather pouch Viktor had given him. Inside were seven pills—white, round, unremarkable.

Antibiotics.

The only thing keeping him alive.

His hands shook as he pulled one out. He shoved it into his mouth, swallowing it dry, gagging as it scraped down his throat.

He gasped, clutching his chest.

The contract crinkled in his other hand.

"I fulfilled your order," he whispered, his voice hoarse and lower than even his ears could hear. "I got the slave contract you asked for, Sir Viktor."

"Haah.. Haahahah..." His laughter came out broken, half-sobbing.

He'd survived.

For now.

'Let's leave now... but why did he want this slave contract?'

***

Present in Millbrook Village...

"Should I return to... Lady Elena?"

The thought sat heavy in her chest. Like a stone. Cold and suffocating.

Behind her, footsteps stopped.

"So, are you going to return to your owner?"

Kaida's voice cut through the silence—sharp, direct, pulling Viktor back slightly via the chain. He stumbled half a step before catching himself, glancing back with a raised eyebrow.

Bella flinched. Her ears shot upright, then flattened again. Her hands trembled at her sides.

"I-I was not—I just—" Her voice stammered, words tumbling out in confusion. "I was just thinking. There's... there's no need for me to be here."

Her tail curled tighter around her leg. She couldn't meet Kaida's gaze.

Kaida's eyes narrowed. She glanced at Viktor, who had stopped walking completely now, the slimes still perched on his shoulders. He didn't say anything, just watched. Waiting.

The chain between Kaida and Viktor clinked softly as she shifted her weight.

"I saw those marks on your body," Kaida said quietly. Her tone wasn't accusing. Just... observant. "Do you know what would happen if you went back to your owner and told them you failed to fulfill their orders?"

Bella's entire body went rigid.

Her breathing quickened. Shallow. Rapid.

"Lady Elena might get angry, but—" She bit her lip, hard enough to draw blood. The words died in her throat.

She wanted to say it. Wanted to believe it.

'Lady Elena wouldn't hurt me. She wouldn't...'

But the scars on her back told a different story.

The bruises that had barely healed. The welts from the whip. The burns from when she'd failed a previous task and been "corrected."

Bella's hands clenched into fists so tight her nails dug into her palms.

She knew.

She just... didn't want to admit it.

Kaida's eyebrows shot up. "Wait. Was it a woman?"

Bella nodded slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yes. It was Lady Elena who ordered me to... to kill Miss Helena."

Silence.

Kaida blinked. Her expression shifted—confusion, then realization, then something harder. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I see." Her voice was cold now. Calculating. "Do you know the reason?"

Bella shook her head, her cat ears drooping. "No. I just... I heard how she wanted to make Sir Viktor alone."

Her eyes squinted as she recalled the conversation she'd overheard. Elena's voice, calm and composed, giving orders like she was discussing the weather.

/"Make sure he has no one left. Break him. Then he'll come crawling back."/

Kaida exhaled slowly through her nose. "Alone, huh?" She crossed her arms, glancing at Viktor again. "So he's got women who hate him too."

"Sorry," Bella mumbled, her voice cracking.

Kaida shook her head immediately. "Don't apologize."

She wasn't trying to defend Viktor. Gods knew she'd had her own thoughts about getting rid of the bastard more than once. But hearing this—hearing that someone was actively trying to isolate him, hurt the people around him—

It pissed her off.

The wind brushed against Kaida's face, cool and grounding. She took a breath, letting the anger settle.

Then she looked at Bella. Really looked at her.

The trembling hands. The defeated posture. The hollow look in those yellow eyes.

Kaida had seen that look before. On soldiers who'd lost too many battles. On people who'd given up.

"Don't leave," Kaida said firmly.

Bella's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "What?"

"I'll teach you how to fight."

Bella stared. Blinked. "Really?"

Kaida nodded. "Yeah. That bastard also said he wanted to learn. So—"

"I can show you both."

Viktor's voice cut in, calm and steady.

He'd finally turned around, his dark eyes fixed on Bella. The slimes on his shoulders—Rusty and Rustina—chirped softly, sensing the shift in mood.

Kaida's mouth twitched, clearly prepared to argue. To tell him to stay out of it. That this was between her and Bella.

But then she saw his expression.

Soft. Almost... gentle.

It threw her off completely.

Viktor took a step forward, the chain clinking as Kaida moved with him instinctively. He stopped a few feet from Bella, close enough that she had to tilt her head up to meet his gaze.

"And what will you do," Viktor asked quietly, "if I remove your status as a slave?"

Bella froze.

Her breath caught. Her mind went blank.

"W-what?"

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