“Where are you taking that woman? Don’t you know the prostitute’s room is in the other direction?”
Through the arched columns, the colosseums earthen floor was visible. In front of the thick iron door at the end of a dark hallway, the guard frowned. Standing opposite him stood a woman with a black robe covering her body. She was a tall woman.
A small man who had brought the woman jumped.
“Ack, a prostitute? Watch your mouth!”
The guard looked her up and down. She must be a woman, but she stands upright like a man, no, like a knight. He didn’t like it.
“Why are you talking like that? Why did you bring a woman who looks like this? Go away!”
“Crazy! Do you know who this is? Apologize immediately, this woman is…”
The man rushed to the guard and whispered urgently into his ear. His eyes opened in shock when he heard the man’s words.
“That, that…!”
He jumped up quickly, his chair toppling over. She didn’t respond at all. The blue eyes under the hood looked at him coldly. The man, sweating nervously, bowed down to her.
“Please forgive the rudeness, I will take you downstairs now, madam.”
The woman nodded her head slightly.
After the two men’s busy movements, the thick door strained open with a heavy metal sound.
Relying on the man’s torch, they descended the long spiral staircase and then walked through a dim hallway, the sounds of their boots stepping in rainwater echoed in the darkness.
“clunk…clunk…”
As they got closer downstairs, a strange noise began to be heard.
Click.
When he opened the door with the key, the blocked sounds poured out. Growling, barking, grunting, thrashing sounds. A prison that feeds the colosseum. It was the howling of beasts and men, gladiator slaves within cages. Various slaves, including bears, tigers, and prisoners of war, were chained to huge iron bars spaced apart from each other. At the sight of the visitors, the beasts ran wild with excitement, the gladiator slaves glared at them with a vicious force.
The man glanced at the woman.
“My lady, don’t be frightened. It’s being managed safely, so there’s no need to fear… wait, madam!”
The woman walked past him without a word. Anxious, he hurriedly followed her. The woman, who was slowly looking around at the beasts revealing their gruesome teeth, suddenly stopped.
“What is that?”
It was a husky voice, and a short statement, but revealed a lot about her. Even in a situation where she should be terrified, she had a calm voice, a dry tone like that of a knight, and a natural hostility.
The small man swallowed the dry lump in his throat.
“Um, that’s…”
He looked where her gaze was headed.
She was staring at a cage in total darkness and covered in cloth. The man swallowed painfully again.
“There is a very dangerous man in there. You’ve most likely heard of him, he’s been famous lately. A monster that tore apart the giant tiger we were proud of…”
“Remove the cloth, I want to see him up close.”
“Yes? But my lady…”
“…”
“Ah, yes I will remove it straight away.”
The small man gestured to one of his subordinates to remove the cloth. They carefully approached the iron cage and pulled the fabric down. The sunlight passed through the bars of the cage. There, kneeling on the floor, was a man. His chains, thick enough to be fastened to a wild beast. His neck, hands, and feet were bound.
“He’s a savage caught on the northern border. He was tough to catch alive, I don’t know how much money it cost.” The man rambled on.
The woman didn’t care, she was observing the man in the cage as if she were examining an important prey. His thick black hair was as dark as night. Such perfect black hair was rare in this country. Healthy, tanned dark skin, a tall and large frame. He wore a muzzle like a dog, but underneath was a handsome face. He was a man with features she knew well enough. She moved closer to the iron bars. For a moment, in the dark, his eyes shone eerily.
Clang, clang!
“My lady!”
The sharp sound of chains crashing echoed in the hallway. The small man let out a shrill scream. The man ran towards her from inside the cage. The tight chains trembled as if they were about to break. The sound of the colosseum guardsmen drawing their swords echoed.
The woman raised her hand toward the guardsmen to stop them. A heavy tension filled the air.
“A moment…”
The woman took a breath as she approached him, as if there were no bars and chains between them. Golden eyes behind dark hair stared at her.
She looked at him and slowly raised her hand to remove the hood covering her face. With her back to the sunlight, her face was revealed. Red hair with loose curls and cold blue eyes that would run a chill down the spine. Her sharp eyes were set by beautiful arched eyebrows and stunning but cold-looking facial features. Her red lips formed a serious line, as if she didn’t know what a smile was.
Her strong frame and intense eyes overwhelmed the guardsmen. Everyone, except the gladiator slave in the cage, looked at her face and was startled. It was because of the burn mark that travelled from her left cheek down to the nape of her neck. It was a terrible scar that had made her husband sympathize with her. She was used to it now, the unconscious gazes.
“My name is Irina Arcensis.”
“…”
Irina looked at him, the man in the cage stared back at her.
“The only daughter of Marquee Levart, the commander general of the Kindgom, and the wife of Paris Arcensis, son of Count Arcensis.”
It was a strange sight, a high-ranking noblewoman who came to buy slaves was introducing herself to the goods. It was proving the rumors of her strange personality and damaged face, but Irina’s eyes were serious. She looked intently into his golden eyes, shining like a beast.
“I am the one who will set you free.”
Irina slipped her hand through the bars and lifted his chin up. It was a sudden action that the guardsmen and the small man couldn’t stop. They screamed silently. It was a dangerous act that could cause an arm to be twisted and broken at any moment.
But the man in the cage didn’t react.
“I’m going to get you out of this cage, instead…”
“…”
“Be my lover. Become my slave in my husband’s house.”
Everyone’s mouths were wide open at her calm suggestion.
A shocking scandal that shook the entire kingdom was beginning.
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