Tamed A Blackened Slave Man
Chapter 76: Invasion

Lillian’s mouth opened and shut several times before a seemingly late gasp left her mouth.

“Goodness gracious…”

She let out an exclamation of disbelief, as if what she was looking at couldn’t possibly be real. Obviously, when I followed the direction of Lillian’s gaze, it was Cassadin who stood there.

Cassadin briskly passed by Lillian, who was staring at him with awe, then walked closely towards me.

I was incredibly bewildered by Cassadin’s sudden appearance.

‘Why did he come here when it’s the day of his awards ceremony?’

With the new fiefdom that the Emperor had given him, he should be busy dealing with his new mansion and title.

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When I looked up at Cassadin without hiding my surprise, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Sister.”

There was no longer any reason for him to call me sister, but maybe he had done so because of Lillian. Thus, Cassadin had once again called me sister.

And following Cassadin’s movements, Lillian’s eyes rolled toward us. I hinted at Lillian to leave the room already.

She must’ve understood my signal, but Lillian didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving the room. Her eyes glittered with greed. Instead of closing the door and leaving, Lillian twirled around and marched in my direction.

Lilian’s wavy orange hair bobbed along with her movements. Contrary to Lillian’s bright smile, my expression progressively darkened.

“Do you know her?”

I shook my head in response to Cassadin’s question as I answered.

“No. I’ve met her for the first time today.”

But as soon as I spoke, Lillian quickly butted in.

“My my. Even if Milady was once family with the Marquess, isn’t it a bit improper to speak like such?”

Lillian’s eyes were wide open as she spoke. I responded to her behavior without any expression as I spoke.

“It looks like she doesn’t understand that she has been excused.”

Seeming not to have heard me, Lillian’s cheeks blushed as she looked up at Cassadin.

“Your Lordship is much more handsome than the rumors claim. Who would have known…?”

Smiling prettily at Cassadin, Lillian began her unasked introduction.

“Nice to meet you, Sir. My name is Lillian.”

Cassadin didn’t give even as much as a glance at Lillian. Instead, he responded to my remark.

“…An uninvited guest, I see.”

It was only after I nodded my head that Cassadin turned to Lillian. Looking down at the woman who was mere inches away from him with a reddened face, Cassadin slowly parted his lips.

“I will show her out.”

But I shook my head at his suggestion. It was because I saw Lillian’s lips curl up faintly when he said so.

“I do not want to burden My Lord with such menial tasks. I can order someone to do it instead.”

I purposefully addressed Cassadin in a formal manner with a smile. Then, picking up the golden bell that was placed on the table, I rang the bell for a servant.

With a few clear rings of the bell, the servants soon arrived at our room. Seeing Cassadin, who should most definitely be elsewhere at the moment, their eyes also widened in shock.

But that had only been a moment.

“Please escort this woman out. As far away from this mansion as possible while you’re at it.”

Nodding their heads in acknowledgment of my command, the servants each grabbed one of Lillian’s arms. I expected her to scream out and break into a fit, but she quietly let herself be taken away.

‘Is it because Cassadin is here?’

I do remember that the last expression on Lillian’s face was a smile, if my memory serves me right. It was, in fact, true that those who had nothing to lose, like Lillian, were often more unpredictable than those who had too much to lose, like Damian.

‘The way she uses any means possible to reach her goal makes her such a perfect match for him, does it not?’

As such, Damian and Lillian had caused much trouble to those around them with the perfect harmony they had.

I smiled faintly. Cassadin, who had been quietly watching me, then asked.

“Are you alright?”

I returned that silent gaze to Cassadin, inspecting his face. Slowly, I took my time turning my eyes from his sharp jawline, gentle smile, and faintly glowing silver hair down to his purple eyes that resembled the skies at dusk.

When our eyes interlocked, his purple eyes folded into a beautiful arch. But I couldn’t return his smile like I normally did.

‘It’s natural for him to head immediately to his fiefdom once the award ceremony is finished. Why did he come here, especially when Lillian happened to be here too?’

I was deeply concerned for Cassadin. It wasn’t that I couldn’t trust him, but because of what Lillian had said.

‘Please let me meet Sir Cassadin just once.’

Lillian had been desperate enough to put me in a difficult situation in public just to meet Cassadin.

And she had actually managed to meet him, as she wished to.

Lillian didn’t even blink after hearing Cassadin call her an uninvited guest. No, instead, she looked happy.

‘She hadn’t looked at Damian in her past life with an awestruck expression like she just did with Cassadin.’

Why did it have to be Cassadin out of everyone in the Empire?

Why was it that Lillian showed interest in Cassadin? These new courses of action from Lillian were more than enough to fluster me.

‘Don’t tell me. She also has memories of the past like me.’

No. It didn’t seem that way. If she had retained her memories, she would have gone to Damian, not Cassadin. Damian had taken earnest care of her in the past, after all.

So, that assumption was wrong.

Then, there was only one reason why Lillian would want to meet Cassadin.

‘She wants to take the spot next to Cassadin.’

Since she had such a remarkable appearance, as she herself knew, Lillian definitely would have had experiences where nobles had offered her the position of a concubine, though not a wife.

‘If she turned down all of those offers to come all the way to the capital…’

Then it must be because Cassadin had met her criteria. And it had just been that Damian met those same criteria in her past life.

‘How arrogant that woman is.’

“Did you feel uncomfortable because of that woman just now?”

The words that had gone through my head came out of the mouth of the man that I love.

Staring at Cassadin for a long moment, I then forced open my mouth. A slightly harsh voice came out of my mouth as I spoke.

“Of course not, My Lord. However, may I ask Your Lordship the reason to have come to this place on the day of your award ceremony?”

“…You don’t have to use such formalities.”

“How can I possibly do that? There is no harm in practicing it in the case of someone attempting to find fault in it, like just now.”

Gently fixing his jacket that was on my shoulders, Cassadin responded.

“I understand. Truthfully, I had come here because I was concerned about you.”

“…Concerned?”

Cassadin smiled brightly as he continued.

“It was much too difficult to stay apart from you, even for a short moment.”

“……”

“But it is a relief that the fiefdom I was given is not too far from this mansion.”

Cassadin then tenderly grasped both of my hands inside of his own. His hands were warm to the touch. As soon as I felt that warmth, I felt the anger boiling up in me simmer down.

“If you wish, should I deal with that woman?”

His voice could not have sounded any more compassionate, but the meaning his words held was the complete opposite. Smiling faintly, I responded to Cassadin’s offer.

“There is no reason for Your Lordship to dirty your hands like that. I ask that you please don’t dirty these clean hands that I healed with filthy blood.”

I looked down at the hands that I had healed, which were smooth without a single scar. Cassadin’s large hands, which easily covered my own, were warmer than a fireplace and soft.

‘Since the two of you are no longer family. This also means that you will not be able to live in the same house any longer nor be as close either.’

It frustrated me, but what Damian had said was right. If Cassadin frequented our mansion after becoming a Marquess, it would most definitely be noticed and gossiped about by the others. And it would also cause Father to become suspicious of our relationship.

If that happened, then it was possible that we would never be able to meet each other again. Just thinking about the possibility made my heart ache.

But pretending as if it were all fine, I slowly loosened Cassadin’s grip around my hands. Seeing that, Cassadin looked down at me with reluctance.

I took off Cassadin’s uniform jacket and returned it to him. The jacket that had been too big for me fit perfectly on Cassadin.

“Have a safe return home. And others may think that it is strange if Your Lordship visits our residency too often, so please refrain from doing so.”

Hearing my order for him to leave, Cassadin just stared at me before opening his mouth.

“I believe you said you trusted me back at the palace. I also think likewise.”

His deep amethyst eyes gently curled into a crescent, and his light pink lips drew a pleasant line through his face.

It wouldn’t have been weird if my eyes had become blinded by that smile right there on the spot. His smile, which didn’t contain a single speck of pretense or hypocrisy, made its presence clear in my mind.

“It worries me. That someone may take you away from me while I am absent.”

Cassadin’s quiet voice reminded me of the hazy fog of a rainy morning.

“There is no reason for you to worry. You are the only one that I have.”

I leaned my head against Cassadin’s toned chest. And I could feel Cassadin’s light sigh tickle the top of my head.

Looking up at Cassadin, I caressed his cheek with my hand. Meekly lowering his head, Cassadin seemed to be enjoying my touch.

“So please, rest at ease, My Lord.”

It looked like my words had been enough to reassure him, as Cassadin opened his eyes and smiled at me.

“May we meet again in the closest days that come.”

When I answered with a small nod, Cassadin gave one last smile that brought one’s mind to peace, then left the drawing room.

Now alone in the empty drawing room, I closed my eyes.

‘Many things have changed. This is no longer the past that I know.’

Damian knew that Cassadin was the culprit in the Crown Prince’s poisoning incident, and the Emperor, who had seemed somewhat friendly with me, was now wary of me.

In addition, Lillian had her eyes on Cassadin, who was now a Marquess.

From what I knew, there was still a year and a half until Elsia, located in the Northwest, would mobilize all of its forces and attack the Empire.

The war that had taken away my father’s life. At the time, I had been so heartbroken by the news of my father’s passing that I did not realize something had been strange.

No matter how strong the small country of Elsia had become, there wasn’t a single army on the continent that was superior to the Seville Empire’s. Not to mention that it had been Cassadin who had been the Chief Commander of the Imperial Knights at the time.

So, it was basically suicide for Elsia to initiate an attack on the Seville Empire.

‘What if? Though it is incredibly unlikely, what if someone had intentionally instigated that war on purpose?’

Just as his father had done when destroying the Hyran Kingdom, what if the one who had contacted Elsia and encouraged them to initiate the war had been Damian?

This might just be a mere assumption. It could just be a delusion that my anxiety had fabricated.

But it was still possible.

He was located not too far from Elsia. And not only did the northern regions that Damian ruled over have minimal casualties, but there were close to no damages either.

The people had praised Damian’s swordsmanship for the minimal damages, but was that truly the reason?

Since the situation was completely different from the past, I couldn’t predict what was going to happen now.

Cassadin had become a Marquess, information on Damian’s heart condition was widespread, and Lillian appeared in front of my eyes like nothing had happened.

‘There is no effect without cause in the world.’

The words that the Great Prophet Notius had said to me were right. There is no effect without cause in this world. Many things had already changed as a result of my actions.

Then, what I had to do next was now clear.

‘The first thing I need to do is cover Damian’s eyes.’

At the very least, so that I could prevent him from spreading Cassadin’s weakness, I had to make a move before Damian began scheming something.

I ended up spending the entire night planning what to do next.

The next day, Sasha knocked on my door as soon as the sun rose.

Knock knock.

“Miss! Miss! There’s an emergency!”

Hearing the urgency in her voice, I hurried to the door and opened it for Sasha. There were beads of sweat running down Sasha’s forehead, showing that she had rushed over here.

“What is it, Sasha?”

To my question, Sasha answered with a somber expression.

“A-A war has broken out. Elsia troops have invaded the Empire…”

Elsia attacked the Emprie.

This had happened only a day after Cassadin had been titled.

According to the past, this war should have broken out a year and a half from now.

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