Chapter 19: Second Meeting (2)

Chapter 19 – Second Meeting (2)

I mustn’t be noticed. Stealing a quick glance, she saw that he was gazing at Howl with his arms crossed. Despite what the guard had to say, the man seemed utterly uninterested in Chloe.

Although clad in a simple outfit of brown and black, the Archduke appeared glamorous and fine. She thought it was thanks to his beautiful face. He was such a handsome man… He would look splendid in any clothing.

Nothing about his appearance was ugly.  His chiseled face was in great harmony with his enormous build.

While she forgot her situation for a moment and appreciated the Archduke’s beauty, Chloe was thrust back to reality by the guard’s voice. “Confess your schemes at once, slave girl.” He approached her and glared intimidatingly.

“I…wanted to cure the horse by feeding him an antidote.”

Alexandro idly turned his gaze towards Chloe, appearing completely free of emotions. When she briefly met his glance, she could not read any thoughts from it. It seemed as if he was looking at an object, like a floor or a flame. She quickly lowered her eyes.

The guard scoffed. “Cure the horse? What would a slave girl like you know about horses?”

“I…” Chloe hesitated. He does not remember me. While she wasn’t sure if it was safe for her to mention Jorge at this point, it looked as if they would immediately slit her throat if she failed to defend herself. She knew what kind of man the Archduke was—she vividly remembered whom he had killed and how he had killed them. She swallowed and replied.

“I am studying medicine with Dr. Jorge Nanapa. I have learned that this horse had grazed on a poisonous herb on Nalusuwan, and am only trying to treat him by feeding him the antidote.”

The guard belittled her as soon as she was finished, “Ha! Studying medicine? You crazy little…”

Right then, the Archduke finally spoke.

“You.”

His face was still deadpan, but his gaze was precisely fixed upon her. His gorgeous face was fiercely memorable. Chloe absentmindedly stared into his eyes, but hurriedly lowered her face again when his gaze met hers. She did not want to make eye contact with him, or attract his attention in any way.

“Can you cure him?” He inquired in a low, dangerous voice.

“…Yes, sir, I can, according to my knowledge,” her head still hanging low, she responded in a soft but articulate voice. Unable to see his face, she could not know what he thought of her answer. He was silent.

“This wench seems to be out of her mind, sir! I can just…” the guard, flustered, spouted off treacherously. However, he was met with an unexpected response.

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“If the horse dies, then you will be dead, too,” the Archduke said to Chloe, cutting off the guard’s remarks. Chloe felt as if struck by lightning. While she was finally given a chance to treat the animal, if she failed, she would die with him.

The Archduke spoke of her death with the lightness of a person discussing the weather. But Chloe understood immediately—her existence was, to him, no different from that of an object. She recalled his voice, ordering the knights to kill her and display her head at the palace gate.

To him, the horse is far more precious than I am

“I shall do my best.” After all, she had won the chance to treat the stallion. And now that things had come to this, she had to save herself by saving his life.

“Release her.”

The guard bound Chloe’s cage and unlocked it at the Archduke’s command. He let her into Howl’s enclosure.

She approached Howl, keeping her head down. She collected the leaves strewn on the floor and offered them to the animal. He did not react—other than panting and shaking his legs at his excitement of seeing the Archduke, he did not seem interested in the herbs.

What should I do… Taken aback, she gently stroked the horse’s head to soothe him, and crushed the leaves in her hands to squeeze out its juice, which she brought to the animal’s nose. She hoped that the fresh aroma of the herb would entice him.

“Ah!” Startled by Howl’s labored breath on her hand, she reflexively withdrew her hand. But a moment later, gathering her courage, she offered the crushed leaves to him once again.

The animal’s struggle gradually subsided. His eyes now directed at Chloe, he began flaring his nostrils, smelling the offering in short sniffs as if evaluating it. The scent finally tempted the black horse. Chloe, cheering on the inside, carefully brought it to his mouth.

“Oh!” His teeth grazing her fingers, Howl began eating the herbs.

She had never interacted with a horse in this manner. While she had ridden and petted horses before, she was awed by her first close encounter. She picked up more leaves from the floor and fed them to Howl. He continued to receive them with enthusiasm.

Alexandro was not happy with the scene unfolding in front of him. The slave was visibly shaking, and her handling of the horse was clumsy at best.

But if only she could save Howl. The Archduke was a reasonable person. The animal was dying, and the slave claimed to be able to save him. And if Howl had indeed been poisoned, then it would make him innocent of his crime, which meant that he could be spared.

And sparing Howl was all he wanted.

Thus the Archduke continued watching the slave at work. But suddenly, she got up from the floor and began doing something entirely unexpected.

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