“‘Why is the chief’s daughter in this state? Answer me.”
“Uuh. ……”
Peiyu tried to remain silent, but, since the magic of absolute obedience had already been cast, she could not disobey my orders.
She bit her lips and answered my question in a choppy voice.
“My father made me flee.”
“The chief? But if you are the daughter of the chief, you must be a high priority as a target for the loot. It’s not that easy to get away, and even if you could, you wouldn’t be sold like this.”
“My father killed a different child along with my mother, and then committed suicide.”
“I see.”
Then I understand the story.
I looked at His Majesty, who had reigned at the pinnacle of the Empire for many years and had even made the occasional procession, and nodded quietly.
The chief probably realized that he was losing and staged a family suicide.
It is a common occurrence.
The end of a defeated warrior is usually tragic.
They would prefer not to live to experience it, nor for their children to experience it.
It is very common for a defeated leader to personally kill his family.
Perhaps after the chief did this, the headcount was right when the crime scene was examined, so it was cleared out.
“So you escaped, but you couldn’t manage to get away, so you were caught and sold to the slavers.”
“……”
Peiyu nodded quietly.
“I was told to throw away my name and go live a quiet life somewhere …….”
“I see.”
Well, now we know the story.
“Noah, what will you do with the girl?”
Peiyu shuddered when His Majesty asked.
As Minister of Justice, I pulled out the imperial laws that I’ve had all through my head.
“The Saeis were not originally part of the empire, so this was not a rebellion. Therefore, for the bloodline of the Chief, men are to be beheaded and women are to be given as slaves to those with merit.”
“Are you saying that there is no need to do anything special?”
“It is exactly as you say, sir.”
Peiyu is already a slave.
She can’t disobey my orders no matter what, because of the magic of absolute obedience.
If I order her to die here, she will scream and cry, but her body will move on its own according to the order.
I looked at her, and our eyes met.
Her frightened look quickly made her avert her eyes and look away.
She looked frightened, and I looked at her expression.
It was a face that correctly understood that the man in front of her had the right to kill her and was therefore frightened.
“Then, I’ll leave the girl to Noah.”
“By your grace.”
I dropped to my knees and bowed my head.
It seemed like a gift from His Majesty once again.
Standing up, I looked at Peiyu.
“So it is. From now on, you are my slave. You will be a maid in my house.”
“Maid?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
People are treasures.
Because I had heard about Jerry’s success just before, and because Peiyu was already under the spell of absolute obedience.
I have no intention of killing her.
“…… Ah, um…”
After a slight hesitation, she summoned up the courage to speak up.
“Can everyone come …… together?”
“Everyone?”
“Yes.”
Peiyu nodded nervously and looked around.
There were still many jute bags around her.
” Everyone is a friend who grew up in the same village. ……”
“I see.”
After nodding, I turned to the slaver who had been silent for a while.
“Everything you have here has been purchased.”
“Thank you for your patronage!”
“And did you catch our conversation?”
Then I took out the money and handed it to the slaver.
I gave him 1000 reens, the money I carry around in a bag.
“If there are any survivors of the Saei tribe, send them to the 13th Prince’s residence instead of selling them.”
“M-My Lord?!”
The slaver was exaggeratedly surprised.
“Understood. Please leave everything to me.”
“Is that all?”
“—-! Yes, sir! Thank you very much!”
Peiyu looked very impressed and smiled a big smile.