Chapter 934: Chapter 142 - Slave Market (6)
Who is this man? Why is he with her? What is their connection?
"He’s Leon," Artemis said softly, her eyes firm as she introduced me. "He’s going to be my husband."
"H-Husband? A human?" Patricia’s eyes widened, her whole body flinching in disbelief.
I didn’t take offense. It wasn’t shocking, after all. Elves didn’t take kindly to humans, and the thought of one marrying into royalty was unthinkable. Not that I was entirely human, but... I could understand her shock.
"He’s the one who helped us rescue our people. He already has my mother’s approval," Artemis explained.
"T-The Queen...?" Patricia’s voice cracked, her disbelief deepening.
Artemis gave her a firm nod.
Even though confusion still lingered in her expression, Patricia said nothing more. She seemed to accept it—or at least, she realized she had no grounds to object.
"T-Thank you, Lord Leon... for saving me. And I pray you’ll continue to save many more of our people too..." Her words were weak, barely held together by her fragile body, but she still bowed her head with effort, forcing herself to show gratitude.
"You don’t have to thank me," I told her quietly. "I’m doing all this for Artemis and Solaris anyway."
The exhaustion finally overtook her. The moment her stomach was filled and her body warmed, her eyelids grew heavy. Within minutes, she was fast asleep, her breathing deep and even. I couldn’t fault her—after what she had been through, sleep was the least she deserved.
While she was sleeping, I leaned closer to Artemis and asked if I could step out for a bit. She let out a soft laugh and told me I didn’t need her permission to leave. I had only said it as a joke, but the truth was, watching her like this—her face heavy with sadness, pitying Patricia—it was something I didn’t quite know how to handle. It weighed on me more than I cared to admit.
For now, though, I had to go meet the other slave I bought from that bastard.
When I opened the door to the room she was in, I found her sitting silently on the edge of the bed. Her small frame was curled inward, practically folded into itself, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees as if she were trying to shield herself from the world. She pressed her legs closer to her chest, her forehead almost buried against them.
I hadn’t chained her down or locked her in. She was free to walk out if she wanted to, and yet... she didn’t. She just stayed there, motionless, as if rooted in place by something heavier than iron.
I stepped closer, letting my voice break the silence.
"May I know your name?" I asked her.
The demon slowly raised her head to look at me. Her eyes were cautious, guarded, almost hollow. She looked young—maybe a year or two younger than me. That meant she must have been even younger when she was captured. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. But even as I waited, she seemed reluctant to answer.
"Don’t you know your name?" I pressed gently.
"Su..."
Her voice was faint, fragile, but it was there. At least she could speak.
"Su?" I repeated.
She gave a small nod, the slightest movement, but enough to confirm it.
So that was her name. Just one short word—Su. I had no idea what it meant, but it felt like it carried more weight than it seemed.
"Do you want to go home?" I asked her.
Her eyes flickered up to mine again. For a moment, I thought I saw longing in them, like she really did want to return. But her answer told me otherwise.
"I have no home any longer," she whispered.
That hit harder than I expected. Damn... If she had said yes, if she had wanted freedom, I would’ve let her go right then and there without hesitation. But hearing that she had no home left—it was something I wasn’t prepared for. Now I understood why she hadn’t tried to run even though she wasn’t restrained. It wasn’t that she lacked the chance. It was that she had nowhere else to go.
"Then, is it fine if you stay with me? I promise I won’t treat you badly," I said.
She hesitated for a breath, then gave a small nod.
"Mm..."
Her reply didn’t sound forced. In fact, when I looked into her eyes again, I could swear there was more color in them now, more life than before. It was like the faintest spark of hope had been reignited inside her.
"I’m going to prepare something for you, so wait here for a bit, okay?" I told her as I pushed myself up to leave.
But just then, I felt it. It was an abrupt shift in the atmosphere. The air in the room thickened, heavy and sharp, crawling against my skin like static.
"Fufufufu..." A low, almost mocking laugh slipped out from her lips. "If you really want to take care of someone like us, then you’d better have something more lavish to offer. I don’t know about the other me, but I’m not the type to be easily satisfied."
I turned back immediately. The girl sitting there was still Su, but at the same time... not. The timid expression she wore earlier was gone, replaced by a sly, knowing smirk that didn’t belong to the meek girl I had just spoken to.
And her appearance—something about it had changed, too. Her hair and eyes had always been split with the left side black, the right side white. But now it had reversed. The left side was stark white, while the right side was pitch black. It was like I was staring at a completely different person wearing the same body.
"Well," I muttered, "looks like I didn’t just buy Su from that bastard." I paused, narrowing my eyes. "Should I introduce myself first?"
"You don’t have to, Christopher Faust... or is it Leon? Either way, it doesn’t matter to me," she said with a cool, dismissive tone.
"You’re not Su, are you?" I asked.
"I’m not that meek little girl, no. But we are the same. Two souls living inside the same body. You could even call us siblings. But don’t get it twisted—sharing a vessel doesn’t make us alike. She and I are nothing alike. We have different personalities as well as different strengths. And unlike her, I’m much more powerful," she said, her grin spreading wider, her voice dripping with confidence.
"Who are you then?" I asked.
"Han," she answered, smiling.