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“Why would I burn that? Seriously? It’s mine!”

“If you come at me like that, I have my own ways.”

As I watched the Princess of the Count’s House, who was subtly checking my reaction, a tinge of doubt crept into my mind about Shione, whom I had trusted.

No matter what, I was devoted like this. Already pushed by Ainel, the Head of the Family, I even made a Mana Oath. I thought burning a Slave Document wouldn’t be too much to ask. After all, carrying the label of ‘slave’ for life wasn’t quite right, was it?

“B-but, ways…?”

I finally gathered my composure and summoned my small spirit in front of the bewildered Shione.

─Myaa!

Our little Cotton Puff spirit, Orna.

Orna pouted, as if to complain about why she was only being called now, her body puffing up in disappointment. After such a considerable time while coming to the Marquis House, it made sense she felt neglected since I barely summoned my spirits.

Normally, I would soothe Orna’s hurt feelings, but considering there was a task for our Cotton Puff, I had to stay focused.

─Myaa…?

I cradled Orna in one hand.

‘I wanted to see our Orna too, but Shione said not to call her because the carriage is cramped.’

─…!

‘Go and deal with that frustrating friend of yours. You can handle it, right?’

─Myaow!

Whoosh!

Orna collided perfectly with Shione’s face.

“Wait, Ray. Why is Orna suddenly…!”

“Kyaaaa!!”

And thus began their silly brawl, starting with Orna swatting Shione’s cheek with her tiny front paw. Shione’s frantic attempts to catch Orna while the spirit dodged her blew me away with how well they matched.

Eventually, both of them ran out of steam at the same time, caught in a truce.

Unaware of what had just transpired, Shione sheepishly apologized to Orna, who had her fur ruffled from the scuffle, leading to a moment of calm.

“Princess Shione, is it so terrible that I get freed from being a slave? After all, losing just one document won’t change anything.”

The moment I left Shione’s side, everything I had struggled for in this life would inevitably crumble, leading to the expected demise waiting ahead. We had built quite a sturdy bond. I had thought Shione would handle this with grace.

Did the feeling of being let down show on my face?

Shione placed Orna, who was perched on her palm, back onto the table and said, “…That’s proof that you’re mine.”

Seemingly embarrassed to express her true feelings, Shione’s cheeks began to flush a light pink.

However, she didn’t evade my gaze or interrupt her speech.

“Ray, do you realize how many women desire you more than you think?”

“Hmm.”

I did know. With decent looks and unique abilities, I was far from being an undesirable catch. I listened intently to Shione’s words.

In fact, I stayed quiet to coax her into speaking more.

Thanks to that, the moment Shione heard my quiet agreement, she spilled more thoughts.

“Yeah, women are like wolves. Even Friel from the Great Forest did that before. If it were just the lesser nobles weaker than our Count’s House, I wouldn’t mind at all… but you are quite special in many ways.”

“……”

“While I can use the fact that you’re mine to tell others to back off, what will happen if that goes away? Once you’re free from slave status, various families will likely pounce and try to claim you.”

“Princess Shione?”

“I can’t bear to see that happen!”

With a sassy expression, and her cheeks full like a puffy little dog, she glared at me with disappointment.

With her acting this way, I couldn’t help but feel a little mischievous.

“If that’s bothering you, it’s an easy fix.”

Shrugging casually, I took a step towards Shione.

“Honestly, it seems like merely burning a slave contract and writing a new document should be sufficient to solve the issue.”

“Uh, um…?”

Shione’s reaction suddenly dulled at my unexpected behavior.

I wore a relaxed smile as I moved a step closer to her.

“Thinking about it, saying you own me isn’t only about that slave certificate, is it? For example—”

“Uh-oh…”

“That, what do they call it, the registration document? If I’m not a slave, I should be able to get my name noted in the documents recognized by the Count’s House or the Kingdom. That alone should suffice, right?”

“Th-that’s true?”

“That’s simple enough. Given how deep our bond is, it’s odd to remain in this master-servant relationship forever.”

“……”

Watching Shione closely, it seemed she was starting to short-circuit.

Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, and her expressions danced between happiness and nervous anticipation as her bright blue eyes gleamed.

Glug.

Oh? Now she’s even swallowing her spit.

As I chuckled softly at her reaction, Shione shot me an annoyed look.

“Are you suggesting that registration document might imply a marriage—”

Before she could even finish her thought, I jumped in humorously.

“Oh, I just remembered. The Knight Inauguration Ceremony!”

“What…?”

“I’ll swear my loyalty explicitly to Princess Shione during the Inauguration Ceremony, and that way, not only will Shione benefit, but the other families won’t dare try to snatch me away easily.”

With her round eyes widening, Shione stared at me blankly for a moment before she finally caught up to the situation.

Experiencing a rush of embarrassment mixed with the feeling of being outwitted, she protested indignantly.

“Ray, you’re saying that on purpose!”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Playing dumb again! You meant the marriage registration form, didn’t you?”

“That means Princess Shione has always wanted to write that registration form while talking to me.”

“Seriously…!!”

Rising onto her tiptoes, Shione tried to grab me, yet I stepped forward into her space.

“Do you really want that registration document that badly?”

Considering how playful I was being, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to reciprocate. I placed my hand on top of her head, slowly applying pressure to guide her down. Shione could only look up at me in surprise at the sudden touch.

“Even if you’d sign there, I won’t know much about noble society or politics… I probably can only shoot arrows and be a pillar husband.”

“Well, wait, what? Pillar husband…?”

“Yes, pillar husband.”

“Uh, uh, ah.”

Shione raised the white flag with just that one phrase.

What kind of future is she envisioning? I could practically see the turmoil dancing behind her eyes.

Finally unable to hide her true feelings, Shione mumbled to herself.

“…That might actually be good.”

The problem was that her voice was too loud in the quiet room.

Thanks to this, our little Cotton Puff, Orna, who had been silently observing our antics from the table, sighed audibly.

─Myaa…

‘Nor am I any different, whether I’m troubling him for fun like this or being like Shione. What’s the difference?’

─Myaa.

Where’s that ridiculous thought coming from? No way I’m anywhere near as shameless as Shione.

I lightly tapped my index finger on Orna playfully, and then shifted back to the main topic.

“Anyway, Lady Siabel Shianella suggested I take more initiative in this operation, so I brought this up. No matter how many contributions I have, if I show up in a way that doesn’t fit my status, I could encounter some backlash.”

After our playful chatter, we met again without pause. The expectations for my role based on Siabel’s request covered a lot of ground. In a world where status weighed more than a name, having the label ‘slave’ before my name was a significant disadvantage.

If the upper class found fault with me for my actions, even with supporters, it would lead to a troublesome situation.

I had tried to conduct myself properly to avoid dragging myself and those around me into inconvenient situations. But after years of smashing monsters in dungeons, I couldn’t say my current state suited me at all.

“Going forward, it will be the same. Once things are settled with the Marquis House, it seems our names will spread more widely. If that happens, there’ll be a gap between my status and burgeoning reputation.”

As my achievements piled up, my standing would increasingly conflict with my social position, and it seemed Shione finally understood as she nodded.

“I think this operation will go smoothly without a hitch. The group we’ll belong to will mainly consist of our family’s knights, and my sister said so. Our knights recognize you as one of them.”

“Even if some troops from the Marquis House join our group, the one steering the command will be Siabel, so they won’t oppose Ray.”

“So I can follow my sister’s cues for this operation without worry. And regarding that Slave Document—”

Shione folded her arms, narrowing her drowsy eyes.

“I’ll burn it for you once we get home.”

“Really?”

“But—”

She had a look that said she wasn’t going to budge on this one.

The small puppy-like energy she had exuded transformed abruptly.

She had a fierce gaze, like a cat spotting its prey, her sky-blue eyes shining brightly. My figure had settled in that dark pupil as her target.

“Once it’s burned, expect to write a few more new contracts.”

…In my life, I had never seen Shione speak with such charisma.

“Since you started this first, don’t even think about declining, got it?”

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