The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 80

Chapter 80: At the Training Grounds (1)

After another long, uneventful journey by carriage…

Gazing out the window at the passing scenery…

I finally saw it in the distance. The massive, imposing walls of the Sianella County, the pride of the western region.

Sione, who'd been sprawled on the carriage floor, also noticed the familiar sight. She seemed overjoyed to finally be returning to her home.

“Finally…!”

She scrambled to her feet and plopped down beside me, her face practically glued to the window as she admired the approaching walls.

After a while,

Still glued to my side, she shifted her gaze to the bow resting beside her.

The bow Ainel had given her.

A recurve bow, crafted from the same wood as her previous one, but with a stronger draw weight and greater elasticity.

Sione hadn’t fully adjusted to the new bow yet, due to the increased power and limited practice time.

She gazed at the bow with a pleased expression, then scratched her head.

“Things are going to get busy once we return.”

Busy? We'd already had our fill of tedious and troublesome tasks during our travels. I was looking forward to some rest.

I couldn’t let her comment pass unchallenged.

“Busy, Lady Sione?”

Sione looked down at her slender fingers.

“I haven’t had a proper chance to practice with my bow lately. I think my skills have gotten a bit rusty. Once we return, I plan to spend most of my time at the archery range.”

That was surprisingly responsible of her.

I stroked her platinum hair, a now-familiar gesture of affection.

Sione purred contentedly, like a cat enjoying a head scratch, and I offered some words of encouragement.

“Rusty? You were quite effective against those small monsters that attacked the carriage.”

During our travels, whenever things got too quiet, we’d inevitably be ambushed by small monsters. Mostly goblins.

And every time, Sione had been the first to react, firing arrows at the approaching enemies.

Contrary to her words, she’d actually improved quite a bit during those encounters.

‘She even managed to hit a few goblins in the head.’

Most of her arrows had hit their targets, but…

She’d even managed to land a few headshots on those flailing goblins. It was a remarkable improvement compared to her initial struggles in the Beltrin Mountains.

Sione preened at my praise, puffing out her chest slightly.

“Thank you. But I’m not satisfied yet. I need to…surpass my master.”

“Your master? Are you referring to me?”

“Of course. Who else could be my archery master but you, Ray?”

“…That won’t be easy.”

“We’ll see. Just wait. Even if I can’t beat you, I’ll reach your level soon enough.”

“Ah…”

Well, it was good to have ambitious goals.

Besides…

To save this world from the clutches of demons, we would need dozens, hundreds, perhaps even thousands of skilled warriors, surpassing even my own abilities.

I nodded silently, agreeing with Sione’s sentiment.

“…I’ll be cheering you on.”

Sione nodded, seemingly pleased with my response.

I'd assumed she would return to her usual spot, curled up under a warm blanket on the carriage floor, now that our conversation had ended, but…

She remained seated beside me, staring intently at my profile.

Her gaze felt unusually intense today.

Just as I turned to see why she was staring at me so intently,

“And—”

Sione smiled, as if she’d been waiting for me to look at her. She wrapped her arm around mine and leaned against my shoulder.

Her voice, soft and melodic, flowed from her delicately curved lips.

“—you haven’t forgotten our other promise, have you?”

“Our other promise…?”

“Hmm, you don’t remember? Well, it doesn’t matter. I remember.”

She puffed out her cheeks, feigning annoyance.

Sione’s blue eyes, brighter than usual, locked onto mine.

“You promised that if I managed to imbue my arrows with mana, like a Sword Expert, you would…kiss me.”

“…”

“Your expression tells me you finally remember.”

This little devil.

Sione’s playful demeanor was now tinged with a surprising seriousness.

“…Just wait a little longer.”

She placed her index finger gently on my lips.

“I’ll collect my reward soon enough.”

I stared at Sione, momentarily speechless at her bold declaration.

Then I quietly stroked her hair.

***

The long carriage ride finally came to an end, and we arrived at the familiar Sianella mansion.

Sione, Ainel, and the others who’d accompanied us on our journey dispersed, returning to their respective rooms to unpack and freshen up.

I also returned to my assigned room.

‘I’ll put the sword from Eunice here…and the new bow…that’s a precious item, so I’ll put it here…’

After unpacking, I washed up and changed out of my travel-worn clothes.

I checked my appearance in the full-length mirror, smoothing my hair, then…

Took a short break.

Once Sione had finished freshening up,

I left my room and headed towards hers.

As I walked, I glanced around.

“…It’s been a while.”

The familiar layout and scenery of the mansion…

As I reminisced, I saw a familiar figure in the distance.

Her hair was the same platinum silver as Sione’s, and her attire was clearly not that of a servant or a knight.

Which meant she was a member of the Sianella family.

Ainel had said she would be busy catching up on work and would be staying in her office for a while. And Sione was waiting for me in her room. So…

That woman, dressed in an elegant gown with beautiful embroidery could only be one person.

‘Siabel Sianella.’

Siabel Sianella, my master's older sister, the first person, after Sione, to realize I could wield magic.

As I recognized her, Siabel also seemed to notice me.

She glanced in my direction, then turned and walked towards me without hesitation.

“…Ray.”

She called out my name softly, a faint smile playing on her lips.

As she approached, I could see her more clearly.

Siabel was…well, Siabel.

Her confident stride, befitting a Sword Expert.

The noble air she carried, a testament to her status as a daughter of House Sianella.

And…

The undeniable interest she showed in me.

Siabel hadn’t changed at all since our last meeting.

We exchanged greetings and made small talk. The conversation wasn’t awkward, despite the long separation.

It was a purely formal exchange, with me as her subordinate and Siabel as my superior.

The real conversation began when…

Siabel chuckled softly.

“Now that the boring pleasantries are out of the way…I don’t have much time, so let’s move on to more interesting matters.”

“Interesting matters, Lady Siabel?”

“Did you deliver my message to Aria Alenar?”

Siabel’s eyes shone with anticipation.

Had I delivered her message? I’d delivered it perfectly. I’d relayed Siabel’s words to Aria Alenar, a Marquis's daughter, verbatim.

Though Aria had been the one to request it, relaying Siabel’s rather provocative message had been mentally taxing.

I thought about the banquet and forced a neutral expression as I nodded.

“Yes, I relayed your message to Lady Aria Alenar, word for word.”

“Hmm.”

Siabel smiled, as if she’d just heard a particularly amusing story.

“Then…you must have seen her reaction firsthand. Tell me, how did she take it?”

I recalled Aria’s reaction.

She’d initially tried to maintain her composure, but…

In the end, she hadn’t been able to contain her annoyance. She’d gritted her teeth and glared at me, clearly irritated.

“…She was quite upset. And—”

Aria’s reaction hadn’t ended there.

“—she asked me to relay a message back to you.”

As if unwilling to be outdone, she’d insisted I deliver her own message to Siabel.

Siabel’s eyes gleamed with renewed interest.

“A message from Aria?”

She crossed her arms, her expression expectant.

“Will you tell me? Word for word, of course.”

What had I done in my past life to deserve this? I'd barely returned to the County, and I was already being dragged into another tiresome exchange.

Unable to refuse, I relayed Aria’s message to Siabel.

“Lady Aria Alenar said…”

I took a deep breath.

“…‘Tell her that this winter, the Northern Lancer will personally come down to crush that sword-swinging knight…’”

Siabel’s eyebrow twitched at Aria’s words.

“…‘…and tell her to prepare to be beaten like a northern bear, just as she said.’”

I couldn't help but smile wryly as I finished relaying Aria’s message.

…Why couldn’t they just exchange letters directly? Why drag me into this and make me so nervous?

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