To Stay a Slave or Become a Responsible Human Being

The emperor had made an outrageous proposal.

He would assign me to the Imperial Knights. Show that you can be useful to the Empire and loyal to the imperial family.

If you do, I will grant you your freedom.

I was slightly flustered by the completely unexpected words.

‘I thought he’d punish me, of course…….’

He was going to set me free.

It was an extremely tempting offer to me. Literally, to me as a slave.

Not to my master, Aurora.

“Ah, Dad. What are you talking about? Assign Leon to the Imperial Knights? Free him?”

“Exactly what it means. This happened because he is a slave. If he weren’t a slave, you wouldn’t be able to do as you please with him.”

“Leon is my slave. I decide how to deal with him.”

“Before he’s your slave, he’s a criminal. A criminal who defied the imperial order and let the witch escape. Don’t forget that I’m only indulging your childish whims.”

“But……!”

Kaisel placed a finger to his lips.

“First Princess, do not raise your voice any further.”

The way the emperor addressed Aurora changed.

As a father, indulging his daughter’s tantrums ended here.

From here on, he would treat her as the emperor.

At that, Aurora could no longer speak. She could only stare anxiously.

Kaisel’s gaze returned to me.

“I’ll speak frankly. I am extremely wary of you.”

“Why?”

“Because you are too strong.”

“Is being strong a crime?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

Kaisel narrowed his eyes.

His blue eyes were the same as Aurora’s and Aither’s, but far darker and deeper.

“You possess power. Yet you do not bear the responsibility that should come with it.”

“Are you saying that with great power comes great responsibility?”

“So you know it.”

“It’s a line I personally like.”

So I could understand Kaisel’s words, but on the other hand, I felt even more wronged.

“Someone once told me that slaves are closer to property than people. Just as writing with a pen doesn’t make the writing belong to the pen, anything written by a slave belongs to the master.”

“…….”

“What do you think?”

Kaisel’s gaze naturally turned to Aurora.

Aurora gauged his expression, then averted her eyes slightly.

Kaisel sighed.

“Under imperial law, a slave is the master’s property, so it wouldn’t be entirely wrong.”

“That’s like saying that when something goes wrong, the writer—not the pen—bears the blame. And yet you’re asking me, a slave, to take responsibility?”

“That is why I’m saying I’ll change your status.”

At that, I fell silent and listened quietly.

“Being a slave is convenient. You can say you were ordered. Say the master made you do it. No matter what you do, the responsibility ultimately falls on the master.”

“…….”

“This case is no different. By your own account, Aurora gave the order and you obeyed. So you would have had no right to refuse.”

Every word of it was correct.

It might be cowardly to use my master as a shield, but that’s reality. What can I do about it?

Any complaints?

Then free me.

“But your power is far too great to hide behind your master.”

“Even so…….”

“You’re so strong that you can hardly even be called a slave.”

“…….”

“If someone like that bears no responsibility simply because he is a slave, that would shake the order of the Empire. So I will hold you accountable.”

Kaisel said it like a proclamation.

For me, it was an incredible opportunity. Because it was coming directly from the emperor.

But that didn’t mean I was convinced.

“Why are you giving me this opportunity?”

His logic was contradictory.

“If I’m making you that uneasy, then either eliminate me outright, or else take me away from my sister…….”

“Sister?”

“……separating me from Your Highness’s side would be more reasonable, wouldn’t it?”

Kaisel glared at me with a blade-sharp gaze.

For a moment, a future of fighting the entire Empire flashed before my eyes.

Kaisel let out a shallow sigh, as if he was already too tired to react.

“Richard told me that the Empire loses a great deal because you don’t wield a sword.”

Richard.

Richard, commander of the Second Imperial Knights.

I remember that even when we sparred, he tried to get me into the knights.

I wondered why the emperor suddenly wanted to place me in the knights; it seemed he had filed a report.

“That Richard guy……!”

I could hear Aurora grinding her teeth in anger beside me, but Kaisel and I deliberately ignored it.

“He said you should be wielding a sword. Whether on the battlefield or in the knights, he said we had to put you to use for the Empire somehow.”

“Hmm…….”

“Richard is an excellent knight. There must be a proper reason for him to say that much. Would it be right to kill someone like you on a whim?”

“Whew.”

“Of course, just a moment ago I really was going to kill you.”

“…….”

He wasn’t joking.

I had just felt the strongest killing intent of my life.

Is this what a doting father looks like?

“And apparently you once said something like, since slaves don’t pay taxes, you aren’t a subject of the Empire or even the emperor’s child.”

That remark.

I did say it.

To Aither, not to Kaisel.

“How did Your Majesty find out about that……?”

“Aither told me about it in a letter. It was a rather insolent thing to say.”

“No, that’s not what I mean…….”

It was just a joke between us, and he told the emperor about it?

Come to think of it, he’s pretty weird too, isn’t he?

“But when I thought about it, it wasn’t wrong. So I should collect taxes from you.”

“What?”

“I mean I’ll make you one of my subjects. Under imperial law, you will be responsible for your actions.”

In exchange, I will give you your freedom.

Kaisel added.

“What happens if I refuse?”

“It is entirely your choice. Whether to stay a slave or become a responsible human being.”

Silence settled over the room.

I touched the restraint collar around my neck.

Cold and heavy.

It had been that way from the start.

I had only grown used to wearing it for so long; not once had it ever felt light.

‘Choose whether to stay a slave or become a human being who takes responsibility?’

How ridiculous.

It was so absurd I was almost laughing.

Because there was no point in even considering it.

“What are the criteria for manumission?”

“A deed no one could deny. A feat so great that, even knowing you were a criminal and a slave, the Empire would have no choice but to accept you as one of its people.”

“Isn’t that too vague?”

“If the feat is that great, you’ll know it even without specific criteria. If you accomplish such a feat, I will stake my name and promise to free you.”

I knew very well how weighty it was for the emperor to stake his name.

And yet, for some reason, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

It felt like something similar had happened before, once.

When was it?

“No.”

That was when it hit me.

Aurora cut in, her voice sharp.

Her expression was so plainly displeased that it was hard to believe she had only moments ago been fidgeting nervously and watching our faces.

“First Princess.”

“I know. You’re speaking now not as my dad but as the emperor. But no matter what you decide, I can’t accept it.”

Aurora looked Kaisel straight in the eye.

“Leon is my slave.”

“I said he was a criminal before he was your slave.”

“You and your retainers were going to execute that criminal, and I was the one who stopped it. I pleaded for him and brought him here. And now you’re going to snatch him away just because he looks capable?”

“Aurora.”

“Leon’s master is me, plain and simple. The right to decide what to do with him is mine. No one can take him without my consent.”

Aurora’s tone was heated.

The intensity of emotion she gave off was so thick that it reminded me of the times she argued with Murdock.

“Is this because of the novel?”

“That…….”

Aurora glanced at me once, then looked back at Kaisel.

“Yes.”

“Do you know how dangerous the world is these days? Even now, there are people suffering from monsters all across the continent. With his combat ability, many could be freed from their suffering.”

“There are plenty of people in the world who can fight besides Leon. But only Leon can write this story. It’s obvious which side should take priority: the replaceable one or the irreplaceable one.”

“Writing and war are different.”

“Writing can save people too.”

Aurora and Kaisel were sharply at odds, with me caught between them.

I never imagined there would come a day when I would see the emperor and the princess arguing over me.

Man, I’ve really made it.

“What do you think, Leon?”

The two of them seemed to argue at length, but in the end they couldn’t reach a conclusion.

The arrow turned toward me.

“Well, honestly, Your Majesty’s offer is tempting.”

“Leon.”

“If someone is offering a slave freedom, it’d be weirder not to be tempted.”

Leon isn’t a fool.

Do you think Aurora’s keeping me close for my sake? In the end, she just wants to pick me clean to the bone.

In that sense, taking the emperor’s hand was obviously the better deal.

“Leon... do you hate writing with me that much? Even more than going to the battlefield?”

But Aurora seemed genuinely shocked. She looked at me with sad eyes.

‘That look is cheating.’

Aurora possessed a beauty that could bewitch people simply by existing.

And when she looked at me with a sad expression, the power of it was beyond imagination.

At that moment.

A chill ran down my spine.

When I glanced over, Kaisel was glaring at me.

The emperor who had just been calmly passing judgment was gone, replaced by the face of a doting father ready to tear apart the bastard who made his daughter cry.

His eyes said it all.

How dare you make my daughter sad?

‘No, it’s because of you.’

You threw out the bait, and I just took it—so why is all the blame being shoved onto me?

It was unfair.

It was extremely unfair.

But a slave didn’t even have the right to voice his grievances.

In the end, I swallowed a sigh and looked at Kaisel.

“Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“If I’m assigned to the knights, will my master change too?”

“No. Unless something special happens, Aurora will remain your master.”

Then that’s fine.

If I remain Aurora’s slave, my skill would stay the same too.

“Then I can wield a sword while staying by Your Highness’s side…….”

“Sister.”

“……I’ll also keep writing novels by my sister’s side.”

“Sister?”

“……I will continue writing novels beside my master.”

Just as Aurora had been trying to squeeze me dry, I still had something I needed from her.

[Master’s Command].

Make Aurora the best romance writer.

Reward: an S-rank skill.

If the emperor wasn’t going to give me freedom right away, I might as well take what I could get.

“Writing and the sword. Do you think it is possible to do both at once?”

“I will do my best not to disappoint either side.”

Whether he would allow it or not depended entirely on the emperor.

If he allowed it, great. If not, well.

‘A shame, then.’

Because my opponent was the emperor, after all. It wasn’t something a slave like me could do anything about.

Kaisel looked at me steadily for a while. After a rather long silence, he nodded.

“Very well.”

“Thank you.”

“However, Aurora’s personal orders cannot take precedence over imperial orders.”

“Dad.”

“Aurora. This is the final line I can concede.”

“…….”

Aurora also pressed her lips together, as if she knew she couldn’t push any further.

“It seems this discussion is over. Go see Richard tomorrow morning.”

Just as the emperor was about to leave the room after finishing his business,

“Wait a moment, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“I mean the promise about my manumission. Could we perhaps put it in a contract?”

“What?”

For a moment the emperor looked utterly dumbfounded, then shot me a clearly displeased stare.

“I staked my name. And yet you dare suspect that I would break my promise?”

“I don’t want to either, but…….”

I remembered what that sense of déjà vu from earlier had been.

“A certain prince I know put his own name and his father’s on the line, and then broke his promise.”

“…….”

“So, could you write up a contract for me? I’ve sworn I won’t be fooled again.”

Fortunately, I wasn't fooled again.

I drew up a contract with the emperor.