The Male S*ave of the Count Sianella Family

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“What?”

Sion growled fiercely, reminiscent of how Shione calls his name.

But honestly, it felt less like a roar from a lion or tiger and more like a bulldog trying to clear its throat, not particularly threatening at all.

The threat of someone who had never been a beast did nothing to stir my feelings.

Of course, perhaps it was due to her lofty status that my heart raced a little more than usual.

However, I had absolutely no intention of giving up on this quest just because of a quickened heartbeat.

While it could be quite a stimulating challenge, the main point of this quest wasn’t some trivial reward of her affection.

It was the accelerating collapse of Shione that would come with failure.

As I had seen in the quest details, her collapse would likely mean being consumed by self-loathing, becoming an even worse wreck than she currently was.

Whether or not she changed would determine the fate of this world and my return to Earth.

At the very least, she couldn’t afford to be crushed by self-loathing.

Since I had already sparked her with provocative words, it would be best to push forward with that momentum.

With a bold face, I spoke without hesitation.

“There’s no need to insist on the same sword as Lady Siabel, is there?”

“How absurd. Are you so ignorant that you don’t even know what our Shianella family is all about?”

I was well aware that the Shianella clan was a prestigious military family that had consistently produced exceptional knights from its inception to the present day.

Even if they lack other talents, those who inherit that bloodline are said to be skilled at handling swords to perfection.

Thus, a strong image of swordsmanship and knights was firmly established when it came to the Shianella name.

At least until the previous generation.

“I’ve heard that even Lord Sion Shianella has achieved outstanding success as a priest rather than a swordsman. There’s no need for you, Princess Shione, to cling to the sword just because of your lineage.”

Among this generation of Shianella, Sion had a talent for priesthood.

Moreover, while I wasn’t sure of the specifics, I had heard that Sion was proficient only in divine power and hardly possessed great talent with the sword.

It’s unreasonable to assume that Shione wouldn’t have other talents just because Sion had those.

Just because history dictated that there were no options other than the sword, it sounded like nonsense to me.

I felt significantly displeased with Shione’s unwavering obsession with the sword.

“No one is born without talent. You just haven’t found yours yet, Princess Shione.”

“…”

“Have you ever trained in something other than swordsmanship?”

Shione looked up at me for a while, then took a gulp of the water I had poured into my cup.

Gulp.

Clank.

The empty cup was slammed onto the table with quite a force.

Setting the cup down, she spoke irritably.

“I had picked up a spear after giving up on the sword. Still, it was just the same, the spear never felt smooth in my hand.”

“Eventually, after putting the spear down, I tried learning magic. But unlike Sion, I found myself completely mismatched with both divine power and the end result of magic.”

“Yet I thought it was too early to give up. Realizing I wasn’t suited for dynamic things, I entered the library to read books to build knowledge.”

But—

Shione’s shoulders trembled slightly.

I could see her pupils ripple.

In her wavering gaze, I knew she was recalling past memories.

Shione took a moment to catch her breath, trying to suppress her heightened emotions.

“I didn’t seek encouragement. I just wanted them to understand and wait for me until I found my own path. But when I was reading alone in the library, everyone was too busy comparing and belittling me.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“…Did I just hear you correctly?”

In an instant, Shione’s gaze turned murderous, as if she wanted to kill me.

Her reaction was only natural.

I knew what I had said was entirely inappropriate in this atmosphere.

However, there’s a saying that one should listen to others until the end.

To me, the important meaning resided in the continuation rather than just poking at Shione’s painful spots.

I maintained as much composure as possible under the menacing gaze of the bulldog.

“I’m glad there’s still something I can teach you.”

With my continued words, Shione now bore an expression that seemed to lose the need to be angry. She merely stared at me blankly as if she didn’t understand what I meant.

“Have you ever drawn a bowstring?”

“What in the world are you talking about? If you’re trying to shake me, now is enough, don’t you think?”

Shione’s voice began to tremble.

“I think it’d be good for you to take some time starting tomorrow to practice little by little. What do you say?”

“Me? Going outside to shoot a bow? Haha, I can almost hear the knights’ laughter echoing in here.”

Shione gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

“To think you’d actually say that you’d teach me? If I follow you, I’ll just become a laughingstock again. Why should I willingly step out just to be ridiculed?”

“I may have been born as a lowly slave, but I am a man with mana. I was destined from birth to be sold as a plaything to a noble family under the name of a male knight, so I have learned a bit of swordsmanship and archery.”

“…”

“Though I learned it only superficially to meet the requirements of a male knight… At the very least, I could teach you the correct way to hold and shoot a bow.”

Who am I?

I was Park Shin-woo, the top-ranked hunter in Korea, standing before S-class.

Given my background, I could confidently say that I had more serious skills and was better qualified to teach someone about archery than anyone in this territory.

Furthermore, the original owner of this body had also received several educations to be sold as a slave, tailored to noble tastes.

Among them, I had undoubtedly received archery training, so I could use that as leverage to teach her.

The conditions were all aligned perfectly to persuade Shione.

Now it was time to drive the nail home.

“If you’re worried about other people’s laughter, don’t stress it. It wouldn’t do to have a dark target where you can’t see it, so we can leave early morning and return before anyone else arrives. I’ll wake you up when it’s time.”

“Ha, ha.”

Shione laughed as if she found it absurd.

I simply remained silent, waiting for the chuckle that escaped her lips.

“You, stating you’d teach me to shoot a bow—can you even take on that responsibility?”

“Of course.”

“I wonder where that confidence comes from. It’s been a while since I’ve heard such an interesting story. Now, stop with the nonsense and go out.”

Thud, thud.

Shione stood up from her seat and headed back toward her bed.

I twisted to face her.

I didn’t have enough strength in my argument.

I felt that if I didn’t act now, I might never have another chance like this.

Should I just close my eyes and take a gamble…?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, this ridiculous mouth of mine couldn’t hold back and spoke again.

“Would you trust me if I staked everything I have?”

Shione’s steps came to a halt right in front of the bed.

She half-turned her body to look at me.

Indeed, there was a look on her face that seemed to express disbelief.

“You’re going to stake everything you have, which is probably just a puny salary and this body, on a piglet like me?”

Unexpectedly blunt, it felt as if I had just been hit on the head.

To call myself a piglet was particularly odd.

Agreeing with her statement too readily would mean I was openly agreeing to see her as a piglet.

I hesitated momentarily before replying.

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“What’s your reason for wanting to stick to me so badly?”

Reasons for sticking—

The earlier image of Shione feeling belittled and the way Sion’s words had left her quietly simmering only entered my mind.

Hearing her grievances, I found her earlier state of being openly disregarded to be somewhat, no, very unappealing.

I was afraid of failing the quest, but more than that, I wanted to help alleviate her powerless state with the only skill I possessed.

Instead of faltering under pressures, I wished to avoid seeing her suffer alone and look for solutions.

That was the inevitable conclusion.

“No servant enjoys watching their master being humiliated. If one does exist, then they’re clearly just serving someone else.”

“…”

“I won’t mock you.”

Shione said nothing as she resumed her steps.

Waddle, waddle.

Crash.

Shione plopped down on her bed.

For some time, her body remained seated, and instead of lying down, she seemed deeply lost in thought.

I could tell from the subtle shifts in her expressions over the course of dozens of moments that she was managing her overlapping thoughts.

Understanding that she needed time to gather herself, I waited silently for her response.

After a moment, when the deep shadow on her face disappeared, Shione raised her head.

“I also need to prepare myself, so wake me up before dawn.”

“That means…”

“I’m agreeing to the bet you mentioned.”

As I quietly gazed at Shione, she added softly.

“…Just know that granting your request will be the first and last time.”

After showing such a wide array of emotions, she didn’t seem like someone who’d be embarrassed now.

Shione truly had a plethora of colors about her.

“Thank you.”

For now, I simply expressed my gratitude quietly.