Chapitre 3: My Precious and Beloved Master
Matilda was sold into slavery when she was not even ten years old.
The treatment of beastmen varied from region to region. Some countries treated them the same as humans, some persecuted them indiscriminately as slaves, and some were dominated by beastmen who discriminated against ordinary humans.
The Lordberg Kingdom could be said to be a rather bad country for beastmen.
They weren't necessarily discriminated against by law. Beastmen with talent were given opportunities for advancement, and although very few, there were beastmen nobles, knights, and scholars.
However, overall, they were often looked down upon as a minority race and relegated to the bottom of the social structure.
Matilda's parents, who lived in the southern part of the kingdom, were no exception. They were poor tenant farmers with no money or education, barely avoiding becoming slaves themselves. However, as was typical of rabbitmen, who often had twins or triplets, they had eight children.
Naturally, they didn't have enough money to feed all their children properly.
The eldest son, who would inherit the house, was given the highest priority, and the other children were inevitably neglected.
Moreover, when the younger children reached a certain age, they were sold to slave traders to reduce the number of mouths to feed.
Matilda, born as the fourth daughter, a truly insignificant existence, was also easily separated from her parents for a single gold coin.
Discrimination against beastmen was more severe in the southern part of the Lordberg Kingdom and more tolerant in the northern part.
Therefore, Matilda, a rabbitman who had become a slave in the south and was bought by the Earl's family, the lords of this land, had a miserable life.
She was a child slave who wasn't much of a laborer, and on top of that, a beastman.
She was forced to do all the jobs that others didn't want to do, such as fetching water and cleaning toilets, and was beaten for any reason. If she cried, she would be beaten again because they didn't like it.
At the age of 15, when she had lost all hope in life and her heart was dead while her body was still alive, she was given a new job: taking care of a certain boy.
"—From now on, you are not to approach the Earl's mansion at all. You are to have this slave do everything for you. You may treat the slave as you please, but if you kill her, the cost of the slave will be deducted from your living expenses. That is the message from the master."
The head maid, who had dragged Matilda to this place, spoke in a polite tone, but with eyes that looked at the boy as if he were filth.
The boy, who was said to be the son of the noble lord, had been isolated from the mansion for some reason and was now living in a small detached house at the edge of the estate.
And apparently, she had become his caretaker.
The head maid left after delivering her message, leaving only the boy and Matilda.
Oh, would this boy hit her next? Would he even kill her?
The boy, who approached Matilda as she was thinking this, reached out to her bruised and scarred face and said,
"That looks painful. Poor you."
He stroked her cheek with a gentle expression.
...
Whether it was out of sympathy, a whim, or because he didn't have any prejudice against beastmen, Master Noein had been kind to her from the moment they first met.
She stopped being beaten, stopped getting bruises, and her skin became clean. Her once messy black hair gradually regained its luster.
Not only that, but Master Noein also taught her the letters and arithmetic he had learned before he was isolated at the age of nine.
As a result, she became able to read, write, and calculate to a certain extent.
Furthermore, Master Noein read aloud to her from a difficult martial arts manual and explained the training methods described in it in a way that she could understand.
It seemed to be his way of showing love, so that she could make use of her physical abilities as a rabbitman. Thanks to him, she was able to acquire a systematic fighting technique, even though she lacked practical experience.
She was given a peaceful life for the first time, given knowledge, and spent her days with him. They talked about various things. She learned about Master Noein's circumstances.
Compared to her life up to that point, she was given so much compassion and love that it was only natural for her to want to dedicate her body and soul to him after several years of this.
Master Noein, who was still a child when they first met, eventually grew into a young man.
She literally dedicated everything to him, and he accepted it with his whole being. Even if it was born from a distorted environment, even if there was an insurmountable difference in status between a nobleman and a slave, love was love.
One day, Earl Kivileft visited Master Noein, who had just turned 15 and reached adulthood.
It was to tell him that he was being kicked out of the mansion. Master Noein had told her beforehand that this would happen.
"Could I take one of the Earldom's slaves with me?"
"Is that the rabbit-eared woman who was taking care of you?"
"Yes."
"...Alright. But I'll deduct the price of that woman from your severance pay."
"Of course, I don't mind."
Yes. Master Noein said that he needed her, that he wanted her to stay by his side even after he left the Earldom. He wanted her. He didn't mind the reduction in his severance pay at all, and he didn't ask for anything else. He only wanted her.
She didn't care if it was developing a frontier. She would follow him to the forest, the wilderness, the battlefield, even hell, as long as she could be by his side.
That's what she had decided.
...
So, they had moved to Master Noein's territory yesterday.
Matilda woke up early in the morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, and remembered that she was in a tent.
She must have had a dream about the past because she was feeling emotional about arriving in this new land.
Looking at her master's face as he slept soundly beside her, she felt an overwhelming love for him and gently stroked his head.
Even though he had come to this land with a determination that bordered on obsession, Master Noein was still a young man with a hint of childishness, almost a boy.
Remembering how he had acted spoiled with his unguarded expressions last night, unlike his daytime demeanor when he tried to act like an adult nobleman, she picked up her clothes scattered around the tent, put them on, and went outside to prepare breakfast.
She poured the milk they had bought in the town of the Viscountcy of Konitz before entering the Bezel Great Forest into a pot, started a fire with a "Fire Magic: Tinder" magic tool, boiled the milk, added barley, and made barley porridge.
Waking up to the sound and smell, her master poked his head out of the tent. "Good morning, Master Noein," she greeted him.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone