Silently observing Ren, Tristan and the soldiers, along with Biretta’s family, suddenly turned their heads towards Sharti.

Under their inquisitive gaze about Ren’s existence, Sharti’s lips became parched and dry.

‘This isn’t what it was supposed to be…’

Originally, she had planned to introduce Ren as an assistant she had taken under her wing.

They had even concocted a believable excuse that his birth was never registered due to his disfigured face since birth.

‘A slave?’

Sharti glanced back.

Unexpectedly, Ren had become a ‘slave’, and their eyes met.

‘I’ll sort this out.’

Sharti patted Ren’s hand to reassure him, who must have been caught off guard.

She felt Biretta’s piercing gaze but pretended not to notice and raised her head towards Tristan.

“That’s right.”

“……?”

But Ren, who she thought would remain quietly behind, stepped forward.

With a blank face, Ren nodded.

‘What’s that?’

Confused by the unexplained action, Sharti blinked.

Ren glanced at the soldiers and slowly knelt in front of her.

“Sharti is my master.”

“……!”

Ren even took her hand and gently rubbed his cheek against it.

Sharti looked down at him, her face a picture of astonishment.

Hidden behind her robe, Ren met her gaze and subtly smiled with his eyes.

A smile with a different meaning from any he had shown before.

“That cunning thing…!”

Startled by Biretta’s shout, Sharti quickly composed herself.

Sharti soothed her fluttering heart.

‘I thought I had said that.’

Determined to break away from Ren’s sly smile, Sharti locked eyes with Tein, who was holding her other hand.

His large eyes gazed up at her.

Then Tein chuckled.

“I will protect the teacher.”

It was a cryptic statement.

Frozen and unable to react, Sharti saw Tristan tilt his head.

“Is he really your slave?”

Tristan, who had been quietly observing, stared intently at Ren.

To Tristan, Ren seemed too sophisticated to be just a slave.

The soldiers also kept their suspicious glances on Ren, who was wrapped from head to toe in bandages.

“Yes, he’s Sharti’s slave!”

Then Birena once again raised her voice.

Bypassing the soldiers, she walked up to Ren and pointed accusingly at him.

“Look! He clearly looks like he’s only good for his strength.”

“…….!”

“And his eyes are dull! His face is bruised! Just a body! He looks like nothing but a slave!”

“…….!”

Birena’s explanation left Tristan and the soldiers speechless.

With no one refuting, Ren’s smile disappeared.

In the tense atmosphere, Tein eagerly nodded, defending his sister.

“That’s right! The patient, no, the slave, sir, is big like a bear, but he has nothing in his head!”

“…….!”

A consistent evaluation of Ren from Tein.

As Ren’s shoulders drooped, Biretta chuckled.

“Yes. He’s so foolish, a slave who barely talks even to his master.”

Biretta clicked her tongue, her eyes gleaming.

“If our child hadn’t taken him in and allowed him to live, he would have been driven out by now.”

“…….!”

“…….!”

There was a sting in her words.

Both Sharti, and especially Ren, felt a chill down their necks.

“Really, is he a slave?”

Tristan’s eyes became more cautious, the suspicion slightly reduced.

In the Newitten Empire, slaves were not just the property of nobles. Commoners could also own them.

However, the continued questioning indicated that a poor doctor like Sharti couldn’t afford a slave.

“A slave like him must be quite expensive.”

A slave of Ren’s size would be valuable for physical labor.

Faced with Tristan’s point and lacking a rebuttal, Sharti just rolled her eyes.
Instead, Ren stood up. He stepped forward in front of Sharti and spoke.

“I ran away.”

Quietly, Ren began to unwrap the bandages on his face.

As Ren’s face slowly became visible, the soldiers and even Birena’s faces blanched.

“I fled from those who tried to kill me.”

Spiderweb-like dark red veins covered Ren’s entire face.

He looked like a monster out of a fairy tale.

“…….”

As Ren unveiled his face, silence fell over the surroundings.

Only Tein, who was clinging closely to Sharti’s side, looked at Ren with eyes full of curiosity.

“A runaway slave, you say?”

“Seeing his face, it looks like he’s been tortured.”

The soldiers mumbled, unable to look directly at Ren’s face. Given the common tales of slave treatment, Ren’s claim gained credibility.

‘Do they believe it?’

Sharti inwardly sighed with relief.

Of course, she felt uneasy about suddenly becoming the owner of a slave, but convincing the soldiers about the situation and Ren’s presence was the priority.

“Well, that’s how it turned out.”

Bireta slowly moved forward.

The cold wind swept across her wrinkled face as she stopped in front of Dordint.

“He’s learned nothing and knows nothing, just follows our child around like a tail. His mind is gone, but his body is useful, so our child took him in.”

“Uh, uh…. Uh….!”

“How could I leave my child alone in these dangerous mountains? Hmm? There should be at least a watchdog to bite some crazed intruder, right?”

Dordint’s face paled under Bireta’s intimidating gaze.