A Caged Bird Doesn't Cry - Chapter 3 Part II
Chapter 3 Part II
Contrary to Laticia’s hopes, even though Andrea’s insomnia had improved, not much else changed. Women continued to come and go from his bedroom, and Laticia remained trapped in her cage, forced to listen to their coquettish laughter and agonized moans. After witnessing countless acts of intimacy, Laticia realized one thing.
Her master needed her eyes.
Indeed, there was a difference when she watched and when she didn’t. Whenever she averted her gaze, the painful moans would inevitably follow. The bite marks on the flawless bodies of the noblewomen or the swollen, reddened v@gina from rough thrusts confirmed that her suspicions were not mistaken.
In any case, she didn’t like the idea of someone suffering because of her. Laticia stared intently at the bed. The noblewoman on the bed now had seemed uneasy from the start.
“Ah, ah! Duke, I’m sorry…”
Andrea glared at the woman wiping her tears with a displeased look. A woman crying in bed was annoying and unlucky. He had no interest in comforting or embracing a weeping woman. Eventually, Andrea pulled away. As he roughly wiped the bloodstains from his groin with the sheets, the woman clung to him shamelessly.
“I’ll endure it. Just one more chance…”
Amid her sobs, she had mentioned something about having a fiancé. He must have been quite the fool. Not that it mattered to Andrea. As he brushed the hair falling over his forehead and stepped off the bed, the woman buried her face in his crotch.
Andrea frowned at the undignified behavior, so unlike that of a noblewoman. If she was going to act like this, he might as well treat her the same. As he grabbed her hair to push her away, he locked eyes with the violet eyes in the cage. Seeing her wide, startled eyes, Andrea changed his mind and shook the hair he held back and forth.
The choked sounds mixed perfectly with the moans. Laticia’s lips parted just as wide as her eyes. The moment her pink tongue peeked out from behind her even teeth, Andrea forcefully pried open the jaw of the woman sucking him off. He pressed the tip of his member against her tongue and rubbed it hard. Thick, white fluid dripped from the tip of her tongue.
Andrea gently but firmly pushed the woman clinging to his thigh away. The noblewoman, now thoroughly dismissed, quietly dressed herself. Even that seemed difficult as her hands trembled. She turned to Andrea and made a request.
“Duke, may I call my maid?”
She was still being a nuisance. Andrea gestured to the room adjacent to the bedroom and rang the bell. As the woman fumbled with her clothes and prepared to leave, she suddenly glanced at the cage. Her eyes, filled with humiliation and defeat, flashed with a fierce light that made Laticia shrink back.
“Is there a problem?”
At Andrea’s cold question, the noblewoman shrank her shoulders just as Laticia had done earlier. Still, she managed to bow politely, her ears red with embarrassment at her disheveled state.
“No, Duke. It was truly an honor to be with you today. Thank you.”
Andrea nodded slightly, ending the tiresome encounter. As he headed to the bathroom to wash away the unpleasant aftertaste, Laticia finally let out a sigh of relief.
Left alone in the room, Laticia swallowed dryly. If even a noblewoman was treated like this, it was clear what he thought of her.
The fact that he didn’t provide food or water was evidence enough. Except for the earlier situation, Andrea had thoroughly ignored her. The servants were no exception, and Laticia hadn’t eaten anything in days. She supposed it was a blessing that nothing was going in, so nothing was coming out. Otherwise, she would have had to endure the humiliation of relieving herself in front of him.
Even when she had been trapped in the underground black market, she had never been this starved. Now, she no longer even felt hunger. Her stomach just felt hollow. Still, Laticia sang diligently for Andrea as he sipped wine late into the night. She poured all her remaining strength into it.
A flower blooms in the cool breeze.
A white flower blooming alone under the moonlight.
Its delicate laughter hidden within its petals.
Andrea, sitting on the edge of the bed with his wet hair dripping, narrowed his eyes slightly at the song coming from the cage. She was a perceptive sl@ve. She diligently matched his mood. Yet, the ambiguity of her existence, undefined and unclear, irritated him.
Was she poison? Or medicine?
It was frustrating to even consider the usefulness of a worthless sl*ve girl. For this reason, Andrea wished the silver-haired sl*ve would just die. Left alone, she would likely collapse from exhaustion. Her voice grew thinner each day, and it didn’t seem like she had much time left.
‘Perhaps tomorrow will be her last.’
But contrary to his expectations, the canary stubbornly clung to life the next day, and the day after that. Every night, her song would come to lull him to sleep. One day, Andrea sent all the women who came to him away.
No matter how much he tried to focus solely on the sensations below his waist, it didn’t work. The languid satisfaction after release was absent. It was like drinking seawater to quench thirst. He knew the reason well.
It was because of that damned canary.
Gradually, strange rumors began to circulate in social circles. Whispers that the Duke of Kalidnas had contracted a terrible disease, that it was some kind of hundred-headed plague, and especially that his manhood was in such a state that he was effectively impotent. The rumors grew more and more sensational.
It was around that time that Linus visited the Duke’s residence.
“Good heavens, I never thought I’d see the day when your bed would be empty!”
Linus, who had come expecting to find Andrea on his deathbed, was disappointed to see him in good health. He joked about it, then noticed the unfamiliar cage and was startled when he saw its occupant.
“If you’re going to kill her, you might as well give her to me.”
At Linus’s exclamation, Andrea glanced at the cage. The pale face with no trace of blood, only the deep violet eyes, stood out. Andrea, reminded of two violets blooming in a white snowfield, smirked at Linus.
“Didn’t His Majesty ban sl*very?”
So, for the prince to keep a sl*ve would be tantamount to rebelling against his father. In a way, it was a polite refusal, but Linus was oblivious.
“I could say I found her lost during a hunt. What do you think?”
Andrea felt a faint irritation at Linus’s casual request, but he only smiled. He couldn’t exactly refuse. His original plan had been to send her to Linus after one night, but the girl had remained in his room for half a month.
“It’s a waste. She’s too talented to just kill. Why not hand her over to me?”
Linus pressed again. Laticia, who had been listening to their conversation, felt a glimmer of hope. A mix of pure curiosity and the hope of escape shone in her violet eyes. For a moment, Andrea was seized by the urge to strangle that pale, slender neck. As he suppressed the burning impulse, he realized something.
That sl*ve, Laticia, was his.
In life and in death, she belonged to him. Even if he had to kill her, it had to be by his own hand. So, there was only one answer he could give Linus.
"Not interested."
Andrea cut off Linus's proposal as if it were of no consequence. He thought this would crush both Laticia’s hope and Linus’s interest, but Linus’s eyes lit up with curiosity instead.
"Don’t tell me you’ve touched our canary?"
"Are you suggesting bestiality?"
It was a blatant insult. Linus, taken aback by the absurdity, quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, about the hunting tournament, could you show me the stallion you’ll be riding? I need to prepare a horse that’s at least as good as yours. I can’t let the Duke of Kalidnas outshine the prince, after all."
Though it was a trivial matter, Andrea readily led Linus away. It was better to show him a few horses than to point out his furtive glances at the cage.
"Take your pick if you want."
"I knew it! The door will be opened to him who knocks!"
Linus, unable to hide his delight at getting what he wanted, followed Andrea out. Just as they were leaving, a faint sound came from the cage. Laticia, who had been maintaining her posture, collapsed to the floor.
"Master…"
In a voice so weak it seemed it might break, Laticia gasped as she called out to him. Convulsing as if using the last of her strength, she sobbed.
"Just one request, if you would…"
She would probably beg for her life. Maybe ask for a sip of water or a piece of bread. Andrea approached the cage, waiting indifferently for her next words. But the sl*ve girl’s plea was far from what he expected.
"Theo, Theodor… a painting…"
Before she could finish her wish, Laticia’s head drooped and fell. Andrea had wished for the annoying sl*ve to disappear from his sight, but now that it was happening, he felt uncertain. Should he let her die like this, or keep her alive a little longer? A simple choice, but something clouded his judgment.
Theo, Theodor Vuter.
The sl*ve, on the brink of death, had begged not for her life but for an opportunity for that young painter. It grated on Andrea’s nerves.
How dare she.
With a sneer at the reckless sl*ve, Andrea lifted Laticia’s small chin to check her breathing. It was faint, so slow that it seemed to have stopped, but she was still alive. After checking her pulse, he rang the bell to summon a maid.
"Take care of her until she regains consciousness."
Then he turned away coldly. Linus, who had been standing by the door watching the whole scene, wrinkled his nose and handed Andrea a handkerchief.
"Wipe yourself."
The fact that sl*ve trading was not recognized meant that sl*ves were not recognized—they were non-entities. They could not exist and should not exist. Therefore, sl*ves were treated as livestock. Creatures that could be killed and disposed of without a second thought, like beasts.
In other words, since he had touched a dirty, smelly beast, he should clean himself.
Andrea accepted the handkerchief without objection and meticulously wiped his fingers, which had touched the lowly body. But no matter how much he scrubbed, the faint pulse he had felt at his fingertips remained, stubbornly lingering.
***
If you want to get notified of the new updates and announcements, you can join us on Discord (code- 92TUsC9jDA)
And please Support us with ☞Donations!!
Posts
No comments