“Why did you tell me, my lady?” Lutiel added quickly, before her eyes could catch the look in his ones that already returned to the previous one. “Wasn’t it pointless to say it to a human?”


    She stared at him for a few moments, not breaking apart their eye contact once.


    “Yes, it is, because you will never experience it,” she said blankly. “However, since you’re my assistant, you’re bound to at least know what I’m doing and researching. Besides, from next week onward, you will also be my teaching assistant.”


    “Teaching?”


    “Yes, the teaching assistant of my student, who is learning magic from me.”


    “I understand that, my lady,” he said with his mouth remained open, even though nothing continued to come out.


    “Are you wondering why?” She asked plainly, receiving a nod in response.


    “Yes.”


    “Your body will be a good subject for experimentation,” her face beamed with normalcy as she spoke the words that made his body involuntarily step back.


    On the brink of blinking, he stretched out his arms and looked down at them, scouring every bit of his body.


    “Don’t worry. We won’t be dissecting you. Your body is in an ideal state because of the lack of battle intricacies. Unlike any other slave, you’re basically a clean slate,” she spoke, but the voice went through him as though he wasn’t there.


    ‘Really? Is that the best excuse you could muster up?’ Clearly resounding in his head, he clenched the gloved fists he hid behind his back, together with the jaw.


    “Is that all I would be doing, my lady?”


    “Well, no,” she said with a soft shake of her head. “You will also be responsible for carrying the equipment for the lesson as they won’t be purely inside the manor.”


    With a nod of his, she turned her head back to the papers on the rack, soon taking them away.


    “Bring me a few blank papers,” Zyponia added, taking hold of the pen standing in the holder.


    “Yes, my lady,” his voice traversed swiftly, cut off by his turning. Moving to the stash of new paper, he took a few sheets before once again going back to the demon lord.


    …


    The doors trembled behind him as he closed them shut, immuring in place after having done the deed. His back barely touched the wood as he leaned onto them, looking up at the ceiling of his dingy room. Glancing at the dim, pale yellow crystal illuminating the place scarcely, his eyes had been stuck onto it like a moth.


    Flickering, the light seemed on the verge of collapsing, but he simply turned his head away, a mellow sigh accompanying the movement. Walking across the room, he stood rigidly before the chair next to his desk.


    Guiding his hand towards the neck, the fingers grasped onto the tie before he wagged the knot loose. Pulling it apart, Lutiel tossed the unraveled necktie at the desk, empty except for the sole lamp at the left corner.


    The buttons around his jacket and waistcoat weren’t sustained much longer either, coming off the next few instances. Hanging them on the top rail of the chair, he raised the tucked into pants shirt before unbuttoning it as well.


    Then came the belt, swishing as it went off the loops before the tough leather dented in the fabric of the previous attire he hung on the chair. Thudding as he moved, his polished shoes smashed against the wooden panels, the bed creaking as he promptly sat on top of it.


    Pulling onto the laces, they rocked around as he raised his foot. Taking them off, Lutiel put the shoes neatly together below the bed, just so the tongues peeked out.


    Once again, helping himself with the cushioning, he stood up and moved to the right. Quivering as they opened, he glanced beyond the wardrobe’s exterior, inside where a couple sets of identical clothes were hanging.


    Below the uniform attire to today, he saw fairer tones of clothes, a shirt and trousers folded in a square lying on the bottom shelf.


    Taking one of the sets of nightclothes, the man quickly closed the doors of the wardrobe before putting them on his made bed.


    Dealing with yet another button, the pants also came about loose, Lutiel quickly taking them off before folding the pair beside the shoes.


    Leaving himself with mostly lighter shades, except for the socks, none remained on his body for longer than a few breaths, the gloves coming off in a jiffy together with the shirt and underwear.


    Having put on the nightwear, he stepped through the room once again, coming close to the jacket. Moving his hand near the pocket, he took out the yellowish, slightly ripped apart piece of paper from today. Stuck between the fingers, Lutiel kept looking at its blank backside.


    His eyes stiff, not daring to blink away, remained in the same state, the paper’s image reflecting in the dark pupils.


    ‘I should at least try. Magon didn’t notice, so why should she?’ He asked inwardly, the thought plaguing his mind.


    Recalling the words Raeyine told him during their breakfast, Lutiel turned back to the bed, quickly burying his feet inside the duvet before taking the worn socks off.


    “Sait,” he said, remembering the words of the maid. Immediately, his being shrouded itself in darkness as the light above dimmed out. Only the sole stars beyond the window welcomed his abode.


    Sitting on the bed, enclosed by the cushion on his legs, the man soon closed his eyes, raising the paper in his right hand up.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Hovering beside his face, the two remained motionless for prolonged moments. With a steady look, his blocked sight continued, as though he awaited something.


    Countless breaths after, his eyelids finally raised themselves, much to the dismay of the beholder. Staring beyond the darkness, Lutiel saw an empty page for the second time.


    With a fine sigh, the paper became crumpled under his touch, bouncing off the floor the next instance.


    Angling his head toward the window, he stared out at the birds glowing far away, some brighter than others.


    ‘What am I supposed to do? Become a rat for her and her pupil? Rot away in this place? What if there is still a land free of demons?’ Thoughts festered inside his head as he slowly fell to the side, burrowing into the pillow.


    ‘Who am I kidding? Run away?’ Touching the engraving on his chest, moving nowhere, he snorted at himself for having such thoughts.


    “I’m no one anymore, in no place for me,” he muttered under his breath, covering himself with the blanket as he turned to his back, staring at the dark ceiling.


    ‘I’m the only one left from the hero’s party, but what’s the point? They all died because of my selfishness. If I were to reveal it to any person, I would have been staked alive and beheaded with a sword.’


    ‘Yet, who would be stupid enough to believe me? How can a random person be the reason the heroes died ten years ago?’


    ‘Sheila, if only you were here. I’m sure you would have understood immediately. I’m sure you would have realized it’s me from a mere glance.’ As he thought with closed eyes, suddenly they opened themselves, widened to the utmost limit.


    Glaring at the same spot for a couple of breathless moments, something lit up inside his head.


    “Right. The church! The holy capital couldn’t have fallen! I need to get there, but how? With the brand? Is it even possible?’ At the same time, as his thoughts intensified, his eyes sharpened.


    ‘No, no ,no, there must be a way! Didn’t the previous slave also run away? If it''s also the magic she was talking about, there has to be a chance to get away somehow. There must be someone in this city who can help me.’


    ‘I just have to get used to living a slave’s life for now. After I figure myself out and get back to senses from ten years ago, you won’t hold me here forever.’


    Having already closed them shut, even if they no longer glowed, his face took on a newfound determination as his brows furrowed meekly.


    ‘Zyponia un Afiern. I solemnly swear, I will get rid of your shackles, no matter what.’ He mused, grabbing onto the collar before tightening his grasp along with the jaw. Unfortunately, however, nothing happened to the tough metal.


    In the blink of an eye, the pale blanket went flying, flowing like a sea tide before calmly descending back into place.


    Placed at the center of the room, Lutiel stood on the floor with his bare feet, slightly raised using the toes. Turned straight at the window, kept to himself for a moment before wobbling about, jumping up faintly before catching himself seamlessly, with a bit of noise coming out.


    Warming up his ankles, at the same time, he swung his arms up and down in a circular motion. With time, as the skin around his face began to glisten timidly, he stopped. Stretching one arm out above his head, he pulled it to himself with the other a few times before doing the same with the other one.


    Taking hold of his right foot from behind, Lutiel pulled on it up to his buttock, staying that way for a few seconds. Having repeated the same with the other, keeping himself in place calmly, he started jumping, hitting the sprawled out palms with his kneecaps.


    Although a few thuds along with creaking could be heard as he fell down, he continued until a single droplet of sweat dripped along the side of his face.


    Keeping his legs perfectly straight, he grabbed the bottom of his shins and went down, trying to make his face meet the hands that held the legs.


    Stopping a bit before them, however, he remained that way for a while.


    With a couple of droplets going down from his nose to the feet, he sprung back up, using the shirt to clean his forehead a bit. A somewhat ragged breath took over him, but he uttered not a single groan.


    ‘This is basically a new body. Still, not bad for the first time.’


    As he thought so, he leaned all the way to the ground, practically falling yet no harsh sound escaped from beneath the hands. Touching the floor with both hands, as well as his toes, his chest threatened to touch the wood before the arms pushed him off, repeating the motion in quick, concurrent executions.


    Before he could even take a proper breath in the swift, yet silent repetitions, Lutiel already did ten of them. Not daring to stop, he continued, until the very moment his chest lay still on the ground without nudging a single point when he tried to move up.


    ‘I will need a lot of work to go back to my prime.’ A thought pervaded his mind while standing up and placing his feet apart from each other.


    Barely leaving any space between his bottom and the floor, he moved up from the squat to a straight body, soon doing the same for countless times.


    Under the starlight, he trained his body ceaselessly, though, the way he did it, it almost seemed like a simple exercise before the important part.


    The sweat dripped from him as though he was under a rainy sky while barely moving anywhere from the deep squat, falling on his butt to the floor instead.


    The mouth struggled to keep up with the intake of air, but he fought with his body, restraining his voice as much as he could lest the others hear.


    Raising his legs while still sitting on the panels, Lutiel lowered his back before pulling the knees towards his stomach and stretching them out.


    For yet another time, he stopped once he could no longer hold up the muscles of his stomach. Standing up with numerous more struggles than before, without resting, he moved closer to the empty well before him.


    Placing his hands on the floor, he put his legs against the wall, standing up. Moving back to the center of the room using the arms, the slave with a collar around his neck began slowly doing his push ups.


    Although his legs wobbled, they never came close to collapsing down. As the sweat smeared itself across the floor, it seeped into the cracks and wood, though mostly remaining in place with more droplets adding to its size each breath he took.


    Nevertheless, his body heaved up and down, gradually decreasing in pace and intensity before coming to a halt. Clasping his knees together as he remained standing on his head, he slowly rotated back to his feet.


    Regaining his foothold around the room, the space before him practically distorted itself, but his coming back to normalcy hadn’t been prolonged.


    At the same time, Lutiel stood on the toes of his left foot, barely elevated. Turned a bit to the side, the other leg was free, momentarily.


    Slowing himself down deliberately compared to the previous exercises, he stood in place for a while before his right leg finally exploded in velocity, arriving at the destination above his head. However, all of it amounted to merely faltering down and falling to the ground, wriggling with a clenched jaw.


    The grimace spread around his face as gnashed his teeth, grasping onto his right wrist and drilling his fingers into the forearm.


    Sprawling out his right hand that was also clenched, the veins protruding and pulsing, Lutiel glanced at it while struggling to keep his voice in check.


    ‘What is this?’ He growled inwardly while looking at the indiscreet light glowing above the wrist.


    Groaning through the teeth, his breathing became chaotic from clenching the stomach too hard, releasing it as harsh, singular breaths from time to time.


    Looking at the hand, however, his eyes widened after witnessing the thing forming there.


    ‘W-what?’ he mumbled internally, the vision threatening to break up as it hesitated. The sign being drawn with a spreading, sky-blue light around his right hand made his body tremble.