Mathilda was sold as a slave when she was not even ten years old.
The treatment of beastmen varied greatly depending on the region. Some countries treated them no differently from humans, while others uniformly persecuted them as slaves. Conversely, there were places where beastmen made up the majority of the population and discriminated against ordinary humans.
The Kingdom of Lordberg could be considered unfavorable for beastmen.
It’s not that the laws themselves were discriminatory. Beastmen could rise to prominence based on their talents, and although rare, there were beastmen nobles, knights, and scholars. However, in general, beastmen were scorned as a minority and often relegated to the bottom of the social hierarchy.
Mathilda’s parents, who lived in the southern part of the kingdom, were no exception. They were poor tenant farmers with neither money nor education, barely avoiding falling into slavery themselves. As typical for rabbit people who often had twins or triplets, they had eight children.
Naturally, there wasn’t enough money to feed all the children adequately.
The eldest son, who would inherit the household, was prioritized, while the other children were inevitably neglected.
In fact, the youngest children were sold to slave traders once they reached a certain age to reduce the number of mouths to feed.
Born as the fourth daughter, Mathilda was the epitome of being the least important, and she was easily separated from her family for a single gold coin.
The further south in the Kingdom of Lordberg, the more intense the discrimination against beastmen became, while the north was more tolerant.
Thus, Mathilda, who became a slave in the south and was bought by the local count, faced a miserable existence.
As a child slave who was also a beastman, she wasn’t much of a labor force.
She was forced to do jobs that others didn’t want, like fetching water and cleaning the toilets, and was often beaten for any reason. If she cried, she was beaten again for it.
At the age of fifteen, with no hope left in her life and her spirit almost dead, she was given a new job—to take care of a certain boy.
“From now on, do not approach the count’s mansion and handle all personal matters through this slave. You may treat the slave as you wish, but if you kill her, the cost will be deducted from your living expenses. This is the message from the master.”
The head maid, who dragged Mathilda to this place, spoke politely but looked at the boy with eyes as if she was looking at filth.
For some reason, the boy, who was the son of a nobleman, was isolated from the mansion and lived in a small detached house on the edge of the estate.
Apparently, Mathilda had become his caretaker.
After delivering the message, the head maid left, leaving only the boy and Mathilda behind.
Thinking that this boy might also beat her or even kill her, Mathilda was surprised when he approached her, reached out to her bruised and scarred face, and said,
“It looks painful. Poor thing.”
He said this with a gentle expression, stroking her cheek.
…
Whether it was out of pity, whim, or because he never harbored any discriminatory feelings towards beastmen, Lord Noein had been kind to me from the first time we met.
I was no longer beaten, my bruises healed, and my skin became smooth again. Even my messy black hair gradually regained its luster.
Not only that, Lord Noein taught me the literacy and arithmetic he had learned before he was isolated at the age of nine.
As a result, I became able to read, write, and do basic calculations.
Furthermore, he read to me from difficult martial arts manuals and patiently explained the training methods so that I could understand them.
It was his way of showing love, enabling me to make the most of my physical abilities as a rabbit person. Thanks to him, although lacking actual combat experience, I learned systematic fighting techniques.
I was given my first peaceful life, provided with knowledge, and spent my days with him. We talked about many things, and I learned about his circumstances.
Receiving so much mercy and love, far more than I had ever experienced in my life, it was only natural that, over the years, I came to want to devote myself entirely to him.
When we first met, Lord Noein was still a child, but he eventually grew into a young man.
I literally devoted everything to him, and he accepted it wholeheartedly. Even if born from a distorted environment, and despite the insurmountable status gap between a noble and a slave, love was still love.
One day, when Lord Noein turned fifteen and became an adult, Count Kivileft visited him.
It was about driving Lord Noein out of the mansion, something he had told me to expect.
“May I take one of the count’s slaves with me?”
“Is it the rabbit girl who has been taking care of you?”
“Yes.”
“…Alright, but her cost will be deducted from your severance payment.”
“Of course, I don’t mind.”
Yes, Lord Noein said he needed me, that he wanted me by his side even after leaving the count’s house. He sought me out, caring nothing about the reduction in his severance payment, asking for nothing else but me.
It didn’t matter if it was the frontier or anywhere else. As long as I could be by Lord Noein’s side, I would go to the forest, the wilderness, the battlefield, or even hell.
…
So, we moved to Lord Noein’s territory yesterday.
Mathilda woke up early in the morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, and remembered that she was inside a tent.
The dream of looking back on her past must have been due to the emotion of having reached this new land.
Looking at the face of her master, who was breathing softly in his sleep next to her, she felt an overwhelming love for him and gently stroked his head.
Despite the fierce determination she had brought to this place, Lord Noein still retained some innocence, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say he was still half a boy.
Remembering how he had come to her with his natural expression and sought comfort last night, different from his attempts to act like an adult noble during the day, she picked up her scattered clothes inside the tent, got dressed, and went outside to prepare breakfast.
She poured the milk they had bought in the town of the Viscount of Keinitz before entering the Bezelle Great Forest into a pot, started a fire with the “Fire Magic – Tinder” magical tool, boiled the milk, added barley, and made barley porridge.
Woken by the sound and smell, her master poked his head out of the tent, and she greeted him, “Good morning, Lord Noein.
