Chapter 3

Matilda was sold into slavery when she was not yet ten years old.

The treatment of beastfolk varied by region; some countries treated them no differently from humans, while others persecuted them as slaves, and still others, where beastfolk made up the majority of the population, discriminated against ordinary humans.

The Kingdom of Roadberg could be considered a rather bad place for beastfolk.

It was not as if they were discriminated against by law. Beastfolk could rise to high positions based on their talents, and a very few of them were nobles, knights, or scholars.

However, in general, they were looked down upon as a minority and often placed at 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, barely avoiding being sold into slavery, with no money or education. They had eight children, a characteristic of rabbit people, who often had twins or triplets.

Naturally, they did not have enough money to feed all their children adequately.

The eldest son, who would inherit the family, was given the highest priority, while the other children were inevitably neglected.

Moreover, the youngest children were sold to slave traders as a way to reduce the number of mouths to feed when they reached a certain age.

Matilda, being the fourth daughter, was also sold away from her parents for a single gold coin.

The southern part of the Kingdom of Roadberg was more discriminatory towards beastfolk, while the northern part was more tolerant.

Therefore, Matilda's life as a rabbit person, bought by a noble family in the south, was miserable.

She was a child slave, and a beastfolk at that.

She was given only the jobs that others did not want to do, such as fetching water and cleaning the latrines, and was beaten for any reason. If she cried, it only made things worse, and she would be beaten again.

Losing all hope in life, her body remained alive, but her spirit was dead. At the age of fifteen, she was given a new job: to take care of a young boy.

"--- From now on, you are not to approach the noble family's mansion at all. You are to take care of all the boy's needs. You may treat the slave as you wish, but if you kill him, the cost of a new slave will be deducted from your allowance. That is the master's order."

The head maid, who had dragged Matilda to this place, spoke politely but looked at the boy as if he were filth.

The young boy, the son of the noble family's head, had been isolated from the mansion and was to live in a small cottage at the edge of the estate.

It seemed that she was to be his caretaker.

After giving her the instructions, the head maid left, leaving the boy and Matilda alone.

Ah, this boy will probably hit me next. Or maybe even kill me.

As Matilda thought this, the boy approached her, reached out to her bruised and scarred face, and said gently, "It must hurt. Poor thing," as he stroked her cheek.

......

Whether it was out of sympathy, a whim, or a lack of prejudice against beastfolk, Lord Noein treated her kindly from the moment they met.

She was no longer beaten, and her bruises faded, her skin becoming beautiful. Her once-matted black hair gradually regained its luster.

Moreover, Lord Noein taught her the reading and arithmetic he had learned before being isolated at the age of nine.

As a result, she learned to read, write, and do basic calculations.

Furthermore, Lord Noein read to her from a difficult martial arts guide and broke down the training methods described in it so that she could understand them.

It was his way of using her rabbit person's physical abilities. Thanks to this, despite a lack of practical experience, she was able to learn a systematic method of combat.

She was given her first peaceful life, along with knowledge, and spent her days with him. They talked about many things, and she learned about Lord Noein's situation.

Compared to her previous life, she was given so much kindness and love that, after a few years, it was only natural for her to want to dedicate her body and soul to him.

When she first met Lord Noein, he was still a child, but he grew into a young man.

She gave everything to him, and he accepted it with his whole being. Love is love, even if it was born in a twisted environment and even if there was an unbridgeable gap in status between a noble and a slave.

One day, the Baron Kivireft visited Lord Noein, who had just turned fifteen.

It was to discuss the matter of expelling Lord Noein from the mansion, something he had been told to expect.

"May I take one of the noble family's slaves with me?"

"Is it the rabbit girl who took care of you?"

"Yes."

"......Very well. But the cost of the girl will be deducted from your severance pay."

"Of course, that is fine."

Yes, Lord Noein said he needed her, that he wanted her by his side even after leaving the noble family. He asked for her, not minding the reduction in his severance pay, and did not ask for anything else but her.

Whether it was to develop a frontier or not, she was determined to go with him, whether it was a forest, a wilderness, a battlefield, or even hell.

......

So, we moved to Lord Noein's territory yesterday.

Matilda, who woke up early in the morning when the sky was just beginning to lighten, remembered this as she saw that she was in a tent.

She must have had a dream that made her reflect on her past because of the sense of arrival in this new land.

Looking at her master, who was sleeping soundly beside her, she felt an overwhelming love for him and gently stroked his head.

Although he had come to this place with a determination that bordered on obsession, Lord Noein was still a young man, retaining a certain innocence that could be described as half-boy.

Remembering how he had acted last night, showing his true self and being affectionate, unlike his daytime demeanor as a mature noble, she gathered her scattered clothes from the tent, put them on, and went outside to prepare breakfast.

She poured the milk she had bought in the town of the Baron Koenitz's territory before entering the Bezel Great Forest into a pot, started a fire with a magic item called "Fire Magic: Spark," and boiled the milk. She then added barley to make porridge.

When her master, awakened by the sound and smell, poked his head out of the tent, she greeted him, "Good morning, Lord Noein."

* * *

The book version of "The Twisted Lord's Happy Tale" is now available at bookstores and online retailers nationwide.

With significant additions, this work has deepened from the web version. As an author, I would be delighted if you could welcome it into your hands. Thank you very much.