"Mela... was it?" Azar asked as the maid slowly raised her eyes.

Azar could see her pupils shrink in fear.

Around her neck, he could also see a long healed scar.

Azar took a sharp breath.

"Tell me about this place... and what they did to you," Azar asked softly as Mela trembled.

Hearing those words brought back dark memories she desperately wished to forget.

"Young Master... did I do something wrong?"

Mela crawled toward Azar as she stretched both hands toward his feet, but at the last moment, she stopped herself, her body shivering violently.

Around her palms, Azar noticed several scars and scabs as he gently held her hand.

"Mela... sit down and tell me," Azar muttered quietly as he used a spell to lift Mela effortlessly from the ground onto the bed.

The instant Mela realized she was sitting on Azar’s bed, she tried to stand up immediately, but Azar grabbed her tightly, his eyes turning cold.

Finally, after a brief struggle, she stopped trying to rise, though she still could not bring herself to look at him.

The more she reacted this way, the more pain Azar felt in his heart.

He realized that the way she looked at him was filled with pure fear...

A reminder that he too was a noble.

He was not a commoner.

He had to admit that.

But...

He had not expected things to be this bad.

And it became even worse once she finally began speaking.

Azar’s expression grew colder and colder until she finished speaking and hurriedly bowed once more.

"Master, I’m sorry, I didn’t—"

"Mela..."

Azar spoke softly as the coldness in his expression faded slightly and his clenched fists slowly loosened.

"M-master..." Mela replied quietly.

She did not even know why she had revealed what had happened to her in the past.

Fear filled her heart.

Would this noble take it as disrespect?

What was she thinking?

Did she want to experience even worse horrors?

Just as Mela’s thoughts spiraled out of control, she suddenly felt a warm hand gently grab hers.

"Whatever happened... happened in the past. In a past where nobles were treated like gods and allowed to do whatever they wanted," Azar paused briefly.

"I promise you... from now on, you will never be treated like that again. And in the future, I will make sure no one else suffers like this because of nobles," Azar said firmly.

Mela’s mind went blank.

When had anyone ever cared about whether she lived or died?

She had never experienced love from anyone.

To others, she was nothing more than something useless... a toy for nobles.

Treated worse than a pig.

For a brief moment, her eyes lit up.

But then Azar noticed her fingers twitch slightly as her gaze dulled once more.

"...Master," Mela called softly.

"If you wanted to sleep with me... you didn’t have to go through all that trouble."

Mela smiled gently as she stood up and slowly began removing her clothes.

"Mela belongs to you anyway. You can do whatever you want, Master," she said with a smile.

But Azar felt his heartbeat skip violently.

She... she was smiling.

Yet that smile looked worse than crying.

It was a smile filled with hopelessness, madness, and pain.

Azar remembered everything Mela had told him.

How she had been used.

Played with.

Punished.

For the first time, he was truly exposed to a darkness he had never known existed.

At first, Azar could hardly believe it.

But...

"Mela..." Azar tried to speak, but his words stopped as he stared at her body.

From top to bottom, her body was covered in scars.

Each scar struck Azar like a devastating blow, showing him a side of human cruelty he had never known before.

His heart felt heavy.

His thoughts stretched endlessly.

He felt disappointed in humanity itself, but...

What was she wearing?

Azar could not take his eyes away.

After all, he was only just approaching adulthood.

Since childhood, he had focused solely on becoming a Magi and growing stronger. He had avoided intimate interactions with women entirely.

So for him...

This was new.

No...

This was overwhelming.

His gaze remained fixed on her body as he found himself increasingly drawn in.

Especially by the thin clothing covering her figure.

It concealed her private parts, yet still revealed enough to make Azar’s blood rush uncontrollably.

"I..." Azar stood frozen, not knowing what to say or do as his eyes remained glued to her body.

Seeing this, Mela smiled faintly.

She had expected this.

Azar was just like the others.

She had never expected anything different.

Slowly, she lowered her head.

She expected to be ravaged like an animal next.

But instead....

A warm body suddenly embraced hers as strong arms wrapped tightly around her.

Mela’s mind went blank.

"I will protect you..." Azar mumbled softly.

Mela felt her heartbeat skip as an emotion she had never experienced before surged through her chest.

After a while, Azar finally released the hug.

Blushing slightly, he quickly grabbed his battle suit and rushed outside the tent.

Mela stood frozen in place, staring blankly ahead, unsure of what she had just experienced.

Was it a dream? 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Was she hallucinating?

Or had she fainted?

But then she remembered the faint blush on Azar’s face.

Her eyes widened even more as she smiled slightly.

She had felt something pressing against her while they hugged.

Combined with Azar’s flustered expression and youthful face...

Did that mean he was...?

But even then, he still restrained himself.

He had not allowed lust to control him.

For Mela, this was something entirely new.

But before she could continue thinking....

"Don’t forget to eat the food," Azar’s voice suddenly came from outside.

Mela’s lips curved upward slightly.

She turned back toward the food she had prepared, though her eyes trembled faintly.

"But... you haven’t even tasted it yet..." Mela whispered softly.

Earlier, when she had heard she would be serving a new master after her previous noble master had disappeared, she had prepared herself.

Part of that preparation had been the revealing undergarments she wore.

The other part had been the dish she prepared.

All of it was meant to satisfy her new master.

But...

Was Azar different from the others?

Honestly, Mela could not tell.

Perhaps he was only pretending.

But another thought had already begun forming in her mind.

What if she had finally met a noble who truly saw her as a human being?

Once that thought was planted in her heart, she found herself unable to remove it.

---

Outside, Azar rushed toward the outer wall.

He had almost forgotten about heading to the frontline.

Hurriedly putting on his clothes, Azar leapt over the wall and was met with a large hovering platform.

Unlike the giant ship, this one was several levels smaller, an open flat surface roughly a hundred meters wide.

And there was not just one.

Thousands of them were spread throughout the camp.

At this moment, soldiers dressed in enchanted battle suits, mana swirling around their bodies, were boarding the platforms.

"Hey! Hey!" the guards shouted.

But Azar quickly cast another spell, instantly doubling his speed.

Then Azar jumped, barely making it onto the last hovering platform.

"I made it..." Azar said while panting heavily, a smile appearing on his face as he stood up and dusted off his clothes.

But the moment he looked forward...

He was met with hateful glares and murderous intent.

"A noble came here just to bully us?"

"Was what you people do at the camp not enough?"

"What now...? Do you want us to kill for you too?"

Instantly, Azar was met with countless voices filled with anger and resentment.