To survive death multiple times was a rare occurrence for people. People who have escaped death were lucky and blessed by the gods. However, was it really a blessing? Or a curse for them to continue the endless suffering given by the higher beings?
No one was really sure, since life is suffering itself.
A man carried a child by the hair and carried it up, in his other hand was another child getting dragged around the ground. The rough concrete grazed the child's legs, he bit his lips trying to endure the pain. If he cries then he might get killed.
"Bastard, be careful not to damage them!" Another man yelled, one of the people handling the slaves.
"Then throw the trash away if it's disliked by the customer!"
"That kid is expensive! That's a royal!"
A few others turned around, unaware of the fact that the slave was royalty, "Won't that kid's family come to get us?"
The man burst out laughing, "This trash has no family! They're all dead!"
The Kingdom of Ruinia was wiped from the map after it was destroyed by the Empire of Perisia. The Ruinia Kingdom which was ruled by Rowan Florenzo ZeTian betrayed the Emperor and so the emperor ordered the family to be killed.
However, the 3-year-old prince did not know what was happening. His mother, the Queen, fooled him into thinking that they were playing hide and seek with the older princesses. By the time he was found, the child was scared by the sight of unfamiliar faces. He lost consciousness and as he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by children covered in dirt and bruises.
He spent two years being slaved around until the men decided to sell them off after using them. Now a new customer has arrived, wanting to see them all so he could choose.
"His family is dead, so he has no worth as a royal! Why is he still expensive?"
"Are you stupid?" He pulled the child up and grabbed his cheeks to show his face to the man he was talking to, "Look at this face, it's worth a lot!"
The men stopped laughing and came out of the room. They put the kids in front of the noble sitting on the sofa. "All of you kneel!" And so they did.
"These children are our finest ones! What do you think, Sir? Surely there would be one you'd like?"
The noble looked at all of the children and his gaze stopped at the one that caught his attention. The corner of his lips raised into a smirk and he grinned.
"You there." He called the former prince, gesturing with his hand to come to him.
The child's empty eyes were suddenly filled with fear when he saw the man having a lewd look on his face while staring at him. He knew he was bound to be bought or taken away sooner or later because he was a slave. He does not know what will happen to him, but that's exactly what scares him the most.
The child lowered his head, avoiding to meet his gaze as he approached him, trembling. The man caressed his face, and the small child's tears kept flowing nonstop out of fear but kept silent.
The man blushed upon seeing the kid's crying face. "P-pretty..."
His body moved on its own, immediately backing away from the man. The expression on the man's face changed and he stood up. He grabbed his hair and made him kneel before him.
The noble showered him with gold coins, "I bought you, now you are mine!"
The kid couldn't even hide the fear and disgust on his face, he felt like his life had ended as he stared at the gold on the ground.
He survived, but for what? Only to become a slave and be bought by a noble in his thirties, at the age of 5?
He would rather have died together with his family. He wished he didn't survive. Would you blame him for thinking this way?
Suddenly, he heard faint sobs of the children behind him. He turned to look at them and found their faces darkening, yet somehow relieved. What on earth happened?
He returned his gaze to the front and his eyes widened to see that the men who used to slave them around, were scattered on the ground, unconscious.
The noble who wanted to buy him didn't seem like he was aware of what happened yet. It happened too quickly, he didn't even hear a sound.
"What's with that face? Are you scared?" The man asked. The corner of his lip turned up again, "Don't worry, dear. I will take good care of you."
The man's smirk disappeared when he felt a blade on his neck. One wrong move and he might lose not only his money but his head. He gritted his teeth in anger, yet feared the blade that could end his life at any moment.
"How dare you do this to a noble, w-who are you?!"
A knight appeared in front of him, "Do not raise your voice at His Majesty."
The noble froze, H-His majesty? How could he be here?!
It was a coincidence that Her Highness the concubine, Beliane de Sinclair Percival, wanted to go outside with the emperor. Until one of the knights reported that they saw Viscount Horne meeting with suspicious men.
Lucretius Heinrizt de Sinclair Percival, the emperor, loved the Imperial Concubine to the point where he agreed to go outside the palace, which he does not normally do. That was why it was a surprise for the Viscount to hear that the emperor was here.
The Viscount did not dare to move an inch, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he could not even give a proper greeting at the state he was in.
"Viscount Horne, do you think we are not aware of all the acts you have been doing these days?"
The emperor's voice sounded cold, it sent a chill down his spine. He was calm, yet obviously displeased.
"Y-your Majesty, I am simply helping children get out of this hell of a place. They are being slaved around here at such a young age, I am buying some from time to time t-to bring them to my estate. They have shelter, food, all they could need!"
The emperor removed the blade from his neck, and the noble immediately turned around to bow down to him. There was a slight smile when he lowered his head, did His Majesty buy that excuse? How easy it was to earn a chance to get away with it, he thought.
"If you truly wanted to help them, you would have reported this to me. Do you not have enough power to bring down this slavery?"
He narrowed his eyes, "Do you know the consequence of trying to fool an emperor?"
Despite being a lovable partner to the concubine, he was a merciless ruler. He looked at the knight and gestured, "Jail him and remove his title."
"Y-your Majesty! I beg of you, please forgive me! Forgive me, Your Majesty."
"I am being kind enough to not execute you on the spot."
"Kneel and show your gratitude!" The knight shouted.
"I thank His Majesty for his g-generosity."
"Take him away."
The servants bowed before him and left with the noble in their hold. The imperial concubine approached him, "I apologize, I wanted to bring you out to lessen the stress but—
"It is all right, I understand your intention. You do not have to worry." Emperor Lucretius told her. "If I was not outside, that viscount would have done worse."
Lady Beliane looked around and stared at the children, "What will you do with them now?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"If possible, have your people look if they have families so they could return. If not, we can give them to the orphanage for adoption. I will have my servant see to it to make sure they are not abused in the orphanage."
It was a blessing to the children for the concubine to be so kind. If it's not them who appeared, their lives could have been easily ruined.
"That is indeed better than being sold, I'll allow it." He gestured to the other servants and they helped the children.
But one child remained on the ground, surrounded by gold. The lady's brows furrowed and she squatted down to level with the child, "Child..."
"Your Highness, please stand up!" her lady-in-waiting said but the concubine ignored her.
"What is your name?"
The child stayed silent and bit his lips, holding back his tears. "I don't want my name, I don't want to remember my past. I-I want to forget it all..."
For a child to be enslaved and showered with gold, it must have been traumatizing. "Then I can give you a chance to start anew."
The child stared at the lady, confused by her words but she just smiled.
Lady Beliane held the emperor, "Aren't his features a bit similar to yours?"
"Hmm, I guess it does. What are you thinking?"
"I want a child, Your Majesty. You know I have a problem bearing one."
The emperor stared at the child, he was hesitating. Not a single drop of the child's blood was his. How could he take him in?
But he knew how sad his concubine was to be unable to conceive his child. If having one could lessen that sadness, even if it's not related by blood, then he could allow it.
The features are similar to his, so it would be easy to make up a lie about his origin and that he was really his child with the concubine.
"All right."
"Really?"
"It's your wish."
The imperial concubine hugged the emperor, "I am truly happy, Your Majesty. Thank you."
The child stared into the space, in a daze listening to their conversation. He could not believe it, maybe he understood it wrong.
The lady held his hand, "Child, from now on, you are our son."
To think that the concubine would take interest in him, to think that the emperor adopted him!
He survived...again.
