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I wasn’t supposed to care. I had every intention not to. But how could I send Salas to the back-breaking labor again and to any potential punishments with a whip now? How could I live, knowing what he would be going through daily for the next two years?

“He is a person, isn’t he?” I said. “Born free, like all of us in Rorrim. Why is it so wrong of me to want to give him his freedom back?”

“Are you sure there is nothing more behind that wish of yours?” the queen probed.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been perfectly aware of the purpose of our arrangement from the beginning. I’ve successfully avoided getting to know him more than necessary for that purpose. There is no attachment or any deep affection between us, if that’s what you’re implying. I am fully prepared to part from him for good. Rest assured, Mother, there is nothing ‘more’ that the crown should worry about.”

“It’s smart of you to remember that.” Mother nodded. “But I didn’t expect anything less thansmartfrom my daughter.”

“Mother, I’ll never see him again. But he will be out there somewhere, living his life, and I want that life to be good.”

Doubt crossed the queen’s features.

“You do realize that freedom will not guarantee it for him? What made him a slave in the first place can very well bring him back to an owner again. Many slaves see their servitude as a solution, not a problem.”

“I understand that. I know that I can’t keep watching over him indefinitely or foresee all possible pitfalls in his future. Ultimately, Salas is not my responsibility. But there is one thing I can do for him right now, and I want to do it. I want to pay off his debt. All of it.”

“I see.” Cupping her chin, she seemed to consider it. “The request and the money will have to come from me,” she finally said.

“From you?”

“Yes.” She nodded firmly. “You’ve already argued on his behalf in front of the council once. Doing it again woulddefinitely imply a connection between you and him. It is better if I champion his case instead of you this time.”

Breath rushed out of me with relief.

“Will you, Mother? Really?”

“I can present buying out his freedom as a gesture of gratitude for ‘mentoring’ services rendered. There will be nothing personal behind us paying off his debts.”

“Thank you.” I pressed my hands to my chest.

She looked at me sternly.

“You will have to end all associations with this man in the future.”

“That is the plan, Mother.”

“Has our agreement with him been fulfilled?”

“Almost. I... I just need one more night.”

Some things couldn’t be rushed, like Salas said. One more night with him won’t solve all my problems and magically erase all my inhibitions. I didn’t believe it’d even bring me much closer to losing my virginity. But I wanted to at least say goodbye to him. I had to see him one more time.

“All right,” Mother conceded. “Ask Gem to arrange it. But from then on, we shall focus on securing you the best marriage match possible. You don’t need any complications that may potentially spoil things for you in that matter.”

“I have no intentions of maintaining any kind of association with Salas in the future,” I promised.

There simply was no form in which we could continue “associating” with each other. And once the work on the palace had been completed, the slave owner would move her group elsewhere. Realistically, there’d even be no chance for me to run into Salas ever again.

“Very well.” Mother seemed satisfied with my reassurances. “Since I have you here this morning, why don’t we go see your father?” She rose from her chair, putting away the speech shewas working on. “I would like for you to see the portraits of the potential grooms we have selected and to hear your opinion about them. There is still some time before the council session.”

This was not how I planned to spend this morning. But she had just agreed to “champion” Salas’s case for me, the least I could do was to look at those portraits.

“Alright. Let’s go see Father. Where is he?”

“In his parlor, I assume.”

Father’s rooms occupied the gentleman’s wing of the queen’s palace. The front room of the wing served as his personal parlor where he received his gentlemen-in-waiting on the evenings when the queen was preoccupied elsewhere, and he was not required to accompany her.