Kai clutched his leg, his back still hurting; it felt like several bones were broken. His hands were bleeding. But he was more concerned about whoever was about to enter the room.
He felt his breath catch, fear consuming him. No one liked to feel torture. He had entered the torture chamber many times, often for things he hadn't done.
Kai widened his eyes when he saw a man in black silk pajamas enter the room. His movements were very calm, but his eyes held a frightening look.
The man was in his thirties, handsome with a muscular build visible through his pajama bottoms that didn't close properly.
Kai lowered his fearful gaze when the man gave him a sharp look. He corrected his sitting position with difficulty, trying to kneel down. At that moment, he noticed that his nose was still dripping blood. He hurriedly wiped it away.
"What did he do, John?" the man asked. The old man from earlier immediately walked in, bowing respectfully.
"Gim found him in front of the house, Master Vlad. He mistook him for a thief and beat him up," John explained.
The man named Vlad walked over, then bent to bring his face closer to Kai's.
Kai looked down in alarm, his hands squeezing nervously. He was surprised when the man's hand grabbed his jaw roughly. His eyes widened to stare at the handsome face of the man in front of him. All he felt was pain in his jaw, but he dared not move.
"John said you were a slave. Do you have a name?" asked Vlad in a deep voice.
Kai had trouble nodding. He answered incoherently, "K-Kai."
Vlad grinned. "Nice name." Then he released his grip and stood back up.
"What are you doing at this time of night in someone's home? I don't like intruders on my property," Vlad asked.
Kai immediately raised his head, his eyes staring desperately. "S-I'm really not stealing, Master. I'm just looking for the master. Please don't torture me..."
Unexpectedly, the man laughed. "If you enter my property, that means you are mine. I'm your master from now on."
Kai stared in confusion. But then he realized that the situation was not good. It was just that, when he wanted to retaliate, he remembered that he shouldn't refuse his master's request.
But that man was not his master!
While Kai was still confused and digesting what he should do, the man was already asking John for something.
Moments later, Kai was left speechless. Vlad pulled Gim's large body to the center of the room, making him collapse in front of him.
Kai jumped in shock. He scrambled in fear. He stared at the man who now looked terrifying. Especially when he saw that the man was holding a whip in his hand.
Kai trembled. He immediately kowtowed, asking for forgiveness. But the next second came the sound of whipping and screaming.
Kai was surprised because the scream came from Gim. The man wasn't whipping him, but Gim! He widened his eyes in shock.
Vlad lashed Gim repeatedly with the whip, making the big man grimace in pain. After more than ten times and some of Gim's clothes were torn, Vlad stopped his whipping. He looked up at the man.
"You are not the rule in this house. You have no right to decide anything in this house. What you did to him was outrageous. You deserve this punishment," Vlad said, pushing the whip into John's hand.
Gim fell to his knees with his body shaking from the pain. "Forgive me, Master. I won't do it again!"
Vlad signaled him to leave. Gim hurriedly ran away from there. Meanwhile, the man approached Kai.
"Whoever you are, wherever you come from, you are now my slave. Master Vlad's slave. Do you understand?" Vlad said, rubbing Kai's head with a little emphasis.
Kai was terrified. He glanced at the whip in John's hand, then nodded resignedly.
"Good boy." He ran his fingers through Kai's hair a little roughly, feeling strand after strand of the slave's hair.
"All you need to remember is that only I can give you orders. And whatever I say, you must do. If you can't fulfill my request, you know what you'll get." Vlad warned him with the punishment he gave Gim.
Kai gulped, nodding in fear. But he had to find a master to buy him.
Then Kai realized—as long as he had a master, wouldn't it not matter? Maybe his new master would treat him better and wouldn't throw him away.
Kai tried to accept his fate.
"Clean him up. Bring him to my room!" Vlad ordered John, then walked out.
***
Sylas was asleep when Alvaro woke him up. He quickly opened his eyes and saw him looking worried.
"What's wrong?" asked Sylas, sitting up. He looked at the window, and it was still dark. Hadn't they agreed to go home in the morning?
"Your slave ran away. He disappeared!" said Alvaro.
Sylas was still trying to collect his thoughts. "Who? Kai? Disappeared?"
They quickly went down to the first floor of the inn. The doctor stood there, looking calm, but his eyes looked worried.
"He's not here?" the doctor asked.
Sylas shook his head. "What happened?"
The doctor explained that he lost Kai when he opened his eyes to get the potion he would use tomorrow, and the slave had disappeared.
They looked around. It was possible that Kai was still nearby. At this time of night, where would he go?
"Can't you use your powers of divination to see where he is?" asked Alvaro. Couldn't the man sense their arrival?
The doctor shook his head. "That's not how it works! I can only sense what might happen, but I can't see someone's exact whereabouts! I'm not a witch!"
Alvaro chuckled. He didn't really care, really. It was just that he felt sorry if the slave was lost in the forest. As a result, he and Sylas searched the entire village, hoping to find Kai.
But until they approached the forest, wandering around several times, they found no sign of the slave at all. Finally, they returned to the inn.
"Never mind, he'll live. Humans are blessed with survival instincts," Alvaro said, calming Sylas.
Sylas was uneasy because he felt guilty. He should have put the slave in a good home and master. He didn't understand why the slave ran away. Or was it because Kai intended to be free regardless of anyone?
If that was the case, he would feel very calm. But right now the slave had disappeared.
"Let's go back inside. It'll be sunrise soon. We have to leave soon," Alvaro said.
"Are you sure he'll be okay?" asked Sylas.
"Of course. What can we do if the slave himself wants to leave? Maybe he's tired of being a slave and wants to be free."
Sylas sighed. "I should have given him some money yesterday."
***
At Vlad's house.
Kai shivered in the cold because the bathroom in the house was separated from the main house. Inside, there were other large houses. Kai was sure he was in Vlad's slave camp.
John gave him a small white cloth. He didn't know what it was for. And he didn't get any more clothes. His clothes were taken away by a woman.
After bathing and cleaning his wounds, Kai trembled as he opened the bathroom door looking for John.
In front of the bathroom was a fifteen-year-old boy. Upon seeing Kai, the boy immediately approached.
"Have you finished bathing?" he asked.
Kai nodded, asking for clothes. However, the boy only pointed to the white cloth in his hand.
"Use that. Can't you use it?" the boy asked.
Kai stood confused, staring at the white cloth. How could he wear a cloth that was only ten centimeters in diameter?
Seeing Kai's confusion, the boy pulled the white cloth from his hand and quickly looped it between Kai's legs and tied it as underwear.
"Oh!" Kai just understood how to wear it. But he only wore that?
"Come on, John said we should clean your wounds. We better hurry—Master Vlad doesn't like to wait!" the boy said excitedly, pulling Kai's hand.
Kai walked barefoot, following. His body was uncovered in the cold night air. He was shivering even more. Why wasn't he given any clothes? Kai really didn't understand.
When they returned to the main house, they passed through several corridors back to the room he was in earlier. There were many rooms lined up there. Kai saw an open room.
His eyes widened to see something—or someone—inside. Whatever it was, it was lying on the floor, unclothed and bound in chains.
Kai's body got goosebumps instantly. His chest was pounding. Looking at his current situation, it seemed like his fate wouldn't be much different.
"You don't need to be afraid. As long as you don't argue with Master Vlad and follow his every whim, you'll be fine. Maybe you'll have trouble in the first week," the boy said when he saw Kai stunned after looking into the room.
Their footsteps were very slow because Kai couldn't walk normally.
Kai was silent, praying silently that he could pass whatever test was in front of his eyes.