However, his eyes turned on Ester. The butler approached his lord's ear and whispered something.

The Guard Lord snapped his fingers after the whispered message.

A soldier who guarded the office entrance entered. Then butler winked at the soldier.

It was a special signal as the soldier took out something from his back.

*Clang

Suddenly, an iron collar with a lock attached to Ester's neck.

[The humans are attacking!]

Vincent and Lupa were bewildered and angered by this.

Vincent gently patted Lupa's head with his angered trembling hand. He tried to act cool and calm, unlike his enraged heart.

Ester quickly understood she became a slave. She started crying while trying to remove the iron collar.

*Slap

"This slave dares to remove the collar before me!" The Guard Lord went in front of Ester and slapped her in the face.

Ester tumbled and fell on the floor. Suddenly she had a strange expression.

"Hmm... The slave collar has started acting to suppress her rebellious behavior." The Guard Lord said with a smile pleased by the result.

Lupa was about to growl in anger when she felt her skin held by a tight grip. Vincent clenched his hand on her back while he tried to calm Lupa and himself.

Vincent somehow managed to keep his cool and stood still, waiting for the right opportunity to speak. However, the situation turned worse.

"This slave needs to be taught a lesson." The butler smiled with a face full of lust.

'This is too much! Ester looks like she has been drugged. Isn't the slave collar a piece of iron?' Vincent thought with anger.

"My Lord, she helped me, so may I know what is happening." Vincent couldn't take it anymore. His blood boiled in anger from what he witnessed.

The butler swiftly unsheathed his rapier and placed it in front of Vincent's neck in mere seconds.

Soon, the butler emitted a murderous aura making Vincent and Lupa flinch in fear.

The Guard Lord went in front of Vincent and ordered his butler to unsheathe his sword.

"Trek lost a gamble and offered her up when he lost two days ago. Now she came here to become my slave as promised..." The Guard Lord stopped for a moment, then continued, "Although I might give this injured freak to the soldiers."

Vincent quickly understood the situation. Now he needed to use his brain for a solution as the situation turned darker by the second.

Lupa was going to get killed, Ester had just become a slave, and his future still unknown.

"My Lord, we are injured because three gray wolves attacked the cabin. They killed the Trek and somehow managed to survive. Outside is a cart with the remains of Trek and the three gray wolves."

The Guard Lord turned his gaze at Vincent with his brows raised in surprise. After he heard about the gray wolves, he seemed interested.

"How much for them." The Guard Lord asked for a price.

'Can I reason with this noble? He seems interested in animals.'

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Vincent gulped as he thought of this. This seemed to be the only card left to play before the cabin document trump card.

"I wish to exchange them for this injured slave." Vincent looked at Ester. She was still on the floor silent in fear and whatever the collar had done to her.

"No deal. Her collar costs more then the wolves combined." The Guard Lord scoffed at his offer.

"I can add this bag of salt." Vincent picked up the small bag of salt that Ester said costs around two silver.

"Are you trying to buy a slave with such a common item?" The butler added as he held his rapier with a tight grip.

'The fake inheritance document... My last way out of this situation.'

Vincent quickly took out the piece of paper written by him.

"My Lord, I also have this deed to the deceased Trek's property. Trek lost a gambling match to me with this document as collateral." Vincent pulled out the fake document and then continued, "Luckily, we met with a noble. The noble then wrote this inheritance document... Now that Trek died, the property has become mine."

The butler, with an arrogant manner, took the fake document and read it. "My Lord, it seems this document is valid, but it's written a bit strange."

"Did you write this." The butler said as he glared at Vincent with contempt. His gaze felt like it could pierce his soul.

"I can't read or write. The noble should have written what I mentioned." Vincent shook his head. He acted as if he didn't know the contents of the document.

The butler passed the document to the Guard Lord. His face showed greed while he arched his lips to a sly smile.

"There's no mention to whom the property would go to after his death. I could confiscate this document for the good of this village." The Guard Lord said with a frown.

His expression, unlike the disgusting butler, didn't lie.

'Ester wanted to place the cabin in my name, which turned out good since she became a slave to the noble.'

'But... Did I forget to add myself as the receiver of the cabin as well?'

Vincent couldn't backtrack on his words. He had to keep his act of not being able to read or write.

"Then, my honorable Lord, I will give you the salt, the three gray wolves, and the document for the property. Also, a special bonus." Vincent concocted a plan when he remembered how the gray wolves were terrifying the village.

"Special bonus?" The Guard Lord asked, filled with curiosity.

"I can give you a suggestion worth more than the items offered. It's priceless since it will make you respected by the people of this village." Vincent said this offer with all his hopes. It was a sink or swim idea.

"Hump. A commoner that knows politics. What a joke. Don't listen to him my Lord. It's a lie." The butler interrupted while mocking Vincent for not being a noble.

However, Vincent had enough of the butler's tongue.

"My Lord. Does your butler represent you? How can he talk in your stead? My offer will give you a lot of favorable reputation and has nothing to do with politics. People respect those that help them. People will do anything for those they respect." Vincent didn't mince his words while his head bowed down in respect showing his honesty.

He didn't care about the murderous aura directed at him as it felt like nothing compared to what the great gray wolf had.

The Guard Lord had a conflicting expression. He usually let his butler help him make the right choice. This time he felt reputation would bring him more profit and greatly enticed him.

The Guard Lord raised his hand, and the butler stopped.

"I'm a man of my words. Tell me, what is this plan to increase my reputation?" The deal seemed halfway done as the Guard Lord became interested.

A few minutes later, the Guard Lord produced a joyous laugh. He was happy by what Vincent suggested.

"If at least half of the crowd praises me, then the deal is accepted." The Guard Lord clapped his hands. Soon a different soldier entered.

"Prepare the podium and tell the villagers to gather. I have an important announcement to make." As soon as he stopped talking, the soldier saluted and rushed to prepare.

Half an hour later.

The Guard Lord and the butler stood on the podium. As per his instructions, a large crowd of villagers gathered.

The butler took a step forward and shouted, "Our honorable Guard Lord is protecting his people. Everyone knows about the recent cases of the gray wolves, right?"

The butler snapped his finger and pointed on his right.

The crowd turned their gaze to where his hand pointed. There they saw the corpses of three gray wolves hanging with chains.

"The wolves attacked and terrorized our great village. However, our honorable Guard Lord has taken action to protect his people from harm. Tell me, are you his people?" The butler shouted as his question caused a ruckus of cheers and admiration.

"Guard Lord is our savior, thank the dragons!"

"Our Guard Lord protects us! We will follow you!"

"The Guard Lord is keeping us safe! Praise our savior!"

The crowd went wild with cheers. There was no need to count; almost everyone shouted. Even some soldiers that didn't know who brought the gray wolves joined in.

After a few minutes of the butler exciting the crowd, the announcement ended.

The crowd kept cheering, praising, and thanking their Guard Lord for thinking about and protecting them.

A while later. The Guard Lord, the butler, and Vincent returned to the Guard Lord's room. Lupa and Ester were still there with a soldier keeping an eye on them.

"The result was better than I expected. I didn't think a few words could make the people respect me this much. " The Guard Lord said with a face filled with excitement and greed.

Then he snapped his fingers. The butler rushed to the desk and brought back something in his hands.

"I will honor our deal." The Guard Lord approached Ester. Then he ordered his butler to remove her collar.

Surprisingly, a black tattoo around her neck came to view. It was almost like a collar made in ink.

The Guard Lord held a needle in his hand, and with a swift poke, he let a drop of his blood fall on the black slave tattoo.

"I willingly accept to pass my rights of this slave to the owner of the next drop of blood. " As this command was given, the slave tattoo shined deep purple.

"Poke your finger with this, and the salve is yours." The butler gave Vincent a toothpick.

Upon closer inspection, it was thin like a needle but made out of wood. It was sturdy like an iron needle as it didn't bend or break. Made with magic was the most probable answer.

A drop of his blood fell on Ester's slave tattoo.

The shine stoped and became black again. Ester didn't seem to suffer anymore, and her expression became calmer.

"The slave is now yours." The Guard Lord said. Then he waved his hand while going back to his desk.

"For now, the effect of the slave obedience curse has reset, which means she will not suffer anymore unless she resists again. Take this slave and leave commoner." The butler arrogantly shooed the two away.

"Everything is ok now. " Vincent whispered in her ear while he lifted her and took the collar, lock, and key. It was a way to show his intention to leave Ester as a slave. He didn't want unnecessary questions.

Vincent, Ester in his arms, and Lupa exited the tower. The cart was still there, but it was empty. The soldiers must have taken Trek bones with them.

He gently placed Ester in the cart and started pulling to leave this horrible village.

[Is Ester going to be ok?]

Lupa asked with a worried frown. She had gotten used to tease Ester and was happy by her company.

"Yes, my little wolf. Ester should be fine now." Vincent also felt worried. He couldn't heal her for now.