Chapter 28: Someone help!

Kara’s POV:

It has been over a year and a half since I had dropped out of the school when I was forcibly sold to the slave market as a lowly orphan black slave. But today, fate brought me back here again…

I nervously walked out of the car following Raphael. On our way to the school, he stayed very reserved as I always knew Raphael was a guy of few words from before. Since that day when he had lashed out at me, I always felt shameful to even look into his eyes directly, bearing the guilt in my heart that I had bedded with his father…

Honestly, I never thought I would get a chance again to talk to him…but I still do not understand why would he want me to accompany him to school all of a sudden.

As I walked through the hallway, I figured out gazes of all the noble children surrounding us were solely fixated on me. I was the only black-haired girl there…and I couldn’t gather the courage to meet their gazes, wondering if they must have been scowling at me already.

But as if Raphael had sensed me getting tensed up behind him, so he paused his motion and turned around towards me. He patted my shoulder, and uttered in a low, deep voice, “Kara, don’t feel anxious. I know, Dad has permitted you to attend the school with me as my slave, but Kara…once we stepped inside, I won’t consider you as my slave here.”

His warm compassionate words startled me as I couldn’t help but stare at him blankly. Watching him selflessly granting me a chance to live like a normal student which I had always wanted, made me feel overwhelmed.

“T-Thank you, Raph—”

“Raphy!”

But before I could finish my greeting, a jovial feminine voice startled us in the hallway, making both of us avert our eyes. I saw Miss Catherine, in short Cathy, the youngest daughter of the retired Knight Sir Morpean, and also the School Council President. She ran towards Raphael with an endearing smile towards him.

I knew Cathy from before, as a she-beta, she belonged from a very respectable and powerful noble family, and the whole school knew about her crush on Raphael. Except Raphael who never greeted her apart from his usual stoic expression.

“Good morning, Catherine.” Raphael looked a little irked from his expression when he faced her.

“Come on, I have told you countless times to call me Cathy, but you always…Wait…isn’t this that black slave who had dropped out before? What is she doing with you?” She was smiling jovially at him, but the moment she noticed me standing behind him, her smile faded into a dark grimace, when she scorned at me, “How dare she take a step inside our school premises?”

With that howl, she was about to march angrily towards me but Raphael guarded me like a giant shield and stopped Cathy from approaching close, “She will be attending the school with me regularly from now on. She had to drop out before due to an unfortunate incident, but now she will be continuing her studies like a regular student.”

“Y-You must be kidding me, right?” A furious sneer curved her red lips when Cathy rolled her raging eyes at me, “She’s a black slave and they are prohibited from any rights to education! This is a royal order imposed by Her Majesty…and…being the son of Grand Duke himself, are you seriously disregarding it!?”

“N-No, I-I am not here as a r-regular student…” Sensing everyone’s hostile glare was focused on Raphael now, I knew I must step inside to control the damage. Nervously I tried to elaborate, “I will be attending school only as his p-personal servant. I do not wish to d-do anything else, so please don’t misunderstand him, Cathy—”

“How dare you take my name from your lowly mouth?” But before I could finish, Cathy growled at me like a fierce beast.

Gritting her jaws, she raised her arm as if she was about to slap me, but Raphael immediately grabbed her hand in air, before he grunted, “Don’t you dare to touch her, Cathy. Otherwise, I will never see your face again!”

Raphael’s angry warning made her a bit anxious as she couldn’t stop narrowing her death glare on me. Without a word, she walked away from us in the opposite direction, but all the other students surrounding us were whispering with their scornful glare on us.

~ “Is he seriously doing this being as Grand Duke Orville’s son? Does he wants his father to get a death penalty for defying the royal command?”

The second I heard those intense words around me, I panicked inside just from the thought of Grand Duke facing a fatal punishment due to the reason that I came to school!

My hands and legs started shivering and I tried to run away outside, but Raphael grabbed my hand, forbidding me from doing so as he grunted, “Don’t try to run away when we have come this far, Kara. Be brave and do what you have always wished for!”

Yes, I loved studying, but I did not want to cause grave trouble for the Grand Duke due to my own selfishness! The internal thoughts made my stomach ache again, making me feel nauseous.

I requested Raphael to go to the class first, and I will follow him soon after coming back from the washroom. He hesitantly agreed but seemed quite concerned for me.

Upon walking inside the school washroom, I washed my face with cold water and tried to calm myself down while my heart was thumping hard in fear.

But when I was lost in my thoughts, I heard the sound of someone walking behind me and before I could realize it, someone kicked me hard on my waist!

I collapsed down on the floor from that hit and before I could see who it was, a young girl of around my age kicked me violently on my stomach! I winced with a loud gasp, clenching my stomach which was aching very painfully from the kick.

However, the perpetrator girl who was wearing a black mask to cover her lower face, and a loose outer jacket to hide her hair glowered her brown eyes at me before she howled, “If you dare to show up again in school, we will kill you next time!”

She walked away from the washroom after threatening me but I was groaning behind for help.

From the severe pain in my stomach, I started coughing out blood and was on the verge of fainting.

But at that moment, someone tall and masculine walked through the door and hurriedly picked me up in his sturdy arms. I couldn’t recognize this unknown man’s face through my blurred vision, but clenching my hands over my stomach, I quivered before I passed out…

“W-Where are y-you taking me? S-Someone…help?”