Until his parents were murdered because of the massive reflux.
Shine, survive.
The knights and soldiers always guarded and defended the dungeon, but on that day of the reflux, monsters pushed into the streets where common people lived.
To protect his family, his father lifted a weapon, and died with his arms and legs chewed off by a two-mouthed monster.
His mother caught the attention of the monsters to save Shine, and was killed by an arrow from a goblin archer.
You have to live, Shine.
The last words of his parents firmly stuck themselves into Shineâs chest.
Shine, who originally resented his weak body and had no desire to live, began to long for life and strength when he lost his parents.
He ran away desperately. Somewhere, where there were many people, where the knights and soldiers could rescue him⊠he ran and ran on his weak legs.
His small frame helped him avoid monsters, avoid arrows and fireballs flying all around him.
He fled.
âHey, a survivor!â
âCome on here; itâs safe here!â
âBreathe. Rest. Sorry, we are late. Thank you for being alive.â
His parentsâ sacrifice was not in vain. He survived. The Marquis has responded with full force, the dungeon reflux was finally suppressed, and the boy was rescued by the soldiers.
Survive.
For revenge.
The day his parents died and left him alone in the world, Shine had two desires.
To survive and avenge his parentsâ deaths.
He sold himself to the slave market. He knew he could not survive on his own. It was the only way he could live.
The exchange manager noticed his determination.
âIâm not going to push you. Do you understand what youâre signing up for?â
âYes. I came here to live. Please sell me.â
Shine was led to a small but clean room. There was another child inside.
A small child with eerie red-eyes and black hair like him.
The two looked at each other and immediately recognized that they were not enemies.
It was a very strange sensation.
âYou too?â
âHuh.â
That was enough. They didnât even know each otherâs full name, but they sat beside each other.
They were under the same situation and intuitively knew that the only people they can depend on right now was each other.
Soon, the space got full of other children.
Unlike them, these other children were normal, and they soon noticed that the two children with black hair were very weak.
At that moment, the bullying began.
âLook, he canât even stand up properly.â
âThis is why he canât work properly wherever he goes.â
âBut both faces are pretty. They said that there are separate places to go.â
âHahaha, look at those legs.â
All the children sold to the slave market were emotionally anxious.
The two weaklings were just perfect as outlets for other children to put their stress on.
âLook at this babyâs eyes. This is justâŠâ
They learned that the greater the resistance, the more fun the bullies found it to be, so the two children learned to suffer without moaning or screaming.
One day, Shine realized that the little child was a girl, and he started to protect her as much as possible.
They were weaker than ordinary people, but her physical condition was worse than his.
âThis will not kill me. How are you?â
âI will survive.â
âMe too.â
The two children nodded, facing each other in the darkness.
Their fellowship sprouted.
Since then, the two have been sticking together and protecting each other.
Then, that day came.
âWhatâs happening? Why is it noisy everywhere?â
âA high-ranking person is here. Whoa.â
âLet me see, oh, is that him? Heâs small.â
âHeâs the second master of the city! Wow, very handsome!â
âReally handsome⊠but his hair is black like those two.â
âBut heâs not like that. Heâs a high-ranking person. Look at those eyes. Purple eyes. Symbolizing nobility!â
Shineâs curiosity rose with the other childrenâs chatter.
Black hair, too?
But what does it matter? Heâs different from us. We are slaves; heâs a noble; we are weak; he is strong. We are poor; he has a lot of money.
Just then, the door opened wide, and the exchange manager entered.
He was visibly nervous. Was it nerve-wracking to deal with a high-ranking aristocrat? It was a little funny.
âMaster Evan of the Sherden family came. He is looking for a child of an age similar to himself. If you are chosen by him, your life will be decent, and hopefully you will live a better life than me. Do you know what Iâm talking about? Show me well.â
Childrenâs eyes twinkled.
Everyone was smiling and in a good mood, but when the manager saw Shine and Belois at the corner of the room, his face froze and ignored them.
Everyone went out of the room, except them.
When they came back, everyone was upset and disappointed.
The exchange manager went back and beckoned them.
âThe Master wants to see youâŠâ
Us?
âFollow me.â The manager didnât explain anything.
Shine and Belois were confused and followed him.
They felt the other childrenâs poisonous gazes at their backs, but they didnât care about it now.
They came to face the child they called Master.
â⊠⊠Dyne.â
He stared at them.
âI need two.â
The boy with the most beautiful eyes in the world.
âBoth of them â I need them.â
For the first time in his life, someone said he needed him.
â⊠⊠Will you walk me your fate with me?â
Someone declared that he would fulfill their desires freely.
A child who will be his master for life.
âWake up, Shine!â
Shine rose to see the bearded gorilla in front of him.
âWhat are you thinking blankly about? Stand up! With such disrespect, the Marquisâ butler mission cannot be fulfilled!â
Shine was frightened by the approaching gorillaâs face and tried to raise his body, but it felt too heavy to move properly.
Itâs natural for him. He had been running for hours.
The gorilla continued ranting.
âIâve been told to be prepared, but this kid is really fragile. Where can I use this guy?
âMartial artsâŠâ
As soon as the words escaped his lips, Shine instinctively bit his lips and forced himself to stand up.
His mind was full of thoughts. He couldnât betray the Master who trusted him.
I will grow beyond his expectation and surprise this gorilla who seemed to know everything!
âYeah, well done. The butler of Marquis Sherden should be able to serve even under any circumstances. In the afternoon, I will conduct theoretical training to preserve your fitness! Even if youâre sleepy, you know you wonât be forgiven!â
âOh, uh⊠⊠Yeep!â
Shine stood up with only his willpower.
On the other hand, the gorilla, trembled slightly as he watched Shine force himself to stand up.
What happened to our little second master, the naughty boy? The butler thought.
He didnât know what conversation he had with Shine. Nevertheless, he knew that Shineâs appearance was strange.
What intoxicated this young and fragile child? What makes him follow the young master so much? I donât know. I donât know.
If I develop this child properly, I wonât need to worry about the safety of the second master in the futureâŠ
The butler was worried about Evan wandering around, and having someone else who worried about Evan like this young boy helped ease his worries.
The butler has also noticed that servants have been talking about the young master lately.
Of course, the young master has always been a topic of conversation, but in the past, it was mostly, âThe young master is so cute.â
Nowadays, it was more, âThe young master is very cute, but heâs a little strange.â
Itâs fun.
It is always fun to watch a child grow. The same was true with the Marquisâ first son, but the changes in Evan were even more surprising.
The butler was convinced that it would be a positive change.
Unlike before, when the child couldnât even approach him because he was scared of his appearance, but nowâŠ
He took Shine because he was overwhelmed by Evanâs love.
He was worried initially because the slave was obviously a bad product, but Evan was right.
Though Shineâs physical condition was poor, his growth was slow, but everything else about this child was outstanding.
Cold judgment, intelligence, and above all, perseverance and readiness to get the job done!
He would be able to overcome his poor physical condition with training.
âOkay,â the butler told Shine, âshall we do it one more time?â
As the butler smiled at him, Shine shivered, and tried to relax his breathing.
Shine didnât know that the difficulty of the training increased as a result of the butler respecting his abilities.
Evan, Shine, and even the young Belois did their best in their respective positions and polished themselves.
A full day of practice is harsh for a child, but fortunately, the mansion was filled with healing artifacts, as well as good healers and priests.
Being able to devote themselves to training without worrying about getting hurt was a great blessing.