"You should be feeling much better now, Master," Victoria said in her mesmerizing voice.
"I do. Thanks," Damien replied, feeling better than ever.
"You don't need to thank me. I am your slave. Being helpful to you is part of my duty." Victoria stared at him earnestly as though she was trying to convey with her eyes that she wasn't giving lip service to earn brownie points with him. She meant every word she said.
Damien knew she wasn't kidding around. She was fiercely loyal to the man he had unintentionally become, and her loyalty ran so deep she would gladly lay down her life for him if the need ever arose.
Her loyalty came about for a number of reasons.
She was a product of rape.
Her mother, Lady Mara, was a noblewoman. And her father… she had no idea who he was.
She only knew that he had abducted her mother when she was young. And while she was his captive, he had forced himself on her enough times to knock her up.
Lady Mara was rescued in a retaliation led by the kingdom's strongest Magic Knights months later, but by then it was already too late.
The abuse Lady Mara had suffered at the hands of her captor left her deeply traumatized.
Furthermore, neither the cold and unforgiving society of Winterland nor her own family reacted well to the news that she had been abused and impregnated by a Daemon while she was the captive of a raid party from the Daemon Realm.
She was cut off from her circle of friends for being impure.
Worse still, her family wanted to kill the child growing in her womb. However, at that time, she was already six months pregnant, and attempting such a thing would've put her life at risk, which was a grave crime punishable by imprisonment for everyone involved considering her status. So they were left with no other choice but to allow a Daemon Spawn to be born into their lineage.
After being rescused, the way Lady Mara was treated for something she had no control over by her friends and family deepened her depression, making her believe it would have been best if she had died out there, never to return home.
It eventually reached a point where she found it impossible to continue living.
Shortly after giving birth to Victoria, she took poison and ended her life. She had wanted to end her life long before that, but she couldn't bring herself to do it while there was a life growing inside her.
Half of the blood coursing through Victoria's veins was Daemon, making her a Demi-Human.
Humans and Daemons were mortal enemies. They had been at each other's throats for over 800 years. Demi-Humans were caught in the crossfire and had nowhere to belong, despised by both sides. Consequently, they had no rights in Winterlands.
Anyone could walk all over them unless their family was powerful and protective.
Victoria's maternal family was deep in debt and considered her a stain on their honor. They wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible, so when the first opportunity arose, they sold her into slavery, making a fortune off the despicable act.
At that time, Victoria could easily be considered the world's most beautiful child. The slave trader knew she would surely fetch a high price when auctioned as there was no shortage of people amongst the nobility with twisted hobbies, so he paid her maternal family heavily to get her off their case.
As already told before, Demi-Humans had no rights in Winterland, so selling and auctioning them was not considered a crime.
The prince's mother, Lady Olivia, found out about Victoria's plight from the mouth of the king.
The king had been eying Lady Olivia for the longest time. He was fascinated by her beauty and wanted to own her no matter what. He knew everything there was to know about her.
He knew Lady Olivia had been Lady Mara's closest friend. She would do anything to save her.
As expected, Lady Olivia begged the king to save her friend's daughter. The king agreed, but in return, she had to give herself to him.
How could Lady Olivia allow opportunist scumbags to ruin the only child her best friend had left behind?
She agreed to the king's demand, offering herself up to save her friend's child.
With the king himself making a move, Victoria was saved from being auctioned off into a sinful life of debauchery. The royal family purchased her from the slave trader, and she was later bestowed upon Lady Olivia as a betrothal gift when she married into the royal family.
Lady Olivia granted Victoria the status of her personal slave to protect her from the world. Harming her would mean offending the king's most favored woman, so everyone left her alone.
Back then, Victoria was still a child, but children in Winterland matured early, as it was far less civilized than Earth. She understood the great favor Lady Olivia had done her and she had always felt grateful about it. So when on her deathbed Lady Olivia ordered her, for the first and last time, to look after her only son when she was gone, Victoria made it her life mission to serve the prince wholeheartedly and ensure he would grow up to become a wonderful man!
"Is that why you've been waiting on me ever since I passed out from drinking? Because you think you are just a slave to me?" Damien said.
Victoria nodded.
Damien sighed inwardly. He felt sorry for her as he understood she had to work extra hard to ensure the prince wouldn't find her useless because if he did he might discard her. And if that happened, she would be tormented by the wolves eying her beauty since forever.
Thus, she had been walking on eggshells around him, careful with every word and movement, afraid of doing anything that might displease him.
"Victoria, you are wrong," Damien said, looking straight into her eyes, "you mean much more to me than just a slave."
Damien hadn't received all of the prince's memories. But from what he had, he could tell the prince loved Victoria.
He loved her because she filled the void left by losing his mother at a young age.
Even when the other members of the royal family tried to poison his mind against her, making passing remarks like "Daemons killed his mother, yet he is protecting the spawn of those very Daemons. Does he have no shame?" he never developed any hatred for her.
The prince treated her with kindness far beyond what her lowly status warranted, loving her to a point where some people even speculated that they were romantically involved.
But Damien knew that wasn't the case.
The prince's love for her was purely platonic, something Damien had confirmed through the fragments of memories he had inherited.
'No wonder he felt deeply disgusted with himself when he agreed to Marshall's demand.' Damien said, "If the law protected Demi Humans, I would have burned your slave deed long ago and set you free so that we could be friends openly."
Upon hearing this, Victoria felt deeply moved. Selflessly devoting herself to raising and caring for the prince for years had not been in vain. It had helped her secure a solid place in his heart. The rims of her eyes turned red as she felt that her sacrifices had been recognized.
She spoke in a voice choked with emotion, "I had no idea you considered me a friend."
"Well… now you know," Damien said softly, then hesitated before asking, "You do not mind having a friend like me, do you?"
A slight smile blossomed on Victoria's doll like face. The prince's insecurity was unexpected.
"How could that be? A slave like me can only feel honoured to have you as a friend, Master."
When Damien saw her smile, he felt momentarily starstruck. He could not help but comment, "You look beautiful when you smile. You should smile more often."
The praise caught Victoria completely off guard, making her blush. She had thin skin and what she felt had always shown on her face. Her cheeks turned red, adding ten charms to her already mesmerizing beauty, making her look endlessly alluring.
"Also," Damien continued, "friends refer to each other by names, you know."
"But if I call you by your name, I would be going against proper decorum. If someone catch me doing that, I would be punished, and you would be reprimanded for failing to correct my behaviour," Victoria said, lowering her head.
"I know that we cannot behave like friends in front of others. But when we are alone like right now, I hope we can be comfortable in each other's presence," Damien said calmly.
"I understand, Master," Victoria replied without hesitation.
"There is no one here but us," Damien said gently. "You can call me by my name."
She hesitated for only a heartbeat before lifting her head and looking him in the eyes to convey her sincerity as she spoke,
"I understand… Abel."
She wanted to be his friend just as much as he wanted to be hers.