CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: NEW DESTINY

Seeing her pitiable state, I couldn’t bear to watch her like that, and I had to hug her. Even though she was covered in Lucien’s blood, I didn’t care; I only saw a frightened child, trembling with fear, begging for a little help. I embraced her with all my strength, wanting to cover her and fill her with my warmth and tenderness.

"No more, Jayde. You don’t have to suffer anymore. He’s dead, and you’re free. You’re safe now; it’s all over, and no one will ever hurt you again."

Hearing my words, Jayde clung to me, hugging me with all her might. Her body trembled with every sob, soaking my clothes with her tears as she buried her head in my chest. Jayde allowed her emotions to flow freely for the first time in a long while; she was washing away her pain and sorrow with her own tears. I held her tighter, letting her vent, feeling the weight of years of pain begin to release from her. Little by little, her sobs lessened until they became silent tremors.

When she had calmed down a bit, I gently pulled her away, holding her by the shoulders. "Jayde, now that you’re free, what are your plans? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?"

She looked at me, her eyes still red and swollen. "I thought... I thought I’d be your slave for life. Isn’t... isn’t that right?"

I shook my head. "No. That was a condition when we were enemies. Now I don’t consider you an enemy, so there’s no need for that."

Jayde’s face drastically changed to one of panic, and tears welled up again like a fountain. "A-are you abandoning me?! Please, don’t leave me, don’t abandon me...!! I’ll do anything, just don’t leave me alone...!"

Seeing her desperation, I understood I had made a mistake and now didn’t know how to comfort her. I could only hug her tighter. "Easy, no one’s abandoning you. I just want you to be free and happy, that’s why I asked if there’s anything you want to do or anywhere you want to go. I didn’t mean that you couldn’t come with me."

A spark of hope shone in her eyes. "I will follow you until my death," she declared with a firm voice.

I smiled slightly. "You can come with me, then. But your life is yours; you owe me nothing. Your life and your decisions, from now on, are only yours."

"Pok!" With a light tap on her head, I interrupted her words. I didn’t want her making those kinds of vows; if she did, she’d surely fulfill them, and I couldn’t allow her to have those ideas.

"I told you, you don’t need to give your life for me. Just be free and happy. Promise me, or I won’t take you with me."

"I... I promise," Jayde said softly, accepting my command. I smiled at her. They say laughter is contagious, and it’s true, because Jayde smiled back at me.

"First, we should take a bath to clean up. If we go back like this, we’ll scare everyone in the village."

We both walked towards a nearby lake and waded into the water. The gentle splashing of the water surrounded us as the sun slowly began to descend.

"Uhm... where do you come from? There aren’t any humans as strong as you in this area, as far as I know... Master," Jayde asked me, her voice still a little weak, as if she was very afraid to speak.

"I just arrived. I’m staying with the White-tail Deer clan for now," I replied, splashing water over her shoulders. I wanted to correct her so she wouldn’t call me "Master" and be more informal, but I didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was.

"Ah, that explains everything," her eyes widened slightly. "A few days ago, we received a warning from the same emissary who sent us here; we were ordered to stay away from the human village temporarily."

I frowned. That emissary seems to know a lot about what I’ve been doing. I’d been extremely careful; the only time I went exploring, I didn’t think anyone had seen me. How the hell does he know?

"Thanks for the information, Jayde. Did he happen to say anything else, or do you know how he found out I was in the village?" I asked, as I took some soap and began to lather her back. My hands moved slowly, giving her a subtly erotic massage. I could feel her body tense and relax under my touch, and a slight arousal began to form within her.

"I don’t think he knows the Master was in that specific spot, but if I had to guess, they have a way of knowing when certain important people die. Did the Master happen to kill anyone while in that village?"

Her words made sense, and everything aligned with the death of that orc who had gone as an ambassador to collect the tribute...

"Yes, I killed an orc who had gone to collect a tribute. He might have been someone important."

"It’s probable, but I haven’t heard about the death of any orc recently. Perhaps he’s kept it a secret to avoid alarming his subjects."

"It’s possible... changing the subject, besides getting revenge, did you have any other dreams? Is there anything you want to do? Any dream to fulfill now that you’re free?"

She sighed, tilting her head back, enjoying the contact. "My only dream is to rescue my younger brother. I recently found out that, during the extermination of our clan, not everyone died; some were kidnapped and taken as slaves to the capital of Al’Kash territory."

I paused for a moment, the idea hitting me. "Is that capital, by any chance, a dungeon?"

Jayde turned sharply, her eyes surprised. "How do you know? I only found out by chance, overhearing Lucien’s father talking with other elders about the topic. It’s a huge secret! No one really knows where the dungeon entrance is. Nor has anyone seen what it looks like, as far as I know."

My surprise was genuine. This information was a treasure. I continued cleaning her body, my hand moving over her back, my penis gently brushing against her skin. I let my erection press against her back as I washed her head, my fingers delicately stroking her ears.