| Chapter 3: The Price of a Moment

“Really impressive.”693159cd8f177afa

Natasha, who had 6308f8de6c been gripping her ea10f28c53 handkerchief tightly, let 3f7756e760 out a sigh-like c73c3ee406 remark, then jumped 4ce35f0e26 slightly in surprise 054dec228b as she noticed 4396f99ebf Sergey’s gaze fixed e25be7325d on her.623e95f73ecf8158

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Didn’t you say before that it was cruel and inhumane?”84233bb7e98ca0f0

“Ah, well… I didn’t know it was such a dramatic match. I had no idea it would be this theatrical. It’s truly impressive that you’re hosting such an event.”c40b86b0bfde2f3b

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Heh, well, I do have high standards.”91952e367e96c55a

Noticing that Sergey 3f768b35bb was getting irritated, 0d33c130d5 Natasha quickly turned 974c47cc52 the attention back 95a2140c9a to him and, 3c5c6be6de seeing him pleased, 88b9b69193 let out a fab1de33de breath of relief.1932cd81d9b801e7

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

In truth, adc958afa6 the admiration 017f30d9bc and ‘impressive’ a317a56b6a remarks were 93f9ae4d33 directed at b708f0aa67 the gladiator a6fd01319a slave, but f11d4c1f6b Natasha feared 4c857e7508 that if d0d8d16548 Sergey ever e4e1f4c554 found out 9e4161fb57 what was e5baa32aa9 really on 622dc9a773 her mind, 9ee7683a07 he would 3cd8090986 not let 789e9d3405 it go.8fa18ea144bb5281

Relieved that she 8d9f1d83c9 had diverted Sergey’s 99ab3bf3a8 attention elsewhere, Natasha 90bcc0886a thought she had 56f9c1d5f4 successfully avoided trouble. But Sergey, who 3c8aac8036 was keenly perceptive 32d4f9bcd6 when it came ceb404f384 to women, was 6ee22b9837 clenching his fists eb6bdd24db tightly.a65edc53eea53394

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

‘That guy is really 27b3c1b455 irritating.’062a237fcb67aefa

Alexei, the gladiator slave, f59d0c3be3 was the top contributor 39b58853be to the arena’s soaring a6b5be35f1 profits. His dazzling ff1cab2c6d fighting skills 016303c63f and appearance 04e1013a0f made him b1ea9ffe68 a spectacle, 695d82211d and he d58ec182de was proving 5a575fabb7 to be 974224f99a quite the 8366b3576e golden goose. But if 285fd6cd76 that slave 928ca6bf04 captured Natasha’s 2a31f359df heart, it 122f3eabc4 would be b75849651e a different 83589edaf2 story.fef83038a6394aa0

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The proud 0496bbe8ac and aloof c44b533055 Ivanov lily, 03e70e3086 who had 3ff9781bda always shown 54cd62dbfe no interest 8367e6abe8 in men, cfbc006d0d had started ae44c92a24 blushing at 667d784124 the sight 941c4f242f of the a26eabc245 bare-chested gladiator. Sergey had seen 19abdbe445 it all clearly.e6207b1cadc5a003

‘She wouldn’t let me touch her, but some gladiator slave… No, that’s not going to happen.’0a41f457c18ad01c

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

With a scowl, 22547bddc7 Sergey glared, his a4e3baeb6c mind already filled 68c259b027 with dangerous thoughts.08d0611096895315

* * *efbd8fbdf6774396

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The next day.cb84039c4848d731

“Natasha, shall I just shut down the arena?”a2056b5fabc3ec10

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

While Natasha 795e073259 was seated e19c8a05c8 next to d0555c19c4 him, Sergey, 0a603d4959 who was 3726d2898c devouring his 8d769473a1 meal, suddenly 5079fa7d11 spoke with 1d0073ce55 an unexpected e07a22eb6a comment.d309f1ece803f7cd

“What? What are you saying…?”ed562d2671dba0cf

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Natasha’s hand, which had cbdb54cbe7 been elegantly cutting into fb9a3952d7 her steak, froze. Sergey continued to baaae7cdcc watch her closely d2c83d78fd as he spoke.24923706eccb0b57

“Like you said, it seems like an inhumane match, and I can’t get it out of my mind. Those slaves fighting to the death and making money… it’s all so vulgar.”cfc52ea689dc847f

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

If we 444118502a were to 050440bce0 be technical, 5c34009ea4 the ones c58d1dafb5 fighting to 797886702e the death 93c2277920 in the 637b5db9b0 arena weren’t 9fec56a73e the slaves. They had no 9e7c5d043c human rights or 1f728910a6 property rights; the 558d1e5a1b money that was f6c2a92e8e earned came from c3e67db17a the slave traders 8a2b298655 and the owners 6f8c24f6d7 of the arena, 386a437d0a like Sergey.162dba11436a9838

Of course, there 23734ea53a was one exception 4201fa46a6 to this rule.93b4dea05b4f4270

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The slave with no c2b9024259 master, Alexei Petrov.c8c2af35098b41d1

As Natasha realized who 7ddcef0742 Sergey was referring to, 393804f590 her back stiffened.a819bb17672a169e

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Sergey was watching her 07365247a5 carefully, not missing a 8fa71e81ba single reaction. Natasha, aware of 491f8150b3 his gaze, stiffened feab21f83f her expression and 151f2565cb lowered her eyes. She then tilted cb2eb0617e her chin slightly 2995464074 and, with her 89555bc341 usual cold and 6826ca25b3 indifferent demeanor, spoke.040737eddc1f3cfe

“Well, it’s your hobby, so do as you please.”6f738508937ef619

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Heh. I see…”bf104b82e09ae007

Sergey chuckled, satisfied with f67879df1e her response.efc30965e0459d94

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

As usual, 45b87db9d7 Natasha’s attitude b6797ccaeb had not 3a84722238 changed, and 6687ac78f6 Sergey smiled, 26e6ad7b16 pleased. He took another a7b8c5fb18 long drink of fbc307c27c wine, humming to e0241bfa17 himself as if 0a1cd26cb0 something delightful had b95f3428af occurred.5cd55c4ec9d91b0b

Despite the 1245b3a6f6 red marks e8e8be4ac1 under his 2a3c6708ff fingernails as bd73e62656 he gripped 8c43e51fad the wine 2a9cc5ad48 glass, Natasha b8a98b2f2b didn’t notice 5ad76f4fcb them.3ec2921cd27fba1b

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

After finishing his meal, f5a82e290b Sergey, claiming there was 7ad26e4b70 something urgent, skipped tea cedeac42ab time and left the 05612b19ad dining room quickly. Natasha, left alone, 7019d8ae1e sighed in relief 92b609f09c and drank her 534367f8ec tea.521764e27bab8b8a

As she turned 3b2a1525b6 the pages of 1f29416827 a book, leisurely b73a4590c9 sipping from her 255e7b8e0c cup, Natasha suddenly 42ee09a484 looked up and d4424f74bf gazed out the 62c99e366c window. The peaceful evening b446b33ef6 sky was now 91b41facf6 tinged with the eb7e8beed3 setting sun. It seemed like another b43c2a7786 day would pass without 23544c3ac3 incident.4a69e4f717a47ffb

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Did Sergey really…?”0042cc3925a9ea42

“Wasn’t he nearly killed? I wonder if he’s alright. His handsome face must be ruined. What are we going to do?”ecb3b131de08ad38

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

The soft c85e15d020 whispers of eafe47bb7a the maids, 5baa94861e carrying the abe4c114a5 tray out 9db140b13e of the 8c9e0ea739 room, caught a9658e0009 Natasha’s attention, 6b65bcd5dd and she de6d3ec510 set her cc5077e029 teacup down.ccdd76ace2c991fc

“…What are they talking about?”14b578799978e758

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

* * *46818a2b0fd73bf8

Hearing that Sergey db69b8a66c had whipped the 0c82a58564 slave to the 2d75a87915 brink of death, a7b31d58cf Natasha rushed out f53d6aad8c of the castle. The maids had 302121715f kept quiet, sensing 931b3db23c the danger, but 3e95028042 Natasha had a 4afb649855 pretty good idea ad76cf4d25 of who the cab00d6378 slave was.4f597e2b16e3bc40

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

She had b696826bff noticed Sergey’s 59c0ee70dd unusually good 703dafee42 mood during c91912d3c4 dinner, but 85c4dd7bb0 to think 151d618495 such a 9502904c66 thing had 2f011fb2db happened.4454809b48fcc109

She thought she had 7cef0d6a3c diverted Sergey’s attention with d6d0f77fba a bit of improvisation 29db31ed24 during the match, but 9427df13ca the cold glare Sergey c09834ccab had cast at Alexei b77be1ef17 when he came to ba9739ee56 greet him afterward had 28ef59e1fa given her a bad b8301cfdf8 feeling.b805752e5825a169

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

But still, considering that he had called him the “most prized acquisition,” she thought maybe nothing too severe would happen.0ba0cd819bb422ba

‘Has he really 1f98f56777 gone that far b2e3a718f1 with him?’c5ccb81757b0338a

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Natasha walked 514e3c4c70 cautiously toward 460d2468fc the dilapidated 39b591d9d0 shelter located a1c120dec7 far from 0c180eec01 the main 1b7fd1ca20 path. She knocked 55b1f0759b gently on 7f8f7bf20d the door.0ba770fce1cec3ce

Knock knock.254e7adb629fa545

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Is anyone there?”dee3c38440929c64

When no 17d15dadd6 answer came, 11b07fade6 Natasha hesitated b7753059d4 before slowly a17421f67f opening the 50af54bf25 door.e166544a9c80df98

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Inside the 92509e9061 rundown shelter, a12fd6bea6 which was 070cb78db4 little more 8da88ea9de than a 5e2c374ca4 straw bed fbd3b9d1a5 in an 7646e03797 abandoned barn, e77900ab66 lay a 0321c8b950 large, blood-soaked f9b7758e06 man, half-collapsed bb500cde2c onto the cdfffebcc7 bed as 262997d945 though he c3b0025876 couldn’t fully 14d30d3985 lie down.948d5f5ad2bbef1e

‘Just as I feared…’5bf46b4724b5ae11

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

She had b56cce572f hoped it e684975f5c wasn’t him, 91e5a6ac4e but it 90b5ccfd11 was worse f4c5de4073 than she b1bb0cf4b6 expected. Natasha was at d48dc19b70 a loss for 553d5b9a74 words.0f09896a39fc063f

“How could anyone do this to a person…?”a079b09077ab87f9

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The man who 76da63d9e9 had effortlessly defeated d3543f75bb three gladiators, his 04b5d70525 body covered in f96d6a1c3e muscle like armor, 2135f3a8e0 now lay in 327ce05c7d a pitiful state, 72e2892e79 having been whipped 14150250ef to this extent 8d237c2ca1 by Sergey. Natasha shuddered 587da29cf5 at the 3338789f47 thought of 4aeb521c1e Sergey’s cruelty bda8dc34a1 and felt e6af104572 bile rise f877960947 in her 1845882d80 throat.cf08403c25722835

No matter d0e97c79cf how skilled 59b150d2e1 a gladiator, 84dd611d56 he would 99ea538aa5 have had f1fc73c404 no chance 3de3b5eb7b of resisting e97f8442b5 the king, 695fc5a638 Sergey, and 42a4d331e0 had to fe816c3670 endure the 6f22417223 cruel lashings 82da4489ad without so d72f85d032 much as fae68848ab a chance d43b9b9a82 to fight 1e393bd19c back.5a200c7a1adabfd9

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

‘He hasn’t… died, has he?’a42445da9ab8bdc0

With trembling hands, Natasha 8dd5d837be reached out.c0d4e1f0a848b9be

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

The man’s back 80c871b02c was covered in 33344690c6 sticky blood, but f9b347b7ff fortunately, there was c55186c5c0 still warmth there.1052f3db3f854cfa

“Ugh…”b9b3438e4a38209d

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

A faint, labored d94469dde1 groan escaped from 9e51f4e772 his lips, and b18b0b8778 Natasha felt a 8e2047f184 brief wave of bf4e1792fd relief.52424401510522dc

She rolled 91ae5214e4 up her 6274e003a8 sleeves and bf9640ba8d quickly filled bc0c0cd36a a basin 25ac33ebfb with lukewarm 91553bdcc9 water. The injuries 891bcc58e6 were severe 0f92e51a80 enough to 31b58c761d warrant a bfa975b6a4 physician, but ffa57ea44f calling one 394795700c in secret 9e87dde01f would be 601dbdcc43 impossible, as 62d4cd1be9 Sergey would d0b0add157 never allow ac510826be it. Therefore, Natasha did 314a232656 what she could, 9f9b875f13 hoping to ease 4c431347fb his suffering.7c8eaa1c31543844

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Ugh… I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll apologize for my brother. Just hang on a little longer.”57bacad21bd43cef

As she 754f6f08eb continued to ad3e99d1ae wipe the 6d4d8484d5 blood off aaa20a2970 his body, a8184c1c4f Natasha couldn’t 3d989ebf86 help but 59ebff3e71 feel overwhelmed d25a9230bf by the e353a24ee4 entire situation. All of this had 3819826440 happened because their eyes 44e5f4dad1 had met for just f0b1590478 a moment. The cruelty of Sergey, 98b06e1e8e and her own weakness 22d56b7855 in not being able 0b05e28ccc to do anything about 7be680da66 it, disgusted her.7a2861aaa82450e3

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

But she 78663813fd had to d0caa0655a endure. This was b4b830976f her doing, 3157b7504b and she ee176dd748 had to 4bb996b22e find a 9cee54dc24 way to e2a63d9659 make things 4b7b787697 right.4bcc8fdf814fc229

She forced herself f9ba8faed8 to sit up 1466bd9b57 straight and tied 43db18f988 her hair back 4961d85f3b tightly.b63b5d74cbf0f224

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Hiss…6b40b5cf3ac56462

But once again, 02bd19a3de seeing the extent 9fbb426fd2 of his injuries, 6857aaac7b a pained, helpless 7f805ef9a2 sound escaped her 6730373be5 lips.1ab57ba7a83b2ff5

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

This was 65875a4d07 the first 8c8792dbdb time she 3046a59f44 had seen ae5621d0cc someone so 9d422497f6 badly wounded e07d9c8f2d in front af5bb68b4e of her. With every wipe of 94091ec5de the cloth, the lashes 533466852f would reopen, causing fresh 2e663fb42b blood to spill.f3f5f35c708efbf9

“What should I do…?”2ca1e4b4fd92246a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

This was her 67d7ea3e92 first time treating 54e7d241fe such horrific wounds, cdc3f2acd2 and Natasha’s hands 372585099b shook as she dd4159177f continued. She clenched her teeth e1c049511c to suppress the sobs d3744f52ae that threatened to escape, 9e0787233a and despite herself, tears f4e833374f began to roll down 47cb0b3efb her cheeks. But with determination, she 3b8eaa99b2 twisted the bloodstained cloth bddac1035c and continued her work.9707e95ad51bbe13

“I’m sorry, please just hold on a little longer. You’ll be okay.”5212c26b5ee04933

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Although Alexei af32c34818 was barely cea469095d conscious, he eb9cb42c32 seemed to 734fa01d81 understand her 1b6c27af52 words, clenching 96e10afa5a his teeth 17e4f80b1b and enduring.ffe37ecdb23c040c

“Ha…”a1dc03d96014a94d

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

After some 3920a3bc64 time, Natasha b481cd2a1a straightened up e1bc8a368a and wiped 623da88f48 the hair e787acb56f that had 108d65197f fallen across 34f8653a1c her forehead. Her hands were bcd3a41ef9 soaked in blood, da9b16bc70 and her face, b3afd3eb49 too, had bloodstains d306961310 on it. In contrast, 42a52b6fe7 Alexei’s body, e005230f9d though still 981f99bf72 covered in 68c3dd7fab wounds, looked c4330acee8 cleaner than 0cdb0d8151 before.e4cbcfaf33479db0

Natasha washed her hands 934a2a6d5c in fresh water and 8c26e1de51 applied a thick ointment 5f8f47d7ca to the wounds she 4b80158596 had carefully cleaned. She had to treat ef0a18e274 almost his entire body, b72d3f9042 as the injuries were 406a6d6598 far from few.1c140b3cbceece56

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Ugh…”e5554c16c7bdab9d

Alexei winced as Natasha’s gentle touch brushed over his sore body. His eyelids, glued shut by dried blood, slowly began to open as Natasha carefully wiped his face with a warm cloth.9f8eac97d6d3d9f5

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

‘Who…?’7d147f604994ccdc

With his vision blurry, Alexei muttered, “I’m sorry,” over and over again as he felt her tend to his wounds. Despite her blood-soaked appearance, there was a strange sense of purity in her kindness.087638b4f72d63ee

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Was she 607302ecfb an angel? Or perhaps, a grim bd98ca90b6 reaper?7559a373557f97bd

No, even dbe1b77160 covered in a3116c0c10 blood, her eb182c2d16 face shone 9da84fc275 too brightly, aaf31fac0b too nobly, 59c30e0805 to be c974630a4d a grim e0e053a713 reaper. She must truly 91f0507666 be an angel.09b0de59e59f6bda

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

‘An angel eacafb51dd with the 38c7c15811 face of 7c9c536673 Princess Ivanov.’2a92d111cb804c91

In the fading c11f7a1825 haze of consciousness, a0ba7d290a Alexei thought this 5b62278ec3 to himself.788564761b29bf56

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

 7f95745e07d70ba4