Principal and interest!

Scarlet pov

I was surprised to see the way his eyes were lingering on my balcony. As if it was giving him strength to stand there. I was sure he could not see me! Even if he could, I wonder if he saw my face that day.

No! I shook my head at this possibility.

"My lady, do you want to buy this boy?" asked Caleb as he noticed my gaze on him.

"Yes, I want to buy him. But make sure to increase the bid by five times at least to show them who we are!" the man chuckled at my words as he nodded.

"You never stop to amaze me, my lady." he whispered as he finally held my name plate and wrote 10,000 gold coins, exactly five times more than others.

"And you never stop to save the coins, Caleb." I shook my head when he shrugged.

I looked at the horrified face of the man when he realized that I had bought him. Why!? Wasn't he looking at my balcony from the start! Then should he not be happy that i bought him! I never seem to understand humans!

Every second passed like hours as I waited for the auction to end.

"You seem to be too anxious, my lady." said Caleb, feeling my tension.

"I do not know how he ended up here, Caleb. I have personally given him my ruby earring that was worth a fortune, he could have paid the loan even if he had one over him.`` I replied and Caleb frowned.

"Do you know him?" He wanted to look at the man again but it had gone off the stage a long time ago.

"He is the man who saved me that night." was all i said and he jumped to his feet.

"Ohh, my lady. Then we shall go and thank him. We owed his freedom to him. How can we buy him and make him a pet!" he admonished me as he started to walk out the balcony.

"Stay right there." I said in a low voice but it was enough to stop him in his tracks. But his eyes were still filled with questions.

"There are many eyes on us, Caleb. We can not show any favoritism towards him or he will be killed when we free him." I replied , shaking my head. No matter how smart Caleb was.. He was a ball of impulsiveness.

"Oh," he nodded his head and came back and sat with me. "I understand my lady. I apologize for not being wise enough."

"Ha! If you would have been this wise, you would have been sitting here." I pointed at my seat and he held his head low with embarrassment.

"No matter how wise I am, my lady. I will always be underneath you and serve you." A smile of pride bloomed on my face which turned into a frown in an instant when he stood up and clapped like a kid.

"The auction ended, my lady. Now we can go and claim all the slaves we have bought.'' His eyes were sparkling like a kid who was going to have candies at the festival and I shook my head. It will take a thousand or more years for him to be a mature man in front of me!

We stood up and walked down towards the ground floor and then backstage.

"My lady"

"Your highness" everyone bowed and greeted me as I walked towards the slaves. The girls were still standing there naked, shivering in the cold.

"Caleb, settle the account, collectively." i instruecred as I looked at them.

"Cut 1000 coins for the treatment of injuries that these slaves have." I added as I looked at the whipping marks on the back of the man. I was sure it was not there when we met in the woods.

"My lady.. This.. the injuries are not that serious. It is just some small marks that are bound to get when we train them.'' The man had the courage to not only speak in front of me but also speak against me. Even the thought of it made me chuckle.

"Is that so?" I asked , tilting my head as I looked at him.

My smile gave a boost to his courage and he nodded his head like a henpecked chicken. Caleb shook his head as he knew what was going to come but the man was still lost in the greed of 1000 gold coins.

"Then, Caleb. I think we do not need to cut the amount. But since the dutchess can never do the transaction in loss, i want you to return the injuries to him with interest.'' I still have that amiable smile on my face but the man's face turned white as a sheet.

"No, no, my lady. I think you are right. I will deduct 1000 coins for the treatment of the injuries of these slaves." he nodded his head as he returned 1000 gold coins to Caleb.

I nodded my head, "then Caleb, you should be considerate enough and deduct the interest to only return the principal injuries to the man." I replied in all seriousness.

"Since the account is settled, leave a knight to whip the man. I do not want to spend more time in this dirty area." Caleb nodded as he held the ropes of all the slaves in his hands.

"aahh" the knight have already started whipping the man, and the whole place filled with his screams.

"Follow me." he ordered them and they all nodded with a shiver.

When everyone was looking afraid, my savior had a smile of satisfaction on his face when he looked at the beating the guard was receiving. At least, I was able to do something for him.

Once I will set him free, I will be free from his favor.

I smiled with that thought but when the man looked at me, his eyes were filled with hatred as he glared at me

"interesting!"