The Dialectic of Master and Slave - Chapter 27

Volumes 1-4 + Side Stories of DMS are available uncensored on ko-fi! ※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

By the time Lady Berun said those words, Jaha’s body and mind were already in tatters.

Exhausted, Jaha returned to her lodgings and collapsed onto the bed, closing her eyes immediately. She didn’t want to think about anything. The pitch-black darkness dragged her consciousness into an abyss.

The next day, and the day after that, the same routine repeated itself. Lady Berun made Jaha do things under the guise of “education” that she had never even imagined.

Forced to learn things she didn’t want to know and do things she didn’t want to do, Jaha could feel herself slowly wearing down. She wondered if, one day, she would become like a tattered piece of clothing, worn out and frayed.

She knew that letting go of everything would bring her peace, but she desperately clung to her fading mind. She didn’t want to break just to escape the pain.

Over and over, she repeated to herself like a mantra: These actions can’t destroy me. They have no power over me. I’m no different from who I was before, and I won’t change in the future. I won’t be broken.

About a week had passed. During one of the “lessons,” Lady Berun let out a sigh.

“You’re quite the stubborn one, aren’t you?”

As the fake phallus, which had been tightly filling her throat, was pulled out, Jaha collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. Her face was a mess, streaked with tears and bodily fluids that had flowed out involuntarily. Watching the drool drip from the corner of her mouth and fall to the floor, Jaha thought to herself:

Is it stubborn of me to protect myself?

If I don’t break down obediently as they wish, does that make me a stubborn fool?

Of course, she didn’t voice those questions aloud. A slave didn’t have the right to do so. She simply steadied her breathing through her now-cleared throat, silent.

Lady Berun’s brow furrowed.

The slave before her did everything she was told. Like any other slave, she didn’t utter a single word of refusal, inability, or exhaustion, submitting meekly. Yet, unlike the others, there was a backbone within her.

At first, Lady Berun hadn’t noticed, but as they continued to interact, it became clear. This slave, Yoo Jaha, was different from the rest. Though she bent like a reed in the wind, there was a core of resolve within her. Like the sturdy stem of a plant, or the roots that firmly supported its body.

Slaves usually lacked what could be called self-awareness. They lived because they were born, ate because they were hungry, and slept because they were tired. They had no will to act, no desire to improve, no goals to achieve. Their sole reason for existence was to carry out their master’s orders. They were, in essence, living tools.

Everyone considered this natural. After all, it was bizarre for an object to possess self-awareness. Occasionally, anomalies appeared, but like plants that grew without proper nourishment, they were never strong. Any self-awareness that sprouted was so feeble that it would snap under the slightest pressure. That’s why they were treated even more harshly, yet this one refused to break.

Though her body obeyed, her heart did not. It might have seemed like nitpicking, but it was evident in her eyes. A gaze that conveyed an unyielding will, a determination that she would never be broken—a look so resolute it was almost tragic.

Of course, it wasn’t as if there was no way to break her. If pushed to the extreme, Lady Berun was confident she could force her into submission. If she shattered her mind, her self-awareness would crumble along with it. However, she couldn’t very well toss a woman with a vacant expression and drool dripping from her mouth into the Emperor’s bedchamber.

Lady Berun conceded that it was impossible to subdue this slave, Jaha, while keeping her in a “presentable state.” And so, she decided to take a step back.

“What is your background? Were you a slave from the beginning?”

“No. In my homeland, I was a student.”

“I see. Clean yourself up.”

Lady Berun clicked her tongue and handed over a handkerchief. Surprised by the unprecedented gesture, Jaha hesitated before accepting it. She glanced cautiously at Lady Berun before wiping her face.

“You don’t need to return it to me. We’ll end here for today. You may go.”

“Thank you.”