Chapter 15: “The way he repays a favor”

Even the cool late autumn weather warmed up as the sun rose high in the sky.

In the large garden, dozens of party tables were set up, and there was also a stage decorated with various flowers.

‘Trained attendants stood between the tables, offering convenience to the noble guests by carrying trays with drinks, napkins, and snacks.

On either side of the stage, the orchestra played lively music as if celebrating a birthday with flutes, organs, and violas.

However, everyone stopped playing their instruments when the host appeared.

It was Rossel, dressed in a grand manner.

After bowing to the table where Brikal was sitting, he turned to address the crowd.

“Thank you all for coming a long way to celebrate Cecilia’s birthday today.

The weather is as splendid as Lord Kalys’s blessing. Please enjoy the food, drinks, and music we have prepared with great care.”

The crowd applauded, and after his short speech, Cecilia, who had been holding a small harp beside the stage, nervously climbed up.

After Rossel gave her a pleased look, he turned back to the crowd.

“Cecilia has worked hard to practice a harp performance to greet our honored guests today.”

Clap, clap, clap.

Unfortunately, Cecilia’s singing skills weren’t very impressive, so she had prepared to play an instrument.

She was terrible with music, and it had taken her an entire month to practice just one song.

So, with a frozen expression, Cecilia crossed her legs and gave a solemn greeting after the applause.

“Thank you so much for coming to celebrate my birthday. Though my skills are humble, please listen carefully…”

Clap, clap, clap, applause poured in again.

Taking a deep breath, Cecilia caught sight of Roden.

“Fighting!”

Roden whispered and nodded at her, and Cecilia, also nodding, began her harp performance. Rossel, too, listened with a tense expression.

Fortunately, after a month of effort, it seemed not to have been in vain, as Cecilia successfully delivered a perfect performance.

The beautiful melody moved everyone, and the applause was overwhelming.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

“Wow~! That was the best!”

“Excellent, young lady!”

“It was the best performance I’ve heard recently!”

The crowd sent their praises through whistles and applause.

Of course, some responded with lukewarm expressions, clapping but not showing much enthusiasm.

Among them was Count Rubran, who had developed a deep grudge against Rossel after the s*ave auction.

He felt humiliated after bidding 500 gold for something that was worth only 200.

“Tch, the performance was terrible. Just like all these sycophants,” he muttered.

He had only attended because he was aligned with the pro-king faction, just like Rossel.

If the king was attending, a mere count couldn’t stay behind.

“Thank you,” Cecilia said, finishing her speech, and descended from the stage.

With that, the official party began, as the orchestra played lively music to entertain the crowd.

“Did I do well, Dad?”

“Of course, you were amazing. Well done,” Rossel said, patting Cecilia’s head as they headed towards the table where Brikal was sitting.

Now it was time for Cecilia to greet the guests at the table, and naturally, the first one to greet was King Brikal himself.

Brikal had already emptied a bottle of wine.

It was hard to tell if he had come to celebrate or just to drink.

“Hahaha! Our Cecilia is becoming quite the grown-up, huh? Your performance was excellent!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Since I’ve heard such a marvelous performance, how could I come empty-handed?”

At Brikal’s call, an aide quickly handed him something.

It was a glossy black gemstone, a 1-carat black diamond worth the equivalent of five gold coins.

“I’ll pay for it with this as a token of gratitude. It was a wonderful performance.”

“Y-your Majesty, this is too much. Please, take it back.”

Rossel tried to stop him, but with Brikal already drunk, it was pointless.

“Ah, what’s the big deal with this gem?”

Brikal, throwing away a 1-carat black diamond worth five gold coins just for one performance, revealed his vanity, arrogance, and opulence.

Rossel had no choice but to relent.

When Cecilia accepted the gift, Brikal smiled and patted her cheek.

“You’re such a cute one. Just like your father, you’re so perfect.”

“Th-thank you…”

“Hehe, yes. But…”

Brikal took another gulp of wine and leaned back in his chair.

In an instant, the atmosphere shifted, and Rossel had to tense up.

“What should I do about such a trivial gift like a black diamond?”

“No, no. This is already too much of a gift,”

Brikal continued with his banter, and Rossel felt his breath catch in his throat.

He hadn’t expected Brikal to mention Emilia in front of Cecilia, especially as a “gift.”

Rossel nervously looked at Cecilia.

Knowing her idealistic beliefs in freedom, equality, and peace, and how she trusted and followed Esil like an older sister, Rossel swallowed hard.

“So, Cecilia, my dear, what do you think of your father’s birthday gift?”

Brikal asked, staring directly at her with eyes as predatory as a beast hunting its prey.

Rossel wanted to respond instead, aware that Brikal was trying to test the waters through his daughter, but before Rossel could speak, Cecilia spoke up first without any sign of panic.

“Are you talking about the s*ave Esil?”

“Oh? So her name has changed to Esil?”

“Yes. My father gave her the name Esil, so she wouldn’t forget her place.”

“Ha, that’s cruel. I see you’ve got a cruel side to you, Rossel. Ha ha.”

Brikal laughed and took another swig of wine.

But his gaze never left Cecilia’s face.

“I don’t think it’s cruel. She’s a traitor who tried to assassinate His Majesty. She owes her life to His Majesty’s generosity, but she will find no more mercy here. I think it’s the proper course of action.”

Cecilia spoke without hesitation, and it seemed Brikal was pleased with her answer as he let out a hearty laugh.

“Ha ha! Oh ho ho! Rossel! Raising a daughter like this must be rewarding. How can she be so sharp? Ha ha ha!”

“She’s become famous for her sharpness even in the capital. It seems the rumors are true, Your Majesty,”

one of the attendants chimed in.

Rossel, who had been holding his breath, exhaled and patted Cecilia’s head.

“Ah… haha. You’re too kind.”

Cecilia smiled up at Rossel, and it seemed his worries had been unnecessary.

The party, which had started at noon, continued into the late night, and everyone was thoroughly drunk.

It was impossible not to be affected by Brikal’s drinking habits.

Of course, Rossel pretended to drink, using his skillful technique of emptying his glass while maintaining a clear mind.

“Dad… I’m sleepy.”

Around 10 PM, Cecilia rubbed her tired eyes and spoke to Rossel.

“Really? Go say goodbye to His Majesty, then we’ll head in.”

“Yes.”

Cecilia kissed Rossel on the cheek, then greeted Brikal before heading inside the mansion.

Rossel, too, was tired of dealing with Brikal, a ticking time bomb, but as the head of the family, he couldn’t leave his position, so he stayed seated.

‘Please… let him just get drunk and fall asleep.’

Brikal was already completely drunk.

He stumbled as he walked, and refilled his glass without a second thought.It was clear that he was beyond drunk.

As Rossel sat there, hoping the first night would end soon, someone sat next to him at the round table.

“Lord Rossel~ Hehe, how are you feeling?”

“Huh?”

It was none other than Count Rubran.

His face was flushed, showing he was heavily intoxicated, but Rossel didn’t show his displeasure outwardly.

“Ah… haha, I’m feeling quite good.”

“Hehehe, congratulations,”

“Thank you.”

“No, I mean…”

“…What?”

“I’m congratulating you for buying the most beautiful woman on the continent as a s*x s*ave~ Heheh.”

At Rubran’s words, Rossel’s expression froze for a moment.

He wanted to defuse the situation before things went too far, but Rubran, already drunk, continued without hesitation.

“How does it feel? I was so close to buying her for 300 gold, but I missed out~ Heheh.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hehe~ Come on, Lord, you know what I’m talking about~”

It was Cecilia’s birthday party now.

Rossel didn’t want to let this moment be ruined, so he remained silent and turned his head away.

“Eh? You haven’t had enough fun yet? Hehe. Oh dear, it looks like you’ve got some stories to tell about your… ‘womanizing.'”

“I thought about letting you live vicariously through this, but it seems it won’t work out.”

Count Rubran, the clueless loudmouth, kept babbling.

Rossel crumpled the napkin in his hand into a fist.

After all, in terms of influence within the kingdom, Rubran couldn’t even be considered a speck.

He could easily sew that filthy mouth shut and it wouldn’t matter.

If he opened his mouth again, Rossel had planned to punish him under the charge of “Duke’s treasonous scheming,” but just as he was about to speak,

Brikal’s loud voice drew the room’s attention.

“Alright! Our dear lady has gone off to dreamland, so we should really enjoy the party, shouldn’t we?!”

By now, Brikal was standing on the podium, swaying with a wine bottle in one hand, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Rubran immediately shut up and focused on him.

“Before we continue, let me introduce our kingdom’s pride, our torturer. Sregon, come up here.”

At Brikal’s call, Sregon awkwardly smiled as he climbed onto the podium.

His face, half-burned with a disfigured nose that looked like it belonged to a witch, was certainly hideous.

“This is Sregon, who is in charge of our underground dungeons. You wouldn’t believe how good he is at torture.

The confessions he extracts could fill five carts, hahaha.”

“You’re too kind,”

Sregon replied, knowing full well that the confessions weren’t obtained through simple interrogation, but through torture, something everyone here knew but didn’t speak of.

Brikal threw an arm around Sregon’s shoulders and slapped him on the chest.

“Hehe, this guy is incredible. Just recently, he got a confession from a traitorous woman. How long did it take again?”

“65 days.”

“Hahaha! That’s right! 65 days! The longest it’s ever taken to get a confession from someone in the underground dungeon!”

“Yes, indeed. It took a lot of effort.”

Everyone knew exactly who he was talking about, but no one said a word.

Rossel closed his eyes and sighed.

He had hoped the storm would just be a breeze, but now, as Brikal revealed his true colors, he realized it was a blizzard.

“Alright, Rossel!”

“Yes, Your Majesty,”

Rossel replied, his face relaxing as he stood up.

“You bought this friend’s work for 500 gold, didn’t you?!”

“Yes.”

“Hahaha! I’d like to show it to some of our Elond nobles, so bring it here.”

Rossel’s heart began to race madly.

But he forced himself to remain calm as he looked at Gellion.

Then, reluctantly, he gave the order he had hoped to avoid.

“Bring Esil here.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Hehehe~ That should fill you up, right?”

While rubbing her sleepy eyes, Cecilia had sneaked out of the mansion.

She quietly gathered some food in the kitchen and was heading somewhere.

It was an excuse.

Of course, she was tired, but there was something more important she wanted to do than go to bed.

She wanted to share the delicious food with the Hero.

Cecilia walked down the hallway with light steps.

Since all the servants and butlers were focused on the nobles, she had nothing to worry about being caught.

And since the third floor wasn’t typically visited unless necessary, she had no reason to worry.

Knock, knock, knock.

Cecilia knocked on the door, signaling her presence.

Naturally, it was Esil’s room.

But there was no response from inside.

“What’s this?”

Knock, knock, knock.

She knocked again, but there was still no answer.

It seemed impossible for Esil to already be asleep in the noisy garden.

Cecilia tilted her head in confusion and turned the doorknob. Strangely, it opened easily.

“What’s this? Hero?”

However, there was no one inside Esil’s room.

“What? Where did she go? Did something happen…?”

Cecilia quickly placed the dishes on the table and hurried out of the room.