Chapter 24: There is no paradise where a traitor arrives. (1)

“Ah, Jichelle.”

At the sudden voice, Rosel flinched but naturally called out to her.

Before entering the mansion, when he had checked again, Jichelle had been standing at the edge of the banquet hall, inspecting the attendants with her dignified posture.

But during the brief time he was in Esil’s room, she had hidden herself in the darkness here. He already knew about it.

It was something that couldn’t be hidden for long anyway. In such a limited space like this mansion, avoiding the countless eyes was nearly impossible.

At the call of the master, Jichelle emerged from the shadows.

“The meal… has been prepared outside, my lord.”

“Oh, I had Jichelle’s cooking brought to Esil. She ate it well. As expected, our head maid’s skills are top-notch.”

Rosel said openly, and Jichelle gave him a strange look.

Rosel knew that Jichelle, who was approaching fifty, couldn’t be easily deceived by his words.

That was why he wanted her to notice.

Rather than giving the order to make food for Esil, he wanted Jichelle to understand through his actions, not words, that he wanted to be caught.

It was what Rosel actually wanted — to be discovered naturally.

“Since bringing Esil in, you have always eaten in your office… Did you bring her food every day?”

Rosel shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, that’s how it turned out. If you’re going to use a slave, it’s best to make sure she has the strength first, isn’t it?”

Jichelle sighed quietly.

Having started as a maid and worked her way up to head maid, Jichelle knew well that showing emotions or expressions was not acceptable in noble families.

She had learned that such expressions could even cost one’s life.

Of course, she knew that Rosel was not that kind of cruel person, but it had become a sort of professional habit, and Jichelle always had a dry expression.

It could be said that she had no expression at all.

Among the attendants, it was almost a myth to have seen the head maid laugh or cry.

Because of that, even Rosel found it difficult to be sure of what Jichelle was thinking.

“…Then you’ve been skipping dinner every day?”

“I’ve been satisfying my hunger with tea and snacks in my office, so don’t worry, Jichelle.”

“Sigh…”

Jichelle sighed again.

A sigh, too, was an expression of emotion.

Jichelle was breaking the vow she had made to herself to suppress her expressions, and it meant that Rosel’s meals were something important to her.

Just like how Rosel cared for Esil.

“What kind of lord starves himself to bring food to a slave? My lord.”

This world was an absolute monarchy and an aristocratic society.

Within a territory, the lord was an absolute ruler.

But what kind of lord starves himself to give food to a slave?

This was a shocking thing for Jichelle, who had spent her life serving the nobility.

Rosel scratched the back of his head awkwardly at Jichelle’s concerned scolding.

It had been four years since he had been with her.

Sometimes, Jichelle had taken care of him like a mother, filling the place of his parents.

Therefore, there was a hint of maternal affection in her scolding, so he didn’t feel uncomfortable or resentful.

“Well, I ate a hearty lunch that you prepared, so I wasn’t really starving.”

“…It doesn’t matter if you secretly give food to a traitor slave. I suppose you did it to avoid unnecessary rumors.”

Jichelle spoke politely, her hands clasped in front of her.

In her eyes, the warm and affectionate scene of Esil and Cecilia from the previous night played vividly.

“However, it is hard for me, as the head maid responsible for meals, to tolerate my lord skipping meals.”

“I understand.”

“…When the banquet is over, I will arrange a separate meal for Esil. I will do it secretly myself. So please, don’t skip your meals, my lord.”

If her lord’s will was such, Jichelle had decided to follow it. And she vaguely understood.

Esil needed Rosel, and the Duke had greater things to do.

To accomplish those greater tasks, a strong body and a full stomach were essential, so Jichelle made this promise.

Rosel then asked her.

“…Don’t you wonder what it means that I secretly gave food to a traitor slave?”

He believed Jichelle would understand.

He knew that his actions were in opposition to what Brikal would expect.

But Jichelle simply lowered her head humbly and swore only to fulfill her duty as the head maid.

“I am just the head maid responsible for your meals and comfort. As for the rest, I am ignorant, so I will trust and follow you, my lord.”

Hearing her firm words, Rosel smiled warmly.

He couldn’t help but smile contentedly, knowing that the trust in their relationship had not been in vain.

Esil opened the door and stepped out to wash.

Since Rosel had permitted Esil to bathe every day under the pretense of keeping her clean, Esil was holding a towel in her hand.

With a clean body, as her master said, her mind would be clearer, and so she had decided to bathe every day starting today.

However, Esil stopped in her tracks as she saw someone standing in the middle of the hallway.

Bright pink hair, like blooming cherry blossoms, and red eyes, like roses in full bloom.

Her eyes met Esil’s emerald-colored ones.

“…Oh.”

“Ah…”

The two pairs of eyes crossed each other, and Esil instinctively lowered her gaze.

The owner of the red eyes was none other than the only daughter of the ‘De’ family, Countess Viella.

Viella’s pupils, like Esil’s, widened in the darkness.

She had arrived at the office at the promised time of 10 o’clock yesterday after being caught in the wind.

There had been no response to her knock, so she had been waiting.

And just then, Esil had come out to bathe.

Viella’s eyes scanned Esil.

“…Oh, it’s been a long time?”

The first words spoken by a traitor who had ruined someone’s life were remarkably rude, but Viella was also flustered by the unexpected encounter.

Esil, clutching her towel, lowered her head.

Though she had recovered from the wounds in the underground prison, facing Viella again, the scars from her time in the monarchy unsettled Esil’s already broken heart.

The memories of that day.

The short memories that equaled sixty-five days of hell flashed vividly before her.

Esil couldn’t bear to look at Viella’s face, which had smirked arrogantly with the cruel smile of a victor.

Viella also avoided looking at Esil.

It was avoidance, but of a different kind.

“…Tch, I guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

Viella clicked her tongue.

Her expression was somewhat annoyed by the unexpected meeting.

It was not pleasant to face the person whose downfall had been caused by her betrayal.

Moreover, for Viella, who admired Duke Rosel, Esil was like a thorn in her side.

Emilia, the greatest beauty on the continent, was a woman Esil had once been compared to.

Viella thought her own beauty was superior, but objectively, she knew Emilia was slightly more beautiful.

The fact that Emilia had become Rosel’s sex slave was deeply unpleasant to her.

“Why do I have to run into you now, tch.”

Viella turned to leave, but she couldn’t take a step forward.

It was because Esil’s voice reached her from behind.

“…Why did you do that to me, Viella?”

When she had heard the news that Esil had been imprisoned in the underground dungeon for sixty-five days and sold into slavery, Viella had felt a faint sense of guilt.

Unlike Daltan and Gleon, Viella, being a woman herself, deeply understood that being sold into slavery as a woman was the worst fall from grace a woman could experience.

Moreover, unlike Daltan and Gleon, Viella had been somewhat resentful of Brikal, who had not even said a word of gratitude to her.

Of course, Viella had soon shaken off her fleeting guilt, thankful that she had not become Emilia’s companion in her fall from grace.

It was water under the bridge, and since it couldn’t be gathered again, she had resigned herself to fate.

Thus, the unexpected meeting with Emilia had been highly unpleasant.

It felt as though the guilt, which had been suppressed, was trying to reignite.

So, she had tried to leave.

She had intended to turn her back on Emilia, just as she had done before.

But…

“…Why did you do that to me, Viella?”

Esil’s words made Viella stop in her tracks.

It felt like her heart had been hit by something, as if it had collided with something deep inside.

She had wanted to escape the resentment, annoyed, but she ended up hearing it.

Viella scrunched her face as though to cover up her embarrassment.

“…Am I your friend, Viella? Can a slave call a noble like that?”

She deliberately mocked her.

She wanted Esil to back off.

She didn’t want to bring up the guilt she had buried.

But for some reason, Esil didn’t back away, even though she trembled.

“Why… why did you do that to me, Viella…”

Despite the sobs, the painful memories, and the terror that still haunted her from that day, Esil stood her ground.

She desperately wanted to know.

Why had Viella done that to her?

Since that day, she hadn’t seen any of the party members.

Viella crossed her arms and spoke.

“What’s wrong? You were trying to commit treason, weren’t you? So you deserve to be judged.”

“…You know that’s not true…”

“Do you still think you’re a hero? Why don’t you speak nicely?”

To cover her shame, Viella raised her voice. Even if Rosel heard her—or rather, if he did hear, she couldn’t back down.

Therefore, she had to bend her posture somehow.

If she retreated now, for any reason, it would look like she was running away from Esil in the eyes of others.

“…Why, why did you do that to me…?”

Finally, Esil spoke to Viella with formal language.

Even though she was being ridiculed and despised by a comrade who had once been equal, Esil still wanted to know.

What exactly had she feared in the kingdom that had led her to do this to Esil?

But Viella let out a laugh, sounding utterly incredulous.

“Didn’t you say you were going to kill Brikal and become king?”

“…I never said that! You know that…!”

“Daltan and Gleon heard the same thing. So, doesn’t that mean you’re wrong?”

Throughout the journey, Esil had told them the same thing.

Once everything was over, she would travel the continent with the reward money, settle somewhere, and live out her life raising a successor with someone she loved.

Viella had always supported her dreams, calling them wonderful, but now Esil realized that her encouragement was nothing but mockery, and it made her stomach churn.

The pain from the underground prison had led to a decay of her body and mind, but the suffering in the kingdom had reversed it, causing a mental decay that was now turning into physical decay.

“Does blaming others make you feel better?”

Viella’s mockery stoked the rising disgust in Esil, which climbed up her throat.

“Ugh…! Ugh…!”

With her teeth gritted and trembling with revulsion at Viella’s shameless face, Esil leaned against the wall and vomited.

The food, filled with Rosel’s favor, mixed with bile and spilled out into the hallway.

“Ugh…!”

Viella, holding her nose, staggered backward.

“See? You’re disgusted with yourself for lying, aren’t you? So why are you doing this? Hmm? Living according to fate is so much easier.”

Viella was indeed living that way.

If it was unavoidable, she had chosen to enjoy it.

To her, Esil was nothing more than an obstacle.

“Tsk, why don’t you just live honestly? I’m leaving now. I hope we never meet again. Slave.”

At this point, Viella decided to retreat.

If anyone had overheard, leaving now would be the best way for her to remain the victor.

And witnessing the downfall of someone she had destroyed wasn’t something easy to endure.

“Ugh… You… you’re the disgusting one… Viella.”

However…

As she turned her body, Viella couldn’t take another step.

It wasn’t Esil’s words that stopped her.

She had come face to face with something standing stubbornly in the dark.

It was as if fear had materialized and was standing there.

“What is the meaning of this, Lady Viella?”

It was Rosel.

For the first time, she saw the fierce face of Rosel standing behind her.

But Viella didn’t panic.

Instead, she smiled brightly and looked at Rosel.

A noblewoman’s ability to think on her feet was essential, after all.

Quickly wiping the malicious look from her eyes, Viella smiled faintly and spoke.

“Ah, Duke Rosel! I was waiting for you…!”

“I asked what is going on here.”

“Ah, no. That traitor keeps blaming me, so I tried to make her see the truth, and I ended up causing a disturbance in the hallway.”

Rosel felt his fists start to tremble.

The hypocrisy and repulsiveness coming from that small, innocent-looking face.

But he didn’t raise his hand.

He had no intention of acting out of emotion.

After all, there would be no paradise for a betrayer.

Now, he would make her realize that paradise would never come.

Years ago, at the social event on Debittnal, choosing her as a dance partner had not been a mere coincidence.