Chapter 30: A night full of gratitude, where one favor gives rise to another.

In the infirmary, where a soft red lantern illuminated the room,

even though it was late, Celia sat beside Roden’s sickbed, staring at him blankly.

Having heard the entire story from the butler, Gellion, Celia’s expression was rather neutral.

“Father… he’s amazing, really.”

According to Gellion, to save Roden, who made a mistake in front of the king,

he had broken the vial himself and performed the mana infusion.

It seemed he had used an artifact for it, Gellion had mentioned.

Although she had always respected her father, the head of the family,

she never imagined he would make such a sacrifice to save a servant.

A sense of both pride and worry lingered on Celia’s face.

If such actions were discovered, she didn’t know what kind of punishment might be given for treason.

After all, it was a matter of deceiving the king.

Despite her concern, a part of her was incredibly proud of her father.

“How can he be so incredible?”

Of course, she also felt like she understood that Roden’s mistake wasn’t truly a mistake but intentional.

Gellion had said as much.

—At that time, everyone was focused on Esil, and everything had come to a standstill.

So, Roden probably made that mistake to prevent his master from getting into trouble.

Gellion had a vague sense that Rosell cared deeply for Esil.

They say there are three things in the world that cannot be hidden:

coughing, poverty, and love.

Though Gellion couldn’t yet draw conclusions or fully speculate about the reasons Rosell, the Duke of the kingdom,

might fall in love with a slave,

one thing was clear to him.

He could see that behind the pity and sympathy in Rosell’s gaze toward Esil,

there was love hidden deep within.

Having served him for three years, Gellion’s seasoned eyes could see it.

A duke in love with a traitor.

It was a topic considered taboo even in novels, and though it made him uneasy,

the infinite trust the name Rosell instilled in him helped him suppress that anxiety for now.

Thus, Gellion had told Celia that Roden had likely made the mistake intentionally to help his master.

Of course, Celia found it difficult to understand at this point.

“When will he wake up?”

Celia asked the chief medical officer, Lechus.

“Hmm, it’s hard to say if he fell into a deep sleep or if there were side effects from the mana infusion,

but we should wait and observe a little longer.”

“I see.”

Celia was eager to ask Roden once he woke up whether he had done it intentionally.

If it was intentional, she felt like she would be able to see Roden in a new light.

No, in fact, she was already seeing him differently.

Just then, the door to the infirmary opened, and someone entered.

“Ah, Y…! Oh, Esil…?”

With a flash of life returning to her blonde hair, Celia was about to call her name in greeting

but quickly corrected herself, calling out the name of the servant instead.

It was the head servant, Jicel, who followed in after her.

Celia hurriedly stood up from her chair and rushed over to Esil.

“Why? Are you hurt?”

Celia asked, worried.

It felt awkward and uncomfortable to speak so casually to someone she deeply respected,

but with others around, she had to be cautious.

Though Gellion, with his years of experience, could easily see the affection Celia had for Esil.

There are things that can’t be hidden, not just love for a lover.

In fact, it would be odd if Jicel didn’t notice, considering how much affection Celia was showing.

But Jicel, pretending not to notice, answered in place of Esil.

“Oh, she’s been feeling sick, vomiting, so the master ordered her to get checked up.”

“I see. Why? Esil, where does it hurt?”

Celia, bending her neck and looking up at Esil with concern, made her smile warmly.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine now.”

She had already been healed by Jicel after the nausea she had suffered from when she had been with Biella.

However, since the master had ordered her to be examined,

she had been brought to the infirmary, albeit unwillingly, by Jicel.

Lechus, the chief medical officer, approached.

“She vomited?”

“Yes, yes.”

She did not mention anything about what had happened with Biella.

It seemed better for Jicel to follow along with this.

“Please lie down here.”

At Lechus’ command, Esil lay down on the sickbed.

Lechus was not only knowledgeable in mana healing, but also had a sufficient medical background as an ‘infirmary officer.’

So, she could examine something as simple as vomiting without the need for mana.

Lechus began her examination by pressing firmly on Esil’s abdomen.

“Does this hurt?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“How about here? Does it hurt?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“What about here?”

“It seems fine.”

“…What about here?”

“…It’s fine.”

Lechus furrowed her brow as she raised Esil’s upper body. If she had been vomiting, there should have been some pain, but there were no signs of conditions like gastric ulcers or enteritis.

“Open your mouth.”

“Ah~…”

“Hmm, there is some acid reflux causing esophagitis, but it’s not severe. Do you have a headache?”

“…”

She had had a headache.

When she had faced Biella, the terrifying memories of that day caused a strong headache to rush in.

But now, she was calm.

“I’m fine now.”

“Hmm, then it must have been a temporary symptom caused by the headache.”

Having finished her diagnosis, Lechus went over to the pharmacy corner of the infirmary and prepared a powder medication, which she handed to Esil.

“Take this for now. If the same symptoms appear again, come back.”

“Okay… thank you.”

Esil took the medicine and got up from the bed. She looked over at Roden’s bed. As expected, he seemed to be peacefully sleeping.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Esil turned to Celia and asked,

“Is Roden… okay?”

Esil was genuinely concerned about Roden.

Even though he had passed out due to the mana infusion, there might still be side effects.

And though she didn’t understand why, she was relieved because of the mistake Roden had made that spared them from fear. She truly hoped that he would be okay.

Celia nodded.

“Yeah. Ah, no. Yeah. He just fainted. He’s sleeping right now. He’ll probably wake up soon…”

“Mm.”

“Huh? Roden!”

At that moment, Roden finally stirred, furrowing his brow as he groaned. It had been 12 long hours since he fainted, and now he was starting to regain

consciousness.

All eyes in the infirmary were focused on him.

Jicel, who was also fond of Roden, seeing how close he was with Celia, immediately moved toward the sickbed.

“Umm…”

Roden groaned again, slowly unpinching his furrowed brow. Then, he gradually began to open his eyes.

Roden, opening his eyes, stared at the ceiling and then, shifting his gaze toward the edge of his vision, saw a figure with blonde hair and muttered,

“Ugh… Is this… heaven?”

Since he had sacrificed himself for others, he believed it would be normal to be revived in heaven.

In his vision, he saw an angel smiling gently at him.

With radiant blonde hair and emerald-colored eyes, the angel was fantastically beautiful.

Of course, in his still blurry state, Esil appeared to him as an angel.

“Ah… This place is… heaven…”

Muttering to himself, he turned his gaze to the left this time, and instead of an angel, he saw a devil staring up at him from much lower.

The sharp red hair and reddish-brown eyes were unmistakable signs of a devil.

“No… this place was hell…”

“What?”

Thud!

“Ahh!”

“Why are you calling me hell when you’re looking at me!”

When the devil’s fiery fist struck Roden’s forehead, he had to scream, and only then did his blurry vision sharpen.

“Ugh! That hurts…! What… What is this?! Celia? Did you die too?!!”

Roden quickly pressed his forehead, hurriedly sat up, and stared at Celia, then looked over at Esil.

“Ah, no! Did the hero die too?!”

Having sacrificed his life to protect, but seeing those he wanted to protect with him, Roden felt despair.

It had all been in vain.

Of course, that misconception was dismissed by Jicel’s voice.

“You’re not dead. Roden. The head of the house’s grace saved you.”

“Y-Yes? No, I’m sure the wine bottle broke…”

Roden rubbed the spot where the wine bottle had hit, but there was no wound to be felt.

When he looked around, he saw Lechus, the infirmary officer, smiling contentedly.

“How…?”

“He fainted due to a mana infusion. Roden’s body has resistance to mana. The head of the house used that.”

“Ah…”

It seemed Roden finally understood the situation, and with a dazed expression, he scratched his head.

His skull, which should have been caved in, was perfectly intact.

But before he fainted, he definitely heard the sound of a wine bottle breaking, didn’t he?

“Then, how did the wine bottle break…?”

Esil, who had been watching from nearby, answered that question.

“Master broke it himself…”

“…Really? Did… did he get hurt badly?”

Roden, now worrying about his father’s safety, made Celia smile warmly.

“Ah. Our dad is strong, you know.”

“…Still… I really was fine, though…”

Roden had truly faced death without fear.

Though it was a reckless decision from a 13-year-old child, he had been willing to sacrifice his life for Celia’s beliefs.

Hadn’t he sworn an oath to his master?

To protect Celia.

That vow meant more than just his life; it was a promise to protect Celia herself.

So, he had given his insignificant life, but his master had sacrificed himself to protect him.

Just as Roden had protected Celia, Rossel had protected Roden.

An overwhelming feeling of gratitude flooded him, and he couldn’t even bring himself to express thanks.

“Ah… To have saved my life twice…”

It had been an act to repay the debt of his life, but now, he found himself in even more debt.

Moisture welled up in Roden’s eyes.

He had tried to repay a debt, but more debts had piled up instead.

Roden bit his lip and swallowed his emotion.

“Alright, now, please rest. No more visitors for now.”

Lechus spoke up, seeing Roden’s sudden gloom. She knew that Roden was a strong person, but the shock of facing death up close wouldn’t be something easily forgotten.

“Oh, and until the banquet ends, let’s keep this matter quiet. Roden, don’t think of helping with the work and just stay here.”

“Ah…”

“Sigh, you’re worrying people for no reason.”

At Celia’s mixed words of concern and teasing, Roden chuckled and scratched his head awkwardly.

“Ha-ha. Sorry.”

“…But you were kind of cool.”

“…!”

But before he could move, Roden froze at Celia’s unexpected confession.

Suddenly, his face turned bright red, to the point where steam almost seemed to come out of his ears and nostrils.

“…Wha-what kind of nonsense…!”

“Fool. Just take care of yourself. Let’s go, Jicel.”

“Yes, my lady.”

However, Esil didn’t move and stood by Roden’s side.

“Aren’t you going? Esil?”

“Ah, um… Excuse me, but… may I speak with Roden for a moment?”

“That fool? Fine. I’ll go upstairs first.”

“Yes, yes…! Thank you…!”

“Heh, whatever.”

Lechus, the medical officer, decided to head home for the day and left the infirmary, while Celia went up to the third floor alone.

Jicel was standing at the entrance of the infirmary.

By the rules, Jicel should have been inside the infirmary to supervise the slaves, but instead, he had stepped aside to allow Esil to speak freely.

Now, only the two remained in the infirmary.

Still dazed, Roden, who hadn’t fully recovered from his confusion, asked Esil,

“…What do you want to talk about?”

“Ah, um… I just wanted to thank you.”

“…Thank me?”

Though Roden still seemed guarded, Esil was determined to express her gratitude.

“I saw it. You pretended to fall… since I was looking in that direction…”

“Ah… I didn’t do it on purpose. So you don’t have to thank me.”

Roden, avoiding Esil’s gaze, declined her thanks.

Of course, he knew well that avoiding eye contact was a sign of evasion, due to his lie.

Esil politely extended her hands and bowed her head.

“No, thank you. Really. You did me a huge favor.”

It seemed like Roden didn’t mind the gesture, as he wiped his nose and tried to calm his smiling lips.

Having already received a compliment from Celia about being “cool,” Roden’s lips couldn’t stop curling.

At times like this, he was just a 13-year-old boy with a fresh innocence.

“Well, uh, no need to thank me. I didn’t do it for you, Esil, or the hero, so you don’t have to bow.”

Esil smiled lightly.

Roden’s face, which clearly showed his true feelings, seemed quite cute to her.

And she thought to herself,

“He’s such a good match for Lady Celia.”

“Then… take care of yourself. I’ll go now.”

After saying her thanks, Esil turned to leave the infirmary, but stopped when she heard Roden’s voice from behind.

“Ah, I-I mean, Hero.”

Roden had seen it.

He had seen his master, the head of the house, being troubled by Esil’s fear.

He had seen his master lamenting over Esil’s terror.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly what the look and emotions meant, but Roden felt one thing for sure.

If he had to trust someone, it would be his master, not the King of Brikal.

If his master’s will was this, Roden had decided that he would no longer regard Esil as a threat.

“Yes, yes?”

Esil, surprised by Roden calling her “Hero,” turned around, and this time, Roden didn’t correct himself, as if to make sure it wasn’t a slip of the tongue.

“Ah, um…”

And soon after, Roden spoke again, and Esil couldn’t help but smile with gratitude.

“I… I’m grateful too. Thank you for saving the kingdom.”

They exchanged warm words of thanks.

On a night filled with gratitude, where one favor led to another, they shared their kindness toward each other.

“Seems like it went well?” Jicel asked, when Esil came out of the infirmary.

“Ah, yes.”

Esil lowered her head and smiled humbly at Jicel’s question.

Her heart warmed.

Just being acknowledged by Roden was enough to make her feel this way.

But that smile didn’t last long.

As she opened the door to the small room, there was Biela, waiting inside.

Jicel had only accompanied her to the door, so now Esil was face-to-face with Biela in the room.

“B-Biela…?”

“Esil, ah, no! Emilia…!”

Biela called her by the name from that day.

In the time that had passed, something had happened. Biela’s face had become pale, and she was trembling as if terrified.

Just moments ago, Biela had mocked her with wide, glaring eyes, but now she was cowering, like a puppy caught in front of a predator, tail between her legs.

She looked just like…

Just like how Biela had looked that day.