Chapter 4: Former Hero Eating Bread Under the Moonlight

The chamberlain, Jitchel, was now deep in thought, filled with great doubt.

It was a different kind of doubt than that of Gelion.

“Did the Duke really request roasted red salmon…?”

After finishing a two-day journey in the capital, the head of the household, Rosel, had asked for roasted red salmon as a special dish.

This fish dish, seasoned with a tomato-based sauce, pre-cooked, and then baked in a wood-fired oven, was common in the Elond Kingdom, which was rich in valleys and rivers.

However, due to the double cooking method, it was considered a rare dish.

A wood-fired oven was also required.

But the head of the household had never asked for salmon to be served as a special dish before.

A few times it had been served at the table when there were no special requests, but it was clear that he didn’t particularly enjoy it.

And so, several months had passed without it being served at the table.

Now, for the first time, after buying a s*ave convicted of treason, the Duke had requested it.

“Could it be for the s*ave…?”

But the prepared dish was supposed to be delivered to the Duke’s office.

This meant it was not for the s*ave.

After all, there were times when the Duke had meals in his office after a trip, catching up on pending paperwork.

“Hmm… And I was also asked to slice the radish thinly and mix it with some chili powder and a few drops of sesame oil.”

Additionally, today there was a special request for the red salmon, as the Duke had apparently enjoyed it as a special treat while in the capital.

“Perhaps it was because it tasted good when eaten together.”

Thus, as the head servant in charge of special dishes, Jitchel had used the Duke’s approved recipe to prepare the roasted red salmon and the dish known as “muchae” (shredded radish).

Knock knock. She placed the tray on the desk and knocked on the door of the Duke’s office.

“Come in.”

As if waiting, the Duke permitted her entry, and she set the tray on the desk, where Rosel was reviewing paperwork.

“Here is the roasted red salmon and shredded radish you requested.”

“Thank you, Jitchel.”

“Of course. I’ll collect the dishes when you’re finished.”

“No need. I’ll take care of it. My legs are still fine.”

“Ho ho. Understood.”

Jitchel smiled gracefully, bowed, and left the office. She was one to enjoy the Duke’s occasional playful remarks.

She went down to the first floor to check if the other servants were doing their tasks properly and walked through the mansion and garden.

She pulled out the pocket watch she had been carrying.

Twenty minutes had passed.

As the Duke usually saw food as a means to quell hunger rather than enjoying it, by now he would likely have finished his meal and the dishes would have been cleared.

After all, she had often checked the dishes after a special request, to ensure everything was to the Duke’s liking.

She hurried to the kitchen.

“Hmm, looks like it’s completely cleared.”

As expected, the dishes had been placed in the kitchen.

Two plates were nearly empty, with only a little seasoning left.

“Heh, I guess it suited his taste.”

Jitchel quietly smiled with satisfaction and placed the dishes in the washing tub before quickly leaving the kitchen.

The cool autumn air filled the room.

Fearing someone might see from outside, she hadn’t lit any candles, so Esil’s room was only illuminated by moonlight.

Fortunately, tonight seemed to be a full moon.

The roasted red salmon on the table was clearly visible in the moonlight.

“Though it’s cold, it should still be fine. Hurry and eat. I need to take the plate back.”

Rosel spoke up as Esil, who was staring at her favorite dish, refused to pick up her fork.

It wasn’t just an excuse; it was the truth.

To fool Jitchel, he had transferred the food onto a wooden plate that he rarely used, and he had to return it to the kitchen before dawn.

Every morning, Jitchel would send a servant to check if any plates had been stolen, and if even one was missing, she would scour the mansion thoroughly.

“That side dish was something I randomly tried in the capital, and it turned out to be a delicacy. I thought it might help revive your appetite.”

Rosel had just lied.

No, since arriving at the mansion, he had been lying.

They were all lies made for her.

He hadn’t eaten roasted red salmon in the capital, and he had never even seen the shredded radish.

In fact, there was no such dish.

There was no dish that involved slicing radishes thinly.

But he knew.

Esil, no, the Hero Emilia, had always made such “special requests” from the chef whenever she visited any restaurant, as long as there was radish.

And she knew that Emi liked roasted red salmon the most.

That’s why she had asked Jitchel, the head servant, to make the request.

If she had her way, she would have loved to feed him hot, steaming roasted salmon, but making a special request at this hour was simply unreasonable, so she had no choice.

Maybe if it were just a simple snack, it would have been different.

Esil sat there, blankly staring at the dish.

Rosel spoke again.

There wasn’t much time.

In about an hour, the mansion guards would patrol this area.

Normally, they wouldn’t come this far, but it was part of their duty to prevent the s*ave’s nighttime escape, so they would surely open the door to check on Esil.

Before that, he needed to ease her hunger.

“Are you not hungry? You must not have eaten properly.”

“…I’ve forgotten what hunger feels like…”

After a long silence, Esil finally spoke at length.

But Rosel felt an indescribable sadness, far stronger than joy.

The pain of working her to the point where she forgot hunger seemed to pierce his heart.

Rosel gasped, stifling the pain with a sigh.

But at the sound of his sigh, Esil, feeling uneasy, started biting her nails again.

“…Just because you forgot hunger doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat.

Hurry and eat before it gets cold and hard. It will at least taste better than your nails.”

Click, click, click.

At Rosel’s words, Esil stopped biting her nails and lowered her hand. Her hand kept rising with anxiety, but she fought to hold it back.

Rosel waited in silence.

He waited for her to make a decision.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long.

“…What should I do?”

“What should you do? You should eat that.”

Esil mustered the courage to raise her head and look at Rosel.

His face, dimly illuminated by moonlight, was kind, but the ugly nobility hidden within seemed all too visible.

Nobles always wore masks to conceal their true selves.

He, too, was no exception.

…Although, that was not what she meant.

“Before eating… What should I do for you?”

Esil had learned painfully that no kindness came without a cost.

From Viela, Dartan, Gleon, and all the other nobles.

That’s why she asked.

To eat that delicious dish, what must she do as a s*ave?

However, Rosel furrowed his brow and leaned back in his chair when she asked.

“…What should you do?”

Esil nodded miserably, realizing what was about to happen.

Nobles were cruel.

Surely, he wanted to tempt her with this food and make her open her legs.

The hand resting on her thigh clenched tightly with the fear that had returned.

If her nails were still there, blood would have likely seeped from her palms.

Rosel looked at her sympathetically and murmured.

“You just need to eat it. Just… eat it. I ask for nothing else.”

“The head servant’s cooking skills are quite something. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she is the best cook in our territory.”

“…What happens after I eat?”

Despite Rosel’s playful words, Esil couldn’t bring herself to pick up her fork.

He didn’t ask about the meal itself, but about what would happen afterward. The fear of the unknown consumed her.

The rich, red salmon felt less like a dish and more like a landmine to her.

Just like stepping on a mine, once she ate it, it seemed that her master would demand corruption from her.

He would probably try to tame her by asking for something absurd in return for the meal.

Yes, wasn’t that how all nobles were?

They offered the flesh to take the bones.

He would certainly try to suck the marrow from the bones once he had taken them.

“What’s going to happen…”

Rosel muttered the question as he looked at the terrified Esil.

It seemed that now he understood what her question really meant.

She had been tamed by dreadful fear.

“…You’ll be full.”

Rosel casually lowered the corners of his mouth and spat out the answer. As if it were the most obvious thing.

“Didn’t you hear me? You’ll be full.”

“You haven’t eaten properly for two months, so your stomach must have contracted. Just one bowl of this will probably fill you up. That’s all.”

At Rosel’s blunt words, Esil raised her crescent-shaped, delicate eyebrows and fell silent.

…Was he mocking her?

When she looked at him, he had seemed like a serious person. He had always spoken with sincerity, never wasting a breath.

But now, with that playful tone, he seemed strangely different.

“Well, were you hoping for something grand like social advancement or freedom?”

“No, no…”

“Then hurry and eat.”

Rosel spoke somewhat impatiently.

The minute hand of the clock was pointing at 40 minutes.

In 20 minutes, the guard would arrive.

There was no more time to delay, and so Rosel decided to use his last resort.

[Anxiety paralyzes the mind.]

Rosel leaned forward, picked up the fork in front of Esil, and made a small movement.

Esil, startled by the action, looked at him with wide eyes, and Rosel showed his open palm as if to calm her down.

“Calm down. I don’t intend to hurt you with this.”

She already carried a deep wound that no one else could ever possess.

Therefore, anyone who would try to harm Esil would never be allowed, and Rosel had no intention of threatening her with a fork.

Esil watched the fork in Rosel’s hand with fearful eyes.

But the fork, contrary to her expectations, was used to pick up a piece of the red salmon. The piece of fish, already scored, was lifted with the fork.

“You’re not even going to eat after smelling this? I’ll have to check if the head servant’s cooking has gone bad.”

With that, Rosel quickly took a bite of the salmon.

Munch, munch, the sound of chewing echoed in the still room.

“Hmm, delicious. As I said, our head servant Jitchel is an excellent cook.”

Rosel took another bite, nodding and praising the taste.

Now there were only three pieces left.

It seemed that his tactic was starting to work.

Esil, with her hand resting on the table, slightly parted her lips in a sigh.

Rosel, in an attempt to draw out more of her anxiety, continued to eat in an exaggerated, unrefined manner, which went against the noble etiquette.

Chomp, chomp, chomp.

The delicious sounds of eating filled the room, almost enchanting.

In reality, Rosel disliked fish.

He hated steamed dishes or sashimi, but since it was grilled salmon, he pretended to enjoy it.

‘Salmon’s texture isn’t that great, after all.’

Gulp.

Deliberately amplifying the sound of swallowing, Rosel picked up his fork again, preparing to take another bite.

However, there was a dull *tick* sound, and the fork hit the wooden table.

When he looked up, he saw Esil, holding the bowl with the red salmon tightly, almost defensively.

Her greenish eyes were trembling, lost and pale.

“Heh heh…”

Muttering a meaningless hum, the knight Madeleine walked through the mansion’s hallway.

Though still an apprentice knight unable to join the regular army, Madeleine was training tirelessly to improve her skills at the behest of her master, Rosel.

Taking the night guard shift was to cover the costs of her training.

During the day, she trained, and at night, she took short naps while standing guard, but there was no sign of fatigue on her somewhat naive face.

It was late, and everyone else had fallen asleep.

Walking carefully on tiptoe, Madeleine, who was on patrol, soon reached the second floor.

The main area for patrol duties was actually the first floor.

The Rosel estate was a peaceful place.

No one had ever targeted the lord, and the main purpose of patrols was to catch petty thieves stealing household items and food supplies.

Still, she took her patrol duties seriously, having already caught three petty criminals, so she felt she had earned her pay.

‘I wonder if there’s anything interesting tonight~’

Madeleine twirled her keychain around her index finger, focusing all her senses outward.

The basic virtue of a knight was sharp senses.

With the somewhat bizarre reasoning of training them, she concentrated on picking up any unusual sounds or movements around her.

‘Hmm, it’s quiet tonight.’

The benefits of patrol duties were not just about money.

The servants and attendants lived on the second floor of the mansion.

Men and women worked in the same spaces and shared casual conversations, which led to rumors and even secret affairs.

To someone like him, who enjoyed gossiping and had a broad curiosity, such ‘secret love affairs’ were irresistible topics.

If he had caught three petty criminals, then catching five pairs of lovers would count as an achievement.

These secret lovers always met during the late hours.

Some nights, he had even spied on a couple showing off their physical strength in the stable.

It had been quite a thrilling experience.

That’s why, in a different sense, he liked his night patrol duties.

Tonight, as usual, he was on the lookout for the scent of secret lovers while patrolling, but sadly, there was nothing to catch his attention.

‘Ugh, well, if they were always around, it wouldn’t be fun either.’

With a sigh, Madeleine headed up to the third floor.

The third floor was the lord’s private area.

If anyone were caught having an affair here, it could lead to charges of treason, so there was little excitement on this floor.

Therefore, she usually only checked around the lord’s bedroom and roughly checked the other rooms before finishing her patrol.

But today, there was a new guest, so she headed toward the room at the far west end.

A s*ave, the Hero Traitor.

Esil, the s*ave worth a huge sum of 500 gold coins, needed to be checked if she had any other intentions.

Also, the hero Emilia was famous for her stunning beauty, as well as her exceptional martial arts.

Anyone who had seen her would remember her face for a lifetime, and since Madeleine had never encountered her, she was full of anticipation.

‘Alright, tomorrow I’ll have to enchant the attendants with stories about Esil.’

The thought made her smile to herself.

She could already imagine the attendants crowding around, eager to hear descriptions of the hero’s beauty if she saw Esil in person.

Madeleine arrived at Esil’s room and found the key. She quickly inserted it into the lock and opened the door.

The well-oiled hinges opened silently, not disturbing the quiet night.

However, when Madeleine peered inside, she was immediately taken aback.

“Uh…”

Esil, who should have been sleeping, was awake.

Madeleine had planned to observe her sleeping face and memorize her features, but instead, Esil was sitting hunched over against the wall, staring directly at her.

It felt like she had been caught spying.

But there was something strange in Esil’s eyes—moisture swirled within them.

She was puffing her cheeks, muttering something.

“What… What are you doing up at this hour instead of sleeping?”

Esil, with tears streaming down her face, was muttering something, looking disheveled.

She didn’t seem to be in a good state.

It appeared that her first night as a s*ave was weighing heavily on her.

“What are you eating? Show me.”

Madeleine, as if ready to draw her sword, placed her hand on her waist and demanded, and Esil, swallowing what she had been muttering, carefully showed what she was holding in one hand.

“…Bread… I’m eating…”

A single, unappetizing piece of fermented bread, served for dinner, was in Esil’s small hand.