Chapter 49: Emilia Curious About Her Master

Rosel left the room to report to Duke Duraton, and Emilia, left alone, carefully spread the Hero’s attire on the bed.

The clothes, holding the memories of that day. Although there were many unpleasant memories, it felt like they represented the “real Emilia.”

The true Emilia, who shouted that she wasn’t a traitor that day.

“Wait… does this mean, according to the prophecy, everything will come true?”

Suddenly, such a thought crossed her mind.

Duke Rosel was preparing for a revolution, for himself and the kingdom.

If the extraordinary man that he was succeeded in the revolution, wouldn’t she, who participated, end up being the traitor as foretold in the prophecy?

But it was too unfair to think that way.

After all, if they pushed someone who had never even considered rebellion into becoming a traitor, tortured her, and sold her as a s*ave, wouldn’t revenge be a natural response?

Could it be that she had foresaw her future of being sold to Duke Rosel?

And perhaps, had she seen the distant future where she would join him in the revolution of a decaying kingdom?

“Wait… then the title of the Hero who saves the kingdom might actually be correct?”

She had once questioned it, but Saint Yuria always dismissed it, saying, “I am merely a messenger of the Lord.” In other words, the Lord had said that…

Even after thinking it over again, the questions remained unanswered.

What she truly wanted was to meet Saint Yuria once more.

She wanted to ask whether the prophecy was truly real, or if it was a lie under external pressure.

The eyes of Yuria, whom she saw that day in the kingdom, had clearly been sorrowful.

If the prophecy was true, why did she have to have such sad eyes?

And honestly, she thought it was absurd that her party members were “lying” about things that hadn’t even happened yet.

“Right. If the prophecy is true, then it doesn’t make sense to lie. If you fabricate a lie to justify the prophecy, isn’t that a false prophecy?”

In her life as a s*ave, such thoughts had never occurred to her. The fear of tomorrow had always been too strong. But now, she could see it.

The justification of the prophecy was based on lies.

“Does my master know…?”

Now that she thought about it, after Biel had a private conversation with her master, he confessed his sins to her.

What had happened?

Could it be that her master knew the prophecy was a lie?

If that were the case, it would be hard to understand how her master had immediately drawn Biel’s confession.

“Should I ask him next time we meet?”

They always spoke about recovery and overcoming, but she had never brought up anything about the past.

Perhaps her master, too, had been hesitant to mention it.

“Right, it’s my turn to bring it up.”

In fact, she had never had a deep conversation with her master, Rosel.

No, to be precise, she had never heard his true feelings.

Because of that, there was so much she didn’t know about him.

She was curious. How had he risen from a commoner to a duke? How did he predict the future? Did he have parents? Did he have a fiancée? How did he adopt Cilia? What was his ultimate goal?

“Wait… I don’t know anything about him, do I?”

She didn’t even know his age.

She was taken aback by that realization.

Her master, strangely, knew everything about her.

The food he brought her always matched her preferences. And that was a little puzzling.

Why was he being so kind to her, someone he didn’t know very well?

Why did he spend 500 gold on her without expecting anything in return, only asking for her recovery?

Of course, she was extremely grateful.

But it felt like too much for a mere repayment for defeating the Demon Lord. Also, there was always affection in the way he looked at her.

She had assumed that affection was just sympathy.

He was a kind-hearted, compassionate person, and it seemed like he was showing affectionate pity to a fallen hero.

Though, perhaps it was a bit more affectionate than just sympathy.

So, she hadn’t thought too deeply about it.

But now, she understood.

She realized she was receiving an undeserved love as an unworthy s*ave.

“Ugh. Now I feel so guilty toward my master.”

Since coming to this mansion, she had always received kindness, kindness without any expectations in return.

Yet, to realize she didn’t know anything about her respected master, this was something she couldn’t easily overlook as someone who served him.

“How could I not even know his age? I’ve just been taking everything from him.”

And her master had promised that when the time was right, he would share things he hadn’t said yet.

Until then, learning more about her master would be the way she could pay back for all the kindness.

Who knew?

By getting to know him better, she might even discover something else he wanted?

“Yes… I’ll learn about my master now!”

Even if what he truly wanted was her virginity, Emilia was ready to give it to him now.

Although, she was still very scared.

After a storm had passed, peace finally settled over the Rosel mansion.

The servants, who had been so tense and couldn’t even breathe properly, the exhausted Zichel, and the busy Gellion, all of them could finally rest.

Even though King Brikal had collapsed, the Rosel mansion was filled with the same peaceful atmosphere as any other day.

And the same was true for Cilia.

Cilia had been quite worried, wondering if the king, Brikal, would cause any harm to the hero.

“Hehe~”

Because of that, Cilia’s steps toward the hero’s room were light like a mountain hare, and a pleasant hum escaped from her nose.

Knock knock, knock knock knock.

As usual, she knocked in a playful manner, and as soon as the door opened, she quickly entered the room.

Today, she seemed especially excited because it was the day she could read the third chapter of the manga.

“Welcome, my lady.”

“Eek!”

However, as soon as Cilia entered the room, her eyes widened and she screamed.

She looked like she had seen a ghost.

Three braids tied thinly at the back like a noble elf, shiny golden hair cascading down to her wings, her skin smooth and glowing as though covered in base makeup, and a dress as well.

To Cilia, who had always seen Emilia in ragged, shabby clothes with unkempt hair, this transformation was nothing short of shocking.

“H-Hero…?! Wh-what happened?!”

“I-Is it strange…?”

“N-No…! You look absolutely insane!”

“Eh? What?”

“Your beauty is insane…! Ah, no.”

Cilia quickly snapped back to her senses and slapped her pink lips as if scolding herself.

“I-I’m sorry. I was just so surprised.”

“Ah… it was Master and Zichel who did this.”

“Zichel?”

“Yes.”

Cilia covered her mouth in disbelief and kept circling around Emilia, constantly exclaiming in awe.

“Wow… wow… wow…!”

“My lady… you’re embarrassing me.”

“Seriously, this is amazing!”

After finishing her ‘review,’ Cilia gave a thumbs-up and sent an enthusiastic approval toward Emilia’s transformation.

Emilia shyly brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled.

It felt like she was gradually returning to her normal life.

Emilia was getting more accustomed to the freedom left by Duvel.

“You’re much more beautiful than any noble lady I’ve ever seen. Of course, you were always pretty, but now, you’re even more so!”

“T-thank you… I’m embarrassed. Here’s the third chapter.”

Though she was adjusting, Emilia still had low self-esteem and couldn’t easily accept compliments.

She handed over the third page, trying to change the subject.

When Cilia saw it, she naturally smiled widely and happily.

“Eek! It’s the next story! I’ll read it with gratitude!”

“Y-Yes.”

The feeling of having her work read right in front of her was similar to that of an idol auditioning.

Waiting for feedback, Emilia fidgeted with her hands, keeping an eye on Cilia’s reactions.

After a moment, Cilia placed the paper on the table.

“Did you… enjoy it?”

However, Cilia’s expression was not a happy one.

The comic was very entertaining. The current chapter was an adventure on the way to defeat the Demon Lord.

But her mood was off. No, it wasn’t just bad—it was sad and angry.

“The party members are really… too much. The hero sacrificed so much, and yet they betrayed her like that?”

In this chapter, Emilia had sacrificed herself for her injured comrades and faced off alone against one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Death Knight.

It had been a dangerous moment—she had nearly died.

Cilia’s eyes were misty, holding back tears.

She was truly fond of Emilia, and the tears were filled with anger and sorrow.

“I don’t know what happened either. But from the return journey, something started to change, I think?”

“If you knew something, you should have told the hero right away! Whether it was Daltan, Gellion, or Biel!”

“Well, there must have been a reason…? Whatever the reason, betrayal is still betrayal.”

“Even if there was a reason, if they knew how much the hero had sacrificed for them, they should never have done that! They’re completely in the wrong!”

Cilia was getting more and more upset as she fervently spoke on Emilia’s behalf.

As she started to uncover the real story of the hero’s party through the manga, she couldn’t help but feel angry.

It made her blood boil.

“Hmph! These party members really need to be punished! They’re the worst!”

Emilia had to smile contentedly as she watched the passionate words of her fervent reader.

She felt as though she had gained a hundred thousand soldiers, a solid sense of support.

After the comic review session ended, Cilia, still grumbling, was cautiously asked by Emilia.

“My lady, may I ask you something?”

“Of course~! What is it?”

“How old is Master? Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about him…”

“Age? He’s twenty-three.”

“Twenty-three?”

“Why?”

“Ah, nothing.”

Emilia, who swallowed the words ‘You look younger than I expected,’ nodded her head.

Given the title of duke and the mature aura he gave off, she had assumed he was at least twenty-five or older, but the fact that he was younger than expected made her a bit taken aback.

‘Well, it’s because of his aura, but he really does look like he’s twenty-three.’

By the standards of this world, her age was twenty-four.

The current world’s Choi Yoonseo was twenty-one, but since Emilia’s body was twenty-four, she was one year older than her master.

‘…I wonder if he likes older women…’

Although it was only a one-year difference, in this world, it was extremely rare for a woman to be older than a man in relationships.

No, in noble families, it was almost unheard of.

This made Emilia feel somewhat down. Cilia, who noticed this, looked at her with a somewhat sly (?) expression.

“Suddenly curious about your dad’s age, huh~ Why are you curious, Hero?”

“Ah, no. It’s just, well…”

“Just?”

“Yes, yes. I need to know the basics if I am to serve as a master.”

“Is that really all?”

Since Cilia already knew that her father and the hero shared a deep bond, she was happy to hear Emilia’s question.

Cilia had been secretly hoping that the hero would become her stepmother.

After a moment of thought, Cilia smiled and said to Emilia,

“Hero, could you give me the self-portrait you drew back then?”

“Eh? Why?”

It was a self-portrait Emilia had drawn for Cilia to see and to help her remember Choi Yoonseo from the other world.

“I want to show it to Dad. I’m sure he’ll like it.”

Boom!

The moment Emilia heard that it was for Rosel, her face turned bright red.

She never imagined it would be shown to her master.

But seeing Cilia’s sparkling eyes, Emilia had no choice but to take out the self-portrait from her drawer.

Although she was embarrassed, this was also a part of who she was.

Just like she had started to learn about her master, it was also important to show her true self.

“Here.”

“I’ll carefully observe how Dad reacts and let you know! But I’m sure he’ll love it!”

Cilia, looking like a messenger of love, energetically kicked the floor with her short legs and hurried toward Rosel’s office.

“Ah, Cilia. What brings you here?”

“I have something to show you~”

With the self-portrait hidden behind her back, Cilia’s lips were dancing with excitement.

She was sure her dad would be happy.

After all, he cherished the hero more than anyone.

Since Duke Durratun had said he had something to report and was waiting, Rosel, who had been sitting at his desk, warmly looked at Cilia as she approached.

“Are you making me look forward to something?”

“Hehe, ta-da!”

With immense joy, Cilia proudly presented the self-portrait in front of Rosel’s face.

And upon seeing it, Rosel’s breath caught in his throat.

“W-Who is this…?”

Although he knew, Rosel pretended not to and asked.

Seeing his surprised reaction, Cilia became even more excited and proudly said,

“This is what the hero looked like in the world where she lived! Isn’t she really beautiful?!”

“Ah… yeah, she’s really beautiful…”

Rosel looked at the other face of Emilia depicted on the paper.

He carefully examined her eyes, nose, and mouth.

“Yeah… this was her face…”

Then, without realizing it, he muttered.

But Cilia, who couldn’t understand the meaning, blankly stared at her father’s expression and observed it closely.

Rosel accepted the self-portrait and, with slightly reddened eyes, looked down at it before speaking to Cilia.

“Can you ask Emilia if I can keep this?”

“The self-portrait? Hehe, I knew you’d like it, Dad!”

Cilia hurriedly left the office, and Rosel stared at the self-portrait with a full heart.

He then opened the desk drawer, took out a sheet of paper, and placed it beside the self-portrait.

Unlike Emilia’s beautifully drawn portrait with clear lines, this one was drawn with rough, blurry lines.

As Rosel compared the two pictures, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah, as I thought, I have no talent for art.”

The clear and beautiful face of Choi Yoonseo.

The blurry and more human-like face of Choi Yoonseo.

Although he had worked hard on it, compared to the art of a professional, it was more like scribbles.

“Yeah… this was her face, Yoonseo.”

A complex mix of emotions—fondness, longing, and joy—filled his heart as his lips curled into a gentle smile.

Thus, Rosel continued to stare at the face of Choi Yoonseo for quite a while, until Duke Durratun entered the office.