Chapter 5: Esil picked up the glass bottle

Day 1.

I couldn’t even shed a tear.

Friendship, ability, dreams, status.

I lost everything I had as a hero, but strangely, not even a single tear came.

Day 2.

What will happen now?

A day has passed, but nothing has happened.

Only endless tears.

Day 3.

I’m hungry.

I haven’t eaten any food or drank any water, my lips are dry, and my stomach keeps growling.

This is the first time I’ve felt hunger since being transferred to this world.

Day 4.

Nothing has happened yet.

I started to become afraid.

Will I die like this, in vain?

No sound came from my stomach anymore, and a burning pain began in my gut.

Day 7.

I thought I was going to die.

My mind was drifting away, and sleep was overwhelming me.

I bit my lower lip.

The bitter taste of blood flooded my senses, and sleep left me.

I screamed for help, but all I heard was an empty echo.

That night, I caught a bug crawling on my body and ate it.

I didn’t even know what kind of bug it was. When I bit into its hard shell, a rusty liquid burst out, and even though I tried to swallow it, I ended up gagging.

Since I had eaten nothing, all that came out was the useless stomach acid that had been waiting for food.

Day 8.

Now, I had no hope or will.

I couldn’t even tell if this place was reality or a delusion.

I didn’t want to die unjustly, but I didn’t want to live like this either.

At that moment, the corridor door of the underground prison opened, and a beam of light illuminated the inside.

It felt like the gods had descended.

Standing beyond the iron bars, staring at me, was not a god or a savior, but the torturer.

Day 15.

I survived on rubbery jerky and water, while the torturer continued to subject me to cruel torment day after day.

My skin was torn, the teeth I gritted in pain broke, and my eyes were bloodshot, making the world appear red.

Whipping, waterboarding, sleep deprivation—he used every method of torture to break my body and mind.

The sleep deprivation was the worst—it really made a person go mad.

It felt like I was living in a never-ending nightmare.

Day 17.

I was alone again.

At first, it seemed like a rest, but the fear of when the torture would start again kept me from even taking a single breath.

Sometimes, I wished the torture would just start already.

Day 20.

The hardest part was not knowing when this hell would end.

Just hearing the torturer’s footsteps made me soil myself.

He had grown horns on his head.

His teeth had become sharp fangs, and his skin had turned reddish.

What had happened while I wasn’t looking?

He looked like a devil with horns.

Day 30.

The torturer seemed tired, and sometimes, he would come to torment me but end up chatting and then leaving.

I don’t know why he was tired.

I don’t even know why I’m being tortured.

He still hadn’t asked me for any answers.

Heh, fools. I’ll win in the end.

Day 50.

By now, I had developed the ability to identify tasty bugs with my hands.

No, I could tell just by the sound.

Crunch, crunch. You’re delicious.

Oh, there’s more?

Did you bring your friends? Want to be friends with me too?

Day 55.

I was tormented by the guilt of eating my friend.

But… you were just too delicious, hehe.

Bring me another friend today. The one with the long antennae was really tasty last time. What a shame.

Day 60.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

It feels like a year has gone by.

The torturer’s visits have become more spaced out.

Ah… am I being abandoned by the torturer now?

We got along well enough, and he was kind of a decent person, heh…

I got used to the torture as it went on. I haven’t died, have I?

That’s why I eat these delicious bugs now…

Day 65.

Finally, I heard two footsteps in the underground prison.

I wet myself, and then I started to bite my nails, which were already gone.

The sound stopped beyond the iron bars, and King Brikal stood there with the torturer.

He asked me.

Do you acknowledge your crime of treason?

Heh, what difference does it make now?

I admitted it without resistance. I was a traitor, and I had committed a crime, so I was receiving a fitting punishment.

Day 67.

Finally, I stepped out of the underground prison and onto the ground.

The warm sunlight embraced my body.

I couldn’t see because it was so bright, but that warm and gentle feeling made me remember.

…I miss Mom and Dad.

“Heh!”

Esil suddenly looked up.

Chirp, chirp, the sound of sparrows singing in my ears.

It had been a long time since I heard such a refreshing sound.

With bleary eyes, I turned my head and looked toward the window.

Bright sunlight was streaming in.

Had I fallen asleep after eating bread?

In my right hand was the leftover bread.

I wiped the tears from my eyes with my left hand.

I thought my tear ducts had dried up, but it seems I still had some tears left.

Mumbling.

I chewed the bread, which was stuck between my cheeks and gums, like I was savoring it.

It was surprisingly edible, probably because it was soaked with amylase.

It was just dry bread, without any jam or filling.

Suddenly, I remembered the red grilled salmon I ate at dawn.

It was really delicious.

Since coming to this world, I must have eaten grilled salmon a hundred times, but that one I had at dawn was definitely the best.

And the shredded radish I ate with it was great too.

As my master said, the chef here definitely has a unique touch with his cooking.

“I want more…”

Esil swallowed, and finished the bread in her hand.

She then pushed herself up from her crouched position, leaning against the wall for support.

She wobbled.

Having been hunched over all night, her legs were weak.

Esil hastily leaned on the window ledge as she got up.

She then looked out at the garden beyond the window.

The gardener was trimming the trees and bushes, and several koi fish could be seen swimming in the pond.

I even saw a few butterflies fluttering, as if painted in the color of rapeseed flowers.

It seemed like spring had arrived early.

The garden scene was fresh and lively.

“Hey! Over there!”

“Catch me if you can~”

“Roden! You’ll die if you’re caught!”

“Heh, if I’m caught by you, I’m not a wannabe knight!”

“I’ll tell Dad everything!”

Ahh!

Looking down, two little kids were play-fighting.

Then, the girl seemed to get upset and burst into tears.

With rose-colored hair, braided into two pigtails, she was a cute girl, and her clothes and appearance seemed to be quite refined.

In contrast, the boy had messy black hair, and his clothes were much simpler compared to the girl’s.

**”Why, why are you crying? There’s no need to cry. Sillia.”**

“Hwaaaang…!”

The boy, called Roden, hesitated as he approached the girl Sillia to apologize.

Her crying was so loud that it seemed like it could echo all the way to the end of the garden—Sillia’s voice was anything but ordinary.

“Hey, hey. I’m sorry. Stop crying. Why is the Duke’s daughter crying so much?”

The girl crying with tears as big as chicken droppings was none other than Rosel’s adopted daughter, Sillia.

“Hwaaaang! Bad! Roden!”

However, the moment Roden placed his hand on Sillia’s shoulder to comfort her,

Sillia completely changed her expression and tripped Roden, sending him to the grass with a swift move.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Roden, neatly pinned to the ground, groaned as he rolled across the floor.

Clap, clap, Sillia flicked her messy bangs with a puff of air and clapped her hands.

“How are you supposed to be a knight-in-training if you’re this slow? You think you can protect me? Heh, my house’s Poppy could do a better job.”

“Y-You coward…” *Cough*…

“Where’s the cowardice? You’re the one who’s stupid. Fool.”

Esil, who was watching from the side, was genuinely surprised.

Sillia, who appeared to be just over ten years old, spoke in a mature tone and executed a perfectly clean maneuver to flip a much larger opponent, showing skills that were sharp and well-practiced.

‘…If she’s the Duke’s daughter, then she must be the lord’s child.’

The fact that she had a daughter meant that the lord was married.

Even if a person like that couldn’t maintain proper decorum, buying a sex slave for five hundred gold coins seemed like something he would do.

Esil, who had suspected as much, looked down at Sillia.

‘But… there was no noblewoman.’

A noblewoman is someone who stays in the family mansion or castle, handling the household affairs in place of her husband when he’s away.

She usually doesn’t leave the estate unless there’s a social event or a special occasion.

Especially, if her husband is away, she makes sure to stay at home no matter what.

The fact that the Duke’s noblewoman hadn’t been present when the Duke returned home meant something significant had happened, or perhaps the lady had passed away.

However, the Duke’s “slave auction” behavior didn’t seem like a significant matter.

‘Maybe she passed away…’

Roden, rubbing his back, awkwardly got up and dusted himself off.

“Ouch… How can a girl be this strong?”

“Do you look down on me just because I’m a girl? I’ll become a great female knight, just like Emilia the Knight. Do you think that’s a joke?”

At Sillia’s words, Esil’s heart sank. Was she really dreaming of following in the footsteps of the previous female knight, despite her tragic end?

Esil wanted to shout and tell her to give up on that delusional dream right then, but the conversation that followed made Esil freeze in place.

Roden chuckled and said,

“Female knight? That’s funny. Didn’t you hear? She was imprisoned in the underground dungeon for committing treason.”

“I don’t believe that nonsense.”

“What? The king himself sentenced her! If you keep talking like that, both you and the Duke could be in danger! Keep quiet before you bring it up to him!”

“I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it! I won’t believe it until I hear it from my own ears!

Emilia the Knight wouldn’t have done that! And my dad thinks the same as me, you know!?”

Sillia shot back at Roden’s words as if defending Esil.

Neither of them knew yet that Emilia the Knight had become Esil, a sex slave, and was hiding away.

She had been brought here and confined the moment she arrived last night, and the butler, the steward, and even Damian were keeping silent about it.

Of course, they would soon find out through Madeline’s loose tongue.

As Esil watched them, she quickly stepped back from the window and stumbled, feeling embarrassed.

She wanted to hide.

She felt so ashamed in front of the little girl who trusted her that she wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

But soon, her legs gave out, and she collapsed.

Her emerald-colored eyes were wide open, trembling violently.

A little girl, whose name I didn’t even know, was supporting me.

She believed in the truth and was fighting against the lies on my behalf.

“…Hhh… hhh…”

Esil knelt and sat, then collapsed onto the floor.

She tried to cover her eyes with her hand, but the tears flowing couldn’t be hidden.

A heartbreaking reality.

And the children, living proudly in the world she had saved.

As the savior, she had become a sex slave, trapped here,

While the children she saved lived freely on the lush green grass.

The immense gap between the two weighed heavily on Esil’s heart.

She had thought she had left behind all the indignation, frustration, anger, and sorrow in the underground prison, but it seemed that was just an illusion.

Or perhaps, it was something she had simply hidden deep within her heart.

“…Huu… Huuu…”

And so, Esil had to shed tears relentlessly for a long while.

She sniffled.

She didn’t know how long she cried.

Esil, her eyes swollen from crying so bitterly, remained kneeling and lying on the floor.

With a creak, the lock clicked open, and she raised her upper body slightly to look at the door.

“…Has it finally stopped?”

It was Rosel.

He had been waiting outside the door for nearly an hour.

Once the crying subsided, he carefully opened the door.

Upon seeing Esil’s eyes, swollen and red from crying, he had to take two deep breaths to calm the tightness in his chest.

Her sorrow had been transmitted completely outside the door.

He didn’t ask why she cried.

He knew.

No, he couldn’t have not known.

“…I-I’m sorry…”

Esil lowered her head, apologizing for showing her sadness.

A slave is not human.

It is a being that should not show emotions, for it is a slave in this world.

“If you want to cry, you are free to do so here. Sometimes, tears can cover up the sadness.”

Rosel spoke to her indifferently, offering comfort.

But still, Esil’s eyes remained wet.

Unable to face those eyes, Rosel averted his gaze and entered the room.

Esil instinctively curled up.

“Don’t speak. Like yesterday and today… I want nothing from you.”

Fearful.

“…Then, why am I here?”

Had a little bit of sincerity reached him?

Esil did not close off the conversation and, despite trembling, asked Rosel.

She was curious.

Why had he spent 500 gold coins to buy her, only to leave her alone for two days?

Rosel shrugged.

“Why did I buy a slave, you ask… I bought you because I wanted you. That’s all. If I had wanted something else, I would have taken it already.”

Esil stared at Rosel intently.

She couldn’t understand his intentions.

Why was he doing this?

If he had paid such a large sum, wouldn’t it be natural to demand something in return by now?

“…Then why…?”

In response to Esil’s question, Rosel smiled faintly and placed something on the wooden table.

Two transparent glass bottles contained something inside.

“Are you curious about why I’m doing this?”

“…Yes.”

Esil had felt something in the underground prison.

The unknown fear of when it might strike.

Though Rosel didn’t seem like the type to bring her pain “for now,” he was a noble after all.

The nobles are cruel and know how to wait patiently for their prey.

More than that, they are the type to enjoy watching their prey collapse from exhaustion after setting cruel traps.

Because of this, Esil had not yet escaped the fear from the underground prison.

Rosel looked at her pitiful appearance and lifted a glass bottle.

He was forcing her to relive painful memories.

He knew that her body bore many scars from torture.

Such scars cannot be erased by any ordinary magic.

“…?”

Esil made a confused expression.

Everyone knew she had been imprisoned in the underground prison, but no one knew about the torture she had endured.

Only King Brikal and the torturer knew.

“Ah… back then, didn’t you suddenly take off your shirt in the carriage?

I inferred there must have been torture when I saw how many scars you had.”

“Ah… yes.”

Esil dropped her suspicion, and Rosel’s face flushed slightly.

The memory of the carriage resurfaced in her mind.

She quickly raised her gaze, but the vivid image remained etched in her mind.

Esil’s pure white body.

Feeling embarrassed, Rosel began explaining while holding the glass bottle.

“Apply the cream in this green glass bottle first, and after ten minutes, apply the cream in this red glass bottle.

If the scars completely disappear, I’ll answer your question.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’ll explain why I bought you.”

“…The reason?”

“And these creams were specially prepared by the Neo-Elf healers, whom I paid a large sum.

Be careful not to break the bottles.”

After finishing his words, Rosel placed the bottles back on the wooden table with a smug expression.

Each bottle had five gold coins worth.

That amount was equivalent to ten years’ worth of a peasant’s salary.

After speaking about the glass bottle creams, Rosel left the room.

As he said, nothing happened that day either.

What is this?

Why is this happening?

Esil’s curiosity only deepened, as Rosel, who had bought a sex slave, didn’t even touch her a single time.

She felt like she was the captured prey.

Even though nobles enjoy watching their prey collapse from exhaustion, they don’t usually have the patience to observe it for too long.

“…What the hell is going on?”

Esil picked up the glass bottle that was left on the wooden table.

At least her master didn’t seem like the type to break promises, so she began applying the cream to her body.

“…It smells awful…”

Author’s Note (Afterword):

“Foster Daughter” refers to a daughter who was adopted or taken in from someone else’s family.