Chapter 7: The Dreaming Girl, The Slave Whose Dream Ended

“Ah… um, may I come in?”

Eshil looked flustered, while Silia, hands clasped behind her back, nervously fidgeted her fingers as she cautiously spoke.

Eshil couldn’t easily open her mouth. She was afraid.

It wasn’t the same fear she felt toward her torturer or her master.

It was a fear that the resentment tightly locked away in her shattered heart might burst forth.

And if it did, it might revive the futile hope she had buried with all her might.

This fear had lingered since she had seen Silia fighting Rohen.

The sight of someone fighting for her was etched deeply in her mind.

That’s why she was all the more terrified.

She had extinguished that flame of hope once before.

How much effort had it taken to put out that hope?

She had no desire to rekindle that flame.

But the pure black eyes of the little girl staring up at her seemed to blow on the extinguished embers of that hope.

Perhaps she was the only person in the world who still believed in her.

Faced with Silia’s imploring, obsidian-like gaze, Eshil hesitated before stepping aside to let her in.

Not that she had much choice.

Silia was the daughter of her master, after all.

“Ah… yes, go ahead.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

Silia giggled and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Her father had emphasized doing this “secretly.”

It must have meant that it was better to hide the fact that she was meeting with the hero.

Eshil watched Silia’s every movement with anxious eyes.

There was, of course, no sign of hostility.

And with such a small figure, no matter how skilled she might be, she was hardly a threat.

But Eshil was still uneasy.

Fear doesn’t always come from a blade pressed to your neck.

“…My dad told me you’re staying at the mansion.”

“First of all, let me formally express my gratitude.”

“…Pardon?”

Silia bowed respectfully.

It was a level of solemnity that seemed far too mature for someone just past ten years old.

“Thank you so much for saving the continent, Hero.”

Eshil’s eyes widened in shock.

Since her time in the underground prison, when her eyes had once bulged wide during torture, they hadn’t widened like this again—until now.

“My dad always says that the peaceful life we enjoy now is all thanks to you, Hero.”

Eshil’s uplifted eyelids lowered slowly, mournfully.

It had been so long since she’d heard words of gratitude.

But it wasn’t the same as back then.

Now, such words felt meaningless.

“…Please don’t call me that anymore.”

Eshil rejected the gratitude.

Could someone thank a traitor?

Silia was the daughter of her master, holding a status equal to that of the duke himself.

What kind of master would thank their s*ave?

Besides, just hearing the word “hero” now made her stomach churn and her chest feel heavy.

Silia tilted her head in confusion.

“Why? If you’re the Hero, why shouldn’t I call you Hero?”

“…I’m a s*ave now. Just call me Eshil.”

“S-s*ave…?”

Silia’s eyes, half the size of her face, widened in shock, while Eshil lowered her head deeply.

Like a student being scolded by a teacher, Eshil instinctively clasped her hands in front of her.

A brief silence fell between them.

The feeling of having to tell a lie to someone who believed in her was utterly miserable.

No, not a lie—it was the truth, wasn’t it?

“Yes. I am now Eshil the s*ave. Please call me that.”

“…I don’t want to.”

“What?”

This time, it was Silia who rejected the statement, and Eshil’s eyes widened again.

Silia let out a soft hum and smiled brightly. That pure smile made Eshil’s heart sink.

“To me, you’ll always be my eternal hero and a wonderful savior. Treason? I don’t believe it. There must have been some reason. I refuse to accept it.”

“…W-what?”

For a moment, Eshil felt something warm rising in her chest.

But her shattered heart was far too broken to be pieced back together so easily.

Eshil showed a hint of hostility toward Silia, who seemed intent on shaking her resolve.

“I am a s*ave. I committed treason and was punished accordingly. I’m no longer a hero, so please don’t call me that.”

Eshil’s voice was firm.

To be called a hero now felt like an insult. No matter how naive her master might be, that much was intolerable.

Of course, her voice trembled as she spoke.

After all, she, a s*ave, had just dared to issue an order to her master’s daughter.

But deep down, Eshil almost wished for harsher punishment as a consequence of this boldness.

Facing Silia stirred faint hopes within her, and the only way to crush them was to accept her fate as a s*ave even more completely.

However, Silia shouted back with equal determination.

“You didn’t commit treason!”

“…What?”

“I know you didn’t. You came to save the continent—there’s no way you could have committed treason! It’s impossible!”

Eshil was taken aback.

She began nervously biting her nails again, overwhelmed by Silia’s resolute words.

Eshil had thought that explaining the truth would end the matter. Yet, the young noble girl was unexpectedly stubborn.

“…N-no, you don’t understand. I did commit a crime, and…”

“No! I don’t believe it! It’s not true! There’s no way the great Emilia the Hero would do such a thing!”

Silia’s words came out in a near tantrum.

But her obsidian-like black eyes began to glisten with tears.

Something must be wrong. The Hero must be mistaken about herself!

For Silia, who dreamt of becoming a radiant heroine, Eshil’s confession was unbearable.

To her, accepting such a truth felt like her dreams being tarnished and her faith in her idol crumbling.

Faced with this renewed fear, Eshil instinctively took a step back, only for Silia to follow her step by step.

“Father said that heroes are chosen by the gods to fulfill their mission! A hero couldn’t have done anything wrong, and even if they did, it would still be part of the gods’ will! You’ve done nothing wrong!”

“…Stop. Stop it. Please.”

Eshil covered her ears.

Her pale green eyes trembled violently, and a low groan escaped her parted lips.

*‘You’ve done nothing wrong!’*

That single sentence struck her mind like a thunderclap.

And with it, the hellish reality she had tried to forget came rushing back.

She had erased it. She had buried it.

Yet now, that reality—that she had endured hell despite doing no wrong—resurfaced painfully in her heart.

Silia’s words reignited the rage she had smothered.

Yes. I did nothing wrong.

And in the face of Silia’s blind faith in her, Eshil felt a sense of confusion.

Her party members had betrayed her, and every noble and subordinate had pointed their swords at her in the royal court. No one stood by her side.

Yet, this naive little noble girl, who knew nothing of the world, was expressing her faith and standing by her.

It was blind faith, of course, due to her ignorance of the world. But for Eshil, that small faith was more precious than anything else.

That unwavering belief from Silia was invaluable, more than words could express.

However, Eshil’s mind was too conflicted to accept that value right now.

“Please, stop… Please, just go. I’m a s*ave now. I don’t need that kind of belief anymore, please…”

*Tap.*

As Eshil took a step back, she hit the wall.

There was no place left to run in the small room.

Silia, seeing Eshil’s trembling, was also taken aback.

But Silia moved closer.

Her father had said,

The hero is hurting right now.

She must help heal.

“Please don’t come closer. Please, don’t come… Please…”

Eshil, as she always did in the underground prison, curled up against the wall and covered her ears.

She muttered, trying to block out the fear.

She didn’t want to hold on to hope, and she feared that the hope that had bloomed against her will would start wanting something again.

Though Silia couldn’t yet fully understand the desperation and pity in front of her, there was one thing she knew for sure:

The hero needed help.

“Please don’t come… please… sniff… don’t come… I’m a s*ave. A s*ave, a traitor… Eshil…”

Silia, cautiously approaching like a kitten, placed something in front of Eshil.

It was a small macaron she had been holding.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… but this… my father made it. It’s really delicious. There’s nothing on the continent that tastes better than this, I think.”

*Sniff… sniff…*

“Please… eat it. When you eat something delicious, you feel better, don’t you? I’ll leave it here.”

Her words were simple, pure, and childish.

Such a one-dimensional and innocent gesture had a powerful effect on Eshil’s broken heart.

After leaving the macaron, Silia tried to leave the room but paused at the door, whispering.

“Oh, and the macaron is a secret, okay? Shh. It’s our secret, just between you and me. So please eat it. I’ll come again next time!”

With those words, Silia looked back at her broken idol before quietly closing the door.

Left alone, Eshil wiped her tears and looked up.

She saw the small macaron placed in front of her.

Though it wasn’t quite the same as the ones she enjoyed at cafes back in her world, it resembled them closely.

Eshil picked it up.

*Sniffle.*

As she sniffled, the sweet scent filled her chest.

Had she really cried so much?

How could she, a little girl just over ten years old, cry so much over Silia’s words? But the childish, naive belief Silia left behind was enough to soothe Eshil’s heart.

No one else had ever spoken such words to her.

It was the comfort she had longed for.

After stopping her crying, Eshil took a bite of the macaron.

Munch, munch.

Though it couldn’t compare to what she had in the modern world, it was certainly the best treat she had tasted since being transported to this world.

The sweet cream filled her mouth with flavor.

How long had it been since she tasted something this sweet?

Swallowing, the macaron, half-bitten, slid down her throat with the resentment she had been holding inside.

And suddenly, the tears burst forth again.

*Sniff… It’s so delicious…*

The sweet macaron had brought out the last of Eshil’s hidden tears from deep within her soul.

Eshil, finishing the last bite of the macaron, buried her head in her knees and sobbed bitterly.

But this cry was different from the tears she had shed before.

“Ahhh..! I didn’t do it… I swear I didn’t do it… I’m not a traitor… I’m not… I’m not…”

The quiet evening sunset colored Eshil’s room.

With the warmth of the red light of the sunset, she let out her last burst of resentment.

Her final outburst.

At that moment, in the front yard of the mansion,

Butler Gellion, Head Maid Zichel, and the main staff and servants of the mansion were gathered.

There were about fifteen of them in total.

Butler Gellion spoke first.

“As you all know, next week is Lady Silia’s thirteenth birthday.”

At his words, everyone nodded.

Silia’s birthday was not the day she was born.

It was the day that Head of the House Rossel brought Silia to the mansion.

He suggested celebrating that day as her birthday, and with Silia’s consent, it became her birthday.

In other words, October 22nd was Silia’s birthday.

Today was October 18th.

That meant there were only 3 days left until the birthday of the only daughter of the Duke of Rossel.

Preparations for the banquet had already been completed under the leadership of Gellion and Zichel, who had been planning for it.

The only remaining tasks were final cleaning and setting up the banquet hall.

Currently, the Rossel family’s “Del” branch was the most prestigious among the noble families near the capital.

This was inevitable.

Duke Rossel had been the one who led the Elrond Kingdom from a peripheral state to a prosperous one.

Thus, the guest list for the birthday party was dazzling.

From Duke Ruslan of the North to Duke Drens, who ruled the West, Count Nelasia of the East, and Count Nebron of the South.

Nobles representing each region, including “King” Brikal himself.

All the most prominent nobles of the Elrond Kingdom were invited to the birthday party.

Of course, Count Nebron, who had lost his youngest daughter years ago and cut off almost all public activities, would not make the long journey.

However, the invitation had still been sent, and whether he would attend or not was uncertain.

Therefore, preparations had to be made meticulously.

Head Maid Zichel continued.

“As you know, His Majesty King Brikal will definitely attend. Therefore, we must ensure there are no mistakes. Please remember, any mistake on our part will reflect on the Del family.”

They appeared as resolute as if preparing for war.

Zichel especially looked over the female attendants.

This was understandable since the king had a notorious reputation for his affairs with women.

Any mistake made by a female servant at the banquet could lead to unforeseen consequences.

For this reason, Silia’s and the Duke’s birthdays felt as intense as preparing for a war to the staff.

“Starting tomorrow, please make sure to thoroughly clean and organize your assigned areas, and those assigned to the banquet hall preparations should gather here early in the morning.”

The air in the front yard seemed to grow tense.

With Butler Gellion’s words, everyone dispersed, and the real preparations for the banquet began the next morning, leaving everyone busy throughout the day.

It was the same for Rossel.

The fact that s*ave Eshil was here would soon spread throughout the kingdom.

Especially since King Brikal would definitely want to see the fallen hero, preparations for that were of the utmost importance.