ESL Chapter 16

Helen had a long, terrible nightmare. No matter how much she ran and ran, she was always dragged before Prince Lloyd. And he would assault her, grab her hair and pull it painfully while whispering. His cruel eyes stared as if piercing through her own.

[There’s nowhere for the likes of you to go. You might be useful as my disposable breeding mare.]

And his hands tore off every piece of clothing she wore. Forcing her naked body face down and mounting her, he grabbed her hair again and pulled. Knowing all too well what would follow, she screamed frantically.

[No!!!! Don’t do it!!! Save me!!!!]

At that moment, her eyes flew open. She could feel tears flowing down her cheeks from how agonizing it had been.

“Sob… sob sob…”

She raised both hands to cover her face. And she began to cry. Neither her father’s poisoning nor what had been done to her—she could understand none of it. All she had wanted was a peaceful daily life like others, but all of that had shattered like glass in an instant. Though she had barely saved her life, she felt as if she were standing in darkness, not knowing what to do now. Just as she had stopped crying from exhaustion, she heard a knock.

“May I come in?”

It was the voice of the man called Ken who had been her escort in the forest.

“…Yes.”

Helen wiped her tears and sat up. She looked weakly at the golden-brown-haired man entering. Though sympathy appeared in Ken’s eyes as he saw her green eyes still pooled with tears and her reddened eyelids, he spoke without showing it.

“Dinner is ready.”

“…I have no appetite… later…”

Ken’s handsome face frowned slightly. She had refused lunch, and now she was refusing dinner too. He spoke in a firm voice.

“That won’t do. Since I’ve taken on the duty of escorting you, your health is also my responsibility. I’ll bring the food here, so please eat at least here.”

Though he felt sympathy, he too had a promise with his employer to keep. The escort duty he had accepted covered physical health, if not mental state. And even to his eyes, this young lady needed to eat something.

‘What on earth happened to make her cry as if the world had ended…’

Lost in thought as he descended the stairs to the first floor, he instinctively reached for his sword. Someone was sitting on the sofa that had been empty when he went upstairs. Their back was to him so he couldn’t see their face, but mysterious black hair reminiscent of a pitch-black night caught his eye impressively. He relaxed his tense face and lowered his hand from his sword at the voice he heard.

“You’re not thinking of drawing your sword on your employer, are you? Ken.”

“…How did you get in?”

There had been no sound at all. If there had been any sound of the front door or windows opening, there was no way he wouldn’t have noticed. It was one of his specialties, after all.

Meeting his employer with a curious expression, he flinched in surprise. His employer, leaning back comfortably with arms crossed, was an extraordinarily beautiful girl who appeared to be about 17 years old. Moreover, her red eyes reminiscent of blazing flames combined with her mysterious black hair added the word “enchanting” to that beauty.

Though he had seen many beautiful women and wasn’t particularly interested in women, the girl before him was truly attractive. In fact, he hadn’t known his employer was such a beautiful and enchanting girl. However, seeing that she hadn’t been detected by his senses in the forest and considering the current situation, he concluded she was no ordinary girl and sat down on the sofa, saying,

“Seeing you reveal yourself like this, you must really trust me.”

At Ken’s words, Lea smiled and answered.

“Were you someone who needed to be told twice? I said I trust you.”

“Aren’t you a bit too unsuspecting?”

“Hmm… Do I seem unsuspecting to you?”

In an instant, Lea’s expression turned cold, and her red eyes stared piercingly into his gray ones. Though her red eyes were like blazing flames, they felt cold as ice, and he couldn’t look away from that contradictory feeling. But soon the flames subsided and her eyes returned to their beautiful gleam as she shrugged and said,

“See? Nothing to hide.”

Ken, who was about to ask “so what?”, suddenly recalled her gaze and realized it had been a test. Though he was skilled at hiding emotions from his mercenary life, if he had been hiding something, he probably wouldn’t have been able to receive her gaze as calmly as just now. He would have instinctively shown some reaction—his gaze wavering slightly or stiffening. Her gaze was that threatening and intense.

“…You’re a strange employer.”

As Ken grumbled, Lea smiled brightly and answered.

“I’ve lived in situations where failing to properly assess people could endanger my life, you see. But more importantly, how is the young lady?”

“Not very well. She seems to have nightmares even while sleeping—she was crying, and she’s refusing to eat, so I was about to bring food up.”

“Oh~”

At Lea’s gaze looking at him as if surprised, Ken’s thick eyebrows twitched.

“What does that look mean?”

“It’s a good meaning. I thought from watching your behavior in the forest that you had a decent character, but you’re quite good. My name is Lea. Let’s get along well from now on, Ken.”

Watching her extend her hand as if offering a handshake with the corners of her mouth lifted in good humor, Ken had a peculiar look in his eyes. She was a girl whose identity was utterly unknowable. Her outward appearance was clearly like that of a young lady from a high noble family, but her actions and words seemed like those of someone who had experienced all manner of hardships. Yet somehow, he found himself liking this girl before him.

“Likewise, please take care of me, Lea. And for a lady, this suits better than a handshake.”

Ken smiled and took her hand, lightly bringing his lips to the back of it. As he did, he felt that her palm, as sensed through his hand, was not like that of an ordinary young lady. Though her white hand was slender and beautiful, her palm had the calluses that only those trained in swordsmanship could have. But he paid it no mind. Whether or not she could handle a sword was not his concern. They were merely in an employer-mercenary relationship, after all.

As he lifted his lips, Lea’s face as she watched with interest was reflected in his gray eyes. She too seemed to know something about him but didn’t seem inclined to speak of it.

“So who do I need to protect that young lady from? Is this something I’m allowed to know?”

As Ken asked while releasing her hand, Lea crossed her arms while leaning back on the sofa and spoke calmly.

“From everyone trying to harm her. Right now she’s caught in a trap. You’re the only one who can help her.”

“Why are you leaving yourself out? Didn’t you say your families know each other?”

“I have my own circumstances. I’m already quite busy now and will be even busier going forward, so taking care of her too would be difficult.”

Lea let out a light sigh and rose from the sofa. Knowing she was about to leave, Ken also stood up. However, Lea headed not toward the entrance but toward one wall of the living room. When she touched a decorative lamp positioned about shoulder height, suddenly the entire wall rotated to reveal a passage. As Ken made a surprised expression, Lea smiled brightly and said,

“If even with your skills it seems impossible, take her and escape through this passage. I’ll handle the rest. Well then, I’ll come again. As soon as possible.”

Entering the passage, she waved her hand without looking back. And immediately the wall rotated back. There seemed to be a device to rotate the wall on the inside too. Ken, watching with an expression of disbelief, chuckled softly and muttered,

“…This feels like I’ve gotten involved in something dangerous. But I’ve already received the advance payment, so can’t be helped.”

He turned toward the kitchen to get the porridge.

….

Having exited through the secret passage, Lea stood right in front of the passage exit. Then a silver magic circle was drawn and in an instant, her form disappeared from that spot.

“You’re back?”

At Abel’s words from the kitchen, she let out a sigh and flopped down on the sofa.

“I was confident in my stamina, but that confidence just suddenly dropped.”

At her petulant words, Abel came out of the kitchen. In his hands were two teacups.

“Human stamina can’t be infinite. You have good stamina for what it is. Before, all you did was catch wanted criminals and practice swordsmanship, but now it’s different. So drink this.”

“Okay.”

Watching Lea groan as she sat up and received the teacup, Abel spoke gently. However, unlike usual, there was no smile on his lips.

“If you want, I’ll do it for you instead. I’ll just make those humans disappear from this world, so just say the word. I don’t like seeing you struggle.”

“……”

Lea looked at Abel quietly. He had more than enough power to do that. No, if he set his mind to it, making even a small country disappear from the map right now would be nothing at all. With one word, she could take the easy path without all this hardship, but she didn’t. This was her fight.

“That won’t do. Then they’d die without even knowing what they did wrong. They’ve caused pain and despair to many people. I’m going to make them feel the exact same emotions. I’ll find out what they’re trying to do and break it all, one by one.”

Watching her set down the teacup and clench her fist tightly, Abel’s gentle smile returned to his face. She really never changed. He was annoyed by her struggling, and if she wanted it, he had truly thought about eliminating her enemies. No, if she had wavered even slightly at his words, he might have moved. After all, humans other than her were beings more meaningless to him than dust. But… his girl was always strong.

‘I wish she could be a little less strong.’

Abel reached out and stroked her head.