Chapter : 06
I looked at Lurie, who was standing there without leaving the bathroom.
Lurie tilted her head and said,
“Huh? I’ll be assisting you with your bath today.”
…Assisting?
We literally just met today.
“Don’t worry. I’ll scrub you nice and clean~”
Scrub what? Me?
Um… I have hands and feet of my own, you know?
I’ve been too embarrassed to even let a professional bath attendant do it before…!
“I’ll… no, I’ll do it myself….”
I was worried she might forcibly scrub my back, but thankfully, Lurie readily agreed.
“Is that so? Then I’ll be right outside the door, so please call if you need anything.”
I nodded and watched as Lurie left.
It felt uncomfortable having someone stand guard outside the door, but I couldn’t resist a bubble bath.
I sank fully into the tub and gathered the foam into my palms.
That was when I noticed the bracelet on my wrist.
“Oh—right. I forgot and came in wearing it. Is it okay if it gets wet?”
I tried to take it off just in case, but it wouldn’t come off my wrist.
As I tilted my head in confusion, one of the beads suddenly glimmered.
When I looked closer, the bead blinked as if signaling something, then gradually lost its light.
“What was that? Does it glow when it gets wet?”
Just to be sure, I shook the water off my wrist, but nothing else happened.
After enjoying the bubbles until my whole body felt loose and relaxed, I left the bathroom.
* * *
After enduring the humiliation of being dressed, the first thought that came to mind was admiration.
Not because the clothes were pretty.
“To all the seniors who were possessed before me—I truly respect you. How on earth did you walk so elegantly in dresses like this?”
The yellow dress was pretty. That much was true.
But still—
“When was the last time I ever wore a long dress…?”
With every step I took, the skirt tangled around my legs, making it impossible to walk properly.
Seeing me shuffle along awkwardly, Lurie spoke carefully.
“Miss, this fabric is very popular in the capital. People usually wear it with a petticoat, so at home, everyone walks while holding up the hem of their dress.”
“Oh dear….”
“I should have told you beforehand… I’m sorry. When you were in your territory, you wore dresses that were easier to walk in, didn’t you?”
Another maid standing beside her, Yuri, with black hair, chimed in.
“I’ve heard that young ladies who mostly stay in their estates prefer stiffer dresses.”
Listening to their conversation and piecing things together, I came to a conclusion.
“Selene” must be a young lady who lived in a rural territory.
At the recommendation of her older brother, Count Wedon, she came to the capital residence for the social season—that was the point at which I possessed her.
I was supposed to live in the capital mansion from now on, so it had been renovated, and the maids were newly hired.
My clumsy behavior was brushed off as the result of growing up freely in the countryside.
“Hehehe… yes, that’s right….”
I tried awkwardly to act like a proper young lady, but gave up on everything in less than a day.
No one corrected me on how to hold a knife, the order of eating dishes, or even my way of walking.
“Isn’t this all going a bit too smoothly for me?”
Things were going so well that I started to feel uneasy.
No matter how naïve she was, she was still a noble. Was it really okay to just let her be like this?
“Well… I guess it’s fine.”
I didn’t have to overthink things, and the food and environment were satisfying.
If I could live like this, it would be perfect.
After finishing my meal and returning to my room, I headed for the bed like a migratory bird returning home.
But there was no blanket.
“Where did the bedding go?”
I turned to the maids with the expression of a raccoon who had just washed cotton candy in water.
With gentle smiles, they replied,
“It’s being laundered. The new bedding isn’t ready yet, so why don’t you go for a walk?”
“Or since the weather’s nice, would you like to go shopping?”
No.
I trudged out of the room and headed toward the garden.
There was a bench there that looked quite comfortable.
“Miss~! Just a moment!”
But my plan to lie down on the bench was thwarted.
“Miss, we’re going to be trimming the trees in the garden today, so it could be dangerous if you stay here.”
A gardener holding large pruning shears lifted his hat as he spoke.
Why. Why today of all days?
“If you want to take a walk, there’s a hill right behind the back gate. Why not try going there?”
No.
While waiting for the bedding to be ready, I circled the garden like a conveyor belt at a sushi restaurant.
As a result, the staff who passed by kept coming out to the garden to talk to me.
“We’re sorry we couldn’t finish decorating the garden before you arrived. There’s a proper season for tending trees, you see. Is there any flower you like?”
“How was the journey to the capital, Miss?”
“What do you think of the mansion? Is it uncomfortable to live in?”
“How was the meal? Is there any food you prefer?”
“Haha….”
Could you all please stop paying attention to me…?
Since I had just arrived, everyone looked at me with curiosity and bombarded me with questions.
“If you’re going out, shall we call a maid to accompany you?”
Damn it…! I didn’t want to step even one foot outside the house…!
“I’ll just take a walk on the hill and come back….”
With slumped shoulders, I left through the back gate.
Right nearby, I saw a narrow path leading up a hill.
Is this really a hill? Isn’t this Everest?
I’d only walked for a short while, but rough breaths were already escaping my mouth.
“Huff… huff….”
Swearing to never do something as dangerous as hiking again, I headed toward a large tree.
“There shouldn’t be ticks or anything like that here, right…?”
I flopped down under the tree’s shade.
My back seemed to rejoice.
Only after lying down did I really take in the scenery. The sky was incredibly clear and beautiful.
“The clouds look like bread… bread… I want to eat bread….”
A gentle breeze blew.
“Ah… this is nice….”
Just like that, I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Sirinu left the imperial palace and boarded his carriage.
Despite the boiling turmoil inside him, his face—leaning against the carriage window—was cool and composed.
The young head of the empire’s most powerful family, the Rifrix family.
Monster slayer. Cold-blooded butcher with neither blood nor tears. The Demon King’s only rival. The empire’s great hope. Born-to-be noble.
Every epithet described Sirinu Rifrix’s past, present, and future.
His entire life had been prepared for the purpose of killing the Demon King, moving forward smoothly like flowing water.
Not every step was easy, but none were impossible.
Because he was a Rifrix, he had to succeed.
It was a name that did not permit failure.
And yet, Sirinu’s life was now being shaken to its core.
Sirinu closed his eyes. Long, thick lashes lowered.
A prophecy that had existed even before his birth.
When the person of the prophecy appeared, the entire empire was thrown into an uproar.
Hope that the Demon King who had tormented the empire for so long could finally be defeated mixed with wary doubts of possible failure.
Some feared the prophecy, others clung to it—but everyone agreed that the Demon King had to be eliminated.
The expectation that all monsters would disappear from this land and that the devastated empire would finally regain peace.
With that single hope, countless preparations had been made for the prophesied person.
But Sirinu was different.
He had never once in his life placed expectations on others.
All he had thought about was finally avenging his parents.
Yet before anything could even begin, the person of the prophecy ran away.
For such a trivial reason.
The knight who delivered the reason to Sirinu was someone who rarely lost composure, yet that day, for the first time, he stammered in front of him.
“They said… their family wasn’t rich… and everyone wasn’t admiring them… and there weren’t handsome men appearing for them… that’s why.”
The most dumbfounded person was Sirinu himself, yet all the blame fell on him.
“Why didn’t you go see them first?”
“Do you even intend to save the empire?”
“Are you planning to make the empire’s people into sacrifices, just like your parents?”
Recalling that time, Sirinu let out a derisive snort.
Criticism was nothing new to him.
The Rifrix bloodline, capable of slaying monsters, was marked by violet eyes.
Sirinu’s right eye was a deep violet, proof of strong Rifrix blood—but his left eye was blood-red, the color of a curse.
His father clicked his tongue, calling him a half-baked child.
His mother kept her distance from him his entire life.
From the moment he could walk, he was subjected to brutal training to fight monsters.
Despite relentless, blood-soaked effort, he never received a single word of praise or encouragement.
He had never known affection, and having never received it, he didn’t know how to give it either.
His desire to avenge his parents wasn’t born of love.
It was simply a faint hope that killing the Demon King might fill the emptiness in his heart.
After that hope disappeared, killing monsters became the only thing Sirinu could do—and the only thing that kept him alive.
No one knew how long it would take for the prophesied person to return.
Sirinu fell asleep to the stench of monster blood more often than to the peace of an ordinary day.
Just as the entire empire was sinking into defeat and despair, the magic stone lit up once more.
“This time must be different.”
He had no intention of playing along with the schemes of the vile nobles who wished for the downfall of both the Rifrix family and himself.
If they tried to run away again—
He would keep them captive until everything was over.
“Even if I have to break their legs and lock them up.”
