Emilia rummaged through the mailbox and turned back with a grim expression.
Today too, it was empty.
Are they really that busy?
Not even able to write a single letter?
Still, couldn’t they at least send news that they’re safe and fine…?
*Hah…*
A sigh slipped out.
Of course, she wasn’t worried.
Everyone in the Empire knew that Schlus was safe.
– The suppression army cornered to the brink of annihilation, launching a massive counterattack…
– Recapturing the 4th Castle!
– A subhuman woman knight leading the suppression army. Is Schlus Hainkel behind this?
The media, which had been quiet for a while, was now reporting continuously about the civil war.
The suppression army was in a crisis, but thanks to Schlus Hainkel and the Imperial University students, they succeeded in pushing back.
Particularly, creating a timeline detailing how they wiped out a mid-cavalry unit overnight and captured an entire castle.
At this point, it wasn’t just a report on the battle situation.
It looked like a hero-making campaign for Schlus Hainkel.
“Wow… that’s something.”
Leaning over the table, Emilia spoke weakly.
Schlus Hainkel had always been extraordinary.
Who would just throw out a monthly salary of 1000 Tirion?
At that time, he was seen as a madman who didn’t understand the world, but looking back now, he must have seen her desperate need to be employed.
From then on, Schlus continued his unstoppable momentum.
An insignificant commoner she had never heard of was now rampaging at the Imperial University, a place for only the brightest talents of the Empire.
Not only that, but he was also making remarkable achievements in the war.
After this incident, Schlus would surely gain the royal family’s trust.
That was certainly a good thing.
A good thing, but…
“I feel like my brother is drifting away.”
At the same time, it felt bittersweet.
It seemed like Schlus was changing.
He must still be the same.
The type of guy who would concentrate so much on something that he’d collapse from hunger, useless at cooking, seemingly gruff but actually full of tears, and claiming he was calculating but ultimately unable to watch those around him struggle.
His true self, which he only showed in front of her while hiding it from the outside world.
Not being able to see him for so long and only experiencing him through newspaper articles made him feel like a completely different person.
If it was this hard for her, how hard must it be for Schlus?
Continuously having to hide himself and perform a facade, how frustrating could it be for him?
“I miss you…”
I can listen to everything.
I could let Schlus cry, chatter all night, and embrace him, patting his head.
I can do everything that others can’t.
But when will he come?
It hasn’t even been a week since he left, but it feels like a month has passed.
“Could it be…”
At that moment, an ominous thought suddenly crossed Emilia’s mind.
Just the thought of it made her frustrated, clenching her fist.
“Could it be that he’s too busy playing around with subhuman slave women, without a word of contact?”
If he’s in a position to control the commander of the suppression army, he’s essentially like a king in the occupied territory, right?
If that’s the case, he could fulfill anything he wanted there.
Now that she thought about it, she had never seen Schlus be tempted by anything, nor had he ever demanded anything from her.
After living such a restrained life, what would happen if he suddenly grasped almost unlimited power?
“Oh, no. That can’t be.”
Schlus isn’t that kind of guy.
He wouldn’t be swayed by such temptations.
Emilia shook her head, trying hard to convince herself.
*
It wasn’t that he didn’t have any desires.
She thought she could be at least as horny as a typical guy.
It was just that there were never any opportunities.
Her surroundings were full of women she couldn’t touch.
After living like that for months, she thought she had become somewhat numb.
At least, until today.
“Schlus-nim?”
“Oh…”
She froze, turning back.
Though covered with a towel, his silhouette was clearly visible.
After scanning from his toes up, she finally saw Pelaine’s seemingly flustered face.
Realizing it was rude to keep watching, she hurriedly turned her head.
“Sorry.”
“No, what’s…?”
“It seems like it was a woman’s time now. I mistook it.”
That damn Taylor guy.
With his lewd smile, sending her away made sense now.
Was it not that no one came, but that it was a woman’s time?
“Oh, no! There’s no separate time for women!”
“What?”
“If I occasionally notify them when I’m going in, the guys will give me about an hour of privacy.”
Aha. Now her doubts were somewhat cleared up.
It was originally a co-ed bath, but the male knights were accommodating for Pelaine.
The Holy Knights probably half-forced the other knights to clear it out.
But why didn’t that bastard Taylor say anything?
“I think I’ll go outside for now. I’ll come back in when I’m done.”
“No need to go out.”
“…”
When she tried to stand, Pelaine, who had approached right behind her, put a hand on her shoulder.
Damn it. She couldn’t rise up because of the other person’s position.
So, she remained silent and submerged her body in the water.
Soon, she heard the crunch of footsteps as Pelaine crossed over to soak herself.
“Ahh… this bath is not bad, right?”
When Pelaine casually struck up a conversation, Emilia found herself not wanting to leave anymore.
Over there, she was purely enjoying her bath, and it felt rude to keep having perverted thoughts alone.
“Not bad.”
“Huh? You think it’s not bad? So, there are better baths than this?”
“Of course. I can’t visit it right now, though…”
“What a shame.”
Not that she would never get to go back.
If she saw the ending of this novel, she could return.
Lately, focusing solely on the immediate tasks at hand, she had temporarily forgotten her ultimate goal.
Looking into Schlus’s memories, it seemed to have worsened.
If she kept this up, would she eventually forget who she was and live as a resident of this world?
Of course, to prevent such a situation, she would need to remind herself of the goal to see the ending.
“Schlus-nim, I have a question.”
“You can ask me anything.”
“What did you believe in to invest so much? You’ve never even seen the kids train. You didn’t even know I was a subhuman until I came to the south. Why did you invest when you knew nothing?”
That was a perfectly reasonable question.
Since she couldn’t fully answer honestly, she decided to be half honest.
“I liked the name.”
“What?”
“I had extra money, so I was looking for stocks, and the name of the newly formed knight order was cool. I was impressed by the naming sense and decided to invest.”
“What does that even…”
The Holy Knights.
That name had been one she idolized long before she started writing.
It was the name of an obscure band she once fell in love with, and at one time, she bought and listened to all the albums they released.
They disbanded in less than a year after that, but the name Holy Knights had stayed in her heart until she scrawled it down.
“Why? Are you disappointed it’s such a trivial reason?”
“No, not at all. It’s fascinating. I actually decided on the name Holy Knights after hearing it in a dream. In the dream, I was leading thousands of people into a great battle, and we were called the Holy Knights. Looking back now, maybe that dream was a prophetic dream.”
“…”
No, thousands of people.
That would surely be a story far in the future when the Holy Knights developed much more power.
Whether it was mere coincidence or a true prophetic dream, it sent a shiver down her spine.
“fufu. This is refreshing. I never imagined I’d be taking a bath with an investor, talking about this.”
“I didn’t imagine either…”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
Damn Taylor.
What was his scheme to create such an uncomfortable situation?
When she got out, she’d have to give him a punch.
“Huh. I’ve been in here too long. Are you not going to get up, Schlus-nim?”
“I’ll stay a little longer…”
Even as Pelaine stood up, Emilia still had to remain seated.
She still hadn’t calmed down completely.
“I’m about to wash up. How about we wash each other’s backs?”
“That’s a joke-”
“Hahaha… Yes, it was a joke.”
The moment Pelaine awkwardly turned her back, Emilia felt her breath catch.
Scars adorned Pelaine’s back.
Seeing that made her heart tighten suddenly.
Now, she understood why Taylor let her in.
“Ugly, right? You probably wouldn’t want to touch this—”
“No. I will wash your back.”
“Huh? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I definitely need to wash it.”
Now she felt calm.
Emilia got out of the bath and walked over to Pelaine.
She led the surprised Pelaine to sit down.
Sitting behind her and looking at her back made Emilia sigh unconsciously.
Muscles were nicely toned, but scars marred the beautiful back.
She lathered up some soap and slowly started to wash her back.
Touching those grotesque scars, she tried to guess how much pain she must have endured.
“Don’t you want to ask how I got this?”
“I’m not curious.”
“Oh… I see…”
She already knew.
They were scars from working while being whipped, during her time as a poor citizen of the Empire.
Farming, blacksmithing, construction work, etc…
From a young age, Pelaine had to work various jobs to survive.
She often made mistakes and got whipped because of her lack of skill.
She lived a life worse than that of a slave while being a free citizen.
“Does it hurt?”
“There are some aches, and some don’t hurt at all.”
“What about this one?”
“That one doesn’t feel anything.”
“And this one?”
“Ugh… that one stings a bit.”
She probably didn’t even have money to buy ointment for her wounds.
That’s why they became so ugly.
Of course, there were many characters with even worse injuries in the original story.
But all of them showed their scars and were comforted by the protagonist Hertlocker.
Yet, Pelaine wasn’t like that.
She had never shown her armor-less form, always portraying a strong and steadfast image.
She was a guardian knight who came to save Hertlocker in times of crisis.
Showing weakness was something she wouldn’t allow herself.
The fact that she had a painful past existed only in the setting book.
Even the original creator, she had completely forgotten until this moment…
“I think I understand now.”
“What do you mean?”
She realized why Taylor had sent her in.
Given Pelaine’s personality, she would have surely tried to hide the scars on her back.
She would have been pathological about hiding it even from the Holy Knights.
The other members probably wouldn’t have noticed as they were young, but Taylor must have sensed something faintly.
That Pelaine was leaving her wounds, both physical and mental, rotting inside her as she continued to hide.
Therefore, she entrusted everything to Emilia, someone who treated her without pretense.
“The reason I invested in you. I also had a dream. A dream of a suffering subhuman woman.”
“You’re lying…”
“You can think whatever you want. But no matter how I think about it, I came here to lick your wounds. I am not at all curious about your past or the scars you carry. I won’t pry into it. But if you wish to speak freely, I will listen quietly. I will touch your scars and listen from beginning to end, without missing anything.”
“…”
*Shwaaaaaa.*
Emilia poured water over Pelaine’s back.
The foam washed away, revealing her ugly back once more.
“Huu… Huu…”
Pelaine’s shoulders trembled.
Was she crying?
The strongest girl, who had never even made a sad face in the original story, was trembling there.
Just as she was about to place a hand on her shoulder…
“Schlus-nim…”
Pelaine suddenly turned and faced her.
The towel that had hung over her chest slipped off, startling Emilia, but she couldn’t turn her head and run away.
“Hold me.”
Pelaine was reaching out with arms wide open, her voice on the verge of tears.
As if she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
Emilia, unable to speak, reached out to Pelaine in a daze.
As she tightly embraced her, Pelaine clung to her.
“I’ve been so hard… Huu… I really, really struggled…”
Silently, Emilia caressed her back, listening.
It was the cry of the future strongest girl, a sorrow only she could hear pouring out freely.
