Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: You Are My Concubine - 1
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We didn't make it back home until evening.
Sylvia walked awkwardly, thanks to the thick white fluid trickling between her thighs.
"Ugh... Sian, you were too rough."
"Haha... Sorry about that."
At her playful complaint, I scratched my cheek and mumbled sheepishly in response. Thankfully, even though she was grumbling, her expression was brighter than before, which put my mind at ease.
'Dodged a bullet there, right?'
Somehow, I'd ended up in a lover's relationship with my mother-in-law.
No matter that my wife had given her blessing, from a modern person's perspective, this was the kind of thing that could get you beaten to death without anyone batting an eye. But this was another world—a medieval one at that. Considering all the rampant affairs and bizarre relationships here, hooking up with my mother-in-law was probably small potatoes by comparison. Or so I hoped.
"You said you don't know much about theology, right, Sian?"
"Yeah. Dad never really taught me."
Sylvia glanced at the statue in my hand as she spoke. It was the symbol of Hestia, the goddess of love and family, from her house.
I wasn't sure why, but I'd heard Hestia's voice. Some kind of oracle? In any case, because of that experience, I'd grabbed it just in case.
'You never know—maybe some divine blessings will rain down?'
It was a pretty shallow reason, but the people in this world believed in gods for pretty much the same rationale. Unlike my old world, gods actually existed here and could interfere in human affairs. Unlike modern religions, which focused on enlightenment, the faiths here emphasized tangible benefits from belief. Ah, but wasn't that true of the modern world too?
"Want me to teach you about theology, then?"
"You, Sylvia?"
"What? Am I just some clueless old lady to you, Sian?"
"That's not it at all..."
At my slip-up, Sylvia puffed out her cheeks and started sulking. It was such childish behavior for her age, but it was cute, so I'd let it slide.
"Dad was really into theology, so I heard all sorts of myths from him."
"Was your father a theologian?"
"He used to stand in for the village chief at weddings back in the day, but I don't know the details. By the time I was old enough to understand, he was just working the fields."
"So you weren't born in this village, Sylvia?"
"Nope. I lived in a really cold place when I was little."
From piecing together her story, it seemed Sylvia had come down from the northern regions with her father as a child.
Well, someone with her looks popping up naturally in a rural village like this would be pretty suspicious anyway.
'But can people even survive in a place that cold up north?'
There were people who lived near the Arctic in my past life, sure, but this was a fantasy world crawling with monsters—the survival difficulty was on a whole other level.
'Yeti... that thing came from the north too.'
Just like the unexplored Titan Mountains behind the Dark Forest, the northern frontier was calling to the hunter's itch in me. Someday, I'd have to explore it.
We chatted about this and that until we reached home.
For now, Sylvia's mythology lesson got postponed until after dinner prep.
I shared the day's events with Chloe.
She wasn't particularly interested in what happened with Sylvia, but she lit up at the mention of hearing Hestia's voice.
"You're into theology too, Chloe?"
"It'd be a lie to say I wasn't. Especially with Hestia—I have a wish I'd love to pray for."
Chloe caressed her belly as she spoke.
Catching on to what her wish might be, I made a suggestion.
"How about we pray together right now?"
"Shall we?"
Chloe happily accepted, and so we knelt before the goddess Hestia's statue to offer our prayers.
Chloe was probably praying for our unborn child, and I...
'Please let me protect my family.'
Then, wondrously, Hestia's voice echoed in my ears once more.
"Lust so fierce, yet he truly loves his family at the same time. How intriguing... and amusing. Very well, this time too, I shall grant the wishes of you and your wife."
'What is it with these gods? Do they just grant wishes left and right like benevolent pushovers?'
No further response came from Goddess Hestia no matter how much I prayed after that. Once we finished, Chloe rubbed her belly and looked at me.
"I hope Hestia grants my wish for our child's sake."
"Don't worry, I have a feeling she will. I just heard her voice again a moment ago."
"Really? That's wonderful."
Even though she could've doubted me, Chloe took my word at face value without question. The fact that she trusted her husband so completely made me fall for her all over again.
"Chloe! I love you!"
"Eek~ I love you too!"
As I pulled her in for a kiss, ready to make love again tonight...
Knock knock knock!
Someone rapped on the door.
Puzzled, I opened it to find Elsia standing there.
'What? Déjà vu?'
This felt familiar somehow.
To my bewildered self, Elsia explained her visit just as before.
"Sian. As I mentioned earlier today, I've come to attend you tonight... as your concubine."
"Uh, Elsia, right now is..."
"Honey, I'm fine with it."
I glanced nervously at Chloe, but she stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Elsia, take good care of my husband. Honey, I'll sleep in my brother's room tonight, so don't worry about me."
"Chloe..."
Leaving me flustered, Chloe shot me a wink and left the room. Now it was just me and Elsia in the marital bedroom.
A strange tension hung in the air. Elsia spoke first.
"Does my appearance truly not appeal to you, Sian?"
"Not at all. I think you're plenty beautiful, Elsia."
"Then should I assume I'm lacking compared to Sylvia?"
"Why bring up Sylvia all of a sudden..."
Elsia's abrupt mention of Sylvia caught me off guard.
"I smelled a man's scent strongly on Sylvia when she returned today. Since you came back with her, I can guess what happened between you two."
"..."
"You might not realize it, Sian, but women are more sensitive to scents than you think."
"I, uh... I see."
Her words had me breaking out in cold sweat.
This meant the whole family might know what happened between Sylvia and me.
'Is this why they say families have no eternal secrets?'
It hit me like a hammer to the head, but I got over it quicker than expected. Thanks to Elsia's attitude.
"So, may I attend you tonight, Sian?"
"Uh, yeah... sure."
A concubine's nighttime service?
The stuff of every man's sexual fantasies. But jumping straight into bed with Elsia felt a bit off somehow. We hadn't built any emotional bond yet.
'We're not at the affection-sharing stage.'
Compared to Chloe, my wedded wife, or Sylvia, with whom I'd grown somewhat close, my connection with Elsia was practically nonexistent.
Ah, that slight girlish blush? Yeah, that was kinda cute.
"Before you start your duties, Elsia, how about we talk a bit?"
"What sort of talk?"
She looked mildly displeased at my suggestion. From her perspective, she wanted to seal the deal, and here I was pushing for conversation instead. Still, I pressed on—I wanted to know more about her.
"I'm just curious about you, Elsia."
"I don't have any interesting stories."
"Even everyday stuff is fine. Or should I go first with my story?"
"Very well, please do."
I decided to back off a step and share my tale first.
"Where to start? Maybe the day I met Dad?"
The memories were hazy from so long ago, but as I started piecing them together...
A sudden chill crept up my neck.
What the...?
Normally, when a person dies, their soul drops straight to Niflheim. But sometimes, souls with lingering regrets or grudges linger on the earthly plane by possessing their own corpses.
And in rare cases, they take over a monster that devours their grudge-filled corpse, becoming what we call a vengeful ghost. Their very existence stems from resentment.
They spread curses to fulfill the regrets they couldn't in life.
The Yeti that descended to a human village in the north had become such a vengeful ghost for the same reason.
The Yeti had thought it'd hit the jackpot spotting a limping human who couldn't flee properly. But upon devouring him, the human man's soul—brimming with unimaginable resentment—seized control of its body. And with so much worldly attachment, it didn't become a mere husk ghost but a full-fledged human-level vengeful ghost.
"Grrr!"
Of course, it wasn't a perfect takeover—the Yeti occasionally wrested back control. Whenever that happened, it'd rampage like a rabid dog.
Vengeful ghosts all exhibit similar thought patterns and behaviors. Chief among them: periodically feeding humans to the monster that killed them.
The Tower of Wisdom defines this trait as "soul predation." By continually devouring humans, the ghost feeds on their souls, eventually fully hijacking the monster's body. That's why every hunter in the Empire and every holy knight in the Holy Kingdom prioritizes monsters that have eaten people.
Vengeful ghosts are especially dangerous not just for devouring humans repeatedly, but primarily because they lure family or neighbors from their past lives as monster bait.
And this limping vengeful ghost was about to do just that.
"Huh?"
Elin suddenly wondered why she was outside.
Just moments ago, she'd watched her mother get ready and drifted off to sleep. Now here she was, outdoors.
This was the curse that unconsciously drew the living blood kin of the deceased before them—the reason vengeful ghosts offered their own families as the first monster fodder. Easy pickings, after all.
"Grrr!"
"Kyaaah!"
Elin fell on her butt at the sight of the Yeti looming before her.
Utterly lost as to how this had happened, she could only freeze in terror.
Her father's voice rang in Elin's ears.
The vengeful ghost was speaking to her through the monster's maw.
"D-Dad?"
"R-Really?"
Elin panicked at her birth father's voice. Could this be a dream where she was meeting him? The ghost posed a question.
"M-Mom is..."
Elin hesitated to answer. Even in a dream, it felt too real, and deep down, she didn't want to trust the man who'd abandoned her and her mother.
But even without her response, the ghost pieced it together on its own and began to rage.
"D-Dad?!"
The ghost seized Elin by the collar. Her neck felt like it might snap any second, and she couldn't believe this nightmare. She'd thought it was a dream, but the pain was real—and the monster she'd taken for her father was trying to kill her.
No, she'd known all along. Her dad had never loved his disabled daughter, never even shown her the slightest interest.
'Am... am I going to die?'
But she didn't want to die. Especially not at the hands of the man who'd abandoned her and her mom.
As despair over her impending death flooded Elin...
Shing.
The sound of slicing wind cut the air, followed by a man's voice.
"Elin!"
"Brother Sian?"
It was the voice of the most reliable, trustworthy head of the family she could imagine.