The Burden of Eternity
In the same space, we shared a meal, yet the concubines remained silent, stripped of any right to speak. Only the cheerful conversation between my older brother and the Madam flowed warmly through the room.
“We should buy swimsuits before our trip to the sea, don’t you think?”
“When shall we all go together to choose them? Please pick them out for us, my lord.”
“That sounds wonderful~ Just imagining it already feels good.”
“Hehe, how sly of you~”
Unable to join the conversation, the concubines naturally finished their meals first and could only sit quietly, waiting for my brother and the Madam to finish theirs.
A short while later, my brother finished eating and left the dining room first. The moment he was gone, the Madam—who had worn a smiling face throughout the meal—immediately returned to a blank expression and straightened her posture. She adjusted the front of her dress that had loosened and exposed half her chest, accepted the glasses a maid handed her, and spoke in a flat voice.
“Report any unusual matters.”
At the Madam’s words, Ruya quietly raised her hand. When the Madam gave her a nod granting permission to speak, Ruya opened her mouth—silent until now—and began her report.
“It concerns what happened last night. Regarding Charlotte…”
Ruya reported in detail how she had performed vital energy purification on Charlotte the previous night, reversing her aging. After listening to the entire report, the Madam’s expression grew intrigued.
“Elisha, if one receives this aging reversal, can they maintain their youth indefinitely?”
“Yes. It reverses cellular aging, so at the very least, death from old age can be prevented. However…”
“Speak.”
“Its effect on humans is extremely minimal. It only delays aging by a few minutes at most.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. This is the result of repeated experiments.”
At my answer, the Madam momentarily failed to control her expression, revealing clear disappointment. For someone as meticulous about managing her expressions as the Madam to lose control like that, her disappointment must have been profound.
After removing her glasses and closing her eyes for a moment to compose herself, the Madam spoke.
“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do. At least it’s fortunate that Ruya and Charlotte belong to this race. Hmm…”
The Madam trailed off, then suddenly looked back and forth between Ruya, Charlotte, and me, falling into deep thought. After several minutes of silent contemplation, she finally spoke.
“Even if my lord and I pass away first due to our limited lifespans, you who essentially have no lifespan will continue living unless you suffer an accident or illness. To prevent any issues with the family’s succession, I will forbid concubines who are not human from bearing my lord’s children.”
Ruya and Charlotte’s faces showed extreme shock at the Madam’s sudden decision. Though they couldn’t voice their feelings due to the values of concubines that had already been ingrained in them, their reactions betrayed their agitation—they were practically squirming in their seats. The Madam’s eyes sharpened as she continued.
“What is that reaction? Haven’t I repeatedly taught you that a concubine’s only duty is to obey orders?”
At the Madam’s stern words, both women lowered their heads and showed gestures of submission. Satisfied by their response, the Madam turned to me—who had shown no reaction—and gave a small nod.
“Elisha, you obey without a single act of rebellion, just as you were taught. I like that. Instead of bearing children, I will assign you a different role. Become the wet nurse for the children I will bear.”
A wet nurse… I knew it meant someone who takes care of and raises children. It seemed she intended to give me that role.
“You will raise the children born to the lady of the house as if they were your own, pouring all your devotion into them. When those children grow up and have children of their own, you will become their wet nurse as well—serving as the family’s exclusive wet nurse, raising the children of this household for generations. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Madam.”
Ruya and Charlotte seemed somewhat saddened, but they lowered their heads in obedience and accepted the Madam’s command. Having so easily secured the concubines’ submission, the Madam continued.
“I will explain the details later. Ruya and Charlotte, go and attend to your respective duties. Elisha, stay behind for a moment.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Ruya and Charlotte answered respectfully and left with the maids. Soon, only the Madam and I remained in the spacious dining room. The Madam removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Ruya and Charlotte are women who love my lord, but you are different, Elisha. I will not permit you to bear my lord’s children, but you may have children with other men if you wish. Consider it compensation for your service.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Of course, any children you bear will not be recognized as children of this family. You agree, don’t you?”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Know that I am always grateful for your sacrifices for the sake of this family. You may go.”
After expressing her thanks with a gentle smile, the Madam watched as I bowed my head in greeting and left the dining room.
In truth, for the Madam—who always maintained strict hierarchy and worked for the family—my existence was not an easy one. Currently, Ruya lived as my brother Gwangnam’s concubine, but she was also my slave. If I wished, I could make her leave the family entirely. Moreover, while I followed along as a concubine out of affection for the family, I had not fully become one in my heart. My true master was Elisa, after all, so I could never fully accept a relationship between master and slave that resembled that of a primary wife and concubine. The Madam, who excelled at reading and evaluating people, was well aware of this fact and often showed a cautious attitude toward me even while treating me as a concubine. It was a complicated relationship that was difficult to define in a single word, but it continued somehow through my silence and obedience, and the Madam’s consideration.
After the breakfast that had delivered such a shock to the other concubines, and with no other particular schedule, I decided to search for candidates to create new slave prostitutes. Of the twelve slave prostitutes, ten had been reassigned as maids, leaving only two. More needed to be made.
The easiest method was to meet young women who had obtained prostitution licenses directly, use the Charm Eye to extract their personal information, and select suitable candidates. Women engaged in prostitution were generally more open about sex, and there was less chance of family or acquaintances interfering—an advantage. However, even among women with prostitution licenses, I applied additional filters. First, I filtered by appearance. The better one’s looks and figure, the more regular clients they would have, meaning stable income, which also indicated they managed themselves well and often had good lifestyle habits.
Second, I filtered out those for whom prostitution was their main occupation. Among the women who passed the first filter, some occasionally made prostitution their sole profession without any other job. These women had a higher probability of being connected to unsavory individuals.
After selecting and meeting women through this process, I would charm them with the Charm Eye, listen to their detailed information, and if they seemed suitable, implant an Abaddon larva meant for slave prostitutes to begin the brainwashing process. The slave prostitutes created this way would continue their daily lives as usual while regularly offering the money earned from prostitution. The cases where they quit their main jobs and worked as maids were exceptional instances that occurred under the Madam’s orders.
First, I summoned the two remaining slave prostitutes—excluding those who had already become maids—and met them at a café to talk.
“Have you both been well? Report your current situations.”
“I’ve been well. I’m currently focusing on my main business.”
“My previous workplace disappeared, so I’m currently unemployed. I’m trying to find new employment.”
The café we were in belonged to the first slave who had spoken. She was in her mid-thirties—older than most of the slaves. As a married woman whose husband was still alive, and with the public brothel closing, she seemed to be focusing on running the café. The second slave to answer was in her mid-twenties. She appeared to have graduated from university and been working at a company before losing her job due to the war. Both were beautiful, as expected of carefully selected slaves.
“You probably don’t have much saved. Do you have living expenses?”
“Honestly, it’s a bit difficult.”
“Use this until you find a job and start earning money.”
I took out a check card from my bag and handed it over. When I received management authority over the slave prostitutes from the Madam, an account and funds designated for slave prostitutes had come with it. This money was an emergency fund accumulated from a portion of the earnings the slave prostitutes sent from their prostitution work, and it was to be used to ensure the slaves could maintain basic living standards. After accepting the slave’s grateful thanks for the check card, I brought up the main matter.
“As you know, with many slaves now working as maids at the main house, only the two of you remain as prostitutes. Because of that, I need to increase the numbers and am currently looking for suitable candidates. Do you have any women around you whom you could recommend?”
After a moment of thoughtful expressions, the slaves each made a recommendation.
“There’s a suitable candidate among the younger sisters I know. She came up from the countryside and lives alone, so she’s good for maintaining secrecy. She has a job and is beautiful.”
“She doesn’t engage in prostitution, I take it.”
“Unfortunately, no.”
Hmm… Obtaining a prostitution license was something that could be arranged, but the more conservative one’s views on sex, the harder it would be to brainwash them into becoming a prostitute.
“Understood for now. Next?”
“She’s a friend I met at my previous workplace. She’s intelligent enough to have graduated from a good university and has good looks. Although she still lives with her parents, she’s open enough about sex to have obtained a prostitution license and engaged in prostitution a few times.”
If she was already engaging in prostitution, brainwashing her would be easier. Living with her parents might make secrecy difficult, but if it came down to it, I could have her move out.
“Understood. Write down both of their information for me.”
“Yes, Madam.”
They wrote down the information in as much detail as possible and submitted it. After checking the information—which even included photos taken together—I spoke.
“Since the public brothel hasn’t opened yet and you can’t engage in prostitution, please focus on your main jobs and daily lives.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“You are the foundation that supports the family, so it’s enough for you to establish yourselves well in society and put down roots.”
“Yes, Madam.”
According to the Madam’s definition, if the concubines were the pillars supporting my brother and the Madam’s family, then the slaves were the foundation that supported those pillars. That was why I didn’t touch the income from their main jobs, only the earnings from prostitution. The Madam’s calculation was that the more firmly these women took root as members of Korean society and increased their descendants, the stronger the family’s support base would become. Sometimes I wondered just how far into the future the Madam was thinking.
Over the following days, I repeatedly met candidates directly, evaluated them, and performed the enslavement process on suitable ones. During that time, Charlotte—who oversaw household chores—and Ruya—who assisted with the Madam’s new business—were also busy. Then, on the day my brother left for a business trip due to Hunter Association matters, Ruya and I gathered at the temple for the first time in a while at the Madam’s summons. As honorary nuns, we were to attend a religious ceremony for the goddess Erutina.
“Do you know exactly what kind of ceremony it is?”
“I asked briefly earlier, and I heard it’s a ceremony that must be held at a temple that has been officially promoted to a formal temple.”
I had heard it was also a customary rite that nuns of officially recognized temples must undergo.
“Is that why? The atmosphere feels very solemn.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve worn this nun’s habit.”
In a spacious room located in the basement of the temple. In front of the altar at the center of a large hexagram drawn in the middle of the room where the goddess Erutina’s sacred relic and scriptures were enshrined, the Madam stood with both hands raised, offering a prayer in the language of this dimension. Around her, the official nuns knelt with their hands clasped, surrounding the Madam—who was the head nun—and offering their prayers. Ruya and I, as honorary nuns, knelt a little distance away, observing the ceremony. We couldn’t help but let out exclamations of admiration at the dreamy atmosphere created by the subtle holy power emanating from the nuns’ bodies.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It really is.”
After the prayer that had lasted over an hour ended, one of the nuns brought a sacred relic sent from the main temple of this dimension and placed it on the altar. Then, fragments of holy power floating in the air formed long tails of light and were sucked into the sacred relic. When the light subsided, the Madam picked up a small, ornately decorated cup and inserted it into the hollow interior of the sacred relic to scoop something out. From this position, it was hard to see clearly, but it seemed to contain a sparkling liquid. Holding the cup respectfully with both hands, the Madam brought it to her lips and drank the liquid.
“Haaah…”
After drinking all the liquid, the Madam let out a deep moan and staggered slightly as she stepped back from the altar. The nuns then took turns picking up the cup and scooping out the liquid to drink. One by one, they showed reactions similar to the Madam’s and staggered slightly.
“Something about the atmosphere suddenly feels strange.”
“What do you think they’re drinking?”
“Still, since it was made from the sacred relic, it must be something amazing, right?”
While Ruya and I were conversing in the quietest voices possible, the Madam—who now had completely unfocused eyes and a face flushed red—approached us and spoke in a heated voice.
“It’s your turn now. Go and receive the goddess’s blessing.”
“Yes.”
At the Madam’s command, we passed between the nuns who were sitting on the floor, unable to control their staggering bodies, and approached the sacred relic that was emitting a subtle light. Ruya, who briefly met my eyes, had a tense expression as she picked up the cup and carefully scooped up the clear liquid sloshing inside the sacred relic.
“Hoo.”
After letting out a short breath, Ruya tightly closed her eyes and drank the liquid. I could see her throat moving up and down as she swallowed, and soon Ruya removed her lips from the cup and opened her eyes.
“Haa…”
Just like the other nuns, Ruya’s pupils were completely unfocused and her gaze wandered. Staggering, she handed the cup to me. The moment she placed the cup in my hand, Ruya collapsed weakly onto the floor. Watching her stagger like the other nuns, I steadied my inexplicably tense heart.