At Her Mansion
At her mansion.
"We'll take care of it for you, my lady."
"I-I'm really fine..! I can dress myself..!"
Faces flushed with desire, they reached for me. I waved them off, making my refusal plain.
When I held firm, they seemed to give up at last. One by one they handed me the clothes and began to file out of the room.
"Haa.. You really are something, my lady.. Well then, we'll be right outside. Call us whenever you need anything."
Once every last maid Rosalyn had summoned was gone, I collapsed onto the enormous bed like a deflated balloon.
"Huuu... My head's spinning...."
Rosalyn had guided me into the bath, only for me to find a whole cluster of maids in uniform already waiting. When I insisted I could wash myself, they brushed it off as nothing, stripped me bare, and proceeded to scrub every inch of my exposed skin..
"Uugh.."
Just remembering it set my face blazing scarlet.
Was I going to have to bathe like that every single time from now on?
But it was kind of nice..
I had done nothing but lie still in the tub, and they had washed me clean from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes. No wonder this place was a grand estate. They had used every kind of cleansing product I had never even seen before.
I lifted a lock of my newly softened hair and breathed in. A cozy strawberry fragrance unfurled in every direction and teased my nose.
I picked up the clothes they had left me.
A black lace dress.
Thin and light, it looked designed for comfort more than anything else.
I peeled off the grimy things I had been wearing and changed into what the maids had given me. Tying the laces at the back took forever, but after a few tries I managed it without disaster.
"Waaah.."
In the mirror stood a woman so beautiful she could put a lifelong pampered noble daughter to shame. Maybe it was the luxurious clothes, but the reflection staring back at me felt startlingly unfamiliar.
Come to think of it, the room I had been given was outrageous too.
Compared to the tiny studio I had lived in before transmigrating, this place was enormous. Shelves and ornaments of every kind lent the chamber an air of quiet dignity, and the bed planted dead center looked big enough for five grown men to sleep on without breaking a sweat.
Far too fine a room for a mere slave like me.
I was still sinking into the mattress's plush embrace when a soft knock sounded at the door.
"My lady. It's Alina. May I come in?"
"Ah.. Yes! Come in..!"
At my permission, a brown-haired girl who looked about my age stepped inside. She was the same maid who had scrubbed me with the most enthusiasm in the bath earlier. She had introduced herself then as Alina.
"Pardon the intrusion. My master wishes to dine with you, so I have come to escort you."
"Ah.. Athena?"
Alina's eyes flew wide; her face went blank with shock. I realized my slip at once and hastily corrected myself.
"I-I mean.. Lady Athena is asking for me?"
"Y-yes. She is waiting in the dining hall."
I had been getting hungry anyway..
Athena, waiting so we could eat together. The resentment I still carried toward her made me want nothing more than to dodge a private meal, but under Alina's steady gaze I finally dragged myself off the bed.
And so, guided by Alina, I walked with her down a corridor that seemed to stretch on forever.
Walking in silence felt dull, so we fell into conversation, and little by little I learned a few things about her.
Alina had been a commoner. She had traveled the empire with her merchant father. Then one day a monster had appeared without warning. She should have died there—until Athena arrived and saved her life.
Burdened with a debt she could never repay, she had taken a post as a maid in this mansion, hoping to give back even a fraction of what she owed.
"My master is truly incredible! I have never met anyone so strong. If I were a man, I might have fallen for her at first sight."
Whatever fantasy Alina held of Athena, the moment the topic came up her eyes lit and she launched into an endless stream of praise.
"Ah.. Right.."
Alina. She isn't that kind of good person..
Did this girl even know I had been forced into slavery by her? She could only talk like this because she didn't. I wanted to tear the mask off Athena's wicked true nature—but I couldn't bring myself to shatter Alina's deep admiration, so I simply kept my mouth shut.
"I heard Lady Hera is someone my master holds dear. How did the two of you meet?"
Her eyes sparkled as she asked, and the weight of that gaze was hard to bear.
"..It just sort of happened.."
"I'm so jealous! If only I could earn even a little of my master's attention.."
Hearing her speak so innocently made her feel just a tiny bit annoying. But there was no malice in it. I offered her a gentle smile and a kind reply.
"Someone as cute as you, Alina—anyone would like you."
"O-oh my! Lady Hera.."
Alina stared blankly at my face for a moment, then broke into a bright smile again.
"Come to think of it, you are truly beautiful yourself, my lady! Your eyes are like lovely jewels. I keep wanting to look at them."
Suddenly she was heaping praise on me. Unused to such words, I ducked my head and looked away.
"Th-that's not true.."
"Oh my.. Even the way you get shy is adorable!... Ah. We've arrived."
At her words I lifted my gaze. An elegant door stood before us.
"My master will be waiting inside. I shall take my leave, then."
Finished, Alina bowed her head. When I returned the bow, she gave me one last soft smile and turned back the way we had come.
I drew a long breath, then pushed the great doors open with both hands.
Through the widening gap, the dining hall came into view.
A pure white space of marble that felt almost sacred. At its heart a vast table, silver-bright, flaunted its own radiance.
And seated at the far end—her.
Whether it was the surroundings or something else, Athena looked even more lofty than usual.
"You're here, Hera? Come sit and ea—"
Athena looked up mid-sentence, then simply stared at me, her expression gone strangely blank. A moment later she shoved her chair back and strode straight toward me.
"Wh-what.. Why are you coming over.."
She stopped in front of me, caught my face in one hand, and tilted it gently upward until our eyes met.
"...You look even prettier dressed like this, Hera."
Then she buried her face against my neck and began to breathe me in.
"Haah?! Wh-what are you doing!"
I shoved her away in a panic. She only smiled, a faint flush rising on her cheeks.
"Haa... You smell good, too.."
It was the kind of line a creepy old man would use. I stared at her with thoroughly unimpressed eyes.
"..Don't say weird things."
"Heh.. You're starving, aren't you? Come sit. It'll be delicious."
I followed her to the table—and found myself facing dishes I had never once seen in my life. Food that looked like it belonged in a five-star hotel spread out before me in dazzling variety, and I swallowed hard without meaning to.
With trembling hands I took a bite. It melted on my tongue. So this was why people paid fortunes for meals like these.
Before I knew it my hands were moving on their own, sampling one dish after another, while Athena propped her chin on her hand and watched me with a soft little laugh.
"Well? Do you like the food?"
Her question yanked me out of my feeding frenzy and left me oddly embarrassed. The food was genuinely incredible—but some stubborn part of me refused to admit it to her so easily. I answered in a low voice.
"..No? Not really.. Dania's cooking is way better."
And it was true. Nothing in the world topped Dania's food. The ingredients might not have been as expensive as these, so the flavors had their limits—but her cooking still wrapped you in happiness and a deep, gentle warmth. I doubted anything would ever surpass it for the rest of my life.
I said it with my chin held high. Athena's face went cold.
"Hmm.. Is that so? Looks like our chef was a rather useless fellow, then."
"...Huh?"
"Thanks, Hera. Thanks to you, I can finally kick out one more worthless freeloader."
"W-wait a second.."
My little lie had just put some nameless chef's neck on the chopping block. The thought that a person this talented might suffer because of me set my heart hammering.
"I'll just step into the kitchen for a moment. It'll taste awful, but bear with it a little longer."
Athena rose from her seat. Convinced an innocent person was about to be fired on the spot, I lunged and seized her hand.
"N-no!! I-it's incredibly delicious.. the food.. Really."
Athena looked down at me, her gaze ice-cold.
"Didn't you just say it was nothing special?"
"Th-that's.. uh.."
I could only open and close my mouth. She brushed my hand aside and started walking.
"It's all right, Hera. None of this will come back on you."
With every step she took toward the door, my heart pounded harder. I shoved my chair back hard, shot to my feet, and cried out after her.
"I-I'm sorry!! I lied.... It really is.. delicious.."
Athena stopped dead.
She turned her head toward me.
The look she gave me was that of a predator regarding prey already caught in the snare.
"...A slave, lying to her master.."
Under that menacing aura I couldn't speak a word; I only swallowed hard.
Watching me, she let a wicked little smile curl across her lips.
"My dear Hera.."
"It seems you need to be punished."