Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Hm, can you even move on your own? Fine then, wash yourself. Don’t just splash water. Scrub thoroughly. Got it?”
A shabby house with cold wind seeping through.
Yet, strangely enough, there was warm water prepared.
Every time the hot water touched her wounds, it hurt enough to make her scream, but Camellia desperately scrubbed her body.
“Don’t just splash water. Scrub thoroughly. Got it?”
The man’s blunt voice echoed in her ears.
She had seen too many times what happened to “disobedient goods” at slave auctions. Half-hearted washing was not an option.
The more carefully she cleaned herself while suppressing her screams, the more it felt like she was being turned into a perfect dish to suit that man’s taste.
After a while,
she cautiously opened the bathroom door.
The man’s gaze immediately clung to her skin.
It was like a greedy explorer discovering a legendary treasure, or a predator spotting its prey.
Grabbing the dry towel he had prepared, Camellia instinctively stepped back.
A faint smile appeared on the man’s lips.
“Oh… just by washing, you already look much better than before. There are quite a lot of scars and wounds, but… if I spend some money…”
Then the man stood up and strode toward her.
She shut her eyes tightly.
Now it would begin. After washing and cleaning, it was time for him to pour out his twisted desires on her body.
Her parents’ screams, the destruction of her family, and the hellish torture chamber flashed through her mind.
But contrary to her expectation, what touched her body was not a rough hand.
Soft.
“…Huh?”
She slowly opened her eyes at the unfamiliar yet familiar sensation.
In front of her was not the man, but a thick, worn blanket.
With an indifferent expression, the man pushed Camellia onto the bed.
“Why are you standing there like an idiot? I’m exhausted too after carrying you all the way here. Just sleep for now.”
“E-excuse me…”
“What? Need something else? Oh, and no late-night snacks. I’m out of money… it’s bad for your health anyway.”
She stared blankly at him.
“You’re really… not going to do anything?”
“Not going to do anything? What, do you need a lullaby to fall asleep?”
“N-no.”
The man lay down on the floor, spreading out a worn mat.
A master who gives the bed to a slave and sleeps on the hard floor.
“Strange…”
Camellia’s mind was filled with confusion.
This must be a high-level form of torture. A cruel game of giving false hope before pushing her into despair.
“Yes, that must be it. He’ll clean me, let me sleep in a warm bed… and at the moment I feel happiest…”
Thinking that, goosebumps rose on her skin again.
But unlike her thoughts, her body was honest.
This was not the cold, hard floor of an iron cage.
Not the foul-smelling underground cell filled with rats.
Though old and dusty, the blanket carried a warm scent of sunlight and the man’s lingering warmth.
How long had it been since she felt a proper place to sleep?
Her body, loosened by the hot water, sank into the soft bed filled with stuffing.
“I can’t sleep… I have to stay awake…”
But her eyelids were unbearably heavy.
Beside her, she could hear the man’s steady breathing.
Even as she thought it was the breath of a demon waiting to harm her, its calm rhythm strangely brought her comfort.
For the first time since her family’s destruction, she felt at ease.
Caught between fear and relief, Camellia eventually surrendered and lost consciousness.
The next day.
Camellia lay on the shabby bed, staring blankly out the window.
“Hey, brother! Just trust me one more time! I really found something big this time!”
“You rotten bastard! You said the same thing last time and borrowed my money, only to get scammed again!”
“This time it’s real! A goose that lays golden eggs really exists!!”
“Golden eggs my ass! Stop spouting nonsense and pay back the ten silver coins you borrowed, you lunatic!”
Crash!
With harsh curses, the sound of someone being kicked and thrown echoed.
Camellia, lying in bed and listening to everything, trembled slightly.
“A goose… that lays golden eggs?”
Shouts and scuffling came from outside.
Nasus, the man who bought her for a single silver coin.
Since early morning, he had been going around to acquaintances and merchants, begging for loans.
At first, she thought she would be abused the moment she woke up.
But instead, he had brought a healing potion to treat her rotting wounds and provided a warm place to sleep.
The problem was that he was borrowing all that money from others.
At that moment, a horrifying puzzle came together in her mind.
“Yes… that man is a dark mage.”
She had heard rumors long ago.
Cruel dark mages who cut open living humans to create grotesque beasts.
He must be planning to use her, a traitor’s bloodline, as a sacrifice. He would cut her open and turn her into a monstrous chimera that lays golden eggs.
“If the sacrifice dies too quickly, he wouldn’t be able to complete the experiment!”
“Ha… ha…”
Camellia gasped in terror.
Enduring the gaze of that madman who looked at her every day and muttered, “Just need to fatten her up a bit more,” was worse than torture.
Bang!
The door burst open, and Nasus entered, his cheek red and swollen, breathing heavily. It seemed he had been slapped and kicked out while trying to borrow money.
“Damn ignorant fools. They kick away a perfect investment like this? Don’t come crying later.”
Muttering, he walked toward the bed.
In his hands were a steaming bowl of soup and an expensive-looking healing potion.
“Alright, time to eat. How long are you going to stay shriveled up like that and lower your value? Eat up and grow quickly. My precious investment is going into you.”
Speaking in incomprehensible jargon, he carefully placed the tray on her lap.
“Why aren’t you eating? Still too weak to even hold a spoon? Sigh, here, say ah.”
He scooped up a spoonful full of meat and brought it to her mouth.
Trembling, Camellia stared at the spoon, then noticed another small bowl beside him and spoke cautiously.
“Um… I think the plates are… switched?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
In front of her, the soup was filled with chunks of meat.
Meanwhile, in front of him was a thin porridge with only a few dried carrot pieces floating in it.
It made no sense.
“Why… is there meat only in my soup?”
At her question, a bitter expression briefly crossed his face.
“Well… the budget’s tight. I could only afford meat for one person.”
He scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
“It’s not much, but just eat.”
A slave receiving meat while the master eats plain porridge.
Faced with such an absurd situation, Camellia’s reason completely shattered.
The only explanation her mind could come up with was that he was a dark mage fattening his sacrifice.
The spoon in his hand came closer.
The smell of the soup should have made her mouth water, but now it felt like deadly poison.
“I have to eat. If I refuse, I don’t know what horrible thing will happen.”
With trembling lips, she barely opened her mouth.
She felt like she would vomit, but her survival instinct forced her to swallow.
Gulp.
One bite, then another.
Each time she swallowed, tears filled her eyes, and the man looking down at her showed a crazed delight.
“That’s it. Good job. Grow well, my penny stock. You need to gain some proper weight.”
“…”
Even after being humiliated and beaten while borrowing money, he continued to feed his sacrifice.
He even gave up the meat meant for himself.
Looking at him with trembling eyes, Camellia left a despairing farewell in her heart.
“Father, Mother… I’m sorry. I barely survived, only to become… a monstrous goose.”
Chapter 2 Character Glossary