Chapter 17 – The Courtesans' Welcome Party
Exactly one day had passed since Rygen Volfcroft left like a storm. Whether it was because of the intense night before or because her body still hadn't adapted to this hellish life, Luciel woke up late and barely managed to drag her stiff body out of bed. Her muscles screamed in agony, especially her waist and legs, which felt so foreign they might as well have belonged to someone else.
'Damn it, that dog beastman did nothing but torment my ass all day.'
She stumbled to the bath, washed up, and stepped out of her room. From the central counter of the Feast, an unusually loud and excited commotion reached her ears. There, sitting conspicuously on the counter, was a sack bulging with glittering gold coins—far thicker than usual. Beside it, Madame Tana was shouting with an ecstatic expression, looking as if she possessed the entire world, or had been struck dead-on by a lightning bolt of pure gold. Her red dress seemed to glow even more intensely today.
"Lord Rygen! He sent ten times the daily rate, saying he was exceptionally satisfied with me—no, with our Luciel! Have you ever heard of such a blessing?!"
Madame Tana cradled the sack of gold coins in both hands as if it were a newborn baby, shaking it joyfully with tears welling in her eyes.
Clink! Clink! The cheerful sound of colliding gold coins echoed throughout the Feast.
"Ciel! My goose that lays the golden eggs—no, my precious jewel, Ciel! You finally did it! I knew it the moment I first laid eyes on you!"
As soon as the madame spotted Luciel, she rushed over, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her violently. Her usual cold composure was entirely gone, replaced by sheer, unadulterated excitement. Her eyes gleamed with a suggestive anticipation directed at Luciel.
"Hoho, Luciel, we can't keep this joy to ourselves. Today, I am granting you a special reward vacation. Rest to your heart's content. A sweet rest must follow a perfect service. Go on, get some deep sleep. For today, no one will dare disturb you."
The madame's voice was giddy, like a child's, with no trace of her usual chilling authority. Luciel's heart swelled at the thought of finally getting some proper rest in this hellhole, indulging in the sweet dream of throwing herself onto her new, plush bed without any interruptions. What happened with Rygen last night had been humiliating, but if the price of that humiliation was this unexpected rest, she thought it was just a little—truly just a tiny bit—bearable.
'Today, I'm literally going to do nothing but sleep.'
Of course, that was what she thought before she reached her room. Her modest dream was shattered the instant she opened the door.
Inside the room, the core members of the Feast were gathered: Sia, Lahara, Bruka, Areli, Miren, and even Elberta, who rarely socialized with the others. They were huddled around a small, clumsily but affectionately decorated table, waiting for Luciel. On the table was a feast of cheap wine, beer bottles, slices of cake they seemed to have scraped together, dried fruit, hard bread, cheese, and even a meat dish of mysterious origin.
"What... what is all this...?" Luciel asked, utterly dumbfounded.
Miren stood up gracefully, holding a wine glass, and clapped her hands with a voice a pitch higher than usual.
"Ta-da~! Surprise! Luciel, it's a welcome party for you! And a celebration for your promotion to VIP status! We couldn't welcome you properly when you first arrived. So today, we got special permission from the madame to set up this modest little gathering. I hope you like it?"
Miren gave her a wink with her signature sly smile.
Luciel was temporarily speechless. Her desire to rest vanished, replaced by a sudden, hot surge of emotion welling up from deep within her chest. This kind of hospitality was something she had never received even during her days as Emperor—unfamiliar, yet incredibly warm.
Sia was the first to run over and cling to Luciel's arm, her eyes sparkling brighter than usual.
"Luciel-eonni! We're real family now! In this Feast, we're the only ones we can rely on and lean on! I'm so happy you're here!"
Luciel couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle at Sia's pure and direct words.
"Family... are we already there, Sia? I still haven't thought of you guys as anything more than colleagues."
Despite Luciel's blunt reply, the other women just laughed heartily. Bruka handed a whole bottle of alcohol to Luciel, her face already flushed red from drinking.
"Hey, newbie! Why are you standing there looking so grumpy? Take a big swig of this! If you don't drink on a day like today, when will you? Thanks to you, we got a fat bonus too! And let me tell you, do you know how important this little bit of affection is in this business? It's way better to laugh and chatter like this once in a while than to turn our backs on each other and compete like savages! Right?"
Lahara also gave Luciel a hearty slap on the back with her large hand.
"Exactly! Bruka is absolutely right! Luciel, when I first saw you, you seemed so cold and stuck-up, but after getting to know you, you've actually got a decent side! Especially during that alcohol theft incident last time—you've got loyalty! Bwahaha! Let's get along from now on, alright?"
Areli remained quiet as usual, but she stepped up to Luciel and handed her a small, beautifully wrapped box of cookies. Her purple eyes turned toward Luciel with a faint but warm gaze.
"Congratulations, Luciel. ...Your room looks nice, so I might come over to play often. Having tea together wasn't so bad."
Luciel was slightly surprised by the unusually long sentence from Areli, but she didn't dislike it. She had a feeling she might get along with Areli better than expected. Even Elberta approached quietly like a cat, gently tidying Luciel's messy hair and whispering softly.
"Congratulations on the new room, Luciel. ...And you still smell interesting. Very... intriguing. It seems especially strong today."
Her yellow eyes gleamed suggestively.
Luciel, overwhelmed by the clumsy but sincere congratulations and hospitality pouring over her, unconsciously let a faint smile slip onto her lips. Even in this hellhole, such unexpected warmth existed. She took the bottle Bruka handed her and chugged half of it in one go. It was cheap alcohol, but strangely, it tasted sweet today.
The party went on, becoming much louder and more cheerful than expected. Luciel, who had been awkward at first, gradually joined in their conversations and laughed, though she still couldn't completely discard her characteristically cynical tone.
As time passed and several bottles were emptied, the women began to feel the alcohol. Bruka, completely drunk, climbed onto the table and shook her hips, claiming it was a traditional Dwarven dance. Lahara tried to stop her but ended up dancing along. Miren exaggeratedly shared scandalous secrets of high society she had heard from Linch, piquing the girls' curiosity. Sia sat glued to Luciel's side, constantly offering her drinks and carefully asking about her past. Areli quietly sipped her drink, occasionally letting out a soft chuckle, while Elberta observed the whole scene with amusement from a corner.
Before long, the alcohol caught up to Luciel, and her face flushed bright red. She became much more talkative and laughed more frequently. The dignity of her days as Emperor was nowhere to be found; she was just a drunk woman.
"Ugh... hic... Let me tell you... that dog beastman I met yesterday...! Do you know how much... how much he tormented my ass?! I... I completely melted under his touch! I couldn't even make a peep! I did everything he told me to do! Waaaaah! My pride is completely ruined! The goblin bastard, the bratty elf, that info-dumping Orc, they were all annoying... but Linch... that old man was on a whole different level! Why... why do I have to go through this! Uwaaaaah!"
Clutching the bottle, Luciel began to pour out her grievances about the men she had encountered at the Feast, tears streaming down her face like fat raindrops. Her drunken venting was a desperate cry, a mixture of humiliation, anger, and perhaps a tiny bit of confusion over the pleasure she had felt.
"Do you know... do you know how hard I sucked his cock?! Sob! In the end... in the end, I was the one clinging to him! Begging him to do it more! What a crazy bitch I am! Me! Waaaaah!"
Miren slid over to Luciel's side and gently pulled her into a warm, comforting embrace. Her arms were soft and cozy.
"It's okay, Luciel. It's okay. Cry all you want. No one here will laugh at you. We've all been through it, and we're still going through it. Some of us might have had it even worse than you. But... even so, we survived. You can do it too. Because you're strong. There's something inside you that we don't know about. I'm sure of it."
Miren's calm, warm voice made Luciel cry even harder, her shoulders trembling weakly. Sia, also tearing up, tightly squeezed Luciel's hand.
"Eonni... it's not your fault...! You did nothing wrong! It's all... it's all because of those bad bastards! You... you are still the goddess of my heart!"
Bruka clicked her tongue at the sight, but her eyes were also glistening with tears. She roughly shoved the bottle toward Luciel.
"Sigh, I shouldn't just give out alcohol like this. But let's let it slide today. Your heart must be bursting. Here, drink this and forget it all! And if it gets too hard, tell me anytime! This great Bruka will listen to everything! Bwahaha!"
Areli also quietly approached and patted Luciel's shoulder. Her touch was awkward but warm.
"Luciel, you aren't as weak as you think. So don't suffer so much. And next time, let's have tea together. Even if it's not a rainy day."
The other women comforted Luciel in their own ways. Perhaps they saw their own pasts, or their presents, in Luciel. In this hellish Feast, they instinctively knew that the only ones who could soothe their wounds were each other.
And so, the night at the Feast deepened, filled with the laughter, tears, and clumsy comfort of Luciel and the other courtesans. In this hellish reality, they were briefly becoming beings they could lean on. Luciel, for this moment at least, vaguely felt that she was not alone. And perhaps, she harbored a tiny sliver of hope that she might find one more reason to keep living, even in this hell.