Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki

Chapter 7

The Emperor acted as if he would meet her every day starting from the next day, but after nearly ten days, he could not even see her shadow.

He was busy adjusting the workings of the Imperial City every day, while she helped the other maids with the basic chores. If she was just a ‘slave’, it would have been better to deceive her, but the ‘slave who was brought by the Emperor’ seemed to be an unusual and touching position.

At first, not everyone was very welcoming to her.

When she was in Golddina, she used to see him with a little prejudice, so that image must have been overlaid on her.

But while she was working, she was recognized as a pretty smart worker. Maybe it was because she was good at helping others.

“Celestia.”

“Yes. Mr. Gale.”

“Where did I put the file last time?”

“Do you mean the red one, sir?

“Yes, that.”

“It’s in the second drawer of Mr. Gale’s desk.”

“Ah…..you’re really reliable.”

She has been through these kinds of things before. She used to fall flat on her stomach praising others for their good points, but she did not have to hide what she was good at.

The ten days of work were somehow over, and she was going back to her room when she was summoned again by another servant. The day after she met with the Emperor, the mayor came to visit her before she could even visit him. It was their second meeting since then.

The mayor was a skinny middle-aged man with a mustache, and he had a sharp face.

As soon as she opened the door and walked in, he put out a piece of paper and raised his head.

“….Ah. You can’t read, can you?”

“You mean the official language?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, I know, sir.”

The mayor widened his eyes. He knew that the maids could read, but he did not know that someone from a back alley could have this ability. He was surprised by her words.

“I see. Then there’s no problem. You’re specially allowed to go out today. Go to this address.”

“Outside?”

She took a note from him about something unexpected. She did not know about anything in the capital….and she was worried that there might be something…..suspicious about the note.

“N-No way…..”

“Yes. Your brother, we brought him back safely, so go ahead. The surveillance will follow you, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

She bowed three times hurriedly.

“Thank you. Thank you!”

“Why are you thanking me….”

But she was already rushing out of the door.Her brother, who was sitting by the fire, turned towards her. It was so heartwarming for her to finally see someone who had the same red hair and eyes just like her. It was calming because it felt like she was back in her hometown even if she was staying in a foreign country where she knew no one.

“Samidion!”

“Older sister!”

She immediately ran to him, hugging him tightly. He looked fine. He had no fever and was not even coughing.

“You must’ve been shocked to hear that your sister suddenly disappeared, right? I’m so sorry.”

“I was more shocked when I heard that…..sister was dragged away. Our pawnbroker took care of me for a while. She knows everything. She told me what happened to Serangueban and my sister.”

‘So Leberty took care of you. She’s such a good person. If I ever get back to Golddina, I’ll surely pay her back.’

But, she was a little sad and embarrassed to hear about Serek.

Serek, her brother, and she grew up together as one person. Not only did she not want to admit it, but she also did not want to hurt her brother, so she kept her mouth shut all the time. However, when she heard that he was the worst, she shouldn’t have gone wild.

“Forget about him. Hmm. It feels like a dream to meet you again. How did you get here? Did they treat you well?”

“In the middle of the night, the men whom I’ve never seen before showed up and asked me to go with them. I was worried about you. But, the men suddenly examined me and forced me to take some medicines before covering me with a blanket. Really, I was scared to death.”

“….What, that’s hilarious.”

She burst into laughter as she listened to his ‘scary’ explanation.

She remembered that it was the Emperor who asked the maid to bring her shoes, who was just a slave. It seemed to her that he was more interested in her than others.

When she went to the given address in an Imperial carriage, there stood a house that seemed to be awfully blooming. She thought that it would be a rented house, but it was very different.

While she was only treating his wounds the other day, she was worried about whether he had some compassion in his heart. What she didn’t know was that she was thinking of him for no reason.

She also told her brother how she was sold all the way here because of Serek, and that she happened to enter the Imperial Palace. She also said that she treated the King herself.

Samidion, who was surprised at her every word, tried to speak until his jaw dropped when he learned about the identity of the main person who brought him and who owned this house.

“Shut your mouth, or you’ll catch a fly.”

“Wow…..so you’re a Burgese now. You’re so amazing, sister.”

“What about the Burg Empire? Wait, is there something you feel sorry about? Do you miss Golddina?”

“No, whether it’s Golddina or not, I can’t get out of the house anyway. But since you’re working at the Palace, you might know everything about this place.”

She shook her head.

“I don’t care about that. I just need you to stay safe.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

It was not that she didn’t miss anyone, but it was okay because she thought she would have a chance to go see them again anytime.

“Tell me about the Imperial City.”

“Should I? Just that everyone is nice to me.”

“What about the Emperor?”

“I haven’t seen him much yet, so I’m not sure…..”

“I heard about the vanquish of the Burg Empire all through the continent. Oh, anyway, there was a rumor that the Emperor wasn’t interested in women.”

‘Was there even a rumor like that? He might have heard it from Leberty who always had the habit of informing about those useless gossips.’

If there was a rumor among his enemies that he didn’t want to show to other people his negative reactions such as burn marks, wouldn’t his life have been very hard? Even if he had less work, it would also have been impossible for him to meet a woman. Simply because he was reluctant.

“What does it have to do with me? He bought me as a slave, so he doesn’t care about it.”

“But you never know. I heard you have a lot of business with the Emperor.”

‘That’s what my work is. But, I couldn’t even meet him for the past ten days.’

“No, there’s going to be a lot, but there’s not much to see.”

“Really? Do you think he is handsome?”

“He is quite handsome. He must have lured pretty girls into his lineage.”

“Is he a good person?”

“Of course. He might be a little disrespectful to some people, but I think he’s basically good. Maybe, before the inference stage.”

Samidion laughed.

“That’s a relief, then.”

“What?”

“Your taste is trashy.”

‘Well, I can’t refute it either.’

She remembered Samidion was against Serek when he first said he had four powers.

‘Darn it. It was my fault that I didn’t listen to him.’

While she was living in this Empire for the past ten days, she felt herself being a human being again.

If Serek heard that she was sold and that she was safely living her life, he would certainly be devastated.

How could she repay this dominator? No matter how much she thought about it, she had no choice but to get angry. Serek, who only wanted power and money, kicked the ground, and it made her regret not holding herself back from helping him.

When she came to see her brother, the carriage was taken through the outer gate of the capital city, but on her way back, the carriage passed through the wide central road. By the time she passed the square, the crowd was overflowing while the speed of the carriage got slower.

‘What’s the matter?’

She glanced towards the coachman. He was a taciturn driver who seemed to be attached to the guard station. If she ran away, he would cut her throat.

“Can I get off for a minute and have a look around?”

The driver nodded his head.

“As you please.”

It was unexpectedly an easy permit. She thought that the release of slaves was not so easily authorized, but the Emperor was very generous. He did not seem to put that many restrictions on her.

The people were gathered up, each waving with a small toy handgun or a small flag in his or her hand. She tried to push through the cracks in the mob and approached the man who looked moderately good enough. Her watchman was close behind her, but she talked, trying to pretend that he was not her party as much as she could.

“Hello, sir. The weather is so nice today!”

“Haha, you’re a sweet girl. Yes, I agree and I feel great too.”

“What is going on?”

“What’s going on? Haha, I guess you don’t know anything.”

“I’ve been living in a corner of the town, and recently I moved here.”

“Did you hear that His Highness has suppressed the bandits again? He’s coming back today, and he’ll be right through here.”

‘His Majesty.’

She noticed the man using the title ‘His Highness’, which was more respectful. But, the title made her feel like he was a very distant person. And of course, there was a great identity gap….. Almost to the level of Heaven and earth…..

‘So the King of the kings has to take care of the bandits too? The Empire is also very vast, right? Is he also in charge of defending the country?’

In the Palace, she could not even ask about the lands of the Empire because the other servants were always very conscious of her. So even after ten days, she knew nothing about the situation of the Empire.

The area became noisier as time passed, so she had to raise her voice too.

“Do the bandits show up often?”

“Yes. They’re the ones who cause the main troubles. They don’t want to work, but they’re always looting. They’re quite hard to deal with for the soldiers, so that’s why His Highness went and swept them away in one blow. Now, please be quiet for a while.”

‘For a while?’

The reality of relying on only one force in such a huge Empire, was that fine?

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