41-59

Chapter 59: Determined to Discipline the Lord (2) 

“According to Brother Mirka, if things look good for about a day, I’ll be able to be discharged.” 

Fortunately, Helia’s condition wasn’t considered life-threatening. 

In this world, no matter how severe the injury, if the person is still alive, it’s possible to heal them completely with holy power, leaving no aftereffects. 

Still, I couldn’t fully take comfort in Helia’s words. 

Even if a wound can be healed, if she had lost her life, I might have lost control entirely. 

“…Ei.” 

Maybe my worry was obvious on my face. 

As her expression softened with pity, I grabbed her limp hand and let out a sigh. 

“I saw it yesterday. What you fought, Helia.” 

“…You saw?” 

Yeah, after fighting something so absurd, it made complete sense you’d end up like this. 

Remembering that creature filled me with chills, and I asked her, “Weren’t you terrified?” 

No matter how strong you are, you’re still human. 

I thought she’d admit to some fear. But she just answered calmly: 

“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t scared. But it was something I had to endure.” 

Something to endure. 

Helia described her life risking struggle in those terms. 

All for a show to boost the city’s prosperity. To give her life for something so trivial she thought that was proper. 

“Is that because of the lord’s… that woman’s orders?” 

“…Ei.” 

“I don’t get it. You could have died… And yet that woman just uses you without a word of thanks. Martina, Helia… Why do you both obey her orders so blindly?” 

Maybe Helia found my question offensive. 

Still, I couldn’t hold it back. 

Because my own woman nearly died. No matter how rational I tried to be, I just couldn’t forgive that damn woman. 

And yet  

“That’s what it means to be a knight.” 

As if to reject my outrage, Helia gave her explanation coolly. 

“A knight must swear absolute loyalty to the one they choose to serve. That loyalty is the ultimate proof of one’s achievement, and guarding unwavering loyalty is how we preserve our pride.” 

There was no anger in her answer. 

She spoke as naturally as water flowing or wind blowing, just as if what had happened was completely normal. 

“…Is pride really that important?” 

“It is. For a man like you, Ei, it may not make sense…” 

You can’t understand because you’re a man? 

No, she’s wrong. 

Coming from a world where gender concepts are reversed, my perspective isn’t all that different from hers. 

I, too, once anchored my pride and identity to the organizations I belonged to. 

“And not everyone deserves that kind of loyalty, right?” 

But the person she serves treats her loyal subjects as disposable tools. 

Someone so obsessed with prosperity that they trample the weak, unmoved by the blood shed for her benefit. 

“Helia, you know what she’s really like. That she only cares about herself, that she’s mad for power… No matter how loyally you serve, she’ll never reward you.” 

I wished Helia wouldn’t sacrifice any more for that woman. 

With all my hope, I pleaded. Helia just gave a wry smile and turned away. 

“Even so, I cannot betray her.” 

She didn’t side with me or get angry at my doubts of her loyalty. 

She just calmly explained there was no other way. 

“Owed a debt greater than I could ever repay in a lifetime.” 

“A… debt?” 

“Yes. If not for her, I wouldn’t exist as I am today.” 

Sorrow filled her eyes as she gazed toward the window. 

Looking out at the city, it was as if she was seeing her own distant past. 

“I was an orphan. Years ago my village was attacked by bandits; my parents died and I was left alone.” 

A past far too heavy for a casual conversation. 

That’s why I listened closely and even pushed aside my anger toward the lord. 

Helia continued her story after that silence. 

“The one who saved me was Lady Renes, long before she controlled a territory this big.” 

“The lord… saved you?” 

“She used to be that kind of person. Someone who couldn’t turn away from injustice, who wanted to help as many as possible…” 

A side of her I couldn’t imagine now. 

But I could tell Helia wasn’t lying. 

Her sincerity and the bitterness at what her lord had become made that clear. 

“Yes, because she took me in, I gained hope for the future. Everything I’ve accomplished, all the recognition, everything I couldn’t have achieved any of it without her mercy. And the higher my status got, the stronger my loyalty became.” 

So Helia truly had no choice. 

No matter what that woman became, the debt from her past was too great to ignore. 

Everything Helia accomplished was built on that foundation, so Renes would always be important to her. 

“After she got involved with the royals, she became suddenly obsessed with the city’s prosperity, but…” 

Even so, Helia doesn’t think only positively of her. 

That’s woven into her voice, still tinged with regret as she continued. 

“Even so, I trust her. I have to. Having pledged my life to her after all the kindness she showed me, all I can do is keep hoping the old her will return.” 

“…Helia.” 

“Of course, it would be wrong for me to expect you to understand.” 

A line is drawn. 

Between her and me. Our connections to Renes too different to ever truly bridge. 

“…You hate her, don’t you, Ei?” 

Yet even now, she didn’t blame me. She tried to understand as she spoke, her voice rising a bit with emotion. 

“If that’s the case, maybe you should look for a chance to escape. Leave her, leave this city…” 

She told me to run. 

If I couldn’t stand being used by that woman, that was my only option. 

“…No, that’s not possible. Now that I’ve become the lord’s obsession, no matter where on the continent I go, I’ll never be free.” 

Realizing how unrealistic that was, Helia pulled her covers up and signaled the end of our conversation. 

“I’m a bit tired. I think I’ll rest. Let’s leave the rest of this talk for another time.” 

I could hear the guilt and pity in her voice. 

With no choice, I quietly left. 

After failing to persuade Helia, I returned to the mansion and lay in bed. 

This detestable mansion that woman provided me… 

Yeah, everything I’d gained in this world was really only because of her. 

If I got free of her grasp, what would I even have left? 

The property, my house, the people around me they all belonged to her. To go against her would be to lose everything I had. 

On top of that, I’d be branded a criminal and forced to live on the run… 

Maybe that would be better. Unlike when I first arrived in this world, now I had power. 

Maybe I could carve out a new life, even with the stigma of being a criminal. 

But the problem is, Renes’s followers would chase me down. 

And among them are people I love, so it isn’t easy to decide. 

If Helia or Martina were sent after me… would they bear arms against me? 

And if they refused, could I turn their feelings back on them? 

Could I bear to raise a blade against them? 

 CRASH!! 

Lost in thought, the room was suddenly shaken by the sound of shattering glass. 

Startled, I looked toward the window and saw black-clad women rushing in my direction. 

“Who are you… gah!” 

They bound me with rope, pulled a cloth over my mouth. 

Instinctively I inhaled, and a strange scent filled my lungs, making my head swim and leaving me dazed. 

Damn, is it a sedative? 

I realized too late. I lost consciousness, my body limp as they dragged me away. 

I came to after some time had passed. 

“Ugh…” 

Regaining my senses, I immediately tried to understand my surroundings. 

I was tied up with rope. 

There were boxes piled all around the place seemed like some kind of warehouse. 

And women in black in every direction, whispering as they kept an eye on me. 

“Wow, he’s awake already?” 

“That’s odd, that stuff’s supposed to knock out even an orc for three days. How’d he get up in a day? Maybe we used the wrong dose?” 

“Why don’t you try it yourself?” 

Damn it, what on earth is this? 

Confused and alert, a woman stepped forward from the group and let out a whistle. 

“Wow~ Impressive! Even orcs pass out from that drug, but he wakes up in a day! Guess the arena superstar is built different~” 

Her attitude screamed trouble from the minute I saw her. 

I was sure she was the leader of this criminal gang, and quietly asked her a question. 

“Can you explain what’s going on here?” 

She grinned, flashing sharp teeth. 

“If the precious merchandise wants to know, I’ll explain: You’ve been kidnapped.” 

That was all the explanation I needed to understand the situation.