Chapter 60

"Why're you looking at me like that?"

Rotte and the butler tugged at their sleeves and dabbed at the tears welling up in their eyes. They'd clearly taken what Iberin said the wrong way.

"…It must've been so frightening all this time."

"Uh — huh?"

"Poor Lady Iberin. But Rozelia will be taking care of Madam's health from now on."

"Oh…"

The mood had gone strangely solemn, and Iberin couldn't find a word to say — she just nodded.

And then, that night, after her first experience with holy power, she fell asleep with her body feeling lighter than it had in ages.

"……."

Iberin sat up on the bed with a vacant expression.

Like someone in a trance, blank-faced, she opened the bedroom door and wandered the hallways the whole night through.

---

The next day, Iberin woke up refreshed for the first time in ages.

So this is what a healthy body feels like. It had been so long she'd nearly forgotten.

She sat for a while in a daze, marveling at how light everything felt, then sprang up and tried a few small jumps. She wasn't even out of breath.

The door opened then, and Rotte came in. Her eyes went round at the sight of Iberin.

"You can't bounce around like that…!"

Rotte rushed forward to stop her on reflex, then froze.

Iberin grinned at her.

"I'm fine now."

"You are… You really are…"

Rotte looked overcome. Then again, Iberin herself couldn't believe how stunned she'd been when she'd opened her eyes that morning.

"You seem cheerful."

"Do I?"

"Yes."

Even as Rotte said how cheerful Iberin looked, she was the one who actually looked happier of the two.

"I am. That's the best night's sleep I've ever had."

"…Lady Iberin."

Rotte's expression turned tender and a little ache-filled.

Iberin saw the tears welling up again and waved her hands frantically.

"Hey, why are you about to cry again? Don't cry, don't cry."

"Yes, yes. Of course. I'm getting old, and silly with it…"

"Rotte, you're not old, and you're not silly."

She said it and stretched hugely, calling an end to that topic.

"Shall we head out?"

"You're not going to eat first? Even if your health's better,"

"Wait — Rotte, didn't you come to take me to the dining room?"

"Ah."

"Let's go eat."

"I was worried you might say I feel better, let's skip breakfast and go for a walk, and that's all I…"

Rotte dropped her head with an apologetic look.

"No, no. Are they all waiting for me? I'd better hurry."

She'd been so caught up in this new sensation that she'd lingered in the room a long time after getting up, and Rotte had come looking for her in person.

"Everyone'd drop dead at a word from you, Lady Iberin — it's not a problem at all…"

Rotte settled Iberin with the air of no need to rush whatsoever and carefully opened the door.

With Rozelia's holy power, Iberin wasn't going to be ill for a while, but the habits of all this time clearly weren't shaking off easily.

"And isn't that true of you too, Rotte?"

"Of course I'm included in that. The other staff would all be the same. So really, Lady Iberin, please don't worry."

Iberin couldn't help laughing.

She was hurrying her steps when she spotted three people walking up the hall together — apparently they'd been too impatient to wait.

"Mommy!"

"Lady Iberin!"

The two kids came running and threw themselves into her arms. Iberin bent halfway down and wrapped them up snugly.

"How are you feeling?"

"You feelin' okay?"

"You're not hurting?"

All three asked the same thing at the same time.

The words differed slightly, but the worry behind them was clear, and Iberin nodded with a smile.

"I feel great. You were all worried, huh."

"Thank goodness…"

"Rozel, thank you so much. When I woke up my body felt so light because of you."

"It wasn't anything. Hehe."

Rozelia twisted shyly in place.

"Earlier you were making sure I knew it was thanks to you, talkin' big, and now you're going all bashful?"

Ether shot her a look.

Iberin pictured Rozelia preening.

"You little — close your mouth."

"Enough. Let's go. Iberin must be hungry."

Lyssel cut in before another row could break out.

And so, the dining room.

"The food smells even better than usual today."

She'd always had an appetite, but eating much of anything had been beyond her. After finding the Cheongyang peppers, things had improved a little…

At her words, everyone brightened and sat down.

Lyssel naturally pulled Iberin's steak in front of him, cut it up, and slid it back to her. Iberin picked up one of the small pieces of meat and brought it to her mouth.

Munch.

The moment she took a bite, everyone was watching her with strangely tense expressions. Iberin broke into a wide smile.

"This is so good!"

It really did taste a little more delicious, in some strange way.

"Eat plenty."

Lyssel smiled and pushed her favorite dishes closer.

---

The truth was, plenty of problems were still unsolved.

But she was too busy savoring this moment to worry about any of them.

"Rozel, how's the holy power, still going strong?"

"Yes — don't worry. I'll look after it from here. And holy power doesn't just disappear all of a sudden, so my pile of holy power is going to be there forever."

Rozelia thumped her chest as if to tell Iberin to trust her on this.

But what Iberin was worried about wasn't Rozelia's holy power suddenly cutting out or vanishing.

It was simply — why could she already use her holy power?

Honestly, the original didn't really seem to matter that much anymore.

"How did you suddenly manage to use it, though?"

"Hmm. Honestly, I don't really know either. I was training same as always, and then suddenly something felt different."

"Did it?"

"Yes. So Rotte said the strength of my feelings worked a miracle, and called me a little blessing!"

Rozelia said it with a happy look on her face.

"You feel good? That your holy power moved?"

"Yes, I feel great!"

"…Rozelia. Even without holy power, I'd love you. I don't think it would happen, but I want to say it just in case."

In case Rozelia ever started thinking weird things after channeling holy power a few times, she felt she had to make this clear.

"I know that!"

Rozelia waved her hands of course.

"But if you ever do start thinking that way, you know — you don't have to give me holy power. I don't want to keep living at the cost of poisoning Rozelia's heart."

"Stop it! Don't say things like that! You have to live a long, long time!"

Rozelia stamped her foot in real anger and glared at Iberin.

It was the first time Iberin had ever seen that expression aimed at her, and she flinched a little — then immediately pulled her into a warm hug.

---

Iberin's health, going forward, was going to be Rozelia's responsibility.

The girl was still busy training, determined to show off her holy power in more ways.

Lyssel and Iberin were sitting in the parlor sipping tea.

"The family has arrived at the door."

The butler said it.

The family didn't know yet that Lecashe had bought their slave papers, and she'd called them in to tell them.

Until now they'd stayed shut up in the room the staff had given them, too frightened to come out. The wounds had to be treated, so only the physician went in and out, she'd heard. They'd refused even the physician at first, but once told that their injuries were severe enough to kill them if left alone, they'd finally let him in.

Iberin had said she'd go herself, but the staff had vetoed it — not because of the slavery, but because the mistress of the house had no business making the trip in person.

Click.

The door opened, and the Habil family came in, wounds still raw.

"We greet His Highness the Grand Duke and Her Highness the Grand Duchess."

They flattened themselves to the floor in greeting.

The injuries still looked terrible, but they seemed considerably more settled than before.

"So — have you given it any thought?"

Lyssel asked.

"Well, that's not what matters at the moment."

As he said it, he pulled the slave document from his coat and read it out, line by line. Absolute obedience to the master, punishments permissible if violated — every clause of it. It honestly wasn't a long contract.

Habil jerked his head up, completely thrown.

He couldn't possibly guess why Lyssel was reading the document aloud. Iberin watched him too, wondering what he was up to. They were of one mind on this, so whatever it was, it wasn't going to be bad.

When Lyssel finished reading, he turned his gaze on Habil.

Habil's mouth opened, trembling — and at that exact moment, Lyssel tore the document in two.

Rrrrip—

He shredded it with a clean, satisfying sound, ripped the pieces into smaller pieces, and tossed them onto the floor.

"You're no longer slaves."

"……What?"

The family, who'd been trembling, were so stunned they just froze and stared at him.

"How — how could…?"

They knew better than anyone that Viscount Roman would never have let them go easily. Which made this all the more unbelievable.

Lyssel didn't bother explaining that part — he just went on.

"You're not slaves; you're commoners now. Live however you like. You're free to leave."

"……Oh."

"I hear you haven't set foot outside that room for days. Have your wounds fully treated here first, and if you want to go to the capital after that, I'll send you."

The instant the words ended, tears streamed down Habil's face.

Not just Habil — the wife and the children, too.

They'd spent their whole lives being worked like livestock — worse than livestock. They had never imagined there could be a noble who would tear up a slave contract on the spot and grant them freedom. Couldn't have imagined it in a thousand years.

"Aahhh."

The whole family sobbed openly, the years of hardship probably racing back through their minds.

Iberin had to blink hard against the tears that threatened to spill from her own eyes.

Lyssel must have noticed — he reached over and quietly took her hand and smiled at her.

Sniff.

Iberin sniffled and squeezed his hand.

And she thought —

When did our Grand Duke get this cool.

She felt strangely proud.

She'd brought up freeing the slave family, sure, but she hadn't told him to handle it like this specifically. She'd planned to suggest it and let him do whatever he wanted with it whenever he wanted — she'd never imagined he'd come out swinging this dramatically.

Iberin wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand and went over to the still-crying family to pat them gently. It was the most comfort she could offer.

No amount of compensation could undo the life they'd already lived. It would leave scars, at the very least, in the form of permanent marks. That was exactly why she didn't throw compensation or comfort at them carelessly. The only thing left was to truly understand their pain and wish blessings on the life ahead of them.

"…Um…"

After a long bout of crying, Habil seemed to settle enough to speak up cautiously.

Then suddenly he bowed his head and called out,

"P-please — take us in as residents of the territory!!"