Volume 2, Chapter 14 – The Girl with Heterochromatic Eyes

The night passed without incident.

The light of dawn soon spilled into the room through what was less a window and more of a ventilation opening.

“Stop… resisting… me!”

“Let… me… go—!”

Early in the morning, the sound of what seemed like a wrestling match came from the next room, rousing Yisi from her sleep. She rolled over.

So noisy.

Looks like making earplugs needs to be added to the to-do list.

“As a slave, you should obey without complaint.”

“I won’t listen to bad people!”

From the voices, it sounded like Camilla was arguing with another girl.

A rare sight indeed—Camilla actually engaging in a dispute.

Keeping her eyes closed, Yisi couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile, and then—

She bolted upright in bed.

Last night, when Yisi had offered to watch over the girl, Camilla had volunteered to take her place instead. Thinking that girls might bond more easily, Yisi had agreed. So the one arguing with Camilla now had to be that very girl.

After quickly dressing, Yisi stepped into the hallway and pushed open the door.

What greeted her was the sight of two women locked in a struggle. Camilla, on top, had one hand pinning the girl’s wrists while the other—along with her teeth—worked to tie them to the bedpost with a rope. The girl, tears streaming down her face, could only shake her head and struggle, a handkerchief stuffed in her mouth muffling her cries into incoherent whimpers.

This was outright bullying.

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But knowing Camilla meant no harm, Yisi simply sighed in exasperation and walked to the bedside.

“What’s going on here?”

“Ah, Onee-sama.”

Noticing Yisi’s arrival, Camilla immediately climbed off the girl. Her breathing was uneven from the scuffle, and her usually smooth golden hair was tousled.

“She tried to run away, so I was tying her up.”

“Who in their right mind strips someone naked the moment they wake up…?”

Though it was a protest, the girl’s voice lacked conviction—not entirely out of fear, but more like she wasn’t entirely sure whether Camilla was a bad person or not.

Since Camilla had cleaned her the night before, the girl’s hair was no longer a tangled black mess, revealing a chestnut hue somewhere between gold and white. Her half-elf ears, short and pointed, peeked out just slightly. With no clothes on, she sat against the wall, clutching the blanket to cover her childlike frame.

Trembling slightly, she looked like a frightened little hamster. With a bit of grooming, she’d probably be quite adorable—or so Yisi thought.

But compared to her eyes, the rest of her features paled in significance. The girl had heterochromatic eyes: the left was red, the right purple. What was startling, however, was how her red eye slowly shifted from a normal human pupil to the vertical slit of a feline’s as she looked at Yisi, sending an eerie chill down the spine.

That alone shattered her initially fragile aura, replacing it with something far more unsettling—as though speaking to her might invite misfortune.

“Hmm.”

Meeting the girl’s gaze, Yisi’s pupils narrowed slightly as she pointed at the transforming left eye.

“Your eye…”

“My eye?”

The girl tilted her head in confusion, but after a moment, as if realizing something, her expression darkened.

“My… my eyes…” Her reaction wasn’t joy at regaining her sight. Instead, she looked utterly terrified—like someone who had endured prolonged abuse. Her eyes widened slightly before she clutched her left eye in panic, bowing her head. Trembling, her lips quivered as her voice cracked with sobs.

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“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… I really didn’t… Ugh… I’ll cover it, I won’t let you see it again… Please don’t gouge it out… I promise, I promise…”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller until it faded into silence. The girl had completely withdrawn into herself, hugging her knees as quiet sobs wracked her body.

Camilla, baffled, glanced at Yisi, who was equally lost.

“Onee-sama.”

“Let me handle this.”

Since the bed was near the window, Yisi had to walk against the incoming light to reach the girl. She crouched beside her and spoke as gently as possible.

“We’re the ones who saved you. We won’t hurt you.”

“I won’t use it again… never again…”

The girl didn’t seem to hear Yisi, still murmuring to herself, knees pulled tightly to her chest.

Left with no other choice, Yisi shot Camilla a pleading look. Perhaps another girl could reach her where Yisi couldn’t.

Camilla placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, making her flinch. Though she stopped muttering, Yisi could feel her entire body tense, as though bracing for a blow.

“Onee-sama went through the trouble of pulling you out of hell. If you can’t even be useful to her, I’ll throw you out.”

Asking Camilla for help had clearly been a mistake.

Yisi should’ve known.

She resisted the urge to facepalm.

But against all expectations, the girl slowly lifted her head—still covering her left eye—and timidly met Yisi’s gaze.

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“Are… are you the one from last night…?”

“Yes. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I promise we won’t punish you as long as you don’t harm us.”

“You… won’t stab my eye with a knife…?”

Anyone who’d do that was a monster.

Suppressing her anger at the girl’s abusers, Yisi softened her expression as much as possible. If only she had Camilla’s naturally approachable face, maybe the girl wouldn’t be so afraid.

“Of course not.”

“Rather than waste effort rescuing you just to torture you, we might as well buy a few slaves from the market.”

“Eek!”

Camilla’s words drew a small whimper from the girl, who ducked her head again.

Yisi sighed inwardly. It seemed Camilla didn’t like the girl much, likely because of her initial attitude.

Once the girl had calmed down a little, Yisi shifted to a lighter topic.

“When we treated you yesterday, we saw a pendant on your neck with the name ‘Ailis’ engraved. Is that your name?”

The girl shook her head. Yisi pressed on.

“Then what is it?”

“…Monster.”

“Monster?”

“Yes. That’s what my master and everyone else called me.”

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“Monster, huh…”

How cruel.

Yisi clicked her tongue.

“If you don’t mind, would you let me give you a name? You don’t seem ready to live on your own yet, so I’d like you to stay with us for a while. It’d be inconvenient without a name.”

Whether out of fear or reluctance to show her tears, the girl kept her head buried in her knees but gave a tiny nod.

“How about Mary? I was planning to name the tavern ‘Margaret,’ and since we found you nearby, Mary seems fitting. Is that okay?”

“Thank you…”

The girl nodded faintly.

“Alright, Mary. Wait here for a bit. Camilla and I will go downstairs to prepare breakfast.”

As Yisi turned to leave, the girl suddenly called out.

“Um… I… I don’t know your name yet…”

“It’s Yisi. Just call me Yisi.”

Mary hesitated.

“Calling you by name… isn’t something a slave should do. May I call you Master instead?”

“Are you trying to drag Onee-sama into trouble?”

“Wait, Camilla.” Though Yisi had initially planned to refuse the title, Camilla’s words made it hard to decline. She could only smile and nod. “Sure, if Mary is comfortable with it.”