Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 75

75―――――

Your daughter is mine now.

“Kyak!

Kyaaaaak!”

“What are you doing!

Grab her properly!”

“Y-yes!”

Those who were clearly soldiers of Count Conean, flustered more by Lucia’s words than by their master’s orders, began to obey.

Sturdy men struggled to restrain the slender arms and legs of a beast-kin woman who thrashed wildly, baring her sharp claws as if to kill anyone who touched her.

“Please calm down.

We didn’t come to harm you,” Lucia said, her voice laced with pity, but the woman responded with a murderous scream.

“Kyak!

Stay away, humans!

Don’t touch me!

Kyaaaaak!”

Most of those who had been working as slaves for some time reacted this way.

Even though they had escaped the hellish slave market, they couldn’t accept it, convinced it was another cruel trick by humans, and desperately resisted.

This made it a truly perplexing situation for Lucia, who was trying to treat their wounds.

‘No, it would be better if they *were* all like this.’

The moment Lucia felt truly terrible was when she saw the slaves who were already completely resigned to being sold to customers after enduring so much.

Those in a serious state, both physically and mentally, were busy flirting, exhaling seductive smiles and breaths, begging to be chosen.

What kind of cruelties did they have to endure for these once-proud people to be so broken, their eyes devoid of life, uttering such things?

“Hoo.”

Lucia had also dabbled in healing magic, following Raido’s instruction.

She had rarely felt this heartbroken while using healing magic.

Everyone was usually happy when their wounds were healed, smiling and thanking her.

‘But this is different.

It’s too different.’

Among the wounds on their bodies, the whip marks were the most severe, while the rest could be easily erased with magic alone.

But no magic could heal their broken and shattered hearts.

Unless their memories were erased, it seemed impossible to see a smile on their faces again.

Finding and healing the wounds on their bodies was a simple and easy task, yet Lucia felt exhausted as if she had treated hundreds or thousands of people.

“Lady Lucia.

Are you alright?”

Rishikda cautiously approached and checked Lucia’s condition.

Following Sion’s orders, she was escorting her, and, above all, she was a woman who wanted to help with anything related to Sion as if it were her own business, so she was treating her kindly, thinking of her as an ally.

“Ah, yes.

I’m fine.

Lord Rishikda.

However… the shock is a bit much.

I never imagined such terrible things were happening within the kingdom’s territory.”

“…If you lose, that’s what happens.”

“Yes?”

“Nudia maintains a slave system, and Hispania also allows slaves in some areas, doesn’t it?

Although they are a minority, they certainly exist.”

“Ah….”

As Rishikda said, there were certainly a small number of slaves in Hispania.

They were prisoners of war.

Those who could not pay their ransom and return to their homeland were handed over as slaves.

It was not uncommon for countries that fought wars using only thoroughly trained soldiers, not conscripts, to refuse to pay the ransom for captured prisoners, but it was the worst possible future for those who could not pay due to a series of circumstances.

“I saw a lot in Nudia.

The misery of those who were reduced to slaves.

For them, the wounds on their bodies couldn’t even be called wounds.

What was most hurt, bleeding, and tragically broken was not their bodies, but their hearts.”

“I see…”

“I too have suffered from those emotional wounds.

If it weren’t for the master, I might have taken my own life or died fighting.”

“Are you talking about Prince Sion?”

At Lucia’s question, Rishikda smiled faintly and nodded.

She said that meeting Sion was the greatest luck of her life, and she kept smiling as if she was so happy just to be standing by his side.

“…I envy you.”

“Yes?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.

Lord Rishikda.

Now that we’ve treated all the physical wounds, I think our work is done.

Shall we go up and rest?”

“You go first.

I need to look around a bit.

The group that tried to harm the master might still be lurking nearby.”

Even though the Royal Knights were everywhere, Rishikda didn’t seem to be able to relax.

It seemed she would only feel relieved after returning to the territory of Count Klausen.

‘Still, Lord Rishikda looks very happy.’

Lucia herself couldn’t know how hard she had had it in the past.

But she could tell how happy she was now.

Lucia, as a woman, couldn’t possibly miss the woman’s smile that appeared whenever she looked at Sion, even though she tried to hide it.

‘I’ve gotten a little closer to Sion too… watching this makes me a little greedy.’

Sighing, Lucia slowly climbed the stairs.

Then, she entered her room and was about to take off her clothes to wash away the sweat she had shed using magic when suddenly…

Knock, knock―.

A knock was heard, followed by a man’s voice.

“Lucia, it’s me.

May I come in?”

“Sion?”

After standing blankly for a moment, she hurriedly fastened the buttons of the top she had half taken off and replied, “C-come in!”

As if he had been waiting for Lucia to come up to her room, Sion, who entered the room, was already dressed in comfortable clothes.

“You’ve worked hard, Lucia.”

And in his hand, he held a teacup filled with steaming milk tea.

Sion placed it on the table and gestured for her to drink it before it cooled down.

Lucia stared blankly at it for a moment, then exclaimed, “Ah,” and thanked him before carefully bringing the teacup to her lips.

Sion, who had been watching Lucia drink her tea, brought up the reason he had come after a few minutes.

“How was it? The demi-humans [beast-like humanoids].”

“Ah.”

At Sion’s question, Lucia sighed and put down the teacup.

Then, she fidgeted with her fingers for a moment, hesitating as if she didn’t know what to say, and looked at Sion before carefully opening her mouth.

“…They were okay, but they weren’t okay.”

Even she thought it was a foolish answer.

Surely Sion would think so too and ask what she meant.

Then she would smile and say, ‘I don’t know either,’ and just sip her tea.

“It must have been hard.”

But the answer that came from Sion’s mouth was completely different.

“Yes?”

Lucia asked back, bewildered.

Then Sion smiled as if he knew everything and reached out to carefully take Lucia’s hand.

“Originally, the wounds in the heart are more painful, more scarred, and heal more slowly than the wounds on the body.”

“Ah, ah….”

“And those wounds cannot be erased with magic or herbs.

So I was thinking that it must have been even harder for Lucia.”

“That’s for sure.

No matter how much I heal the wounds on their bodies, the wounds in their hearts…”

“And everyone was suffering terribly.”

“Yes.

They were.”

At Lucia’s answer, Sion nodded and said.

“It is said that those who have already experienced great physical and mental pain often experience such things [emotional trauma].

What they need is not good treatment and medicine, but someone’s attention and support, and the will to overcome it themselves.”

“So you apologized directly to them and bowed your head?”

At the woman’s question, the man nodded.

“Compensation is important, but I felt that someone’s sincere apology was most needed.

Because what is most important to those who are still fighting against their terrible past is not gold coins, but an apology.”

Sion said that and urged Lucia to drink more tea before it cooled down, saying, “Drink it while it’s hot.

It will at least warm your stomach.”

She brought the teacup to her lips again as he said.

The warm and sweet liquid swirled in her mouth and disappeared beyond, and she felt that her cold and desolate heart was calming down even a little.

“More than that, Lucia, you are a very warm person.”

“Me?”

“Although they faced unfortunate events due to us humans, most people see them as demi-humans.

Beings different from us.

So even when they see their pain, there is little movement to empathize with them.”

“…That’s right.”

“But Lucia is different.

You have their pain in your eyes, hear it with your ears, engrave it in your head.

And you have a heart that feels it with your heart and pities them, don’t you?”

“I don’t know.

I just… I just feel sorry for them and I feel sorry for them for no reason.”

“For some, that may be normal, but for others, it may be abnormal.”

Saying that, Sion sipped his milk tea.

After maintaining silence for a while, he put down his cup and continued.

“So, are you okay?”

“Yes?”

“Originally, the kinder a person is, the more strongly they react to the pain of others, and the more they ache in their hearts.

Lucia’s heart must not have been comfortable looking at their pain either.

Am I wrong?”

At Sion’s words, Lucia reflexively grabbed her chest.

Was the throbbing in the corner of her heart from earlier because of that?

She thought that only they were suffering and in pain, but was that not the case?

“Without knowing it, Lucia, your heart must have been cut and stabbed here and there, and bleeding.

So I’m asking.

Are you okay?

Can you smile without a care?”

“…”

Lucia looked at Sion silently, then looked down at the teacup again and fiddled with it.

“I don’t know.”

The answer that came from her mouth was, ‘I don’t know.’

Not ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but an ambiguous answer.

But that ambiguous answer was Lucia’s true feelings.

As Sion said, she too felt a throbbing in the corner of her heart as she looked at them.

But if she was asked if she couldn’t smile without a care because of that, that didn’t seem to be the case either.

The reason was very simple, and so absurd that it was ridiculous.

‘Sion, because you are sitting right next to me and asking if I’m okay.’

If that person asked like that with that smile on his face.

She felt that she could say she was okay and smile brightly in any situation.

Even if she suffered terrible things like them, even if her body and mind were torn to pieces.

Perhaps he had noticed Lucia’s inner thoughts.

Sion gently took the hand of the woman sitting in front of him again and began to pat it gently as if to say she had worked hard and that it was okay now.

“Ah.”

At that, Lucia unknowingly exclaimed, and hurriedly covered her mouth as if it was a big mistake.

As the atmosphere suddenly became strange, Lucia didn’t know what to do and hurriedly opened her mouth.

“I-I think I’m okay when I think about it.

Yes.

I’m okay, Sion.

So you don’t have to worry anymore.

I-I’m going to wash up and rest a bit now…”

“Lucia.”

When she raised her head at Sion’s voice calling her name.

The face of the man she had been longing for was so close that she could feel his breath.

“S-Sion?”

“I asked if there was any room to squeeze in, right?”

Sion’s question suddenly flew in.

At that, Lucia stared blankly at him for a moment, then slowly nodded as she remembered that she had said such a thing.

“That’s a relief.

You remember it well.”

“B-but why are you suddenly bringing that up now…”

“It’s there.”

“Yes?”

“I’m saying that now is the time for Lucia to squeeze in.”

“W-what does that mean…”

In an instant, Lucia fell into the illusion that her body was floating.

Sion grabbed her arm and instantly knocked her down onto the bed next to her.

“S-Sion!

W-why are you doing this?

W-wait a minute!

This is…”

“Ah.

Sorry.

The top and bottom have changed.”

“Yes?

Huak?”

When Sion moved again, Lucia was now on top of Sion.

Lucia was flustered by the sudden situation and tried to run away, but the man blocked her actions with just one word.

“If you go now, you don’t know when another gap will open up.”

“Ah…!”

“It will be up to Lucia whether to squeeze into this gap now or wait for later.”

He was the one who dragged her to the bed first, but at the same time, he was giving her a choice.

The reason why he was lying underneath and putting Lucia on top of him must be that.

“I-I…”

“If it hurts, act spoiled.

Don’t suffer alone, lean on others, whine, ask for comfort, beg for a smile.

That’s all you have to do.”

As the man’s hand touched her cheek, Lucia trembled and swallowed hard.

Lean on him, act spoiled, ask him to smile.

That’s what Sion seemed to be saying.

“Sion.

Can I really… go in?

Will it cause harm to others…”

“It’s okay, Lucia.

Even if you become a little selfish for your own happiness sometimes, no one will say anything.

In the first place, everyone is born with such a selfish heart that they can only love others if they love themselves.”

Sion was removing the last barrier that was blocking Lucia.

Thanks to that, the woman who was sitting on top of him showed a sign of hesitation for a very short time, but soon lowered her body as if she had made up her mind.

Then, she briefly made eye contact with the man she had been longing for, and slowly lowered her head.

Looking at the woman’s lips like red flower buds, Sion thought.

‘Of course, you should.

What kind of morality and conscience is there in a relationship between a man and a woman?

Originally, people can only live like real people if they sometimes deviate!’

Sion, who made Lucia remove the barrier that was blocking herself and act according to her heart, was thinking of saying this if Raido ever gave him a fierce look in the future.

‘It wasn’t me, it was your daughter who touched me!

I am not guilty, father-in-law!’

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

Chu Chu Chu Cheo Cheo Cheon