391 Little Bird Room (below)

The next day.

Even today Chiffon-Cher was bored between being surrounded by stone walls.

Since there are few visitors to Refraia, and Refraia rarely leaves the room, Chiffon-Cher was only able to run errands in the morning with a bath and two meals, and then only about a cup of tea.

Previously, I wasn't even given time to wash, take care of my banquet costume, or to be resting. But there would still have been an easier side to moving like that. Since Chiffon-Cher became a dedicated maid of honor to Refraia, she had begun to feel the passage of time more than twice as long.

"Other maids, when you don't have a job, you seem to be doing embroidery, right?

It was Sanjula who had called it that way.

When he is not called to Refraia either, it seems that he will only exchange as much as this next time, or as much as he will train in swordsmanship on the table.

"... do the embroidery and what will you do with it...?

"Come on? Aren't you going to decorate yourself or give it to someone? I'm a man, so I don't know much."

"Really..."

I was starting to spend a lot of time with this Sanjula as well, but I didn't know much about my mind.

He cares about Refraia more than anything else. All Chiffon-Cher could tell was that. I don't know why you care and what kind of relationship you want with Refraia. It just seemed like he just wanted to be by Refraia and was trained in sword moves to protect her.

"... Chiffon-Cher, you don't seem well these days"

And such Sanjula overlaps words.

"Besides, since yesterday, it seems like it's sinking. Again, are you worried about your countrymen?

"No... I'm not so worried..."

More than that, the words didn't last.

After a day, Chiffon-Cher couldn't keep up with his feelings.

When I think of my brothers, my breasts make noise. But when asked if he was worried about that body, it didn't seem like it.

Forestside settlements are dangerous places. I don't know how dangerous it is, but I hear that Giva, who lives in Morga anyway, is a dangerous beast. If the slaves connected by chains are attacked, it may be life-threatening.

But if the folks by the woods are going to add strength, it doesn't seem worth it for Chiffon-Cher to worry any more - or even think about extreme stories, what's wrong with losing your life?

Slaves remain slaves, even if they survive. In this land they are rarely whipped, and they are given enough to eat and sleep, but being a slave is no different. There is no freedom of movement, no copper coin is given, no child is allowed to be born. So, if you're just raw enough to be made to work until your body stops moving, isn't it the same thing whenever you lose your life - to Chiffon-Cher, it seemed that way?

It's not as painful as wanting to die, it's not as happy as wanting to live. That is the life of the people of Mahdra in the land. It was the mood Chiffon-Cher himself had before he was separated from his brothers.

Chiffon-Cher stared back at Sanjula as he felt his chest squirm again for no reason.

"Sanjula... you were talking about different lands at the behest of the previous Lord until you became a warlord accompanied by Master Refraia...?

"Yes, you're right"

"So... have you ever seen the people of the North serve as slaves, even in the land of the margins...?

"Yeah, several times. But since I didn't leave Genos that much, I didn't have much of a chance. The people of the North, used as slaves, must be more of a northern land."

Sanjula smiles very calmly.

But it's hard to read his mood. He wasn't as faceless as Sim's people, but he also felt like he was hiding his emotions by that smile.

"... in those lands, how were the people of the North treated...?

Still, Chiffon-Cher asked.

It seemed a lot hissing to convey the words according to my feelings, not my job - that was since I exchanged words with Asta.

"Right. I didn't get too close, so I can't say for sure... after all, it seemed to be often chained, field work, entrusted to me. And then we saw lumber cutouts, even stone cuttings, the people of the north."

"Really..."

So Sanjula turns her gaze to the ceiling as if trying to remember something.

"Speaking of which... I forgot the name of the town, but only once, I think I saw something unusual"

"Something unusual......?

"Yes, the people of the North, pregnant women."

Chiffon-Cher breathed lightly.

But I immediately reconsider and shake my head loose.

"The people of the west despise the people of the north, so that doesn't seem to happen much either... but even my countrymen, aged women, were sold to another land... and that's how the blood of the north and west can vary..."

"Yes, I thought the same thing, but it seems different."

"... no...?

"Yes, the words, they haven't been exchanged, so the fact is, I don't know - the pregnant woman, she seemed very happy."

That said, Sanjula smiled again.

"They, for the men, were preparing their meals. Other women, after all, seemed to be blessing pregnant women. Father, if you are a people of the west, will you bless the other ladies?

…………

"Me, it's a mix of east and west. I was separated from my mother, my family, and I lived in the West Lands. And it was so sweet, but it seemed so painful. By order of my father, I was ordained a son of Western God."

With the same expression, Sanjula narrows her eyes to miss something.

"Even east and west of friendly countries, yes. In the north and west, even giving a child will not seem happy. Not to mention the other ladies, it's extra hard to bless, I think."

…………

"Just having children between slaves, forgiven, me, I don't know"

"Rumor has it... I have heard that some lands allow it..."

"Really? So, that land, that must have been it."

In conclusion, Chiffon-Cher was to get how restless he felt.

I can feel my emotions twirling under the cold, frozen superficial layer. Something I've been obsessed with ever since Asta informed me of my brother's safety seems to have been severely stimulated.

That's when I heard the subtle tone of the bell ringing from across the door.

Refraia's calling Chiffon-Cher.

"I beg your pardon," he said, bowing his head to Sanjula, before Chiffon-Cher pulls open the door.

There was no sign of Refraia in her usual bench, and she was tumbling by the window.

A small, lattice-fitted window makes it difficult to escape, as well as even get your hands on it. Moreover, since this is the third floor, arrangements are layered so that you cannot meet outdoor people in close contact.

"Dear Mr. Refraia... may I offer you something..."

"Yeah," Refraia replied, but didn't try to move for a while as it was.

Then he slowly turns back towards Chiffon-Cher.

"... I'd like to take a little walk. Will you tell Sanjula that, too? Then help me get dressed."

"Yes, sir... please wait..."

Chiffon-Cher informed Sanjula during the next period to that effect before moving to the costume rack in the corner of the room.

"Dear Refraia, which meal shall we serve…?

"Whatever it takes. Please make it as simple as possible."

Chiffon-Cher often conceived, turning back to Refraia with a woven cloth with a light yellow coat and embroidered shim.

First, if you take off the white long clothes that were wrapped around Refraia, the white skin becomes more obvious than that.

White skin, as if it were the people of the North.

I'm sure it's something that's pulling indoors, so it's gotten white like this.

Then Chiffon-Cher laughs bitterly when he realizes his fingertips are either incomparably white. Chiffon-Cher has lived in stone walls alone for even longer than Refraia. Even before moving his residence to this mansion, Chiffon-Cher had not had a decent chance to soak up the light of day, only enough to go out into the garden with a guest's guide.

(But the people of the west have more beautiful skin than the people of the north, so it's like a ceramic crop.)

Besides, when I'm twelve years old, I'm getting more and more like a daughter. Until not too long ago, Refraia, who only looked like a small child, was somehow drawing a soft curve, so that even a hint of colored incense could be felt.

My hair, which I have just cut off to redeem my sins, is about to grow longer than my shoulders. Little by little the youthfulness fell out of the nostrils and cheek lines as well, and she seemed to be poor as a nearly blossoming stump.

(So if I grow up to be a fine daughter, marry my partner and give up the housekeeper, I wonder if Master Lifreia would be more free to live than she is now...)

Chiffon-Cher did not resent or even resent Refraia, instead of being sympathetic, etc. Although I used to have this kind of seizure, it was cute compared to Silhouel and others, and I don't remember being whipped. Besides, she could only whisper in a tall voice without being turned back by her father, who was only one family member, who even remained looking like a wounded little bird.

(Even a sturdy stone house, if you can't get out freely, is the same as a cage... it's like a little bird caught in a cage, myself and Master Lefreia...)

With that in mind, wrap the yellow long coat around the reflair and finally hang the woven cloth shoulder. I thought I'd at least get ready for some hair decorations, but Refraia refused to say "Fine."

Two other martial officers stood side by side in Sanjula as they went through the corridor that way. I'm a soldier, for watch.

I went down the stairs and out while those soldiers stuck me back and forth.

This mansion is an official residence prepared for the nobility.

Since the powerful nobleman covers a fine mansion in the castle town, it was the bloodlines of the Marquis and Count houses, knights and officials and their families who lived in this official residence.

Raise your right hand and ask for the beauty of Castel Genos.

Trying to turn his back on it, Refraia proceeded to walk towards the courtyard.

Without Tolst's permission, you are not allowed to leave the premises of this official residence. The site is surrounded by stone walls and the gates are guarded by guards. In the courtyard were flowers raised by this lady, and the stone walls were teased with lots of crawling grass.

So much so that we can run Totos, it is a large courtyard.

It is now noon, and as far as I can see, there are no figures.

While walking down the stone path laid in the form that surrounded its outer circumference, Refraia eventually called the name of "Sanjura" and his squire.

"Could you please step away for a moment? I want to talk."

"Talk to who?

"... besides Chiffon-Cher, anyone else?

Chiffon-Cher was surprised, but Sanjula smiled.

"Got it. Soldiers, let's back off."

The soldier seemed to do a lot, but it's a space surrounded by stone walls anyway, and Chiffon-Cher is the opponent with no secrets or snares. The soldiers, along with Sanjula, took about ten steps away and seemed to decide to play a watchful role from the deafening of the conversation.

"What is it, Master Refraia...? What the hell are you talking about?

Refraia walked silently for a while.

Sanjula and the others are following while keeping the same distance.

Eventually Lifreia opened her mouth after proceeding about half a circle through the large courtyard.

"Chiffon-Cher. You have a family working in Turan, don't you? What kind of family is that with you?

"It... will be my brother..."

Say "brother," Refraia bites her lips gently.

As I walked, that gaze remained directed at my feet the whole time.

"But you've been working in the Mansion since I was a child, haven't you? Since when hasn't he looked at you with that brother?

"... I have been working for the Count for five years now, and since then I have not seen my brother or my compatriots face to face..."

I had no idea why Refraia was interested in such a thing, Chiffon-Cher.

Refraia twinkles, "Five years..." with a sinking voice.

"You were captured as slaves five years ago, right?

"No... we lost our homeland thirteen years ago... we spent eight years in another part of Selva, and then we were brought to Turan..."

…………

"Why do you even care about such things now...? Nothing would be uncommon for the people of the west to be able to buy the people of the north as slaves......?

"But my father was the only one who used slavery in this Genos. There was no one else in the South who could buy slaves on purpose."

"Yep... Mahydra and Genos are far enough away to take more than a month to use Totos' luggage... I guess no one takes that kind of time and effort..."

Refraia has stopped her legs and looked up at Chiffon-Cher's face.

Like in the days of young tyrants, that frown hangs.

but - dwelling in those pale shaded eyes was the light of anxiety and sorrow.

"Chiffon-Cher, you must be shying away and resenting me and my father. I was bought as a slave, and I was separated from my family."

"What about resentment...? Because it must have been soldiers from other lands that were not involved with Genos, who burned and enslaved my homeland..."

"But it was my father who separated you from your family."

I wonder what that is.

Without understanding Lefreia's mood, Chiffon-Cher leans her neck.

"I did get separated from my brother and my heart went blank... but when I was asked if the times I worked at Turan with my brother were happy... sticky, it doesn't even seem that way..."

"More than being a slave, you mean you can't have your family around you, but it's painfully no different?

"Is it... I don't know... because now it's hard to remember when I wasn't a slave anymore..."

Refraia made her mouth a letter to.

Again, this is the look I used to see all the time.

But after all, you look like you're crying now.

"... I am to be separated from my father, who is only one family. But that's because my father was guilty of a great crime, so I can't resent anyone. If my father hadn't been the head of the Earl's family, he would have been so guilty that he would have been strangled."

"Yes......"

"But you didn't commit any sins, did you? And yet, they took my home town, separated me from my family... so you say you don't resent anyone?

Chiffon-Cher put his hand over his chest and thought about it.

Under a frozen mind, something is raving violently.

But I didn't think this was a sentiment of resentment or hatred.

"I don't resent you, I'm not... I seem to have lost the feeling of resenting someone a long time ago..."

"Then what am I supposed to do?

Like a wacko, Refraia just mentioned it.

In those eyes, there are tears in my eyes.

"If you want to go home to your brother, I was going to tell Tolst to work it out that way. But if you still can't be happy... what the hell am I supposed to do?

"That's... how could Master Refraia do such a thing...?

"Because! Family is the most important thing, isn't it? If you're not guilty of anything, then no one can forgive you for pulling it off?

Refraia lost all of her family.

Does that mean I lost it and was reminded of its importance for the first time?

She once took Asta to Castle Town. It was the woman hunter by the woods who named Asta's family who rescued it.

Refraia, who has separated a sinless person from his family, is now weeping at the pain. Was this also the guidance of Western God?

Chiffon-Cher felt the uncharted passion of who he was gaining momentum.

It seemed as if the superficial layer that enclosed it was making a tingling sound.

"Chiffon-Cher, think again. Don't you think I want to go home to my brother? It might be more painful for a slave to live in Turan, but still, you can stay with your family? Which seems a little bit happy to you?

"It's..."

"Or call your brother to Castle Town? It's a little - no, it may be quite difficult, but if you want it, I'll lick Tolsto's or Marquis Genos' shoes and make you plead."

"Duh, how can Master Refraia care so much about me and my brother's fate...?

As Chiffon-Cher tried to pull herself back while losing her normal mind, Leflaia grabbed her hands.

Smooth white cheeks with tears. The face remained angry and Refraia was crying.

"You and Sanjula are the only two who are here for me right now. I can't stand the fact that one of them is unhappy because of me or my father. I don't want to lose you... but I don't want you to be unhappy any more."

"... I am a slave bought from a copper coin...?

"It doesn't matter! To me, she's just a samurai!

At the edge of his sight, he felt the soldiers wandering.

But it seems that Sanjula is holding it back, and there was nothing to try to get closer to this one.

Chiffon-Cher is confused.

Suddenly I was struck by an unexpected passion, and the inner passion of Chiffon-Cher seemed to have echoed it as well.

"What should I do? For you, how is it happiest? Whatever, tell me that! I don't have any power left, but I want to redeem myself and my father for their sins at all!

"I... I have already lost my human feelings... I can't even tell what is happiness and what is unhappiness..."

Saying, Chiffon-Cher shook Lifreia's hand back.

It was a very small, very warm hand.

"But... thanks to Master Refraia, I finally understood... what I was asking for was to behave like a human being like Master Refraia..."

"What do you mean? Tell me so I can understand!

"Yes... I didn't even know if I was happy to go back to my brother... I can't wait to see who I am... I can't wait to see myself or this world, such as when my brother is informed that he is safe but I don't know if I should be happy or sad about it..."

The superficial layer of Chiffon-Cher's heart, hard frozen, is ravaged by its inner turbulence and filled with cracks, yet remains strong.

After thirteen years of solidification, this heart cannot be smashed so easily.

Chiffon-Cher has no anger, no sorrow, no joy.

Chiffon-Cher should have questioned the very matter.

If you don't know what makes you happy, you have to do everything in your power to find out.

I want to resist the fate that visited me, as Asta once did, and as Refraia does now. I want to capture the happiness within my reach instead of letting myself be in the flow of destiny. - No, I want to regain the human emotion that I want to capture happiness.

"... Dear Mr. Refraia. What I want is for my brother and compatriots to live happily ever after… and to feel the same for themselves and live together…"

"Yeah...... what do I do to that?

"Yes, freeing slaves would be a dream that no one in Selva would ever wish for... since we are serving the people of the North and the people of the West as slaves, it is a hard wish to free us alone... Also, unless the battle between Selva and Mahydra ends, freeing slaves would be an act that gives to the enemy, so even more such an imitation should not be possible..."

"Yeah."

"But even in the western lands the people of the north may be able to live happily ever after...... we are talking about some lords in the other towns who allow their slaves to give them copper coins or give birth to their children...... some of the slaves bought by Turan from such towns tried to escape and were to be cut off because they could not stand the life in the land...... isn't that a sign that such a life felt happily enough to risk their lives......?

"Yeah," Refraia nodded even.

I guess Chiffon-Cher is desperately trying to understand what he wants to say and what he wants.

"This Genos will gather travellers from different lands… If we gather stories from those, we will also know why in other lands we are giving bronze coins to slaves and allowing them to give birth to children… So if we can make the Marquis of Genos think that it is better for the lords to treat slaves as such… the slaves of Turan may also become allowed to live such lives…"

"Is that what you want, Chiffon-Cher?

"Yes... my brothers are no longer left with the strength to flee the kingdom of the west either... then there is no other way to live happily ever after in this land...?

Chiffon-Cher was able to smile naturally, stating so.

It was the first time since Asta and I broke up that smile spilled on our own like that.

"My brothers do not even have the means to preach the word to the nobility... but by my side there is Master Refraia... and for me and others, he has asked me to help... I am the only one in this world who can preach the word to the nobility of Genos as a slave to the people of the North... I cannot yet tell if it is the right thing or if it is a happy thing... if I am not happy now I would like to do everything in my power to be happy..."

"Yeah," Refraia nodded again.

Its eyes still remained wet in tears, but even shimmered harder than ever before.

"You are a slave to Mahdra, and I am only a nobleman in a name that has no power whatsoever, but if you shake your head, you may be able to move your destiny a little. Neither Tolsto nor Marquis Genos, nor the Polearths of the Earl of Dalaim, are the kind of people who would spare no effort if they were to talk about getting Genos. Perhaps we can give your brothers a more comfortable life if we follow it well."

"Yes... but are you really going to do that much for me, etc...?

When Chiffon-Cher asked, Refraia laughed with her eyebrows hoisted.

I don't even know if you're laughing or angry or crying anymore. Face.

"All I have left is you and Sanjula. I wonder if my husband, who can only take care of two servants, is more meaningless than a broken knife."

That's how Refraia started walking with one hand grabbing Chiffon-Cher's fingertips, trying to wet her tears with her little hand back.

"If that's what you decide, let's go back to your room and set up an operation. Let's start by saying torst and crossing around Pole Earth... oh, you already had a martial arts party. Then you will have the opportunity to speak directly with the Marquis of Genos, and a lady named Eurifia, the successor companion of the Marquis, weirdly affects me. If we get involved around there, we might as well talk fast."

"Dear Refraia... please don't be impotent...?

"That's good. It's like a little bird being hunted and killed, so if you don't do it with all your strength, you won't see it coming."

Again, Chiffon-Cher was to smile again, wondering if Refraiia had spent her days feeling that way too.

Soon will this frozen heart be broken, can it obtain a happy raw with its brother, etc., that was one of God's will, but the way forward was set. There was nothing to lose or anything else, and there are beings who are trying to walk that path with me. If this is the wrong path, then we just need the Western God and the Northern God to stand together.

In the hundreds of years since Selva and Mahydra began to fight - in that history, would it have been at one time, such as when western aristocracy and northern slaves walked hand in hand amicably?

Thinking of it that way, Chiffon-Cher could have laughed in such a clear mood.