-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Let's All Be Happy Together
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was right after we'd rescued Aira from that filthy bastard Walter.
...Why hadn't I realized it sooner?
Aira was completely drained of energy.
Just like when she first arrived at our annex.
After the treatment ended, she'd collapsed into sleep as if passing out, sleeping straight through an entire day.
Tension releasing could make sleep longer, sure.
But this was beyond that.
While she slept, I carefully checked her condition.
Taking her pulse, confirming her breathing, gauging her temperature.
And only then did I understand.
It wasn't just rummaging through the Argent family's granary.
In between, she'd been making choices that pushed her body to the brink, all without drawing attention.
Her stamina was already at its limit, and the traces of her forcing herself through with sheer willpower were clear.
"...I thought just praising her would make her grow well."
The words slipped out in a murmur before I knew it.
"I can handle treating her body... but looking after her mind too? Guess that's not my role after all."
"Master..."
A small voice called out.
I turned to see Piel standing beside me.
Her ears drooped unusually low.
Her tail hung limp, and the sadness in her eyes as she gazed down at Aira was heartbreaking.
Seeing that expression made my chest feel heavier for no reason.
So, as if refusing to burden anyone else with my feelings, I smiled in front of Piel.
I made a face that said everything was fine and stroked her head with my familiar touch.
Until her limp tail began to wag gently again.
"Still... we saved her thanks to you. If it weren't for you, we might not have found Aira until after something horrible happened to her."
Piel bowed her head and replied softly.
"Beastkin have a good sense of smell by nature. I just followed Aira's scent. But... if I'd known it would be like this, I should've gone first myself—!"
"No."
I cut her off sharply.
I might not know everything else, but I couldn't blur the lines on this point.
"Piel."
I met her gaze.
"I'm grateful that you worry about me. Truly."
A brief silence.
"But remember this."
My voice grew cold.
"You're a 'slave' above all else."
"...!"
"No matter how much it's for my sake, don't even think about laying a hand on a noble. Not against the Argents."
It was a warning.
Not a scolding—a blunt slice of reality.
"You'll die. Not just you, but everyone around you."
Piel's ears drooped even further.
It made my heart ache, but I didn't stop.
In the original story, this would have ruined our relationship beyond repair.
Yet now, it felt like scolding a daughter I was trying to protect.
But regardless of those feelings, this world had clear lines.
In a place where the class system breathed and lived, slaves weren't even treated as human.
A slave touching a noble?
That wasn't 'resistance'—it was 'suicide'.
"B-but...!"
Piel lifted her head.
"What if something happens to you because of it—"
"Then."
I steadied my breath and said firmly.
"Pretend you don't know and watch."
"...!!"
I knew it was cruel. But this was one thing I couldn't compromise on.
"I don't care what happens to me. But I won't let the fallout splash onto you."
Piel's eyes wavered.
She was clearly holding back tears.
"...I understand."
It took a long while before her quiet reply came.
"Then... I'll stay put, Master."
"Good."
I nodded.
"That's enough."
I stroked Piel's head once more.
Without knowing what those words might bring in the future.
'Until I get stronger... I'll stay put.'
Aira slept straight through for two full days.
In the meantime, as I'd expected, the annex was unusually quiet.
This was a major incident: the official heir of the Argents had his face smashed head-on by a bastard child.
Normally, Walter's faction—or those orbiting him—would have turned this annex upside down multiple times by now.
And this was a class-based society.
No matter the era, at banquets and social events, appearance was power.
He'd had his jaw—the key to one's impression—blown clean off, so family-level retaliation was only natural.
Yet it was quiet.
There was one reason.
By now, Agram, the family head called the heart of the Argents, had surely pierced Aira's true identity.
"Among elves, only high elves have green eyes."
"High... elf?"
"In simple terms, Aira is essentially a princess of the elf kingdom."
"?!"
Piel dropped the washbasin she was holding at Aira's confession, who had just woken up.
Clang.
The shock hit her face before the sound of water.
"A-Aira... was a princess?!"
"...Yeah."
Aira hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Piel."
That reaction was only natural.
Even Walter had probably reacted similarly at first.
In this world, 'information' wasn't open to everyone.
Unlike modern times where a quick search revealed everything, here information itself was part of wealth and power.
Only those who knew could know, and only those who possessed it could access it.
The elf kingdom was notoriously closed off.
Especially info on the royal family—high elves—was strictly controlled.
What they looked like, their features—only a tiny elite among nobles with direct ties to the elf kingdom knew.
So it was normal for Piel not to know, and most of the world besides.
'Of course... Walter might have known.'
I chuckled inwardly.
The Argents had more than enough position to access that info.
But that guy cared about nothing but magic research—zero interest in worldly affairs.
A classic shut-in who could barely recall his own emperor's name.
That ignorance had led him to cross the one line he absolutely shouldn't have.
"Since they've figured out Aira is a high elf, they won't dare touch us recklessly right now."
I summed it up like that.
Not as a bastard child who rebelled against the official heir.
But as a mediator who prevented a potential diplomatic dispute between the Abellan Empire and the elf kingdom.
At least, on the surface, that's how it looked.
Conversely, Walter had been downgraded from a reckless shut-in noble who toyed with slaves and caused an accident... to a diplomatic bomb who tried to rape an elf kingdom princess.
The justification was perfect.
...Of course.
Only until they uncovered that Aira was a 'discarded princess.'
That was when it happened.
"...I'm sorry."
A small, trembling voice.
"Huh?"
I turned to see Aira sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her face.
"Because of me... everyone almost got in danger."
Her voice broke.
"Because of me... everything... it's all my fault..."
Aira wiped her face repeatedly, swallowing sobs.
The tears wouldn't stop.
And as if she could hide it no longer, she spilled everything.
How she'd been chased out of the elf kingdom.
Why being born a high elf made her a stain on the kingdom.
Being abandoned, the reasons she had to leave, losing her eyes and tongue to her sisters.
With each word, Aira bowed her head lower, as if cutting herself down.
"...I'm a burden wherever I go. Just existing... is a mistake...!"
Even after hearing it all, I couldn't respond easily.
But.
Whoosh.
"P-Piel?"
It wasn't me who moved first.
Our kind fox, who'd walked the same harsh path as a fellow slave, embraced Aira.
Without a word, just holding tight as if she'd never let go.
"I..."
Piel opened her mouth cautiously.
"I grew up with parents who loved me. So I can't say I fully understand the pain you've been through."
She paused. She didn't look away.
"Claiming to understand would just be a 'lie' no friend should tell."
"Hic... Piel..."
But Piel shook her head.
"Still."
Her voice was quiet but firm.
"I was caught by slave hunters too. Not both sides like you, Aira... but I lost one eye, and my ears were cut."
She drew a breath.
"I watched my mom and dad... die right in front of me."
At those words, Aira clutched Piel's clothes without a word.
In the original story, there was no such conversation.
In Vengeful Goddesses, Aira and Piel were just comrades sharing a goal.
They never peered into or bared each other's wounds.
But now was different.
Aira, baring her soul completely in front of those who believed in her.
And Piel, receiving it without fleeing.
"It must have been hard... lonely... and so painful."
Piel said, hugging Aira.
"But let's not give up. Let's be happy."
"...!"
Aira's shoulders shook violently.
"Yeah... I don't want to be unhappy anymore...!"
"Right."
Piel nodded.
"We're still alive. Master saved us... and we still have chances."
And very softly, she added,
"The pain you're carrying... we'll share it now too."
"Well said."
This time, I stepped in.
"Aira. Like I said before, your body isn't just yours anymore."
"Lord Lucas..."
"I can't stand seeing my people unhappy."
I didn't catch my breath.
"It pisses me off just looking at it."
I drew closer and said,
"Why should you, the victim, be the one crying? I want you smiling. If I have to, I'll order you to live happily."
With those words, I pulled Piel—who was holding Aira—into an embrace too.
The breaths of three people mingled quietly in the same rhythm.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 99 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/the-slaves-i-expelled-have-become-strong-and-returned
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━