Chapter 23: The Day Xu Yi Died

Xu Xia’s tears wouldn’t stop flowing.

‘Seeing Sister Xia like this… Could it be?’

“What’s wrong, sister?” I asked nervously.

Upon hearing my question, Xu Xia broke down into even more desperate sobs.

A sturdy woman patted my shoulder, shaking her head as if she wanted to say something but held back.

“Yi… sister, could it be…” I stared wide-eyed at the people around me, not daring to believe…

Everyone around me nodded painfully.

And then I understood why those people had looked at me with such natural concern earlier.

They thought both Xu Yi and I were dead…

‘From that perspective, am I lucky? At least that freak named Moke revived me.’

That’s what I thought, but in truth, I just didn’t want to accept the fact that Xu Yi was dead.

She was so gentle, taught me to read, and was so beautiful. Shouldn’t she be part of my harem?!

‘Hmph, surely I’m not the protagonist…’

I patted Xu Xia and said some comforting words I’d learned from anime.

“Sister, stop crying. I know you’re in agony, but you have to be strong.” I felt the words weren’t great, but I had no time to piece together better ones.

“Even if it’s for Sister Xu Yi’s sake, you have to be strong.” I said earnestly. To be honest, I’d consoled classmates before, but never with such emotion.

Because… how should I put it…

In the days before I was captured, I had noticed Sister Xu Yi’s condition.

Not eating well, fatigue—it was bound to cause problems.

But I never expected death.

I helped Xu Xia (though I could barely support her; others had to assist) and managed to get her to bed.

Xu Xia clung to me tightly, crying, and fell asleep.

‘Crying really wastes energy…’

I thought that, because earlier, in the dungeon, I too had cried myself to sleep.

Even if I was just pretending to be cheerful, I decided I wouldn’t cry anymore.

At least not in this castle.

Once Xu Xia was asleep, I chatted briefly with the others.

We spoke softly, afraid of waking her.

“Xu Xia’s really pitiful. Her man ran off, then she was captured by demons, and now she’s lost her sister.”

“Ah… isn’t that so? When will this end?”

I didn’t want to hear their pointless, discouraging words, so I interjected:

“Um, how many days has it been since I was taken?”

“One day. You didn’t come back yesterday, but you did today. Honestly, all of us in this room thought you… ah…”

“And today Xu Yi…” That tough woman covered her face and sighed.

So from when I was taken to now, two days had passed.

‘I was captured on the eighth day, so now it’s the ninth. That tall goblin said work was done today, so… tomorrow is the tenth day.’

I calculated the time in my head.

“How did Sister Xu Yi die? Could she also have been captured like me?” I asked worriedly.

“I saw her break a vase and cut her throat… She was definitely overtired. Damn it!” A man said with disgust.

After hearing that, I couldn’t help but recall the excruciating pain of having my limbs severed during torture.

Seeing their worried faces, I decided not to press further. I’d ask tomorrow.

At mealtime, as usual, we choked down the disgustingly terrible bug soup.

“Unbelievable!” I struggled to eat.

I wanted to call Xu Xia to eat something, but I hesitated…

“She just cried, let her sleep…” some people advised.

‘Fine. Xu Xia’s body is pretty sturdy anyway. Missing one meal won’t hurt.’

After eating, I found an empty bed and slept.

‘Ah, the same old routine as ever.’

Every day was eat, sleep, work. In a way, it was similar to the life of a regular salaried worker.

But it was nerve-wracking!

My butt felt cold… this skirt was even shorter than my last hemp clothes. Tsk.

‘But one good thing about these days of slavery is that I haven’t seen any bugs in the room.’

‘They’ve all been eaten by the neighbors!’ a certain personality suddenly chimed in.

‘Heh heh…’

The next day passed peacefully. I slept well, no one attacked me at night.

Work went smoothly. Everything proceeded as usual.

Back in the small dark room for rest, some men teased me about my maid outfit.

I shot back, ‘Why don’t you try wearing it?’

Xu Xia wasn’t in good shape. Her eyes seemed dead. Though her speech was normal, her mental state was clearly poor.

She spoke with a peculiar numbness, her expression strange, as if her soul was missing.

Watching her crunch away at the bug soup without any disgust, I panicked.

‘Sister… you can’t be like this…’ I walked over and tried to advise her.

“It’s okay, 99. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Her lifeless smile made me even more anxious.

‘Don’t dwell on it. She’s going to die too. In this state, it’d be strange if nothing happened,’ a certain personality said.

“Really?” I asked, deliberately acting cute.

“It’s fine. Eat well to survive.” She patted my head.

But my heart ached unspeakably…

Several days passed peacefully, but on the thirteenth day of my s*ave life…

While I was cleaning the wall railings, I suddenly heard a shattering sound from around the corridor corner.

I quickly followed the sound, not far away.

Standing there, panicking, was Xu Xia, surrounded by a pile of broken porcelain shards.

‘Ah, it happened after all…’ I thought weakly.

Seeing me, Xu Xia immediately ran over and grabbed my hand.

Her eyes were as wide as walnuts, clearly terrified.

“Sister, it’s okay, it’s okay.” I comforted her.

She didn’t speak, just stared with tears streaming.

Her grip on my hand was actually painful.

But from her trembling hands, I could feel how terrified she was of dying.

“You! What have you done! Lord Gongcheng personally chose this!” As expected, the tall goblin ran up, furious.

“No, no, it wasn’t me!” Xu Xia said frantically.

‘Uh… this situation…’ I looked helplessly at Xu Xia’s face twisted in fear.

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