No to Being the Suffering Heroine!

“Friede, can you keep an eye on this girl? I think I need to wash up first.”

“Yes! I’ll keep an eye on her!”

I took off my armor and padded clothes, which were covered in dried blood and flaky black powder, and left them at the door before heading back into the bathroom.

I’ve got a lot to say to Ashel, but first things first—gotta take a bath. Realizing how drenched I was in blood, I felt completely gross and wanted to scrub this awful mess off me as soon as possible. It wasn’t just blood; I was a walking mudpie from rolling around in the slums, mixed with dirt, filth, and germs, making me a disaster of epic proportions.

No wonder Friede and Eleadra looked at me and didn’t rush to hug me, asking if I was okay—instead, they just checked in with their words.

If I left this for too long, I’d probably end up with a skin disease. I’m not sure if Valkyries can catch diseases, though.

‘…I wonder if I won’t catch anything? The ‘Ice Heart’ should block germs, right? But other illnesses… I’m not so sure about.’

Well, it’s not like I need to put that to the test.

If I want to clear up misunderstandings and have a talk, I should at least wash up first.

I mean, can you imagine a bloody mess trying to sound convincing? Words need a decent presentation to have any meaning.

If an ugly, gloomy person cracks a lame joke, the atmosphere goes cold instantly. But if a handsome guy says the same joke, everyone is laughing away, right?

Same words, different reactions based on the speaker’s appearance.

So, first things first—let’s wash up.

Huff…

I scooped water with a bucket from one side of the bathroom, poured it over my head a few times, then hopped into the tub for a short soak.

‘Now I can breathe a bit.’

Gentle waves cradled my half-sunk chest, warm steam wrapped around my cheeks.

The fruity scent of a candle that Friede lit lingered in the air.

The sensation of my overworked muscles relaxing felt utterly heavenly, sweet enough to loosen my expression.

Yeah, this is living.

Instead of tangled up with filthy, beastly ruffians in stinking back alleys, I’m having a nice bath in this lavish mansion.

Daniel may have done one good thing—he gifted me such a magnificent estate. I might feel a pang of regret when it’s time to leave.

◆◆

After finishing my bath and changing into everyday clothes, I headed to the reception room.

“Ah, Hilde’s here! I was keeping a good watch just like you asked!”

Friede turned towards me with a beaming smile.

There was Ashel, lying on the floor with a large sword pointed at her neck. If I said to deal with it, she’d slice her head off without hesitation.

“Uh… Good job. Thanks, Friede.”

“You’re welcome!”

Well, I couldn’t blame her too much. She must have really tried to keep a close eye—after all, I told her to watch thoroughly.

But there was one part that was a bit hard to grasp.

“…But what’s Eleadra doing?”

I cautiously pointed at Eleadra. She was perched on Ashel like a horse, peering down at her with an intense gaze.

With her tiny fingers, she forcibly pried open one of Ashel’s eyes, making them lock stares.

Honestly, it looked a bit creepy to me.

“I told you not to wake her, right? So I’m keeping her asleep.”

“Huh…? She won’t wake up like that?”

“That’s what I’ve heard?”

What the heck? Did they put her under some mind control spell?

Well, it wouldn’t be surprising if an old vampire had some bizarre mental abilities.

‘…I hope she doesn’t use it on us.’

Of course, knowing about it means I’d need to be extra careful… But that’s a worry for later.

For now, my priority was to wake Ashel up.

“Eleadra, that’s enough. You’ve worked hard.”

“Okay, Mommy!”

Eleadra immediately nodded and bounced over to me, convinced I’d scoop her up without question.

With a forced smile, I spread my arms and embraced her, giving her a little pat. Eleadra beamed at me.

On the surface, she looked like a cute kid, but those blood-red eyes had a flicker that made her seem like a hungry wolf.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re okay, right? You’re not hungry, are you?”

“I’m fine! I ate a lot!”

…What did she eat?

Never mind, let’s skip that topic. I really don’t want to know. As long as Friede was around, she probably didn’t cause any trouble.

That was enough for me.

“I’m glad you’re full. Mommy needs to talk to this one, so go play over there, okay?”

“Okay!”

Thank goodness she listened well.

I sighed with relief after watching Eleadra throw herself onto a sofa in the reception room corner.

Seriously, I don’t know why, but at least she was obedient enough. If she had a bratty attitude, I would have been in for some serious headaches.

One sulky tantrum, and the whole city could become a river of blood, and if I tried to stop her, she’d just fling a blood spear at me first.

If she had that kind of personality, I’d probably have to fight for my life just to prevent an adorable disaster from causing absolute chaos.

Of course, if that ever happened, the odds of us getting stuck in that mess would be higher than me giving up on my dignity.

“Oh, Friede. Speaking of which, how’s that little girl doing?”

“This one? As you can see, her injuries are all healed. She’s just sleeping soundly, probably tired.”

Friede nodded towards the girl we rescued earlier.

She was one of the orphans Ashel took care of. I didn’t know her name, but she must have been pretty close to Ashel, considering she came all this way to hide for her rescue.

“I’m glad. I was worried if it would be enough, considering how much blood she lost.”

“Should we move her to another room?”

“No, let’s leave her here. Let’s set up a touching sister reunion.”

“A sister reunion…? Oh, right, she asked to save her ‘sister,’ didn’t she? Is this girl the one she meant?”

Friede tilted her head and, as if a light bulb went off, looked back and forth between Ashel and the little girl.

Seriously, you just realized that now?

How clueless can one get?

“Yeah, it’s probably her. She matches the description that the girl gave.”

“Uh… Then, shouldn’t we untie her? What will she say if she wakes up and sees her like this?”

Friede gently retracted the sword she had pointed at Ashel’s neck.

“No, let’s leave the ropes. It’s better this way.”

It was better to put the sword away, but I also couldn’t just untie her.

This girl—who was Ashel—was a rabid beast who might pounce on us the second she woke up if we didn’t keep her tied up.

Of course, we wouldn’t get hurt, but if a fight broke out, furniture and everything would be ruined.

That would be a shame.

“This lady thinks we’re kidnapping her sister right now. If we don’t tie her up, she’ll jump on us the moment she wakes up.”

“Why would that be?”

“Well, that alley looks like a place where kidnappings happen every day, doesn’t it? So she probably assumes we’re the bad guys.”

“……?”

Friede tilted her head, clearly not understanding, but she didn’t probe further.

Well, even if she asked, I really wouldn’t have much more to say.

I could only think of that reason.

“Anyway, once her sister sees her safe and sound, she’ll calm down. So now we just have to wait for her to wake up.”

“Should we wake her up?”

“…How are you planning to do that?”

Just checking.

“Well, I could splash some water on her…”

Friede glanced toward the bathroom with an air that said ‘Isn’t that obvious?’

“…….”

Could we not do that…?

Hitting her on the back of the head and then pouring water on her face feels like something right out of a hostage interrogation.

I’m trying to take her in as an ally, not torture her for her grandparents’ underwear colors.

“Shall I bring some water?”

“…No, let’s just wait a bit. She’ll wake up soon.”

I replied and shifted my gaze back to the peacefully lying Ashel.

“…….”

No response. She was like a corpse.

“…….”

Still no response. At least her chest is rising and falling, so she’s alive.

“…Hmm.”

Oh, is she stirring?

Ashel furrowed her brows and let out a soft groan while shifting slightly. I stood from the sofa, thinking if I should give her a nudge.

“Ugh… kill… me…”

Why does she sound so deadly even in her sleep? Where would a peace-loving person like me go feeling scared of that?

“Die, you… woman…”

…Is she referring to me? Is she dreaming about fighting me?

Well, considering the difference in skills, it’d be more of a nightmare involving me getting beaten up.

Then, a few second later, just as I thought about shaking her shoulder…

“Die, you b*tch-!”

Waking up, Ashel’s eyes shot open as she suddenly sat up.

Thud!

In one smooth motion, my half-extended left hand collided with her chest.

“Kahak…!”

Ashel smacked my hand with her chest, sputtering as she rolled onto the floor.

---