She ate so fast that if the stew had not been cooled to be just right, she would definitely have screamed out in pain from the burns. The girl did not even seem to mind that the chest area of her negligee was being dirtied by the stew trailing out of her mouth. It would have been more fitting to say that she was drinking it, rather than eating it.
After finishing the stew blindingly quickly, the girl drew the empty bowl close and breathed out a sigh.
Having returned to being human, her eyes shut heavily.
The feeling of being full, the clean and soft clothes, the softness that had returned to her body, all of these synergized together to relax her mind and began allowing her body to accept the feeling of drowsiness.
But as her eyelids began to form a line, in the next moment, the girl opened her eyes wide and cowered in fear.
Perhaps she was scared to close her eyes, or maybe she feared that her current situation would vanish like an illusion. Or perhaps she had another reason, Sebas, who was watching her by her side, could not tell. Perhaps she herself did not know the reason.
That was why Sebas spoke to her in a gentle voice in an attempt to calm her.
“Your body is seeking rest. Do not push yourself and sleep. I guarantee that you are in no danger here. You will still be in this bed when you open your eyes.”
For the first time, the girl’s eyes moved and stared directly at Sebas.
There was barely any light in her blue eyes; no strength could be felt from them. Only that they were no longer the eyes of the dead, but the living.
Her mouth parted slightly and— closed. She opened her mouth once more and— again, closed.
That was repeated several times over. Sebas watched gently and did not try to pressure her. He merely stared in silence.
“Th…”
At last, the lips parted and a tiny voice leaked through. The words that followed came quickly.
“Th…tha…nk… you…”
Her first words were those of thanks rather than questions about her current situation. Having caught a glimpse of her personality, Sebas smiled, not the fake one that he wore so often, but a genuine smile.
“Please do not worry about it. Now that I have brought you under my wing, I will guarantee your safety to the best of my ability.”
The girl’s eyes widened slightly, her lips trembling.
Her blue eyes grew wet and spilled drops of tears. She then opened her mouth wide and cried like something was released inside of her.
At last, her curse spilled out, mixed in with the sound of sobbing.
She cursed her own fate; she hated the one up above who dealt her such a hand. She resented the fact that up until now, no one had bothered to help her. That feeling of resentment then turned to Sebas.
Why didn’t he come to her sooner?
Sebas’ kindness— because she was treated as a human, everything that she had been enduring all this time had come crumbling down. No, it would be better to say that because she regained her human heart, she could no longer endure all of those memories.
The girl pulled at her head. With a tearing sound, strands of her hair were ripped free. Countless gold threads became entangled around her thin fingers. The bowl that carried the stew fell off the bed along with the spoon.
Sebas watched over her madness without a word.
Her resentment was sudden and clumsy, she was pushing herself. Depending on the person, they may have found her resentment offensive and raged at her. However, there was no anger in Sebas’ expression. Instead, his wrinkled face carried something akin to benevolence.
Sebas reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Like a father hugging his child, an affectionate embrace with no ill intentions.
Although her body momentarily stiffened, the embrace that was different from those of the men who lusted after her slightly relaxed her frozen body.
“It’s okay now.”
He softly patted her on the back as he repeated those words like a chant, like consoling a crying child.
A hiccup— and as if she were trying to cling onto Sebas’ words, the girl planted her face into his chest and cried even louder. However, that cry was different than the one from before.
♦ ♦ ♦
As time passed and Sebas’ chest became completely damp with the girl’s tears, the sound of her cries finally came to a rest. The girl slowly separated herself from Sebas and lowered her head in an attempt to hide her bright red face.
“I’m… sorry…”
“Please do not let it bother you. It is a great honor for a man to lend his chest to a crying woman.”
Sebas pulled out a freshly washed handkerchief and handed it to the girl.
“Please use this.”
“But… it’s so clean… if… I…”
Sebas held the stammering girl’s chin and raised her face. While the girl grew stiff as she wondered what was going to happen, he gently brought the handkerchief to her remaining tear marks.
This reminds me; Solution just recently used ‘Message’ and had a long conversation with Shalltear... It seems she was boasting about how Ainz-sama wiped away her tears.
He wondered just what sort of situation would end up with Ainz-sama doing such a thing. He was unable to even picture the image of Shalltear crying. Despite his confusion, Sebas did not stop his hands and finished wiping the tears from the girl’s face.
“Ah…”
“There, please use it.”
Sebas closed the girl’s hand around the now slightly damp handkerchief.
“A handkerchief that cannot be used is a sad one indeed, especially one that cannot even wipe away a person’s tears.”
Sebas smiled and stepped away from the girl.
“Now, please get plenty of rest. Let us discuss what to do from now on once you awake.”
Because anything was possible with magic, her injuries were healed through Solution’s treatment and all of her mental fatigue was gone. That was why she should now be able to move normally. However, it was only a few hours ago that she was in hell. There was a concern that talking for too long may cause her mental injuries to reopen.
In reality, like how she cried just recently, the girl’s mind was still unstable. Although magic could temporarily heal her mind, it did not treat the root of the problem. Unlike bodily wounds, it was not possible to treat injuries that were not plain to see.