Chapter 9: Even Heroes Have Flaws
Leaving the terrace, I headed to the central area of the banquet hall, where conversations thrived.
My goal for today was achieved, but I needed to gather information on what was happening in the empire.
This world wouldn’t find peace just by defeating the demon king and preventing the princess’s descent into madness.
‘I need to identify any incidents before they happen.’
That way, I could prevent mass casualties and avoid regret.
‘If only I knew nothing…’
Knowing about potential mass deaths and doing nothing was no different from being a murderer, so I made this effort.
Being a butler to key figures and maintaining world peace.
Balancing both was exhausting, a heavy burden on my shoulders. I considered abandoning one, but that wasn’t an option for me.
What could I do? The world needed people like me.
– There’s that butler…
– Is he the one from the reward rumors…?
Upon reaching the central area, whispers about me reached my ears. They were clearly meant for me to hear.
“Apologize!”
A sharp voice rang out from the crowd.
Curious, I headed toward the commotion and saw familiar silhouettes.
‘Leisha and Siana?’
Leisha was the one shouting angrily, facing Second Prince Hendrick.
Second Prince Hendrick wasn’t particularly bright, so his claim to the throne was weak, and people called him the reckless prince.
“It’s not wrong, is it? Elves have a history of living as slaves. Or is that the truth?”
The rumor that the hero’s party elf was a slave.
The prince was picking a fight with Siana, the elf of the hero’s party.
As Leisha and Siana were relatively new to high society, they were targeted by Hendrick.
“Enough, Prince Hendrick.”
“Tch, the former butler of the princess? How impudent.”
Leisha and Siana didn’t look good. Siana, usually brimming with confidence, was silent, and Leisha, shielding her, was trembling slightly.
It was clearly my mistake for leaving them alone. High society wasn’t an easy place.
“This isn’t the place, Prince.”
Hendrick wasn’t someone you could reason with. As I stood protecting Leisha and Siana behind me, an unexpected savior appeared.
“What’s with the crowd?”
As if confused by the situation, the hero’s party mage, Sera, appeared.
“Hmm…”
Sera was processing the situation, focusing only on the facts, devoid of emotion.
The conversations around her and the atmosphere led her to a quick conclusion.
“You there, Second Prince Hendrick, correct?”
“Y-Yes…”
Her emotionless voice carried a strange authority.
“The prince has discriminated against the elf race and slandered the hero’s party, today’s guests of honor. This is a clear fact. Should we take this as the imperial family’s hostility toward the hero?”
“N-No, that’s not…”
Sera pinpointed the cause and facts of the incident, escalating it to pressure the prince.
Hendrick stammered in panic, but his tactics didn’t work on Sera.
“Your answer?”
“I-I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intent…”
The prince apologized and fled, claiming urgent business.
Thanks to Sera, the incident ended quickly, but the atmosphere was no longer conducive to enjoying the banquet. I went to find Eren, surrounded by people, so we could leave the palace.
I regretted not gathering information, but protecting the hero’s party was the priority, so we boarded the carriage back to the mansion.
“Nobles are all the same… Selfish, caring only about themselves, not others…”
Leisha’s negative view of nobles seemed to deepen.
“…”
Siana appeared deeply shaken, staring out the carriage window in silence the entire way back.
Seeing them so downcast made me feel uneasy. They looked better causing trouble in their usual lively way.
At least Eren seemed in good spirits.
– Swish.
Perhaps embarrassed by earlier, she avoided looking at me, but her red ears betrayed her shyness.
My biggest problem, though, was something else.
“…”
Sera, the mage, was staring at me with her violet eyes.
Deprived of emotions and the person I most dreaded, Sera kept watching me.
‘Did I do something wrong…?’
I wanted to ask, but I held back. I had to avoid talking to her.
‘I can’t get attached.’
Even knowing the future, there were things I couldn’t prevent.
The emotionless witch of slaughter, a mid-story villain.
That was Sera’s true identity.
Back at the mansion, Siana went to her room without a word and collapsed onto her bed.
‘Humans are all the same.’
Except for her friends, she thought all humans were hypocritical and calculating, a belief that only grew stronger.
‘But he was different.’
Leni, who shielded her and Leisha, felt different from other humans. That thought was fleeting as the banquet incident resurfaced.
‘There’s a rumor you lived as a slave. Is it true?’
The words of the so-called prince. Siana felt it again.
Words laced with pure malice.
Long ago, Siana was nearly sold as a slave by an elf trafficker.
It was a place called the elves’ graveyard.
Humans beat her kin for disobedience, and powerless, Siana could only watch, the memory etched deep in her heart.
‘D-Don’t come near…!’
One day, those who called her ‘prime merchandise’ and left her untouched approached.
They held a branding tool. In their eyes, she saw it—pure malice, not seeing her as a living being.
‘No…!’
Desperate to avoid branding, she struggled to buy time. It was one of the best decisions of her life.
– Boom!
A hole blasted through the wall, and a young girl appeared, about Siana’s age. Eren.
“Not too late.”
Eren said, then mercilessly defeated the grown men. She freed all the imprisoned elves and told Siana to follow her.
How could I refuse?
That’s how Siana ended up here, holding Eren’s hand.
But elves were still discriminated against and unprotected.
Her kin were likely suffering across the world.
Siana was grateful to Eren for saving her, but this was different.
The reward for defeating the demon king could’ve been used for something greater.
Yet Eren, blinded by love, used it on a human man.
Without even consulting us. True, Eren’s role in defeating the demon king was significant, but this wasn’t right.
– Creak…
Siana knew talking to Eren wouldn’t change anything.
‘But wrong is wrong.’
Using the reward for personal feelings was unbecoming of a hero.
It was late, and everyone should’ve been asleep, but Siana knew where Eren was.
– Knock, knock.
“Eren, I know you’re in there. Come out, let’s talk.”
The familiar scent wafted from the butler’s room, making it easy to guess Eren was inside.
“If you don’t come out, I’m coming in. One, two—”
– Creak…
The door opened, revealing Eren with a flushed face.
“…How long have you known?”
“For a while. That’s not important, Eren. Let’s change locations.”
Since the butler might wake, Siana and Eren went to the garden to talk.
“I’ll be direct. You like the butler, don’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
Seeing Eren’s face turn tomato-red, Siana was at a loss for words.
‘What’s with this girly reaction…?’
She’d come to confront her, but Eren’s shy response softened Siana’s anger.
“Sigh… Since when?”
“From the moment I saw him…”
“So you used the reward on him?”
“…Yeah.”
Siana felt a headache coming on.
If Eren had been defiant, she could’ve gotten mad.
‘Why’s she so shy…?’
It was too embarrassing to get angry.
“Why do you like him?”
“Well…”
Siana had come to scold her but ended up giving Eren love advice.