The Life I Refuse to Waste

Zeldryn slowly rose from the bed.

The moment both feet touched the floor, pain once again spread throughout his body. His unhealed wounds and bruises throbbed from even that small movement.

“Tch. When is this going to end?”

He held onto the edge of the bed for several moments before forcing his legs to move.

The distance between the bed and the door was not far, but in his current condition, that short journey felt much longer.

After struggling for a while, Zeldryn finally reached his bedroom door.

His hand grasped the handle of the luxurious, intricately carved door before slowly pulling it open.

Creak.

Zeldryn stepped out of the room and looked to the right, then to the left.

However, his gaze immediately stopped on someone sitting against the wall beside the door.

“!?”

Zeldryn frowned.

“Hera?”

The maid was asleep while leaning against the wall. Her head tilted slightly to one side, her eyes were tightly closed, and her bandaged hands rested on her lap.

She appeared to be sleeping deeply.

Zeldryn then remembered what Hera had told him earlier.

As his personal maid, she was required to remain near his bedroom at all times and was not allowed to leave until Zeldryn personally dismissed her.

“Tch. The old Zeldryn really was a pain in the ass.”

He looked at Hera again.

She had probably been sitting there ever since he returned to his room.

Who knew how long she had waited before finally falling asleep from exhaustion?

Zeldryn shook his head.

A young woman who was nearly twenty years old was being treated like this by a twelve-year-old boy.

Her face and both hands were still covered in injuries caused by the previous owner of this body.

While asleep, Hera looked far more peaceful.

Her body was no longer trembling, and cold sweat no longer covered her forehead as it did whenever she stood before him.

Only now could Zeldryn examine Hera’s face properly.

In truth, Hera was quite beautiful.

Her long hair was tied into a ponytail. Her face still looked youthful, and her figure was well proportioned.

Unfortunately, her swollen cheek, the wound near her lips, and the bandages wrapped around both hands made her look miserable.

“If she lived in the modern world, she might have had a much better life.”

She would not need to guard a door all day.

She would not need to fear making the smallest mistake.

She would not tremble every time someone approached her.

Zeldryn sighed again.

He could not allow this situation to continue.

At the very least, he needed to give Hera clearer instructions so she would no longer wait outside his room all day.

Zeldryn tried bending down.

However, the moment he slightly lowered his body, sharp pain stabbed through his waist and back.

“Kh.”

One hand immediately pressed against the wall to keep himself from losing his balance.

After considerable effort, he managed to crouch in front of Hera.

Zeldryn raised one hand and gently tapped her cheek.

“Hera.”

There was no response.

“Hera, wake up.”

Hera remained asleep.

Zeldryn tapped her cheek again.

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“Hera.”

Her eyelids began to move.

She slowly opened her eyes, but the moment she saw Zeldryn’s face so close to hers, her entire body immediately stiffened.

“Ah!”

Hera instinctively raised both hands to protect her face.

Her body moved backward until her back pressed even harder against the wall.

Her reaction resembled someone desperately trying to protect herself from an incoming slap.

“Please forgive me, my lord!”

Hera immediately began breathing heavily.

“Please forgive me for falling asleep! I did not mean to neglect my duties. Please forgive me, my lord!”

She apologized repeatedly while continuing to cover her face.

Zeldryn silently stared at her.

This time, her reaction did not surprise him as much.

What had happened that morning had clearly not been enough to make Hera stop fearing him.

But after thinking about it again, that made perfect sense.

Fear that had been rooted inside her for years could not disappear merely because Zeldryn had behaved slightly differently for one morning.

To Hera, the person before her was still the same Zeldryn.

The same face.

The same voice.

The same status.

Hera did not know that Reka was now the one controlling this body.

Zeldryn sighed.

“Enough. Lower your hands.”

Hera did not immediately obey.

Both hands still covered part of her face.

“I’m not going to hit you.”

Hearing those words, Hera slowly opened her eyes.

Her gaze remained filled with doubt, but her hands gradually lowered.

Zeldryn then tried to stand again.

He used the wall for support until he finally managed to stand upright, although his entire body began aching once more.

“All right, Hera. I’m hungry.”

Hera looked at him nervously.

“From now on, bring me food three times a day. Morning, afternoon, and evening.”

“Three times a day?”

“That’s right.”

Zeldryn thought for a moment before continuing.

“I want chicken and vegetables. A lot of chicken.”

Hera looked slightly confused.

“Chicken and vegetables?”

“Yes.”

Zeldryn did not know what kind of food the previous Zeldryn normally ate.

He also had no idea what ingredients were available in this world.

For now, he could only request food he already recognized.

“And from now on, do not wait outside my bedroom all day.”

Hera froze again.

Her eyes opened slightly wider.

“I do not need to remain outside your room?”

“No.”

“But I am your personal maid, my lord. I must always be ready whenever you require something.”

“You are still my personal maid. But that does not mean you need to sit outside my door until you fall asleep.”

Zeldryn pointed toward the place where Hera had been sleeping.

“Do your work like the other servants. If I need you, I’ll call for you.”

Hera fell silent.

She still appeared to be trying to understand his words.

However, her surprise was not as severe as when Zeldryn had returned a servant’s greeting that morning.

It seemed Hera was slowly becoming accustomed to the strange changes in her master’s behavior, even though her fear had not completely disappeared.

“Chicken, vegetables, and I no longer need to wait outside your bedroom all day?”

Hera repeated the instructions to make sure she had understood correctly.

“That’s right.”

Hera remained frozen for several seconds.

The moment she realized she had been silent for too long, she immediately lowered her head.

“Yes, my lord. I will prepare everything in the dining room immediately.”

Hera quickly stood.

Her body briefly lost its balance after sleeping in a seated position for so long, but she managed to steady herself.

After bowing, Hera immediately walked away from Zeldryn.

Zeldryn watched until she disappeared around the end of the corridor.

“At least she won’t have to wait here anymore.”

He then began walking toward the lower floor.

According to the information Hera had given him that morning, the dining room was located near the main hall and not far from the kitchen.

Zeldryn had never entered it before.

His tour that morning had been interrupted by Henry and Aeglo’s arrival, so he only knew the dining room’s general location from Hera’s explanation.

Zeldryn slowly descended the stairs.

One hand remained on the railing because his body was still incapable of moving normally.

Along the way, he encountered several servants again.

As before, they immediately lowered their heads upon seeing him.

“Good afternoon, Lord Zeldryn.”

“Good afternoon.”

However, this time, Zeldryn noticed something different.

Some of the servants still appeared frightened.

A few deliberately put more distance between themselves and him as they passed.

Others looked at him suspiciously, as though they believed Zeldryn was planning something.

But the greetings from several other servants sounded slightly more sincere.

Zeldryn could see it in their faces.

Their smiles were not as stiff as before, and their voices trembled less.

The change was extremely small, but it was still noticeable.

“This must have something to do with what happened this morning.”

The rumor about him returning the servants’ greetings had probably already spread.

Then there was everything that had happened in the hall with Henry and Aeglo.

Zeldryn did not know what kind of stories were now circulating among the servants.

But at the very least, some of them had begun to view him slightly differently.

“It makes sense that not everyone trusts me yet.”

He could not expect people who had lived in fear for years to suddenly believe in him because of a few small actions.

“That’s fine. I just need to be patient. Little by little, everything will eventually work out.”

After walking slowly while enduring the pain, Zeldryn finally arrived in front of the dining room.

He pushed open the door.

The moment it opened, his steps immediately stopped.

“Damn.”

The room before him was far larger than he had imagined.

A long dining table stood in the center of the room, large enough to seat around six to ten people.

Chairs were arranged neatly along both sides, while a taller chair with a larger backrest stood at the head of the table.

The room was not filled with expensive decorations or luxurious ornaments.

Its walls and furniture were actually quite simple compared to Zeldryn’s bedroom.

Even so, its size still felt excessive.

Zeldryn walked toward one of the chairs and slowly sat down.

He looked at the rows of empty chairs surrounding the table.

“A table this long and this many chairs, all for one person?”

A table this large should have been used by a family eating together.

But there was no father, mother, sibling, or relative sitting there.

Only him.

“I really was exiled.”

While Zeldryn was still thinking about the mansion’s circumstances, a knock came from behind the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Excuse me, my lord.”

It was Hera’s voice.

“Come in.”

The dining room door opened.

Hera entered first, followed by several other servants carrying trays of food.

One dish after another was placed on the table.

There was fried chicken, roasted chicken, soup, bread, several kinds of vegetables, fruit, and various other dishes Zeldryn had never seen before.

The more food they placed on the table, the stranger Zeldryn’s expression became.

The long table that had previously been empty was now nearly covered with different dishes.

Zeldryn stared at the food, then looked at Hera and the servants who were still arranging everything.

This is way too much.

His gaze swept across the table once more.

How the hell am I supposed to finish all of this by myself?

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