I’m All Out of Health!

Chapter 8

Meya was washing a horse with a mana stone that was meant for watering flowers. It was already a problem for her to be in the garden without permission, but a mana stone wasn’t something a slave was supposed to play with.

I remembered the scene from the novel.

“Bring the boy to me. I shall punish him.”

In the book, Ninenya couldn’t take her eyes off a drenched Meya running around with the horse.

“He’s like livestock on a leash, yet he’s free.”

I suspected envy and longing must have flashed across her mind. But Ninenya was too proud, and she couldn’t stand the fact that she had envied a slave even for a moment. So she had Meya whipped in front of her.

The whip tore the girl’s clothes and flesh, drawing red blood while Ninenya watched.

“Stop! It’s disgusting!” Ninenya shouted angrily after the whip hit Meya three times.

She’d lived a sheltered life and wasn’t used to punishing a slave. Meya had been watching her and was the only one who noticed that her hands were shaking.

“I will give you a different punishment. Come here every day at this hour.”

Then Ninenya pulled the covers up to her face as if she didn’t want to see the slave anymore. Only when she heard the door open did she look up again.

“Next time you bring the boy to me, have him cleaned up and give him fresh clothes. Right now, he’s horribly dirty.”

Ninenya’s eyes trembled with relief when she saw Meya walk out on her own two feet, although she was shaking a little.

Meya saw that as well. Their eyes met.

Caught by surprise, Ninenya glared and shouted at the slave.

“What are you looking at? I told you to leave!”

Her throat was hoarse, which made her voice come out all strange. Meya turned in a hurry, as though she hadn’t seen anything.

Ninenya was a pitiful girl, and that was the only way she knew how to make friends. Ever since that incident, Meya came to see Ninenya every day at the same time. She watched as Ninenya slowly drew nearer to death.

Ninenya came up with all kinds of ways to bully Meya, saying it was her punishment, but the slave didn’t resent her for that. Meya had been through a lot already, and Ninenya’s bullying did very little to hurt her. In fact, Ninenya’s temper only made Meya pity her all the more.

But more than anything, Meya owed her life to Ninenya. It was an impulsive act for Ninenya, and she quickly forgot about it, but Meya didn’t. In time, Meya grew to really care for the dying girl.

Then one day, Ninenya said something to her.

“After I die, take me to him.”

She knew she wouldn’t live much longer. Her body hurt all the time, but for once her senses were numb, and she felt like she could finally sleep in peace.

“Master! Please don’t say that!”

Meya shook her head, but Ninenya wouldn’t listen.

“You need to take me to him.”

“We will go together. I will take you someplace warm. And then…”

Sadly, Meya knew Ninenya was right. The latter didn’t want any more false hope.

“If he asks about me… Tell him I lived like a bird—not a bird in a cage, but a bird high up in the sky.”

She smiled weakly, pointing to the window. It was the first smile Meya had ever seen on her, and she fell to the floor, overwhelmed with emotion.

Ninenya looked at her with warmth and affection as she continued.

“Remember… Tell him I was free. And that he shouldn’t feel sorry.”

Just as she hoped, her soul soon flew away freely. As for the body she left behind, Meya brought it to Rubenio just as she’d requested.

And after that… The story went, well, predictably. Thanks to Ninenya’s help, Meya was freed from slavery. In the novel, Ninenya existed only to add more drama to Meya’s story. She was the bird that fell, while Meya was the bird that soared up into the sky. And that was how the story went.

I just watched her blankly, but a maid stole a glance at me and sprang to her feet.

“How dare he! I will tell the butler right away!”

“No,” I said, stopping her with a smile.

“Lady Ninenya?”

I finally realized that I could achieve nothing by just sitting there.

“I will go out myself.”

The maids all froze in horror, but I walked out of my bedroom. I was determined to go and see the leaves shining in the sunlight.

* * *

In the original story, Ninenya was Meya’s helper. She affected Meya’s fate greatly, and there was no telling how Meya would have ended up without her help. Perhaps she would have spent her life as a slave without ever meeting a love interest.

It was hard to see a bright future and never reach it. Some people might have said that a character who was supposed to help the heroine should have done just that. In their eyes, it would have been the right thing to do. But not for me.

So she’s the original heroine. So what? Surviving in this body is hard enough, and I’m supposed to help a girl I don’t even know? I’d say that’s unfair!

Now that I was in this world, I couldn’t think of its people as mere fictional characters—they were very much alive, just like I was. There were countless poor slaves in this world. I didn’t see why I should help Meya out of all of them unless it was beneficial to me. I would have helped her if it helped me as well, but otherwise, I couldn’t help her. Some might have called me selfish and mean, but it made perfect sense to me. If I had been healthy, I would have made a different decision, but I was way too busy saving myself to help anybody else.

It wasn’t like I was going to do anything to harm her—I knew that would be a foolish thing to do. There was a chance Meya would meet the love interest as a slave, and if their relationship worked out, it could backfire on me. So all I wanted was to meet her myself.

“I’m going out now.”

I had to get rid of the frightened maids first and then spend minutes convincing the butler, who got on his knees and begged me to stop. It might have been easy for others, but that alone required more than half my energy for the day.

And it’s still early in the morning.

I hadn’t done any of my day’s tasks. I canceled my workout routine, which was walking in a full circle around my bed and slowly getting up and sitting down three times. It was a huge sacrifice indeed.

I have to give up this much just to help someone?

Yes, I was losing a lot. So I needed to gain something to make up for that loss.

“I hope this turns out to be worth it…”

“Gaaaaah!” a maid cried.

“What now?”

I suddenly felt way too tired. I was just getting started, but I already wanted to give up.

“Look at all this water on the floor! It’s too slippery!”

Everyone freaked out and said I should absolutely not walk that way, so I had to agree to be carried on a stretcher. Why a stretcher when one of them could have simply carried me on their back? Because the maids and the butler all objected to it, saying if the person carrying me tripped and fell, I would die instantly.

So I was on a stretcher carried by eight people, all the short way to the garden. And thanks to the head maid saying a lady’s stretcher had to be different and distinguished, the one I was in had been decorated lavishly. Soft pink ribbons fluttered in the wind and kept fluttering…

“Get out of our way!”

And fluttering…

“Don’t you dare get in the lady’s way!”

And fluttering…

“Nooo! The lady is shaking! Be careful! Hold it more steadily.”

I tried to keep my attention on the ribbons, but it didn’t help for long.

Sh*t!

I buried my face in my hands lest I die from pure embarrassment.

Maybe I should just head back…

I hated my past self for insisting on going outside.