ESHPS 01

Chapter 01

The land where death had quietly settled was silent.

The smell of blood filled the air, sharp like a spear stabbing into the nose, as if announcing the countless deaths around.

I want to rest….

Only after cutting down every living thing in front of her—only after both of her hands were covered in blood—could she finally stop.

The hero could not even tell if the ground under her feet was earth… or the bodies of the dead.

I want to stop now.

The hero drove the great sword she had been swinging so easily into the ground.

Just like the heads of enemies she had cut off falling to the ground, the hero lowered her head. Her hair fell forward like a sigh, red like blood.

The Guardian of the Empire.

The Hero who protects the Empire.

That was what people called her.
She had no proper name.

Because of that, whenever the Empire fell into danger, the hero had no choice but to face scenes like this, whether she wanted to or not.

Using the handle of her great sword like a cane, the hero slowly dropped to her knees, her trembling legs finally giving in.

“Ha…”

Only after killing every threatening enemy did the hero release a hot breath.

Along with the pride of once again protecting the Empire from danger, a dull feeling of tired boredom filled her heart.

How long must I continue like this…?

In troubled times, there is always a hero.

Whenever chaos appeared in the Beluiz Empire, it was always the hero who stopped it and protected the peace.

She had always protected the Empire in moments of desperate crisis.

For hundreds of years, the hero had ruled the battlefield like a conqueror.

Even though she received no reward—not even a simple thank-you—the hero still gave her whole body to protect this place.

While children grew up to become emperors and died, and their children later took the throne again and again.

The hero was simply the Empire’s dog, always answering whenever the Empire needed her.

“…Is it time to be sealed again?”

The hand holding the sword slowly began to turn transparent.

When the war ended and peace returned to the Empire, the hero always had to return to endless darkness.

The end of every long battle was always the same—being sealed away.

“I wanted to see the stars… at least once.”

The hero looked up at the sky with unfocused eyes.

Ash from the burning battlefield filled the sky.

She could not tell whether it was sunset… or the end of the world.

Red sparks floated everywhere in the air, and the hero felt her chest burn.

I want to be free.

The wind brushing through her hair felt sweet, and she didn’t want it to pass by unnoticed.
The feeling of leaves touching her fingertips was so clear that she wanted to keep living like this.

Even if everything around her had burned and only ashes with a terrible smell remained.

The air she breathed deeply felt so refreshing that, for a moment, the hero dreamed of a free and ordinary life.

But it was a dream that could never come true.

With that final wish, the hero was sealed once again into deep darkness.

No one remained on the battlefield, and the credit that should have belonged to her was given to someone else.

And exactly ten years later, the hero’s seal broke.

At a wedding ceremony.

*

Where… am I?

Blink. Blink.

The hero rolled her eyes around.

Instead of the stiff knight uniform she expected, her fingers touched the soft cloth of a dress.

Why am I here?

When the seal broke, the hero woke up.
That meant the Empire was in danger and the emperor needed the hero’s help.

Usually when she woke up, she first saw terrible scenes—people killing each other or monsters invading.

So the moment she opened her eyes, she quickly grabbed the thing beside her.

Of course, she thought it would be her great sword.

“Miss.”

But what she grabbed was not a sword.
It was a small, delicate brush she didn’t even know how to use. White powder even scattered into the air.

And there were no people shouting as they fought, and no monsters either.

“…Miss? Me?”

“Yes. Who else would I be talking to? I brought the water you asked for. Why are you holding makeup tools? Are you fixing your makeup?”

“…Huh?”

The hero looked down at the brush in her hand.

It felt too small to be a sword handle.
So it was a makeup tool.

“Here’s your water. You kept complaining that you wanted warm water. It was really hard to get, so drink it all.”

The maid took the brush from her hand and placed a cup of steaming hot water into it.

The heat spread clearly across her palm.

The hero had endured burning flames before. There was no way she couldn’t handle something like this—

“Ah! It’s hot!”

—But the cup was so hot that she jumped up and threw it.

Why is it hot?

The hero stared at the spilled water on the floor in disbelief. Steam was rising from it, but normally something like this would be nothing to her.

“Miss! You almost burned me!”

The maid shouted.

Only then did the hero realize something was very strange.

But before worrying about this peaceful situation, there was something more important.

“…Give me a mirror.”

Now that she thought about it, even her voice sounded strange.
After shouting so much on battlefields, her voice should have been rough.

But the voice she heard now sounded soft and sweet like a songbird.

“Is your face really important right now? I guess it is since it’s your wedding. You kept saying you didn’t want to get married…”

Wedding?

“There’s a mirror on the dressing table. Check it yourself!”

With a bad feeling, the hero walked to the dressing table.

The face reflected in the mirror belonged to a woman with pale platinum-blonde hair and cool blue eyes.

The hero’s red hair was gone.

Even her face was completely different.

“This… is my face?”

When she spoke, the woman in the mirror moved her small lips the same way.

Her big eyes sparkled like stars.
Her lips were small and cute like a rabbit nibbling grass.

Her cheeks were softly pink, her nose small but sharp.
Her skin was pale like someone who had never seen the sun.

Her wrists were thin and delicate, hands that had clearly never held a sword.

And she wore a wide, elegant dress instead of armor.

She was a woman beautiful enough to make anyone fall in love at first sight.

The hero slowly raised her hand and pressed her face.

The feeling in her fingertips was real.

Then suddenly—

“Ugh!”

A terrible pain exploded in her head—worse than being stabbed by a sword.

She grabbed her head with both hands.

Memories flooded into her mind, like stuffing too many things into a small box.

“What… is this?”

They were the memories of the woman in the mirror.

Roshanne.

“Today’s wedding… was Roshan—no… my wedding?”

The hero—no, Roshanne—turned and asked the maids.

“Of course. If that isn’t a wedding dress, then what is?”

The maid looked Roshanne up and down suspiciously.

Roshanne Leilaten.

The illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Leilaten.

A commoner woman who spent one night with the duke gave birth to Roshanne, then abandoned her.

The duke took the child because she carried half of his blood, but he never showed her affection.

Roshanne was the only daughter of a duke in the Empire.

But her life was deeply unfortunate.

Like any child, Roshanne wanted her father’s approval. She wanted him to look at her.

Even though she knew that desire was destroying her heart, she could not stop.

This wedding was also her own sacrifice for the honor and benefit of the family.

Or maybe it wasn’t truly her choice.

She walked toward a cliff because she wanted her father’s love.

Roshanne’s final memory was collapsing from breathing difficulties under the pressure.

In her fading vision, she had only one wish.

…She wanted to be loved.

Roshanne wanted love.
She longed for warm arms and gentle hands.

Child…

The hero looked at Roshanne’s reflection in the mirror.

Tears formed in her tired eyes.

I will love you.

The hero gently patted her own shoulder.

To others, it looked like she was comforting herself.

But Roshanne’s face had no smile.

I will love you… and I will love myself.

And so the hero awakened as Roshanne Leilaten, beginning a new life.

Roshanne accepted this reality quickly.

Only after accepting it did she finally look around the waiting room.

To others it might look empty and dull.

But to Roshanne, it was the peaceful life she had always wanted.

There’s no sword…

She sat on the sofa and looked around.

No corpses. No blood.

Not thoughts that suited such a cute face.

And I’m not sealed away…

She looked at her clear hands.

They were soft like a child’s.

I can walk freely under such a clear sky.

Tears almost burst from her eyes.

“…The world…”

Roshanne spoke with trembling lips.

“The world… is this colorful.”

The world was beautiful—so beautiful that it made her forget she once wished only to rest after killing everything.

She was so overwhelmed she almost forgot to breathe.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

All the things she had wished for during hundreds of years were now precious beyond words.

If this was a dream, she hoped she would never wake up.

If she returned to the bloody reality again, she did not think she could bear the despair.

“…What’s wrong with her?”

“…I don’t know. Maybe she’s acting strange because of the wedding.”

The maids whispered while watching Roshanne quietly cry.

Then—

“Hey.”

Roshanne wiped her tears and pointed at one of the whispering maids.

“Yes?”

“Go open the door. The duke is coming.”

“…What?”

The maid looked confused.

Roshanne gave no explanation and simply wiped her tears.

Just as the maid wondered whether to obey—

The door suddenly opened.

“Roshanne.”

Through the open door walked the Duke of Leilaten, Roshanne’s father and the only duke in the Empire.

“!”

The maids quickly bowed in shock.

But the duke ignored them and walked straight inside.

“Were you crying?”

After seeing Roshanne’s ruined makeup, he sighed.

“Roshanne. Can you really go through with this marriage?”

His tone sounded almost dismissive.

“You said you would do it, so the wedding will proceed, but from what I see—”

Roshanne looked at him calmly.

When their eyes met, the duke clicked his tongue and turned away.

It was a cold and indifferent look for a father seeing his daughter on her wedding day.

“The ceremony will begin soon. Fix your makeup.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

When he signaled, the maids quickly moved.

“Duke.”

Roshanne stopped them and spoke.

She had been the Empire’s hero—the greatest conqueror.

She had never lowered herself to anyone.

“You’ve gotten old.”

“What?”

It had been ten years since she last saw him during the Mad Dragon sealing.

Roshanne calmly remembered the duke from ten years ago.

“Duke. Sorry, but today’s schedule needs to change.”

“Roshanne, what did you just say to—”

“Today’s wedding is canceled.”

His daughter, who usually trembled in fear before him, was completely different today.

She looked straight at him and spoke her mind.

“The groom, Viscount Gicellia, is a pervert. And I don’t like perverts.”

Roshanne only wished that the freedom she had finally gained would never be taken away again.