Parting Gift

Author's note- Just a reminder to...take your tissues out. The following chapter might be disturbing for some readers. So, you guys have been warned to proceed with caution.

It was eleven in the morning, and Xion had managed to pack a small bag with his daily necessities. There were some books he had stolen... No, he meant he had borrowed from the library.

He needed them to learn more about mana, and in this time period, these paper books were as precious as gold.

While he was at it, he also had somehow managed to steal a few valuables from Soren's room.

The eldest young master was currently with Marquis Roberto, greeting the guest with a perfect fake smile. It had given Xion enough time and courage to sneak into his room.

Just to be clear, Xion was a law-abiding person...or at least, that was what he liked to think.

But then again, after countless nights of enduring Soren's cruel pranks and impossible demands, Xion figured the universe owed him this much.

On the contrary, Soren was lucky Xion wasn't clearing out half his treasure chest instead of settling for a handful of gold chains and trinkets.

Xion stuffed some dry bread into a worn sack and filled a bottle with enough water to get him through a day's travel. As he threw on his patched grey robe, he caught himself hesitating.

He needed to meet Eli, and possibly, for the last time. That thought alone made his palms clammy. Steadying himself, he sneaked out of the room.

Eli was his first friend in this world. She was a pretty girl with cute freckles dusting her round face.

If it were his old world, Eli would have been studying in high school, yet now she could only become a slave for the rich.

He was wondering what he should give Eli as a parting gift. He had managed to earn 1486 Merit points by treating all those patients. So, he had the privilege to buy something for her.

Should I give her jewelry? Or maybe a beauty cream? Perhaps moisturizer will do... her hands are all dry and scratched... While he mused the different options, he knocked on the servant's quarters before entering.

There were small rooms lined together in a big wooden shed, where servants were supposed to rest. It was cramped and old. Xion did not like the suffocating smell of mouldy wood spreading all over.

Perhaps it was the way some servants glanced toward Eli's door with pity, or the way some had gloating eyes, Xion felt strange.

"She must be happy. I have seen her deliberately getting near lord's fourth child."

"Such a shameless girl. She probably begged for it."

Vague voices reached his ears. He was the fourth child, and there was only Eli who tried to get close to him.

Xion's heart thudded loudly in his chest. His feet moved faster toward Eli's room.

Forcing a smile onto his face, he raised a hand to knock, only to falter for a second when he noticed his knuckles trembling against the worn, splintered wood.

When the door creaked open, his well-maintained smile froze. The girl before him wasn't the Eli he remembered. The vibrant freckles, the shy grin, the gentle words, all were gone, replaced by swollen eyes and a hollow face.

The always-smiling Eli had been replaced by her mere shell. Ah, even her shell was not left intact.

Xion did not dare to imagine the condition of her body hidden under the torn rags. However, just the sight of those bloody, bitten bruises on her exposed body and the way her small frame was trembling, Xion felt his stomach churn.

The blood trailing down her legs was enough proof of what this sweet girl went through on the second night of the banquet.

"E-Eli, What...How d-did..." Xion could not utter another word when Eli rushed into his arms.

The second he touched Eli, his own body felt cold. He had to hold her shaking body tightly, afraid that she might fall any minute.

While cradling the poor girl to his chest, he somehow managed to shut the door behind him.

It would do no good if anyone saw them like this. Especially Eli, who might had to answer to the Marquis for her sins. A sin of getting touchy with the lord's child...With him.

"T-they asked me to e-entertain them. I had n-no idea what they meant, until... until he took me to his resting chambers. T-they did not hear my screams, all those servants, t-they..."

Eli was crying so much that no proper words could be formed from her trembling lips.

Xion gulped heavily as his hand moved mechanically to pat the wailing girl on her back. He tried to soothe her, yet he felt utterly disgusted with himself.

Did he not know from all those history lessons how the rich had treated the poor? Or was his own experience not enough to understand it?

Beauty is a curse if one does not have the power to protect himself. Xion had personally felt the reality of the statement. Yet he failed to protect his only friend.

Eli's loud cries slowly turned into silent sobs with each passing minute until only her trembling body remained.

Xion had no idea how long he had sat on the small bed, cradling Eli to his chest and trying to console her with his broken words.

"It will be fine," he had said. "You are so strong Eli. You can push through this."

However, Xion knew better than anyone that his words held no truth.

Physical wounds are easy to heal, but how was he supposed to mend someone's broken soul?

How was anything supposed to be fine when someone had so brutally crushed such a pure soul just for their pleasure?

"Eli, come with me. I am running away, and you can come-"

"No! I can't." Eli finally looked at Xion, and the sight of those red, swollen eyes made his chest clench in pain.

"Why?" he almost yelled in disbelief and... Anger.

"They promised me my family would be safe," Eli whispered. Her voice started cracking with every word. "Lord Boris... he said he'd take care of them..."

Xion's breath got caught in his throat. This wasn't a promise; it was blackmail disguised as mercy. His fists clenched, nails digging into his palms as he fought the urge to stop Eli's words.

However, he could not. How dare he when he had no real power to protect her? He was not even capable enough to hide her from the dirty nobility.

He watched as Eli continued to babble about getting a good lord and living a good life in future.

The more he listened, the more silent he became. Her words felt like daggers, each one stabbing deeper into his chest.

This world was ruled by aristocrats. Here, the poor had no choice but to follow the upper echelon.

They had to obey each and every order, no matter how nasty it was. If not, their families would be in trouble as well.

Just like Eli...

Lord Boris was an old man. He had two main wives, seven concubines, and various lovers and children.

When he mentioned Eli's family, it was not out of consideration. Rather, it was a threat, and poor Eli had no other choice than to obey and be Boris' concubine.

With the life span of people around three hundred in this world, Boris, being a two hundred and sixty-nine years old man, was almost on a verge of death.

Yet, here he was lusting after a maid...

Eli, who might be younger than Boris' great-great-great-great-granddaughter

Xion handed Eli a small vial of medicinal liquid he had bought from the system Mall, "At least take this," he muttered.

Eli took it with trembling fingers, the shiny glass vial felt warm against her cold palms. Then, in return, she hastily pushed a thin silver bracelet to his hand.

"Take it. Sell it if you have to. Use it to escape," she whispered urgently. "They'll open the gates for the performers tonight. That's your chance."

Xion stared at the bracelet, its edges digging into his skin as he clenched it. "Eli..."

She didn't let him finish. "Go," she said as she tried to smile at him, though her tears continued to fall.

And like a coward, Xion ran.