Episode 8: The Slave’s Thoughts — Eye Treatment
The female master led me to the bed placed at the center of the room.
At her instruction, I sat down upon it.
Ordinarily, this was not a place a slave like me should be sitting. The bed was large and finely crafted, and the bedding laid upon it was of an excellent quality—soft against the skin, almost indulgent.
If only I could lie down here… how pleasant that would be.
As if she had already anticipated that thought, the female master said,
“Cess, lie down there. I’m going to treat your eyes.”
Obediently, I lay back onto the bedding.
The moment my body sank into it, the softness wrapped around me like a gentle embrace, and my cheeks relaxed without me realizing it.
It seemed my new mistress had particular taste when it came to bedding.
It was not inferior even to what had been used in the royal household.
Was she going to replace my bandages as well?
After purchasing me from the slave market, she had already discarded the blood-soaked, pus-stained bandages that had covered my eyes and replaced them with clean ones.
But beneath them, my eyes were gone—carved out. I didn’t even remember which master it had been. One of them had taken a liking to my “beautiful eyes” and gouged them out.
Once I became a man who could no longer see, I lost all usefulness. From then on, I was reduced to nothing more than something to be abused.
The bandages were removed, and then something cold touched me.
A cloth had been soaked in something—she was gently pressing it against my eyes.
She carefully wiped them again and again.
Each time, a faint warmth seemed to spread around my eyes.
That sensation startled me.
My mistress was using a potion on me again.
Even before, when I had been on the verge of death, she had spared no expense and made me drink an expensive healing potion.
Because of that, my wounds had healed enough for me to move again like this.
Could it be… she intended to heal my eyes as well?
But, disappointingly, she said,
“Your eyes were gouged out. I don’t have a potion that can restore missing parts here.”
“……I see.”
Even so, I should be grateful. I quickly bowed my head.
“Thank you very much.”
“Mm. The wounds around your eyes should heal cleanly at least.”
When she had touched me before, the skin around my eyes had been in a terrible state. Even if only that healed, it was still something to be thankful for.
“Thank you very much.”
“Mm.”
At my request, she prepared a cloth to cover my eyes. I didn’t want my face to be seen.
Only eight years had passed since my homeland fell.
I was supposed to be dead.
But if anyone discovered me, I was certain I would be killed without question.
The female master also prepared nightclothes for me.
I accepted the soft fabric with gratitude, feeling it carefully with my fingers before dressing myself.
She told me I could sleep first.
Just imagining the joy of being allowed to rest in that wonderful bed made my body tremble slightly as I nodded.
“Yes. Mistress… I will sleep.”
When I called her “Mistress,” she looked briefly surprised.
But it lasted only an instant. She quickly regained her composure and left the room without a word.
Exhausted from the constant changes in my circumstances, I sank into the soft bedding—and immediately drifted into sleep.
