I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

Its color was gray and was made out of stone.

Thinking that I must’ve been dreaming, I turned to my side only to be assaulted by a blunt pain from the back of my head.

“Hmm? So you’re finally awake, little girl.”

Hearing a new voice from my right side, I fixed my gaze to my right and found a young woman sitting on a wooden chair.

She had hazel hair tied into a bundle on her left side and wore a black dress with a white apron.

When I met her nut-brown eyes, a smile floated on her face as she stood up and approached me.

“How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?”

She placed her hand on my head and started combing my hair with her fingers.

Still feeling a bit disoriented, I knitted my brows and gave her a questioning glance.

“You don’t remember what happened yesterday?”

I tilted my head to the side and nodded to her words when I tried to recall the events that led to this.

“… I can’t remember.”

“Is that so?”

The woman made a troubled face and placed the hand that was stroking my hair to her cheek.

“… can you tell me what happened?”

“Hmm, well I wasn’t told not to tell you anything. Do you remember becoming our Lord’s maidservant, young girl?”

I nodded at the woman’s words.

“Young girl, after you were accepted by our Lord and started following after him, a fruit merchant with bloodshot eyes suddenly approached you and started striking you.”

I contemplated on the words spoken by the young woman and remembered the events that transpired.

The fruit merchant, who approached me back then, was the same person who chased me because I stole some of his products.

“I see… thank you very much… um.”

“Tina’s fine.”

“Then you can also call me, Eulalia, Tina.”

I lowered my head to Tina to show the sincerity of my thanks.

This person must’ve sat there as I lay unconscious on this bed was what I had thought.

The impression she left me was a kind hearted lady.

“Don’t think about it, Eulalia. I was only here for a few minutes.”

Tina waved one of her hands as she helped me stand up from the bed.

She pushed a pair of clothes to me and said, “Even though you’ve just recovered, you’re now a full-fledged servant of our Lord. You’re still new here, so I’ve been assigned to show you what you’re supposed to do. Hurry up and get changed, Eulalia. We have a lot of ground to cover up.”, before exiting the room.

I stood frozen in place for a few moments and stared at the clothes I was given.

Spreading them in front of my eyes, I discovered that these were the same garments Tina wore.

Though there were some differences, like the number of frills and the size of the clothes.

If one were to look at them objectively, it was a mini-sized version of her clothes.

“Haa~ might as well wear them.”

Clumsily wearing the dress and the apron, I walked out of the room when I was done changing.

Tina stood there with a big smile and presented a black head band with white frills to me.

Thinking that it was still part of the uniform, I humbly accepted the band and preceded our tour.

“Listen to me Eulalia, we servants are tasked to clean the rooms of castle and cook for the soldiers. The chefs that stay here are only tasked to cook for our Lord, so it’s expected that they aren’t doing anything most of the time.”

While walking up the stairway which was lit by torches that was hung on the stone walls.

Tina explained to me the things I needed to learn as a servant.

When we exited from the dark staircase, I was greeted with a site that left me speechless.

A hallway which seemed to be endless was burned into my sight.

On one side, giant paintings of people hung on the right side of the wall.

The other side had stained glasses that encompassed the 7 colors of the rainbow.

The light that passed through them dyed the entire hallway with different colors and gave it a majestic feeling.

“Fufu, it’s still too early to be surprised, Eulalia.”

With a small laughter, Tina walked on the hallway, under the different colored rays of sunlight.

Seeing her figure becoming smaller, I woke up from my daze and followed her.

Entering room after room, what Tina said earlier was indeed true.

The rooms were decorated in various ornaments and were either laced or engraved by gold.

I was at awe whenever I saw the quality of every room and within me, the intensity of the raging flames of anger would also increase.

(If they had spent the money they have towards development, then my mother wouldn’t have died like that... and I wouldn’t have experienced a life much more miserable than my previous life.)

The day went by like this and when Tina saw that the light of the sun turning orange, she stopped walking and faced me.

Clapping her hands once she told me to explore the castle by myself if I ever have free time, since by tomorrow, Tina would go back to her duties and I will also have to start my work then.

Though I’m quite anxious about cooking, I was quite confident in my cleaning skills because of the memories I had from my previous life.

Going back to the room that only contained a wooden chair and a bed, Tina told me one last thing before we separated.

“I almost forgot, Eulalia, from time to time you may hear some screams during night.”

“Why?”

“Hmm… that’s because some soldiers are either interrogating or torturing captives.”

“… I see. (Hmmm, as expected of this world.)

After she spoke those words, Tina closed the door.

Her footsteps soon disappeared and when I had confirmed she had left, I started thinking what my life as a servant of this castle would be.

“As we passed some servants and soldiers when Tina was showing me around, the eyes most of them had contained anger and hostility.”

I reminisced the time I spent the afternoon and along with the anger I felt whenever I see a luxurious room, a feeling of resignation would always float up whenever we passed people.

“Haa~ as expected, even in this life and in that life, I am destined to live a life of being hated by others.”

Fancying that line of thought, I crept to my bed and closed my eyes.

###

2 years has passed since I became a servant in this castle.

As I started my life here, I was met with hostility by my co-workers.

The reason was because I embarrassed the Lord when he hired me from the slums.

Even if they know it wasn't exactly my fault but his for suddenly picking me up.

I was still subjected to such glares.

Although they were doing all of this to me, I found it quite comfortable living here.

It’s because the way they showed hostility to me, they didn’t harass or do anything to me.

They didn’t ruin the objects I cleaned, nor did they increase my workload out of spite.

So living here was quite comfortable compared to my previous lives.

“Eulalia! Here let me help you clean the garden!”

A boy with golden hair and cerulean eyes approached me and started sweeping the leaves beside me.

He wore leather armor on top of his tunic while a small sword dangled on his waist.

What’s also really surprising was that this boy had a striking resemblance to me in my previous life.

“Keith, are you sure? I think it’s better for you act like the others and avoid me.”

The name of the boy was Keith and he, like me, was also 12 years old.

He was one of the very few people who would approach me as open like this.

Like me, he was also a person from the slums which our Lord picked up on a whim.

“No worries, Eulalia. You’re on your period right? Isn’t your stomach painful?”

“Where’d you hear that?”

I narrowed my eyes as I stared at Keith.

He started waving his hands around and told me he hear it from one of the maids.

Though it’s true that I’m having cramps due to my period, it really feels uncomfortable when somebody says it to me.

Since I was now a girl, having periods is normal, so it didn’t surprise me greatly when I first experienced my menstruation a few months back.

“Haa~ stop worrying. I’ve experience more painful things.”

Keith made a complicated face when he heard my words and although he wanted to pry further, I gave him a glance that made him refrain.

###

“Hmm, Ne~ Eulalia, did you know that Miss Barbara has left the mansion.”

“Who’s that?”

A few minutes after Keith started helping me clean the garden.

He became bored and started an idle chatter with me.

“You don’t know who Miss Barbara is, Eulalia?”

“Nope and don’t start describing her, Keith. Even if you do, I won’t even recognize her.”

“… I see.”

Keith made a sad face and continued cleaning his side of the garden.

Seeing him like that, I remembered the circumstances that I had in my previous life.

Although that person whom I’ve thought of as a best friend had betrayed me, it doesn’t mean I’ve stopped trusting people.

What did change because of that was my ability to develop trust in people and also, as a result I would cherish the people I’ve started trusting.

Like my parents in the previous life.

In this life, Keith had become somebody who was quite important to me.

The 2 years I had spent here, he was the only one who’d help me whenever I was assigned to work alone.

When I had a fever, he would skip his training and stay by my side till I got better.

Keith was like a big brother I never had and because of the things he had did for me, I have started trusting him.

“Eulalia?”

“Hmm?”

“Is something wrong, you’ve been staring at me blankly for a while now…”

“(Since when did he notice I was looking at him?) Ah, it’s nothing Keith. I was just thinking how you look very similar to a person I once knew.”

“Is that person someone you care?”

Keith’s face was pale as he asked me that question.

Though I don’t know why he was worrying over something like that, it seemed like my words hurt him.

So I gave him a smile and told him a little bit of the truth.

“Keith, that person was somebody who I had spent a lifetime with. Though he no longer exists in this world, I still believe that he’s still alive here, in my heart.”

“… I’m sorry for making you remember something unpleasant, Eulalia.”

“It wasn’t unpleasant at all, Keith.”

The color of Keith’s face returned and with a smile on his face, he resumed cleaning the garden.

###

An hour has passed and right now, I held two glasses of water with both of my hands.

One was for me and the other was for Keith, who was resting under the shade of a tree.

“Thanks Eulalia. I think that it would’ve been better if I were the one who fetched the water.”

“What are you talking about, Keith? After how fast you were cleaning, do you even have the spare energy to go to the kitchen and back here?”

“… but.”

“Consider this as my thanks for the help you did.”

“If you put it that way, then I won’t be able to refuse, Eulalia.”

Accepting the cup of glass in from my hand, he drank all of the water in one go and returned the glass to me with a smile.

I was surprised at how fast he drank the water and thought how amazing it as.

“(Even in my previous life, I wasn’t able to copy what he did just now.) Keith, is it okay for me to sit near you?”

“S-sure… sure… here.”

Keith started panicking when he heard me and moved a bit to the side while patting the place he previously sat.

I became curious as to why he was acting like that, but refrained from questioning him.

Entrusting my weight to the back of the tree as I sat, I opened a basket that I prepared beforehand and gave one of its contents to Keith.

“Here, Keith.”

“Thanks, Eulalia.”

“You’re welcome.”

As Keith bit on the sandwich, his eyes widened greatly.

“Mmm! It’s really great, Eulalia! This ‘Ham Sandwich’ you made is really delicious! I wonder why the maids and the chefs don’t allow you to make food for others.”

“They said that it was preposterous to combine vegetables, meat and bread together, Keith.”

“They just haven’t tasted it yet!”

“Don’t fret over it too much, Keith. I’m already happy having a meal with you.”

In my past life, I used to spend meals together with my family but never with friends.

Nobody would ever like to eat together with me and instead, they would throw my lunch away or steal my money.

Eating together with Keith like this was a fresh experience for me.

“(Eating together with friends really is great!) Tell me if you want more, Keith. There are lots more where that came from.”

“Sure!”

Keith ate 10 sandwiches from the basket before he was satisfied.

The appetite he had was really monstrous, even though the sandwiches were quite big, he was able to eat a lot of it.

I even had a hard time finishing 2 and if I compare it to my previous life, eating a sandwich as large as the ones I made here, at most I would only be able to finish 5.

“You sure eat a lot, Keith.”

“It’s cause they were delicious and was made by you, Eulalia.”

“Thanks for the compliment, Keith. Here, wipe your face with this napkin.”

Keith accepted the napkin from my hands with a red face and while muttering something under his breath he started wiping his face with the napkin.

“I think, it’s about time for me to go back to work. Keith, I think that you should also go back to your post, wouldn’t you be scolded by Leo if he found out that you weren’t there?”

Keith frowned the moment he heard Leo’s name.

He stood up and patted his pants before making a serious face as he confronted me.

“Eulalia, I have something important to tell you.”

“Hmm?”

“It concerns the war against neighboring country in the west.”

“You mean, Wendilia?”

“Yes… the front lines are steadily getting pushed back, Eulalia.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So I wanna tell you something Eulalia. Will you… escape from this place?”

“What about you, Keith?”

“I can’t… I’m indebted to the Lord for taking me out from the slums, Eulalia. So I have to stay here, even if it means my death… it’s the only thing I can do to repay our Lord.”

“Is that so? Then I refuse, Keith.”

Keith’s jaw dropped to the ground the moment he heard my refusal.

I made a small laugh as I realized that he wasn’t expecting my refusal.

The reason why he was able to tell me to escape was because he knows that unlike him, I’m not all that loyal to the Lord.

He even knows that I’m harboring some hatred against him, not because he was a tyrant, but because of other factors.

“Why, Eulalia!?”

“You really don’t know, Keith? Well, I’ll tell you anyway. As you know, like you I also grew up from the slums and am an orphan like you. Almost everyone here either hates me or is angry at me, if it weren’t for a certain person, I would’ve escaped from his places a long time ago.”

Keith’s face became red when he heard my speech.

“(Why are you embarrassed, Keith? I don’t think my words were embarrassing.) And if you tell me I’d die if I were to stay here, then its fine, Keith. I’m not afraid of dying, I’m more afraid of losing somebody I’ve come to trust more than that.”

Since I had memories of my past life, I wasn’t all that afraid of dying.

“But! But! Eulalia!”

I became slightly annoyed from all his buts, so I placed a finger on his mouth to silence him.

“Let’s end this discussion for now, Keith. I will never leave this place if you won’t leave with me and that’s final ok.”

After saying those words, I headed back to the castle and ignored Keith’s words.

At night, like always, I was called again by Lord Stuart.

For two years, it... has always been like this.

###

High there, it's KK_Akatsuki! Bringing to you a revised chapter of Eulalia's Adventure.

Since the changes are quite obvious I won't make a list here. ^^

Instead, I'll tell you why I was able to return earlier than expected.

The reasons is quite simple, living in the moutains where even loading Baka-Tsuki took 30 mins in my tablet was hell.

So a few weeks after staying there, I decided to beg to my friends till they gave in and went down. Though I'm not staying at my hometown but am instead staying at my relatives home which is 2 cities away from there. :D

Hope this clears up some things to those who don't know why.

My Hibiki just became Verniy! When I remodeled here, I suddenly remembered my previous Hibiki that sank and decided to dig through some videos on youtube. I'll share the video about it to you guys.