Hei Yu and Bai Yu, Chaotic Chowhounds

Lunch consisted of thin porridge and warmed black bread. This batch of black bread from Mapleleaf City was much better than the previous one. The loaves all weighed ten pounds and contained enormous amounts of bran, but at least no one had been unscrupulous enough to mix in stones, sand, or sawdust. The bread had been cut into fist-sized chunks for easy distribution.

The slaves smelled food and dropped their work without hesitation, sprinting toward the wagons.

The guards immediately raised their halberds, blocking the slaves and shouting at them to stay back.

"I want food! Damn it, Brick, it's me! You bastard, have a few days of eating eggs made you forget us?"

"Yeah! We shared a cage, remember? Give me an extra piece of bread!"

Some slaves tried to call in old friendships, while more simply hurled abuse. A few were men who had been cut from the guard unit for refusing to fight or slacking off during training.

They now regretted it so bitterly that they could not sleep all night. Sometimes, even in their sleep, the thought of their former cellmates now eating well and living comfortably hurt worse than death. Every time they woke up, they would slap themselves in frustration. "I'm such a damned idiot!"

After all, the guards ate meat every day, and to the slaves, eating meat was the pinnacle of life.

Who could have imagined that joining the guards did not mean becoming cannon fodder? When the Baron had food, he actually shared it!

"No grabbing! By order of the lord, line up to receive your food!" The guards completely ignored their former cellmates' appeals to friendship. Ever since they had begun receiving extra food every day, such as smoked meat and eggs, they had become utterly devoted to Field.

They put even the most shameless bootlickers to shame.

If Field now told them to beat up their own fathers, these men, who had known the terror of starvation, would charge in without hesitation and deliver a righteous group kicking.

"Line up! Please form ten lines!" Sparrow, the maid, shouted as hard as she could in her soft, delicate voice. When everyone ignored her, she planted her hands on her hips indignantly. "Line up! Or you won't get any food."

"What a pretty woman. I'd gladly give up fifty years of my life for one night with her."

"Shut your filthy mouth. She's a noble lady. Watch out, or they'll cut out your tongue."

"I was wrong!" The man who had misspoken immediately broke into a cold sweat, terrified that the guards would drag him away and behead him.

Clearly, the maid's clean, pretty clothing had misled the slaves into thinking Sparrow was a noblewoman too. This was another hidden perk of being a castle maid: one's status always stood a notch above that of ordinary people.

It was like being an official's driver. When the official was absent, the driver was the official.

Fortunately, Sparrow did not hold it against them. Had Scissors been there instead, she would certainly have offered two chunks of black bread as bait and made the other slaves beat the man who had misspoken senseless.

In fact, Sparrow loved being mistaken for a noble lady. The feeling of being looked up to was addictive. She treasured the task Field had assigned her and wanted to do her very best.

Soon, amid pushing and jostling, the slaves more or less formed ten lines. A few stronger slaves cursed and dragged others aside to cut in, but the guards immediately cracked down on such misconduct. They rushed forward and knocked the line-cutting thugs flat with straight punches. Not a single egg had gone to waste; every one had become fighting strength.

"Anyone who cuts in goes to the back!" Sparrow planted her hands on her hips, trying her best to look fierce.

The slaves finally behaved a little better and began savoring the violent scene they had just witnessed.

"Ha! Did you see that? Just one punch! Good heavens, those guys are fierce!"

"No wonder they can kill corpse ghouls."

"I heard the Baron gives the guards meat every day. I want to join too. Then I'll be able to beat people up whenever I like, haha."

The slaves discussed it loudly and excitedly. Violence gave them an outlet for their pent-up feelings and something to talk about for months.

"So scary..." Bai Yu, a disheveled young girl, pulled the filthy cap on her head tighter. The stinking hemp cap had belonged to another slave, a kind old man. Unfortunately, he had died on the journey to the Nightfall Territory, snatched into the air by a bat banshee and torn to pieces. Thankfully, the warm cap had survived. The two sisters always took turns wearing it, sharing one of their few "assets."

Her younger twin sister, Hei Yu, had already begun to sob quietly.

"Be strong. Just don't look at them. We'll get to eat soon." Although both girls were eleven, the older sister had learned to be strong sooner. Bai Yu held her younger sister tightly in her arms, shielding her from being knocked down by the crowd of slaves and trampled to death.

Fortunately, the sisters were lucky enough to have places fairly near the front.

"This food was bestowed upon you by Lord Field. You must work hard for him!" Sparrow kept repeating the words, and she meant them too. Only their dear Baron would share food so generously. Sparrow pursed her lips. "He risked his life to bring this food back."

Work hard... huh?

Bai Yu repeated those words silently a few times before letting out a long sigh. They had once had a happy family. Their parents had worked hard too, tending the fields in wind and rain alike. Their father had also been exceptionally skilled at shooting birds with a slingshot. He would take his catches to the castle to sell, occasionally bringing back leftovers the lord did not want. Those had been the happiest days of the sisters' lives. The delicious leftovers always found their way into their dreams.

Their names, too, had come from the gifts of birds.

Unfortunately, their father had later picked up some branches in the forest, intending to make a better slingshot.

The forest was the noble lord's private property. Everything in it, including the animals, berries, and even branches, was forbidden to take. Doing so was a serious crime.

That very evening, their father had been hanged for misappropriating a noble's property.

Their mother had been molested several times by the captain of the local watch, who had long harbored vile intentions toward her. In the end, she had gone mad and jumped into the river.

The sisters had narrowly escaped the watch captain's clutches, only to be inexplicably captured while begging and taken to the Mapleleaf Territory as slaves. After starving for three days, they had been sold on to a lord named Field. Bai Yu had wanted to die several times. Perhaps that was the only escape. This world was rotten to the core, and everywhere was equally hopeless. She reckoned the Nightfall Territory would be no different from her hometown.

"One bowl of porridge and two chunks of black bread per person! That includes dinner. No food will be handed out tonight."

Two chunks of black bread were a whole day's ration.

Two chunks of bread! Reality instantly shattered Bai Yu's memories and despair. Her eyes widened, and she exclaimed softly, "You're joking. Two chunks of bread a day, and porridge too? Goddess above, is this a joke?"

On the journey to the Nightfall Territory, they had received two chunks of bread a day so they could eat their fill and travel quickly. But now that they had arrived, the normal ration should have been one chunk every two days, or even every three.

Why were they getting more instead? The lord must have drunk too much and gotten his orders wrong.