Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Soggy Bread and the Captain's Bargain
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Three days had passed since I'd been thrown into this empty prison cell.
Life in this dreadful place was somehow manageable.
If I thought of it as brutal winter training that wasn't too cold but had horrific conditions, it eased my mind a bit. At least it was something a human could endure.
Even so, after three days, the things that were truly hard to bear were the boredom and the meals.
I'd braced myself somewhat for the boredom, but the meals—something I hadn't anticipated—hit me like a fatal blow.
No meals at all?
That might have been a relief.
Tasteless?
I could stomach that.
Or maybe inedible food?
Half right.
It wasn't spoiled, but it was stuff no human could just eat.
"......"
I picked up the bread that had been soaked in soup after a slab of meat had brushed past it.
An hour in water-like soup.
Finally, it felt like wet bread.
Was it even bread if it needed an hour of soaking to become edible?
But remembering how my thumbnail snapped when I absentmindedly tried to break it with my nail on the first day, I almost marveled at how it had softened after just an hour.
"Argh..."
Irritated, I tore the bread apart and shoved a suitably ripped chunk into my mouth.
"Urk..."
Even after soaking so long, the bread was still dry, tough, and flavorless.
Eating waterlogged bread and choking on it was a rare experience that brought tears to my eyes.
I could endure the physical hardship, but tormenting me with food like this was truly heartbreaking...
What was even scarier was that my bread at least had no bugs.
The other prisoners got loaves with bugs or mold welcoming them, and I probably would've passed out if I'd received that.
"Gulp... Hoo... Hoo..."
I'd barely swallowed the bread, yet I could hardly breathe.
I'd always had a cast-iron stomach, even finding military rations tolerable.
This was the first time meals had been pure agony in prison.
"Haa..."
I let out a sigh—or maybe it was just ragged breathing—and dunked the bread back into the soup.
To suit my delicate throat, it'd need at least another thirty minutes of soaking.
"Urgh..."
Rubbing my throat and groaning, I pushed the bowl aside and flopped back down.
Now, watching how the mold on the ceiling and the sunlight through the tiny window shifted would kill another thirty minutes.
"Sir William, how are you holding up?"
"Pardon?"
As I sluggishly blinked, on the verge of drifting off despite myself, a sudden voice calling my name jolted me upright.
"Uh... Captain?"
Scrambling up, I saw the captain standing before the bars in more casual attire than usual, looking down at me.
Not just any knight or soldier—what business did the captain have visiting me out of the blue?
"Heh..."
As I sat there staring blankly, the captain narrowed her eyes, chuckled softly, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall.
"Seeing you sprawled out so comfortably, it seems you've adapted better than expected. Good to know you're tougher than you look, as befits a son of Count Hume's house."
"......"
Calling my frustrated flop from meal irritation "adapting well" grated a little.
I spent most of my day wrestling with rock-hard bread, so what nonsense was this...
I wanted to hurl the currently soaking stone bread at her and tell her to try it, but remembering she was a knight, I swallowed my rage.
"...What brings you here, Captain?"
"Orders from above to check on your condition."
"From His Majesty the Emperor?"
"No, this time it was from Her Highness the Princess."
"Elizabeth?"
"No, someone even higher."
"...Her Highness Grand Princess Alexandrine?"
"That's right."
"...?"
The name of the person I had the least connection with left me baffled.
Why her?
She wasn't someone who'd take interest in my situation...
"What's going on out there, exactly?"
"Hm... There are more than one or two issues, so it's hard to explain."
"What do you mean..."
My already weary, stiffened mind grew even more tangled.
What was happening that the First Princess was suddenly checking on my welfare...
I could've chalked it up to the Emperor's orders if I hadn't known, but this half-info was driving me crazy with curiosity.
"Um... I know it's asking a lot, but could you possibly tell me somehow?"
My curiosity at its limit, I pleaded with the captain as politely and cautiously as possible.
She seemed strict and old-fashioned, unlikely to oblige, but everyone has a slim chance.
"Hmm..."
The captain's brow furrowed at my words.
She hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then raised a single finger and spoke.
"How about this? I'll arrange a session under the pretext of a special interrogation. That should give us an hour or two to talk."
"Uh... Are you serious?"
She offered the alternative so readily that I was left dumbfounded, even after suggesting it myself.
Had I somehow gained a hypnosis app without knowing?
"Scared now that I'm actually offering?"
"Just unexpected, that's all."
"Because I look like a stick-in-the-mud?"
"Well..."
She hit the nail on the head so quickly that I couldn't keep a straight face, averting my eyes and mumbling.
"Hahaha!"
At my reaction, the captain burst into hearty laughter, looking down at me with evident amusement as she spoke.
"I act that way normally, but you can't always. To survive long in public office, you need a bit of flexibility to avoid making enemies, right?"
"True enough."
It was obvious, so nothing strange, but a tad disappointing.
I'd thought her an old-school romantic pushing through with sheer stubbornness, but she'd taken the red pill...
"Heh heh, disappointed?"
"A little. Isn't it romantic when an upright person climbs the ranks?"
"Sadly, the Imperial Knights aren't run on romance. My apologies."
"Fair point."
Chasing romance in a place like that just makes you a sucker.
My own family wasn't spotless either.
"But would it be okay to just do a special interrogation like that? Don't you need various conditions?"
"You're right. Interrogations require conditions, and you're a prisoner confined by His Majesty himself. Ignoring that would be bad for my position. But it's not like there's no way."
The captain paused, glancing around.
Confirming no one was nearby, she beckoned me closer and approached the bars herself.
"Sir, if you get out of here someday, could you do me one favor?"
"What kind?"
"Nothing much. Just make me some clothes."
"Clothes? What kind?"
"There's a masquerade ball at the end of October, right?"
"Ah, yes."
The masquerade ball at the end of October.
Similar timing to Halloween from my past life, but unrelated—just a regular masked ball.
Why call it a costume masquerade?
Because pure 100% T-folk questioned, 'Shouldn't a human wearing a cat mask count as a cat-person disguise?' and the name stuck.
"I'm looking for masks to match with my husband, and I think you could make exactly what we need."
"I'd be happy to, but couldn't you just visit our atelier as a customer?"
"That was the plan originally."
"Then why?"
"Because you're stuck here right now. Who should I entrust it to?"
"Ah..."
I'd forgotten for a moment amid my free-spirited staff with their frequent traitor-like glares, but I was the boss.
A shop doesn't run fine without its owner giving directions.
"Is the outfit you want complicated or difficult? Time's short, so there might be limitations."
"Not really, but it might be a bit unusual."
"Unusual?"
Unusual compared to what I'd made so far?
Or maybe something risqué?
That could be.
"As long as it's not legally problematic, I'll make it."
Risqué was my specialty, so I accepted the captain's proposal.
Even if not, it was just clothes.
No burden on me for agreeing.
"Thank you. I knew you'd accept readily, Sir."
The captain nodded and stepped back.
"Do you know how special interrogations work?"
She asked with a gentle smile.
"How do they?"
"First, dump that soup bowl."
"Yes..."
Not sure what it meant, but I followed orders and upended the soup bowl on the floor.
The bland, water-like soup and bread spilled, dirtying the ground.
"Then shout 'I'm so wronged!' loud enough to make the prison ring."
"I'm so wronged! This is unjust confinement! I'm so wronged!"
I bellowed as instructed, squeezing out every ounce of volume.
My voice echoed faintly in the cave-like prison.
"Mm~ Nice pipes. Improvised lines, but good—they add realism."
"Thank you. But what's the point?"
"It has profound meaning, of course."
The captain answered as she inserted a key into the cell door's lock.
"Interrogations are for those needing investigation. With a prisoner claiming innocence like you, don't we have to check?"
"But no reason to comply, right? Especially since His Majesty put me here personally."
"A regular prisoner? No dice. But you're nobility, so we pretend to respect you to avoid backlash. If word got out we treat nobles like dogs, who'd surrender quietly?"
"Aha."
Her words brought enlightenment just as the lock clicked open, and the sturdy door swung wide.
"This trick only works once or twice, so how about we head to the interrogation room quickly?"
"Ah, yes."
I hurried out following her urging gestures.
She roughly shut the bars and led the way to the interrogation room.