Imprisonment (3)
…Waa.
A hollow sigh escaped me.
Did I really get out?
Alone like this?
Maybe she has some weird hobby.
Like keeping a pet human… or some twisted, creepy one.
The mountain house was silent without Jane.
I lay there staring at the ceiling, and Yu Inna came to mind.
I didn’t particularly want to think about her.
But I had to consider all possibilities because her actions determined my fate.
“I can’t read her mind.”
A fox-like woman.
Just what does she want from me?
Sometimes her seductive, sensual attitude makes me uncomfortable.
But then the cruelty of sending a man who wronged her straight to the orc’s den without mercy makes me fear her.
Thanks to her innate strength, she threw a hatchet and felled an orc.
If she didn’t have that twisted nature that broke my ankle, I might like her more.
“At least I’m alive.”
Thinking about it, I still feel uneasy about what that orc wanted to do to me.
I’ve been denying reality for a while, but eventually something felt off.
I took a deep breath and tensed my body.
Slowly pushing myself up with both arms, I saw my legs.
The shackles were still on, but the chain had loosened a lot.
That should be enough to reach the bathroom or kitchen.
Of course, I didn’t feel grateful.
But that wasn’t what was bothering me.
“What the hell?”
My swollen ankle felt normal now.
Was it a hallucination?
The pain that used to sting from the slightest touch was gone.
I glanced around quickly and hastily untied the bandage.
It was the moment when my hope that this would be reality appeared right in front of me.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
It’s true.
It’s healed completely.
I even lightly tapped it to test, but there was no pain.
Yesterday it was terrifyingly painful.
“How is this possible?”
Even if Jane is skilled in medicine, this doesn’t make sense.
Maybe my body is just tough, but the odds of that were low.
Could this be related to my trait?
A hope flickered that perhaps I have a trait here too.
I thought that if I had a trait, it might be connected to the occasional lucid dreams I’ve had since coming to this world.
I checked my ankle and rewound the bandage tightly.
There was nothing to gain by being caught again by Jane when she returned.
“Yu Inna mentioned something like a status window.”
Not a novel, not a game.
It’s hilarious.
Who would say those words out loud?
“…Status window!!”
Then what about…
“System window?!”
Surprisingly, nothing appeared.
As I expected.
Hmm, that makes sense.
I did talk to Yu Inna, even if it was in a dream.
I remember it, so she probably does too.
She’s the Hero after all.
There must be something.
She’s more capable and decisive than me.
She’s kind and good.
She definitely will come.
That alone gave me a huge boost of confidence.
Hope gushed forth, and my chest warmed at the same time.
I could wait.
And I would go back.
Home.
Modern Korea.
……
With my eyes closed and staying still, I guess I fell asleep for a bit.
Following the creaking sound, I sensed someone’s presence.
“Master, you’ve been waiting so obediently.”
Jane smiled wickedly.
Her smile overflowed with sensuality.
In her refined hands, a neatly wrapped meal was held.
“Untie me.”
“Sorry, Master, I’ve been really busy.”
I shouted with the maximum low voice I could muster by widening my eyes.
My voice, surprisingly low, sounded unfamiliar even to me.
Even though my ankle was healed, the shackles made it uncomfortable.
Her evasive attitude made me angry.
She placed the food on the small table without a care.
I could see appetizing meat and soup, but my self-destructive instinct made my body shoot up from the bed.
“I’m not eating.”
The little table on the bed flew off.
But the strange silence that followed immediately made me regret it.
“Hmph. Master, then you can’t.”
Jane approached after seeing the scattered food.
I flinched and turned my head, but I still had to say something.
“Untie me and let me out.”
“Master, I’m tired.
How about a manly response?
Can’t you behave pretty for me?”
Jane looked genuinely tired.
The dark circles, denser than before, made her look more decadent.
“If you just send me away, it ends there.”
“Master, calm down.
What do you think you can do alone?
Have you forgotten that all authority related to you is now in my hands?”
Jane covered her mouth with her hand as if laughing, then spread her fingers and explained one by one.
Like a kindergarten teacher teaching a naughty child.
“Grand debt.
Fleeing without permission.
Whatever you did isn’t reported.
So be grateful to me, okay?
Huh?”
Just send me away, please?
“If it weren’t for me, what would you have become?
Use that smart head and think.”
Whatever.
It’s better than being imprisoned.
“The only person you can rely on is me.”
“No.”
“Why do you hate me so much?
I’m treating you nicely.”
Our eyes met in the silence.
My mouth went dry.
“Running away?”
Jane, who approached and sat across from me, smiled faintly as if remembering something.
“It’s actually fortunate.
What would have happened if that succeeded?
Hehe.
Our innocent master, fake identification?
Neighboring country?”
“You know nothing.”
“Then you would have met a terrible end.”
Jane’s voice was firm.
She needed an explanation for that conviction.
“Wait.
What?”
“Don’t eat if you don’t like it.”
Jane, who avoided my hand, left immediately.
Leaving behind the scattered food scraps and me.
******
Beca stared at the man who called her.
The royal palace she hadn’t visited in a long time was splendid, its unique beauty permeating.
But an uneasy feeling couldn’t be shaken off.
The man who served her, looking like Elina, smiled brightly like sunlight.
A tapestry hung over him depicted luxury.
“It’s been a while, Baron Chlister.”
“I greet the small moon of the empire.”
“No need for formalities between us.
Please, rise.”
Karsen smiled faintly.
But Beca had already guessed his hidden nature.
At first glance, the letter in his hand was crumpled, the wrapping torn.
If she hadn’t been Elina’s subordinate, she might have been assaulted by the arrogant prince.
Perhaps the servants would have been punished after she left.
So she had to soothe him as much as she could.
“Sister really, leaving such a capable knight behind.
Of course, from the empire’s perspective, that’s very good, but…”
“……”
Beca just listened quietly to Karsen’s words.
But he didn’t speak to the point and kept circling around.
“By the way, Baron, aren’t you entering the prime of marriage?
Is there any young lady you like?”
“No.”
A black-haired young lady flashed through her mind.
But at this important time, she couldn’t play with love and betray her ideals.
“I see.
Then, shall we go straight to the main point?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Karsen covered his mouth with his fan.
“It’s said that the male brothel business has been booming lately.
“…”
“How is that possible?
It’s frightening just to say.
As a man, it’s sad and disgusting.”
“…”
“Also, it’s even being talked about in the Ortin Duchy…”
Karsen sighed heavily as if remembering something.
His expression showed deep sadness, but his sparkling eyes shone like stars.
“There’s a most popular brothel in the capital.
Let’s search that place first.
Tax and accounting information too.”
“?!”
The gist was that Beca was to lead the search.
It was humorous that an imperial knight moved for something so trivial instead of the guard.
“Your Highness the Honorable Prince, may I ask why you are concerned about such a matter?”
Even so, Beca’s position wasn’t bad.
She had a slight sense of guilt for breaking the promise to the Crown Princess.
“It’s also the duty of royalty to care for the people.
Above all.”
“……”
“I trust you, Sister.
You put the empire’s safety before your private feelings.
Even the government couldn’t allow such lowly men into the palace.”
“You knew?”
Karsen smiled brightly.
“Of course.
And since we’re at it, it’s good to have plenty of emergency funds too.
If it weren’t for you, I’d have to ask someone else.”
Deep guilt filled Beca’s chest.
She had allowed the prince to harm the foreign man.
The empire’s safety was more important than Elina’s reputation.
Thanks to Lee Seonghyun, the noble lord had joined the Hero’s party.
That wasn’t the usual lord’s behavior.
If it weren’t for that man, she wouldn’t have changed.
With a flower path laid out, there was no need to take credit.
Whether marrying or marrying an powerless otherworldly man, it would be a fatal blow to the lord’s reputation.
Of course, the political factions supporting her would also weaken.
That was why she betrayed Elina’s will.
She allowed it.
She felt sorry for the foreign man, but she resigned herself that this was the best.
For her lord.
“But isn’t this helping him?”
Karsen’s intention was unclear.
If she thoroughly investigated the brothel Lee Seonghyun was in, he might escape.
Of course, the direction after that was unknown, but at least she could confirm his existence.
It was a good way in a life-or-death situation.
“What do you mean?”
Karsen smiled shyly and raised a finger to his lips.
The man’s voice dropped menacingly.
“Kill Lee Seonghyun, that foreigner.
That would be the highest loyalty you could show to the empire.”
“Your Highness the Prince, do you really need to go that far?”
“The otherworldly man has a lewd, dirty demeanor and entered the brothel himself.
As a price, he will suffer from a venereal disease and die miserably.
“I will obey.”
Beca felt a chill at the prince’s cunning.
She hadn’t expected Karsen to do this much.
First, she had to find his whereabouts.
If she reported it, how would Kalento’s young lady react?
A ridiculous thought suddenly came to mind.
Beca, who accepted Karsen’s proposal, left the palace.
The splendid maze-like palace was peaceful and quiet.
From afar, Elina’s royal chamber was visible.
The simple palace with an empty owner was being managed diligently by the attendants.
Anything she didn’t listen to Elina’s command, she would pay dearly.
But she no longer wanted to walk the wrong path.
For her lord, Beca made a firm resolution.
This time, for sure.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness Elina.
I will definitely return to the original.”