Predestined Future
My mind tangled into a complicated knot.
My master's absence, the houses targeting me, and their unfathomable intentions on top of it all.
I couldn't even begin to grasp where or how to start unraveling any of it.
While I was briefly lost in thought, Senior Bella suddenly snatched my wrist again.
"Huh? Senior?"
"Just follow me for now."
Without any further explanation, she spoke in a firm voice and began dragging me along.
"Wait, where are we going this time..."
I was flustered.
Once again I was being hauled around by her without knowing why, just like last time.
But unlike before, this time I didn't even feel like resisting her grip.
My head was far too full of complications right now, and I even thought that maybe it would be better to simply go wherever she was leading me.
Before long we arrived at Senior Bella's dormitory.
She brought me inside the room and forced me to stand in front of a large mirror hanging on the wall.
"Here. Take a look at yourself."
I reluctantly looked at my reflection in the mirror. And for a moment, I stopped breathing.
Earlier I'd been so preoccupied with the scuffle with Professor Emilia and then being dragged around by Camilla that I hadn't noticed...
My appearance was far more of a mess than I'd thought.
My uniform was torn in places here and there, and dried red blood was caked on my face and arms along with dirt.
I was in this state?
I was a little taken aback.
Of course, considering everything that had happened earlier, it was only natural—but seeing it with my own eyes felt strange.
If I'd known I looked this bad, I would have done something about it sooner.
But... why didn't Rina say anything?
"I won't ask how you ended up like this."
Senior Bella said, looking at me through the mirror.
Her expression was still hard to read.
"And as promised, I won't worry too much either."
She paused for a moment and looked into my eyes.
"But still... clean yourself up before you go."
Those words brought a slight sense of relief.
So she was just going to let it slide, I thought.
She brought a towel, clean water, and a simple first-aid kit and set them down beside me.
I nodded slightly in thanks and headed into the bathroom, intending to close the door.
I planned to wash up quickly by myself and leave.
But just before the door closed, Senior Bella stuck her hand through the gap and stopped it.
"Huh?"
"Wait."
She spoke in a firm voice.
"I can't leave you to wash alone looking like that. Are the wounds okay? I need to check them myself."
"No, I'm fine! There are no wounds or anything!"
I shouted in panic.
"I won't believe it until I see for myself."
As if she had no intention of listening to me, she practically forced me into the bathroom and locked the door.
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she reached for the buttons of my uniform.
"Stay still. I'll wash you."
"S-Senior! I'm really fine! I can do it myself... Kyaa!"
Senior Bella finally stripped off my clothes and pushed me under the shower.
I stood with my back turned inside the bathroom where hot steam was rising.
From behind, I could feel Senior Bella's hands wiping my body with a wet towel.
It was a good thing that I had unconsciously used a regeneration magic circle to heal all the visible wounds.
If Senior Bella had seen those horrific injuries from earlier...
"All done."
Senior Bella's voice snapped me back to my senses.
The hands wiping my body had stopped at some point.
I hurriedly composed myself and turned around.
"Here, put these on."
Senior Bella brought over some clothes that seemed prepared in advance.
A cleanly laundered shirt and a skirt of a familiar size.
"The skirt is the one you left last time, and the shirt... I grabbed one of the extras. It might be a bit big, but better than nothing."
She still had her usual blunt expression, but a faint consideration seeped into her voice.
I wordlessly accepted the clothes.
A shirt that faintly retained Senior's scent.
For some reason my face grew hot and I felt a little embarrassed.
The moment I unfolded the shirt to put it on, Senior Bella suddenly held out her hand.
"Give it here. I'll put it on for you."
"Huh?"
I looked at her in surprise.
Put it on for me?
Well, washing me was one thing, but there was no need to dress me too...
"No, it's fine! I can put it on myself!"
I waved my hands in fluster and hid the shirt behind my back.
Then a slightly playful smile appeared on Senior Bella's lips.
It was quite an unfamiliar look, different from her usual blunt expression.
She snatched the shirt from me and hid it behind her own back.
"Is that so? You can put it on yourself?"
She asked as if finding my reaction amusing.
"Then just stay naked like that. I don't mind."
"…!"
Was she serious? Her tone was playful, but her eyes looked quite earnest.
Stay naked like this?
That was...
That was way too embarrassing!
In front of Senior Bella...
And in Senior's room at that...!
"Okay. Okay, just put it on me quickly."
I reluctantly raised both hands in surrender.
My face was probably on the verge of exploding.
Senior Bella approached me with a satisfied smile and began putting the shirt on me.
Her touch was surprisingly gentle and delicate.
As I focused on her hands slipping my arms into the sleeves and fastening the buttons one by one, the playful look from earlier was gone, leaving only a serious expression.
I felt her breath on the nape of my neck and instinctively shrank back a little.
It was the moment I was briefly distracted by her touch.
Click—
Suddenly, a cold, hard metallic sound came from my neck.
At the same time, a slight feeling of constriction around my throat.
What? Is the shirt collar too tight?
"Senior?"
I looked up in confusion.
And standing before my eyes was... Senior Bella with a cold expression.
There was no trace of the playfulness or gentleness from just a moment ago.
With an ominous premonition, I hurriedly turned my head slightly to look at the mirror beside me.
And I stopped breathing.
Around my neck, over the shirt collar, a black leather collar was firmly fastened.
With silver metal decorations...
It was unmistakably a dog collar.
"……?!"
My mind went blank.
What... what is this situation?
Why would Senior...?
A joke?
No, that cold gaze from earlier wasn't a joke.
Then what on earth?
The problem was...
It was clearly a situation where I should be flustered and anxious, but the pressure of the leather collar tightly wrapped around my neck and this humiliating situation itself were stirring the twisted part inside me.
My heart began pounding for a different reason than before, and I felt a faint heat rising again from my lower abdomen.
No, this isn't the time for that!
I hurriedly and skillfully suppressed that unpleasant yet sweet pleasure.
Right now, figuring out this situation came first.
I carefully hid the tremor in my voice and asked as calmly as possible.
"S-Senior...? What are you doing right now?"
I asked, stammering in fluster.
But Senior Bella completely ignored my words.
With that same cold expression, as if nothing had happened, she approached a small door in the corner of the bathroom.
And with a creaking sound, she opened that door.
It was a passage leading to a small basement storage room attached to the faculty dormitory.
"Go in."
She ordered shortly.
"No, wait a minute, Senior! What is this?!"
I tried to protest, but she didn't seem to have any intention of listening to me.
The inside of the storage room was surprisingly cleanly organized.
Spotless without a speck of dust, and a thick mattress was placed in one corner.
And in another corner, a large tub filled with water was visible.
As if... it had been prepared in advance to lock someone up.
"This is where you'll be staying from now on."
Senior Bella said, looking around the storage room.
"Meals three times a day at set times—I'll bring them in myself."
"Hey, Senior! Listen to me!"
I tried to interrupt her, but she ignored me again and continued what she was saying.
"Before bed, I'll bring water and wash you myself. Bear with it even if it's a bit inconvenient."
"Senior!"
I called her again out of frustration, but she still wouldn't even glance at me.
"And... for the bathroom..."
Senior Bella cleared her throat for a moment, then pointed with her chin at the water tub in the corner.
"Ahem. There's a portable toilet made with magic over there, so take care of it there. I'll empty it periodically..."
"Senior!!!"
In the end, I couldn't hold back and shouted loudly.
At my cry, Senior Bella finally turned to look at me.
The cold, emotionless expression from earlier was nowhere to be found.
Her face was contorted as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment, and her eyes were filled with sadness, fear, and an indescribable desperation.
"What... what on earth is this..."
I demanded, tugging at the collar around my neck.
At my question, Senior Bella's lips trembled.
She looked at me pitifully, then finally shouted as if releasing the emotions she'd been holding back.
"Don't you get it? Even after seeing the state you were in just now, you still don't understand?!"
Her voice was closer to a tearful scream.
"You thought I wouldn't notice you regenerated it with magic? When you appeared in front of me looking like a bloody mess that could die at any moment... do you know how much my heart felt like it was being torn apart?!"
She continued, gasping for breath.
Tears were welling up in her eyes.
"And now... now no less than three ducal houses are after you! In this situation where even Lady Dorothy isn't here, do you think they'll leave you alone? No! They're going to tear you to shreds! For their own purposes! They'll do anything to you, who has no power!"
Senior Bella staggered toward me and grabbed my shoulders.
Her hands were trembling desperately.
"So... please... just stay here... okay? In this place where no one can find you... just stay by my side..."
Her voice had now turned into a sob. That strong and cool-headed senior was now crying and pleading in front of me.
"If you... if you get hurt like that again or something happens to you, I..."
She couldn't finish her words and hung her head.
Her slender shoulders shook slightly.
I could feel her sincerity, her fear, completely.
The worry for me, the terror of possibly losing me.
I couldn't say anything.
In the face of her tears, in the face of her sincerity, the weight of this cold collar around my neck suddenly felt so very heavy.