“No…why is this…?”
Starting from my neck, the Chain of Obedience stretched out long. Seeing it once again secured around my neck, I felt an initial rush of confusion.
“Did Ethan do this…? To be honest, there’s no one else who could’ve done it besides him…”
But why is it back on? Why now?
The whole ordeal with Princess zzlen had been resolved, and my mind wasn’t particularly muddled or distressed this ti. Once it’s fastened, only the user’s permission can release it, so this isn’t sothing that could be put back on just because I’d had a little to drink. Unless…I sohow wanted to have this collar placed on by Ethan, which, of course…
“Well, that’s obviously nonsense. Let’s move on.”
Despite my various questions, there was one key matter at hand: clearing up whatever misunderstanding Ethan had and asking him to remove this collar again.
…Though, wearing this collar suggests he might have discovered my recent escape attempt from the dorms. So much for misunderstandings.
“As far as I rember, everything went smoothly until the end of the drinking session.”
There were a few instances where the table nearly toppled over, but I managed to prevent that. I even handled most of the cleanup myself, so there was no way I got caught.
I’d planned to finish reassembling the table the next morning before Ethan woke up…could it be that he discovered it sohow in between?
“…And, is this even the dorm?”
The floor beneath felt different from the wooden floors of the dorm. It was hard, yes, but the surface was carpeted.
It resembled sowhere in the Blackwood estate more than the academy dorms. I decided I needed to investigate further, so I called out to Sally.
“Sally.”
“…”
“Sally, could you co out for a mont? Sally?”
“…”
“Sei? If you’re with Sally, could you help out for a second?”
“…”
…What’s going on?
Why do these spirits disappear whenever I need them? Yesterday and today, just gone. Was it because of what happened last night?
Resigned to a lack of response, I used a faint light spell to illuminate my surroundings.
“Of course, it’s dim. It’s barely any better than a firefly’s tail.”
Usually, this spell is ant to obscure vision, not illuminate it. But in pitch-black darkness, even this faint glow was sowhat helpful.
As I looked around, my eyes caught sight of the Chain of Obedience around my neck, the red carpeted floor, sothing resembling a dog bowl that I’d accidentally nudged with my hand, and…
“…L…I…L…what?”
Why was my na engraved here?
Feeling a strange sense of foreboding as I stared at this dog bowl, complete with my middle na in engravings, I felt uneasy. It was sothing of mine, apparently, but I swore I’d never used anything so ridiculous.
And if they were going to put my na on it, they should’ve engraved Rosewood, not just Blackwood. I had no idea why it was halfway done.
“First things first, I need to get rid of this collar.”
I pulled on the Chain of Obedience, hoping it would loosen as I moved. Coming closer to the table to ensure I wasn’t attached, my hand touched sothing cold and tallic.
-Clank.
“…Huh?”
-Clank, clank.
“What on earth is this…”
It was a tal cage.
What is this? Since when did the dorms…no, the academy, have anything like this?
Did soone convert Isabel’s room or sothing? The last ti I was there, there was nothing like this.
Even the end of the collar was securely wound around several tal bars, leaving my body firmly confined within the cage.
“…This…can’t be right.”
I an, sure, I’d been told I’d be caged if I caused trouble again, but I never thought they’d actually do it.
With term starting tomorrow, it seed unlikely that Ethan would’ve confined here, and I couldn’t believe the academy would have a cage like this to hold soone. This was far from reality.
“Wherever this is, Ethan is the one who placed the Chain of Obedience on , so he’s likely the one who confined here, too.”
That’s all I needed to know—at least I hadn’t been kidnapped.
Not that I intended to stay here, but as long as my dignity was intact, I could manage. If soone else had locked up instead of Ethan, I’d probably consider sothing drastic.
Ethan would definitely be hearing about this later. Sure, I’d agreed to ‘certain arrangents’ for training rewards, but treating like a pet? Not a chance.
“Even if he apologized yesterday, it seems I still need to be more cautious.”
After several minutes of sitting and waiting, the sound of a door creaking open echoed through the room, and a man slowly entered.
-Screech.
“Did you sleep well last night, Lilith?”
“…Master Ethan.”
“You still call ‘Master Ethan.’ I told you to use my na, didn’t I?”
“…What?”
“Or do you still think you’re my maid, even after leaving so coldly?”
…What was he saying?
“What are you talking about, Master Ethan? I never left, and I’ve been your personal maid for seven years.”
“Must’ve slept soundly. You’re talking nonsense as if it were all a dream.”
…Morning? A dream?
Just as I was about to comnt on the morning, I noticed that where the window should have been, there was a large tal plate instead. No light could penetrate through the carefully sealed edges of the wall and the tal plate.
“Master Ethan? What’s with the window…”
“Well, don’t expect to be ‘tad’ in a week or two. I never wanted to go this route, but…this is the situation you brought on yourself.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. I apologize if my dorm escape attempt upset you, but isn’t this excessive…”
“What are you rambling about, Lilith?”
“Didn’t you tie to the dorm table to keep out of the princess’s matters? I dismantled the table to escape…”
“Why are you bringing that up now? That was over a year ago.”
“…Excuse ?”
What…what did he an?
“And what’s this about an escape? Isabel said you were sound asleep in bed that night, so I thought it was true.”
“Well, I…that is…”
“So, today’s dream was about that night, huh? Vivid mories, I see.”
“….”
“Hah, makes sense now. If I’d known you tried to escape, I would’ve had you locked up from that night on. I underestimated you.”
Wait, does this an I wasn’t captured because of my escape attempt?
So Ethan locked up without any real reason? Why?
And if that happened a year ago, what’s gone on between and Ethan in that ti?
“Since you’re starting to calm down, maybe I’ll move you to a room with a bed…though it seems a bit more discipline is still in order.”
“D-discipline…?”
“Yes, obedience training, of course. So that you won’t entertain the notion of ever leaving my side again.”
“W-what are you talking about, Master Ethan?! As I said before, I never…”
“Enough of your dreams. Eat first. Today, it’s not Isabel or Katarina—it’s my cooking.”
The more he spoke, the more my head swirled in confusion. Learning that a year had passed, that Ethan’s reasoning was “obedience training,” and that Isabel and Katarina were aware of this situation—all of it threw for a loop.
But, of course, what truly left speechless was what Ethan called “breakfast” as he placed it in front of .
-Thud.
“Here you go, Lilith. Breakfast.”
“….”
A dish identical to the dog bowl I’d found earlier, brimming with food, was placed on the floor as my “al.”
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