After a long while of laying there in silence, I finally let out a tired sigh.
"I want to sleep."
Lillith imdiately looked toward .
After a brief pause, I slowly turned my head toward her with complete exhaustion.
"...You’re not going do the sa thing as last night, right?"
Lillith responded with an innocent smile.
That sohow answered the question perfectly.
I rubbed my face tiredly.
"...Could you at least leave for a little while while I sleep?"
"No."
The answer ca instantly.
I stared at her blankly.
"...You didn’t even think about it."
"I did."
"And?"
"No."
I genuinely didn’t understand how soone could say no with such confidence.
Then suddenly another idea ca to mind.
"...I need use the toilet."
I slowly got up from the bed before beginning walk toward the door.
But the mont I reached it—
Lillith grabbed my hand.
"I’ll co with you."
I imdiately froze.
"You absolutely cannot co with ."
Lillith tilted her head slightly.
"...Why?"
"Because it’s the toilet!"
The mont my face started heating up slightly, Lillith smiled happily.
"You’re so cute when embarrassed."
"That’s not the issue here!"
After several painful minutes of arguing, I finally managed negotiating a compromise.
"...Can you at least wait outside?"
Lillith crossed her arms slightly before sighing dramatically.
"...Fine."
Then after a pause she added:
"I’m such a kind wife."
I decided ignoring that statent was healthier for my ntal stability.
Eventually I entered the bathroom alone while Lillith remained outside humming softly to herself.
The mont the door closed behind —
I imdiately started searching the room.
Then finally—
A window.
I stared at it for several seconds.
Then slowly smiled.
Carefully, I climbed through the opening while trying remain quiet.
Outside, cold night air brushed against my face.
Freedom.
Actual freedom.
anwhile I could still faintly hear Lillith humming happily sowhere on the other side of the bathroom door completely unaware.
I quietly dropped down onto the ground outside the manor.
Alright.
New plan.
Circle around toward the front entrance and find one of the isolated guest rooms sowhere within the manor.
Preferably very far away from Lillith.
I quickly moved around the outer wall of the building.
Then turned the corner—
And froze.
A man wearing a dark cloak stood directly ahead of .
Watching silently.
My entire body stiffened.
The man smiled faintly beneath the hood.
"...Thank you."
My stomach dropped.
"You made this much easier."
I imdiately turned around to run.
Too slow.
Another figure suddenly erged from the darkness and slamd into from behind.
I hit the ground hard before soone pinned down completely.
A cloth was suddenly pressed tightly over my mouth.
A strange sll filled my senses instantly.
Panic surged through as I struggled violently.
The cloaked man calmly crouched beside while my vision slowly began blurring.
"...Careful," another voice muttered nearby. "I can feel traces of mana on him."
A third figure suddenly dropped down from the trees above us.
"Remove it."
The man restraining flipped onto my front before sliding one hand beneath my shirt.
Purple mana imdiately began flowing outward from my chest.
It condensed and moved unnaturally around the man’s hand as if it tried to go back into .
Then—
He crushed it.
And the instant he did—
A sound echoed through the manor behind us.
Not a crash.
Not an explosion.
Sothing worse.
The sound of imnse force ripping through solid structure itself.
Every single cloaked figure froze instantly.
Then from sowhere inside the manor—
Another sound followed.
Heavy.
Fast.
Violent.
The n looked toward the building.
"...Run."
Without another word, they grabbed and imdiately vanished into the forest.
—————
Consciousness returned slowly.
The first thing I noticed was movent.
The second—
Pain.
Every part of my body ached as I slowly opened my eyes.
Dark wooden boards surrounded from all sides while the constant rattling of wheels echoed beneath .
A wagon.
I tried moving—
And chains imdiately rattled loudly.
My wrists and ankles had been bound tightly while a heavy chain connected directly to the wagon floor near the rear behind several large crates.
A gag still covered my mouth.
My breathing quickened slightly as I looked downward.
And froze.
My prosthetic leg was gone.
Everything below my left knee was missing again.
For several long seconds, I simply sat there silently listening to the wagon move.
There wasn’t much else I could do.
Hours passed slowly.
Eventually the sounds around us faded until only the wagon itself remained audible.
No voices.
No nearby travelers.
Nothing.
I leaned my head back against the wooden wall tiredly.
Then suddenly—
The crates beside shifted aside.
One of the cloaked n crouched down beside .
"Well," he muttered, "finally awake."
I glared at him silently.
He smirked slightly.
"We’ve still got a long way before reaching our destination."
The man pointed lazily toward the outside.
"And before you try anything stupid, screaming won’t help. We’re deep in the middle of nowhere."
He reached forward before pulling the gag from my mouth.
Fresh air hit my lungs imdiately.
Then he cut the ropes around my arms while leaving the chains attached.
A bowl of soup and a piece of bread slid across the floor toward .
"I’ll be back in ten minutes," the man said while standing again. "Don’t really care whether you finish eating or not."
Then he disappeared outside again.
I listened quietly afterward.
Two voices spoke sowhere near the front of the wagon.
"...Seriously though, who the hell was that woman?"
Another voice answered nervously.
"We thought she was just so obsessed noble girl following him around."
There was a brief silence.
Then the second man continued:
"Rick had stay behind so we could escape."
My eyes narrowed slightly.
That was probably the third man from the forest.
"...You think he got away?"
The other man laughed nervously.
"After what we saw? Not a chance."
Even chained inside the wagon, I almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
Because if Lillith had caught him—
There were probably fates worse than death currently happening.
Ten minutes later, the sa man returned and tied my arms again before reattaching everything securely.
The journey continued afterward.
One day passed.
Then another.
Then another.
Eventually, after roughly three days, the constant forest sounds began fading.
In their place—
Voices.
Crowds.
A city.
Then ca the sound of massive gates slowly opening.
The wagon rolled forward briefly before stopping abruptly.
The crates shifted aside again.
One of the n crouched down before unlocking the chain connected to the floor.
The mont I tried moving—
WHAM.
A fist slamd directly into my face.
Darkness consud everything instantly.
...
...
...
Cold water dripped sowhere nearby.
That was the first thing I heard when I woke again.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Dark stone walls surrounded .
The air felt damp.
Heavy.
Chains restrained both my arms against the wall behind while filthy water covered portions of the dungeon floor beneath my feet.
I looked downward again.
Still no prosthetic.
Great.
Then suddenly—
Footsteps echoed through the hallway outside.
Slow.
Calm.
Deliberate.
A figure eventually erged from the darkness.
A young man.
Probably around Alex’s age.
Tall and lean with sharp features and dark brown hair slicked neatly backward. Thin burn scars stretched faintly across one side of his neck disappearing beneath the collar of his dark military coat.
His eyes imdiately stood out most.
Cold gray.
Emotionless.
Sothing about him felt strangely familiar.
But I couldn’t place why.
The man stopped directly in front of before calmly speaking.
"Tell about the smoke weapons."
I frowned slightly.
"...What?"
His expression didn’t change.
"The things you used kill my father."
My blood ran cold.
The battlefield.
The mage.
The rifle shot.
Suddenly the resemblance clicked into place.
The eyes.
The scars.
The expression.
This man resembled the mage I killed.
Just younger.
The man calmly continued.
"My na is Kael Veydrin of the Kingdom of Magneto."
He slowly folded his hands behind his back.
"The Veydrin territory was passed down to following my father’s death."
So this really was his son.
I stared at him silently before finally speaking.
"...Why not just kill ?"
Kael looked almost amused by the question.
"Because before you murdered my father, I was rely the son of a declining territory."
His expression remained perfectly calm.
"Now I am its lord."
A long silence followed.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
"But I also want the weapon that killed him."
Of course he did.
I leaned my head back against the wall slightly.
"...It takes months to make them."
"That’s acceptable."
"You don’t understand how difficult they are produce."
"You’ll have plenty of ti explain."
The way he said it made my stomach tighten.
Then calmly—
Almost politely—
Kael stepped closer.
"You will be staying here for the foreseeable future."
I imdiately shook my head.
"No."
For the first ti, a faint smile crossed his face.
"...I wonder how long that resolve will last."
Then he turned away toward the dungeon hallway.
"I’ll return tomorrow."
His footsteps slowly faded into the darkness.
And once again—
I was left completely alone.
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