“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 Mezzlen had been resolved, and my mind wasn’t particularly muddled or distressed this time. Once it’s fastened, only the user’s permission can release it, so this isn’t something that could be put back on me just because I’d had a little to drink. Unless...I somehow wanted to have this collar placed on me 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 remember, 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 somehow in between?
“...And, is this even the dorm?”
The floor beneath me felt different from the wooden floors of the dorm. It was hard, yes, but the surface was carpeted.
It resembled somewhere 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 come out for a moment? Sally?”
“...”
“Sei? If you’re with Sally, could you help me 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 meant to obscure vision, not illuminate it. But in pitch-black darkness, even this faint glow was somewhat helpful.
As I looked around, my eyes caught sight of the Chain of Obedience around my neck, the red carpeted floor, something resembling a dog bowl that I’d accidentally nudged with my hand, and...
“...L...I...L...what?”
Why was my name engraved here?
Feeling a strange sense of foreboding as I stared at this dog bowl, complete with my middle name in engravings, I felt uneasy. It was something of mine, apparently, but I swore I’d never used anything so ridiculous.
And if they were going to put my name 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 something cold and metallic.
-Clank.
“...Huh?”
-Clank, clank.
“What on earth is this...”
It was a metal cage.
What is this? Since when did the dorms...no, the academy, have anything like this?
Did someone convert Isabel’s room or something? The last time I was there, there was nothing like this.
Even the end of {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the collar was securely wound around several metal bars, leaving my body firmly confined within the cage.
“...This...can’t be right.”
I mean, 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 seemed unlikely that Ethan would’ve confined me here, and I couldn’t believe the academy would have a cage like this to hold someone. This was far from reality.
“Wherever this is, Ethan is the one who placed the Chain of Obedience on me, so he’s likely the one who confined me 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 someone else had locked me up instead of Ethan, I’d probably consider something drastic.
Ethan would definitely be hearing about this later. Sure, I’d agreed to ‘certain arrangements’ for training rewards, but treating me 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 me ‘Master Ethan.’ I told you to use my name, didn’t I?”
“...What?”
“Or do you still think you’re my maid, even after leaving me 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 comment on the morning, I noticed that where the window should have been, there was a large metal plate instead. No light could penetrate through the carefully sealed edges of the wall and the metal plate.
“Master Ethan? What’s with the window...”
“Well, don’t expect to be ‘tamed’ 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 me to the dorm table to keep me 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.”
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“...Excuse me?”
What...what did he mean?
“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 memories, 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 mean I wasn’t captured because of my escape attempt?
So Ethan locked me up without any real reason? Why?
And if that happened a year ago, what’s gone on between me and Ethan in that time?
“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 me for a loop.
But, of course, what truly left me speechless was what Ethan called “breakfast” as he placed it in front of me.
-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 “meal.”