CHAPTER 78……………………………..
“Are you saying what Jenny said makes sense?”
「Yes. Your energy has improved lately, but you’ve been sleeping a lot, right?」
“How did you know?”
Tyrin flicked his long, slender snake tongue.
He looked pleased, and even though he hadn’t done me any harm, I had the sudden urge to smack him.
「Good, good. It’s a sign that the spirit’s power is settling well in you. Spirits are naturally in tune with nature. As part of nature itself, they appear extremely beautiful to living beings.」
“Alright, that may be true, but why am I so sleepy?”
I yawned and mumbled the question. My eyes kept drooping.
Even Tyrin’s sharp, piercing voice had a lulling effect, almost like a lullaby.
「Your body is still human, isn’t it? A fragile human body containing such immense natural power instinctively chooses sleep. Don’t you feel refreshed whenever you wake up? …Ah, you’ve already fallen asleep.」
My mind drifted into a haze.
I vaguely thought I heard someone say I slept well.
When I opened my eyes, I felt slightly strange. The air felt different somehow.
“Jenny?”
I rubbed my eyes and called, but there was no reply. The candle was lit, so she must have come in and left.
I got out of bed and put on my coat. Dragging my shoes along, I started walking—but another odd feeling washed over me.
It was hard to describe in words, but if I had to, it was a cold, tingling sensation crawling along my spine, like a cockroach scuttling across.
‘Could something have happened to Jenny?’
Unconsciously, I quickened my pace. As I reached the door and placed my hand on the doorknob,
「Do not go out.」
A hissed, urgent voice. Tyrin.
“What did you say?”
I turned my head. At the same time, the doorknob turned.
‘I didn’t touch it.’
Something felt off. Instinct moved before reason, a sharp pain-like sensation running through me.
I stepped back quickly, and the door flung open.
A group of men poured in.
Thud, thud.
The one at the front walked into the room.
Frozen by the intimidating presence of armed men, I watched as he spoke in a businesslike tone.
“Igrene Lorenst?”
He nodded as if he had received the answer without me saying anything.
“That’s correct. Igrene Lorenst, you are hereby arrested for conspiring with an imperial spy.”
What?
There was no time to respond. Soldiers rushed toward me.
I woke up, and I was in prison.
A perfect description.
‘In my previous life, there was no time to even get imprisoned—I’d go straight to the guillotine. Should I consider this situation better, or not?’
Ssssh!
A cold breeze brushed against my ankles, and something scuttled past my feet.
‘Haven’t seen a rat in a while.’
Thud!
I stomped, and the rat squeaked, disappearing into a hole.
‘The cold is worse than the rat, though.’
Hugging my knees, I took in the bleak prison surroundings.
Gray stone walls cracked and leaking cold air made me shiver instinctively.
“How long do they plan to leave me like this?”
Even as a prisoner, this treatment before any interrogation felt excessive.
Despite the situation being far from what I expected, I felt oddly calm.
I stared at the bars holding me in.
They were made of wood. Aside from the maximum-security prisons for the most heinous criminals, wooden bars were used. Seeing this, it seemed my guilt had not yet been fully determined.
‘Aris must have done something.’
Obviously.
I approached the wooden bars.
‘If things get seriously out of hand, I need a way to escape.’
The bars looked old. Without an axe, escaping on my own seemed difficult.
‘Can I do it?’
I casually grabbed the bars and applied force.
Curious how strong they were.
‘They don’t feel that solid.’
I pushed harder. It was just a test, nothing else.
Crack!
‘…What the—?’
The wooden bars splintered and fell below. Cold sweat ran down my back.
Even with my strength, this was unexpected.
Tyrin shouted in delight.
「It’s your body reinforced by your clan’s power!」
Isn’t this overkill?
The first thought that came to mind was destroying evidence. Fortunately, it was only slightly broken. If I pretended nothing happened, no one would know…
At that moment, a guard entered the cell, and our eyes met.
“Wait, no, this isn’t—what’s happening?”
The guard, with purple lips, looked at me, at my hands, and finally at the broken bars, then shouted.
“Escape attempt!”
No, that wasn’t my intention. Not yet.
Ten minutes after the incident in the cell, I was transferred to a maximum-security prison.
A new cell filled with iron bars sturdy enough to withstand an axe.
Fortunately, no rats, but it was crawling with fleas.
I stuck my hands in my clothes to scratch furiously, then finally stood up. I glared at the blanket covering the bed and shook myself off.
The itch finally subsided.
A brief sigh of relief, then a wave of doubt—why was I even in this situation?
‘The rat would have been better.’
It had been only a day since being dragged into prison, and no one had come for me.
To intimidate me, perhaps?
‘They haven’t forgotten me, right?’
Frustration built up from having no one come to check on the situation.
So when the door opened after a full day, I was almost glad to see it was a one-eyed, grim-faced guard.
“Do you know a man named Jacques? They say you have a connection with him.”
Ruffling paper, the one-eyed guard glanced at me.
While imprisoned, I had been curious what scheme Aris had pulled.
Was she just trying to pin her crimes on me?
I shook my head at the observing guard.
“He’s not mine; he’s Miss Aris’s boyfriend.”
“Huh. That’s what she said you’d claim.”
“You can check the recent noble trials. Jacques is the man truly connected with the imperial agent.”
[…]
“Aris claimed it wasn’t me? And that’s why I’m imprisoned?”
Strange.
Aris had already been tried and convicted.
No matter what she claimed, as a criminal, it wouldn’t have mattered. So why did soldiers with an article come for me?
Something’s up.
The guard tossed a bundle of letters in front of me.
“Read them. They’re evidence.”
Reading them one by one, I couldn’t suppress a laugh.
Each was a letter confessing secret love to someone.
They were ordinary love letters, except my seal was on all of them.
“The handwriting is different.”
“That’s your opinion. To me, it looks similar. And the seal is clearly there.”
“Who openly uses their seal on secret love letters?”
The guard, unable to answer, changed the topic.
“Do you know someone called Shinu?”
“The one who tried to kidnap Princess Laratou.”
“Yes. He mentioned you. He said the woman who helped him kidnap the princess was you. Your description matches his story.”
“Hah, that’s ridiculous. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have been caught. And you claim I’m his accomplice?”
“It’s hard to say.”
Hard to say?
“Stop with the nonsense.”
“….”
“Tell me the real reason.”
The guard, pretending to study documents, finally rolled his one eye toward me.
“Did you get on the princess’s bad side?”
My body froze. Seeing my expression, the guard clicked his tongue.
“Too bad.”
“….”
“The princess thinks Aris Dolencia’s claims have some merit. A formal investigator will come to question her. It may not matter much, though.”
His voice sounded distant. I blinked, holding onto consciousness.
Still, compared to my previous life, this was slightly better.
“Does the king know I’m here?”
Could the princess’s status protect me? A faint hope.
“He said that if one has sinned, they should set an example as a royal family member.”
He closed his mouth. It was as if I had been deemed useless.
To the royal family, I was only a tool to lure Giovanni.
If I was no longer needed, that meant one of two things:
Either my presence wouldn’t help sway Giovanni, or Giovanni himself was no longer necessary.
‘If it’s the latter, he’s in danger too.’
That thought made me uneasy.
“I know your story. When divine punishment fell, the nobles locked their doors, but you went to the commoner district’s canal and helped people. Many, like me, admired you for that.”
“….”
“You won’t be executed. The princess is merciful, so you’ll likely receive exile.”
Though expected, it offered little comfort.
Even the day after the guard visited, I remained in prison.
Finally, in the afternoon, a visitor arrived.
She approached cautiously, as if stepping on poison on the dark prison floor. Her face was beautiful but somber.
It was Karsatuna.
“Princess Laratou is on Aris Dolencia’s side. Miss Dolencia keeps claiming Igrene is strange.”
“Does the princess really think I conspired with an imperial spy?”
I flinched.
Seeing her set jaw, I felt conflicted.
“I knew you disliked me, but I didn’t expect you to hate me this much.”
“That you must understand, Igrene. The princess has never failed to get her way.”
Karsatuna muttered weakly.
“This isn’t just because of the prince and Igrene’s relationship.”
“She probably thinks I betrayed her.”
Her eyes widened.
