Chapter 09
Clank—
The rusty iron-barred door creaked open with a sharp noise.
“Go inside. If you cause trouble here, you’d better be prepared for punishment.”
Feeling a firm push on my back, I naturally stepped into the prison-like space. I had expected a solitary confinement cell to be a fully enclosed room, but this place resembled more of an underground dungeon.
And in that pitch-black space, Michael lay bound with ropes, his limbs tied up as he lay sprawled carelessly on the floor.
‘Oh my, he looks like a mess.’
His back and shoulders, partially visible in the dim light, were stained with blood, a clear sign that he had been through something brutal. Glancing briefly at the iron door that had just closed with a screech, I carefully took a step forward, groping through the darkness to reach Michael.
Fortunately, his mysterious silver hair gleamed even in the dim light, making his presence unmistakable. I knelt beside him and examined his condition.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“…..”
I called out to Michael softly, but when he didn’t respond, I crouched down properly and began flipping him over to check his condition in earnest.
His back bore marks of a whip, his shoulders were scraped, and his eye was swollen and bruised, as if he had been punched.
‘Wow. This is worse than I thought. Will the medicine I brought even be enough?’
I hadn’t expected him to be in such bad shape. Judging by his ragged breathing and the cold sweat dripping from his forehead, he was clearly in bad shape.
‘First, let’s get him treated.’
I untied the ropes binding Michael and carefully applied medicine to his wounds. I had never wrapped bandages before, but leaving the injuries exposed seemed worse, so I did my best to wrap them, even if clumsily. Once I finished, he looked at least slightly better than before.
Not that I could say for sure—I wasn’t exactly an expert in this area.
Hmm… But at least this should be acceptable, right?
‘Well, in the original story, he didn’t die here… so he should be fine.’
I felt like a fool for voluntarily walking into solitary confinement to save someone who would have survived anyway. But if I hadn’t done this, Michael would have undoubtedly grown into a disaster, killing Lizzie and destroying the world.
“Alright.”
Now that the treatment was done, I thought about getting some rest, but seeing Michael sprawled on the cold ground nagged at me.
‘Sleeping directly on the floor is going to hurt his back and neck… What should I do?’
In the end, I dragged his limp body over and sat against the wall, letting him rest on my lap. This seemed better than just leaving him on the hard floor.
“He really does look cute.”
It wasn’t a white lie—Michael had such delicate, gentle features it was almost dispiriting. When I had seen him in the room before, his dead eyes staring into nothingness had been unsettling, but now, quietly asleep, he looked completely different.
If I had seen him somewhere else, I probably would have admired his beauty and become his most devoted fan.
Without realizing it, my hand moved to his silvery hair, stroking it the way one would pet a puppy.
“Mmm…”
Seemingly pleased by my touch, Michael instinctively burrowed deeper into my embrace, resting his head against me. His action reminded me of Lizzie, who often did the same.
‘Ah, right. Lizzie.’
I wonder how Lizzie is doing…
She had clung to me, crying and begging me not to go, but now that I was here in solitary confinement, my return was delayed even further. I wondered if she was still worrying about me.
Then again, I quickly dismissed the thought.
Even my niece would cry and wail, “Auntie, don’t go! If you leave, I won’t eat!” But when I called home to check, I heard she had properly eaten her meal and snacks before going to bed early.
Kids her age were stubborn but quick to forget things.
‘Well, there shouldn’t be a problem.’
Feeling reassured, I pushed the thought of Lizzie out of my mind and leaned my head back against the wall, slowly closing my eyes.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
Three days had passed since Mary had disappeared.
During that time, the room was filled with an unsettling silence, with no one daring to break it. Only then did Lizzie realize how eerily quiet this place could be.
Until now, she hadn’t noticed because Mary had talked to her right from the start, but the room was much larger—and far quieter—than she had thought.
‘What if something happened to Mary?’
If Mary never came back…
Even the mere thought of it made Lizzie feel like she was suffocating. Hugging the stuffed rabbit in her arms tightly did nothing to ease the anxiety in her chest.
‘It’s because of me… Because of me… Mary….’
Lizzie buried her face deeply into her rabbit doll.
Her nose tingled, her eyes stung, and soon, hot tears welled up, ready to spill over at any moment. She knew that crying wouldn’t change anything, yet she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
Clank—
“It’s walking time. Everyone come out.”
It had already been the third walk since Mary had gone missing. Lizzie quickly turned around and rushed toward the caretaker standing by the door, letting the children out.
“Ex-excuse me…!”
Normally, she wouldn’t have had the courage to even look up properly, but for the first time, Lizzie forced herself to speak to the caretaker. The caretaker frowned impatiently at Lizzie, who hesitated instead of following instructions.
Seeing the caretaker’s expression, Lizzie struggled to hold back her tears and slowly opened her mouth.
“M-Mary still hasn’t come back… S-So… h-has something… happened to her?”
“Mary?”
The caretaker tilted his head at the unfamiliar name before letting out a short “Ah—” in realization.
“You’re talking about that brown-haired girl.”
As if he had finally recalled who Mary was, he gave a curt nod and then relayed the news about her with a detached, indifferent gaze.
“If you mean the brown-haired one from this room, she’s locked up in solitary confinement right now.”
“What…?”
“You lot better remember this well. If you go to education and make a mistake in front of a noble, this is what happens to you. You don’t know yet because you haven’t been there, but the solitary confinement… is a terrifying place. So terrifying that this room will feel like heaven in comparison.”
The caretaker let out a low chuckle as if it were all a joke.
Lizzie stood frozen in place, too shocked to say a word, while the caretaker sneered at her reaction and continued his warning.
“In that pitch-black place, without food or water, all you get is endless punishment. Some kids go mad from it, completely losing their minds. I don’t know how long that girl will last, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you. Hah.”
After delivering his message, the caretaker seemed satisfied that he had scared them enough. He left a final remark, telling them to forget about Mary, and then walked away.
Lizzie watched his retreating figure before her legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot.
‘It’s my fault. Because of me… Mary…’
Her already anxious eyes began to tremble even more, and in the end, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
“L-Lizzie… D-Don’t cry… D-Don’t… hhic….”
Cecil came over, trying to offer words of comfort, but she, too, couldn’t stop herself from sobbing. None of them could believe what had happened to Mary. They didn’t want to believe it. Everyone in the room felt the same way.
Abel, who had also heard the news, clenched his fists tightly, unable to suppress his frustration. He stared at the blanket on the floor, his knuckles turning white from the force of his grip.
“Ugh… hhic… Haaah… Waaaah—!”
It’s my, my fault… Because of me… Mary…
In the end, Lizzie broke down completely, sobbing loudly as she sat there on the floor. The button eye of her stuffed rabbit, squeezed too tightly, popped off and rolled across the ground. But Lizzie didn’t even think about picking it up.
All she could do was cry.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
You can also check my Ko-fi for more chapters!
Thank YOU for reading! ♡
