Chapter 48
The only one I liked was Richard, yet he couldn’t believe my sincerity. I answered in a bitter voice,
“I liked you.”
Even now, I still only like him—Richard. Shamelessly, I even felt wronged.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“……!”
I was at a loss for words.
“You say you like me, but you had a secret meeting with the warden. Go ahead and tell me that was just a misunderstanding.”
“That’s…”
My eyes darted around. There was no excuse. The scene he had caught was too damning to lie my way out of.
Whatever the reason, the fact remained: I had betrayed him. There was no way to defend myself.
Richard spoke in a miserable voice.
“I understand what you mean. I’m no longer necessary to you.”
If no one had been watching, I would’ve grabbed my own hair and torn it out. He was the most essential partner in my escape plan, yet now he thought he was no longer needed! As if I could dig a tunnel with a spoon all by myself. Please, remember the promise you made with me!
His dark, sunken eyes held nothing. Hoping he would remember our promise, I said,
“I still need you! So keep the promise.”
Luckily, Richard seemed to recall the promise we had made, and his sharp demeanor softened a little.
“You’re leaving me behind and yet asking me to keep my promise. I can’t understand what you’re thinking. Are you trying to keep me liking you so I won’t stop being useful to you?”
My chest tightened and I wanted to sigh.
“How cruel. You’re telling me to keep waiting for you, staring only at you.”
I bit my lip. Of everything he had said, that was closest to my actual intention. I decided to be honest.
“Something like that. Until I call for you, wait quietly.”
“I’ll wait. But…”
The ominous pause filled me with unease.
“If you abandon me and go to the warden, never coming back… then you’ll have to be ready for the consequences.”
What consequences?
“When we’re out of Fortress, I’ll reverse it—I’ll tie Veronica down and make her wait for me all day long. You’ll never escape me.”
…What? Did I hear that right? I was stunned.
Prison really must make people strange. How could the chivalrous, textbook-knight Richard say he’d tie me up?
He must’ve said it out of anger. I didn’t take it seriously and brushed it off with a light laugh.
“Sure. When we’re out of Fortress Prison, do whatever you want.”
Rustle rustle. If looks had sound, that’s what I would’ve heard. Walking down the prison hallway, I was attracting more attention than ever.
Normally, I might have enjoyed being the center of attention, but not when the eyes belonged to convicts. And certainly not when the looks carried gossip about me.
“They say that knight’s totally broken. One day he’s stuck to her like glue, and now look…”
“I knew it. She’s got the looks to pull that kind of stunt.”
I had officially become the bad woman of Fortress Prison. Whether it was because someone had seen the scene during exercise time or because rumors about me and Kyle had spread through the guards, I didn’t know.
A wicked woman weighing two men in her hands, tossing one away without mercy—that’s what they said I was. Really, doesn’t the nickname “Witch of Fortress” fit perfectly?
I gave a bitter smile. Under their unpleasant stares, I walked toward the fourth floor. Since becoming “Kyle’s woman,” my life in the cell had changed 180 degrees.
I felt like I was reigning over Fortress Prison as a queen. On the very day I agreed, Kyle had offered to move me to the second floor, where high-ranking nobles and model prisoners stayed, but I refused.
If I was preparing to escape with Richard, I couldn’t afford to distance myself from him. I was curious about the second floor’s layout, but since I had more freedom of movement now, there was no need to change cells.
Kyle had told me to let him know anytime I changed my mind. When I said I didn’t want to move cells, he unexpectedly transformed the underground cell into a noble’s room instead.
Ironically, I felt more comfortable in body and mind than I had outside prison.
The food quality had also improved dramatically—no wonder, since I now dined with Kyle every day.
‘I expected a major change when I accepted his offer…’
But Kyle’s attitude hadn’t changed much at all. He gave me more conveniences, but he didn’t let me completely break the rules either. Even calling me only during mealtimes was because he was busy with work the rest of the time.
It left me unsure how to deal with him.
‘It’s a little awkward. Is it just me?’
“What are you looking around for?”
Kyle was waiting for me, legs crossed like a graceful beast. His long leg was draped over his opposite knee.
“Is it just the two of us?”
Kyle’s lips curved as if to say, “Isn’t that obvious?” I awkwardly sat down at the table laid out with food. Like some Last Supper, a feast of delicacies spread out before us.
For just two people, it was an absurdly varied array of dishes. How on earth did they bring this food into the prison?
Without much conversation, Kyle quietly ate while watching me, and I forced myself to stuff the food into my stomach so none would be left. Immediately, a chiding remark came.
“You don’t have to force it down. I had them prepare different dishes because I didn’t know what you liked. I wanted to learn your tastes.”
In truth, I was so tense, worrying that he might unleash the desires he’d held back, that I couldn’t even taste the food.
When Kyle suddenly moved, I choked and began coughing.
“Don’t hold it in. Just spit it out.”
He patted my back. His hand rubbed gently until I calmed down.
“I’m not going to eat you. Relax and eat.”
Had my nervousness shown? When I looked up awkwardly, a sly remark quickly followed.
“Or is that what you’re hoping for?”
“Cough, what?”
“Should I meet your expectations?”
When he leaned toward me with one hand braced on the chair, his eyes trembled with a rough intensity. Was the inevitable moment finally here?
I hesitated, wondering whether to pretend to fall for his seduction, but then Kyle straightened and pulled back. I let out the breath I’d been holding.
Kyle looked down at me with a tilted expression.
“You’re quiet today. Acting weird too.”
“Y-you came at me all of a sudden. That’s why.”
“Why are you nervous?”
“When someone you’re interested in comes close, it’s normal to be nervous. Don’t you feel anything?”
“……”
This was the beginning of pretending to like Kyle. I had to make it look real, but I kept slipping into my usual speech and stiff, unnatural movements.
“Do you get butterflies when I come this close?”
He seemed determined to seduce me in earnest. My heart couldn’t handle this man. Though we were alone, he had never gone beyond light contact.
If anything, that made it more nerve-wracking—I was always aware of when Kyle might move closer. This Kyle, who neither forced me nor even threatened me, felt like a completely different person.
It was good for me… but it didn’t put me at ease.
I shyly turned my gaze away.
‘Did he unbutton those to tempt me?’
Once I noticed, I couldn’t help but register his hairstyle and the couple of buttons undone at his collar. Buttons reminded me of unbuttoning Richard’s shirt.
No, better not think of Richard now. I shook my head to clear the thought.
At some point, Kyle, who had been quietly observing me, ran a hand through the hair falling over his forehead. Despite the casual motion, his eyes…
“Why are you staring so hard? Like I said before, it’s uncomfortable to be watched while eating…”
“It feels like you’re actually opening your heart to me.”
“……”
Kyle’s low voice reverberated lazily. He gazed at me steadily with drowsy eyes.
The longer his gaze held mine, the more it felt like my breath was being stolen, the fine hairs on my body standing on end. Whether it was thrill or tension, I couldn’t tell, but the atmosphere crushed me.
“Do you think you’re starting to love me now?”
