15th Day of Confinement.
Lately, my body feels strange.
Even after sleeping deeply, I wake up with a lingering sense of fatigue.
I thought it might be muscle loss, so I increased the intensity of my training, but it didn’t help.
“Once again, you look like death today. Are you sure you’re not seriously ill?”
Sherry, who brought me breakfast, asked as she looked at my face.
The slight tremor in her voice betrayed her concern.
“I’m not in any particular pain. It’s just that my body feels unusually heavy.”
“Did you sleep in a strange position?”
“If that were the case, I’d only feel stiffness in certain areas. But now, my whole body feels numb.”
“Well, that’s quite the mystery.”
That wasn’t the only odd thing.
When I fall asleep, it’s as if I lose consciousness entirely, like a film cutting off.
One day, I fell asleep collapsed on the floor, but when I woke up, I was back in bed.
Someone might have moved me to the bed, but Sherry claimed to know nothing about it.
Besides Sherry, there’s no one else here who would show me any kindness.
“Could it be Letia Heter?”
Even I found the thought laughable.
A hero sneaking into my sleeping quarters at night to personally move me to bed?
And for someone like me, a former citizen of the Empire?
It seemed more realistic to imagine waking up back in my hospital bed from a past life.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“Just some ridiculous daydreams. Nothing to worry about.”
“There you go again! Saying things that make people curious!”
“This time, it’s too embarrassing to say out loud.”
As Sherry and I were bantering back and forth, a familiar sound of someone clearing their throat came from somewhere nearby.
“Ahem!”
“Ah! I-I should go do the laundry! I’ll come back later to collect the dishes!”
As if uneasy about the new visitor, Sherry hurriedly fled.
From the opposite direction of Sherry’s departure, a silver-haired woman approached gracefully.
Letia peeked inside the cell, scanning the interior.
After confirming there were no obvious issues, she began glancing at me.
“What brings you here today?”
“I happened to overhear someone mentioning full-body aches while passing by. As the person in charge, it’s important to check on the health of our prisoner.”
“So, are you here to give me a massage?”
“Shall I?”
Letia, unexpectedly taking my sarcastic remark seriously, left me momentarily at a loss for words.
Before I could say it was just a passing comment, she pulled out a key and stepped inside.
Entering the prison without any safeguards—if she were my subordinate, I’d have scolded her for being out of her mind.
But she wasn’t my subordinate, and she had more than enough skill to overpower me, so I stayed quiet.
If I made any suspicious moves, her sword wouldn’t stay idle.
“Please lie face down on the bed.”
“A-Are you really going to give me a massage?”
“Do I seem like someone who lies?”
Her calm response made me feel like the strange one.
Though uneasy, I followed her instructions and lay face down on the bed.
Letia climbed on top of me without hesitation.
I could feel the warmth of her hips resting against my lower back.
It made me tense for no reason.
“It might hurt a little.”
“I don’t mind.”
Letia’s gentle hands touched my arms and back, skillfully releasing the tension in my muscles.
She applied the right amount of pressure, using her elbows or body weight to press down on particularly stiff areas.
Overall, it was a refreshing massage.
“By the way, I have some important news to share with you, so listen with an open mind.”
Could it be?
Could the war be over, and I’d be returning to my homeland?
I knew I was indulging in wishful thinking, but it was worth hoping for, wasn’t it?
At least, it sounded more plausible than Princess Ariel risking everything to rescue me.
“In a few days, the kingdom will host a gladiator tournament. Applications are open to anyone, regardless of status, so even a prisoner like you can participate.
However, since it’s organized by the kingdom, there will undoubtedly be underhanded efforts to disadvantage someone like you from the Empire.”
“Which means the rewards for winning must be significant, right?”
“If you win, you’ll have the chance to return to the Empire. Alternatively, you could naturalize into the Kingdom of Lyor, or make one wish—anything you want.”
“Oh?”
The offer was extremely tempting.
A gladiator tournament that even someone like me, despised by the Kingdom’s people, could enter.
And the prize?
A wish of my choosing if I won.
It would undoubtedly be a tough fight, but there was no reason not to participate.
However, there was one thing I had to confirm.
“By any chance…”
“If you’re worried about me participating, rest assured—I won’t. I can’t go into detail, but I’ll be heading to the front lines soon.
At most, I’ll be able to watch the first qualifying match and the final.”
Letia, as if reading my thoughts, addressed my concern before I could even voice it.
I felt relieved.
After all, if I fought my way to the finals only to find Letia standing there, it would’ve been utterly demoralizing.
“Of course, it’s not mandatory. I just wanted to give you the opportunity. Take your time to think it over and let me know if you decide to participate.”
I was deeply grateful that she shared this news.
Being cut off from the outside world, I wouldn’t have even known such a tournament existed if she hadn’t told me.
Even if I had somehow learned about the tournament,
I was in no position to voice a desire to participate.
Yet Letia not only refrained from hiding it but also guaranteed that I could enter.
It was an overwhelming amount of kindness—almost too much to handle.
“Why are you being so good to me?”
The tension in my body had disappeared thanks to the massage, and before I realized it, my thoughts slipped out of my mouth.
I immediately regretted it, but the words were already spoken and couldn’t be taken back.
“As I thought, you don’t remember,” she said.
“What?”
Remember?
Her statement landed like a bombshell.
The way she spoke, it was as though she’d known me before.
Was I famous in the Kingdom?
But during my trial, I’d overheard that no one had ever heard of a one-armed knight from the Empire.
There was one girl I vaguely remembered, but she had been a maid.
It was so long ago, and the chaos of the fire back then left my memories of her face hazy.
“You don’t have to pay it any mind. It was just me talking to myself.”
“And now you tell me not to think about it…”
“Fufu, my apologies. I didn’t mean to make it weigh on your mind.”
“Ugh!”
Smack!
Letia gave my back a firm pat, signaling the end of the massage, and stepped away.
She walked out of the prison, locking the door behind her.
“Well then, I’ll come by again later,” she said, leaving with a brief farewell.
As Letia’s figure faded into the distance, her retreating back somehow seemed lonely.
She told me not to worry about it, but then left me with that impression—what was I supposed to do with that?
My thoughts grew heavier.
Since being captured by the Kingdom, I hadn’t missed a single meal.
Yet, for the first time, I didn’t touch my food.
Sherry worried, asking if I was really unwell, but I explained it wasn’t that.
The decision to participate in the tournament and the possibility of a past connection with Letia—they weighed heavily on my mind, leaving no room to think about eating.
“So, I’ll participate in the tournament, but it’ll be dangerous…”
As an Imperial knight, the tournament would undoubtedly be filled with schemes to ensure I couldn’t win.
Some would likely even feign accidents in an attempt to kill me.
If I wanted to return to the Empire, I’d have to risk my life.
On the other hand, if I didn’t participate, I’d live safely and comfortably, albeit uncertain of when I’d be released.
For reasons I didn’t yet understand, one thing was clear: Letia harbored goodwill toward me.
So, should I choose safety and remain idle?
Or take the risk and challenge myself?
“If my master were here, he’d push me forward, even if it meant death.”
In truth, this wasn’t a problem that required much deliberation.
The tournament wasn’t my greatest concern—it was my past connection with Letia.
No matter how much I thought about it, the most likely explanation was that Letia was the girl I had saved from the flames.
But even so, it was hard to accept.
How could a maid who barely survived such a catastrophe grow into a hero capable of saving the Kingdom?
If Letia truly was that girl, then I’d have to admit that I indirectly brought my homeland to the brink of destruction.
Her blade alone had taken tens of thousands of soldiers’ lives and dozens of knights’.
The damage she inflicted as a single person was more devastating than that caused by the Kingdom’s entire coalition.
If it became known that I saved someone with power comparable to a nation’s authority, the Emperor would undoubtedly want me dead.
“Ugh, it’s horrifying just thinking about it.”
Choosing defection wasn’t an option either;
I couldn’t abandon Princess Ariel, with whom I’d built both fond and bitter memories over ten years.
Could our naive princess manage just fine without me?
As I lay in bed, pondering endlessly, I unknowingly drifted off to sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, darkness had already fallen.
This time, it felt like I had only napped briefly, yet unlike usual, there was no lingering stiffness.
Was it the effect of Letia’s massage?
“Are you really asleep?”
Speak of the devil—Letia’s voice came from beyond the iron bars.
Since I hadn’t sat up, she seemed to assume I was asleep.
I could’ve let her know I was awake, but curiosity about why she’d come late at night made me feign sleep instead.
I cracked my eyes open slightly to see what she would do.
“Carefully…”
Letia crept closer, raising her steps cautiously like a prowling cat.
Muttering something indecipherable, she suddenly hopped onto my bed.
Without hesitation, she slipped under the covers, wiggling about before her face popped out right next to mine.
“Eek!”
I almost screamed but barely managed to hold it in by biting down on my teeth.
“This is already the fifth night we’ve spent together, huh?”
Spent together?
Five nights?
Could it be that all those evenings when I mysteriously blacked out were Letia’s doing?Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten dinner today.
Had she been drugging my food with sleeping pills every night?
Knocking me out, visiting after dark, and climbing into bed—this was straight out of a succubus’s playbook!
“Well then, shall we begin…?”
Oh no, oh no, oh no!
My mind spiraled with panic, but a tiny part of me couldn’t help feeling thrilled.
After all, this was like the legendary “night crawling” tales brought to life.
Even though my purity had long been compromised, the chance to experience this firsthand was undeniably exciting.
Come on, bring it on!
“Alright!”
Letia suddenly threw her arms around me, her boldness catching me off guard.
But just as quickly, she began nuzzling her cheek against my body.
Then she spread my one remaining arm wide, resting her head on it like a pillow.
She even guided my hand to the top of her head, coaxing me to pet her.
“Hehe! Let’s sleep together again tonight!”
What is this adorable creature?