My heart was pounding wildly. Maybe I was starting to lose my grip on things like this, but the rush of adrenaline hit my head hard.
"This criminal bla… bla bla…"
"Right…"
Fortunately, the unsuspecting guards had turned another way. So even when I stepped out of my hiding spot, I could slip away unnoticed.
"Hmph…"
Apparently, the long-haired man who was coming to his senses tried to say something.
"Oh, sorry, sorry…"
I slowly removed the hand I had clamped over his mouth, stepping back.
"You… are prisoners even allowed to walk around here at this hour?" — he said in an even tone, but there was a barely noticeable surprise in his voice.
"Oh, that…"
(And what the hell am I supposed to say? We weren't even friends, so why would this guard agree to cover for me?)
"Sorry, I really didn't know…" — I said guiltily, lowering my lashes and using my most innocent voice.
(Why is he even here? Was he a guard of the dungeon? That would explain why I rarely saw him compared to the other guards.)
"Phah…" Covering his mouth with his hand, he silently sized me up.
I swear I heard a chuckle…
"You say you ended up here by accident?"
"Right, I didn't want to go this far. Please don't give me away, okay? I promise I won't cause any more trouble."
Partly, it was true. Since I was lost, I had no purpose to come here.
"And why should I do that?"
Pausing for a second, he replied with a smirk.
"Aren't we friends? Besides, since I'm a noble and barely know magic, it's clear I had no ill intent."
Confidently lifting my head, I looked into his eyes.
(Come on, look into my big sky-blue eyes. Could such a lovely person like me have bad intentions?)
"Oh, alright. Just don't do that again, okay? You could get seriously punished if someone else caught you." — ruffling his hair, he finally agreed with me.
"Really? I'm so grateful!"
---
Walking down the corridor, something bumped into me. A second later, a thin hand pressed tightly against my mouth. It was that girl, right? I immediately recognized her by her long pink hair.
(But why was she here? Wasn't she supposed to try to escape?)
I pondered this, carefully ignoring how wildly her heart was beating while we hid.
(How interesting. Is she so scared of getting caught, or is the adrenaline hitting her head?)
Thinking this over, I shook my head, realizing the others had left.
"Sorry, sorry!"
She started apologizing, how cute.
"You… are prisoners even allowed to walk here at this time?" — I said in an even tone, trying to hide my emotions.
Clearly caught off guard, she began to justify herself.
If I were truly an unsuspecting guard, she would have seemed like a naive noblewoman to me.
But the fact that she immediately saw my true face, hidden behind the illusion, said a lot.
After that funny conversation when we first met in the dining hall, as my real self, the second time she revealed my appearance without any tricks.
The fact that she didn't see the illusion of a "simple guard's face" the second time, and in the following times — said something was wrong with her.
Or maybe my life only had stupid and identical people; this woman, who spoke so easily about suicide, piqued my interest so much that I even decided to help her escape, planting an escape plan and luring her with an illusion of "attracting attention." I wonder what illusion she saw?
"Oh, alright… Just don't do that anymore, okay?"
"You could get seriously punished if someone else caught you."
"Really? I'm so grateful!"
When I finally agreed, her face brightened.
"Come to think of it, all this time we haven't even learned each other's names. You don't know mine, do you?" — she said, pondering.
Everyone addressed each other by name, and some even by full titles. No one dared to call nobles by numbers like "Noble 36151."
I wasn't really sure of her title. But others called her Rosie? Her name was Rosalyn?
Thanks to the tedious work that brought me here, I thought I'd go crazy, but only her sight made me feel better.
"Rosalyn, could I not know?" — I said confidently.
Even if it's better when the voice is confident, right?
"So you know my name… So only I don't know yours? How awkward, haha…"
"Lucas. You can call me that."
"Then just call me Rosie."
"We're friends, right? So you can just call me that!"
I nodded. Her voice sounded so innocent and sweet that I almost believed she really ended up here by accident.
But to be sure, let's go back to the source…
When I first saw her, doubts immediately came to me. She spoke to me so simply, sharing plans for a quick death.
And then I saw her again, and everyone around only talked about the dangerous noble prisoner who almost killed the head of the assassin's guild and made a maniac cry…
Who would have thought, but she didn't stop trying to kill herself "through the intermediary" after the first failed attempt.
And if that were the end.
(The strangest thing was that she saw my face, covered by illusions, the second time...)
(I even had to tell her I worked here to avoid trouble.) And after meeting in the garden, she definitely talked about a "dream."
She was either crazy, or I was the crazy one here.
And I really got interested in this oddball? Despite the "terrifying reputation of a dangerous prisoner," she surprisingly had a way with words. And she got along well with others…
Apparently, of the two of us, I'm the crazy one here. Although with a job like this, it's not surprising.
No matter how you look at it, everything about her was suspicious.
And this could explain several theories.
She really wanted to kill herself, but her fragile noble mind cracked. Then what I came up with was just ridiculous.
Second, the cuckoo was the one with a screw loose — me. But that didn't lessen the questions in my head… haha…
Third.
Her soul came from another world and settled in this body. This theory explained all the uncertainties.
Rosie, huh?