"Can't sleep?"
Noah snapped back to reality. The voice came from one of the other inmates, breaking through the quiet that had settled over the cell.
Noah turned his head slightly.
"What about you, Krepin? You look even worse than I do."
On the day Noah and Bale were arrested, two more prisoners had been shoved into the cell before nightfall. One of them was Krepin, a friend of Bale's.
Krepin had gotten along with Bale from the start, and because of that, Noah found himself dragged into their small circle as well.
Noah liked to think it was because of his own ability to get along with people. After all, he was a commoner too. He understood how to speak without stepping on someone's pride.
But he also knew that was not the real reason.
He simply chose not to look too deeply into it.
Krepin looked drained. Dark circles were beginning to form under his eyes, and the tension in his face never truly left. Even when he laughed, it seemed forced.
Still, he sat upright instead of leaning against the wall. His shoulders remained squared, as if he refused to appear weak in front of the others.
Yawning, Krepin stretched his legs as far as he could.
"Sleeping on the floor isn't really good for my back, you know."
Before the last word left his mouth, Raoul's boot nudged into Krepin's back from the corner.
"What do you know about back pain, brat?" Raoul grumbled. "You're as young as they get."
Unlike Krepin, who looked about Noah's age, Raoul was much older, somewhere in his forties. Deep wrinkles lined his face, and streaks of white had begun to spread through his hair. Even sitting down, he carried the rough presence of someone who had seen too much of the world.
Rubbing his back, Krepin shot him a glare.
"Keep your legs to yourself, old fart."
Raoul shifted forward as if ready to lunge, but Bale spoke before things could escalate.
"Can't you two get along for once?" he said tiredly. "I'm already starving as it is."
Unlike the other two, Bale seemed calm. Noah could not even see his face since he sat facing the wall, knees drawn up slightly. Every now and then, his hands tightened and then loosened again. Each movement produced a faint clicking sound, small but noticeable in the quiet cell.
Noah narrowed his eyes slightly.
'At least try to hide it better.'
Scoffing softly, Noah shifted his weight against the wall.
"The warden hasn't shown up today. I was wondering when we'd see her again."
He had started keeping track of time through her visits, since there was nothing else to mark the passing hours.
Bale chuckled and glanced over his shoulder.
"What, got a thing for older women?" he said. "Say the word, Noah. I know a few who'd be happy to meet someone like you."
Raoul let out a rough laugh. Krepin joined in, the tension in his face easing slightly. Noah felt heat rise to his ears but decided not to argue. Seeing Krepin relax even a little made it worth letting the joke slide.
Bale's hands continued their quiet movements. Then, without turning around, he spoke again, his voice softer than before.
"But seriously… what would you like to do once you get out of here?"
Noah couldn't help but feel a strange hollowness at Bale's question. It lingered in his chest longer than he expected, as if the words had stirred something he had been avoiding.
In his mind, his only purpose was to find Iriel as quickly as possible and return. He knew Elira or Leon would most likely reach her first. Compared to them, he had neither the strength nor the influence to compete.
Even so, he wanted to try.
He knew the Emperor underestimated him. Leon did too. Finding Iriel first would not only prove his worth but also shift the situation in his favor. It would give him something he had never truly had before — leverage.
With everything happening around him, even a small advantage would be enough to breathe.
Instead, he had been arrested before he could take even a single meaningful step. Now he had spent nearly a week staring at the same walls, listening to the same sounds, waiting for something to change.
'I'm certain they've already found her by now. I wouldn't be surprised if they've already left the city.'
Letting out a quiet breath, Noah forced a small smile.
"There's someone I need to find," he said. "I don't know where they are or how I'll find them. But once I do… I'd like to visit the docks someday."
He paused, searching for something lighter to add.
"I heard there's a festival in the lower districts soon. I'd like to see that too."
Noah had wanted to lie. But after spending days in the same cell as Bale, he knew it would not work. Bale listened carefully, watched reactions, and weighed every word people spoke.
He was far sharper than he pretended to be.
Despite his friendly demeanor, Bale was cautious, calculating, and observant. Noah could understand why the Revolutionary Front trusted him.
But Noah was not entirely honest either. He revealed just enough truth to sound genuine while hiding the parts that mattered most. That way, Bale would not know what was real and what was not.
Krepin and Raoul fell quiet after hearing him. Their expressions softened, tinged with something close to guilt. It was the kind of silence that came from people carrying burdens they could not speak about.
Noah noticed, but chose not to press them.
Bale, on the other hand, continued working with his hands as if the conversation no longer concerned him. The faint clicking resumed, steady and deliberate. It almost felt like he had forgotten he asked the question in the first place.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Noah shifted the attention away from himself.
"What about you guys? What will you do once you're out? Hopefully something better than mine."
Krepin scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I don't think I have anything grand planned. Honestly, I just want to eat until I can't move. The food here is terrible."
Raoul stared at the floor for a long moment before speaking.
"There isn't much left for me," he said quietly. "I'll spend whatever time I have left with my nieces and nephews… then that'll be that."
Noah felt a twinge of sympathy but kept it to himself. Raoul did not look like someone who wanted pity.
For the first time, Bale stopped moving completely. The clicking ceased. The silence that followed felt heavier than before.
When he finally spoke, his voice was lower.
"I have a little brother," he said. "We don't have a home anymore. The kid keeps asking when we'll get one."
He let out a faint breath.
"I'm thinking of building one for us. Somewhere we can stay for good."
Noah blinked in surprise. It was not the sentiment that caught him off guard, it was the honesty. This was the first time Bale sounded sincere instead of guarded.
Hours slipped by after that. The cell fell quiet again, the only sound being Bale's faint clicking as he resumed whatever he was doing.
No one asked him about it.
Then, suddenly, a louder click echoed through the cell.
It was sharp enough to pull everyone's attention toward Bale at once.
Noah slowly pushed himself to his feet, the chains on his wrists clinking together.
"Is it time already?" he asked calmly.
Raoul frowned, "What do you mean?"
Noah shrugged, a faint smile forming.
"Time to escape, of course."