Chapter 66

There I find a man lying on his side with his hands and legs tied to the bed, appearing to be in some amount of pain, as his face keeps scrunching up. Looking further, I see the source of said pain: his rear seems to be bandaged for some odd reason.

As I look over the man, he also looks over at me, and to my surprise, despite his quite pathetic situation, he gives me a look of pity.

Do I really look so disheveled? Before I have time to question my outward appearance, he starts talking to me, "So… who are you?"

"I am Jeldard Ustos of the Ustos household, and who might you be?"

"You are speaking to Hector Marfont, a proud member of the Marfont family."

"Wait, I think I have heard of you," I say.

"Aren't you the bastard of the Marfont family?" The moment I mention the word "bastard," his expression immediately becomes ugly, and he tilts his head away from me. I inwardly sigh; almost a year of isolation has degraded my already quite pathetic social skills.

"Well, uhh... You aren't alone there," I nervously add, desperate for any social interaction.

He looks back at me. "Really now..." Suddenly a glint passes through his eyes. "Oh, I know you. You're the one who befriended that marquess girl. I've heard some rumors about you. Did you and that girl really get kidnapped by commoners?"

"I did?" What the? When did that happen? As far as I am aware, he has always come back to the dorm at night and has never missed a day.

"Yeah, and then I heard you two were saved by the personal men of the Keswick family."

"Oh… well maybe…" I answer subdued.

"What do you mean 'maybe'? Did you hit your head or something?"

"Well, it's a bit complicated," I state. "I'll explain later. For now, what I really want to know is how you got here."

Immediately after I say those words, the man scowls and explains that a man with a dark mask dragged him into a dark alley and attempted to knock him out. Although he resisted capture and escaped, in the end, he was wounded in an unfortunate location and captured.

After listening to his words, I now understand where the robe and necklace came from. I know the heart of that foul man. He only thinks in black and white. The fact that Hector is currently alive means he's got something more planned for him, or else he would have probably disposed of him already.

Well, it's more likely he's got something planned for Hector's robe and necklace. The man sees people as disposable tools. Sigh, at least I can take solace in the fact that that kind of thinking will definitely get him condemned by the gods.

I try to put myself in the shoes of the man. Why would I still need the robe and necklace? Is it to sneak me back into the academy? Maybe, but it seems quite silly. My being in the academy poses a greater risk for him than my being out. Or does he want to replace Hector as he did with me? Find a similar look-alike and make him take up the role of Hector? That way he would be able to sneak me in or out whenever he wanted. Or who knows, maybe it's for his sick entertainment. The man does seem quite sadistic.

In any of the scenarios I thought through, the fate of Hector isn't looking too good.

As I am pondering the potential ponderings of another man, Hector asks me, "So, how did you get here?"

I look at Hector and wonder if I should tell him the truth. Well, it is not as if he could do something bad with the knowledge, so there is no harm in enlightening him on my situation.

So, I decide to tell him everything I have been through, from my capture to being brought here, although I left out the fact that I am practicing magic. It could be bad if he somehow divulged it to the man.

Hector looks at me blankly for a few minutes after I finish telling my tale. "That… how has no one noticed anything? Isn't that marquess girl supposed to be your childhood friend? Shouldn't she have noticed something?" I frown as he mentions Clara again.

"I don't know, but at this point, that doesn't matter. The fact is that he has completely blended into my academy life, and I have yet to find a way to stop him."

"This is ridiculous," Hector states, and I can't help but nod in agreement.

While Hector is facing the reality of my situation, I ponder any way I could escape from my new holding place. After all, these commoners are probably not as careful and attentive as that man.

Although even if I could get out of my constraints, thanks to my disheveled body, I would probably be caught before I could even walk out of here. And even if I escaped, the slums would not be kind to me. I would likely be snatched away, my clothes stolen and sold off, or, heaven forbid, be sold off myself.