Chapter 53: Confinement

“I don’t recognize this ceil—”

“Oh? Are you planning to ignore me?”

“…At least let me say the usual line, will you?”

As my consciousness slowly returned from the depths of darkness, the very first thing that entered my field of vision was Her Highness, the Second Princess Emma.

Just as I had tried—quite deliberately—to ignore her presence and comment on the unfamiliar ceiling above me, her voice cut in sharply, as if scolding me for my audacity. I could only respond with a wry, helpless smile.

“The usual line…? I’m afraid I don’t know any such thing.”

“Oh? Really? I thought it was pretty famous.”

Well, famous in my world, at least. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be a “classic line” in this one.

Come to think of it… what was the original source of that phrase, anyway?

“…Look at me.”

She must have noticed my thoughts drifting elsewhere.

Before I could react, the Second Princess Emma reached out and firmly grabbed my face, forcing my gaze toward her.

“Hey—wai… huh?”

I instinctively tried to raise my hands in resistance—but it was only then that I realized something was wrong. My arms wouldn’t move freely.

“…What exactly is the meaning of this?”

Both of my wrists were bound together in metal restraints, fastened securely to the bed I had been laid upon.

This wasn’t just restraint—this was outright confinement.

“It’s your own fault for not listening to your superior.”

“I don’t think that actually answers my question.”

“It does. You keep running off to who-knows-where without my knowledge. In that case, the only option left is to keep you under my direct supervision.”

“I may not look it, but I am a brigadier general, you know? I’m not someone who’s meant to be ‘managed.’”

No matter how you looked at it, this was abuse of authority—plain and simple.

Even in a world where civilization lagged behind modern Earth and aristocratic systems still held firm, surely it hadn’t degraded to the point where a superior officer could just imprison a subordinate on a whim.

This was a perfectly valid case for protest.

“…Just stay here quietly and let me protect you.”

In response to my entirely reasonable objection, the Second Princess Emma simply delivered that single line, as if it settled everything, and rose gracefully from the bed.

“Let’s have dinner. What would you like?”

“I’d prefer to cook for myself.”

“I won’t allow that.”

“Wow, how cruel… Here I am, a wounded man who only recently took a bullet to the head, and not only was I violently knocked unconscious, now I can’t even eat what I want. Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”

The bandages that had once covered my left eye were already gone, replaced now with a simple eyepatch.

Physically, I was in excellent condition—no aftereffects, no lingering pain, perfectly fine… but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make use of the situation to press my case.

“Rest assured, I didn’t do anything that rough.”

“Charging into the room and knocking me out cold with a full-force tackle sounds pretty rough to me.”

If that didn’t qualify as rough, then war itself might as well disappear from this world.

“You like stew, don’t you? I’ll make it for you. Beef stew, of course. I managed to get some good meat.”

“…Well, I do like it.”

“I’ll prepare a tea set as well. Unlike me, you prefer tea over alcohol, or so I’ve heard. I even ‘acquired’ some fine tea leaves.”

“Wow. A barbarian, I see.”

Unlike me, who had the foresight to send my own people ahead of time to ensure I could obtain whatever I needed whenever I wished.

“Say whatever you like. I’ll be in the kitchen preparing the meal. Stay here quietly.”

“Aww, come on…”

Leaving me behind, the Second Princess Emma exited the room without another word.

“Hm.”

This was a problem.

I hadn’t expected to be ambushed by an ally and locked up like this.

The room I’d been left in was small and enclosed. A barrier against magic had been deployed, making escape through magical means impossible. There was nothing in the room that could realistically aid in a conventional escape, and the restraints binding my wrists looked frustratingly sturdy.

“…Well, it’s not like I can’t get out.”

Despite being a noble’s son, I had spent my youth engrossed in commerce, running all over the place instead of staying safely within aristocratic confines.

Because of that, the possibility of being kidnapped had always been a real concern—and so, under my own merchant company, I had undergone training specifically for situations like this.

“Now’s not the time, though.”

Yes, I could escape if I wanted to.

But doing so now would cause unnecessary complications.

Warmir had only just been captured, and everyone was already scrambling in confusion and urgency. If I were to break out now, the Second Princess would undoubtedly issue orders to search for me.

And that would create a mess far beyond simple inconvenience.

Besides, it wasn’t as if my abilities were urgently needed at this exact moment.

For now, the wiser choice was to remain still and comply.

“…That said, this is incredibly boring.”