IBTPCS 04

Chapter 04

As long as one lives in society, people naturally form various human relationships.

And the Crown Prince could not tolerate that at all when it came to Canis.

Her family, friends, colleagues.

The Crown Prince couldn’t stand anyone else receiving Canis’s attention, and he restrained her. Even though he wasn’t even her lover!

Naturally, Canis resisted and wanted to escape from him. The more she did, the more the Crown Prince became obsessed with keeping Canis confined in a narrow cage. Eventually, he forcefully imprisoned her in his palace.

‘It was chilling that such a place was hidden in the palace.’

Canis gave her all to escape, but every attempt failed, and the Crown Prince, provoked by her reluctance to stay by his side, became even more fanatical.

He ignored Canis’s protests to let her go, and instead repeatedly threatened her by holding the lives of those around her hostage…

The problem was that this white-haired character was one of those hostages used for threats. And in the early stages of the Crown Prince’s obsession, she was the one who got her head cleanly chopped off as an example!

—

‘Damn it!’

Eugene cursed inwardly once more.

It made sense why it hadn’t come to mind immediately.

White hair. An extra whose hair had turned completely white from the shock of being abandoned by her parents.

That backstory had only been used as a device to show how unfortunate the children in the slave shop were, to illustrate the protagonist’s harsh past environment.

The white-haired girl didn’t even have a proper name. She first appeared as Canis’s friend in the early game, making her seem like a supporting character with some weight, but then she was killed off as a tool to punish Canis for trying to escape, revealing the Crown Prince’s cruelty.

‘Wait, wasn’t I supposed to go to the afterlife or heaven or somewhere and rest if I died?’

She had never heard of instantly starting another life right after thinking you were dead.

She wasn’t expecting a long trial to judge her deeds in this life, or angels coming out to greet her with trumpet sounds. But at least she should have been given some time to acknowledge her own death, shouldn’t she?

“Um, are you feeling a bit better now?”

While she was still confused, Canis, who had waited for her to finish drinking the water, spoke to her.

The tail wagging gently behind Canis signaled her harmless curiosity towards Eugene.

“I’m Canis. I’ve been here for a few days.”

Her tail drooped when she said the last part, probably because unpleasant memories of this place had come to mind.

Seeing the protagonist looking downcast, Eugene felt a pressure to say something in return.

“I…”

But she didn’t know what to say. She closed her mouth again and hesitated, her lips twitching. Noticing her difficulty, Canis continued speaking.

“You came in yesterday, right? I saw those bastards bringing you and the other children off the carriage.”

Canis lowered her green eyes slightly, as if recalling a recent scene.

“You were the smallest, so you stood out. I thought the smallest one had cried all night and then fallen asleep. But this morning, you weren’t moving at all, so I thought you had…”

Canis paused there for a moment, but Eugene could guess what she had swallowed.

It seemed the original owner of this body had died earlier than in the original story.

‘Originally, she was sold into slavery by her parents.’

Had the betrayal of her parents been that much of a shock to a young child? Eugene’s mouth felt bitter, and she bowed her head for a moment, silently praying for the young soul whose name she didn’t know.

Canis, finding the ensuing silence awkward, fidgeted with her fingers a little before asking.

“What’s your name?”

Eugene reflexively opened her mouth, then hesitated for a moment.

What name should she give? The name of this body? But Eugene didn’t really know anything about this shrunken body.

After thinking for a long while, Eugene finally said her own name.

“I’m… Eugene.”

Since surnames were only for nobles in this world, she dropped hers.

Eugene was grateful that her name had a ring to it that didn’t sound out of place even in this Western-style setting.

Anyway, even in this bewildering situation, she could at least keep one familiar name for herself.

“Eugene. I see.”

That’s a nice name. Praising her like that, Canis glanced at Eugene’s expression and then asked.

“Are you feeling a bit calmer now?”

“Yeah… Oh, thanks for the water.”

“It’s nothing. No problem. Um, if you’re okay with it, could you tell me about your journey here?”

It seemed this was what she had really wanted to ask.

“My journey here?”

“Yeah. We’ve been sharing what we saw when we were brought here.”

“…Why?”

Eugene thought, all she could say about what she saw on the way here was the headlight she’d last encountered. She asked back.

Her flustered voice came out cold, as if tinged with wariness. With an expression meant to reassure anyone, Canis answered in a firm voice.

“If we know the way in, we can think of a way out.”

Even though she was young, her green eyes, filled with conviction, shone reliably.

‘As expected.’

Watching the protagonist behave just like the protagonist, Eugene looked at Canis with a slightly excited heart. She had quite liked this benevolent and always confident protagonist when she played the game.

Even after being captured by the slave traders, she didn’t give up, but instead comforted those around her and planned an escape—that was exactly the Canis she knew.

‘So Canis was gathering information for an escape.’

Rather than staying silent and trembling in fear without a word, it would be much more helpful for the children here to share their stories and find clues for escape, giving them hope.

“Even things you just glimpsed in passing are fine. Just tell me what you remember.”

Canis was now looking at Eugene with earnest eyes.

“Ah… I-”

The moment she met those green eyes, Eugene wanted to tell Canis something, anything.

But it was impossible. Eugene knew nothing about the path by which this body had been captured and brought to this slave shop.

She knew everything about what Canis would go through from now on, what the palace she couldn’t even see from here was like, what kind of world this was. But she couldn’t tell her the way out.

This wasn’t that kind of game where you explore the area and collect items. **”Golden Cage”** was a story-driven game where progression was determined solely by the choices the protagonist made.

‘What should I do?’

And it wasn’t just about answering Canis’s question—Eugene honestly didn’t know how to act in this place she’d suddenly been dropped into. Everything was too sudden.

That was when it happened.

*Flutter.*

Suddenly, sunlight poured in through the parted curtains. Between the dazzling rays of light, a silhouette entered.

“What’s this place?”

He was like a sculpture the gods had crafted by gathering only the most precious things.

His eyes and hair were adorned with gold and silver, and the most sparkling diamonds were ground and sprinkled over his skin.

His lips were painted with pure holy blood, and his teeth were carved from ivory.

As if saying he still hadn’t fully unfolded himself, his broad shoulders and solid upper body radiated presence even beneath the impeccably tailored uniform that precisely encased his form.

A boy of perfect form stepped inside, his back to the pouring light.

‘Crown Prince Michael!’

Eugene recognized him immediately. His form, like a most beloved angel of God, was exactly as depicted in the game. But his appearance…

‘Crazy…’

The game’s art certainly wasn’t bad. On the contrary, the illustrations had been praised by fans for their outstanding quality.

But facing him in person, the flat screen images now felt far inferior to reality.

Eugene was utterly astonished. Even within the game, praise for Crown Prince Michael’s appearance was unrivaled in the world, and he was a remarkably handsome character even in the event scenes.

‘Can a human being actually look like that?’

It was a face that inspired pure admiration. His appearance was so shocking that it completely blew away all the handsome men she’d encountered through media.

Overwhelmed by her first experience of visual shock, Eugene remained frozen, unable to react for a while.

That was why she only belatedly noticed that the boy of godlike form was staring intently at her.

‘Wh-what?’

Conscious of those inhuman golden eyes fixed on her, Eugene suddenly began to feel self-conscious about even the sound of her own breathing.

She had grown so stiff that she forgot how long it had been since she exhaled and when she should inhale again. Then the angel—in appearance only—before her opened his mouth.

“What’s this odd thing?”

His tone was arrogant, as if it were only natural to speak down to anyone.

And upon hearing those lines she’d already heard many times before, she recalled a familiar scene.