IBTPCS 01

Chapter 01

Beneath the wide-open sky, if you climbed atop the city wall, the vast capital lay spread out entirely below. It was a breathtakingly beautiful scene, one I might have leisurely taken in.

*Whoosh-*

But as if to allow no such leisure, the cold, biting wind slapped my cheeks.

And on this freezing day, standing atop the open city wall, taking the fierce wind head-on with nothing to block it—what was I doing?

“Ugh, damn it. Why won’t this tie properly?”

I was diligently tying a thick rope to the uneven parts of the city wall.

It’s been seven long years since I became the protagonist of a confinement game.

Today, too, I’m pretending to attempt an escape for the sake of a mandatory event.

On this freezing day, atop the city wall!

“Ah-choo!”

After tying the rope as best I could, I tucked my freezing hands into my sides and stamped my feet. Ugh, when is that master of mine going to show up?

“Eugene!”

As if he’d heard my internal cursing, I saw my master looking up at me from the bottom of the stairs leading up to the wall.

He was sparkling alone again today, as if the winter sunlight shone only on him.

*Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-*

I could tell from the sound of his running footsteps that he was coming towards me the moment he spotted me.

I gave the tightly tied rope one last tug to check it, placed one foot on the wall, and waited for the footsteps to draw nearer.

“Ah-choo!”

*Sniffle.* My nose, exposed to the cold, was stinging. I knew it would be bright red when I checked later.

‘*Sigh. Can he be any slower? If I were the original female lead, I’d have been over that wall by now, seriously.*’

It’s only because it’s me that I’m waiting. He’d better be grateful.

Grumbling internally like that, I resolved to see if my master would properly appreciate this favor I was doing him, and what snacks would be served later.

“Eugene!”

I saw my master, his clothes disheveled from running, leap onto the wall. Seeing my foot propped up on the wall, he frowned with concern and said,

“Standing like that is dangerous. Get down right now.”

His tone was like that of someone coaxing a cat down from a tree. After being alone in the cold for so long, seeing my master’s familiar face made me feel, ridiculously, a little warm inside.

It’s all just association. There was always a fireplace and warm hot cocoa around him, after all!

Feeling unfairly put out, I let my irritation slip out without meaning to.

“Why are you only coming now! Ah-choo-.”

Ah, that’s not what I meant.

“Sorry. I’m sorry.”

Why is he making that face, like he’s committed a mortal sin? I sniffled and subtly hid my embarrassed face with my sleeve.

‘*Ah, I’m cold. I need to say my event lines and get inside quickly. The choices for this event are…*’

*Ahem.* I cleared my throat, ready to deliver my next line.

“Eugene.”

My master had come closer without me noticing. Looking at my face, reddened from the cold, he spoke in a pained voice.

“Why did you come all the way out here?”

Hmm? Here, the voice was supposed to be ice-cold, brimming with betrayal and possessiveness, but…

“Are you very cold?”

My master took off his own cloak and wrapped it completely around me, covering me entirely.

Huh, there wasn’t a scene like this in the original escape event either.

Oh, this is actually pretty warm…

‘*No, that’s not the point!*’

I almost let my guard down, lulled by the improved temperature, but I snapped back to my senses.

Minor things like a change in the tone of the dialogue or actions not in the game didn’t matter.

Now was the time to choose the response to that line, “Why did you run all the way out here?”

“「I’m going to leave this place.」”

I quickly recited a line I’d already memorized. My tone was awkward, like I was reading from a script, but I didn’t care.

After all, this was a game. If you picked the right choice, the other character was supposed to answer accordingly.

“I can’t let you go anywhere.”

Good. Just like the game event. Listening to my master’s line that came with the correct answer, I continued on, picking the next correct response in sequence.

“「Don’t think you can keep me locked up!」”

“It’s so cold out, and you were trying to go somewhere without any preparation… I’m sorry for keeping you cooped up. I’ll give instructions right away so you can go out tomorrow.”

Th-this line wasn’t in the game. And it’s so cold out, I don’t want to go out!

I was flustered for a moment, but I pushed through to deliver the final line.

“I, I 「will definitely escape! From that gilded cage of yours!」”

Here, my master was supposed to harden his expression, say something like “Ah, I see,” dismissively, grab me, and drag me back—and then the wall escape event would be over…

“Ah, I see.”

Got it!

“So you didn’t like the cage I gave you last time. I’m sorry. I’ll have it removed from your room right away.”

As I listened to my master’s gentle voice asking if I’d prefer an aquarium next time instead of a bird, I started to wonder where things had gone wrong.

*Ah-choo.*

“Summon the royal physician! Summon him at once!”

…For now, since it’s cold, let’s get inside quickly before thinking about anything else.

—

*Crackle, crackle.*

The sound of well-oiled firewood burning in the fireplace filled the room. The warm air circulated, making the whole room cozy.

Eugene, unable to refuse her master’s insistence, had taken the medicine prepared by the royal physician and was bundled up in thick blankets. Now that she was in the warm room, she continued her theatrical lines without pause.

“「Though I was captured today, do not think for a moment that this means my spirit is broken.」”

“Mmhm.”

Originally, these were lines spat out with clenched teeth and a venomous voice from inside a giant birdcage, but Eugene decided not to fuss over small details.

After all, her body, having stood so long on the wall to tie the rope, was terribly cold, and the blankets her master had wrapped around her were wonderfully warm.

“「I will always pursue freedom…」”

“Yes, yes.”

Eugene, earnestly reciting the game’s dialogue, trailed off as she looked at the Crown Prince’s face. He was gently patting her, all bundled up in blankets, his expression so tender.

Even when she pressed her lips shut and stayed silent, his gaze didn’t change, and it made her feel a strange ticklish sensation, as if she had a feather stuck in her stomach. As if coughing up that imaginary feather, Eugene spoke sullenly.

“What is it? Why are you smiling like that?”

“Hm?”

“I asked why you’re making that face.”

“Oh? Does something bother you?”

At the Crown Prince’s cautious question, Eugene couldn’t answer.

Normally, that face should have been rigid with anger and obsession. And the gaze he directed at the protagonist should have been dark, filled with possessiveness…

‘*Why does he look at me so preciously…*’

The Crown Prince’s gaze towards her was endlessly gentle. It was sweet, as if honey would drip from his eyes, the color of his irises.

“…”

Eugene kept her mouth tightly shut, feeling complicated. When the Crown Prince, worried, stroked her head and asked if anything was uncomfortable, she just shook her head silently.

At this unspoken refusal, the Crown Prince simply and quietly stroked the small head leaning against him.

After receiving his pats for a while, Eugene suddenly sat up as if realizing something and looked up at the Crown Prince’s face.

‘*I wasn’t even expecting the usual level of possessiveness…*’

It wasn’t like the relationship with the original protagonist, a relationship of desperate rejection and murderous obsession.

But still, Eugene knew how much attachment the Crown Prince had for ‘his things.’ Even though she, his pet, had just attempted an escape, he hadn’t shown even the slightest sign of anxiety.

“…Why do you look so happy?”

“Hm?”

“I said I was running away, and you’re happy?”

“That can’t be.”

There was a hint of laughter in the Crown Prince’s voice as he answered her sullen tone. Catching that, Eugene felt inexplicably offended and burrowed completely under the blankets, hiding her head.

“Eugene?”

Listening to his gentle voice, still patting her, asking her to show her face, Eugene replayed the scene from earlier in her mind. The face of the Crown Prince after he had caught her, the one who had run away.

‘*He looked troubled, but somehow also like he was enjoying it…*’

While Eugene was pondering what it could mean, a servant, quietly approaching so as not to displease His Highness the Crown Prince, collected the now-empty hot cocoa cup and snack plate.

*Thud.*

—

*Phew.*

The servant, who had been careful even with the sound of his breathing so as not to disturb the intimate atmosphere filling the room, let out a long-held sigh as soon as he left the room.

‘*There he goes again…*’

Occurrences like this were practically an annual event. Everyone knew how the Crown Prince felt about Eugene…

But the object of that ardent affection usually acted nonchalantly, cynically stating she was merely “the Crown Prince’s pet,” brushing off all his advances.

Then, for some reason… occasionally, as if to test her lover’s feelings, she would stir up this kind of escape commotion.