The sound of the door closing behind her was very soft.
Outside, the sound of the lock clicking was less like imprisonment and more like a polite reminder — from this moment on, you no longer belong to the outside world.
Through the hollow keyhole, the scene outside was clear.
The hallway was narrow and quiet, with the two guards standing at the door occasionally making the sound of clashing metal. Magic crystals for constant illumination were embedded in the walls; their light was a cold white, leaving no shadows to hide in.
She leaned against the door, looking at the familiar yet loathsome ceiling. There was no sadness or anger in her heart, but rather a slight desire to laugh.
Reflecting on everything that had happened recently, it felt as though her period of freedom was merely a temporary, erroneous clip being inserted into her life, and now it was being systematically corrected back to its original track.
Anis raised her hands; the two magic chains encircling her wrists were slowly glowing.
She felt no weight, nor could she sense any mana fluctuations.
This was Baron Freunster’s ability. This chain could transform into any shape to bind her. No matter where she was, as long as that man slightly raised his hand, he could completely restrain her.
That was why he wasn’t afraid of her escaping.
There was only one way to dispel this magic — the death of the caster.
‘How impossible.’
Anis could only shake her head with a bitter smile; she couldn’t pull off something like that.
Scanning the room, the bedroom that had imprisoned her for more than 10 years was still familiar.
The single bed was placed against the wall, its frame fixed to the floor.
The tables and chairs were uniform in size, without any decoration. The walls were smooth, with no parts to hang or dismantle anything.
The only window was even sealed with something semi-translucent, allowing light to enter but preventing anyone from looking out.
Everything in the room was just enough to “live.”
“The methods of imprisonment have been upgraded again, I see,” Anis muttered.
She walked to the wardrobe and took items out one by one, pretending to organize her clothes.
Seeing the faintly shimmering teleportation magic circle at the bottom of the wardrobe, the corners of her mouth curled slightly.
‘Old man, for all your calculations, you still didn’t account for this step, did you?’
However, she couldn’t leave yet. These chains also had a sensing function, so she needed a mouthpiece to speak for her.
Mimi.
Considering the cat’s safety, Anis had left her in the distant wooden cabin on the snowy mountain.
When she had a chance to contact Sherry or Cybel next, she would tell them about this as well.
“It won’t be that easy, though. Sherry is also under partial house arrest…”
Anis stood up, pulled a wand from her pocket, and checked her mana status after a few simple waves.
The chains didn’t trap her mana; it could still be mobilized, but it was restricted to an extremely narrow and controllable range.
It was enough to maintain bodily functions, but not enough for any form of research or experiments.
‘The old man is cautious.’
Anis made a judgment in her heart.
She went to the bed and lay down, her movements calm, without haste or hesitation.
The high-intensity potion compounding of the past few days had left her exhausted, causing her mind to wander for a brief moment.
‘No, I can’t rest yet.’
The Second Princess’s time was running out; she had to race against the clock.
Anis pulled out a hidden potion book and pressed her heavy forehead, preparing to continue her research.
But in the end, the sandman defeated her, and before long, she was slumped over the desk, fast asleep…
She was startled awake by the sound of footsteps clanking against the floor.
It was now late at night. Anis hid her wand and looked toward the door alertly. After several rhythmic footsteps sounded, silence quickly returned, with only two sets of retreating footsteps.
“A change of guard? It seems they really intend to carry out 24-hour surveillance until the end.”
She smiled contemptuously, closed her book, hid it, and went to bed.
The change occurred the next morning. Anis, who was sitting on a chair waiting for breakfast to be brought in, heard a knock on the door.
“Miss Anis, the Head of the House wants you to eat in the dining hall.”
“Hmm?”
Caught off guard, she went to eat under the watchful eyes of the guards.
The Head of the Freunster family sat at the head of the table, and to one side of him sat Sherry.
The two looked at each other for a moment, saying nothing.
Anis looked at the Head of the Freunster family. He was immersed in the food on his plate, having no intention of speaking to either of them.
‘Is this old geezer’s heart really this good?’
Looking at the delicious food on her plate, Anis’s brows furrowed slightly. She still couldn’t believe this old man would be kind enough to let her eat noble meals.
Sure enough.
As Anis cut her first piece of bacon, the magic chains on her wrist glowed for a split second.
The chains, which originally had no mana flow, suddenly produced a current. Although it was weak, Anis could clearly confirm that this mana flow was heading toward the old man.
So that was it.
She went to the dining hall for all three meals. During the meals, the magic chains would glow slightly, producing a mana flow.
The old man used mealtimes to adjust the chains binding her, ensuring they remained in optimal condition.
Heh.
Over the next period of time, Anis repeated a dull and tasteless routine every day: waking up on time, being taken to eat, returning to her room to study alchemy, and sleeping.
In these few days, she never found a chance to talk to Sherry, nor did she know what was happening outside.
Anis gradually adapted to this rhythm, and time passed faster than she had imagined.
Since that was the case, she stopped trying to sense the outside world or calculate the time. She turned her attention back to herself, like skillfully sheathing a blade.
She focused on the theoretical research of high-purity mana stabilizer potions, ensuring that the next time she had the chance to practice, she could succeed in one go and improve the purity.
However, during this time, some habits didn’t disappear immediately.
At night, she woke up in a half-conscious state.
Her consciousness hadn’t fully returned, but her body reacted first.
She subconsciously turned her head, her gaze falling to one side of the room.
There should have been nothing there.
But in her mind, a scene clearly emerged —
Sherry was standing there.
Not standing very close, nor intentionally avoiding her, but standing in a position just like in the past — one where she wouldn’t interfere with Anis, but could reach out at any moment.
The moment this thought appeared, her breathing skipped a beat.
Had the time she spent with her really changed her impression of that woman?
‘Don’t overthink it.’
She muttered to herself, turned over, and went back to sleep.
At daybreak, she opened her eyes right on time.
She was taken to eat.
But when she arrived at the dining hall today, there was another person beside her seat.
Cybel.
“Good morning, Lady Anis.”
She bowed to Anis and placed a tray of breakfast in front of her.
Then she turned and left, without saying another word or making any movement that would arouse the suspicion of the Head of the Freunster family.
However, Anis still clearly sensed a piece of paper fly into the collar of her robe, poking the back of her neck.