Chapter 34
If only she could get out of the cage, that is.
Thinking she might have begged to get out too early, she planned to build a little more trust before asking to be let out.
Though, honestly, she couldn’t endure this for even one more day.
***
Day 63 of cage life. Today, Froy was unusually late. She needed to get out soon, and Hermie’s anxiousness made her pace in circles inside the cage. She was going around in the same spot, not even realizing she was getting dizzy.
Unable to bear the stifling feeling, Hermie rolled up some stuffing to make a long rope. She knew trying to escape on her own wasn’t the best plan, but she acted impulsively anyway. Because just sitting still felt like it would drive her insane.
She planned to use the rope, now tough enough to support her light weight, to attempt to climb the cage.
Since picking the lock and prying the bars apart had both failed, she was going to try climbing up to the top where the bars were spaced farther apart and attempt an escape from there.
She hooked the stuffing rope onto a bar and began climbing the cage little by little, like climbing a tree.
Unlike wood, the metal bars were slippery, and the rope kept sliding down. It was a task requiring immense stamina and strength. It felt like she’d climbed a lot, but looking down, she had barely risen the height of a palm.
But just as she moved her hand to try to go all the way to the end—
"Ahh!"
Her hand slipped, and she fell backward. The back of her head hit the hard floor.
A sharp pain shot through her, and Hermie writhed inside the cage. Clutching the impacted area and groaning, she cautiously raised her head. Checking her palm, thankfully there was no blood.
‘It hurts like hell.’
She thought her skull had cracked. Relieved there was no blood, she tried to get up, but her head spun, and her body tilted forward.
It was so dizzying she wondered if it was a concussion.
‘Why did I do something so pointless all of a sudden…’
She felt pathetic. Thinking she definitely needed to rest, she went into the hiding-hut and closed her eyes.
She had barely slept the past few days due to her troubled mind, but thanks to the physical exertion and dizziness, she dozed off and fell asleep. She couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.
While she was sleeping so deeply, the world began to shake.
“Are you awake?”
A soft, low voice resonated above her head. Froy had returned. Hermie’s consciousness snapped to attention.
She shot up like a trained dog and clung to the bars. If she had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.
“I was waiting! Why are you so late?”
The eyes peering into the cage curved into narrow crescents.
“So cute…”
Today, too, he looked immensely happy seeing Hermie. In contrast, Hermie was on edge.
“Being alone is too scary. Please let me out. I just want to be close to you!”
Froy shook his head slightly.
“It’s dangerous, so I can’t.”
Only his voice was endlessly tender.
“I’ll be good…”
“I can’t… not yet… What would I do if you disappeared?”
“Ah, no! I can’t run away. Look, I don’t even have wings!”
“No matter what you say, I can’t do it.”
“It’s because I like you, so I won’t leave!”
“…?”
Hermie’s confession poured out like a dam breaking, flowing without a hitch. It was a desperate, sorrowful confession.
“I like you so, so much that I don’t even think about running away. It’s just that it’s so stifling inside the cage. I just want to be next to you…”
It was her last resort.
Please let me out.”
Marquis Froy’s head tilted to the side. He seemed a bit flustered.
She was tense. As she waited for his answer, the palms holding the bars grew damp with sweat.
“I’ll think about it a bit more. I’m looking for a way.”
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