I Was Just Enjoying the Discipline - Chapter 8

The sight made her jaw clench.

Only then did she instinctively lower her head, but it did nothing to escape him. His icy stare remained locked on her.

Silence settled over the room. An oppressive weight pressed down on her shoulders, so heavy it was almost suffocating. Sophia desperately searched her memory for the last thing she remembered before losing consciousness.

‘We escaped the prison…We made it all the way to the hole in the outer wall. I stood watch while everyone slipped through to the other side…’

Then it came back to her. She remembered shoving Lavina through the opening the instant she heard the pursuing demons closing in.

At least five sets of footsteps were racing toward them. The brilliant torchlight blooming through the darkness was more terrifying than the shadows themselves had ever been.

Lavina was still stuck halfway through the opening. At this rate, they would both be caught.

The moment Sophia realized that, she planted both hands against Lavina’s back—and shoved her the rest of the way through the hole.

“Hurry! Go! You have to move! They’re coming this way! The moment you’re through, run straight ahead. Don’t forget. Don’t worry about me. Just run!”

Repeating the instructions she’d drilled into Lavina over and over, Sophia shoved with every ounce of strength she had left.

Thankfully, Lavina’s body was slowly slipping free of the narrow opening.

Just a little more. Just one final push, and she’d make it.

Every second, Sophia threw a frantic glance over her shoulder.

The lights of the pursuing demons blazed through the night like advancing flames of death, drawing closer with terrifying speed.

As she struggled to force Lavina through the gap, Lavina’s voice came from the other side of the wall. It trembled with fear, confusion… and guilt.

“Sophia, what are you going to do? If this keeps up, you’ll—”

Her voice broke off. She had realized it. Instinctively, she understood that Sophia had never intended to escape.

As if trying to deny the terrible thought, Lavina hurriedly continued, her voice shaking.

“Once I’m through, I’ll pull you after me. So come with me, please. Or better yet, you run. I’ll stay behind.”

“No. That can’t happen.”

Sophia answered without hesitation. If Lavina were captured here, Sophia’s entire plan would fall apart.

And besides…

“…You’ve been crying ever since the moment they brought you here. So how could you possibly endure staying behind? They’re already furious that we tried to escape. If they catch you now, they’ll make your life a living hell.”

“…”

“So it’s better if I’m the one who stays.”

A massive wall stood between them, hiding their faces from one another. Even so, Sophia could feel the air between them grow heavier. Wanting to ease at least some of Lavina’s guilt, she forced a smile and spoke in a teasing tone.

“If you feel like you owe me, then if you ever meet the Holy Knights, tell them. Tell them I’m being held prisoner by the demons. Tell them they have to come rescue me.”

“…”

“That’ll be more than enough to repay me.”

At last, Lavina’s body slipped completely through the opening. The small hole in the wall lay unobstructed before Sophia, and through it she could see Lavina’s legs lingering on the other side, frozen in hesitation.

“Run! Now!”

Sophia shouted as though cracking a whip behind a horse reluctant to move.

The cry seemed to snap Lavina back to her senses. She finally started running. Footsteps pattered across the forest floor.

They grew fainter and fainter, until they disappeared into the darkness.

Then the lights Sophia had feared finally swallowed her whole.

Everything went black.

And when she opened her eyes, she found herself here.

Keeping her expression carefully blank, Sophia slowly surveyed her surroundings. She had been bound to a sturdy wooden chair that looked solid enough to withstand repeated kicks without so much as splintering. Her hands were tied tightly behind the backrest with thick rope.

The floor was flawlessly smooth, without so much as a crack—clearly built to ensure no prisoner could even attempt to dig an escape tunnel.

Even the wall she caught sight of from the corner of her eye was solid iron. It looked utterly impenetrable.

‘If I’m right, this must be the interrogation room.’

And the man sitting across from her was none other than Yudel, the overseer in charge of the prison.

The thought had barely crossed her mind before the chill clinging to her drenched body turned into uncontrollable shivers. Whether from the cold or from fear, even Sophia couldn’t tell.

She already knew exactly what kind of demon Yudel was.