Obsession… What’s That? I Just Wish Someone Would Help Me Escape - Chapter 115

After the meal, I fed Furball with Clara, then headed to the most luxurious place in the prison—the chapel.

The moment I stepped in, I saw scattered inmates seated sparsely in the empty auditorium.

Surprisingly, more of the upper-ranked prisoners, those who had taken the frontlines to suppress the berserkers, were less than the lower-ranked ones. A rough count said fewer than twenty remained.

A warden stood at the podium, clapping to gather attention.

“Many prisoners have died today. Let us take a moment of mourning. Pray for those born of demons, now returned to hell.”

If you go by that logic, isn’t it a good thing they’ve returned to their hometown?

The inmates, more interested in the offerings than the sermon, stared hungrily at the Divine Wine made with wheat and blessed water.

The Choco Pie was the real draw of this service, only awarded to those who demonstrated fervent faith,

Of course, I was no different. I’d arrived late to the mess hall and only managed to get a single tiny potato.

“…I’m starving.”

In the past, I wouldn’t have even looked at such trifles, but now they were desperate enough to make a noble set aside her pride.

I was spacing out in a fog of hunger when I heard the voice of Warden Damian.

“Number 49, have you taken your medicine?”

He approached and pressed his hand to my forehead.

“No.”

“Your mana is stable. You haven’t been coughing up blood either?”

What are you, my personal physician?

Every time he saw me, he’d start poking and prodding, saying things like “Drink plenty of water,” and “Keep a regular routine.”

I remembered that his family had long inherited healing abilities.

Not descended from one of the Five Archdemon Houses like me, but I heard one of his ancestors made a pact with a fallen angel. One of the 72 demons of Getia ranked as nobility in hell.

“Yes, not today.”

I nodded, his hand still resting on my forehead.

Suddenly a shadow fell over me, and his face came in close. Leaning in to peer at me, Damian asked:

“Have you made your choice?”

The unexpected question caught my breath short.

What was that supposed to mean? I struggled to keep my face neutral.

“What?”

His calm blue eyes behind the glasses fixed steadily on me.

His lips, set in a straight line, slowly parted.

“Nothing.”

He took my hand and pressed a small cloth pouch into it.

“Three times a day, one after each meal.”

Then, curling his fingers and tapping them gently, he added:

“Take it secretly. Don’t let anyone steal it like the candy.”

I watched him walk away, feeling confused.

How does he know the candy got taken?

Was he spying on me without me knowing? That guy’s suspicious.

Anyone would think so.

I opened the cloth pouch he gave me.

Inside were red pills that looked like pomegranate seeds.

What is this? He told me how to take it but didn’t explain what it does?

Is it something shady?

Then again, the pill he gave me before the tournament didn’t cause any problems. Doesn’t seem like he’s trying to poison me.

While I was wavering, Eliza came over, waving cheerfully.

“Kido, can I sit here?”

As she smiled brightly and tried to take the seat next to me, a prisoner from the 40s nearby glared daggers at her.

“Hey. Are you close with Number 49?”

If she received a princess title from the kingdom and was being sent off to be the Empire’s future Empress… that meant she was politically savvy and knew how to carry herself.

She should know there’s nothing to gain from being close to the lowest rank.

“Yes, we are.”

Eliza answered casually.

To anyone, it was clearly a foolish decision.

After all, it’s not me she’ll see every day, it’s the roommates in her cell.

“Ha, with that social outcast? Guess you’re just as much of a freak.”

The eyes of surviving prisoners from the 30s and 40s turned savage, like hyenas spotting fresh prey.

In this closed system, it operated no different from a dictatorship where power ruled.

Everyone wanted to step on someone else to gain advantage.

Wasn’t this basically a guaranteed bullying setup?

It’d be annoying to get involved, but leaving her alone would only leave me uncomfortable after.

And there was always the chance the soot-covered princess might help with my release once she returned to her kingdom.

“Hey, Number 48. You’re pretending to be close to me just to get in Johann, Enrique, and Clara’s good graces, right? If people think you’re my friend, no one will mess with you.”