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The Mage Duchess held on to my hand with such force that it felt like it would fall off, only letting go after what seemed like an eternity. Only a few minutes had passed in reality, but it somehow felt like an hour.

"Wait here for a moment."

After saying this, the Mage Duchess hesitated briefly before turning away.

She kept looking back as if she was worried I might vanish the moment she looked away, which was made all the more obvious because of her earlier request for me to wait.

However, I could only stare blankly at the Mage Duchess’s retreating figure.

'It’s not like I had anywhere to go, anyway.'

What was there to wait for? For someone who was imprisoned, there was no place they could go to.

The best I could do was move from standing by the bars to lying on the bed—which was still within the prison walls.

Seeing the Mage Duchess’s shocked expression and the worry on her face as if she was scared that I might disappear from the prison all made my heart ache.

'Was the shock too much for her?'

How shaken must she have been for the Mage Duchess, the symbol of wisdom, to make such a foolish mistake? This was a situation that would touch even the heartless.

'Ungrateful brat.'

The Mage Duchess was my provider of unparalleled healthy food. Though she sometimes made jokes that were hard to answer, she was as considerate as the Invincible Duke and the Wise Duchess.

While the two dukes might have their reasons for being kind, the Mage Duchess had no such ties to me, and yet she was always warm.

The Mage Duchess was truly like a mother, worthy of the name because of her generosity. And yet, I showed her such a pitiful side.

I'm sorry, Your Grace... I think I deserve to be in prison for five years.

Soon afterward, the Mage Duchess returned.

"Eating must be uncomfortable in there. I brought you some food."

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

She was holding a generous amount of food.

However, this was far from 'a little' or ‘some.’ Had I misunderstood the word all along?

'I won’t finish this even by the time I leave.'

It was too much to consume in just five days, and it wasn’t even small enough to fit through the gaps—

"Here, take this."

The Mage Duchess snapped her fingers and the items she held shrank, passing through the bars before expanding back to their original size.

'Wow.'

If my eyes didn’t deceive me, then that meant that magic just happened without the use of a wand or a spell.

I remembered the words Lather said in the club room, spoken with passion to the other members.

Are you watching, Lather? Your dream unfolded in an underground prison.

None of it was my fault, but I still felt sorry.

'A waste of talent...'

Staring blankly at the food that entered the prison, I snapped back to reality at the sound of the Mage Duchess’s voice.

"It seems insufficient. I should bring more."

"It's okay. There's enough."

Even the guard and I wouldn’t be able to finish it all if it piled up any more.

Despite my desperate plea, the Mage Duchess frowned slightly and shook her head, showing a firm resolve to bring more.

"Excuse me, Your Grace. Actually, I'm only imprisoned for five days."

Swallowing my pride, I finally addressed the legend of the five-day sentence. It seems the Mage Duchess mistook my imprisonment period to be at least a month or more.

Otherwise, I couldn't explain the amount of food she brought, which seemed enough for about half a month.

"I'm aware of that."

However, the Mage Duchess calmly responded. Instead of showing any surprise or disbelief when I mentioned the five-day period, she looked at me with pity for revealing my own detention period.

"Is the duration important? What matters is that you're inside during that time."

The Mage Duchess reached out to the bars again, and I instinctively did the same.

Tears welled up in my eyes at the warm and comforting touch.

I couldn't help but recall my conversation with the Minister.

It was definitely the same topic. I'd made the same point about being locked up for only five days, but the response was so different.

In a way, it was similar because the duration of five days didn't matter to them, though for different reasons.

'This is what being an adult is about.'

She was a true adult, compared to a certain ‘someone’ who sought petty revenge for a slight teasing.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t just slight teasing. But from now on, the Mage Duchess replaces the Minister of Finance minister in my heart.

"Call me anytime if you're uncomfortable. I'll tell the guard, so don’t hesitate."

Her words were a warm assurance that she would come herself if needed.

I would have really cried if no one was watching. I almost had a 'crying in prison' moment.

***

I've been too anxious to sleep properly since yesterday. Even when sleep came, I couldn't close my eyes.

Thinking of Carl in the cold, harsh confines of the prison made it impossible for me to settle down. It was one of those nights where my body craved sleep but my mind stubbornly refused.

"Senior, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

I forced a smile at Louise's words.

Staying up all night was nothing new to me. My duties in the student council sometimes kept me up.

But worrying about Carl made it not just a physical but an emotional torment. Even I could see that I looked unwell; it saddened me to show this side of me to Carl.

"Still..."

"I'm really, really okay. I’m just a bit tired."

Louise finally nodded at my firm response.

'I shouldn't be the one worrying about others.'

Louise seemed to have her worries about Carl, too. She clearly hadn't slept well.

And yet, here she was, worrying about someone else. She seemed to have a good heart, but perhaps she should take care of herself first. Someday, I might need to offer her some serious advice.

"Everyone’s here."

Erich's voice broke through as I observed Louise's complexion.

'He's arrived.'

I turned to where Erich was looking and saw Lady Irina rushing towards us. Since she also cared deeply about Carl, it was only natural for her to join us.

...In fact, both Louise and I were so preoccupied that we only managed to inform her this morning. Had we returned without saying a word, Lady Irina would have felt bitterly resentful.

How must Irina have felt, learning of the major disaster first thing on a weekend morning?

I was too ashamed to even look her in the face. If I had told her yesterday, then she would’ve at least had time to prepare.

"Am I late?"

"No, you're right on time."

Seeing Irina gasp for breath as if she had run all the way here only increased my guilt. I truly felt sorry.

"If everyone's here, we'll proceed."

The teleportation mages from the Krasius family spoke up while Louise was patting Irina’s back.

His tone was stiff, but his expression showed that he was troubled. Understandably so, considering that the heir of the family he served was imprisoned. The entire Krasius family must have been in turmoil.

...I wonder if Mother is okay? She seemed somewhat fragile; I hope she hasn't collapsed.

We couldn't teleport directly to the prison. It was frustrating to take the long way around since time was of the essence, but it couldn’t be helped due to anti-teleportation spells around the prison to prevent escapes.

Well, it was a logical precaution. After all, I've also considered teleporting Carl out several times.

"Halt. This place houses those who have dishonored the empire and the royal family. Those without proper business must refrain from advancing further."

A guard blocked our path as we approached the prison entrance.

'Dishonored criminals.'

I bit my lip in frustration. To think of Carl, who dedicated himself to the empire, being labeled a criminal was outrageous. If the Executive Manager was a criminal, then who could be considered a loyalist and a citizen?

I knew it, though. That the guard was merely following protocol and wasn’t specifically targeting Carl.

Still, it felt like my heart was tearing apart after hearing Carl being described as a criminal after all the sacrifices he had made.

"Erich of the Krasius family. I’m here for a visit."

Erich spoke up, representing us since he was the only one related to Carl by blood.

"Excuse me, but who are you here to see?"

The guard's tone softened noticeably at the mention of the Krasius family name.

Instead of ‘criminal,’ the guard now used ‘who’ to address him. The respectful address eased my mood slightly.

"Carl Krasius."

"Understood. Please sign the visitor's log."

The guard almost reverently handed over the log to Erich.

After receiving the log back, the guard checked the names and quickly headed inside the prison.

***

Damn it.

'Talk about bad luck.'

I was startled when the guard ran over, making me wonder if the Mage Duchess had returned.

That fortunately wasn't the case, but someone else appeared. Yesterday, it was the Minister of Finance. It was the Mage Duchess this morning, and now it was the Lady of Valenti. This is crazy.

I braced for it. Given that I was the Executive Manager, and that I was here just for show, I expected the visitors to be high-profile, especially since I hadn’t lost any actual power.

But still, it was just five days. I was hoping that such a short imprisonment wouldn’t warrant a visit.

'Was it actually five weeks instead of five days?'

I started doubting my memory for a moment. High-ranking officials like the Ministers and the Duchess were bringing in provisions—could it really just be for five days?

But it was indeed five days. For some reason, that was correct.

'Is my luck that twisted?'

Years ago, I visited the Minister of Finance when he was imprisoned. I thought that marked the end of my prison chronicles, but there was a new chapter beyond that ending.

'Should I retire?'

It was a matter worth serious consideration. After all, I already had a considerable /genesisforsaken