Reincarnated extra refuses to die

Arc 1. Chapter 4-2

Unlike last time, the cell that was appointed to us was much bigger and less dreary and dirty. It had one bed, but other than that it was like any other cell one could imagine; completely closed off with a single barred tiny window on the highest part of the wall. A heavy door of wood separated us from the outside. The smell of moss and dust permeated the air.

It was getting closer to night already, the light of twilight barely illuminating the room.

I sighed, lying on the bed motionless with my leg stretched. It didn't hurt as much as before, but that was only because Lucas had been intermittently healing it for the entirety of the day. Right now he was sleeping, exhausted, next to me. I was occupying myself by seeing all the different cracks on the ceiling.

Was it because Lucas was the son of the viscount? Was that the reason this prison cell was better than my previous one? In some way, it made sense, though I was left wondering why I was locked up with him. Obviously this eastern tower had more than one cell. Was it because the servants didn't want Lucas to be alone with his thoughts before the inevitable?

So many questions ran wild around my mind, but they were all trivial ones, since I refused to even wonder about the most important there was. And that was, why was Mathias behaving like this?

It might be because I was no longer going to become a sacrifice that my mind subconsciously wanted to find a logical reason for his actions. Without the fear of imminent death it was easier to wonder the whys and hows of his behavior. What was going on through his mind? What did he actually want to do? Despite what I saw in the courtyard yesterday night, I resolutely refused to believe his fear of his father was much bigger than his love for his brother.

This was the same guy who pretty much gave up his humanity just to get a chance to protect Lucas from becoming a sacrifice. Who weighted the pros and cons for over a year and came up with the conclusion that saving his brother overwrote everything else, and everyone else, in this world.

But in the end, it was not really my place to try and understand him. In my book, he was already beyond forgiveness. Moreover, while it was true I was no longer in immediate danger, that did not mean I was completely safe. The viscount retained me despite no longer being of use to him. I didn't know what he planned to do to me once the ritual was done, but considering what I saw of him so far, it couldn't be anything good.

I shook my head, closing my eyes and trying to rest, to no avail. I had been unable to ever since we were locked up. Lucas was asleep, true, but it was only because healing me took a lot of his energy and he had to recuperate afterwards. Since healing magic was not his forte, it took him ten times the same energy it would take someone with an affinity towards this type of magic to complete the task. And it was not even halfway done.

The sound of the door quickly opening and closing was heard, and when I lifted my head I saw a tray with two dishes and bread on the floor. The smell was tantalizing, making my empty stomach rumble. I nudged Lucas.

"Hey, Lucas, wake up" he grumbled something unintelligible and turned to the other side, but I kept shaking him. "Food, Lucas! Aren't you hungry?"

Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at me drowsily. It took him a few more minutes to come back to his senses, before he groggily stood up and went to retrieve the tray. He placed it on the bed, which was so hard it could function as a table, and with his help I sat up.

Compared to what they gave me the first day, this was definitely food of the gods. I loved soup, all kinds of soups, so taking a few spoonfuls of the warm broth made me momentarily smile in joy.

I stopped when I saw the way Lucas lifelessly ate.

"You need to eat it all Lucas. Otherwise you won't have enough energy left to escape" I told him, passing him my share of bread. He said nothing, even though he accepted the bread, and like that, in silence, we ate.