NOVEL NEXT There’s a saying that you don’t truly appreciate freedom until it’s gone.
And here I am, having been resurrected and regained consciousness for about two weeks, really feeling the weight of how precious freedom is.
Why, you ask?
Well, I’ve found myself effectively imprisoned in my own home against my will.
“…Sigh.”
The door is right there; why can’t I just go outside?
Letting out a sigh at this unfortunate reality, I started making a hasty breakfast while recalling how exactly I ended up in this situation.
*
It was shortly after I regained my consciousness.
Unaware of how famous I was in this world, I naively stepped outside, only to be surrounded by people. Panicking, I tried to flee and ended up with a minor injury.
Naturally, Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia were shocked to see me come home injured after going outside alone, and as a result, my dream of gaining independence quickly vanished.
But that wasn’t too surprising. The real problem came after that.
It was the sudden declaration of a curfew.
One day, out of nowhere, Sylvia and Yoon Si-woo prohibited me from going outside!
To be precise:
“Under no circumstances wander around places with lots of people unprotected, and if you must go out, you must be accompanied by one of us.”
That’s basically the gist of it.
Of course, I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of resentment about that.
To be controlled in how I move around outside?
Ugh! I’ve already had enough of that for two years during my time in the military!
Angry and suffering from PTSD, I voiced my discontent to the two who dared to try and control me again.
“I understand that you’re worried about me, but there’s really no need for that. I’m not a child, so why treat me like a kid who’s being watched at the edge of the water?”
Hearing my complaint, Sylvia nodded and exchanged silent gestures with Yoon Si-woo, then quietly called me into the room.
“…Scarlet, can you come with me for a moment?”
I followed her in, still confused. Taking a deep breath, Sylvia pulled out a magical tool and showed me a video.
What she played left me momentarily at a loss for words.
It was an extremely inappropriate and explicit video—
And the woman in it looked strikingly like me!
“Hey! How does it feel to be saved by men?”
“Ah! I’m so glad you rescued me!”
With such embarrassing lines ringing in the air, I was frozen in shock as I saw a woman who resembled me gasping between men.
Sylvia explained in a serious voice that while it was unfortunate, the popularity of heroes sometimes led to illegal adult films depicting them being made—
And that this particular video had just been released and swiftly taken down, having made record sales in mere hours!
“That’s how many wretched scum there are who would lust after the savior who risked their life for them….”
In a voice chilling enough to make me shiver, she continued.
“Scarlet, you mentioned treating you like a child, right? We understand that our worries may be burdensome for you, even if you’ve become fragile in our eyes. You’re not a child, after all. So, if we’re treating you like you might drown in the water, we’re just being cautious, right? I hope you can endure just a little longer until we clean up all the trash out there. Do you understand?”
With a fierce grip, she said this with such fervor in her eyes that I could only nod in agreement.
And from that day onwards, I couldn’t step outside even a single foot.
*
…That’s how I ended up being trapped at home.
What a ridiculous story, right?
Who could have guessed I’d experience something like this?
Still, the one silver lining was that the issue regarding that video was resolved one way or another.
From what I gathered, Sylvia went all out, and they caught everyone involved in its production. They tracked down the purchasers and recovered almost all the videos, so I shouldn’t get into trouble because of it later.
In the end, the only unresolved issue was my curfew.
While things seemed relatively alright now, Sylvia and Yoon Si-woo knew there were bad people out there. They just couldn’t ease up, so what could I do?
So for the time being, the deadline for my curfew was set until my custom magical item for disguise and protection was completed.
They say it’ll be finished soon, but since I didn’t know the exact timing, I was left anxiously awaiting its completion.
Thanks to this, I had been forcibly cooped up at home for days, on the verge of going mad from wanting to go outside.
Isn’t it strange how the human mind works? You’d think not going outside for a few days wouldn’t be a big deal, but when someone else forbids you, it feels unbearable.
How did I manage to survive through all that in the military?
While I was pondering this over the breakfast I had prepared,
“Ah, Scarlet. Good morning.”
Yoon Si-woo, presumably just awake, opened the door.
Seeing him greet me, I sighed softly before replying.
“…Yeah, good morning. I made some for you too, so come eat.”
“Thanks! I’ll enjoy it!”
Pointing at the breakfast I had laid out, he thanked me and proceeded to eat.
Unfortunately, my eyes didn’t shine with admiration as I looked at him.
It’s because his behavior lately has been quite irksome.
I call it a “curfew” for convenience, but technically, they didn’t outright forbid me from going outside.
They just added a condition: “Don’t wander around unprotected in crowded places for a while, and if you must go out, bring one of us.”
In simple terms, if I wanted to go out, I could just ask Sylvia or Yoon Si-woo.
Honestly, in my current state of wanting to escape, I was pretty eager about that, but there was a big problem.
Sylvia, as the head of Astra, was always busy, so I could hardly expect her to help me.
And Yoon Si-woo—the owner of the house—had been oddly absent for several days!
Why on earth was he so busy?
If he was going to keep me from leaving, he should also help me go out!
As I grumbled to myself while glancing at Yoon Si-woo, he seemed all done with breakfast and smiled at me.
“I enjoyed it, Scarlet. Today was delicious too.”
What’s so funny? You bad kid, you go out every morning and return late!
But I couldn’t bring myself to say anything mean to him. I could only nod in agreement.
“…Really? I’m glad you liked it. When you’re done, just put your plate in the sink. I’ll take care of the dishwashing.”
“Thanks again. It must be a hassle to wake up this early and prepare breakfast for me.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I just made a little extra of what I was going to eat anyway, so it’s not a hassle…and I didn’t wake up early just to make breakfast for you,” I replied.
For clarity, this wasn’t because Yoon Si-woo was charming; it was purely my honest feelings.
Being cooped up at home with nothing to do, I had been going to bed early, and thus, I’d wake up early too.
If I didn’t cook at least something, the day would become so long that it’d feel better to be busy with something else…
As I lamented to myself, I saw Yoon Si-woo cleaning up his plate and preparing to leave.
Him going out meant I wouldn’t be leaving the house today either.
Was it because I felt seriously disappointed?
“…Are you going out again today? If you don’t…can’t you stay?”
Without thinking, I approached Yoon Si-woo and said this.
Startled, he jumped a bit and replied,
“Uh! W-well, I have things to do… So, um, could you let go of this…?”
“Hmm? Oh….”
Confused, I realized I’d unconsciously grabbed his sleeve.
Wow, I didn’t realize I was this desperate to hold on…
I must really want to go outside, huh?
But I couldn’t shirk his work responsibilities and ask him to skip out on his duties today.
Reluctantly letting go of his sleeve, I felt a wave of sadness thinking about spending another day alone at home.
“…Alright. Take care. Just come back quickly and don’t be late.”
I’d be bored stiff alone….
Saying this to him, Yoon Si-woo nodded, blushing as if he was in a hurry, and fled through the entrance.
“…What should I do now?”
Left alone, I sighed deeply, wondering what I could do to pass the time quicker.