Talking to himself was how Brice got through his day. Loneliness would always come to him since he lived in this prison. He was used to that sort of thing and did not mind if Graciela left right now.
However, can Brice have a little hope? At least he wanted to be with Graciela a little longer. This was the first time he had normal interactions with humans. It was something he could never have imagined until now.
Even from the start, Brice had thought that Graciela was not real. The girl was probably just his hallucination because he had been living alone in this cold prison for a long time. He sometimes imagined having a friend to talk to. Because of that, he could think that Graciela was a delusion that came from his hope.
On the other hand, Graciela realized that the man in front of her was deep in thought. She did not know what was going through Brice's mind, but she felt she had to stop his thoughts because he looked restless.
"What are you thinking about?" Graciela asked while waving her hands in front of Brice. "I'm sorry to interruption you, but I'm afraid you're in trouble."
Brice snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the ground that had been his bed for years. "I-I was just wondering if you were real. There's no way someone would help me," he said honestly.
"How do I prove that I'm real?"
"I have no idea..."
That answer did not help Graciela at all. However, she could not get angry for trying to understand Brice's feelings. It was clear that the man was different from the people she had met so far.
Those people lead normal lives and could tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Unfortunately, Brice did not get that. He may have been through so much suffering that real people could be considered imaginary to him.
"Actually, I was waiting for my friend. He joined the security team to kill the monsters." Graciela suddenly changed the topic.
Brice could not help but feel attracted by those words. He looked up and asked, "Are you going to leave after your friend comes here?"
"That's right. I have to go home after he comes back."
An uncomfortable feeling took over Brice again, as it had been a while ago. For some reason, he did not like it when Graciela talked about leaving him. It did not matter if the girl was just his hallucination. At least he had a friend now.
"When does your friend finish killing monsters?" asked Brice, hoping Graciela's friend would be back in a long time.
"Maybe in one or two hours," Graciela replied, making Brice's expression change. She knew about that and immediately kept going, "I will look after you until he returns. Can it prove that I am real?"
"I don't know"
"Alright, since you don't know, then I'll stay here until my friend returns. Do you mind?"
"No, I don't."
It was a decision that Brice would never regret in his life. He could not deny that Graciela's presence made him feel better. The girl was even willing to make a new topic of conversation when he did not know what to say.
That night, they spent time talking about many things. Through these conversations, Brice became knowledgeable of things that he previously thought never existed. Previously, he did not know that the moon had many shapes.
From the moment he opened his eyes, Brice realized he had been trapped in a jail with the other slaves. They go through the days accompanied by darkness. Brice had indeed seen the sky when someone bought him from an auction.
However, he was not allowed to look at the sky every day. That was the reason why he did not know the shape of the moon. He had never seen a full moon and only found out about it from Graciela.
"...I once came to one of the biggest lakes in this kingdom. It's a beautiful place. I hope I can take you there one day. What do you think?"
Graciela stopped talking because she did not get an answer. Then she looked to the side to find that Brice had fallen asleep on the ground. She was heartbroken again when she remembered that slaves did not get the place they deserved from their masters.
"Is my story too boring that you fall asleep?" Graciela smiled as she took off her robe to cover Brice's body.
She could not move the man to another place without his consent. Because of that, all she could do was find a way to keep Brice from getting cold. She hoped her robe was enough to keep out the cold air at night.
Just as Graciela finished covering Brice's body, someone suddenly entered the prison. That person was Cyril, who came with a bespectacled man.
"Sir Dexter...?!" Graciela spoke while standing up. A moment later, a notification appeared in the air and made her smile in relief.
[Daily quest: meeting the male lead (Dexter Petandra) has been completed!]
Unfortunately, Cyril thought that Graciela smiled to greet Dexter's presence. He felt irritated because he had been worried about the girl's condition. Thirty minutes ago, he had finished exterminating the monsters and persuaded Dexter to come with him.
Persuading Dexter was not a simple task, since the mage was known to be indifferent. Dexter Petandra was someone who would not care, even if a crown princess was sitting next to him. However, he was not like the arrogant Ashton, as he still respected Graciela.
"Do you know how worried I was when I didn't find you anywhere?" Cyril asked while shaking Graciela's shoulder.
His anxious face made Graciela unable to protest. Moreover, she knew it was her fault for going elsewhere without informing Cyril first. "I'm sorry. Something happened, so I had to go here," she answered.
Dexter, who did not want to waste his time, immediately turned away Cyril from Graciela. He fixed his glasses position and asked, "Why do you come here at night to meet me, Your Highness?"
There was no actual answer to that question. From the start, Graciela had intended to make a fake story and told Dexter that someone sent black magic to her.
Dexter's father had a good relationship with the late queen. That was the reason Dexter still respected Graciela. He respected his father's relationship with the late queen, so he promised to help Graciela if the crown princess had a problem with black magic.