On top of that, they were apparently trying to create a new evil dragon. What on earth was going on outside right now?
Sitting still in a dim, windowless room like this wouldn't help her gather any information.
Leticia lowered her gaze to the grimoire in her hand.
"I could escape any time I wanted to, but..."
Because Leticia had grown up in a remote village where information rarely reached, she knew nothing at all of the state of the world.
She wasn't even certain how many years had passed since she'd been stuck here.
She didn't even know her current age.
All she knew was that two hundred years had passed since her previous life.
"What's become of the world since then?"
If possible, she hoped it was at peace.
What sort of lives had her companions, the ones she'd seen at the end, gone on to lead?
If they had been able to meet peaceful ends, then as far as Leticia was concerned, trading her life for it had been worth it.
"The barrier should still be in place. Supreme God-sama didn't say anything about it either."
If the barrier that contained and purified the defilement emitted by the Evil Dragon had been broken, then the Supreme God would have told her to go and restore it first.
The fact that he hadn't meant that the barrier was still holding even now.
"I made it to hold for a thousand years, so it should be fine, but..."
The battle with the Evil Dragon had left the land so barren that not even weeds would grow, but two hundred years had passed since she'd cast the barrier, so it might well have been transformed completely.
"I'd like to go and see, but before that, where do I start? At the very least I need to find out how old I am now and how long I've been locked up. And that child must be somewhere in this world too."
The reincarnation of the Evil Dragon, who had been at her side until the very last moment.
Was he living a slightly better life this time around?
She couldn't help but worry since she was in a situation like this.
"Hmm..."
As she was fretting over where to start, the door opened without so much as a knock.
It was flung open so carelessly that it seemed like they had done it on purpose to annoy her.
No, they had actually done it to annoy her.
A beastwoman entered the room.
Although few people actually came face-to-face with Leticia, everyone who came to her room, apart from the man, was a woman dressed in the same uniform.
They were servants who had been assigned to her.
But not one of them wanted to take care of her.
Sure enough, the two servants who came in showed open disgust the moment they saw Leticia.
Leticia felt like complaining that they could at least keep up a slightly better front, but they probably felt there was no need to be considerate of a mere human.
The two women knitted their brows at the overturned table and the wreckage of the soup scattered across the floor.
"You've made a mess again! Who do you think has to clean this up?"
"Honestly, I do wish she'd give it a rest."
With that, one of the women slapped Leticia across the cheek.
By beastman standards, she was probably holding back, but for Leticia, a human, the impact was enough to make her head spin.
She reflexively collapsed onto the bed.
Ngh... I want to hit her back right now. But it's still too soon. Not until the mana settles. Stay calm, come on, Leticia!
Even as she seethed at the woman who had hit her without hesitation, Leticia desperately talked herself down.
What was more, it was that man who had kicked the table over and swept the food onto the floor, not Leticia.
Being blamed for something she hadn't done at all only made her angrier.
"Ugh, honestly."
"I wish she'd spare a thought for the ones who have to clean this up."
The table was heavy, and the two women worked together to put it back in place.
It took two of them, both with physical strength beyond any human's, to right it.
They must have known perfectly well that it was far too heavy to be knocked over by Leticia, with her thin arms, wasted from a lack of proper food and exercise.
They knew, and were taking their frustrations out on Leticia anyway.
"Really, why is a woman like this Kashu-sama's fated mate? It's unacceptable."
"Everyone in this mansion feels the same. Still, he's bound to take some daughter of another influential noble house as his second wife anyway, so what does it matter?"
"True enough, this thing will just be kept caged in here for the rest of its life. But it does matter. I'd far rather serve a lady of proper standing than a woman like this."
Though Leticia was right there, they were engrossed in their chatter as though she didn't exist.
To them, Leticia was nothing more than a slave who happened to be called a fated mate.
You steal my peace and my time and then say whatever you like!
Leticia's pale blue eyes grew more vivid with anger. The women didn't notice.
Kashu.
A name she had heard countless times from the servants.
The name belonging to the man she hated, the one who had kidnapped her simply because she was his fated mate.
Until now, though, she hadn't cared about such things.
Her head had been filled with nothing but the desire to go home.
But now that her power had returned and she could escape whenever she liked, she had room to spare to pay attention to the servants' idle chatter.
Making it look as though her slapped cheek hurt, Leticia curled up in the corner of the bed and, while pretending not to listen or look, focused her hearing so as not to miss a word.
Unaware that Leticia was eavesdropping, the two women were absorbed in their gossip.
It showed just how little regard they had for her.
"To think that someone as noble as a duke has to take in such an inferior race. The poor man."
"The one I feel sorry for is whoever ends up as Kashu-sama's partner later. By the laws of the nation, he has to take his fated mate as his primary wife. It must be humiliating for a noble lady."
"A human as the primary wife and yourself as the second? Absolutely awful."
The two women said whatever they pleased.
Listening closely, Leticia screamed inwardly, I'm the one who hates this more!
What she hadn't expected, though, was that the man who kept her locked up here, Kashu, held a position as high as duke.
Thanks to her memories of her past life, she knew roughly where Akashitrobia was located.
This world revolved around a single large continent, and Akashitrobia sat in the south-eastern part of the continent, in a valley protected by mountains and forests.
And the place where she had fought the Evil Dragon lay to the north of Akashitrobia.
To get there one had to pass through forests and mountains along the way; nature itself served as a fortress that barred others from invading.
There was little interaction with the outside, which contributed to the people's insular nature.
On the other hand, as a powerful nation that reigned at the pinnacle of the beastmen, it was regarded with fear and respect.
Although this had fed Akashitrobia's rise to power, Leticia couldn't help but feel a sense of unease about being here as a fated mate.
She had assumed Kashu, who had singled her out as his mate, must be a man of a certain standing, judging from the size of the room she'd been given and the number of servants, but she hadn't imagined he held a rank second only to royalty.
She was surprised, but at the same time, she vaguely had some idea about why no one came to help her after she had been abducted.
The village Leticia had lived in was a remote one in a neighbouring nation, separated from Akashitrobia by a mountain range.
At that time, she was still learning how to read and write, so she didn't even know the name Akashitrobia, but now she had a pretty good idea of where the village was located.
The nation Leticia lived in wasn't particularly large, and it was clear that the government didn't want to cause trouble over a single, worthless commoner living in a remote village.
No help would ever come, no matter how long she waited.
"That aside, was it next month? Kashu-sama's wedding."
"Yes, apparently this thing turns sixteen next month, so the ceremony will be held on that day."
"It's truly unbelievable. That Kashu-sama should hold a ceremony with something like this."
"Oh, but it seems Kashu-sama thinks the same way. Apparently the ceremony is to be kept as simple as possible."
"Really? That's a relief. I'd hate to have to help dress up this woman."
"Wouldn't anyone?"
Letting out vulgar cackles, never once taking the slightest interest in Leticia herself, they finished cleaning half-heartedly before leaving the room.
The instant the door was slammed shut, Leticia, who had been curled up with her knees drawn to her chest and her face hidden, looked up.
Her face was contorted with rage and she looked like she was going to explode.
"Saying whatever they like. Just because I'm keeping quiet!"
Grinding her teeth, Leticia quickly reined in her anger and felt a sense of urgency instead.
"This isn't the time to get angry at rude people like them. Getting married next month? What? Me? And sixteen? I was brought here when I was eight, so that means I've been here for nearly eight years?"
Questions popped into her mind one after another.
Eight years. It took only a moment to say, but it was actually a very long time.
Eight years is especially significant when you're a child.
Considering that many people in her village left for the city at fifteen, Leticia was stunned to realise she had passed that age without even noticing.
"I've been here that long...?"
This place was always dim, and since she couldn't tell day from night, one day blurred into the next.
Even so, she'd been certain several years had passed. She just hadn't thought that many years had gone by.
"Dad and Mum must be so worried. The villagers too..."
How were they all now?
When she thought about the village, Leticia unconsciously pretended not to notice the faint sense of wrongness she felt.
"...They said I turn sixteen next month. I don't know how they found out, but let's set that aside... The bigger problem is being married off once I turn sixteen."
Leticia muttered to herself.
"No way am I marrying a guy like that. Which means I need to escape before next month..."
Leticia folded her arms and groaned as she thought it over.
Then her eyes fell on her own thin arms and legs.
Part of it was because she hadn't been eating properly, but since she lived almost exclusively in this confined space, she hadn't built any muscle even though she wasn't sick.
"I could manage by strengthening my muscles with magic, but even if the mana's fine, my stamina might not hold out."
If she were caught partway, she would be back to square one.
Not that she had any intention of being caught easily.
"I've got until next month, so maybe I should build up a bit of stamina and muscle with food and exercise before making my escape."