A faint candlelight suddenly flickered to life at the end of the corridor in the dim prison.
A man in a snow-white suit held an oil lamp in one hand. His leather shoes tapped against the wooden floor as he slowly approached a nearby cell.
"Clatter—"
As the light drew closer, chains inside the cell began to rattle sharply.
The kerosene lamp illuminated the dark space.
It was a massive cell, three meters square, surrounded by thick Seastone walls. Only the door was made of bars, allowing light to pass through.
Inside the cell was a pink-haired girl. Around her neck was an intricately designed steel collar, its rear connected to a long iron chain that tethered her to the wall.
Other than the collar around her neck, the girl wore no other restraints. Within this cell, she had relatively free movement.
The pink-haired girl was Ginny, the missing Southern Army Captain and Kuma's childhood friend.
Unable to distinguish day from night after such a long time in darkness, Ginny seemed somewhat dazed. Nothing remained of her usual lively big-sister demeanor.
Noticing the faint light at the entrance, Ginny slowly rose to her feet. Instinctively, she wanted to approach the door and see what was happening, but the tugging sensation at her neck forced her to stop.
"Oh?"
"The Southern Army's captain is actually such a delicate little girl?"
"That really is beyond my expectations!"
One hand holding the kerosene lamp reached through the gaps in the barred door, and a somewhat frivolous voice drifted into the cell.
Hearing the man speak, Ginny raised her head and looked toward the door.
Outside the cell stood a tall young man in a snow-white suit. He looked around twenty years old, with smooth skin. Though his features could not be called exquisite,