My schedule for the next two weeks was waking up at sunrise, having Breakfast, working in the clinic, eating lunch at Noon, visiting Otto for classes, and then being free to do what I wanted until dinner. This was my typical Day. There were no such things as free days or staying up late. The Work wasn't demanding due to the ease of Magic, and candles were too expensive to drive the Night away.

  No one treated me like a prisoner, but many kept their distance. I haven't really tried jet to leave or ask if I could. I didn't want to appear desperate to leave or ungrateful. I know some People might wonder why I feel grateful to the People that imprisoned me. They know almost nothing about me, yet still treat me well. For all I know, it could have been way worse on the Ibasan side.

  The only real change was the Patients and Otto's lessons, which became increasingly demanding. He was very excited about my quick learning ability and greatly praised me. Of course, he also loved to tease me, but he was hardly the only one. Rika would show up now and again to talk about her favorite topic, "Gossip."

  Of course, in the beginning, I understood almost Nothing, but as Time progressed, I could at least grasp some of it.

  Who was dating whom, suspicions of cheating, or if someone had gotten pregnant? She never mentioned me, but I am sure there are a lot of rumors, and not all of them are good. Some Women throw nasty looks at me. When I asked Rika about it, she assured me they were just jealous or believed "their Men" were interested in me.

  For Some of them, that was even true. A few men would approach me, but their attempts didn't improve, even after I could understand them. Some were very timid, and some were way too touchy, but one thing most had in common.

  They were shallow.

  They were only looking at my appearance and little else. A few even tried to touch me, but I would simply smack their hand away. I was still a Prisoner, but I would not allow them to touch me.

  Is this how Women feel? Hopefully, there will be just a few "Popular" ones. But I for sure never wanted to be this Popular. I see the gap between my Words and actions by making myself as beautiful as possible. But who doesn't want to be attractive? And making myself ugly to stop them felt like agreeing with People who said, “It was okay. It was her fault for looking like this”.

  It sounds like complaining about getting “too much attention.” I still did not like it, though. But I also couldn't do anything about it. There were even some old Women who belittled me or still believed me to be an Ibasan whore due to the way I showed up on my first Day.

  These Words and looks hurt, but having Rika there to talk to helped me a lot. There was a lot of gossip about Janus's Brothers, who were all still Single except for Averell, who had recently found himself a Bakers girl Named Lisa.

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  Joe had real trouble finding anyone who liked him after my arrival. Serves him right. Jack, however, has a few fans despite his behavior. William seems so distant from others that many would forget he existed if Jack were not there. I know this sounds rude, but that's just how he is. Even after two weeks, the only word I heard from him was “Sorry.” Nothing else was said, but everyone acted like it was a huge deal. I don't get it.

  But there was almost no Gossip about Janus.

  He was taking his Work too seriously and had, I quote, "no time for Girls." However, this did not stop Rika from always—and I mean always—finding a way to mention him.

  It felt like she liked the Idea of shipping us. Telling me over and over again how good we looked together. I told her again and again without any excitement that there were no feelings between us. But she stayed stubborn. However, she made me wonder about something else.

  I don't have a lot of experience.

  I held the Hand of one Girl in Kindergarten, and we even Promised to marry each other. However, she moved away after the first grade, and I never saw her again, I felt Nothing.

  Another Boy from my class and I were kissing each other in second grade on my Bed. It was one occasion, and we remained friends for a few years afterward, but I felt nothing.

  In Fourth grade, I confessed to a girl, and we became "a couple." For one week during a school trip, we kissed and held hands. After that week, we never talked again, and I felt nothing.

  I danced with a Girl for five years in a dancing club until I finished school. We reached the level where we could have started professional Dancing, but Nothing came of it. That was when I started wondering if I could fall in Love. I danced with her for five years and tried to fool myself into feeling something for her, but I felt Nothing.

  She even tried to contact me a few years later, and I felt like I could have started something. But I don't want a relationship just for Sex or the sake of not being Single. I didn't want to one day wake up and hate my Partner and regret my children. Becoming like this scared me.

  I'm still afraid I will end up like this even when I feel something. Because of all these reasons, I am cautious with dating, most definitely too careful. Still, I don't want to get hurt or hurt others, and I don't want our relationship to fissile out.

  Those are just the reasons for not starting a relationship with someone spontaneously. Especially for Janus, he is the first son of a Marquess and an accomplished Soldier. I'm a Prisoner with no Social standing or Family background.

  I never told any of this to Rika, only that I'm a Virgin and don't like dating. The Lesson where Otto enlightened me about all the dirty words is still one of my most shameful memories, and I will never forget it. My good Memory is dammed.

  This was how my Life in the Fortress went. It wasn't easy and quite scary, but the people weren't so bad once I got to know them.

  The old Woman who cursed me would never repeat a lousy word after I healed her creaking Bones. The Soldiers who tried to harass me would be dragged away by my former Patients. It was getting better.

  After three weeks, when I finally began enjoying my new Life as a woman, disaster struck.