Ch. 77

The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

Ardion tapped Delzion on the shoulder. "This will be over soon. Don't be too disheartened."

Delzion nodded and left the sitting room. Ardion immediately began to climb the stairs. His steps were quick. In less than a few seconds, he opened the door to the room where Derol was, who dashed toward him.

"Did you find a way to get there?"

Ardion unfolded a blueprint in front of Derol. "First, you can enter through any hole in the outer wall, or you could sneak in through the door without the gatekeeper noticing."

"I think sneaking past the gatekeeper is better. The holes in the outer wall are filthy."

Ardion found it amusing that Derol, even in this situation, was concerned with cleanliness and snickered.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

At Derol's question, Ardion shook his head. "Anyway, if you enter that way, the prison entrance will be right there. Honestly, with your skills, you can probably get through it quickly."

Derol stared at Ardion blankly. "Why?"

Ardion glanced sideways.

Derol shook his head. "Didn't you always treat me like I was less than a living being?"

"Less than a living being?"

"Yes, you've always treated me like that."

"That…" Ardion’s handsome eyebrows furrowed. Thinking back, he realized he had never really liked Derol since childhood. He had envied and been jealous of how close Derol was to Laila, receiving her love and attention. He let out a breath. Looking back, it was pretty petty. How could he have felt that way over something as small as a rat?

Since Laila had told him to treat Derol better, Ardion decided to change his mindset. "I'm sorry. I was young back then. And now, you're the only one I have."

Derol made a squeak. For some reason, Ardion felt irritated by it. It almost felt like Derol was mocking him.

Seeing Ardion stare at him intently, Derol said cheerfully, "I’ll accept the apology. I’m a rat with a surprisingly big heart after all."

"…"

"Then, once I reach the entrance, where should I go next?"

Ardion pointed a long finger to the red-painted section next to the blueprint. "First, look for Laila around this area. She hasn't been there long, so she should be in a nearby prison."

Derol nodded.

Ardion looked down at Derol. Derol was standing on his two feet, studying the blueprint with quick, lively movements. His little head darted back and forth, and his black eyes sparkled with energy.

"Do you think you can do it?"

"Don't worry. My memory is sharp enough to memorize even the complex holes in Duke Orchid’s mansion."

Ardion nodded. Even as a child, Derol had been good at sneaking through small openings. And as far as Ardion could remember, Derol was never easily caught by people.

"Derol," Ardion said in a low voice.

Derol turned to him. "What is it?"

"When you see Laila, tell her I’m sorry."

"…"

"Tell her I’m sorry for everything. It's because of me that she's suffering like that." Ardion lowered his head.

Even with all the overflowing mana he possessed, he couldn't move freely. Even though he had tried to annul the crown prince's marriage at the nobles' council, once they gathered up, he couldn’t do anything. They had once again sided with Rowell, even going as far as saying that Ardion should step down from his position as a prince.

Now, the public’s perception of Ardion was poor, and his reputation had sunk low. Although he had achieved some success at the frontier, after finally clearing his name, he had foolishly married a commoner.

And that commoner was Laila, the actress who had been falsely involved in the Duke Orchid arson case.

People whispered that they were a perfect match.

Ardion roughly swept his hair back. "And if you meet Laila, tell her not to read the newspapers for a while."

"Understood."

Derol hesitated for a moment, then lightly patted Ardion’s hand.

When Ardion raised his gaze, Derol lowered his head and quickly jumped through the window.

"Derol, I can take you to the prison," Ardion said as he stood up.

Derol shook his head. "I think it’s better for you to go somewhere else right now. Don’t you have something to do, Ardion?"

With that, he disappeared through the window.

Ardion stood still for a moment before turning around. When he opened the door, the butler was waiting outside.

"Prepare the carriage immediately."

"As you command."

The butler quickly went down the stairs. Just as Ardion stepped out, the carriage was ready.

He ordered the coachman, "Take me to the imperial palace."

Soon, the carriage began to move.

❋ ❋ ❋

I blinked my eyes. A blurry figure disappeared and reappeared. But when I opened my eyes, all that was waiting for me was a cold floor. A foul smell instantly filled my nostrils. I covered my nose and slowly stood up. Iron bars were right in front of me, and the floor was damp with water. There was a blanket nearby, but it looked so torn it would be difficult to use.

So I’ve really ended up in prison.

I hesitated as I stood up. Another set of iron bars appeared ahead. It was dark, but I could see someone sitting in the opposite prison. That person seemed familiar.

"Hey."

The person looked up.

As soon as I saw him, I asked, "Are you Duke Delrit?"

Duke Delrit’s face immediately stiffened. "Do you know me?"

"Yes, I saw you in the courtroom."

Hearing that, Duke Delrit bowed his head deeply. I remembered him shouting earlier that it was all his doing.

I asked cautiously, "Don’t you feel wronged?"

"Of course I do. Everything was the crown prince’s doing, and I just followed orders and cleaned up the mess, but this is what I get… Locked in a prison."

I frowned. If he had followed Rowell’s orders, I didn’t think it would have been for a good reason. Instead of reflecting on his actions, it seemed as though he was more upset that he ended up here. I asked just in case, but it seemed Duke Delrit was the same kind of person as Rowell.

As I stood silently, Duke Delit quickly spoke again. "And now I have to stay here for a month until my trial."

It seemed that was what he was most upset about—being in prison. After all, Duke Delrit had supported Rowell, so he must have done something wrong.

"It’s the same either way, right?"

"True, but this place is filthy, and the food is terrible," Duke Delrit said as he gripped the iron bars.

He looked around. I followed his gaze, looking at the bars. A guard was coming down the hall, holding a long stick, the dragging sound of it grating on my ears.

Duke Delrit motioned towards the end of the hallway. "If you get caught by that guard, he’ll beat you with that long stick."

"Just talking about it makes you scared?"

The dragging sound of the stick grew closer. Duke Delrit quickly nodded and stepped back. I followed and squeezed into a corner. I didn’t want to be beaten with that long stick. I, too, felt wronged.

I really didn’t kill the emperor. And what Laila did before wasn’t even my doing.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of heavy boots. It was the sound of leather boots, and for some reason, it sent chills down my spine. The guard stopped in front of my cell.

"I heard a new one came in." He bared his yellow teeth. He had a rotten smile.

"They say you poisoned the emperor?" The guard peered into my cell with widened eyes. From a criminal's perspective, I couldn't blame him, but from my point of view, it was deeply distressing.

Especially with the way the guard was looking at me—it was so filthy.

"Get lost," I snapped, unable to hold myself back. I heard a sharp intake of breath from the surroundings. It seemed there were more people here besides Duke Delrit. Before I had time to be surprised, the long stick came thrusting in. I quickly dodged the stick.

"Oh, you dodged that?"

"I’m innocent, so don’t do this."

"Haha, everyone says that. They all say it wasn’t their fault."

The guard’s long stick came towards me again. I couldn’t stand it any longer and made water in my hand, sending the stick flying in the opposite direction. The stick snapped off weakly.

"You…!" The guard’s eyes widened in shock as he trembled with rage, the stick in his hand shaking uncontrollably. One side was already broken and useless.

“See? I told you. Get lost while I’m asking nicely,” I said angrily.

The guard rummaged through his pocket. “You’re going to die today. I…”

The guard’s eyes made him look as though he were out of his mind. I stood up in a panic. He frantically searched for the key and put it in the lock. When the key finally turned in the lock, the guard smirked at me. My heart was racing anxiously. I felt like I had caused trouble for no reason.

I should have just stayed still like Delrit had said earlier.

I felt resentful that the guard was harassing me.

Clank.

The lock completely turned, and the prison door creaked open.

I hesitated and clenched my hands. If the guard moved even a single step, I would shoot a water bomb. If possible, I thought it would be okay to escape.

That was when the guard laughed bitterly and grabbed the iron bars.

“Wait.”

It was a human voice. The sound of walking was quite fast.

“Get away.”

This person had similar clothes to what the guard was wearing, but his clothes had more seals on them.

“Warden, what are you doing here?” The guard hurriedly lowered his head.

His attitude was different from the dirty way he spoke to me. It was a strangely cowardly tone of questioning. On top of that, the guard was watching the warden’s expression.

I felt so nervous.

It seemed that the warden was the real power here. At that moment, the warden nodded to me. “His Highness the Crown Prince said not to touch this woman until the next interrogation.”

Ch. 77

Comments

Comments