Ch. 80
The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became ObsessiveThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
TN: Now that the table has turned, what will Ardion do for Laila? I really do wonder about this. What do you guys this?
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TN: Now that the table has turned, what will Ardion do for Laila? I really do wonder about this. What do you guys this?
I narrowed my eyes. There were more than a few rats around me. Unlike Derol, their eyes were strangely red, their fur looked dull and rough, and they were soaked in water, making them look far from clean.
“Derol, did the rat you see look like one of these?” I pushed Derol toward the iron bars.
He nodded. “Yeah. These are the prison rats here. I heard they eat human flesh to survive.”
“What?” I was horrified.
Derol's expression wasn't much better either. “The rats here sometimes eat the flesh of people who die from torture because there's nothing else to eat.”
At that moment, a rat with red eyes jumped towards us. I instinctively screamed and backed away while Derol jumped down from my hand.
“Derol, it’s dangerous!” I shouted.
But Derol ran straight toward the red-eyed rat. They sniffed each other, then Derol turned his head. “Master, it’s alright. He says he won’t touch you.”
“Derol, did you say that to him?”
“Yes.” Derol nodded vigorously.
I watched from a distance, still unsure. Derol seemed fine, but the red-eyed rat still felt unsettling. Plus, being in this place, who knew what kind of diseases could spread.
I surveyed the area with a serious expression. Water kept pooling on the floor from somewhere, the air was damp and humid, and there was a disgusting, unknown stench that seemed to rise from somewhere…
This place was dangerous, not to mention the guards and Rowell who might come at any time.
I never wanted to see him again.
If I wanted to avoid seeing him again…
In the end, leaving the prison was the only option.
But the passage was a problem. I didn’t know the layout of the prison, and it seemed that Derol didn’t either. He looked confused when he came here earlier. My eyes automatically went to the red-eyed rat. Upon closer inspection, its eyes were wounded, and it definitely seemed like it had been through a lot in this place.
I asked Derol, “Derol, do you think this rat knows a way out? A passage out of the prison, perhaps?”
Derol paused for a moment, then approached the red-eyed rat. Loud squeaking filled the air. Derol nodded occasionally, and the red-eyed rat waved its hands while squeaking. Eventually, the noise stopped.
Derol rushed back to me. “Master, the rat knows of a big passage that people can go through to leave the prison.”
“Really? Then…”
“But there’s a condition.”
I furrowed my brows. It seemed that this rat had been through quite a bit, yet now it was making demands. It wasn’t just any ordinary rat.
“What condition?”
“If we leave, it wants fresh nuts, like almonds, to be placed behind the prison.”
“That’s not a problem. Once we get out of here, I’ll leave nuts for it, even mealworms.”
Derol nodded and then ran to tell the red-eyed rat. The rat nodded. Then it glanced at me, its gaze quite mischievous.
This little thing was a hundred times smaller than me…
If this rat hadn’t been willing to help me, I would have run away without a second thought.
I nodded politely. The red-eyed rat seemed to understand and turned its body. Some other rats that seemed to be its followers were squeaking and raising their heads in the hallway.
“What… what’s going on?” Duke Delrit asked, trembling, his eyes fixed on the rats in the hallway.
I grabbed the iron bars and looked around. From my perspective, I couldn’t see much, but most of the people around me were wearing the typical clothes of palace workers. They must have been suddenly dragged here while working.
I turned back to Delrit. He was still trembling, clutching the iron bars. “Duke Delrit, do you think you could testify that Rowell was behind all of this?”
“Testify?”
I nodded.
His expression became grim. “Of course I can testify. But that’s only possible if we get out of here and a trial is held, which is impossible at the moment.”
“No, it’s possible.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping echoed. I turned my head towards the hallway and stepped back. The guard was coming. His expression held an eerie smile, as if he had just thought of something amusing.
I whispered to Derol, who was in front of me, “Derol, can you get the rats to take him down?”
Derol immediately ran over to the red-eyed rat. The rat nodded vigorously.
“Master, it’s possible, and it says it enjoys catching humans alive.”
I forced a smile and nodded. “Then I’ll leave it to you. And Derol, if that person goes down, bring me the keys from his waist.”
“Understood.”
The rats quickly scurried forward, making loud squeaking noises. The guard swung his metal rod in all directions, but it was useless.
The rats clung to him tenaciously. Many of them attacked him at once, so the guard was helpless, screaming.
“Ugh! Damn it, get away!”
He swung his arms around, but the rats bit his legs, causing him to stumble.
“Ugh!”
The rats kept attacking, clinging to the guard as if they had finally found prey. The guard struggled, swinging his arms and legs. Then I heard the sound of keys jingling. Derol had quickly snatched the key ring.
The guard, unaware that his keys had fallen, screamed and staggered backward, dropping his rod. He immediately turned around and ran towards the end of the hallway.
A few rats chased after him. Derol appeared close by. The keys were heavy, dragging along the floor, but he gripped them tightly, not wanting to lose them.
I reached out and grabbed the key ring. “Thanks, Derol.”
In a hurry, I selected the most prominent key from the ring and inserted it into the lock. But the key wouldn’t turn. I tried another key, but it didn’t work either.
Frustrated, I scanned the hallway. The guard hadn’t returned yet, but there wasn’t much time.
How am I supposed to try all of these keys…?
As I anxiously fiddled with the keys, a voice suddenly sounded.
“The idiot guard probably didn’t memorize all the keys, right?”
I turned my head in confusion, and from between the iron bars on the opposite side, a hand appeared.
“Over here.” The familiar face popped out.
Where have I seen this person before…?
As I pondered, the person spoke again. “There’s no time. The guard will probably come back with the warden soon. Are you planning to try all the keys?”
“Who are you?”
“Ah, don’t tell me you don’t remember me? It’s been over five years, hasn’t it?”
Five years? I felt like I recognized this person but couldn’t quite place it.
While I was still puzzled, the person answered, “If you promise to set me free, I’ll tell you where the master key is.”
I looked down the hallway. I could hear the sound of metal scraping again. My heart raced in urgency. I had nothing to lose. I had the key, and if I didn’t remember anything after hearing this person’s name, I could just leave. Anyway, even if most of the palace people were here, I couldn’t believe them all.
I said as if nothing had happened. “Okay, I promise.”
The answer came right away. “The key with the snake symbol is the master key.”
I looked through the pile of keys, quickly flipping through them with my hands. I saw the snake symbol key. It had the symbol of two snakes touching their heads in a circle. It was bigger than the other keys and looked sturdier. I figured I was being fooled, but I put the key in the lock and turned it. The key went in and turned smoothly.
The cell door opened with a clank.
I hurriedly ran to Delrit. “Duke Delrit, you really promise you’ll testify against Rowell?”
“I promise,” he said impatiently.
I unlocked the lock and then went to the physician next to me. “Can you repeat what you said earlier in court?”
“I’m not a coward. That’s why I said that and ended up here.”
I nodded and unlocked the lock. Almost everyone in the palace clothes was released like that. I nodded to Derol. He squeaked at the red-eyed rat, and the red-eyed rat moved to the other side.
Suddenly, I heard a shout.
“Oh, how annoying! I taught you, but you’re leaving me behind?”
I looked at the end of the hallway and approached him. “What’s your name?”
“Why?”
“You could have committed a crime to be here.”
“Crime…” He chuckled. “A certain mage saw a prince and started circling around him as if he were trying to do something. It was weird, so I told the mage to stay away from the prince. Do you call that a crime?"
"Is the prince Ardion?"
"Yes."
I stared into his eyes. "Have I seen you somewhere?"
At that moment, the sound of a metal slamming rang out, followed by the guard's voice. "I saw them for sure. Those red-eyed rats rushed at me and even took my keys."
"Stop exaggerating. We’ve been here for years. How could we not even catch one rat?"
It was a familiar voice. The guard and the prison warden were walking side by side. I quickly unlocked the lock. When the loud clang sounded, they looked over. Our eyes met theirs. They instantly ran towards me.
"Hey! Hey stop!!"
"Derol, hurry up!"
Derol quickly squeaked at the red-eyed rat. The red-eyed rat ran to the other side of the hallway, and I ran desperately after it.