The Devil's Cage

The "Legacy" was missing!

When the news had reached his ears, he’d been stunned.

He knew what would happen to him if the news reached the Grand Duke’s ears.

He would lose both his position and honor.

As the Grand Duke’s knight and the Western Commander of the whole princ.i.p.ality, Gradon’s honor was more precious to him than his own life.

"I need to make those filthy thieves spill the location of the ‘Legacy’!"

With that in mind, Gradon marched into the prison entrance.

However, the very moment he set his foot on the first step of the stairs, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

He immediately halted. The window was closed, but the wooden block of the bezel had fallen off and landed on the ground.

It was nothing eye-catching. Just a barely noticeable corner of the window. If one had not been paying enough attention, they would have naturally ignored the existence of the wooden block.

Gradon walked towards the corner and picked up the block, his eyes locked on the window.

Suddenly, he pushed it open.

There was nothing outside.

"No one?"

Gradon leaned his head out to get a better look.

He looked left and right in the darkness, but he noticed nothing peculiar.

He straightened his body and frowned before another thought formed in his mind and he moved his head out of the window again.

He looked up this time, but he still did not see anyone.

"Am I overthinking?"

Gradon retracted back into the room, mocking himself with a small smile.

His mind was fully focused on the "Legacy". He had no spare time for other minor trouble. He ordered one of his men to stand guard by the window and quickly headed inside the prison.

...

At the top of the prison entrance hall was another room which was about five meters away. Kieran and Lawless, who had just gone inside, let out a breath of relief as soon as Gradon was gone.

"What a cautious, sharp fellow! He was just here to clean up the mess, yet he still managed to notice those small details!" Kieran said in awe.

While Gradon had been approaching the window, Kieran had made an impulsive decision and climbed to a higher spot to hide. If he hadn’t, they might have gotten discovered.

"Wow, 2567! You really did pay a lot of attention! Thank G.o.d you managed to hide this inside your mouth and bring it into the dungeon!"

Lawless was pointing at the [Deceiver’s Key] in Kieran’s hand.

From releasing Lawless from his shackles to silently unlocking the wooden block blocking the window, the hair-like tool had proved itself very useful.

Without it, the two of them would not have reached their new hiding spot unnoticed.

Lawless felt nothing but grat.i.tude for the life-saving tool, and even more so for Kieran, who had managed to sneak it into the dungeon.

"The idea just came to me and I happened to have this tool with me. It was just a coincidence."

Kieran shrugged humbly, his tone matter-of-fact. He was not just pretending to be humble.

From his point of view, it had been the logical thing to do. Nothing more than a twist of wits. It was not the same for Lawless though.

"This is not just a spontaneous idea! This is the talent of an a.s.sa.s.sin! Considering your age though…" Lawless’ voice became softer as he went on. His last few words were completely inaudible.

"It"s not safe here. If that guy discovers what happened inside the prison, he will order a lockdown! According to Hanses, we are in the corridor between the prison tower and the prison entrance. If we want to get to the castle exit, we need to go through a water tower, a military camp, and a garage. At the entrance, we will come across more than fifty fully-armed soldiers!"

"We might need to fight a tough battle to get through, and our wounds will only slow us down! We need to find medicine to heal ourselves before we figure out an escape route! We also need to acquire horses and food along the way. On top of that, we still need to locate Hanses! If we don’t, everything will be in vain!"

Kieran did not notice Lawless mumbling to himself. He was too focused on their surroundings and thinking of a plan.

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Hanses! Where could he have been taken to?" Lawless said with a frown.

He had tried contacting Hanses through the team channel, but he had still gotten the same notification. [Special Area, Communication Restricted].

"He must still be inside the castle. We need to find medicine to heal ourselves first. Hanses will have to wait. Do you remember where the Grand Duke’s doctor’s room is?" Kieran asked.

"Of course! Aren’t you coming?" Lawless nodded before instantly reacting to his odd question.

"Considering that guy’s vigilance and sharp senses, it won’t be hard for him to guess our next move. We need a diversion to distract him. When you get enough medicine, meet me in the castle kitchen!" Kieran pointed at the floor beneath his feet.

"Be careful!" Lawless reminded him before leaving quickly. He did not stop him, as he realized it was the best option they had.

With their wounds and their fighting abilities affected, if they did not return to their peak form soon, the rest of their plan would be hard to execute. They wouldn’t be able to locate Hanses or escape Morko Princ.i.p.ality.

Kieran watched Lawless until his figure disappeared completely. Then he made his move.

...

Gradon rushed to the first floor of the prison. He did not bother with the prison guard’s flattery. He just made him lead the way.

He knew what the true faces of those prison guards were. They were just a bunch of hyenas that preyed on corpses. He did not like prison guards at all.

"Hurry!" Gradon rushed the guard.

When he’d found out that Reedrall had stopped by, his anxiety had been hard to describe.

Reedrall’s petty personality was known throughout the castle. Even the blind knew about it.

Reedrall had been eyeing the position of the Grand Duke, but his nasty characteristics made talented young men sick.

Still, this did not change the fact that Reedrall was the youngest son of the Grand Duke. If he was one step ahead in finding the "Legacy", then...

Gradon got even more nervous as the thought formed in his mind.

The Grand Duke had other children besides Reedrall. He was certainly not the one Gradon favored.

He felt fed up as he followed the slow prison guard. He grabbed the torch from the guard’s hard and rushed towards the prison cell after asking the guard about the number.

When Gradon discovered that the prison cell was not locked, but slightly shut, a terrible feeling replaced his anxiety.

He pulled out his long sword and slowly opened the door.

The torch shed light inside the cell, and the scene Gradon faced fell like a lightning in his mind.

"Lord Reedrall?"

Gradon was shocked when he saw Reedrall’s body. He fell on the ground immediately, lifting the young man’s body up for a better look. He instantly yelled in rage.

Although Reedrall was not his favorite, he was still the youngest son of the Grand Duke and one of his favorite children.

Reedrall’s death would definitely infuriate the Grand Duke, and Gradon would be the unlucky person he would vent his anger on.

"Find the killer! That’s the only way we can calm the Lord’s rage!"

Gradon quickly stood up after putting down Reedrall’s body, ordering his men to perform a search.

"Put the castle in lockdown and increase the patrols!" Gradon said.

"Impossible! His Grace Reedrall and his guard just left a while ago! This is not possible!" the prison guard that was late to the scene shouted in a surprised tone.

"Shut the fool up!"

Gradon did not even look at the prison guard. One of his men knocked him out with his sword sheath.

The sudden shout of the guard made Gradon realize what had happened though.

"They put on Sir Reedrall’s and his guard’s outfits and tried to slip out. When they met me marching in though, they must have hidden outside that window..."

Gradon drew in a deep breath before giving out orders again.

"Go search the corridor between the prison tower and the prison entrance! Start from there, but make sure you search every single room for the killers!"

"Yes, sir!"

A couple of soldiers quickly left.

Gradon stayed behind with a couple more soldiers, scanning the area.

"Reedrall was stabbed from behind, but the man standing behind him….. Was it his guard? Then he must have killed the warden and tried to kill the prisoners too! When he failed, he must have taken his own life..."

Gradon’s face turned pale in an instant.

Even though the body had been moved, recreating the scene was an easy feat.

As he did so, Gradon realized that his back was soaked in sweat.

He realized he’d fallen into a powerful whirlpool. If he could not escape in time, it would tear him into pieces.

"d.a.m.n it!" Gradon said under his breath with a frown.

His attention had been caught by the vomit inside the cell.

The stomach acid had already dried up and turned into a pile of goo. It had been mixed with the st.i.tch on the wall and the moss around it, but it was still obvious.

"Did he hide a lockpicking tool in his stomach?" Gradon was shocked.

"Get me information on this particular thief!" he quickly ordered his men.

"Yes, sir!"

A soldier took a bow and turned around to go.

Before he could leave though, another soldier came rus.h.i.+ng in, shouting, "Sir, things went south! The garage is on fire!"

"On fire?" Gradon was shocked again.

"Such a coincidence!"

Doubts filled Gradon’s heart as he turned his attention to the prison guard moaning in pain on the floor.

"Did you follow the rules and take care of those three thieves?" Gradon asked.