Chương 52: Chapter 51: Breaking out of Prison
"Master. His Highness the Fourth is here to see you."
"My brother!?"
When I was reading in the inner garden in the late afternoon of the following day, I was surprised by a visitor who was announced by Cecily, the reception maid.
"Yes"
"Lead him in."
Cecily bowed and left the room.
A few moments later, my brother Henry, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, came into the room.
I stood up and bowed lightly to him.
"It's been a long time, brother. What's up with the sudden visit?"
"I am here for work—– a Decree."
I was even more surprised and knelt down on the spot as if it was a spinal reflex.
Decree – that means, an Imperial Command.
"I've heard that Syria has produced new water suitable for direct consumption. And I want you to urge Cabinet Minister, Henry, to have it transported to the summer resort."
I looked up, Brother Henry was smiling at me.
"Prepare the water."
"Understood."
I called my maid and asked her to give a message to Don, who was in another room in the outer garden study.
His Majesty must be referring to the special water.
I've ordered twelve barrels of it to be packed for transport.
It was not something I could prepare right away, so I turned to my brother.
"I'll have them prepared. Please wait a moment."
"Umu."
Saying that I sat down facing my brother.
"You surprised?"
"Well, no. It's not unusual for water to be transported. Even at the royal palace, water from the Beryl Spring is always transported and kept on hand for tea."
"Yes. Water from Beryl's Spring. It is said to be the best water in the empire for brewing tea. It's so precious that it's only used for His Majesty's own drinking and as a reward for his ministers. It's going to be the same as that. That's great, Lucas."
I was surprised at how quickly His Majesty heard.
It hasn't been that long since the Special-Grade Water was made available.
And yet, he'd already heard about it.
As expected of His Majesty, his ears are as frightening as ever.
Of course, I couldn't say such a thing.
"The water has low levels of miscellaneous substances, so I think it will be ideal for His Majesty's recuperation."
"Yes, His Majesty should be back on his feet soon."
"Oh, there's one more thing."
"Another one?"
"You can read this one yourself."
Brother Henry took out an imperial edict from his pocket and handed it to me.
I opened it and read it from the beginning.
It contained commendations and rewards.
As a reward for this incident, my son – my eldest son, who is not yet even conceived – has been given a title.
The son of the Emperor is born a Prince, but the son of a Prince is not born with any special title.
His Majesty gave him a baronetcy before he was even born.
"What a blessing."
"Quite incredible, Lucas. It's been decades since a member of the royal family has received a baronetcy ... before birth."
"That's about right."
I searched my memory for something like that, but couldn't find it.
"The Water System in Almeria is well developed. It's at a level where it doesn't need any modification. It's been an amazing transformation in less than six months since you entered the fief."
"I intend to do it all sooner or later."
"Is that so!?"
My brother's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes, it will be better for the health of the people and easier to maintain the water supply. Every year some people die during maintenance. That's the first thing we want to eliminate."
"You always take care of people, don't you?"
"It's in my nature."
"As expected."
With a crack, the door opened and Audrey came into the room with several maids in tow.
Audrey came in front of Brother Henry and bowed in the manner of a noblewoman.
"It's been a long time, my brother-in-law."
"Yeah."
My brother simply nodded.
It was a simple nod, so simple that it seemed almost casual.
Although not as much as the emperor, the inner garden of the prince is operated in the same way as the inner palace.
Even though he was her brother-in-law, he was a man other than her husband.
It is the common sense of the royal family not to talk more than necessary, although they are allowed in the inner garden.
" Looking well."
He said to me.
In such cases, it is normal to converse through me.
"And ... you've become a proper wife in a short while."
He said with a satisfied look on his face.
Audrey was handed a number of things by the maids.
Tea sets, tea leaves, and hot water.
The maids handed them to Audrey, who made the tea and served it to me and my brother.
This is her job, which cannot be left to the maids.
Seeing Audrey doing it quietly, my brother was satisfied.
"Please."
He took the tea that Audrey had made and sipped it.
"Umu, excellent."
My brother said, still staring at me.
"You're both doing very well for such young people."
He seemed to be very satisfied.
After Brother Henry left, I went to the study in the outer garden.
In case His Majesty actually liked the product after drinking it, I would have to decide in advance about the transportation of the product for regular delivery.
As I arrived at the study, the door opened from the other side and Don came out.
"Ah! Lucas-sama. I was just about to call for you."
"Yes. ... What's the matter?"
Don seemed to be in a panic.
"Please come in."
I nodded and walked into the study.
There was a boy on his knees inside.
He looked at me with a sobbing face, turned around, and slammed his head down hard on the floor.
"My Lord! My father, please save my father!"
"... What do you mean?"
"Have a look at this."
After closing the door, Don held something out to me from the side.
I looked at it – the box.
It was one of those boxes I give out to people to send me messages.
Don held out a box that he hadn't opened, but the top of it was heavily dented as if it had been hit by a hammer.
"Is this from ... Lawrence?"
"You recognize it?"
"Yeah."
The box contains a portion of the power of the Theressa.
From there, I can tell at a glance who I've given it to.
"You said your father. Are you Lawrence's son?"
"Yes! My name is Linus."
"What happened to Lawrence?"
"He's in jail, accused by Pascal-sama of a crime he didn't commit!"
"... What do you mean?"
I noticed that my eyebrows were furrowed.
I listened to Linus's story with a clear sense of discomfort.
After the previous incident, Pascal began to be harsher with Lawrence.
"How did he get into His Highness' good graces, huh"
He seems to be unhappy with the fact that I've taken a liking to Lawrence.
Then, a few days ago, he finally framed Lawrence for a crime he didn't commit and threw him in jail.
"Taking bribes and turning a trial around. ... My father would never do that!"
"I think you're right."
"How would you know?"
Don asked me with a serious face.
I took the box with the dented top out of Don's hand.
"Do you remember what this box is capable of?"
Don tilted his head and tried to remember.
The box itself was the actual thing I told Don about and asked him to give to Lawrence.
I explained it to Don at the time.
"I am sure…. once locked, only His Highness can open it, and if you show it off, it will destroy itself. Isn't that right?"
"Yes. If I'm going to go that far, it's only natural that I'd have put another one of those means, right?
"... that is correct."
Don couldn't help but burst out laughing at how funny it was.
"Anybody who would do something as bad as taking a bribe doesn't deserve to have this."
"That's the point."
"As expected, Your Highness. Quite a preparation, sire."
I looked at the box.
Pascal tried to destroy the box, but the man named Lawrence kept him from doing so.
Then.
"Where is the prison where Lawrence is being held?"
Linus looked at me as if he had found his savior.
Linus led me to a prison cell on the outskirts of Nisir.
Nisir, the capital of the state of Almeria.
The largest city in the province has a large jail on the outskirts of the city.
Linus and I arrived there.
"Stop! Who are you?"
"Lucas Ararat."
The guard gave me a quick, administrative shout, and I said my name in a cold tone.
"P-Prince..., Lucas!"
The guard realized who I was and hurriedly got down on his knees right then and there.
"I'll head inside."
"Y-Yes."
I walked past the guard and entered the prison.
There was another guard inside, but he seemed to know my face from the start, and before I could say anything, he was too scared to say anything.
I continued on my way and asked one of the guards.
"Where's Lawrence?"
"Uh, ...."
"Where is he?"
I stopped, turned my body around, and glared at the stunned prison guard.
The prisoner freaks out, his legs shaking as if he's about to cave in.
'A-At the far end, sire."
I start walking again, heading in a straight line toward the far end.
Linus followed a few steps behind me.
After a few steps, I hear a muffled groan.
I hurried towards the sound.
When I reached the far end, I saw that something terrible was happening in the prison.
Lawrence was lying on the floor, with what looked like a sandbag on his chest and stomach.
And there were three men dressed in black.
One of them was holding Lawrence down by placing his body on top of the sandbag, and the other two were holding down his arms and legs.
It was a gruesome scene.
As the Minister of Justice, I have seen various documents on punishment and torture at the Ministry of Justice.
This method is to make it look like a natural death.
They put sandbags on the body and put weights on it.
Then, the chest – and the entire lungs – are compressed, making it impossible to breathe.
It takes about an hour, but when it's over, you have a body that looks like it died of natural causes, with no external injuries at all.
"Father!"
"""—!"""
Linus shouted, and the black-clad men reacted.
As soon as one of them grunted, he pulled out a knife and tried to stab Lawrence with it.
You switched to a more brutal method because you were found out, huh.
"Inadequate."
I pulled out Leviathan and swung it down on the spot.
The Prime Minister, who deals with the subjects of the empire.
A state of Invincibility of all abilities SSS.
With a light swing, Leviathan sent slashes flying at the three men.
The two men who were slow to react and had restrained his limbs were cut, and the one with the knife intercepted it with his knife.
However, the knife was also repelled.
The man took out another knife and rushed at me this time.
It was a huge rush, and he was coming at me in a straight line.
The knife gouged me in the chest – or so it seemed.
"It was an afterimage."
"—-!"
With enough speed to leave an afterimage, I got behind the man and slashed my hand across his neck.
The man went white-eyed and collapsed.
"A-Amazing...."
Linus, who was following me, had his eyes opened wide and looked as if he had seen something unbelievable.
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực