Chapter 40
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It was only after following the squire through the iron-barred door that lody realized she hadn’t corrected the information about Claude.
“Well… it should be fine.”
She would pass the office again when leaving, so she could ntion it then.
Beyond the bars was a corridor devoid of windows or decorations, emitting a slightly gloomy aura, prompting lody to unconsciously wrap her arms around herself.
“It’s just a corridor leading inside. It’s not the prison yet, so there’s no need to be afraid.”
The squire’s gentle reassurance ca just as they reached the end of the corridor, in front of a sturdy iron door guarded by two knights. After showing her identification to them, the thick door began to open.
“Now it’s really…”
She swallowed hard, feeling a bit nervous at the thought of entering the prison.
mories of her last visit to the prison resurfaced, the sticky darkness still lingering in her mind as a ‘scary thing.’ Unconsciously, her hand tightened into a small fist.
The heavy door opened further.
Would that awful sll from that day be here too? With this thought, she instinctively closed her eyes tight.
However, what greeted her was a gentle breeze, soft enough to tickle her nose.
“…?”
When she slightly opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the flickering sunlight.
“This is… a prison?”
lody blinked several tis, reassessing the scene visible through the door.
There was a long corridor, and beyond a large window, she could see a garden, well-maintained by soone’s hand, resembling the garden of the Duke’s residence.
“This is…?”
Unable to step in, lody just gazed at the squire leading the way.
“Yes, it’s a prison.”
Her response filled with doubt, lody hurriedly followed the squire through the iron door.
The interior, now fully visible, was far from the ‘prison’ lody knew.
Soft rugs that gently cushioned her feet.
White walls adorned with beautiful paintings.
And through the windows, the fragrance of fresh air and the pleasantly warm sunlight.
It could’ve been mistaken for a noble family’s mansion.
But this was undoubtedly a prison. The iron bars on each window confird it, even though they were fashioned more like elegant decorations.
“Now I rember, this is where nobles are imprisoned too.”
The Duke had briefly ntioned the facility to lody before, but she hadn’t expected it to be this luxurious.
“Miss lody, this way.”
“Ah.”
Suddenly brought back to reality by the squire’s call, lody realized she had fallen quite behind. She quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts.
This was not the ti to be stunned. She had a specific purpose to fulfill today.
“I’m sorry.”
lody resud walking, and the squire turned back to lead the way. A few steps further, lody felt a tug at the hem of her dress.
“…?”
Turning around in confusion, she saw Isaiah, leaning against a pillar. Perhaps he was on an internal patrol.
In any case, his expression was one of considerable anger.
‘Isaiah… why is he here?’
Truth be told, after deciding to et her mother, lody had tried several tis to explain the situation to Isaiah beforehand.
But on the day she resolved to inform him, she received a short ssage from Isaiah.
He was to undergo routine training outside the capital for a few days.
‘And then the date was set suddenly, so I didn’t get the chance to talk to him.’
lody intended to explain why she broke her promise with him, but at that mont, Isaiah placed his index finger over his lips, signaling for silence.
‘Why?’
As lody silently questioned him, Isaiah, as if waiting for this mont, grabbed her arm and pulled her, leading her naturally into another corridor.
‘Isaiah?!’
lody almost scread but refrained from doing so.
She feared that if she scread, the squire leading the way or the knights stationed throughout might punish Isaiah.
“Wait, Isaiah, just wait.”
Instead, she whispered continuously, calling after him. There was no response, only his steps hastening.
When startled voices from a distance calling, ‘Miss lody?!’ echoed, Isaiah began to run wildly.
“Isaiah!”
Finally unable to hold back, lody called out to him loudly.
Her body spun around and leaned against sothing.
It was the end of the corridor.
“Wait, I’ll help you right away.”
Without further ado, Isaiah inserted a key into a small door at the end of the corridor.
“This is a path used by the knights. Through here, we can leave the prison and reach the knights’ building without going through the prison office.”
The locked door clicked open, and Isaiah grabbed lody’s arm again.
“Isaiah, I…”
lody tried to step back and dissuade him, but Isaiah was not listening.
Apparently, he thought they needed to secretly escape, which made him anxious.
“Did the nobles shove you in here just to save face?”
“No! It’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it.”
He scoffed.
“How long have I lived in the capital? You think I wouldn’t know about that?”
So nobles, he knew, placed more value on adhering to the rules set by the emperor than on the wishes of individuals.
So, when Isaiah heard that lody was going to et her mother, he was convinced the Duke had forced her, in compliance with the empire’s law that a death row prisoner’s last request must be granted.
‘These lunatics. Sending lody to a place like this?’
Unintentionally, Isaiah tightened his grip on lody’s arm.
The frailty of her slender arm sohow infuriated him. She was so fragile; he felt he had no choice but to protect her.
“Isaiah, it hurts!”
Startled by her slightly pained voice, Isaiah imdiately let go of her arm.
lody rubbed the arm that had been held, frowning.
“And I ca here because I wanted to.”
“Don’t lie!”
“Why do you think it’s a lie?”
“Your mother…!”
As Isaiah was about to raise his voice, clouds covered the sun, darkening the sky, and shadows filled the long corridor.
“What did she do to you!”
Perhaps it was the shadows painting his face black, but Isaiah’s contorted expression seed even more fierce.
“And yet you still want to et her? The person who is frantic because she couldn’t exploit you all her life?”
“Well, that may be true, but…”
“I can’t agree with it. No, I can’t stand to see it happen. Plus, you said you wouldn’t et her last ti, right?!”
His voice rose again in agitation.
“…Sorry for shouting. Anyway, I’ll take you outside. Your ti is too precious to waste eting that lady.”
As he reached out for her again, lody dodged his hand, stepping back.
Fortunately, she wasn’t caught by Isaiah, but not because she was adept at evading.
“This isn’t right.”
Claude, approaching from down the corridor, had grabbed Isaiah’s arm, preventing him.
“I thought this only happened in novels.”
Claude offered a sowhat bitter smile between Isaiah and lody.
“Isaiah Mullern, I don’t want to command you as a noble. Would you please step back?”
“…”
Claude’s tone carried a fair amount of politeness. However, Isaiah didn’t perceive it as kind, maybe due to the look in Claude’s eyes.
It felt more like a threat than a command.
“Did you threaten l like this too?!”
Isaiah, boiling with anger, shouted. He had nothing to lose now. It was all out in the open.
“You have no idea! How l has lived. What she’s been through! And you shove this kid here? Don’t nobles have any sympathy?!”
“…”
Despite his outburst, Claude remained silent.
“Damn it!”
Isaiah violently shook off Claude’s hand. Fortunately, Claude didn’t try to stop him.
Other knights nearby finally began to close in. Isaiah urgently shouted.
“l! Tell them you have no intention of eting that lady! The decision is all yours!”
“I’m sorry, Isaiah.”
lody first apologized to Isaiah.
She felt sorry not only for breaking the promise to him but also for sothing from the more distant past.
Long ago, lody herself couldn’t fend off the children who tornted her and was completely helpless.
Isaiah had given her several chances to confront those bullies herself, but she had never taken them up on it.
So, naturally, to Isaiah, lody must have seed unreliable and soone he needed to protect.
All those thoughts had accumulated over ti, leading to this mont.
“Isaiah, this is my decision.”
“…What?”
“The Duke actually preferred that I didn’t co here. But I chose to co.”
“Wait a minute.”
Confusion was evident on his face. He probably hadn’t anticipated that the Duke would be opposed to her coming.
“Why would you co here if the Duke is against it? What good is it for you!”
As lody spoke, the knights approached to detain Isaiah, presumably planning to adjust their actions based on lody’s wishes. Fortunately, Claude raised his hand, stopping the knights from advancing.
“Are you an idiot?! Have you forgotten how you’ve lived?!”
lody shook her head. She couldn’t forget her grim past even if she wanted to.
“But why…!”
At his outcry, lody glanced briefly at Claude. She didn’t know why, but it just happened.
Surprisingly, upon making eye contact, Claude offered her a kind smile.
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