Chapter 4: The King of the Nobles(1)

The next morning, the first-floor corridor of the prison.

“Did you hear? They found the head guard’s body in the mountains last night.”
“Yeah, torn apart by wild beasts, they say…”

Guards patrolled the relatively safe first-floor cells.
They were visibly tense over their superior’s sudden death.

“Do you really think it was just animals?”
“I heard the Black Knights investigated. They wouldn’t lie.”

The Black Knights were renowned for thorough investigations.
Still, some guards remained skeptical.

“Think about it. The head guard was a centurion on the battlefield.”
“No way someone like him would fall to mere beasts.”

Everyone agreed it was undeniably strange.

“I say he was assassinated. Taken out, no doubt.”
“By who? Who here could pull that off?”

One guard swallowed hard.
He glanced warily at the stairs leading to the warden’s office.

“There is someone. A family known for contract killings.”
“You mean Warden Derek?”

The dark-haired guard nodded quietly.
He lowered his voice, as if afraid someone might hear.

“Last night, right after we got leave, he died. I bet it was a trap to sniff out traitors.”

Realizing they could’ve been next, the guards swallowed hard.

“Let’s be careful. He’s cunning enough to fool even the Black Knights.”

As they spoke nervously, they arrived at a cell.
But they continued talking without pause.

“By the way, the warden’s ruthless. Teaming up with that terrifying Saintess.”
“Typical shady noble, right? If my daughter brought him home, I’d dig into his background first.”

The guards checked the cell’s door handle.
But…
The door, which should’ve been locked, was wide open.

“What the—why’s this door open?”
“I told them to leave it open.”

Exhausted from dealing with the Saintess, the guards hadn’t noticed.
They locked eyes with a blond man using the top-tier cell alone.

“I always leave it open for my morning stroll.”

A prisoner who could command other guards: Elder Dark.
He asked casually, hands behind his back.

“By the way, I’d like to hear more about that conversation.”

The guards, who’d always punished prisoners for crossing lines, froze under the old man’s presence.

“What did the new warden do?”

A man considered a king among nobles, despite the emperor’s rule.
Prisoner Number 2, Elder Dark, had taken notice of the new warden.

*

At the same time, in the warden’s office.
I sipped coffee, mulling over the morning’s news.

“Well done. Cleanly handled, thankfully.”
“Yeah. Must’ve been in a rush to escape to get caught by beasts… Tsk.”

“You’re as good at lying as you look.”
“Huh? What?”

Clea’s blank face broke into a slight smirk.
Like a chess player pleased with an opponent’s clever move.

“Securing an alibi by taking night duty with me? Pretty cute.”

What’s she talking about?
My villainous sharp eyes widened, and she shook her head.

“It’s fine. I’ll let it slide. Just get to work.”

Clea handed me a paper with an interview request.
The name of the noble’s king, who’d brought me my second despair.

Elder Dark.

“We’ve got more pressing matters now.”
“Seems like it.”

Maybe because she saw my dedication to the warden’s role, Clea’s gaze grew serious.

“Be careful. Plenty of guards have vanished after crossing Dark.”
“I know. He’s a different case from the brainwashing, right?”

“Yes. If he dislikes someone, he sends auditors to tear them apart. Think a notorious scoundrel like you can handle him?”
“Fair point. That old man probably already knows my reputation.”

Clea let out a short sigh.
She tucked her blue hair behind her ear and leaned closer.

“Exactly. So maintaining dignity with the Elder is crucial.”

Her delicate hands smoothed my wrinkled collar.
A clean soap scent overpowered the prison’s mustiness.

“Honestly, I don’t think you can sway the Elder.”

Clea tightened my loose tie.
Her steadfast blue eyes locked onto mine.

“But I’ll trust the sincerity you have to reform this place.”

She’d once fought off a royal who abused his power over her.
Her upright heart genuinely wished for the prisoners’ rehabilitation.

“I’ll live up to that trust.”

I descended the basement stairs again.
Unlike the Saintess’s solitary cell, Dark’s was much closer.

‘A first-class prisoner in a nice spot.’

Before entering, I peeked through the door.
Luxurious carpet, fit for a warden’s office.

Unlike the moldy corridor, it smelled of fragrant tea.
It felt more like a high-end hotel than a prison.

“Are you the warden?”

A blond man seated in a leather chair glanced at me.
He held a teacup and saucer.

“Yes, Elder Dark. I’m Derek Minster, here for your interview.”
“An interview a month after my arrival? Curious.”

His intellectual eyes suggested he’d been called handsome in his youth.
The lion-like old man set down his saucer.

“Things have been busy. I hope you understand.”
“Busy? I thought you’d be the most idle person here.”

His piercing sixty-year-old eyes glinted.
Though confined, he already knew about me.

Most guards would freeze, unable to speak.
But I wasn’t intimidated.

In my past life as a chancellor, I’d clashed with him countless times.
His refined yet domineering gaze felt almost familiar.

“It’s the same reason you’re here, Elder.”
“You, a notorious scoundrel, compare yourself to me?”

I caught his attention, but his expression wasn’t friendly.
It was like a battle-hardened lion sizing up a venomous snake.

Clea, spying through the door crack, tensed up.

But I didn’t speak thoughtlessly.
As a former imperial chancellor, I knew the empire’s secrets well.

“You’re not here for your own crimes, are you? It’s because of your son.”
“How do you know about my son? I knew the Minster family was dirty, but not that they’d dig into my affairs.”

His only weakness exposed, the Elder’s face darkened.
Clea slapped her forehead, as if asking why I’d provoke him.

“As warden, I need to know my prisoners to manage effectively.”

I continued calmly, without a flicker of emotion.
As if fulfilling my duty with conviction.

“Frankly, it’s odd for someone like you to be here. I just looked into it, so don’t take it personally.”

My clear stance stopped Dark from pressing further.

“My son’s poor command cost thousands of lives on the battlefield. I saw it as my failure as a parent.”

His anger flared at the thought of his son, and he closed his eyes.
He sipped his tea, calming his fiery temper.

“You could’ve settled with an apology, but you chose exile.”
“Politics is a brutal world. A scandal could be exploited, so I came here cleanly.”

I removed my uniform cap.

“Is that the only reason?”
“What are you getting at?”

Dark’s brow furrowed slightly.
His already intimidating face grew fiercer.

But my snake-like, gloomy face wasn’t outdone.

“If you give me a chance, I’ll try to grasp your deeper intentions.”

The Elder pulled a pocket watch from his robe.
Five minutes had passed since our interview began.

Previous wardens didn’t last three minutes before being chased out.

“Speak. But if you’re wasting my time with nonsense, be ready for consequences.”
“Thank you.”

I lit a prepared cigarette.
I casually rested the burning cigar on the window.

“You’re pretending to have retired from politics.”

The harsh cigar smoke seeped into the window frame.
Soon, black shadows crawled from the old stone cracks.

“You’re watching how your allied nobles act in your absence.”

Insects, hidden even by the tea’s fragrance, emerged in the cigar smoke.

“A loyalty test, if you will.”

I picked up the cigar.
Then burned the head of a black insect with it.

Thoroughly and mercilessly.

“You chose Berryhill for perfect cover. It’s the worst exile spot, making it seem your political career is over.”

The insect corpses scattered in the exile’s cold breeze.

“I’m in a similar situation. I came here to survive my capable brothers.”

I stood against the radiant northern sun.
In the shadow on my face, only my green eyes gleamed.

“Isn’t that reason enough?”

If he’s researched me, he knows how brutal my family’s infighting is.
Dark, too, once lived quietly at the bottom when he entered politics.

“We do share choosing a prison as a hideout.”

The Elder chuckled and shook his head.
For the first time, he rose from his seat.

“Indeed. You need that kind of grit to survive.”

He picked up the cigar from the window.
A man who’d survived forty years since entering the palace at twenty inhaled it.

“Alright, Warden Derek. What do you aim to achieve by clinging to this place?”

In the thick smoke, his piercing purple eyes glinted.

I need to answer well.
I’ve caught his interest; now he’s testing my worth.

The king of nobles is asking about my ambitions.

“…”

The door behind me shifted slightly.
Clea, curious, was clearly eavesdropping.

Even she knows how crucial this answer is.

“If our goals align this time, I’ll look upon you favorably.”

The king of nobles, who controls half the empire’s elite.
His favor means becoming a major player in this land.

But if he dislikes my answer…
I’ll be buried here as a corpse.

[The Elder’s trial has begun.]
[Failure to persuade the prisoner will expose your family’s corruption and lead to execution.]

The blue text, appearing only in life-or-death moments, floated up.
I stood at the most dangerous crossroads of this life.