The Unemployed Prince Covets My Nephew - Chapter 36
“…Please, take care of my family. If you promise me that…”
The Duke placed one hand on Viscount Lore’s shoulder. Viscount Lore looked up at the Duke for the last time.
“I will gladly do so.”
As the Duke released his shoulder, the men in priestly robes stood on either side of the Viscount and began chanting again.
The Duke and Yulia took a step back and clasped their hands together.
The red symbol hovering above Viscount Lore’s head soon swirled and wrapped around his body, tightening from his head to his neck, and then to his heart.
When the men in priestly robes finished their chant and lowered their arms, the red light squeezing the Viscount’s body extinguished coldly to the ground.
Soon, only a charred corpse, as if it had been burned by flames, was left where the Viscount once stood.
“We will substitute the offering with the soon-to-be-born child of the Lore family.”
“I will accept it. Do you have any other messages for him, brother?”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed slightly. He then clasped his hands and bowed his head toward the priest.
“…Tell him that we have found the child of God.”
Without a word, the priests clasped their hands and bowed their heads toward the Duke and Yulia.
Then, the moonlight illuminating the Duke’s residence vanished, and the residence was deeply engulfed in pitch-black darkness.
* * *
Even though it was the same royal palace, the way to the underground prison was excessively long.
Stepping into the castle where the underground prison was located felt like entering a completely different world.
There were too many stairs, and as Hailey descended, she couldn’t hear a single sound. It was an eerily quiet prison, with no screams or sobs.
‘It might be uncomfortable for Your Highness to hear.’
Count Rethel, the father of Ainous, who had greatly assisted in the trial with Khalid, urgently visited Hailey late in the evening. Originally, the Count intended to visit in the morning, but he came immediately at Khalid’s suggestion.
‘Your Highness is not the daughter of Baron Langston, but rather his niece. To be precise, the current Baron Langston is Your Highness’s uncle.’
Though she had expected she wasn’t their real daughter, the people she had considered her parents had not only taken everything Hailey should have had and enjoyed, but they also shamelessly exploited her.
‘The former Baron Langston is Your Highness’s biological father. Both the Baron and the Baroness were recorded as having died in a carriage accident 20 years ago. After that, it seems the Baron adopted Your Highness to inherit the title.’
‘…Are you sure my biological parents died in a carriage accident?’
‘At the time, the Baron’s brother quickly claimed the bodies, and the case was hastily closed. It’s been 20 years, so nothing is certain. However, personally, I think there might be a possibility that it wasn’t an accident.’
After the real Baron and Baroness died, the brother inherited the title. The whole process flowed so smoothly that it felt suspicious.
‘Upon questioning the head butler, he revealed that Count Roman vouched for the Baron’s brother’s identity in exchange for receiving the business the Baron had built. The procedures for handling the accident and inheriting the title were excessively simplified because the Count spent some money behind the scenes.’
Count Roman was already involved in dirty dealings at that time, and upon hearing the rumors, the Baron’s brother sought him out. It was also Count Roman who advised adopting Hailey.
Although she was a girl, Hailey had the right to inherit the Baron’s title.
Using the excuse that Hailey was still an immature girl, they claimed to be her only relatives and adopted her to protect her while taking over the title.
But this was a limited title, and they would have to return it to Hailey once she came of age.
Besides, there was no way to expel Hailey until she reached adulthood.
They had to keep her until she married into another family, at which point the title would truly become theirs. So, they ‘reluctantly’ kept her.
The people who took away Hailey’s family gave her a precious family member named Theo.
Ironically, if it weren’t for those scoundrels who took everything Hailey should have had, she would never have met Theo.
“Your Highness. This floor holds only female prisoners. The Baroness is in the last cell, and the Baron is one floor below, but he hasn’t regained consciousness since fainting this afternoon. You might have to visit again tomorrow.”
“It’s fine if I meet just one of them.”
“But are you really okay? The Prince ordered that I must never leave Your Highness’s side.”
“My mother is much smaller than I am. Besides, isn’t there a spell cast on her? What could she possibly do?”
A few days ago, Axel assigned Hailey a knight from the Eligos Knights as a bodyguard.
The Eligos Knights were known for being rough and mostly composed of commoners, so they rarely took on noble escort duties. Moreover, the knights themselves considered escorting nobles a task for weaklings who only cared about etiquette.
Surprisingly, when it was announced that a knight would be selected to exclusively guard the Princess Consort, many knights volunteered, and a tournament was held to determine the winner. Even Khalid was surprised by the fierce competition.
The final winner of that competition was Kieran, the knight who first discovered Theo. Though only fifteen, Kieran was not only skilled in swordsmanship but also a combat mage, making him exceptionally talented.
“If anything happens, I’ll scream, and you’ll come running to save me, right?”
“Of course! I will protect Your Highness with my life! Please go ahead!”
Kieran answered loudly in a rigid, military posture.
Hailey gave a light smile to the young knight and turned around.
The deeper she went underground, the stronger the stench became, making it hard to breathe. The smell of mold was overwhelming.
Hailey stopped in front of the cell at the very end, as Kieran had mentioned.
As she stood before the high, solid wall, the enchanted wall quickly turned into iron bars.
Inside, there was no trace of a luxurious dress, only a middle-aged woman in tattered, worn prisoner clothes. If she hadn’t been identified as the Baroness, Hailey wouldn’t have recognized her due to her ruined appearance.
The Baroness, seeing Hailey, struggled to crawl to the iron bars as if walking was too difficult.
To think that such a weak and insignificant person had taken everything from her made Hailey feel utterly hollow.
The Baroness, confirming that no one was with Hailey, clung to the bars.
“Hailey? Is it you, Hailey? Hailey! You finally came to see this old and pitiful mother. Yes, you’re not such a cruel child…”
“……”
“Ha-Hailey. Please get me out of here quickly. I didn’t do anything wrong. I just did what your father ordered! You know that, right? What power did I have…”
As the Baroness approached and opened her mouth, the stench intensified.
Hailey covered her nose and took half a step back.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Aren’t you curious about how I’ve been?”
“Oh? Ah… Well, I thought you must be doing well since you became the Princess Consort…”
“So, you know I became the Princess Consort. Then why…”
“……”
“…I wonder why you’re still talking down on me.”
Hailey, despite her unique way of thinking, was a kind-hearted child. She couldn’t be harsh to others and was not used to being treated with disrespect, even as a noble lady.
But Hailey had changed.
“Still can’t grasp the situation, can you? You’re no longer that insignificant ‘Baroness.’ Is your brain getting dull from being locked up? Who said you could look up at me with those eyes without permission?”
The child, who barely used to talk back, now looked at her with contempt.
The Baroness, finding this change in Hailey unfamiliar, stared up at her with foolish, dumbfounded eyes before finally coming to her senses.
With a chilling gaze, she soon pressed her nose to the damp, dirty floor that was crawling with maggots and insects, lying flat.
“I-I’m sorry. Your Highness…”
She was a woman who, as an illegitimate child of a poor rural noble family, wouldn’t have even become a Baroness under normal circumstances.
Even her daughter, Marianne, was nothing more than an ornament to make her shine as the Baroness. The only reason she had been desperate for Marianne’s return was that she had no suitable replacement.
In truth, she hadn’t searched for Marianne with much urgency.
So, Hailey, who wasn’t even her daughter, could never be anything significant.
But even she wasn’t foolish enough to not realize that Hailey was the only one who could save her now.