Release That Witch

The dungeon of the castle was not as damp and dark as the prison in Border Town, for the duke did not want his basement to become a haunted house, or a house where anyone could smell the disgusting odor once they walked downstairs. The dungeon was still clean in general. Different cells were decorated differently according to the standards. Some of them were totally empty while some of them not only came with a bed, but were even fully-equipped with a closet, a desk, and chandeliers. It seemed that the duke originally took this as a place to imprison some nobles, and he wanted to ensure that basic etiquette was still being observed.     

Roland also found a special cell in the corner, a room which was half-occupied by a big bed. There was a chain hanging down from the ceiling, and the iron handcuffs on the chain were wrapped with a layer of sheepskin, and on the wall was hanging all kinds of whips. It seemed that Duke Ryan had an affluent knowledge in that special area. But unfortunately, Roland would leave here in a few days, and he had lost the chance to get close to that special area here.     

As the most valuable captive, Shalafi Hull was naturally arranged to live in the best cell. If you never noticed the iron railings which were outside the house, you may have thought it was a luxurious bedroom. The ones he lived with were the viscounts from the Maple Leaf Family and the Wolf Family, the eldest son of the Wild Rose Family, and the second son of the Elk Family. Together with Lion Ryan, these families were called the Fortress Six. Of course, the Ryan Family had been disintegrated by Roland, and his wife and sons were imprisoned next door.     

When His Highness appeared in the dungeons, all the nobles stood up. Roland said, "Earl Hull, you can leave here. As for the other people, when the ransom arrives, I'll let you go," he added this before they could ask.     

"Father," said Petrov, relieved at seeing the duke's ruddy face. He glanced at his friend and then looked at Roland. "Your Highness, I didn't see the name of the Earl of the Elk Family on the list. If he's died on the battlefield, and the eldest son of his family is still in the king's city, then there's no man to support the whole family. Is it possible to release Rene Medde first and let him raise the ransom? I'm prepared to guarantee him."     

"The eldest son of the Elk Family, do you mean Jacques Medde?" Roland shook his head and said, "He's already been back and came to the castle yesterday, but... I don't think he intend to pay the ransom."     

Hearing this, Rene leaned against the cage. "Why?" he asked in disbelief.     

"He said you didn't protect your father on the battlefield and you killed Earl Medde."     

"Why did he say that? The killer is obviously..." Rene suddenly sealed his lips.     

Roland just got over it and said, "What you were trying to say was the killer is obviously me, right?" He went to the cage and said, "Your father sent the people into my castle, and he wanted to burn the crops before the Months of Demons. Now he had invaded my domain with the duke, and I just made a counterattack to also repel the invaders. So am I a killer? Compared with them, who should be condemned? If it were not because you were proved to know nothing about the whole thing, you were a dead man already."     

"..." Rene could not say anything.     

"Your Highness," asked Petrov, "if no one is willing to pay the ransom, will you execute him?"     

"No I won't. I'm always benevolent," Roland grinned and said, "and I'd probably send him back to Border Town and make him mine on Northern Slope for 20 years for atonement."     

"So... how much is the ransom?" he asked.     

"As the second son, he has no chance to inherit the title of nobility, so the price is naturally less than that of the Earl of Honeysuckle. It only needs materials worthing about 1,000 points." Roland looked at him with interest. "So, do you want to pay the ransom for him?"     

"What kind of materials? 1,000 pieces of gold royals?" The earl who was released by the guards interrupted.     

"Your son will tell you about that." Prince Roland made a gesture of "please". "Go, there's nothing here worth staying for. As for the second son of the Medde Family, you don't have to rush for that. You can go back and think about it."     

When they left the dungeon and went to the gate of the castle, the earl suddenly stopped. "Your Highness, I know that Duke Ryan may be guilty, but... his wife and sons are innocent."     

"Yes, maybe," said Roland indisputably. "I didn't intend to punish them by exiling them or hanging them to death, I'll only bring them back to Border Town and imprison them." He wouldn't release them until the day that he ascended the throne. The situation would be more complicated if he became remissive now because the eldest son had a legal inheritance to the throne.     

*******************     

"What?!" Shalafi Hull stared at Petrov unbelievably. "His Highness doesn't intend to live in Longsong Stronghold, but he let you manage the whole city?"     

As soon as they returned to the Honeysuckle's, Petrov immediately told his father in detail what had happened in the three days. The earl could not bear it when he heard about the contract, and when he got the specific answer, he stood up and walked around in the schoolroom again and again with mixed feelings.     

"Father, are you all right?" Petrov anxiously asked.     

"Now it seems our opponent is mainly the Elk Family. There's a broad gap between us and the other three families in terms of both wealth and culture."     

"Sorry... What?" He did not get the idea of his father.     

"Opponents! The opponents!" The earl yelled. "I'm so disappointed with you. His Highness gave you such a great chance but you haven't yet analyzed who is your opponent!"     

"Uh, don't you feel odd about that?"     

"Why does His Highness insist on going back to Border Town? It's really odd, but what does that have to do with us? We just need the real contract," the Earl said as he fondled his mustache.     

[That's the fact,] Petrov thought, [and His Highness wouldn't use much energy just for a joke. As to the reasons why he loves Border Town that much, I can slowly think about that again.] But what he didn't expect was that his father accepted the fact so easily.     

"I heard that the Medde guy is your friend," Shalafi suddenly said firmly, "and you go to get him out tomorrow."     

"Do you allow me to redeem him with materials worthing 1,000 points?" Petrov was stunned.     

"Well, think about it. If the Earl of the Elk family died, the eldest son wouldn't want to redeem the second son. So in this battle, the only sacrifice would be a few knights, and it seems that there's hardly any loss. Once Jacques Medde inherits the throne, it'll inevitably hinder you from being in charge of... no, managing Longsong Stronghold," the earl explained, "Why was Jacques reluctant to redeem Rene? Because he was afraid Rene will be a threat."     

[Well, that was the real reason,] Petrov wondered while bitterly smiling. But he knew that his father was right. Rene liked swords and rifles since he was young, and he was very close to the knights in this domain. Unlike the eldest son Jacques, who thought that a royal should not be involved in fighting and preferred romantic things. Although Rene had repeatedly shown that he wanted to become a knight, but that was in the absence of inheritance to the throne. Now, without the control of the earl, who knew whether he would gather the knights to kill the eldest son? Jacques would not spend money to redeem a person who made him felt restless. His decision was very simple and ruthless.     

"My friend will never do that," he firmly said.     

"Maybe, if you redeem him, no matter what he intends to do will be a headache for Jacques." Shalafi went on to say, "As for the points, we can choose some wonderful craftsmen."     

"When preparing for your ransom, I've transferred some craftsmen, and if we use more, I'm afraid there wouldn't be enough craftsmen in the whole domain."     

"Don't worry, do you know that the Northern Region is a mess now?" Earl said confidently, "The four kingdoms were all destroyed in Hermes, the lords forced people to join the army, and there have been a large number of fugitives. We can take this opportunity to take a little more, and then we'll save the monthly supplies."     

Petrov found that his father was also a business master—at least he did much better in business than he was on the battlefield.