If I Disobey the Duke

Prophecy (3)

The aide crouched in front of the iron bars and moved his eyes horizontally.

On the other side of the iron grate, the lord was sitting. The drunkards surrounded him in a semicircle. It was similar to the crowd watching the sloppy people in the market.

Rocus had even never been in such a miserable cell. The cell into which the son of a wealthy family entered was also different.

But it was not anyone else, the Isles head…

“Treat the ledgers as I told them to. And send the fastest mercenaries to the capital city. It would be enough for them to understand just this,” Shylock leaned his head against the iron bars and muttered. He looked pretty tired.

“I… My lord. I have something to tell you.”

Shylock frowned and raised his head.

No matter how drunk they were, there were many ears around them. Not to mention, the number of guards and those who listened from the cell on the other side was close enough to a hundred.

I wouldn’t know the situation without him. How…

“The lord of this place said that he would guarantee my position at the Isles.”

Shylock’s back twitched for a moment. It made him wonder if one of the drunkards had kicked him.

When he grabbed hold of his distant mind, his anger grew. He raised his eyes fiercely towards the aide.

“What do you mean? You dare now….”

In venomous anger, the aide clenched his neck.

“Are you going to betray me?”

“Hm. That…” The aide licked his tongue a few times as if uncomfortable.

A vein jumped up from Shylock’s forehead. The pain that had been pounding all over the place seemed to evaporate in an instant. He stiffened his back and bared teeth at the assistant.

Vladislav de Winter. Isn’t that quite a bit too much? A thousand fires were burning inside him.

“You mean the guy who had been my assistant for so long fell for such an offer in such a short span of time? Think straight. Think about who I am, based on my lifelong experiences.”

“Yeah, I know. Even if I search all over the continent, there will be no one like you. But….” The assistant hesitated. He finally looked at Shylock and murmured in a crawling voice, “Aren’t you in this current state? After all, he’s the duke…”

“…This damn bastard…”

“They said that if I took good care of the young lady, they would raise my salary as much as I wanted. If I do well, even the owner…”

“Punk!” Shylock finally couldn’t stand it and shouted. The roar was loud enough to resonate in the surrounding air, but the sense of intimidation quickly dissipated.

Because the drunkards applauded and giggled in admiration. There were also those who blew whistles.

The aide took advantage of the atmosphere and got up quickly. Shylock, who was following up, groaned in pain and staggered.

The aide said sternly, backing away, “And he said that the administrators who were sent in advance by the lord would pay all the penalties for the negligence of the employees. As long as I take care of the lady.”

Shylock’s temples throbbed. He was distracted by the drunkards arguing around him without knowing what he was talking about. He wanted to beat them all with a whip.

But it wasn’t the time to be distracted by drunkards.

He shook his head. “Do you believe that? Aristocrats are the ones who always lie and devour the wealthy commoners. Judge who can truly accept you.”

“Seriously, well. The one who said that such a thing was useless was you and your state now…”

“This guy…!”

“Anyway.  At least, it seems to be a much more reliable route now than you, who is in prison and was then exiled near Ataka. What’s wrong with kissing up to a duke? Then I just…”

“Y-you bastard. How dare you, where are you going? You can’t go!”

The aide whirled around; he turned around and almost ran away.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped. He stood crookedly, then looked back, and the gaze of him and Shylock collided in mid-air.

The aide bent his back toward Shylock. “Goodbye, Honourable Lord.”

Then he ran out of Cadis Jail without looking back.

* * *

Lily was well and truly ill.

After she declared her happiness to Shylock, she collapsed on the spot. Her last memories were the sloped stairs and the voices of Vlad and Dandelion calling her.

There was only one thing she could tell from her dim mind. She was lying in her bed.

There was a tension headache as if pulling her hair from each side of her head. Her bones were boiling like molten iron, and her whole body was throbbing.

It seemed as if her lungs were popping out of her airways with every breath she exhaled. It was excruciating heat.

“…”

Buried in bed, she quietly opened her eyes.

It seemed that her body was no longer drenched in sweat. It looked like someone had carefully cleaned it.