Chapter 68.2
At the sound of Ray’s voice, I tilted my head. It seemed she had something she wanted to ask me.
“Is there a reason you chose Prince Haroon and not Prince Bashar?”
“Pardon?”
I am aware that Prince Bashar gave you a similar item.
Bashar, too, had told me to come to him anytime I needed something. It seemed Ray Kewind was aware of that fact. She was asking if there was a particular reason I had chosen Haroon over Bashar.
I glanced at Ray Kewind and answered, “That’s because the Commander is always by Prince Haroon’s side.”
“?”
“The truth is, you were the one I came to see.”
Damian had been arrested for his alleged crimes last night. The Crown Prince would know, but I couldn’t be sure the news had reached the Kisha princes yet. But Ray Kewind would be a different story. Furthermore, the person who could get me a meeting with Damian under Haroon’s orders was also Ray. Since she was usually by Haroon’s side, I had simply chosen Haroon over Bashar this time as well.
Understanding my words, Ray let out a soft laugh.
“I see.”
“Besides, in addition to Sir Ditronil’s matter, I also had a favor to ask of Prince Haroon.”
“Are you referring to the matter of the Hazel family?”
I nodded. I had asked Haroon Kisha to help me meet with Damian, and at the same time, I had made a request related to the Hazel family. The prince had seemed annoyed, but since he had been the one to offer me a reward, he had no choice but to agree.
“Is what you have to say so important that you would go this far to meet with Ditronil?”
Did I really need to use Haroon to meet the imprisoned Damian? At Ray’s question, I answered calmly, “I simply cannot bear to just sit and wait.”
Seeing my smiling face, Ray still wore a look of incomprehension.
***
Step, step. The sound of footsteps echoed in the underground prison.
After hearing Ray’s explanation, I had come all the way to the Crow Knights’ prison. As expected, Ricardo Div was here. He must have been informed by Ray Kewind while I was on my way, because he guided me calmly.
Following his lead, I walked slowly down the corridor of the underground prison.
“I never imagined you would come all this way.”
I could feel a strange emotion in Ricardo’s voice. He must have been quite surprised when Ray told him. I could also sense his inability to understand why I would go to such lengths for Damian.
“I’m just trying to find out what happened.”
“It’s not usual for someone to visit a prison.”
“That’s true, but I made a promise.”
Though it was a promise made to the children, I had failed to keep my word to visit them with Damian, so I had to find out what had happened. I replied lightly, having come up with a public excuse.
“A promise…”
After Ricardo’s soft murmur, a brief silence fell. The only sound in the prison corridor was the steady rhythm of our footsteps. I thought the silence would last until we reached Damian’s cell, but Ricardo’s voice came from ahead of me.
“…Are you angry?”
“Pardon?”
The question gave me a sense of déjà vu. The situation felt even more familiar because Ricardo, like Ray, was on edge about my reaction.
“Because I knew you were waiting for Ditronil, yet I didn’t tell you he had been imprisoned.”
“Did you know where Damian was when you left me yesterday?”
Did he know that the person he had to arrest for illegal trade was Damian Ditronil?
Ricardo shook his head at my question.
“I only knew it was Ditronil after I arrived at the scene.”
“Then Ricardo did nothing wrong.”
“But…”
“There was no need for you to inform me, and it wasn’t a situation where you easily could, was it?”
“…”
“Besides, it hasn’t even been a full day.”
Ricardo fell silent for a moment, lost in thought. As we reached a cell door, he spoke again.
“Amelia, if you are not angry, then that is all that matters.”
Ricardo, murmuring the words, slowly opened the locked prison door.
I stared into the space beyond. Another short corridor stretched out before me. At its end was a door, behind which Damian must surely be.
“I’m not angry over something like that.”
I told Ricardo, my words meant to reassure him.
Ricardo, who had been standing with the door open, hesitated for a moment before shaking his head as if in resignation.
“The second door is not locked. It seems you wish to speak with Ditronil alone, so I will wait here.”
“Is that alright?”
“?”
“Just the two of us?”
After all, Damian was imprisoned under suspicion of having committed a crime.
“It will be fine. His Highness the Crown Prince will not mind either.”
At his tone, which suggested it was no problem at all, I cautiously stepped inside.
“…Just in case.”
The moment I reached for the second door, I heard Ricardo’s voice from behind me.
I turned my head and met his violet eyes, which were staring at me intently.
“If anything happens, call for me.”
“I will.”
I smiled at Ricardo and replied. Then, just as I was opening the second door—
“Unfortunately.”
A familiar voice drifted through the open door. Damian, who had been leaning against the wall next to it, grabbed the door and pulled it wide open.
“Damian!”
The same moment I called his name, Damian grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside.
His gaze went past me to Ricardo.
“Amelia will have no reason to call for you.”
Thump.
The door closed behind me.
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