Chapter 1621 - 98: Fox and Mouse Game (8)

Chapter 1621: Chapter 98: Fox and Mouse Game (8)

[Some Prison]

The gaze of the warder pierced Siegfried’s spine like a sharp sword, causing a stinging pain in his back.

Siegfried lowered his eyes, using his body as a shield, and silently sliced his left arm with a dining knife.

Probably to prevent prisoners from committing suicide, the dining knife is made of wood and is very blunt.

But Siegfried applied enough force and managed to cut a scar on his arm, while ensuring it wasn’t too deep to bleed and attract the warder’s attention.

"Another day," he thought.

His arm already bore seven scars new and old, counting from the day he was captured, he had been in the hands of the rebels for eight days.

One table, one chair, one bed, one toilet, twelve warders in pairs taking turns to monitor, this was his cell.

Siegfried never understood why the rebels tortured him for only one day.

From the second day, he was not subjected to further interrogations, and had his cell changed from the previous dark dungeon to this one with natural light;

Even the food standards improved, with four meals a day featuring meat, soup, white bread, and wine at night, just lacking some pre-meal dessert fruits.

Why is this happening? Siegfried didn’t know.

He had several guesses, some were terrifying, but being imprisoned, unable to verify, he stopped dwelling on them to avoid draining himself.

He was too tired.

The physical pain had faded, but the memory of the torture continued to torment his mind.

Whenever he recalled the methods of the rebels, Siegfried couldn’t help but curse them inwardly: Damn rebels, their fighting skills might be pathetic, but they never run short of ways to torment people.

The interrogators didn’t even use branding irons or pincers; a single face cloth drenched in water brought Siegfried’s spirit to the brink of collapse multiple times. Had the interrogation continued, he might have had to find a way to kill himself to keep protecting her.

But the interrogation stopped, and while he didn’t know why it stopped, it was undoubtedly a good thing, so he didn’t think much beyond that.

Now, the rebels gave him food, Siegfried ate it, gave him drink, he drank it, gave him a bed, he slept, gave him a chair, he sat.

Siegfried wasn’t worried about poison in the food—not at all—it’d be preferable if there were, saving him the trouble.

He had completely accepted his fate as a fish on a chopping board, surprising himself at how he could be so calm.

The only regret was not being able to see another living person apart from the warders on duty.

The warders seemed to be deaf and mute, never speaking to Siegfried or each other, communicating only through gestures when delivering meals or collecting the toilet.

Since his capture, Siegfried hadn’t uttered a single word.

A mute meets a mute; Siegfried had no way to learn the situation of his two companions.

However, he wasn’t very worried, although he would never admit it, he had long realized he was the one among the three most in need of care:

Marvey could live comfortably anywhere; he had a knack for that;

Elizabeth was protected by the church; as long as her identity remained hidden, she wasn’t likely to face danger returning to the Imperial City;

And him? Without the protection from Your Majesty and Prince, he hit walls everywhere; without Farnan quietly cleaning up after him, he stumbled into pitfalls at every turn.

The most crucial point being, if he hadn’t been deceived into losing his luggage, the three wouldn’t have been wandering into the Newly Reclaimed Land, and none of the subsequent events would have transpired.

It seemed that the root of all misfortune was him being tricked away from his luggage by that damn boatman... was it?

These days of solitude had given Siegfried ample time to face himself.

Clearly, his current plight was not fundamentally because of lost luggage.

If not for lost luggage, then what?

Was it because he insisted on traveling Two Mountains Narrow Land despite knowing of the danger?

Why did he insist on exploring Two Mountains Narrow Land and leave without a word then?

Was his true intention to "travel Two Mountains Narrow Land"?

Or was it to leave the Empire, leave the court, leave... her?

In a trance, Siegfried returned to the day he disappeared without a word, the setting sun was blood-red, as he overlooked that young knight who left in a huff.

This time, he saw everything clearly.

Danger? That young knight sought danger; he could even say he was courting trouble, seeking self-destruction—he wanted to die.

Realizing this, Siegfried understood why he could calmly accept his current circumstances.

Because this was the very thing his bones yearned for.

Yet, a new question arose.

Why would someone want to destroy themselves?

Siegfried was unwilling to face, unwilling to admit, unwilling to even think, as just the faintest thought filled him with humiliation and unbearable shame.

But the answer was laid bare before him—because Your Majesty wanted to marry her to someone else.

No! It’s not right! That’s not the truth!

It’s not because Your Majesty wants to marry her to someone else, that’s merely the surface. If it was truly because of that, Your Majesty would be the one he should hate, yet Siegfried didn’t hate Your Majesty; he could even understand the Emperor’s reasoning for such arrangements.

When learning of this news, he didn’t hate the Emperor, but her.

Because she didn’t oppose—or it’s possible she did oppose, but it wasn’t enough, far from enough; she didn’t fight with everything she had.

Why didn’t she fight back?

Why was I angry that she didn’t resist?

What right do I have to be furious because she dared not resist?

Who am I? What right do I have to demand her defiance against her father, the Emperor, the ruler of all?