Chapter 230
Confession
"So, can you finally tell me why you’ve been following us?" Wint crouched down to look directly at the four soldiers. After enduring the painful bites of the Formicidae ants, they were in no shape to resist their capture and ended up tied to a tree.
Koross had sent a message to Aman when he first jumped up high. It was expected that Aman would arrive within half an hour. Meanwhile, Wint decided to interrogate them himself, in case they could save more time.
However, the 4 soldiers were quite stubborn. They refused to admit why they had been causing trouble. In fact, Ellie already knew their intention was related to Prince Jason’s life. As mentioned earlier, Jason had many admirers but also many enemies.
Prince Jason’s extreme thinking often displeased many nobles, who held significant power and could command the kingdom’s soldiers.
However, since Wint wanted to interrogate them, Ellie allowed him to continue having fun. Little Zoey stood guard, seemingly worried that the 4 soldiers might escape. The two seemed to work well together. Only Ellie and Koross were waiting for Aman to arrive.
"We told you already, we were just concerned for your safety, so we followed."
"Huh! Concerned? Duchess Ellie already has us. You say you’re worried about her safety? What a joke. This shows a clear disdain for the Setter and Femon families."
"Wh-what? This has nothing to do with the families..."
Wham!!
"Still talking? Do you see how strong this knight is? Oh, I get it! You weren’t concerned about safety at all. You were looking for a chance to attack Duchess Ellie, weren’t you? Tell me right now, who sent you!!? Don’t you know that the eldest young lord of the Setter family won’t let you or your families go?"
Wint roared, taking the opportunity to punch them. Ellie felt a slight headache; Wint could act convincingly dumb. However, it seemed his act was effective. The soldiers were trembling with fear.
"N-no, that’s not it! Our target isn’t Duchess Ellie, and we don’t want to trouble the young lord from the Setter family. We wouldn’t dare, even if we had multiple lives. Please let us go. It’s not true."
"Yes, we wouldn’t dare do such a thing. W-We don’t dare."
"Please don’t harm our families. We didn’t even know she was Duchess Ellie of the Setter family!"
The soldiers were frantic upon hearing the threat about Eldest Young Lord Owen. It seemed that for them, Wint’s threats were genuinely believed and not just empty words.
They were just soldiers of the kingdom, following orders for a sum of money substantial enough to make their families happy. But why had things suddenly turned out this way!?
If they managed to kill the prince, they would only become rebels fleeing to hide in a tower or possibly become hunters. However, if they were targeted by the eldest young lord from the Setter family, there would be no place to hide. Who was he? He was practically a god among men! Destroying the 6th floor wasn’t even a challenge for him. So, how could hunting down a few escaping soldiers be impossible!?
In their eyes, Eldest Young Lord Owen was more terrifying than the Emperor, more daunting than the entire royal family of Ares combined!!
Wint scoffed when he saw the soldiers showing the desired reactions. Despite this, Wint maintained his role as the loyal, yet foolish servant, even though it made Ellie’s skin crawl.
"You still dare to speak! Do you think Duchess Ellie is so insignificant that you don’t need to know her? You truly deserve to die!! As her knight, I can’t let you go. This matter will definitely reach the eldest young lord’s ears, and then..."
"No!! No, please. It’s our foolishness. Sob, sob. Please let us go. Spare our families; they know nothing of this."
"Waah, waah. Please, we’re terrified...Have mercy," the soldiers cried out, sounding like women. They genuinely feared this threat. Zoey gave a thumbs-up to her mentor, who had successfully dealt with those troubling Duchess Ellie. Of course, Zoey didn’t know Wint’s true intentions, and couldn’t predict them. She took his actions at face value. In her mind...the soldiers merely wanted to harm Duchess Ellie.
"If you don’t want my eldest brother to know, then confess why you were following my sister-in-law," a deep, cunning voice filled with malevolent aura approached. The four soldiers widened their eyes in terror. It seemed their fate was sealed because the person they saw was...
"Se-Second Young Lord?"
"Th-The Demon of Setter!!!" Coupled with Wint’s earlier threats, they now fully misunderstood the situation. The second young lord had personally come to deal with them. If they didn’t confess the truth, the eldest young lord might not spare their families.
If they had to die, better to die alone. Perhaps escaping now was the right choice, provided their enemy wasn’t Eldest Young Lord Owen of the Setter family!
"Huh?" Aman didn’t disappoint them. After hearing the 4 soldiers call him that, a murderous aura emanated from him unabashedly. His gaze swept over them, making them feel as if they were staring into the eyes of a real demon, causing their bodies to tremble uncontrollably.
"S-Second Young Lord, this is truly a misunderstanding. Even if we had to die, we wouldn’t dare. In fact...we received orders from a noble. They wanted us to take care of Prince Jason."
"Yes, Second Young Lord, we never intended to harm Duchess Ellie. If we had known she was Duchess Ellie...we wouldn’t have followed her. We didn’t know; we didn’t mean to. Please have mercy on our families."
"Hmm? Are you saying a noble ordered you to assassinate Prince Jason?"
"Yes, my lord. In a forest like this, anything could happen. Taking the opportunity to kill the prince here was the simplest and quickest method. So, we took the money. If we succeeded, those nobles promised to pay us a large sum. With that amount, we...we who want our families to be happy couldn’t refuse."
"Even so, we never intended to harm Duchess Ellie or anyone from the Setter family. We know what Prince Jason is like. He hates nobles. So, if we acted, it would benefit the other nobles as well. If it were any other prince, we wouldn’t dare. But if it were Prince Jason who many nobles dislike..."
The soldiers confessed their crimes. Though such confessions might lead to their execution, if they didn’t confess and Eldest Young Lord Owen misunderstood, thinking they intended to harm his duchess, the punishment wouldn’t end with just their deaths.
They knew accepting this job came with a high risk of death, but they chose to take that risk. Their lives already revolved around danger. Taking on another risk for the chance to bring money and happiness to their families was worth it.
As they spoke, a tall figure emerged from hiding. His face dark with anger at his own soldiers’ intent to assassinate him for a small sum from the nobles. Prince Jason could hardly contain his fury. Yet, when he saw the petite woman leaning against the large tree with her arms crossed, every word she had said felt like a knife cutting deep into his heart.
Had his actions led to such dire consequences? He despised nobles because they used their power to oppress the royal family. Any plan for the people was obstructed by them. If they saw no benefit, they wouldn’t help and would even hinder progress. Removing them should have been a good thing.
But...
Had these nobles turned the people against him so easily? Many of these soldiers were given opportunities by him. Instead of only allowing noble offspring to become soldiers, he proposed training commoners too. Even for scholarship students at the institute, Prince Jason had reduced his own budget to cover their tuition, hoping they would become the nation’s backbone after graduation.
Who would have thought that those he helped wouldn’t value it at all? These people, easily swayed by money, turned their blades against their benefactor. And above all, it was their status.
They were soldiers of the kingdom, whose duty was to protect the royal family with all their might. But was it truly the case that even those standing behind the royals couldn’t be trusted?
Then who...in this world? Who could he trust...in this world? And for whom should he work so hard for!!?
"P-Prince Jason," the soldiers gritted their teeth and bowed their heads in remorse upon seeing him appear before them. But when forced to choose between their families and a prince who had shown them only small gestures of kindness while living comfortably in the grand palace, their families, who supported them with blood, sweat, and tears...it wasn’t difficult to decide between the prince and their families’ well-being and lives.
"Since the plaintiff is the prince, let him decide the punishment," Aman sneered. If they were from the Setter family or intended harm upon the Setter family’s people, they wouldn’t die peacefully. However, he was curious about how Prince Jason, who loved the people so blindly, would choose to punish them.
Prince Jason’s brows furrowed. He looked at Aman, then shifted his gaze to Ellie. Silence enveloped him for a moment. This was the first time a prince like him didn’t know what to do next.
"Confused?" Ellie couldn’t help but speak up after being stared at for nearly ten minutes. She didn’t enjoy playing staring games, and it seemed the prince had lost his senses. If she didn’t snap him out of it, he might stand there staring at her until nightfall.
"................" Jason furrowed his brow in deep thought. He didn’t know what this feeling was, but he understood that the girl before him could help him.
"Good or evil isn’t determined by status. You probably have never seen villagers so poor they sell their children to brothels for a drink, have you?"
"..............."
"You probably have never seen siblings stabbing each other over a single bowl of porridge."
"..................."
"Have you ever seen a noble help the poor and protect their citizens until they are happy?"
"..................."
"Have you ever seen a wealthy merchant set up a charity kitchen to feed those who were about to starve to death?"
".................."
"All of them, despite their different statuses, share the same humanity. Humans have love, anger, greed, and delusion. These things I call defilements, which you possess as well."
"What you have is love. The more you love, the more you hurt. You love the villagers, the commoners, and you wouldn’t think that those you gave opportunities to would one day pick up a knife and try to stab you to death. That’s the pain of your love."
"You have anger. You see the nobles using their power to get what they want, but in the end, you can’t truly do anything about it. Your actions last night were an expression of that impotent rage."
"You have greed. You want everyone in your land to be happy. The nobles must sacrifice for others, but you don’t realize that this is a form of great greed. In the end, you think to use your own power as the grand nobles do, all to satisfy your own greed."
"And you are deluded by excessive self-belief, not opening your eyes to reality. Ultimately, your kingdom is made up of humans. They are all equal and should not be judged by the family they were born into or merely because they are poor."
"The soldiers before you are no different from the nobles. They are humans, just from poorer families. But in the end, they can still commit wrongs just like the nobles, can’t they?" Ellie explained to the lost prince. Jason bit his lip hard, as his lifelong convictions slowly eroded until the high walls became thinner.
"I understand," Prince Jason seemed to regain his senses. He drew the sword from his back and held it to the neck of the soldier in front of him.
"By military law, those who turn their blades against the royal family must be executed!!"
His voice trembled slightly because he had just realized that ultimately, he was no different from the nobles. If it’s said that they wielded power as nobles, then he also wielded his power by virtue of his royal blood, wasn’t it?
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