Late at night, perhaps?

Near the stable, there was no sign of anyone.

‘Luckily.’

Eshika stealthily entered the stable.

A few horses turned their heads toward Eshika.

Eshika quickly brought her index finger to her lips, worried that the unfamiliar presence might cause them to make noise.

“Easy… Are you good?”

Without causing a disturbance, the horses merely looked at Eshika with curious eyes.

“Phew…”

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Eshika surveyed the inside of the stable.

Although there was a distinct animal odor, now was not the time to be picky.

Eshika glanced through the horses showing interest in her and approached the smallest and seemingly gentlest one.

‘Whether it’s an animal or a person, you have to give them something to eat to get close…’

Looking around, there was no suitable food to win the horse’s favor.

Without a choice, she picked up some hay from a pile and offered it to the small horse cautiously.

The small and gentle-looking horse glanced at Eshika for a moment and then promptly took the hay from her hand.

“Good. You’re nice.”

In this way, Eshika built rapport with the small horse by providing it with food.

Around the time Eshika thought the small horse seemed to have loosened up to her, she pulled on the reins.

“You, let’s go somewhere.”

As if responding to a question, the small horse neighed softly.

Lucius was confined in a room where he couldn’t properly distinguish whether it was day or night.

The room had a bed, a table, and a clean bathroom. Meals were delivered three times a day.

Compared to his life as a prince, it was miserable, but it wasn’t bad enough to complain.

‘How long are they planning to keep me here?’

He felt like asking why they were treating him like this.

However, there was a positive aspect to this life—being able to maintain sobriety.

Since hearing the news of the engagement between Reneve and Emperor Baschker, Lucius had been barely getting through each day with alcohol.

As a result, his daily routine had become disrupted, and pouring alcohol into an empty stomach always caused discomfort.

He hadn’t engaged in lively social activities like before.

Therefore, he thought that the Emperor’s strict measures might be a way to correct his twisted routine.

‘Why are they treating me like this?’

Lucius sighed as he was washing his face.

Beyond the corridor, he heard footsteps.

It seemed like someone was bringing new clothes and a meal.

Soon, a small door opened, and through it, a slender wrist unexpectedly entered.

Lucius agilely approached and grabbed the wrist as if catching it.

“Oops!”

A short scream burst through the small door.

While firmly holding the wrist, Lucius roughly tore off the buttons on his shirt. He then handed them over to the palm of the other person.

Although he was in confinement, the buttons on his shirt were like jewels. The person bringing the meal was also a servant in the palace.

“When will I be able to see His Majesty? I think you can answer that much.”

The person hesitated to respond, but eventually whispered softly.

“You’ll have to wait until the interrogations of the others are finished.”

There was still no business before gold and silver.

“Interrogations?”

“All I can tell you is this. I apologize in advance.”

“…?”

Lucius briefly questioned the ambiguous words.

The other person forcefully pulled down Lucius’s wrist. In reflex, the grip of Lucius’s hand that had held the wrist slightly loosened.

Seizing the moment, the person withdrew Lucius’s grabbed wrist.

The small door closed with a thud.
Lucius sat at the edge of the bed again, leaving the hot stew and bread untouched, and murmured softly.

“Interrogation… What is it about? To whom?”

Deep in thought for a while, Lucius glanced at the small door.

‘I need to manipulate the subordinates well enough to bring them up to this place first.’

There are more buttons on the shirt than what was given earlier.

A maid was dragged away.

“I really don’t know anything. There must be a misunderstanding. More importantly…”

The voice of Hwangbi, who was taken to the prison not far from the dungeon, reached the maids.

So far, she had been composed.

Even if she slept on a cold floor or filled her stomach with dry bread, she didn’t lose the nobility as if she were a noble.

However, not long after, she screamed and pleaded.

“It’s true! No, really! I don’t know anything…!”

Sharp cries filled the silent underground prison.

Another maid who had not been taken away yet spoke with trembling lips.

“Wi-will I be taken away and tortured like that soon?”

At that, another terrified maid grabbed the hem of Hwangbi’s dress and shook it.

“If, if only Your Majesty could meet the Emperor, if Your Highness Hwangbi could see his face and speak, everything would be resolved smoothly. Right? Why can’t it be done?”

Ignoring the maids looking at her with earnest eyes, as if imploring for their safety in this uncertain situation, Hwangbi turned her head away.