253 The Rise of the Prescotts (1/2)

Miss Luna, the witch, didn't answer his question about his mother's punishment because apparently, she still couldn't trust him yet. He understood her decision. Since he might be controlled again, it would be better not to learn too much information for now.

”Miss Luna retrieved Lady Prescott's body before they throw it in the River of Sin. Then, she cremated the Supreme's body and kept the ashes in this urn,” Captain Denver said in a voice filled with pain. The River of Sin was the river in front of St. Ibela– the prison for the most dangerous criminals of the empire. The bodies of the executed hard criminals were usually thrown in that river. ”To think that they tried to throw the Supreme's body in the River of Sin is something that never fails to make me angry.”

”Save that anger, Captain Denver,” Winter said, his eyes glowing from anger. Still, despite the anger rising up in his chest, he craddled the urn in his arms as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. ”We will make them pay for disrespecting my mother's remains.”

He still hasn't moved on from the fact that her mother was publicly executed for something that she didn't do.

According to Captain Denver, to avoid panic among the people and to protect his position as the emperor's heir, His Majesty kept his mother's real identity as the Supreme Fire Mage. Only a few higher nobles knew the truth. And they all agreed to keep it a secret to protect the throne.

Instead, his poor mother was accused of attempting to kill Lucina Morganna several times. They fabricated evidence to make his mommy guilty of the charges against her.

”We failed to protect Mommy,” he said in a cracked voice. ”Me and Dad.”

”Duke Nystrom is still controlled by His Majesty,” the captain explained in a frustrated voice. ”We tried to take him away too but we failed. Captain Sherwood never leaves your father's side so we're having a hard time trying to reach out to him.”

”Then, how did you able to bring me here and snap me out of whatever mind control that they used against me?” he asked curiously. ”The last thing I remember is being sent by His Majesty to the North. He asked me to meet the North King and retrive an item from him. But before I reached the border, my squad was attacked. Were you the one who ambushed us?”

”No,” Captain Denver said with a firm shake of his head. ”The people who attacked you were assassins sent by the Noble Faction to kill you since you're His Majesty's heir. Miss Luna and I used that opportunity to take you away and bring you here.”

By ”here,” the captain meant the small and old house in a poor village that they brought him to after he woke up in the cave. When they arrived in that almost abandoned place, Miss Luna excused herself to apparently treat some sick villagers.

”Oh, I'm no longer a captain so please feel free to call me by my name, Young Master.”

”You're no longer a captain?” he asked, and then he nodded when he remembered what happened before he was brainwashed. ”Ah, right. The Fire Mages were captured then. How did you escape, Lord Denver?”

”Lady Prescott helped me escape by letting herself get executed first,” the captain said in a cracked voice. ”When I escaped the plaza before it was my turn to get executed, Miss Luna appeared before me and helped me escape. Apparently, she could hear the voice of a god called Wixx, the Red Phoenix. This certain god asked her to rescue me.”

”Why does she seem to hate me then?”

”I heard from Miss Luna that your mother once tried to kill her,” he said while scratching his cheek. ”Apparently, Lady Prescott found out that Miss Luna could fix Princess Nia's infertility. Miss Luna pretended to die by the hands of the assassin that your mother sent to kill her. After that, she hid herself until she found the hidden temple of the Moon Priestess. According to her, that was where she met the spirit of the Red Phoenix.”

He fell silent for a while.

The information that he heard after he woke up from his long ”slumber” made his head hurt. But he was certain of one thing.

”I need to go back to the Royal Capital and pretend that I'm still under their control,” Winter said as calmly as he could. Of course, deep inside, he was seething in anger. But he knew by now that he had to be careful. He already lost his mother, so he didn't want to lose his father this time. ”I will find a way to snap Dad out of his trance.”

”We will support you, Young Master,” Captain Denver said. ”Actually, Miss Luna already came up with a plan.”

***

”ABANDON Duke Prescott.”

Winter's brows furrowed when he heard what Miss Luna just said. ”Excuse me?”

As per Lord Denver's request, he went to the small house that the witch turned into a ”hospital.” Thankfully, there were no more patients when he arrived. But Miss Luna was busy making medicine from some herbs. She was currently mixing different plants in a small pot filled with other ingredients that he didn't recognize.