Chapter 119 (1/2)

Chapter 119 Ransom (Part 1)

Petrov Hull sat in front of his desk Subconsciously, he was playing with a piece of parchment he held in his hands – it was the weekly delivery of the theater’s afternoon program. If this were peaceful times, he would have chosen a good drama and let his housekeeper pay the deposit, afterwards sending an invitation to Aurelia.

But he was unable to read even one word that was on the parchment.

Today was the seventh day of the expedition, if everything had gone smoothly, his father should have already come back yesterday alongside the retinue of the Duke. Perhaps they were delayed during their journey, perhaps the horses had gotten tired and they’d had to rest, or they might have taken an extra rest day in Border Town, right? He tried to comfort himself, but the feeling of uneasiness in his heart was slowly growning.

The 4th Prince Roland Wimbledon had left a deep impression on him, Petrov couldn’t understand why such an outstanding prince, would have received such a terrible assessment by the King. Bad character, dandyism, incompetence, ignorance and without having any learning or skills… any of these evaluations didn’t fit the Prince that he knew.

Because of this, his anxiety only became stronger.

He feared that the Duke would lose against the Prince.

“Master Petrov,” his housekeeper shouted, “there is a letter that has just arrived from the stronghold.”

A letter from the stronghold?

“Bring it to me,” Petrov ordered.

Even before he had opened the cover, he was already stunned by the identity of the sender.

This letter had been written by the 4th Prince!

“Duke Osman Ryan used military forces to attack a territory under the King’s rule, trying in vain to start a rebellion. Furthermore, the Duke was already executed on the battlefield, and now the Longsong Stronghold is once more under the rule of the Kingdom.”

Had the duke lost? His heart sank when he began to read further.

“With exception of the die-hard members of the Duke’s guard, the most of the others had pleaded guilty. Normally treason against the royal family would be punished by death, but because of the His Highness’ kindness, only the leader was put to death for his evil crimes, however the others still cannot be pardoned. So the rest of the rebels will be handled in accordance with the war customs and will be held until their freedom can be bought. The Longsong Stronghold’s castle will be used as exchange point, the following people on this list’s freedom can be bought.”

The document was extremely awkward phrased. It was not written with the diplomatic turn of phrase, but it was still able to express its meaning clearly – the Duke’s rebellion had failed, and if they wanted to free the prisoner they would have to offer money in exchange.

When Petrov’s read the names on the following list, he saw that his father’s name was impressively written in the first line.

“Hedee!” He shouted the housekeeper’s name, “Prepare the carriage, I’m going to strongholds’ castle!”

…

The territory of Count Honeysuckle laid to the east of the stronghold, so when Paul arrived at the castle area, it was already half an hour later. The Lord’s castle was full of the members of the “militia” who he had never seen before – they weren’t wearing any shiny armor, neither were they wearing any cloaks or bands, instead they held a strange baton in their hands, with a kind of spear on the top. They just stood there in two neat and tidy rows, with their heads high and their chests out, simply expressing their power in their imposing manner.

After he identified himself, Petrov was allowed access to the gardens and he was then lead by a guard towards the castle’s Grand Hall.

This was a place he had already visited many times before, but when he entered it today, it was like he was entering a completely new territory. All the guards standing in the corridors were ones he had never seen before, no one smiled at him after he greeted them, they just stared back blankly. He was stopped by a knight before the entry door of the hall.

“State your name.”

“Petrov Hull,” Petrov answered slightly unhappily, he didn’t like the other one’s interrogatory tone, and so he emphasized, “For you, it’s Lord Hull.”