Two people were slowly making their way through a secret passage of the Imperial Palace.
This corridor was so narrow and cramped that, to squeeze through and continue, the two had to move sideways, pressing their shoulders in. It was especially difficult for the man walking ahead. Unlike his companion, he had a sturdier and more massive build — broad shoulders, a powerful figure, hardened by years of training and battles.
With such shoulders, navigating this narrow crawlspace was a true ordeal, but he, without hesitation, continued to stubbornly move forward, his eyes fixed on the path.
This secret exit from the Imperial Palace was located deep underground. It was damp and musty here, a smell of rot hung in the air, water dripped steadily from the ceiling and walls. An uncommonly unpleasant place — an ordinary person would be loath to spend even a minute here.
And yet...
Who would have thought that these two, now struggling through this gloomy passage, were not ordinary people or fugitives, but were once two of the most influential and respected individuals in the entire empire?
"Your Grace..." Chancellor Ardelio rasped, struggling to catch his breath. "How much longer do we have to go? All my limbs have gone numb; they feel like they're about to fall off!"
Duke Carter, once the head of one of the empire's most powerful noble families, frowned.
"...Chancellor, that is the seventh time you have complained to me in the last half hour."
"That is because I can no longer endure it! Haven't we been walking through this rotting passage for a whole five hours already?!"
"Don't rush. This is a secret passage laid under the imperial prison. Naturally, it is far more complex and winding than a direct exit. It will take us some time to get out..."
Chancellor Ardelio, once the Emperor's right-hand man, snorted with undisguised irritation.
"...I might still believe those words if it weren't for the fact that you said the same thing three hours ago!"
And yet, no matter how exhausted and weary the Chancellor was, no matter how much his head throbbed from the revolting smell of sewage, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue the journey.
After all, this was the only way for them to get out of here.
And to break free from prison, the Chancellor was prepared to do anything.
Just a few hours earlier, Gregory Ardelio could not have imagined that things would turn out this way and that they would end up here. And yet...
This indeed turned out to be the most unexpected outcome.
And to be more precise — unexpected was the Duke's plan itself. The way he had orchestrated everything made even the seasoned Chancellor Ardelio involuntarily marvel.
A few hours earlier. The Imperial Prison.
It had been only a short time since Gregory Ardelio and Duke Carter had decided to join forces to escape from the imperial prison. The Chancellor paced back and forth in the cramped cell, feverishly devising a brilliant escape plan in his head, repeatedly putting forward new and new theories.
Michael Carter, however, remained surprisingly calm and showed almost no reaction to his ally's animated monologues.
Finally, the man could not bear it any longer and stopped, fixing his gaze on his interlocutor:
"...Your Grace, are you not going to help me? How long can you just sit there and do nothing?!"
But the dark-haired man with amethyst eyes, to his surprise, uttered only one phrase:
"Cell Six."
"...What?"
"We are currently in Cell Six."
Gregory Ardelio frowned. He had no idea how the Duke knew the number of their prison cell — he didn't even know it himself. But in any case... what the hell difference did it make?!
"And what of it?" the Chancellor inquired dryly.
He could not grasp why the Duke, speaking up for the first time in a long while, had only said this.
After pondering for a few more moments, the Duke added:
"You could say we are lucky."
"...What? Lucky?"
A thought pulsed angrily in the Chancellor's head: what kind of luck, damn it? Was he mocking him?!
"We are not too far from that place. Getting there will not be difficult."
"What? What place?"
While the Chancellor, utterly bewildered, continued to bombard him with questions, Duke Carter calmly raised his gaze to him and said:
"Chancellor, you must help me."
"...Help? With what?"
When Gregory Ardelio asked this question, he had no idea what exactly his help would entail. However...
He found out very soon. And it was indeed extremely unexpected.
"...My stomach! My stomach! The pain is terrible!"
Within a short time, Chancellor Ardelio, doubled over on his straw mattress, was screaming throughout the dungeon, his cries echoing off the gloomy stone vaults.
And, as expected, his cries could not go completely unnoticed. A few minutes passed before a guard approached the bars of their cell.
"What is the matter?" he inquired irritably.
Tears, remarkably convincing, welled up in the Chancellor's eyes.
"My stomach!" he screamed piercingly, clutching his side. "I think I am going to die! Call a physician quickly!"
"What? Your stomach?"
"Brainless idiot! I already told you — my stomach hurts! How will you answer for the consequences if I die any moment?!"
The guard frowned. Of course, he did not believe these words immediately. Such tricks of feigning illness among prisoners were far from rare. In normal times, he would have simply ignored them, taking them for another ruse: after all, until recently, the Chancellor had shown no signs of illness. Why would they appear now?
And yet... This man was currently the prime suspect in the Empress's murder. It would be very bad if something indeed happened to him before the trial.
So, after hesitating, the guard finally sighed in annoyance.
"Alright... But before calling a physician, I will check on you first."
He unlocked the cell door with his key and stepped inside — intending first to assess Chancellor Ardelio's condition before deciding whether to call a physician or not. However...
The man had taken only a few steps when a shadow suddenly pounced on him from behind.
Only a few short moments passed during which the man struggled desperately, but then his body went limp and he lost consciousness.
Duke Carter, who had done this, bent down and took the set of keys from the guard.
Chancellor Ardelio immediately sprang up from the straw, instantly forgetting about his pain. A glint of excitement shone in his eyes.
"Finally! Now we can get out of here!"
Michael Carter did not comment on his words and merely moved slowly out of the cell. The Chancellor hurriedly followed.
He expected the Duke to turn towards the exit from the dungeon. But instead... the man unexpectedly headed in the other direction.
"Hey, what are you doing?" the Chancellor exclaimed. "The exit isn't that way!"
"I know," came the calm reply.
Gregory Ardelio stopped short.
"You know? Then what the hell are you doing?"
"That exit is useless anyway," the Duke answered unequivocally, not slowing his pace. "Even if we reach the exit from the dungeon, what is the point if the guards will just catch us outside?"
"....."
"Now do you understand?"
"But even... even so, the place you are heading to now is also not an exit from here at all!" he protested.
To this, Duke Carter said nothing further. He simply continued walking forward with the confidence of a man who knew exactly where and why he was going, leaving the Chancellor behind in bewildered confusion.
The fallen official's eyes grew wider and wider as he watched the Duke's actions. Because this man, contrary to all sound logic... unexpectedly headed towards the neighboring cell and began unlocking it!
"Hey! What are you doing?" Gregory exclaimed with even greater indignation and rushed after him. "Have you decided to make a goodwill gesture and free all the prisoners?"
"Of course not."
"Then what are you doing?!"
"I simply need this particular cell, that is all."
"....."
In the end, the Chancellor could only open and close his mouth helplessly. He truly could not find any logic in his fellow sufferer's actions.
Meanwhile, Michael Carter calmly opened Cell Seven and entered. Chancellor Ardelio had no choice but to follow him.
"And this is your brilliant plan?" he hissed indignantly. "Decided to simply exchange our cell for another?"
"No. You will understand shortly."
Much to the Chancellor's surprise, Duke Carter, from the moment he entered the prison cell, remained absolutely calm and composed. No trace of trembling or anxiety about his situation. As if... nothing special was happening to him. Or perhaps being in a prison cell was a common occurrence for him.
No, of course, Chancellor Ardelio knew of Michael Carter's reputation as the "Iron" Duke, to whom weaknesses were unknown. But was this not going too far?...
In any case, under the circumstances, the former official had no choice but to obediently follow him.
When they entered the cell, there was already one prisoner inside. Looking unwell, he had been lying on his straw mattress, coughing quietly.
Seeing the newcomers, he involuntarily lifted his head — genuine astonishment was evident in his eyes that people he clearly had not expected to see here had suddenly appeared in his cell.
"What... what are you doing?"
However, the Duke himself paid no attention to the prisoner. He silently walked to the wall and began to feel its surface.
Gregory Ardelio, meanwhile, watched him with undisguised skepticism.
"Your Grace, I absolutely do not understand what exactly you are doing right now..."
Michael Carter, ignoring his words, continued to run his palms over the wall.
"...No, surely you are not now wasting our precious time on some meaningless activity?!"
The Chancellor's voice broke; he could no longer contain himself and spoke at full volume, not hiding his indignation:
"What? Do you truly believe a miracle will happen and you will supposedly find some secret passage here?!"
However...
Click.
The next moment, a soft click came from behind the wall the Duke had been so carefully feeling. After that... part of the stonework slid aside with a barely audible rustle, revealing a dark opening.
"....."
Gregory Ardelio silently opened and closed his mouth, unable to utter a word.
"Let's go," the Duke only said dryly. "We need to hurry before reinforcements arrive."
"Ah... Yes." The Chancellor truly found nothing more to say.
But at that moment, an agitated voice came from behind them:
"...W-wait! Take me with you!"
He pleaded desperately, begging the two strangers to take him away from here.
But Duke Carter only frowned tensely.
"I do not need a burden that will only get underfoot."
Although the Duke refused calmly and coldly, it was obvious: the prisoner, who had unexpectedly glimpsed a ray of hope, would not give up so easily. He continued to beg, and his pleas threatened to escalate into hysteria — and unnecessary noise could attract unwanted attention.
Therefore, Duke Carter acted swiftly and cool-headedly.
"Chancellor Ardelio, neutralize him."
"I...? What?" the other was taken aback.
"Just knock him out, so he makes no more noise."
But the Chancellor only became more flustered.
"Knock him out? I...?"
"What?" a hint of mockery sounded in the Duke's voice. "You cannot?"
Chancellor Ardelio faltered and pursed his lips. He stared in confusion at the criminal he was supposed to knock out. And he... truly could not do it. He did not even know how!
All his life, working at the imperial court, the Chancellor had relied only on his intellect and cunning, but never on physical strength. After all, there had always been guards for that.
And so now... he was utterly bewildered, having no idea how exactly one could make a person lose consciousness.
And besides... was this even a normal request?!
Why did the Duke speak about forcibly rendering a person unconscious so casually and easily, as if talking about swatting a bothersome insect?!
No, this man was resolutely beyond his comprehension!
Meanwhile, Duke Carter, glancing at the Chancellor's flustered face, simply sighed heavily. Finally, he approached the prisoner himself and, in a fraction of a second, with a precise blow to the back of the head, sent him into unconsciousness.
After that, he laid the man back on the straw mattress and turned back to the passage:
"Well then, shall we go?"
"...Yes."
Ultimately, they slowly moved along this secret passage. At first they walked in silence, and the Chancellor simply tried to endure the terrible discomfort and tightness he had to suffer. But then... he finally could not resist and asked:
"Your Grace, may I inquire how you know about this secret passage?"
Michael Carter, walking ahead, was silent for a moment before answering:
"Is it not obvious? This is the Imperial Palace. There must be secret exits here so that members of the imperial family could escape in an emergency."
"...Yes, I know that. But I simply cannot understand," the Chancellor pressed his lips together. "I have served in the Imperial Palace for over thirty years and did not know about these secret passages! So how do you know about them?!"
Of course, Chancellor Ardelio knew that there were secret passages in the palace intended for the imperial family. This was common practice for any palace in any country or empire: the primary task of palace architecture was first and foremost the protection of the monarch. But still... if these were secret passages, their locations were a secret known only to members of the imperial family, passed down from generation to generation.
Other influential ministers at court did not possess this information. And Gregory Ardelio, who had been the monarch's right hand for so long, also did not.
So why... was such a deeply held palace secret known to an outsider — Duke Carter?!
Gregory Ardelio could not comprehend this even in his thoughts.
He could not grasp how the "Iron" Duke could know about the secret labyrinths of the imperial residence better than someone who had spent decades within these walls.
Nevertheless, Duke Carter did not directly answer his question. He merely said:
"Perhaps I will tell you sometime later, after we get out."
"...In other words, that meant 'never'?"
Chancellor Ardelio simply sighed heavily.
He struggled to maintain a balance between his strong curiosity about this and the whole range of unpleasant sensations he was experiencing at the moment. And ultimately, the latter won. The Chancellor decided to leave all talk for later — until the moment they got out of here.
Their journey through the secret passage under the palace stretched on unbearably long. At least several hours. Chancellor Ardelio had seriously begun to think he would sooner lose consciousness from physical exhaustion and lack of air than finally see a glimmer of sunlight.
But at last...
After a time that felt like a true agonizing eternity, at some point they finally reached their goal. Reaching the end of the passage, they came up against a blank wall. And then Duke Carter addressed him:
"Give me a boost."
By that point, the Chancellor was so exhausted that he did not even ask any questions. He simply obeyed silently and helped the Duke get up so he could reach the ceiling. Finding something, Michael pressed — the lid slid aside with a dull grating sound, opening an opening. Duke Carter, leaning on the Chancellor's shoulder, climbed out first. Then he reached his hand down and helped him out as well.
When Gregory Ardelio's feet finally touched solid ground outside, he nearly collapsed on the spot with relief. The fresh air, even if cool and damp, seemed sweeter to him than any incense.
Once outside, green fields spread before him, and fresh, grass-scented air rushed into his lungs. In the distance, the silhouette of the Imperial Palace was still visible. It seemed that during this time, they had covered several kilometers through that terrible passage.
"God... Finally!"
The Chancellor could not believe he was seeing the blue sky above his head again. After all he had been through, it seemed almost unreal to him, like a beautiful illusion. He sank onto the fresh grass, sprawling his entire body, and simply rested, trying to recover from this grueling ordeal.
However, his calm did not last long. Soon, a rustling sound reached the Chancellor's ears, and he opened his eyes. To his utter amazement, the Duke, who had just tirelessly and without a single stop made his way underground for several hours, managed to catch his breath in just a few seconds. There was not a trace of fatigue on this man's face — as if he had merely been out for an evening stroll.
Immediately after, Michael Carter prepared to leave, not even deigning to inform the Chancellor.
Gregory Ardelio rose in astonishment, watching the one who was about to leave this place.
"...Your Grace! Where are you off to now?"
"Where else?" the other replied impassively, without turning around. "I need to return home."
"..."
The Chancellor simply stared at him dumbfounded, unable to utter a word.
Duke Carter, for the first time in all this time, smiled slightly. But it was a cold smile, which in truth contained nothing sincere or warm — rather, it was anticipation of what he still had to do.
"I have been away from home for too long," he said quietly. "It is time to go back and restore order there."