Lorian confidently walked towards the pillar in the far end of the room, where his enhanced vision had identified the end of the mechanism that was connected to the trapdoor under the table.
The Baron rushed towards Lorian to stop him. But Lucien, sensing something amiss, called the Baron in a stern note to divert his attention and stop him from preventing Lorian from doing whatever he had in mind. This moment of distraction gave Lorian time to touch the lamp holder on the pillar.
"I think both of you should move away from the table!" Lorian spoke casually, and grabbed the lamp holder in a firm grip. He then yanked the handle downwards for a dramatic revelation, but the sudden jolt just strained his hand instead.
There was a sudden smirk on the Baron's lips, and he sighed in relief. The opposite reaction was on Lucien's face. "You are done, My Prince?" he asked in a mocking tone.
Lorian, embarrassed and desperate, stretched his hand to stop the Baron in his track while trying to twist the handle left and right, pulling it up or down in vain. Lorian's mind was getting muddled with mixed feelings of shame and fear. All the movies he had seen in his past life- all the stories, anime, cartoons, comics, and series- all flashed in his memory at lightning speed, as he was surfing for a way to drive the mechanism before he was approached by the Baron who was coming towards him.
And then, one attempt was successful. As he pushed the handle inside, towards the wall, it went in; and like a key in a lock, Lorian rotated it clockwise, and then a click was heard. A mild rumble was heard beneath their feet. Lorian realized the door had opened.
"Honorable Baron Bisfront Bistro, let me, Lorian Thorne, Prince of Veridia, showcase the architectural brilliance of yours," Lorian looked at Lucien, and like a magician gestured at him, "Are you ready Lord Commander? Then let's help our respected Baron by shifting the table and remove the carpet."
Lucien smiled and obliged. With the removal of the carpet, a circular hole was discovered on the floor.
The Baron jumped between Lucien and the Door. "Stop right there. You have already overstayed your welcome, and you are now creating a ruckus and insulting me and my great house!"
"I think you are forgetting in whose presence you are right now, Baron Bistro!" Lucien spoke in an ice-cold voice, "You are standing not in front of just any Noble, but the one true Heir of the ruling family of the great city of Veridia, House Thorne! I sincerely advise you to hold your tongue and check what you are speaking!"
Lorian nodded and walked towards the Baron. "also, please don't forget, we are not here on your invitation, but we had come here for an official purpose, that is search your property, which you had agreed to," He placed his hand on the Baron's shoulder and brought his mouth close to the Baron's ear, "although even if you had not agreed, we had authority to exercise the right to search your property, right?"
The Baron did not reply, just chewed his own teeth in anger and glared at the floor. Lucien walked towards the window and from there summoned his men standing at the ground floor. The Throne Guards rushed and within minutes they gathered in the Baron's chamber. Baron Bistro fumed with anger, but could not stop them from entering his personal chamber.
All of them started climbing down the trapdoor, while four guards stood at the door guarding it. Baron Bisfront was walking ahead as they kept climbing down the spiral staircase.
The team was climbing down the stairs for quite some time. Although there were no windows to check the outside, it appeared they were right now underground, judging by how long they were climbing down. The walls appeared to be moist, and so was the surrounding air.
No one spoke anything, and just kept walking like trained troops.
After a while they reached the floor. Ahead of them was a dimly lit hallway. However, what was strange was that there were big rooms on both sides of the hallway. They had thick iron bars for doors. It was obvious that they were prisons; and in the prison were prisoners.
There were forty prison cells in total, 20 on either side of the hallway, facing each other. There was a variety of prisoners- adult male, female, children- of various races: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Beastmen. Although humans were the majority, human females again being the majority of the human prisoners. There were around 73 prisoner total. Many cells had only one prisoner, while some had even six. Lorian realized it depended on the importance of the prisoners- important ones were given a separate cell, while less important ones were made to share their cells with others. However, the privilege ended with just single occupancy, for the cells were all dirty, damp, and dark. They smelt foul.
As they walked down the hallway inspecting the prisoners, the captives were eerily silent, just observing them from behind the bars. Some had fear in their eyes, while some had burning rage and hatred.
Lucien and the Throne Guards were surprised and appalled by this scene, while the Baron's red face became dark as slate.
"So, what explanation do you have for this, oh esteemed Baron?" Lucien asked.
"They are..." the Baron took a pause, probably to come up with an excuse, "... they are just petty criminals who tried to rob or steal my property, or had defaulted on their loans. Some are just collateral for loans. They are here for just a few days, and treated properly..."
"Stop spouting nonsense!" Lorian raised his hand, "you will have ample time to come with better excuses when you will undergo trial. But right now you are being arrested, and these people are now will be released from their captivity and handed over to Throne Guards. I will personally check them and release them after your trial!"
"You can't do that, you spoiled brat," the Baron hissed, "you idiot prince dares to threaten me with trial, you..."
The Baron could not complete his sentence as Lucien grabbed his neck and choked him, "One more word against the Prince, and you will meet an unfortunate accident by falling from the stairs while running from us, and die an inglorious death!"
Lucien's voice was like cold steel; the Baron knew it was no empty threat.
At the end of the Hallway, there was a room. There were many documents. Lorian ordered two guards to seize all the documents in the room and bring them along.
When Lorian emerged with the Baron, his guards did not dare to free their master, for no one in Veridia, in their right mind, would dare to challenge Lord Commander Lucien. They just bowed down their head and made way for the Prince and his entourage and let them carry their Master from his own home.
More crowd had gathered outside the Baron's Villa. All were excited to see the outcome of the raid. And at last, they witnessed the Prince and the Commander coming out from the building, with the Baron who was handcuffed now.
Behind them was a long line of people. There were mostly Human, but there were some Dwarves, Elves, as well as a female Beastman.
Suddenly a frail voice from the crowd gathered outside shouted, "Rosa, my Rosaline, Rosa..."
To everyone's surprise, among the rescued slaves, a human girl turned towards the crowd from where the voice was coming, "Papa, ...". There was a strange disbelief in her voice, and suddenly she started running toward the crowd. But she was probably hurt as she took just a few steps and she fell on her face.
On Lorian's signal, a guard rushed to her and pulled her up. The girl, who was timid and lifeless even a few minutes before, suddenly became furious like a wild cat and started fighting with the guard. "Leave me, leave me now!" she cried, "I have to go to my papa!"
On the other side, the old man was also crying. "Leave my daughter alone, give her back to me!"
The crowd got agitated and started shaking the gate to open it. Apparently, a few more people in the crowd had their loved ones among the prisoners, and they had got agitated seeing them suddenly after so many days!
Lucien glared at the Baron, "What is the meaning of this, you scoundrel!"
However, the Baron was in no condition to speak, as his face had turned pale like paper.