Loyalty

Not long after, Elias and his subordinates arrived at their own table in the middle of the cafeteria.

They all sat down on their respective chairs in silence.

Of course, Elias naturally took a seat before them. It was basic courtesy for him to do so. It was an acknowledgement of authority.

But that was not important. More importantly, a heavy silence hung around the table as they sat.

It was a serene, yet complicated silence.

Donato and the rest tried to hide it, but Elias keenly saw through their inner bafflement and bewilderment instantly.

That was just natural.

They had recently just witnessed something strange occur, or more accurately, they witnessed the young master they took care of all these years suddenly project a layer of mystery.

It was not far-fetched to be baffled and confused if someone you originally knew very well suddenly exhibit strange and mysterious actions.

Depending on the person in question, it could fill one with doubt and distrust.

Of course, Elias also knew the underlying risk around his actions and already expected such a reaction by them before doing so.

But he still did so despite the risk.

If you think about it, he could've left them to Goblin to also have their memories erased about what happened, but despite that, he didn't do so.

With his untrusting and paranoid personality, it was quite strange that he didn't do so.

But the reason for that is similar to Goblin accepting his deal, he was also gambling whether he did the right thing or not.

Currently, Elias was risking a discreet gamble with the five of his subordinates—whether famous 'The Five Musketeers' of his father would still trust him or not after witnessing his sudden change.

This was immensely important; their stance regarding this matter would decide whether they were worth being informed of his plan to escape or not.

If they weren't, then he would escape on his own and leave them be.

There was no use for bringing subordinates he couldn't fully trust outside. It would just endanger him. Not to mention, with his future actions, he was going to be more suspicious.

On the other hand, if they were worth trusting, then he would inform them and have them all escape since he would need some subordinates outside.

In other words, he was probing the extent of their loyalty to him. How loyal are they? He was very interested.

They were loyal to his father, but how about to him?

He needed the results right now because he's escape was going to be put up in advance since Goblin appeared.

Elias quietly watched them from the corner of his eye, waiting for someone to express their doubts.

But even after a while, no one did. It made him slightly surprised and nervous, he had already expected some of them to ask in doubt.

When one expresses doubt, that means they still haven't fully put their trust in him yet. Conversely, it also meant he couldn't put his trust in them either.

That kind of thinking, of course, was quite ludicrous and foolish. That was just plain extreme paranoia.

No matter who the person is, they had doubts. It was impossible to remove them.

But regardless, he had to do it so he could feel safe.

He could only put trust in people that never questioned his trust in the first place, that was an absolute rule he established for himself.

'I'll wait until the cafeteria hours finish.'

Elias thought silently as he gazed at the plate below him.

In truth, Elias was just too disillusioned and being extremely paranoid due to his former experiences.

If he could take a step back and see things more clearly with less prejudice, it wouldn't be so complicated.

'The Five Musketeers' Donato and the rest had taken care of him since his birth, seeing him as their own responsibility to a degree.

Additionally, although they were loyal to his father, their loyalty also extended to him due to his connection to his father, their original master.

Furthermore, Donato and the rest lived most of their life in service of his father. Thus, when his father died, they also lost their original purpose in life and made protecting and serving him as their new resolve.

That was why—even as the bell rang and prison cafeteria hours ended, no one among the five asked anything.

To Donato and the rest, it was very simple. If their young master wasn't willing to tell them in his own initiative, then so be it, they have no need to know.

They only needed to trust and ensure their young master's life was safe from harm. That was enough.

A good subordinate never probes their master. And they'll be damned if they were a failure of a subordinate.

Faced with such trust and resolve, Elias felt extremely surprised and uncomfortable at the same time. He didn't know how to face such overwhelming trust.

In all his life, trust was something that gradually became foreign to him.

In his past life.

A silhouette standing beside his younger self appeared in his mind, and around them, a number of people were unconscious.

The two of them gave each other a smile and laughed together like an unmatched duo, but who could have known…

Elias distantly remembered his past before shaking his head. He tapped his fingers on the table.

Tap—!

At that moment, Donato, Galilei, Tauros, Junior and Alexus were alerted and raised their heads to look at him.

Facing them, Elias ruefully smiled before sighing.

"Do you guys trust me?"

Without even a slight moment of hesitation, the five of them nodded. Donato answered with a slight smile, staring at Elias.

"We were able to live because of the Godfather. Even if he had died, we can never forget the gratitude we have towards him."

"You are his son, the blood life of the Godfather. As long as we live, our life is yours to order."

"It doesn't matter if you are not the Godfather, what matters is that at present, our life has no other purpose but to help you. We will serve you like we serve the Godfather."

At the end of it, Elias was silent. It took a while before he opened his mouth and told them quietly.

"...I plan to escape this place with you guys."

***

At that night, under the shining moonlight, Goblin appeared in Elias cell with a large backpack.