An invitation

In an underground prison, under the walls of the castle, where all the people who had committed serious crimes and were waiting for the days of trial, or those who would be tortured in exchange for information were locked up. The whole place was dark and unventilated, a person could immediately suffocate by the smell of decomposed bodies and the dirt of the prisoners. Without any windows or maybe a crack on the wall where the light could enter, no ventilation or toilets could be inserted, people locked in there couldn't see anything until someone came in holding a torch. Every time that happened, the prisoners began shouting. No one would want to be locked up there, most of the people would immediately surrender and admit to crimes they didn't commit, only to get out of there and be locked up in a legal prison, while the others with less luck are staying still there, even after death.

Some of the guards made fun of those who entered there for the first time, because they were all scared when they saw that they wouldn't be alone in the cell. Maybe it would help them to reflect and admit their crimes. But as word of that prison spread, the number of people who entered was reduced and it was emptied.

Those who survived and managed to escape alive from there by being locked up in another prison didn't have much luck either, they would get sick not long after and lose their lives eventually, they could go crazy or get seriously ill from the air, the environment, and the polluted water. But those who heard about this prison, called it "the veil of death", because if you went inside no one could survive. Now this place is used only to close and torture some of the servants who "disobey" their owners, but it is also used secretly to interrogate suspects.

"Please let me out, I did nothing. Why am I here, who are you? "

'So noisy, if you want to go out it would be better for you to talk already! Every time I look at this place, it reminds me of how different it looks from the stories. This place is still dark, but at least someone cleaned it of corpses and dirt. Still, I don't want to be here for too long! '

"Has he said something we might use?"

"Forgive me my lord, but we couldn't find anything useful. He and a few others we could catch unnoticed didn't say any necessary information. It seems that they didn't have direct contact with the target."

What is happening now, how is it possible that I haven't managed to get any information about her? Everything should have gone well right after the academy, I had all the time I needed, all the opportunities to get what I wanted, and even spies all around the kingdom, but non-of them have seen her. This lack of information made me start from the beginning, in that place where she was closed. My knights managed to take some of the employees without any problem, but they don't know anything.

The moment Rai escapes, it is possible that someone helped her and they are certainly together now. Even if we find who betrayed his owner, is of no use if I can not find the path they took.

'Where can they be, and which route did they use? North, to go on the other kingdom? No, if you cross that road, you must first escape the dark forest and the bitter cold, two people could not possibly manage to escape from there. What if they went South? That's not an option, that road leads to the capital, without a doubt they can stand out here and it would be ridiculous if she was under my nose all this time. Then the east and the west remain.'

"My lord, what should we do with the prisoners?"

"Ask them again about someone who must have been away from that house for these seven years, and report to me later. If they don't answer, proceed as you did with the other. And do not leave any sign of their existence."

"As you wish, my lord!"

'Damn it, how can this be, she has vanished. I can not control the whole king this way. It's been almost seven years and I couldn't find her. What would I do if she went to the other kingdom? I couldn't find her here, let then to another kingdom where I have no connection. Which will it be, the west is Nirvana or the east with Iphoria, in which is it? '

"Your Majesty, I ended up checking all the documents as you ordered, but among them I found something that does not add up."

"The reason?"

'The reason is very clear, but first I need proof. Having Alphred look into it is one of the best ways to have my father's witness backing me up.'

"Your highness, it turns out the marquise of Corttes has been pocketing a lot of tax money. Some of those working in the finance department have expressed this opinion, but have not been able to gather evidence against him."

Hearing that, the prince froze looking at his subordinate cluelessly, and then burst into an uncontrollable laugh, which made Alphred doubt if he was mentally stable. But he was almost accustomed to his behavior, so he let him be.

"Hahaha, that old man went and did it now. So he's been siphoning tax money without a legitimate reason? How foolish of him, but how did you come to this conclusion, as far as I know the finance department has done some investigations on this issue and they have come out empty-handed. "

"Your Grace, we don't have a proper document to show his guilt, but in the report sent for each month it is shown that the value of his income has not changed, there is only a slight increase or decrease. Considering his businesses are growing and also from the discovery of one of the mines in the dark forest, his incomes should have grown more, and also… "

'Why did you do this Vinter Corttes? Hiding income and playing with taxes, taking a rapha in his house, and owning its powers. What is he up to? I did not know that Alphred was going to find something so important so easily, since the finance department couldn't resolve it after all this time, even though they had their doubts. If we make this information known to them, it will be enough to put him in jail for a while, but we don't know how much money he can put into this and the sympathy he has gained in the north can make people justify him.'

"Ahem, also your highness. His Majesty demands an audience with you this afternoon, please show up on time! "

"Yes, don't worry about that. Anyway, good work today you may leave!"

'What does that man want now. I don't have time to worry about him as well! I have an idea that it's not going to be a good thing to talk about, since he never leaves his chamber, and that scene that I'm going to see is not something pleasant either. '

Heading to his majesty's room, I could see people staring at me, my every move and whispering to each other. I am used to those malicious looks from the moment I was born, but them trying to judge me about my birth never brought me good memories. The sound of whips, hot iron, slapping, beatings, crying, hunger, everything...everything has scarred me for life. Thinking about it again, no one in his right mind wants to live here with these people, and it would be difficult to keep Rai in, even if I find her.

'Hmm, I think parasites have created a lot of nests in the castle lately, I have to start getting rid of them one after the other until this place is cleared. Not just for her, but for myself as well! '

Shortly afterward, after Prince Alastair had arrived at the king's room, he was joined by Prince Jonathan and the empress together with the queen, his and Jonathan's mother. Meeting the two brothers together with their three parents was unexpected and made Alastair think things were worse than he had imagined, as they never got together as a family to talk about something important.

He was impressed by the behavior of the king, who didn't even get out of his bed, and although his two wives were there, his concubines continued to stand by his side and play with him. The empress and queen were not in a friendly relationship either, so the atmosphere was tense.

'At least say what you have to say and let us continue our work!'

"My King, I know you are busy now but you can you at least tell us what is the reason for this meeting." - said the queen, irritated by the situation in which she was in and also by the presence of the empress who had an open war from the first moment she married the emperor.

The emperor began to speak, without stopping what he was doing and without telling his concubines to stop either. He was too proud of what he was doing, and continued to show his wives that they weren't irreplaceable. The empress didn't talk while the queen on the other hand couldn't stop grinding her teeth. They were all so focused on the thought that they wanted to get out of there, that a word from the king surprised them all.

"A-a coming of age ceremony in the duke's estates? This is impossible because he is not even married. "

While grinning wildly to his sons, and satisfied with his wife's surprised face, he said: "This is a great event, a duke who has no heir is announcing that he finally decided to have his own children. I want my sons to take part in this celebration, as my representatives and find out the reason for this sudden change."