Chapter 45

* * *

Han Ji-hyuk poured the letters onto my desk.

"These are heartfelt letters from people who want to buy your building. They say the one you bought for 10 million gold is now worth up to 90 million."

I chuckled and hugged the letters.

The letters smell like money, sniff, sniff.

"When are you going to sell the building?"

"It's still going up. It'll easily reach 200 million."

Han Ji-hyuk opened his mouth wide.

"Exactly... what did you do?"

"Uh-huh. Something like stock manipulation."

"What?"

"Stock manipulation. Don't you know?"

"Do you even have a conscience...?"

"Is a con man asking about conscience?"

Han Ji-hyuk couldn't close his wide-open mouth.

I shrugged.

"Well, it's a bit different from stock manipulation. No one gets hurt, after all."

I didn't raise the prices of the entire area.

Just the value of my building, built on the Blessed Land, is skyrocketing.

"And it won't crash, either."

Because it's on the Blessed Land, after all.

"Will you sell it when it reaches 200 million?"

"No. The buyer is already decided."

Han Ji-hyuk narrowed his eyebrows, as if not understanding what I meant.

But he soon closed his mouth after looking at the clock.

"I have to go meet the person who asked me to replicate the Empress's painting."

"Uh-huh."

"...Why don't I get fired from the duchy even when I act like this?"

Well, it's because I'm the third in line within the top seven.

I can't fire the servants I brought from my jurisdiction.

I waved my hand to see him off.

"Have a good trip."

After Han Ji-hyuk left, I prepared to go out.

Today, I'm going to see Alexis.

I haven't seen Alexis for quite a while.

Every time I tried to go out on the weekend, the twins would tag along.

"Baby, where are you going?"

"Huh?!"

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Well, Balzac suddenly came, and I was startled."

"I feel really bad today. I want to be with you."

Balzac, with his animal-like intuition.

"Are you going far?"

"Eh, eh?!"

"It's cold, but you're wearing light clothes today."

"......?"

"You always wear light clothes when you put on a coat. You say the coat is too thick and uncomfortable."

"......"

Joshua, with his ghost-like perceptiveness.

It was really hard to avoid these two.

'But today, the two of them went out for training.'

I hummed a tune and put on a large backpack, then went outside.

Dione was waiting for me.

"Erilott, here."

"Hi."

"Hi!"

Dione was wearing a white cloak with blue fur, which suited her very well.

Today, I'm going out with Dione.

I can't go out without guards or servants, but I can't take them if I want to go see Alexis.

So, I'm getting help from Dione.

I asked Dione to take me to a place near where Alexis is, with her guards.

"Can you drop me off near the Saint River?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you sure it's okay? What if it's dangerous?"

"I'll be with a friend."

"Uh-huh. But when did you make a commoner friend?"

I flinched and rolled my eyes.

'I told Dione that I'm secretly meeting a commoner friend, right?'

"Um... a long time ago."

"A long time ago?"

"Uh-huh. A long time ago."

"I see."

Dione nodded.

She's a good kid who doesn't doubt others, which is a relief.

'But I'm the one who doubts others.'

I whispered in Dione's ear so the coachman wouldn't hear.

"I'm secretly meeting a friend."

"Uh-huh!"

"Can the servants and guards keep it a secret too?"

Dione took out a necklace from under her robe and showed it to me.

"This is a protection stone from the <Seal>. My mother gave it to me."

"Ah..."

"Our jurisdiction's employees are all sealed. They can't reveal anything I don't want them to."

"Really?"

"Being able to be sealed is a condition for being hired in our jurisdiction."

Dione clenched her fist.

"I won't let anything about Erilott's friend get out!"

'That's a relief.'

"Thank you, sister."

Dione cupped her cheeks and smiled.

"I like it when Erilott calls me sister."

We quickly arrived at the Saint River.

Dione dropped me off and said,

"I'll pick you up at 5!"

"Uh-huh."

After Dione's carriage left, I moved quickly.

I pulled my robe over my head and ran to the other side of the river.

There was a building there.

The <Egrits Prison>.

* * *

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

Alexis scrubbed the tray.

After more than a month, he was quite used to this task.

'Used to it...'

Alexis scowled.

When Erilott's servant first brought him here, he thought it was a joke.

Who would hide someone by bringing them to a prison?

But they really put him in prison.

By paying the guards.

For the first few days, he thought it was a joke.

'They'll let me out soon.'

He waited, but neither the girl nor the pink-haired one came.

The daily routine in the prison was always the same.

Breakfast → Bible reading → Exercise → Lunch → Labor → Meditation → Dinner → Labor

To outsiders, it might look like a place where criminals play, but it was brutal.

Reading the Bible was torture for Alexis, who had never learned to read.

Meditation was the same. They made him do it for three hours, and he never knew it could be so painful to just sit still.

He couldn't get up until he finished all his food.

Labor was done until he was exhausted.

Doing this repeatedly made him furious.

'Just wait until you come.'

He thought he would give the owner of this estate a proper scolding.

But days passed, and Erilott didn't come.

Eventually, he gave up.

"Hey, your posture is sloppy, so you're not putting any strength into it! Don't try to fool me!"

The guard yelled at Alexis.

'Damn it.'

Being in prison made his mouth dirty too.

He lifted his head, thinking sweat was getting into his eyes,

"Hey..."

Behind the cleaning room door, a small child in a black robe was visible.

The child grinned and waved.

It was so bright and cheerful.

Alexis jumped up.

"You!"

The atmosphere was very different from their first meeting.

* * *

Erilott gave two gold coins to the guard and entered the prison.

She found Alexis and went into an empty room.

When she entered, she could see Alexis scrubbing the tray.

"What are you doing?"

Alexis glared at Erilott with a stiff face.

"Where's the food?"

"......"

"Did you eat?"

"Here, you can't get up until you finish all your food."

Erilott put the backpack she brought on the table and started taking things out.

"You can eat this later."

"......"

"This is a blanket."

"......"

"This is medicine. For headaches, for stomachaches, and for..."

She was clearly trying to yell.

She was going to yell when they met again...

But seeing the bag as big as her, she couldn't make a sound.

"And this is chocolate and..."

"Stop it."

Alexis scowled and said,

"I drank this."

"When are you going to let me out─"

Erilott's eyes widened.

Then she reached out and touched Alexis's forehead.

Alexis flinched and stepped back.

Erilott narrowed her eyes.

"Does it hurt? Your face is red."

That's why she couldn't yell.

Because no one asked her, and no one took care of her.

"Even here, they call a doctor. If it hurts─"

"I don't like doctors."

He got up and opened the door.

The guard, who was dozing off in front of the door, woke up with a start.

"Already done?"

Alexis left without a word.

The guard shook his head.

"What a temper."

* * *

I went outside and watched Alexis walk away.

'Oh, stubborn.'

Even in <Bing.Heuk.Son>, he was so stubborn, a habit that lasted from childhood to adulthood.

When Alexis was out of sight, I glanced at the guard.

"What if you don't take care of him when he's sick?"

The guard yawned and said,

"He's been coughing since yesterday, so I said I'd call a doctor, but he refuses."

Well, he probably doesn't like doctors.

The person who took him away and made him suffer was a doctor.

The guard looked at me.

"But where did you find this guy?"

"From a rainwater collector."

"From a rare place. He's rare, indeed."

The guard folded his arms and chuckled.

"He's a good student. Just by making him meditate for three hours consistently, he's already learned breathing techniques."

The guard, or rather, the trainer, smiled proudly.

<Egrits Prison>.

To others, it might seem like an ordinary prison, but a very few people know.

'That this is a soldier training camp.'

Soldiers were limited in the palace or the estate.

When training soldiers, the number was strictly checked.

But would the nobles really limit the number of soldiers they trained?

They secretly trained soldiers in private training camps like this.

'Egrits Prison is special among them.'

The trainers are former palace guards.

They set up this place, angry at the former emperor's tyranny.

'Originally, it was built for a coup.'

That's why they built the training camp in the crime city, Astra Estate.

The trainer entered the room and sat down.

"Can I eat this?"

"Uh-huh."

The trainer started to open the snack.

"At first, I was shocked when the young lady came."

"......"

"When a girl as big as a forearm came and said she would entrust a person to me, I was so surprised."

The trainer chuckled, recalling the moment.

"I wondered who she would entrust, and she brought this guy. It's amazing."

It's even more amazing in the novel.

Alexis comes here on his own.

'Although he accidentally enters to avoid the Empress's tracking team.'

Here, he trains for a long time and absorbs them, becoming the best mercenary leader in the empire.

"But why can't you say this is a training camp?"

That's the condition for enlisting your soldiers.

Don't tell the trainees that this is a training camp.

"I'll tell them later. It's just a few months of testing when they enlist."

"Testing?"

"If we teach a bad person, we all die. If the royal family finds out, we're all executed."

That's true.

The trainer chewed the snack and said,

"We only open it to those who can handle it. If they can handle it, they can know."

"How do you know if they can handle it?"

The trainer pointed to his chest with his thumb.

"If they're tough, it shows. You can see it."

"......"

"Why? Is it cool?"

"......That's why no one has entrusted a trainee here for the past four months."

This training camp has only one trainee, Alexis.

The other people who look like prisoners are all trainers.

The trainer sniffed, feeling embarrassed.

* * *

I crouched in the cleaning room and watched Alexis scrub the tray.

'Teaching him how to balance his center of gravity, huh.'

Alexis didn't even look at me.

"Really not going to take the medicine?"

"......"

"Hey."

"......"

"Alexis."

"Don't call me."

"Are you mad?"

I'm so frustrated.

It would be easier if I could just say it, right?

'The trainer is a bit stupid, but his intuition is really quick.'

That's what Han Ji-hyuk said when he brought Alexis here.

"Does this guy know where he is?"

Han Ji-hyuk was terrified when he heard that.

'Damn novel.'

Why did they set it up like this?

It's just a setup for the protagonist to have a dramatic moment when he realizes this isn't actually a prison.

Alexis looked at me.

"Do you find me amusing?"

"What?"

"Is it fun to lock me up here?"

"......It's not like that."

This is your safety net.

"If you're not going to let me go, leave."

"......"

"I'm not your toy."

At this point, I got angry too.

I jumped up and glared at Alexis.

"Go, go!"

I stomped out of the cleaning room and walked down the hallway.

'Originally, I found him after four years of hard work and safely brought him here.'

Do you know what kind of hell you went through for those four years?

I stopped and glared at the cleaning room.

Then I ran back in and threw something at Alexis's back.

"Idiot!"

* * *

Erilott threw something and left the cleaning room again.

The thing on the floor was medicine.

Cold medicine.

Alexis picked up the medicine.

'Idiot, it's me.'