Chapter 6 - I - Time in the dungeon

 

Our group had just finished unloading and unpacking our baggage; thus, we were summoned into the main hall of the Duke’s manor.  By this time, the Duke had been sitting at his throne at the other end of the room, flanked by his other two kids.  His older daughter, the Human Saint, was seated to his right—which was, by the way, a dignified place in Chersea. The Beastman Saint was offered a seat to his left—a common position for visitors of secondary importance in this world.

 

So much for being an ‘enemy’ of the Rubinforth household…

 

The rest of the group, which was led by Her Royal Highness, Lilyhaven Tamriel von Leese, including myself, and we all stood before the esteemed aristocrat.

 

“…”

 

Everyone was solemn and quiet.  If I’m not mistaken with my hunches, this seemed to be the traditional welcome of Chersea’s people towards their respected visitors.

 

“I see you brought some friends with you, my daughter!” the Duke’s eyes wandered around the hall as if he was examining us carefully.  Honestly, I’m quite nervous that he may single me out, so I tried my best to appear as inconspicuous as possible.  The Duke then continued with his speech, “Even though our family had been in rough terms with you, I bid you a warm welcome, oh Great White Wolf!”

 

To this, Saint Ruro of the Wolf stood from her chair and did a curtsy.  

 

Oh, so Her Fluffy Holiness is capable of royal manners as well, huh?  Impressive.

 

She quickly shot a glare in my direction.  Well, I better pipe down my thoughts…

 

The Duke then turned to the royalty before him, “And you’re welcome to my humble abode as well, Your Royal Highness Princess Lilyhaven.”

 

Lily graciously gave her curtsy to the old aristocrat.

 

“Of course, I will never forget the other nobles who were with my beloved daughter.  Thank you for your hard work and please help yourself!  My home shall be your home.”

 

Everyone else did their curtsies, too.  And I, not wishing to stand out, followed suit.

 

“Alright, now that we had the formalities…” the Saint’s father stood up and raised a glass of wine, “My daughter and I talked earlier.  We decided that we’re temporarily restoring your aristocratic rank for the duration of your stay here.   I’ve instructed my household to treat you as a noble like you always are.”

 

At that point, Her Holiness then stood up and also raised her glass of wine, “Everyone!  I implore you to take a rest and enjoy your stay here at Fen!”

 

With that, everyone was jubilant.  I couldn’t help but sigh with relief.  At least I evaded that old guy’s radar.  A few moments in, and the happy commotion eventually died down.  Then, little by little, our group dispersed in different directions as they attend to their businesses right after the Human and Beastman Saint went out of the main hall.

 

 

Anyway, with everyone gone, I went to do my business while staying here.  Those beautiful paintings hanging on the Duke’s hall looked nice; I thought I’d like to see those well this time…

 

“Why hello again, young man!”

 

“!!!”

 

I couldn’t keep myself from jerking when I felt someone tapped my shoulder.  However, I was even more shocked when I saw the Duke of Rubinforth himself standing behind me.  Though he wore a smile on his face, I could tell that this old guy didn’t want me here.  And the two armored guards that flanked him didn’t look that friendly, either.  

 

“M-my a-a-apologies, Y-Your Excellency!”  My heartbeats went way too fast; I didn’t like the feeling of this…

 

“Well, I told my lovely daughter to bring a man when she comes back home.”

 

My eyes almost popped out from their sockets.  What?  This is a grave misunderstanding!

 

“But…” the Duke’s expression twisted into a much more sinister one, “I didn’t expect him to be a commoner.  My Maddie must’ve been so kind to you, you think you can fool her!”

 

“Fool her, Y-your Excellency?  I am just a—” I almost blurted out that his daughter just summoned me from another world, but that might cause further trouble, so I shut my mouth just in time.

 

“You’re a what?” the old man’s face was sarcastic, “An ambassador, perhaps?”

 

“!!!”

 

I was bewildered.  He knew the tricks we played on him during the seasonal mass.

 

“Well, aren’t you the one who tricked me before by introducing yourself as an Elven ambassador?”

 

Oh, shit…he recognized me!  I’m so dead right now, Lady Monfort!  But yeah, I won’t give up, “Err…w-what are y-you talking about, Your Ex-Excellency?”

 

“Oh, I remember you from that Seasonal Mass!  You even tried to hide by doing a curtsy earlier!  Do you think I wouldn’t notice?  But too bad for you, you just showed your true background, commoner!” the Duke sarcastically explained, “No fool of a noble gentleman would curtsy before his superior, you know.  They are only for the ladies.  Off to the dungeon you go!”

 

I panicked and tried to resist, though I didn’t go hysterical.  I wanted to run to the Saints for help, but the guards quickly subdued me, and they put iron chains on both of my wrists.  Experiencing this rough treatment, my vision swirled and everything else eventually became dark.

 

 

The next thing that I saw when I opened my eyes was darkness.  Damp, creepy darkness.

 

“…”

 

Yep, this was one of those that were the staple of every swords-and-magic fantasy…a castle dungeon.  Dark and damp, the only light source for me was coming from that small, square hole with bars near the ceiling of my cell, ostensibly to let out some foul air.

 

“…”

 

Let’s see…hmm…well, I’m not chained to the wall; that’s a plus.  And I’m virtually alone in my cell—if that sort of skeleton not too far from where I was won’t count.  The only complaint I had was that this place had no mat.  And—

 

“Oof!”

 

The ceiling was not too high for me once I tried to stand up.  I never wanted to rest my back on the walls; not only it was wet, but I also didn’t like the feel of the moss that was growing from it.  It’s disgusting!  So, well, I just turned my back on the iron bars of my cell.  At least, that part was relatively dry compared to the rest of the cell.

 

Ah, well, I’m not that afraid.  Maybe because I knew that Her Holiness and her friends would soon notice my disappearance and would surely look for me.  And that asshole of a Duke would have no choice but to let me out…

 

The very thought of that was giving me some hope that I won’t rot away in here, unlike those poor souls from the real medieval dungeons.

 

“…”

 

Provided, the Duke will not spin a story that I’m off to some place, or things of the same sort.  And hey, there’s Her Fluffy Holiness’ ability to pick up my smell, I guess?  I mean, I could still remember how she tracked the Human Saint based on the smell of her blood before, right?

 

“…”

 

Fuck, I’m overthinking again…I should calm down.  Help will arrive soon…

 

“!!!”

 

I heard a loud clunking noise, not too far from where I was sitting.  I guess, if I’m not mistaken, that’s the sound of a metal door being opened up.  And then there came footsteps.

 

Hell yeah, see?  I know they will not forget me here!

 

My eyes quickly searched for signs of life inside this miserable place.  And true enough, soon I made out a pale light coming in my direction.  God, I want to jump for joy right now, but I’m afraid I’ll hit my head on the low ceiling if I did just that.

 

What took you so long guys—

 

“!!!”

 

My jubilation was interrupted when I saw unfamiliar faces appear.  It was the Duke’s children.  The boy was carrying a wand with a pale white light shining on its tip; the girl was following him as if she’s not used to coming to such a place.  Well, I couldn’t blame them, it might be their first time.

 

“…”

 

I watched as they walked around, shining a light on every cell they passed, as if looking for someone.  Can it be that they’re looking for me?

 

“Hmm…Big Sister told us we’ll find him here.  I wonder where Papa had thrown him?” I heard the boy say.

 

“Will it be alright for us?  I mean, he’s a commoner!” the girl spoke with a shivering voice, “He could suddenly jump at us and hurt us!”

 

“Ha!  Let him try!  I got my sword with me as well as our guards waiting outside!  I could always yell for help if that commoner did something bad.”

 

Hey brats, what are you taking me for?  Some kind of criminal?

 

“Didn’t Papa arrest him because he’s staring lewdly at Big Sister’s breast?  That’s what he said!”

 

Ha?  That old lying geezer, did that thing even happen?  As far as I remember, I was just looking at those paintings hanging on the wall.

 

“…”

 

Well, the subject of the painting was indeed the Saint.  And well, she was wearing an elegant yet quite revealing dress.  Naturally, my eyes would go to her ‘attractive parts’.  What?  It’s art!   There’s no ulterior motive to it!

 

“You know Papa is very protective of our sister if it comes to men.  And that one’s a commoner with no proper education!”

 

“Don’t worry, Sophie, if he’s interested in big chests, I don’t think he’ll ever notice you.”

 

“What do you mean by that, asshole?”

 

Well, I have to admit; I want to slap that boy in the back for defending my honor…

 

Anyway, I didn’t let them search the entire dungeon.  This was because I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.  And with that said, I started banging on the bars of my cell, as well as calling for their attention.