In the pre-dawn darkness of four in the morning, Herscherik got out of bed and quickly changed his clothes as quietly as possible. As the season was only on the cusp of spring, the air felt a little chilly, so he decided to put on a coat before opening the door. He peeked his head out into the hall to make sure no one was there before sprinting down it.
Good thing I had Meria show me a map of the castle.
Usually, Herscherik was accompanied by Meria whenever he left his room. They never left the royal quarters or the courtyard, but whenever Herscherik had asked, Meria had opened a map and patiently explained how to get to each part of the castle from where they were.
In general, the castle was comprised of four areas. The royal quarters to the north, political facilities to the south, research labs to the east, and military housing to the west. While Herscherik wasn’t sure of all the various subsections within them, right now he only had to know how to make it to the western area where the prison cells were.
He made it through the unoccupied hallway to exit into the courtyard, which was accessible to anyone who lived in the royal quarters. During the day, the royal wives engaged in blossoming conversations as they admired the flowers, but during the pre-dawn hours, the courtyard was completely empty. Herscherik walked through a passageway adjacent to the courtyard, passed under the gate into the main castle, and turned west. Down that path, he could see his destination.
Dodging soldiers on night patrol along the way, Herscherik managed to arrive at the western quarters. Then, walking through the passageway that connected the main castle with the military facilities, Herscherik came to the training grounds. During the day, it was bustling with soldiers and knights, but now it stood empty in the middle of the other military facilities. On any other day, Herscherik would have been excited about his first venture beyond the royal quarters, but he didn’t have the time for that now.
The cells are on the very western end of the western area...
Recalling the map of the castle from memory, Herscherik carried on. He hid behind a few corners here and there to make it past the soldiers on patrol before finally arriving at the other end of the military facilities. The land between the building and the castle wall was unkempt, weeds growing free and tall amidst the planted trees. Fortunately for Herscherik, the grass was tall enough that he could conceal his toddler body just by diving down to the ground. On the walls of the building, he could see openings just above the grass—barred windows, albeit with no glass between the bars. These windows, definitely made as small as they were to prevent the prisoners inside from escaping, served as the light sources for the cells that were dug halfway into the ground.
I hope the count is here...
Clutching the silver pocket watch in his hand like a talisman, Herscherik approached a window.
“Count Ruseria, are you in there?” He called in a whisper to avoid being detected, but there was no answer.
He repeated the question at window after window to only hear silence in return.
The next one is the last cell...
“Count Ruseria, please answer me if you’re here.”
Herscherik knew that if the count wasn’t in this cell, he would have no chance of finding him. As he squeezed the watch even harder, Herscherik’s call came out sounding more like a prayer.
“Who is it?”
That voice was none other than that of the man with the mustard-colored hair that he had heard at the party. Herscherik nearly cried out in joy at the voice that came from within the cell, but he hurriedly covered his mouth with his hands. All of his hard work would be for naught if he raised his voice now. Herscherik crawled toward the window carefully and peered through the bars. Inside, he found Ruseria, without his jacket. Ruseria’s eyes, gazing up at the barred window, met Herscherik’s eyes peeking down from above. Seeing the unexpected figure, Ruseria’s eyes widened in shock. Unbothered by the reaction, Herscherik observed the count and noticed that his clothes were badly stained and torn. What drew his attention the most, though, was the count’s forehead, which must have been injured during the arrest and barely tended to. It was still stained by the streaks of blood.
“Is your forehead all right?”
Herscherik’s biggest concern came pouring out of his lips. Of course it wasn’t all right. He immediately regretted the question. A noble—a count—had been subjected to violence and imprisonment in a place like this. Stretching his hand through the bars toward the count, Herscherik presented the watch he’d been holding onto, as the count still seemed frozen in surprise. After all, Herscherik had set out in order to return the watch to him in the first place.
“I came to return this. It’s something precious to you, isn’t it?”
“...Yes, it’s very precious.”
“I’m glad I could get it to you.”
Taking the watch from Herscherik, Count Ruseria stroked it with nostalgia in his eyes. Then, he held the watch tightly with his eyes closed, and a bitter pain flashed across his expression. Just as Herscherik was about to ask him about it, the count looked up at the prince again. His intense stare halted Herscherik’s question on the tip of his tongue. In turn, the count knelt to one knee and bowed his head. Later on, Herscherik would learn that this count had saluted him with a pledge of loyalty.
“Lord Herscherik, I beg your forgiveness for ruining your celebration last night.”
Herscherik shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. But Count Ruseria, I want to hear your side of the story.”
“...My side?”
The count looked up from his bow and absentmindedly parroted the phrase in a somewhat taken-aback tone.
“I’m the traitor who was arrested for trying to frame Minister Barbosse. I’m here, after all. What other story do you need? That’s reality.”
Ruseria’s sarcastic and mocking tone wasn’t directed at Herscherik, but at himself. Hearing this, Herscherik knew he had to respond.
“I came because I want to hear what you have to say in your own words, Count. No matter what anyone else says, I want to hear from you.”