Staring at the ceiling of the dark underground prison, I sighed deeply. I am full of anxiety. Although the future of mankind is none of my concern, I just can’t figure out how to get out of my current situation.
Of course, if I kneel before my father and make my apology, I can be released from this prison in no time. However, I am a man of pride. I will not admit my guilt when I haven’t done anything wrong. I can never make such an apology. Ever.
But also I can’t be stuck in this prison forever while doing nothing. Since Saint Prosia Day is approaching in about two weeks, I will never be able to meet Yojo again if I keep staying here in this prison.
The Divine Hall, where Yojo is enshrined, is only open for three days from the day before Saint Prosia Day through the day after Saint Prosia Day. Except for those three days, the Divinium Temple is completely sealed by the divine magical shield so nobody can enter it.
Of course, I can go to the Divine Hall next year but it’s too risky. I found out later that except the seven sacred weapons of the continent and some others, all the sacred weapons depending on divinity randomly choose their owners. In other words, nobody knows if Yojo might choose some other bastard as its owner.
“Alright then. There’s only one way to go. If none of the methods are available, there’s only one method left, isn’t there? Sure, it is.”
Already, I am making an evil smile on my face. There’s one simple solution. The runaway it is. Some might ask how I can run away while being imprisoned. But who am I? I am the master of survival and escape. I am a man of miracle, Yan Sergio Carl. If I make up my mind for real, I can get out of this prison even with my eyes closed.
“Anyways, if I am going to escape, I should do it as soon as possible. I don’t have much time left.”
Saint Prosia Day is approaching in about two weeks and it would take about a month to get to the Great Divinum Temple from here by walking. But for me, it would take only about a week to get to the temple. However, once I get out of this prison, everyone would try to find me for sure. To stay out of their sights, I need extra time. And of course, I also can’t use a teleport portal provided by the Association of Magic. Once I get out of here, all my personal details would be sent to them as well.
Damn it, this lineage thing. It’s useless when it’s needed. Instead, it becomes a burden whenever I am trying to do something.
“Then which route should I take? It’d be better to head towards the Dwin Mountains side.”
The Dwin Mountains which sit on the east side of Carl Dukedom just come into my mind. Since the rocky Dwin Mountains are part of the borderline between the Yosrahim Empire and the Calico Kingdom which was formed by the Dark Elves, the Bloods, and the Werewolves, humans can hardly be seen in those areas. And since the demons frequently pop in and out around the region, it’s a bit dangerous. But also those chasers and checkpoints can’t bother me so I can travel much faster without worrying about being caught.
“As long as I can cross the northern branch of the River Rumenox in the middle, I will arrive at the Great Divinum Temple in no time. Yes, this is it.”
I stood up and broke a toilet nearby with my foot while disguising it as a mistake. It was a bit clumsy though. Anyways, since I’ve got my plan now, the only thing I need to do is to get out of this prison.
“Are you there, Count Myer?”
He approached as I called him.
“What’s the matter, your highness?”
“I need to use the toilet urgently but my toilet is broken.”
Count Myer looked at the broken toilet through the bars and knitted his brow.
“I will ask someone to replace a toilet, your highness.”
“But I really need to use the toilet right now…”
“Just wait a moment please.”
“But then, what if I do a poo on my pants? Will you take responsibility for the defamation of my honor?
“For that…”
“If I do a poo on my pants right now, all of the people here will be dead. The Grand Prince is pants-pooper~. I can not be humiliated in such a way. So, I must kill all of these people here to seal their lips.”
The knights guarding the prison were looking at Count Myer with desperate eyes. Everyone knew I could certainly do such a thing. Therefore, Count Myer unlocked my cell door.
“I will show the way to the toilet, your highness. Please follow me.”
Once I walked out of my cell, Count Myer sent a signal with his eyes. At a moment’s notice, two knights stood by my sides and grabbed my arms. Although they were trying to prevent me from escaping, it’s a meaningless effort. As I followed Count Myer acquiescently through the underground prison hallway, I saw a metal window led to outside. Then I grabbed the waist of a knight next to me and took him down on the ground.
“Uggh.”
The other knight, who saw his fellow breathing painfully due to the impact, instinctively put his hand on the grip of his sword.
“What? Are you trying to draw a sword in front of me?
He flinched under my threat. Drawing a sword in front of his future master would be the same as living a time-limited life. Especially when he would have a future master like me. But Count Myer, walking ahead of us, was not the same guy. Though he was in a bit of panic due to the unexpected situation, he drew his sword right away and ran towards me.
“Grand Prince, your highness! What are you trying to do right now!”
Such a hardhead. But it was something I expected. I drew a sword out of the sheath of the knight next to me and bounced off Count Myer’s sword with it. Although Count Myer was a skillful swordsman at the mid-master level, his attack was only to subdue me without the intention of hurting. So, it’s pretty easy for me to defend myself. Actually, I wouldn’t mind if he’s really trying to kill me.
Unlike Count Myer, I am a true swordsman who has gone through many perilous ways with real experience on the battlefields. I am a master of swordsmanship of a kind that only pursues survival. No matter how large a gap in skills between two of us exists, I do not become overpowered so easily.
With several attacks, I gained my advantage and pushed him back to stay apart from him with enough distance. Then, I turned around and ran towards the metal window which led to hallway stairs.
As I approached, prison soldiers who were guarding the metal window pointed blades of their spears towards me. Soon after, Count Myer was also chasing me with a shout.
“Grand Prince is running away! Stop him!”
And that was a huge mistake. He should’ve not said that I was the Grand Prince. Once prison soldiers knew that I was the Grand Prince, they apparently lowered down their spears.
“Get out of my way!”
I tore down the metal window by a sword fully infused with an aura blade.
“Grand, Grand Prince…?”
Count Myer flinched with a surprise and came to a standstill. Soldiers couldn’t see it because they were running away but Count Myer certainly saw it. He saw me using an aura blade skill which only 150 people in the whole continent knew how to use.
He might have wondered how I could defend myself from his attacks just a moment ago. Between master level and expert level swordsmen, clearly there should be significant differences in power and speed. However, he was a bit dominated in our dual just a moment ago. I waved my hand and escaped through the metal window.
“Well then, Count Myer. Goodbye.”
I fully infused mana into my legs and jumped over hallway stairs in a heartbeat. A few soldiers at the staircase were blocking me for a moment but once I threatened them with a loud voice, they backed off acquiescently.
“I am the Grand Prince Carl! If anybody tries to mess with me, he will be dead! Even if I can’t kill you right now, I will kill you all once I come back!”
Although Hoton Prison was well-known across the empire for its strict security, my escape was smoothly done because soldiers and knights got cold feet as soon as they heard my name. Thanks to them, I could escape through a group of prison soldiers who were split around like a miracle. And soon after, I successfully got out of the main gate of the prison.
“Now, I am free!”
“Grand Prince, your highness!”
The road to freedom is still far-off. While I felt joy for a moment, Count Myer chased me very closely.
I leaned my upper body to the front, trying not to be caught and then I flew forward as if I were bouncing off. It’s a survival running skill that was grafted with assassin skills. In this world, there might be a lot of people who are stronger than me. But very few who are faster than me. I distanced myself from Count Myer with more than enough space and ran towards the south castle gate.
Soon, a reddish sky with a sunset surrounded me. And in front of my eyes, laid the soaring south castle gate under the sky. Not surprisingly, although the sky was getting darker, many people were walking down the street of the city which was the center of the dukedom.
And these people were getting in my way. But Count Myer had to go through a similar situation, just like me. I weaved through and out of passersby and arrived at the spot where I could see the south castle gate from a distance.
“What the… That bastard is Donovan?”
As of now, Donovan is the guy who’s guarding the south castle gate. He’s pretty well-known within the territory as a talented knight. Considering that he’s still in his mid-late 20s but already at expert level, he must be a prodigy of swordsmanship as much as myself. And that’s why I rewarded him with all the treasure and gifts since a few years ago to earn his loyalty.
But later when Yosrahim Imperial Castle had fallen to the demons, he was the first person who betrayed and left me. Furthermore, nearly half of my vassals and soldiers had followed him at his instigation. Due to his betrayal, when I arrived at Tyben property, only dozens of people were following me including Helen and Yosef who were nothing but the burden.
“Hey, Donovan you bastard!”
As soon as he saw me, he quickly kneeled down one of his knees and bowed down before me.
“Grand Prince, your highness. You’ve got out?”
What a modest and loyal behavior. How could I be deceived by his pretense and make him my henchman? It still makes me sick whenever I think about it. As I arrived in front of the castle gate, I used the back of his head as a jump pad and got on his favorite horse. And I yelled at him as I rode his horse out of the castle gate.
“Donovan! It’d better for you to not see my face ever again. If you do, you will have to attend your own funeral on that day!”
“What does it mean, your highness?”
Donovan stood up as he was scratching the back of his head with a puzzled face. And he was staring at me running away hastily. Of course, he can’t understand why I treated him like that right now and he must have felt unfair. But I myself feel unfair as well. Without his instigation, my future would have not fallen into the bottomless pit. No one knows how terrible I felt at that time.
As I was leaving farther away from Carl Castle, I made a gesture with my middle finger towards it.
“I won’t ever come back to this shitty house. Goodbye forever!”
I bid farewell to my home for the last time. I have no intention of coming back to Carl Territory ever again. Honestly, I never go starving anywhere I go. And if I want a noble status and my own territory, I can surely earn them with my own power. Why? Because I am currently one of 150 master level swordsmen on the whole continent. If I show my skills, everyone will be eager to ask me to be on their side.
But I do not need such a noble status. I don’t want my life to be restrained by giving my loyalty to someone else. I am just living my time-limited life which will last for about ten years. And I am already busy enough to enjoy this short life.
Afterward, I got some working clothes, an ax, a wooden sack, and a dagger used for pruning tree branches from a lumberjack passing nearby. But it wasn’t a robbery. I handed over him a fatigued horse as a gift. Of course, Donovan might take the horseback from the guy but that’s not my concern. For me, it was a fair deal.