I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 123

In the dark iron cage, Yulken’s consciousness was stirred awake by the voice calling from his right arm.

Elpelt, looking just as disheveled, only spoke up to express concern for his lord despite their dire situation.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I suppose my dull head has caused you all to get caught up in this mess.”

“You’ve probably said that more than five times already.”

“…Is that so? It seems I forget what I’ve said as I get older.”

With a bitter smile, Yulken tugged on the restraints, a habit he’d developed since being imprisoned. It was a fruitless hope that pulling on them once might miraculously loosen the rusty shackles.

“Not being able to die is quite a torment. I’d rather bite my tongue, but for some reason, no matter what they did, I have no way out…”

Currently, a spell was placed upon Yulken’s body. It wasn’t a high-level magic that completely took away his freedom of movement, but it restricted him from taking his own life.

The thought that he could never hand over the Symbol of Dominion to the invading tribe made him try to end his own life, which was why he was burdened with another shackle.

Thanks to this, Yulken was beginning to understand, even if just a little, the feelings of those who struggled in torment, wanting to die but unable to.

It was heartbreaking not to be able to apologize to his daughter, wife, and all his vassals who were suffering because of his foolishness. How could he show his face if he got out of this place?

“Don’t worry. There are brave men like Sir Gale in the family, so surely rescue will come.”

“That’s also a wish that shouldn’t be wished for.”

Even Yulken was unaware of the current capabilities of the invading tribe. The attack they showcased during the invasion of Whitewood was undeniably powerful, and engaging in battle against such a force would be walking into a trap.

Thus, it was something the head of the household should not wish for, but if that alone could resolve the current situation, nothing could be better.

“That’s true. But right now, all we can do is hold onto hope, right?”

“…Bitter, but you speak the truth.”

Nodding at Elpelt’s admonition, Yulken gave a wry smile. Literally clinging to hope and not losing faith was all the two of them could do.

At this point, it would be more realistic to provoke their captors in a foolish attempt to escape alone than to struggle against the inevitable.

“Still, at least they’re feeding us regularly. For hostages, this is quite the generous treatment.”

“Perhaps because we’re hostages is why we get such treatment. If we die, it would quite affect them too.”

“That’s true.”

Elpelt forced a hearty laugh to brighten the mood. He had no idea of the outside situation, and with despair filling the air, he felt that if he didn’t try to lighten things up, Yulken wouldn’t hold up either.

“By the way, these crafty bastards. They’ve locked us up separately, excluding other prisoners around us.”

“Isn’t it a psychological tactic to wear us down? It means they’re smart, after all.”

As the two exchanged words, the sound of footsteps approached, and a guard passed by the cage. Two days prior, there were four or five guards constantly patrolling the hall, but since yesterday, there was only one guard, which made Elpelt suspicious.

“Hey.”

Thinking it would be faster to ask the source directly, Elpelt called out to the passing guard. The man, nearly Yulken’s size, turned around with a frown, openly displaying his displeasure.

“You there, use honorifics like a proper prisoner.”

“It’s idiotic to expect honorifics from a prisoner.”

“The only one who told me not to kill you is your master behind you. Do you wish to die?”

“Go ahead and try to kill me. But I have one question first.”

The guard’s lips twitched at Elpelt’s audacity. He was merely feigning intimidation; they had no authority to kill the prisoners, especially someone as ruthless as Kelrag, their leader. If they made a mistake, they’d be the ones losing their heads.

Not responding was the best course of action, but spending two days alone here made Elpelt crave conversation. Approaching the bars with the thought of asking what he wanted, he was suddenly interrupted.

Whoosh!

“…!?”

Something flew through the air and struck the guard’s head, leaving him sprawled across the cold floor, causing Yulken, shielded by Elpelt, to wonder what had happened. But under the impression that something had merely fallen, he tried to ignore it.

Before he could finish that thought, an unexpected visitor appeared.

“Your Highness, Sir Elpelt. Are you safe?”

“W-who are you…!?”

“Edgar Billhark…!”

The last person they expected had appeared out of nowhere. It would be less surprising if a moon fell from the sky.

Before they could even form a question about how he got there, Edgar rifled through the fallen guard’s pockets and opened the cage door.

Just like that, the longed-for glimmer of hope rushed in.

—

An unexpected chaos erupted within the prison camp of Whitewood.

Despite the barriers set in place, an invasion by an intruder led to the guards, alongside ten others, being silently slaughtered.

“They’re surely here to rescue Yulken! Find them immediately!”

“If we don’t capture them, we’re dead men! No matter what, find them!”

Today, with no enemy attacks easing tensions for a moment, suddenly an internal disorder only added to Kelrag’s bewilderment.

“What the hell kind of method did they use to break into the prison camp!?”

“Seems like quite a skilled individual. They must have passed through the barrier, swiftly killing the guards and escaping…”

Listening to his subordinate’s report, Kelrag couldn’t help but rise angrily.

There was something nagging at him.

“Passed through the barrier!? Does that mean the barrier technique we were given was flawed!?”

“N-no, that’s not the case. We have no knowledge about that…”

“Damn it.”

The tribal warriors knew very little about barriers or magic. Therefore, regarding this borrowed barrier technique, they couldn’t know enough, and all they could say was that the barrier was functioning normally.

This meant that the enemy was either a high-level mage capable of easily passing through the barriers or possessed a tool capable of temporarily dispelling them.

However, if the barrier itself had disappeared, the inmates would surely have noticed, leaving only the former possibility likely.

“Do we have their location?”

“Presumably headed towards the northeastern castle wall.”

“Northeast?”

Kelrag showed a puzzled reaction, scratching his chin. There was not a suitable escape route there.

Though they might be thinking of climbing over the walls, guards were stationed up there, making such an attempt risky.

He could tell they surely had some other trick up their sleeve.

Kelrag wracked his brain to discern their intentions and promptly issued orders to his subordinates.

“Inform those heading that way. There might be a secret passage they’ve been secretly using, so if there’s any entrance that seems big enough for a person, close it off.”

“Yes, understood!”

“And I’m going too.”

As Kelrag strapped on a greatsword equal to his size and left, a watching subordinate swallowed hard and nodded.

The prowess of those seeking to rescue Yulken might be impressive, but if the tribe’s leader took action personally, it would be a different story altogether.

The warrior among warriors with unparalleled prowess in their tribe. Once he rolled up his sleeves, it was like feeling as if they had the backing of an army, and the man followed behind him with a confident grin.

—

As Edgar rushed forth and beheaded an enemy, he quickly checked Yulken’s condition without even looking back at the rolling head.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?”

“Despite appearances, I’ve rolled around a battlefield. I won’t tire so easily, so don’t worry.”

Yulken scolded himself for being of no help as he clenched his teeth.

Though Edgar had the keys to the prison on him, sadly, there was no key to the shackles binding them together.

Edgar tried to slice through the shackles with his sword, but it seemed they weren’t just ordinary metal, as it wouldn’t cut easily.

He figured it likely had magical enhancements, but for now, they had to leave the prison without any time to think about it.

“By the way, where are we going?”

“To the secret passage in the northeastern part.”

“You sure know your way around. It’s definitely a good place to avoid detection.”

Yulken nodded, agreeing with Edgar as he listened to him outline the plan step by step.

He had been concerned about whether Edgar would just recklessly attack Whitewood due to his sudden disappearance, but he had remarkably crafted a solid plan amidst the chaos.

Though there was one point that bothered him.

“Do you know if there’s a gorge in the northeast?”

“Yes, I’ve heard it’s the safest path…”

After passing through a forest where they were supposed to meet the rescue team, they would soon hit the gorge Yulken mentioned.

The path was wide enough for many soldiers to pass through, making it a likely point for the rescue team as well.

“That would be the case ordinarily.”

“Does that mean there could be dangers there?”

His expression grew serious as Edgar took on an indication that safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

“The reason it’s deemed safe is due to the length of the gorge. They’d have to endure the watchful eyes of several clans along the way, making it normally inaccessible to invaders like the tribe.”

“I heard the same.”

With the explanations he received from Ras and Gale resonating, Edgar nodded in agreement.

“However, it’s suspected that this time the enemies sent an independent unit through that gorge to attack Whitewood. They caught us off guard while we were flustered by an unexpected attack, resulting in our own troops being struck too.”

“Should we change direction now?”

At Yulken’s suggestion, Edgar raised an eyebrow, seeking his input.

If that was true, it was possible that the gorge had already been seized by the enemy.

Although nothing had been reported from Bignes, who was supposed to lead the rescue team, they could easily be surprised if the enemy was lying in wait.

However, Yulken shook his head sharply, insisting that they shouldn’t do that.

“That would be practically impossible. There’s no time to contact the rescue team, and it’s undeniably true that this escape route remains our best option.”

“Then what about heading out to the castle walls and going in another direction?”

“Didn’t you see? The area around here in Whitewood is quite rugged. Of course, we could hide while climbing through the mountains and brush, but the chances of being spotted are significantly higher.”

The northern region was largely difficult to navigate, with routes being scarce apart from those artificially created by humans.

The mountains were particularly rough, but the terrain changed sporadically, making one wonder if they had vanished completely at times.

Should they inadvertently lose their way within such terrain and fall into their enemy’s search, it would be the end for them all.

Thus, for now, this escape route was the best option.

What Yulken wanted to convey was that even if they headed northeast, they shouldn’t loosen their vigilance.

“For now, let’s reach our destination and talk. Passing through the secret passage will allow us to chat without worrying about lowering our voices.”

“Yes, understood.”

Putting aside their anxiety for the moment, the trio hurried on their way.

They needed to reach the meeting point with Ras as soon as possible.