The dungeon of the castle was not as damp and dark as the prison of Border Town. Probably the Duke did not want his basement to become a haunted house, or to smell a disgusting stench when he walked down the stairs. In general, the dungeon was relatively clean. Different cells were decorated differently, some were empty, some not only had beds, but also had wardrobes, desks and chandeliers. Probably the Duke originally used this place as a place to detain some nobles, so basic etiquette must be maintained.
Roland also found a special cell in the corner, a large bed occupied half of the room, chains hanging from the ceiling, but the chain head was tied to the iron handcuffs wrapped in a layer of sheepskin, and a variety of whips hung on the wall. It seems that the Duke Ryan has done some research in some aspects, he thought, unfortunately, I will leave here in a few days, so I can't have a good time to figure it out.
As the most valuable captive, Shalafil Hull was naturally locked up in the best cell. If you did not look at the iron railings outside, you would think it was a luxurious bedroom. Living with him were the viscounts of the Maple Leaf and Wolf Families, the eldest son of the Wild Rose Family and the second son of the Elk Family. These families, together with Lion Ryan, formed the six families of Longsong Stronghold – of course, Ryan's faction had been disbanded by Roland, so his wife and son were locked up next door.
Seeing His Royal Highness appear in the dungeon, the nobles stood up one after another. Without waiting for them to ask, Roland said, "Count Hull, you can come out. As for the others, when the ransom arrives, I will naturally let you out. "
"Father," Pérot saw the Count's ruddy face and felt relieved. He glanced at his friend and then looked at Roland, "Your Royal Highness, I did not see the name of the Elk Family on the list. If he died on the battlefield, their eldest son should still be in King's City, and there is no one who can take charge of the family. Can we first release Rennes Medde and let him go back to raise the ransom? I am willing to vouch for him. "
"The eldest son of the Elk Family, do you mean Jacques Medde?" Roland shook his head, "He came back. Not only did he come back, but he also came to the castle yesterday. But … I don't think he intends to pay the ransom. "
Hearing this, Rennes moved closer to the cage in disbelief. "Why?"
"He said you didn't protect father on the battlefield. You were the executioner who killed Count Medde."
"Why would he say something like that? The one who killed father was —" Rennes suddenly stopped talking.
Roland said casually, "You're trying to say that I was the one who killed the count, right?" He went to the front of the cage, "Before the Months of the Demons, your father sent people to sneak into my castle, wanting to burn my provisions. Now, he's following the Duke and leading a large group of Knight knights to attack my territory. I'm just retaliating and repelling the invaders. So am I the murderer? Compared to the initiator, Duke Ryan, and the accomplice, Earl Medde, who should be blamed more? Also, if it wasn't for Hills' confession that you knew nothing about the food burning incident, you would be a dead man by now. "
"…" Rennes was speechless.
"Your Royal Highness," Pérot asked worriedly, "If no one is willing to pay the ransom, will you execute him?"
"That won't happen, I've always been kind," Roland grinned, "I'll probably bring him back to Border Town and let him work in the North Slope Mine for twenty years to atone for his crimes."
"How much … is the ransom?"
"As the second son, he has no chance to inherit the title, so the price is naturally not as high as the Earl of Honeysuckle. Only one thousand values of materials will do." Roland looked at him with interest, "Why, do you want to pay the ransom for him?"
"What value, one thousand Golden Dragons?" The Earl, who had been released by the guard, interrupted.
"Your son will tell you," the Prince made a gesture of invitation, "Let's go, there's nothing to stay here. As for the matter of the second son of the Medde family, you don't have to worry about it, you can slowly go back and think about it.
The group left the dungeon, and when they arrived at the castle gate, the Earl suddenly stopped, "Your Royal Highness, I know that Duke Ryan's behavior is unforgivable, but … his wife and son are innocent."
"Perhaps," Roland couldn't deny, "I don't intend to sentence them to exile, hang them or anything like that, I will only bring them back to Border Town and imprison them." Until the day I ascend the throne, he thought. Now is not the time to be soft-hearted, if they are acquitted, it will only muddy the waters of Longsong Stronghold – the eldest son has the legal right to inherit.
*****
"What did you say!?" Shalafi Hull's eyes widened, incredulously looking at Pérot, "His Royal Highness doesn't intend to live in Longsong Stronghold, and even wants to hand over the city to you?"
Back at the Earl's House, Pérot immediately told his father in detail what had happened in the past three days. When he heard about the agency contract, the Earl could no longer bear it. After getting a positive answer from his son, he stood up and paced around the study, obviously in a complicated mood.
"Father, are you all right?" Pérot asked worriedly.
"It seems that our main opponents are the Elk family, except for them, the other three families, whether in terms of background or strength, are inferior to us."
"What?" He didn't come back to his senses for a moment.
"Opponents, opponents!" The Count shouted, "You disappoint me. His Highness has given you such a good opportunity. Haven't you figured out who your opponents are yet?"
"Well, don't you find it strange?"
"Strange, why does His Royal Highness insist on returning to Border Town? Of course it's strange, "the Earl touched his beard," but it has nothing to do with us, as long as this contract is real. "
That's true, Pérot thought, His Royal Highness is going through so much trouble, it's impossible that he just wants to tease me, as for the reason why he loves Border Town, I can think about it later. But he didn't expect his father's ability to accept things was so strong.
"I heard that the boy from the Medde family is your friend?" Shalafi suddenly stood still and said, "Tomorrow you go and get him out."
"You agree to let me spend a thousand points to redeem him?" Pérot was startled.
"Think about it, the Earl of the Elk family is dead, the eldest son is unwilling to redeem the second son, in this battle, except for a few Knight, there is almost no loss. Once Jacques Medde inherits the title, in the future it will inevitably hinder your control … no, the management of Longsong Stronghold. "The Earl explained," Why is Jacques unwilling to redeem Rennes? Because he is afraid that the other party will threaten him. "
Well, it turned out to be for this reason, Pérot smiled bitterly in his heart. But he knew that what his father said was right, Rennes loved swords and spears since he was a child, and he was very close to the Knight in the territory, unlike the eldest son Jacques, who thought that hand-to-hand combat was unbecoming of a noble, and preferred the romance of King's City. Although Rennes repeatedly showed that he wanted to be a Knight, but that was in the case that he didn't have the right to inherit the title. Now that the Earl was no longer restraining him, who knew if he would summon his knights and kill the First Born in one blow? Paying to redeem a person who made him restless, Jacques' decision was very simple and ruthless.
"My friend will not do that," he said firmly.
"Maybe, but after you redeem him, whether he intends to do so or not, Jacques will have a headache." Shalafi then said, "As for the materials worth a thousand points, we can choose a craftsman with a higher value."
"When preparing the ransom for you, I have already transferred some craftsmen, if we fill in more, the craftsmen in the territory will not be enough."
"Don't worry, do you know that the Northern Region is in a mess now?" The Earl said confidently, "The coalition of the four kingdoms was completely destroyed in Hermes, the lords have forced their people to join the army, there has been a large number of refugees. We can take this opportunity to eat a little more, and later even save the monthly materials. "
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