A Story of Evil

While the king and Sol were about to court danger, there was one person far from any harm or danger. Still on his bed, with one of his maids at his side, Prince Jules have yet to wake up. A statement that changed as soon as Nishi entered the room. Ringing the bell placed on a table beside the prince's bed.

"Master, we need to go now." She began; her master getting up with an irritated look on his face.

"Shut the fuck up Nishi! Can't you see I'm still resting?" Prince Jules had a genuinely annoyed tone of voice.

"I'm sorry my prince. It's just that, I don't want you to lag too far behind." Nishi replied in a respectful and worried tone.

"Huh? What on earth are you blabbering about you dead weight? How can I lag too far behind?"

"Well you see…"

Nishi was told by one of the king's maids about the situation on the farm. This information was directly passed down by King Jubilee. Meaning, it was something that the king himself wanted his son to know. 

The Void king wanted to water down the humiliation his son will feel. Hence, he chose the method of letting the maid pass this on. Leading to the current situation.

Nishi told everything. Not leaving a single detail out. And with every word she spoke, she felt the prince's fuse continue shortening. Until the maid was finished and, Prince Jules finally blew.

"WHAT?!?" As expected, the prince didn't receive it well. He was already throwing a tantrum, unfitting of his stature.

"That pathetic orphan! He's really trying me, isn't he?" The prince said, quickly preparing himself. 

"Fine! If this is how he wants to play it then I'll gladly take him down!"

While the prince was making empty threats, Solomon and his friends were already moving. Assisted by two guards, they marched towards the prison. Bringing with them the twenty harvest thieves which they were able to capture.

They tried running away once. But after Alice showing her bloodlust and intent to kill them, the group became more docile. Moving to every word uttered by the twelve-year-old who had her daggers prepared.

"Hey, isn't it a bit embarrassing for these guys that we brought them here in chains?" Cain asked, somehow finding it in himself to feel pity for the offenders.

"What are you talking about? Of course we need to set an example to the public. Actions like this should never be tolerated. Even if we are the lowest of the low, we shouldn't stoop to that level." Sol said in reply.

"You say that like we didn't come from the same experience." Cain furthered, with Alice agreeing on this as she was once a thief herself.

"Cain…" Sol gave a glance at his friend before he continued speaking.

"…I'm saying it PRECISELY because we came from the same experience." The boy mentioned, staring at the people within the streets of the slums. 

There were still drunkards, prostitutes, gamblers, gossipers, swindlers, illegal traders, and more. The development of the slums was already beginning yet, a lot of the old things were still wildly practiced. It was still the nest of evil. The devil's playground.

"The Void Domain is rapidly changing. It's turning into something better and, I don't want to drag it down by being a degenerate stuck to his old ways." Sol furthered.

"You really sound like an old man now. Being with the king must've done some numbers on you buddy." Cain remarked.

"Yeah well, it's better than being stagnant." The boy said in reply, smiling as they finally reached their destination.

A large iron wall barricaded the whole structure. A total of ten watchtowers were present. With each housing two soldiers, armed with guns that excel at both accuracy and speed. Runes were also marked on the walls, making it even sturdier. Preventing it from getting destroyed by any sudden assault or attempts of escape.

"This place is pretty well guarded." Alice said, thinking how even she would have trouble sneaking in.

"Yeah well, we're not planning on destroying this place anyway." Sol commented.

"I guess you're right." The girl said in reply as Sol proceeded to giving his command.

"You guys stay here; I'll handle the talking." Sol began walking and, after a few steps, stopped and took a glance.

"Also double check their number and make sure they don't try escaping again."

"Oh don't worry, they won't." Alice said; with Sol finally reaching the two guards within the front gate.

"Excuse me, I am Solomon and I've received direct orders from the king to transfer custody of these people to Lady Felicity." There was no response from the guards. They blankly stared at Sol without looking like they were capable of doing anything.

"Excuse me sirs?" Sol continued yet he was still unable to get any form of response. Finding the event strange, he decided to use his skill on them. But just before he could activate [Analysis] a shadow formed right above him.

"SOL DODGE!" Alice shouted, a command which the boy was immediately able to act upon. 

The silhouette of a person dropped right in front of where Sol was a few seconds ago. Dust spread with the wind, momentarily blocking their vision as they watched the shadow stand up.

"Goodness your reaction speed is really top notch huh?" The person said, her features slowly being revealed as the dust settled. With her long black hair and her dragon insignia pinned on her shirt's collar, it wasn't difficult to figure out who the lunatic was. It was Felicity.

"And I can say that you are nothing like the news describes, Lady Felicity." Sol felt something weird. He couldn't place a finger on it. But there was a familiar sensation he got with the woman. Something which placed him on edge. Luckily, [Cold Blooded] didn't let this show. 

"You already know about me? That saves me the trouble of having to introduce myself." The female knight said. A perpetual grin plastered on her face.

"Did you already know that we'd come here?"

"I didn't but, the prison gets boring you know. So when I saw a pile of people marching towards here I knew it would be something worthwhile." 

"I see." Sol was beginning to recognize the resemblance Felicity had. It wasn't something he could forget, not even after years have passed. The female knight gave the same sensation as the earth titans.

"Anyway, are these supposed to be detained?" Felicity asked and, for the moment, Sol decided to play along.

"Yes, they stole from the farm and, the king said that I should send them to you." He wanted to get out of there as soon as he could. Not only for his own sake but for those accompanying him. He knew that the incident should be reported to the king. Deciding that this was the course of action he'd take as soon as they get safely away.

"Okay, leave it to me then. I'll make sure to reform all these guys." The knight snapped her fingers, making the two prison guards follow her command. Moving like animated corpses towards the harvest thieves.

Sol felt danger closing in. The vibe he felt wasn't something only caught on. He knew that even Alice would feel it. Her [Danger Sense] would tell her that, Felicity was bad news. This was also a cause for Sol's concern. Even if his expression was perfectly fine, Alice wouldn't be able to perfectly pull a poker face.

Time seemed to move slower at that point. Sol waited for the harvest thieves to pass by him. All while staring straight at the knight's face who did the same. With Felicity's expression growing darker with every second that passed.

Yet this ordeal didn't last for long. It soon came to pass.  Marked by the harvest thieves finally entering the gates of the prison. Assisted by the same guards which Felicity commanded.

"We'll be taking our leave then Lady Felicity." Sol said, taking a bow and still hoping that Alice didn't give them away. Yet whether she did or not was irrelevant because, Felicity already had something in mind.

"Wait, you shouldn't leave too soon. Don't you want to know how the prison looks like?"

"No I actually don't." Sol said, wanting to just get away before things got messy. However the knight grabbed both his shoulders, her malevolent aura getting a bit stronger.

"Please. I insist." She said as her head came closer to the boy. 

"You should take a look around you and understand what situation you're in." The knight said, with Sol doing just this. 

Sol looked around them. There were guards peeking through the watch towers. With their guns ready to be fired anytime. They were instantly cornered at that point. Sol knew that even if he and Alice could escape, Cain was a different case altogether.

"Aren't you afraid of what the king will do to you?" Sol asked, trying to pull whatever card he could in that moment. 

"Boy, the reason I am doing this is precisely because I want the king to notice. The men I have on those towers already have their guns aimed at your allies, even if this gets messy, I already have a way of subduing you should you try and escape." 

"You know, for a knight you sure speak confidently." Sol said, out of any move which he could use at that point.

"Oh I am. Now, should we get going?" Felicity asked as Solomon finally gave his answer.

"Yeah."