Dust of History - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Escape from the prison!

Aza rubbed his neck as he woke up to find himself lying on a musty pile of haystack. A rat hopped out between his feet and burrowed into the crack in the corner.

    Looking around, he can see that the three walls are made of large blocks of bluestone, and only some dim light leaks in from the two ventilation holes on the wall that are slightly larger than a fist. The other side is a wooden fence as thick as a burly arm. There are several wooden fences outside as well. This is a desolate prison.

    He was in the luxurious duke’s mansion just now, but now he is lying in a cell in a cold prison. The huge contrast made Aza’s head dizzy for a while. He shook his head and thought about it carefully, but he was now even more confused.

    Could it be that the knight suspected something was wrong between him and his fiancée? Or did he realize his fiancée’s injuries were his own fault? Aza carefully filtered the words he reported in his mind, and there was indeed no loophole at all. On his way to the capital, he composed the story about the swamp. Is jailing him the knight decision alone? If it is, then I can only find the Duke to talk face-to-face.

    Aza suddenly heard a strange sound in a cell next to him. It was the gasping and moaning of a man and a woman.

    Before he could react to what was going on, the door of the jail was kicked open with a knock. A skinny man dressed as a jailer rushed in, rushed to the door of the cell where someone was moaning, kicked the wooden fence above and yelled, “Get out!”

    There were a few hard groans inside, and then a fat jailer walked out slowly while putting his trousers on.

    The skinny jailer shouted: “What’s the $@1? is wrong with you? Didn’t you say I’d do it first?”

    The fat jailer replied slowly while smacking his lips, “Who told you to come so late, you haven’t come even after the shift time, and I’m getting anxious waiting.”

    The skinny jailer was still shouting: “@$1$ you, I have never seen you diligently on time, and now you complain because I am a few minutes late, and now you are not in a hurry to go back, are you? Enjoying yourself here, what right do you have for me to follow up after you!?”

    Fatty still said calmly: “Forget it, since it’s already done anyway, it’s useless to say anything else, you can still do it now… or you can wait for her to be released and then..hehe…”

    “!#@$1$@3#@!!” The skinny man became more and more furious.

    Aza approached the wooden fence and said to the two jailers outside, “I want to meet Mr. Murak…” He was thinking about how to explain this to the Duke.

    “Meet your $*@@#!!” The thin man furiously turned around and kicked him, hitting the completely defenceless Aza’s chest.

    The sound of broken bones was very distinct in the quiet dungeon. A few ribs on the still fragile chest were kicked broken again by this one blow, the chest felt taut, Aza fell backwards, the back of his head hit a protruding stone under the straw, his eyes darkened, and he passed out.

    The two guards heard the crisp voice, and they also saw that the prisoner fell to the ground and remained motionless. The fat man hurriedly opened the fence, came over to look at Aza, took a breath, and exclaimed, “Ah, no more breathing!” He touched Aza’s chest again. “Several broken ribs. The heartbeat even stopped!”

    The skinny man was also discreetly surprised by the power of this kick, but he pretended to be calm and roared: “Panic for what! What’s the fuss about a dead prisoner? I told you earlier that my kung fu is very powerful, very well-known ever since I’m a soldier, those days I…”

    The fat man looked at the skinny man in horror and said in a shaky voice: “This prisoner is a spy just sent by the duke’s palace. The one who caught him is Baron Clovis himself. He might come to interrogate him anytime soon.”

    The skinny man was still intoxicated by his own greatness of kicking people to death, and his eyes widened: “So what if it’s the baron.” It seemed even if the baron came in person, his mighty kick would have defeated anyone. But he secretly took a breath, his heart skipping. After all, there has recently been a lot of disorder due to heretics and spies. If you kill a spy, you might be suspected of being a spy tasked to silence their comrades, and the baron’s sternness is even more well-known. The skinny man’s voice lowered to a whisper: “Let me think…”

    Not long after, when the two jailers had just been set up, Knight Clovis ??arrived.

    “Escaped?” The knight’s face started to resemble the bluestone color on the wall.

    The two guards held their heads down, and the skinny man replied in a weak voice: “He said he was gravely injured, and wants us to find a doctor for him. This is an important prisoner you caught. We are afraid he will really drop dead. So we went in to check on him, then all of a sudden he knocked us out and escaped, we couldn’t predict it at all” To prove his devotion to his duties, he pointed to other cells and said, “You can ask the other prisoners, they all saw it with their own eyes.” A wave of sickly approval then flowed out from the cells.

    A murderous glint in Clovis’ eyes that could almost kill someone flared. He stared at the two jailers and said: “You guys stay still and don’t move, wait, I will come back.” He turned and left the prison.

    It was not until the footsteps completely disappeared that the skinny man sucked in a deep breath and expressed his dissatisfaction with a very disdainful tone: “How arrogant, just because you were born better, if this great me was also born in the Ernie family, I would’ve been a general at his age.” Seeing the fat man still shivering, terrified by the eyes of the knight just now, the heroic spirit in his heart was resurrected. He patted the fat man on the shoulder and said, “See? You said you wanted to deal with the corpse yourself, so cumbersome and risky. Just give it to Old Man Sandro, and he will help us solve the problem very quickly. Moreover, it would’ve been too late if you handled it yourself.”

    The fat man is still quivering, and his voice is weak and unsettled: “His eyes are so scary.”

    The skinny man said: “Told you these young masters only like to put on airs, they only rely on the power of the family to act frightening. If it is anyone else, I would’ve killed them with just one kick…” Fatty can only agree in reluctance.

    Regardless of whether they were talking vigorously or listening intently, the two of them had been standing still without moving.

    It didn’t take long for Clovis to finish arranging the search operation of the Royal Guards and return to the prison.

    “Did the prisoner converse with anyone here?”

    “Probably not…” The skinny man dared not face Clovis’s gaze, he was looking at the wall behind him. The fat man just stared at the ground and shivered.

    “Proba–bly?” Clovis’ voice seemed to be asking no one. The two jailers also did not dare to answer.

    “Well.” Clovis seemed to have figured out something, made up his mind, and nodded slowly.

    “Everyone makes mistakes. So if you made mistakes, try to make up for them. It’s useless to regret and blame others. Don’t you think so?” The knight’s face became friendlier, the words he said to them seemed to forgive and comfort them. This made them feel relieved, and the skinny man replied quickly: “Yes, yes, we must try to make up for it.”

    “Good, good, you’re right to say that.” Clovis put his hands on the shoulders of the two jailers, which made them completely flattered. Fatty is finally stopped trembling and feels that this handsome and amiable young noble is more worthy of reverence than the statue in the church. The skinny man also admitted from the bottom of his heart that this rich boy was indeed a little bit better than him.

    ‘Pang’. A muffled sound echoed in the air of the dungeon.

    The two bodies, one fat and one skinny, slumped and dropped down together. As if to prove their friendship, even the blood and brains were mixed together, and they could no longer be distinguished from each other. Exclamations erupted from prisoners that saw this bloody scene.

    Knight Clovis ??frowned majestically, and in his slow and steady tone, like an adult who reprimands a child, said: “Why so surprised? They’re just taking their responsibilities. You guys are also held responsible.”

    Back at the duke’s mansion, Duke Murak knew that the prisoner had escaped, but he his expression didn’t change much, he calmly ordered to bring the spy’s belongings to him.

    Cavalier Clovis ??looked at the Duke’s calm demeanour and deeply admired him. This was a man who never let anyone know what he was thinking, and those eyes that narrowed with a smile seemed to be able to see through anyone’s deepest secrets. This is what Clovis wants to imitate and learn.

    With the spy’s knife in his hand, the Duke’s eyes narrowed even more. He wandered along the edge of the blade with his fingers, looked at it for a long time, and suddenly asked Clovis, “What kind of a knife do you think this is.”

    Clovis took a closer look and replied, “It’s not a soldier’s weapon produced by a regular weapons factory, it’s forged by an ordinary private blacksmith.” He took a closer look. “A very good blacksmith.”

    “Yes, it was made by a good blacksmith. The inclination, length, and thickness of the blade are all well-controlled. Can you see the relationship between this blacksmith and the user of this knife?”

    Clovis looked closely, but couldn’t see it. So he answered: “I can’t see it.”

    “This knife is very practical, every useful place is well made, but there is no trace of decoration, not even the most minimal decoration. That is to say, this knife is not a commodity, not a gift for a friend.” The duke asked, “How old do you think the soldier is?”

    “About twenty or so.”

    “If he made this knife himself, then he had to start practising blacksmithing in his mother’s womb. It should be his elders who made this knife, maybe his father.” The Duke’s reasoning made Clovis admire the duke all over. “The iron used in this knife is also a fine material. This is a person who will be a temporary hired soldier. There is no way an ordinary blacksmith has so many fine materials. Unless…”

    “Unless his home is near a mine that produces these,” Clovis continued. “I will immediately send someone to Calendo to investigate.”

    “No need, it’s only been less than an hour anyway, he must still be in the city, just look for him carefully.” The Duke put down the knife. “Where is the chair the soldier sat on, and the cup he used?”

    “Well… this… I ordered it to be thrown away.”

    “Thrown away?” There was a rare look of surprise in the Duke’s eyes. “Why?”

    “…I think it’s filthy to keep things that sort of people used in the house.”

    The Duke stared at Clovis for a while. Although he knew that the Duke didn’t mean to blame him, Clovis still felt bad about it.

    “You’re still too young.” The Duke retracted his gaze and came to a conclusion in a somewhat helpless tone. Then he issued an order: “Tell the officers of the Royal Guards that this spy is extremely dangerous. If found, execute on the spot, no one is allowed to talk to him.”

    “Yes.” Clovis respectfully left. He believed very much in the efficiency of the Royal Guards, maybe that soldier was already dead by now.

    “Wait, why is he still alive?”

    Aza woke up, and the first sentence he heard was a complaint. This tone is often seen in wet markets when an old lady bought defective vegetables and meat.

TL Note: Baron Clovis = Knight Clovis.