The underground holding cell. Reyna hadn’t set foot in here for years, she had no reason to. But she knew for a fact how underutilized this relic of a facility was. 

The stone walls were pressed in on every side of her cell, giving a damp and cold air. Mold and rust announced themselves in her sight as they were in her nostrils. However, she couldn’t bring herself to find them annoying or disgusting, for her mind was clouded with other matters.

Sitting alone in the holding cell, her eyes fell to the iron bars keeping her from the narrow corridor outside. Beyond it, she heard the chatter of the knights who brought her in. Their voice hadn’t faded, nor had they echoed louder. Reyna assumed they were guarding the door outside.

Reyna exhaled slowly, watching dust fly around in the soft green Luminite light. It was like breathing through the winter; she closed her eyes, imagining what she wouldn’t do to enjoy the white landscape with her family again, but this was not a time to reminisce.

That man…

Her mind fell back to the letter she opened on the way home.

The words were etched into the very back of her mind.

They were instructions… Instructions on how to keep her family safe.

It told her to move discreetly. Not to alert anyone, not even the knights, nor her own husband.

The knights, she understood. After what happened with Yeremiah, she couldn’t possibly trust that the rest of them were safe from the kingdom’s influence. 

But Reyna didn’t understand why Kyrat must be left in the dark about this matter. His care for Carine rivals her own, she imagined. Was that man alluding that Kyrat was conspiring with the kingdom?

But the confrontation in the garden proved the letter right, not because Kyrat was involved in this conspiracy, but because he wouldn’t listen.

He had let his guard down before, and that had left Carine susceptible to the kidnapping attempt back at that village. Who was to say that he wouldn’t do it again?

Even when she tried to explain to him about the situation, even when she took the risk of explaining it in front of the knights… he remained hardheaded. He couldn’t be trusted in this matter, that was why Reyna stood silent.

The letter wasn’t just a warning about those in cahoots with the kingdom, but those too close-minded to see the bigger picture as well.

Reyna loves Kyrat, that much she knows for sure. But he was blinded, unable to listen to others.

So for Carine’s sake, he must not know of what was to come.

Still hearing the knights’ chatter down the corridor, Reyna stood up. Walking her way to the iron bars, her eyes fell to the bar near the middle. Rust and tiny holes covered its ends, and a small tap revealed that it was slightly hollow.

She raised a heel and brought it down at the bar for a single powerful kick. The sound of the pipe hitting the floor echoed down the hall loudly. The chatter of the knights immediately stopped.

Slipping out of the narrow opening, her dress was caught by the sharp ends of iron. She pulled at her dress, tearing its length nearly in half. She grabbed the fallen pipe below her and weighed it against her hand.

It was lightweight, had a good length, and had sharp ends on both sides. Closing her eyes, she pictured ways she could utilize every part of this iron bar. Before long, she changed her grip and readied herself for the knights to arrive.

The door burst open, finally letting warm light seep into the corridor down below.

Two shadows stood at the top of the staircase. They were the knights who had brought her here. She couldn’t tell their expressions, but their voices revealed enough.

“Y-Your Grace?!”

“She broke out of the cell?!”

Reyna pointed the tip of the bar up, her eyes glaring forward. “Move.”

The knights exchanged glances with each other before turning back to Reyna. Their eyes narrowed, and their lips bit. They slowly pulled out their swords as they descended the stairs.

“Forgive us, Your Grace. But under the orders of Duke Sareid, we cannot let you get past us.”

“Please, return to your cell. We don’t want to hurt you.”

“Hmph,” Reyna scoffed. “Then so be it.”

The two knights rushed down the stairs, their metal boots echoing down the hall.

Now they stood in her way to the stairs. The corridor was narrow, able to fit three people hunched together at most.

So she couldn’t slip past these two, even if she tried.

But that just meant she needed to deal with them first.

With her grip firm, she lunged. The knights prepared to meet her strike. In any other circumstance, the knights would have the advantage. They should hold their ground with their swords drawn, ready to strike the moment their target even grazes their attack range. 

But she knew they wouldn’t attack her. Not when she’s still their Duchess… and their former instructor.

Some say feelings don’t matter in a life-or-death situation. But Reyna believed otherwise; feelings can be a tool used against an opponent, just like any other weapon.

She swung her iron bar at the knight on the left, striking his pauldron with enough force to send him reeling. His other pauldron slides along the stone walls as he was knoced back, creating sparks illuminating the corridor.

The other knight flinched from the sight and quickly rushed in. But Reyna could tell he was hesitating to lift his sword.

That was when she struck. A good, accurate swing hit his hands, causing his form to sway down. An inward swing slapped him in the helmet, crashing him against the iron bars.

He fell into unconsciousness, and the sword he held fell to the ground.

The other knight still grunted and raised slowly. His grip on the sword was a little shaky. It was obvious that the strike Reyna did on his shoulder left a mark.

“Your Grace…” he said, his nervous, glaring eyes glinting through the gaps of his helmet. “I can’t let you do this.”

“Just be quiet, why don’t you?”

Reyna lunged forward. He tried to take a step back, but Reyna caught up to him quicker. Using her bar as an extension of herself, pushing his iron chest down to his back, slamming him down to the ground.

The sound of his armor cracking under his own weight echoed loudly down the corridor. Although he hadn’t lost consciousness, he was out of breath. That was enough for her.

Taking the time to catch her breath, she dropped her iron bar in favor of the sword the knights had dropped. She checked their pockets one by one until she had found what she was looking for. A key for the door up from the stairwell.

She stepped over the fallen knights, ready to leave. 

But then—

“Instructor!” a young voice called out, his voice echoed from deeper down the corridor. “Please wait!”

Reyna knew whose voice this belonged to.

“Raymond.” She shifted her head slightly, facing her glare to the back. “You dare call out to me after what you did to my daughter?”

“I-Instructor! I…” his voice cracked, but then, he seemed to steel himself. “Please stop this! I know what you’re going through—”

Reyna scoffed, interrupting him. “Quit it with the excuses. After all this is done, I’ll handle you myself.”

“Please, just wait!” he said. “I truly mean it. I didn’t mean to hurt Lady Carine, I would never! It wasn’t me… No, it was more like I wasn’t myself.” Raymond was silent for a while, but then he continued. “Your Grace… you were approached by that gentleman, right?”

Reyna’s body froze, her breath hitched. She turned slowly to face the corridor fully.

Raymond’s voice continued to echo down. “I know what you must be feeling right now. His words all sound like the truth in your head. But the longer I think about it, the clearer it becomes. They were all lies. Horrible, baseless lies! So please, think things through—!”

Reyna slammed her sword against the iron bars beside her. Loud metallic rings continued to echo between the ends of the corridors, silencing Raymond.

“I have no words for a kid like you.”

Reyna slid the sword away from the bars with a sharp screech before turning her back, now facing the stairway. Raymond’s voice continued to echo down below, but she couldn’t even hear them anymore. She chose not to.

The one and only thing on her mind was saving her family.

Yes, this was all for her family.

Nothing else…

Right?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep