Chapter 7 7

'We are doing our best, Young Master. My men are working quite well,' said the Colonel. Nicolas nodded in approval and appreciated the Colonel. Usually, people in the Colonel's position would take all the credit for themselves, but the Colonel was not such a person. Seeing that Hanry kept loyal and honest people in critical places was enough to look at the Colonel. This position was a position suitable for manipulation. If the Colonel took bribes or favored someone, it would be extremely easy for the city to degenerate, but Hanry was a smart man, and his management skills were high. He was keeping his lands safe by using good men in critical places. 'Open!' said the Colonel after finishing his conversation with Nicolas, ordering the guards standing in front of the black cast iron gate. The guards came out of the ready position and began to unlock the locks to open the cast iron gate, but two were not enough to open the gate. The other four guards moved quickly and all of them began to pull the cast iron gate at the same time. With their combined strength, it had been easy to do this, and this gate had a special system. There were thick metal pillars that moved in harmony with the locking mechanism on the floor and ceiling. When the cast iron gate was locked, two thick steel pillars came down from the floor and ceiling, turning the cast iron gate into an insurmountable obstacle. Thinking of escaping from the gate was extremely absurd, and every one of the guards was a Knight-titled Saint. Although using Saints in such a place seemed absurd, considering it in terms of deterrence, its effect was extremely great.

When the cast iron gate opened, the old air hit Nicolas's face. The smell was obviously different but not too bad. It was at a tolerable level, but even Nicolas's face did not sour. The Colonel of course noticed this, 'He doesn't look fragile at all...' he said to himself and accompanied Nicolas into the dungeon. 'Young Master, what is the identity of the criminals you are looking for?' the Colonel asked Nicolas while going to the guard house behind the gate. 'Axel and Dean, commoners. They are accused of trying to rob the Fei Clan on my birthday.' he said.

The Colonel's steps stopped, he didn't even need to look at the notebook anymore because he knew who these two people were. Of course, Nicolas also knew that he knew them because the person who discovered Axel and Dean after releasing them and directed them to the military was none other than the Colonel. Of course, since this hadn't happened yet, the Colonel only had information about them because of their crimes. They had attempted something that even the most vicious criminals would not dare to do, but there was no evidence, nor did the two children confess to their crimes. The Colonel knew they would be released in a few days. When he heard Nicolas's sentence, the Colonel's eyebrows furrowed. He thought Nicolas would harm these two children. 'Young Master, excuse my audacity, but what will you do with them?' he said.

Nicolas already found it strange that the Colonel was worried about these two children. It was as if he realized they were special. 'They caught my interest, they are brave, and since they could enter the Fei Clan, they are also talented. I want to take them with me and make them my personal guards.' said Nicolas. He didn't feel the need to hide it because it would come out anyway, and no one could question him for his actions. Although the Colonel found it difficult to believe, he felt helpless. 'Young Master, the crime of these two young men is light, so they will be released within a few days. Also, it is a fact that they are talented, I hope you treat them well. The total ransom for the two is 3 silver.' said the Colonel and sighed. He didn't want to hand the children over to Nicolas, but he would pay the ransom, and if the children wanted to go with him, there was nothing he could do. Nicolas nodded and said, 'Albert, make the payment and handle the documents.' Albert turned quickly and headed towards the guard house. Ransom procedures would be done from here.

After the procedures were completed, Nicolas set off with the Colonel, Albert, and his personal guard towards the deep dungeons. The place was lit by magical tools emitting a faint yellow light on the walls, which was not enough to light the way completely, but barely widened the field of view. After going down 6 stairs, they finally encountered a large metal door; one did not need to be a blacksmith to know that the door was made of cast iron. In front of the black door, next to the stairs, and on the opposite wall, there were two guards each, and a total of six people were guarding this area. Having six guards just for the entrance to protect light criminals made Nicolas think that this dungeon was not that simple. 'Isn't this many guards too many?' Nicolas said. The Colonel smiled, 'Our headquarters holds not only commoners but also people from criminal organizations, and sometimes even aristocrats are our guests. In addition, serious criminals caught must remain under our supervision for a while before going to Purgatory Island, so controls must be kept strict.' said the Colonel. Nicolas nodded with satisfaction.

They continued walking down the dungeon corridors. Each of the dungeons was closed with iron bars, and there were ten people in each dungeon. Most of the prisoners were quiet. Those belonging to criminal organizations and those who were to be sent to Purgatory Island were kept in a separate compartment at the end of the dungeon. Security there was much stricter. The ventilation of the dungeon was provided through many arm-sized holes drilled diagonally into the ceiling. Thus, even if the air was not enough, it was refreshed. Nicolas carefully examined the dungeons and observed the attitudes of the prisoners. Everyone was looking at him with interest, but they couldn't quite figure out who he was because of his appearance.

After a while, the Colonel stopped in front of a dungeon and said, 'This is it...' Nicolas turned his head and looked inside the iron bars. There were about 10 men spread out, and their ages ranged from 15 to 20. The dungeon was not very big, but two children leaning against the wall immediately showed they were different from the others. Both had wounds on their hands, their skin had peeled off, and there were a few blood stains on their faces, but they were smiling. One had ink-black hair and a handsome face. His eyes were light blue, he had a straight nose, slightly thick lips. He was Dean, one of the two stars and a unique genius in attack. The other had short yellow hair. He had a pointed nose and a pointed chin; his face was thin but his features were smooth and proportional. He was Axel.

'Did you fight?' said the Colonel, though it sounded like a question, it was actually accusatory. Fighting was against the rules. But the answer given was not something someone who cared about the rules would say. 'Fight? What fight? Our brothers wanted to play with us and we played with them. We had a lot of fun, they are sleeping because they are tired, and we are resting.' said the one who answered, none other than Dean. Axel, on the other hand, was nodding in agreement. 'You!' said the Colonel sharply, but he did not continue his sentence and turned to Nicolas. Nicolas was smiling as he looked at his two peers. 'Young Master, they are not easy to control.' said the Colonel.

Nicolas smiled and said, 'Colonel, please open the dungeon door, I want to go in.' The Colonel opened his mouth to refuse immediately, but Nicolas had already come in front of the door without even giving the opportunity. The Colonel warned again, 'Young Master, they can hurt you.' the Colonel warned, Nicolas did not answer, he just waited. After the Colonel sighed, he looked at the guards a few meters away. One of the guards ran over and opened the door. Dean and Axel looked at each other. They realized that Nicolas was someone important because the Colonel called him Young Master, but they couldn't guess who he was. His appearance did not look like an aristocrat at all.

As the guard retreated, Nicolas headed inside, his guards of course followed him, but Nicolas turned to them and said, 'Wait here.' The guards immediately said, 'Young Master, we can't do this...' but Nicolas furrowed his brows and said, 'Follow my orders and wait here!' he said sharply and looked at the guard. 'Close the door when I enter.' he said. When Nicolas entered, the guard closed the door with the Colonel's approval but did not lock it. The guards were standing by. Nicolas walked slowly towards Dean and Axel. In the meantime, both had stood up and their brows were furrowed. 'I don't know what your purpose is, but if you don't want to get hurt, you better get out!' Dean warned seriously. Axel added, 'This is not a suitable place for delicate boys like you.' Nicolas smiled and stood a few steps away from both of them. 'I paid the ransom, so there is no obstacle for you to get out of here. But I came here to give you an opportunity. If you still want to leave after hearing what I have to say, I won't stop you.' said Nicolas. Dean and Axel looked at each other. They didn't know who he was, why he paid their ransom, and what he would tell them, but Nicolas's self-confident attitude and the fact that he showed no sign of fear despite standing in front of them impressed the two children who had lived on the streets and seen all kinds of people. This also showed that he was like them, perhaps he was an aristocrat, but his behavior and his fearlessness made them think that Nicolas was like them. 'Speak!' said Dean sharply.