The Devil’s Cage

As the wagon travelled onward smoothly, Mary, sitting in the middle, frowned.

She was thinking about what Kieran said just now.

“Vigilant against the unknown. Keen against the difficulties. Indomitable against defeats. Seeing through despair is…”

Mary, confused, threw a questioning glance at Kieran again.

“Seeing through despair to face all, including life and death. Even in death, you can’t fall into despair because if you do, it will be over,” said Kieran.

“2567, you’ve experienced despair before?” Mary was shocked.

Mary suddenly realized that the person she trusted the most rarely spoke about his past.

She seemed to know nothing about Kieran’s past.

“Um. What I experienced before, it’s a lot more than you can imagine.”

Kieran turned his head to the side and gazed at the moving scenery outside the window.

Mary stared at Kieran and didn’t ask anymore.

The young princess knew what kind of attitude the young man before her had. If he was willing to tell, he would tell honestly; if he wasn’t willing to tell, no matter how persistent the asking, he would not spill a word.

However, Mary’s heart was wondering ceaselessly about what had happened.

What happened in the past?

Mary frowned again. She was overthinking to the point that her eyes on Kieran became even softer.

Kieran?

Pak!

Kieran tapped his finger lightly on Mary’s furrowed brows.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” said Kieran with a smile.

Mary covered her forehead and carefully inspected Kieran’s smile. She finally heaved a long breath when she noticed the smile wasn’t for show; it came from his heart.

However, Mary’s breath quickly skipped because seven pieces of goatskin paper appeared before her.

“What’s this?” Mary jolted again.

“One of the spoils of war from last time. The heart is essential for becoming strong but it will not be possible without support either. Those should be of help to you, and of course, I need you to translate them into readable words,” replied Kieran.

“Are these the Prairies King’s?” Mary quickly reacted to the situation.

Kieran nodded.

“I understand,” Mary sat up straight and said in a new stern manner.

No one knew more than the young princess how important the goatskin papers were.

Inheritance!

Warren’s royal family had it! Even Swurster Castle had it!

Those inheritance legacies were enough to make others jealous, but compared to the Prairies King’s one, they were nothing.

“If the heart is the root to becoming stronger, then… this is the base of it!”

Sudden realization hit the young princess as she swiftly buried herself into deciphering the goatskin papers.

Kieran saw how serious Mary was and couldn’t hold back his smile.

Hard work will always result in rewards.

Kieran had already decided what to do with [Unknown Goatskin Papers] since the last dungeon run.

In this current dungeon world, who else was more suitable than Mary to decipher these?

None.

Kieran would only acknowledge those who fought side by side with him, experiencing life and death through fierce battles.

As for others?

They were either strangers or enemies.

…

With Jyaichi behind the wheel, the wagon was cruising along smoothly and it wouldn’t be hard for it to reach a certain speed.

But because of Eldar’s insistence on going by foot, the wagon wasn’t allowed to overtake the old duke.

Therefore, by the time the group saw the walls of Riverdale again, the sun was already setting.

And when the walls of Riverdale entered the sight of Duke Eldar, the old duke, who had been traveling in high spirits, swiftly teared up, his eyes turning red as they glistened under the sunlight.

He was staring blankly at the walls that were in his memories.

“It hasn’t changed! It hasn’t changed a bit! This is great!”

Duke Eldar finally stopped as he muttered this, then knocked on the wagon’s window.

“Can I get in?” the old duke asked.

“Of course!”

Mary put aside the goatskin papers and sat beside Kieran before opening the carriage door, inviting the old duke in.

“Thank you, Your Highness, for everything you’ve done for this old geezer,” Eldar said, giving his thanks.

“Compared to what you have done for Warren’s royal family, what I did was insignificant,” answered Mary.

Her sincere tone widened the smile of the elderly man. Eldar then looked out the carriage window toward…

The Warren Palace. The place where King James VIII was.

Mary seemed to understand something from the countenance of the elderly and proceeded to tap on the carriage.

The slow-moving wagon then sprinted quickly, and after about 10 minutes, the wagon had returned to Warren Palace once more.

Duke Zilin, who has been waiting for their return for quite some time now, strode towards the wagon but when he saw that the person who came down wasn’t Mary or Kieran, but rather an elderly, the young duke was stunned for a while.

However, Duke Zilin quickly straightened his body when more thoughts followed. He saluted respectfully to the elderly and said, “Greetings, Duke Eldar.”

“Greetings, Duke Zilin.”

The obvious emblem of the Flying Dragon allowed Duke Eldar to recognize the youngster before him with a glance. With the addition of the uncanny resemblance to Mary, his guess was further solidified.

The Son of Dragon!

The protector of northern Warren!

The extended lineage of the Warren royal family!

“Can you take me to the king?” the elderly asked.

“Of course. His Majesty has been expecting your return for countless years now.”

The young duke then led the elderly into the palace.

Whenever Duke Eldar walked past a familiar place, his countenance would show unconcealable excitement, and when he finally arrived before the chamber of King James VIII, he took in multiple deep breaths before slowly pushing the doors open.

The sunset glory shone through the window as the doors opened.

The gloominess of the atmosphere spread uncontrollably under the orange-red light.

The beautiful moment would go out any time now, similar to King James VIII on his bed.

The slumbering king was looking pale, his face thin and hair dry. He was holding on to his last breath and it felt like it would fade any moment now.

The old duke staggered towards the bed and placed his hands softly on the king’s hands as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Despite always holding in his tears throughout the years and journeys, Duke Eldar finally couldn’t hold it in anymore when he saw the king on the bed.

“James, I have returned,” the old duke whispered.

King James VIII slowly woke up as the whisper entered his ears.

The young duke and princess slowly moved out of the chamber, leaving time alone for the pair of old friends to spend their last moments.

However, Kieran didn’t move an inch.

He sniffed and his eyes turned towards the side of the wall. He frowned right away.