The black sun hangs high

Chapter 146 The Secret Princess and the Dungeon

In the language and cultural system of the Kingdom of Walter, the concept of "sacrifice" has an ancient and complex meaning.

Generally speaking, there are two common ways to understand it.

One refers to being passively made a "victim," which carries a somewhat fatalistic tone. The legends about the giant eagle of the plateau and related deities are the most representative manifestation of this.

The second meaning refers to "self-sacrifice," which means making sacrifices for others or a certain goal without regard for one's own life.

Hugh was unaware of the situation in the Kingdom of Delan, but based on what he had witnessed firsthand in Borden, the people of the Kingdom of Wotel had been steadily transforming from the former to the latter over the past period.

Initially, Hugh could see many ordinary people who were terrified of the impending war and were utterly lost about their own and their families' future, but as time went by, their voices gradually faded away.

It's like drops of water flowing into a boiling ocean.

Every ordinary person, whether they are a soldier, a merchant, a farmer, or a craftsman, undergoes astonishingly rapid changes because of the complex environment they live in.

Amidst the resounding singing that echoed throughout the beer hall, Hughes saw the girl sitting opposite him, her eyes red-rimmed, tightly gripping her glass. She seemed to want to join in the enthusiastic singing, but deep down, another voice was stirring within her.

In terms of bloodline and ethnicity, Sally is of course a Waterloo.

However, she grew up in Seren and therefore knew very little about Water.

She was not familiar with the music and songs that fascinated the people of Walter, and her knowledge of the traditions they followed was relatively limited.

In addition, there was the news she had seen in the newspaper earlier about the Walter army shelling the city of Seren...

She felt confused about the current situation.

Unlike her, Duden, as a member of the Jaeger Corps, was already extremely excited at this moment. "The Song of Borden" was originally a military song, so it was also the song he was most familiar with.

When Duden stepped forward, the patrons in the beer hall cheered. The women saluted the young soldier, while the men raised their glasses to him.

In this atmosphere, Hugh gently reached out and placed his hand on Sally's wrist.

The girl paused for a moment, then turned around and saw that Hugh's face was not very expressive, and his eyes seemed out of place in the beer hall—more like the snow that had not yet been swept away from the street outside.

Sally calmed down, put down her glass, and did not join the brief and sudden revelry like the others.

……

In the evening, Hughes took Sally back to her home and also visited old Schubert, who was now able to move around in a wheelchair.

Because of the ordeal he had endured, the old man looked even thinner than before, but his spirits were quite good; he even had the energy to read some rather unconventional novels.

When Hugh first appeared, old Schubert was somewhat timid. He had heard from Sally that Hugh had officially returned to the Ernst family, so when he saw Hugh for the first time, he didn't even know how to greet him, which made Hugh quite helpless.

Fortunately, after Hugh told Schubert two slightly risqué jokes about aristocratic circles, the old man relaxed and started pressing Hugh about when his new work would be published. He even asked some bizarre questions, like whether Hugh would still be able to submit his work if he went to war.

Of course, old Schubert's words were all about one thing—he hoped that Hughes could find a way to protect Sally's safety on the battlefield.

After the events in Seren, old Schubert's spirit had become fragile, and the midday shelling only exacerbated this fragility.

He is a typical example of the most ordinary and unremarkable type of residents.

After saying goodbye to Sally and old Schubert, Hughes went straight back to the manor by car, but he was intercepted outside the manor.

The man who stopped the car was very arrogant; at least Hugh couldn't do anything about him, and he had to greet him very politely.

"Butler Finn, you wanted to see me?"

Royal butler Finn nodded: "Princess Sophia is looking for you. She hopes you can come over as soon as possible, Mr. Hugh, as there is something very important that she needs you to confirm."

Upon hearing this, Hugh immediately handed over the documents he had been carrying to Duden, asking him to return them to his residence. Hugh then took his identification and magic book and changed vehicles with Finn.

This is a military vehicle from the Ymir Legion. It is large and powerful, and to provide sufficient protection, it is equipped with a large amount of Demon Silver Armor.

In Hugh's view, this thing already had the prototype of an early armored vehicle.

After the car doors closed and the vehicle started moving, Butler Finn immediately asked, "I heard that Mr. Hugh was at the medical academy when the shelling happened today?"

"Yes, the shell landed forty meters away."

"That's really dangerous..."

Finn nodded, then said, "So, Mr. Hugh, what are your thoughts on this shelling? I'd like to hear your honest assessment and opinions."

Hughes turned his head, met the gaze of the royal butler and powerful mage for two seconds, and then replied, "In my opinion, this was a very purposeful bombardment."

"What purpose?"

"It sparked public outrage and ignited the people of Walter's enthusiasm for a full-scale war."

Hugh looked directly at Finn, shook his head, and said, "Butler Finn, this conclusion shouldn't be hard to reach, right? Ignoring important targets such as military camps, palaces, and warehouses, and instead launching an attack on civilians in Borden, this is a very obvious act of provocation."

"Hmm...so who do you think orchestrated this?"

A brief silence fell over the car. After a moment's thought, Hugh replied, "They're not Delans, nor could they be spies or agents from any other country on the plains. Furthermore, I don't believe our royal family would shell their own people for this purpose..."

Hugh paused for a moment, then asked, "By the way, Butler Finn, I saw in the newspaper that the Kingdom of Delan and the Legal Committee have both sent important figures to negotiate with us?"

"Yes, the negotiations ended the day before yesterday. But the results have not been announced."

“That’s right, because Merlinle and others have shown great sincerity this time. They are even willing to give up a considerable amount of benefits and acknowledge the legitimate status of the Highland Mage Council.”

The butler's answer greatly surprised Hugh.

He never imagined that the Legal Committee would one day concede to this extent. In the past, the Legal Committee's sole legitimate position was virtually unshakeable within Vanne. Now, to avoid war, they were actually willing to share this enormous power with the "traitors" who had broken away from the Legal Committee.

"Redrawing stable borders and signing new trade agreements...and the vast majority of the terms are favorable to us."

"What are their demands?"

"The Kingdom of Water and the Kingdom of Hein have ceased preparations for war, the army of the rugged hills has withdrawn beyond the originally designated safety line, and has promised not to support the Isa River front in the north... In other words, they hope to use a lot of favorable conditions for us in exchange for us tearing up the previously signed Highland Alliance cooperation terms, so that Merlinle and the plains kingdoms can resolve the Saint Steel problem."

Hearing about these matters, which could definitely be considered confidential, Hugh felt a chill run down his spine.

Finn sighed: "I have no right to interfere with the decisions of the royal family and our officials. The concessions made by the Legal Committee and the Plains Kingdom this time are so great that they are enough to make all politicians reconsider their current plans, especially the trade agreement. Its signing is enough to solve the centuries-old problem of crystal mineral scarcity in the Kingdom of Walter."

"In other words, our officials were indeed tempted by these conditions and really began to consider whether to stop preparing for war."

"exactly."

Finn nodded: "This decision has a huge impact. Once it is made, the landscape on the plateau will inevitably change, and almost everything we have done before and now must change immediately... Therefore, we chose to keep it secret."

"But the news still leaked out, didn't it?"

“That’s right, Mr. Hugh.”

Finn nodded: "The problem might be internal, or it could be that Delan and Merlinler made a mistake over there. In any case, in just a day and a half, someone activated the pawn planted in Borden... It was an artillery officer of the Borden City Defense Corps, and his deputy."

At this point, the royal butler shook his head vigorously, a dark rage flashing across his face: "It's simply unbelievable."

"So, what I'm going to do next is related to this?"

"You'll find out later."

As they were talking, the car pulled into a somewhat secluded garden. It wasn't too far from Ernst Manor and looked like a converted manor of a fallen nobleman.

Finn personally led Hugh out of the car, and accompanied by several Ymir Legion soldiers, they arrived at the center of the garden and ascended a staircase leading underground.

The moment he stepped onto the stairs, Hugh felt as if his magic was being severely suppressed, an effect that could only occur when a huge amount of magic-suppressing silver was piled up together.

"Don't be nervous, everything will be normal once you go in."

Finn offered a word of comfort, then led Hugh down the stairs.

Soon, Hugh was surprised to discover that hidden beneath the garden was a huge dungeon. However, the dungeon was extremely extravagant in size. The floors of each cell were made of metal, which was obviously infused with a large amount of demon silver. The supplies and furnishings in each cell were very complete. Hugh even saw a desk and a bookshelf.

"The people who can be locked up here must be extraordinary."

As Hughes thought this, he hadn't walked far when he saw a tall, thin figure locked in a cell on the right.

To his surprise, he realized that he actually knew this person.

Although he had removed his monocle and changed out of his formal attire, Hugh still recognized the other person at a glance—it was Morrel, the nobleman from Delan who had instructed Philip, the editor-in-chief of the Peace Newspaper, to guide public opinion before the upheaval in Seren.

However, Morrel's mental state was clearly not right now. He was standing in the middle of his cell, muttering to himself to the air beside him, and his hands, feet and even neck were covered with iron rings made of high-purity demon silver.

Finn glanced at Hugh and asked, "You know him, right?"

“I’ve seen him twice in the city of Seren.”

"Yes, he was working for the Peace Newspaper at the time, so it's normal that you've seen him."

Finn sneered: "Just a clown trying to profit from multiple forces at the same time. Our spies have been watching him since he left Seren City... Ha, he originally wanted to escape to the southern port and sail out to sea."

Finn sneered: "However, he's not an important character. Even if we use his intelligence to interrogate him, we won't be able to get any useful information out of him. Let him stay here and talk to the air until he dies."

"Mr. Hugh, this way please."

With that, Finn led Hughes deeper into the dungeon and pushed open a tightly closed interrogation room door.

Even though Hugh didn't sense any warning signs, the scene and Finn's actions still sent chills down his spine—it felt like he was being invited to a trial.

Hughes entered the interrogation room, where he witnessed a somewhat eerie scene.

The interrogation room was large, with a square cell in the center. In the very center of this cell sat a figure—bound by numerous chains, some magical chains and others physical magic-binding shackles. These chains firmly fixed the figure in the cell to the ground, while beneath him, a large number of intricate magical runes constantly flickered, seemingly exerting some unknown influence on his body.

“Mr. Hugh, it’s nice to see you again. You seem to be very busy today... You only have time to come over now.”

Princess Sophia's voice drifted from the side, interrupting Hugh's observation of the cage.

He turned to look and saw that the princess of Walter was dressed in casual clothes, with a crystal gun and a short sword at her waist, and holding an interrogation record in her hand.

Her hair was neatly tied up at the back of her head, with only a small strand hanging down on her right forehead. When her gaze fell upon him, Hugh inexplicably felt a sharp and oppressive aura, as if a knife was about to rip him open.

(End of this chapter)