Prison Games

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“Prince Elliott is just too stupid.”

If you were to thoroughly investigate everything that has happened, this would be the natural conclusion. But at the same time, this simple sentence could easily summarize the matter entirely as well.

The Prince’s attacks up until now weren’t anything to really write about.

Because of that Rachel may have become unconsciously overconfident.

Nothing could break the peace that had been established inside the dungeon.

But then around the time that the King’s return was on everyone’s lips.

.........a storm came to the dungeon.

The news of Wolanski’s arrest sent shockwaves through Elliott’s office.

“What, Wolanski has........!?”

All the color drained from Elliott’s face. With this, along with the incidents involving George and Sykes, his three closest friends had left him. The Prince’s shock was immeasurable.

The son of an earl continued his report, unable to hide the depression on his face.

“According to those who had witnessed the incident, he was on his way after being released by the head court lady..........he was apparently drunk, shouting strange things, and was stopped by some guards at the castle gates when they heard him.”

“That’s.........!? No, certainly someone would want to have a drink after a sermon like that.......but even then, Wolanski didn’t do anything to justify him being arrested! I’ll immediately send the guards an objection, and..........”

“As I understand it, he was apparently dead drunk when he reached the castle gates, and besides wearing some women’s underwear on top of his head, he kept yelling, ‘Loli’s are the best!’ over and over again.”

“...........No, I see..........I hope they let him go soon.”

Elliott sunk down into his chair without any energy.

Silence filled the room around him as unfortunately, the Prince didn’t understand the difference between a peta and a loli either. Wolanski was already half convicted.........and not even Elliott believed in his innocence.

Margaret worriedly rushed to Elliott’s side. After all this time she had finally snapped out of the trance she had put herself in from reliving that supreme time over and over again.

“Elliott.........please lift your spirits!”

“Margaret........I’m already, what should I do..........?”

“That’s it! If you have this, then I’m sure everything will turn out all right for you!”

From her pocket, Margaret pulled out some kind of flashy purple cloth.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“I had to give it everything I had until the very end, but I managed to come out victorious over the other noble girls and walked out of that party with Adam’s briefs.”

As to be expected it apparently wasn’t forcefully stripped from him.

“That guy’s!? No, I’m fine!? I don’t need that!”

“Eh? How come?”

Margaret unconsciously took a step back, giving Elliott a completely mystified look.

In the middle of such a fun-filled atmosphere, one of the Prince’s followers came storming into the office.

“I beg you pardon! But Miss Rachel in the dungeon........”

“What is it now!? With our spirits already so low, is she doing something again!?”

“No, actually..........it seems like she has some visitors who are rebuking her, and she is being forced to scream back at them.”

“HUH!?”

Rachel shuttered herself in the dungeon.........in the depths of the dungeon, Rachel had shuttered herself behind her shower curtain.

By the time Elliott had rushed in, that was the state Rachel was in.

The preceding visitors didn’t notice Elliott’s group when they came in, focusing all their attention trying to call out Rachel.

“Rachel! Every day off is two days’ worth of effort wasted! Hurry up and come out!”

“That’s right! ‘Whatever doesn’t kill us just makes us stronger’ or so they say. It’s already going to take half a year to get back what you’ve lost you know!?”

“No – No – NO – NOOoooo! His Highness has already broken off his engagement with me, so I don’t need a queen’s education anymore!”

“Just come out of there without saying such stupid things!”

That Rachel was being pushed back.

Gazing at the two women angrily yelling while striking an imposing stance inside the prison, Elliott had a similar, “Oh no........” feeling come over him.

“The Duchess Somerset and Countess Marlborough...........”

Duchess Somerset was a walking encyclopedia and in charge of culture lessons for anyone taking the queen’s education. As Archduke Vivaldi’s older sister, she was a member of royalty and held the title of Duchess even as a bachelor.

The other Countess Marlborough was a retainer, but she had a unique life having been born and raised inside the royal palace and was in charge of etiquette. Because both her father and husband are ceremonial officers, she is nothing less than a demon when it comes to maintaining public morals.

These two women are beings to be feared when it comes to manners in a person’s queen education and in the imperial court both.

“About this case, I have sent the location where Their Majesties have been staying multiple letters continuously pleading for your liberation and asking for a confirmation on their stance on this policy..........and at last we received a reply from Her Majesty. His Highness’s insanity always made me clench my teeth in vexation whenever I even thought about it........but now that we have a clear path moving forward, we will work harder than ever before to make up for lost time!”

Madam Marlborough shouted out with her hand wrapped up in a fist. Not exactly what someone would describe as good manners.

“Really.........for more than two months we’ve been sending these letters only to get a reply now, Their Majesties are much too indecisive. When they return home, I’ll have to have a word with them.......”

A crease formed in Madam Somerset’s brow.

His Majesty the King didn’t even want to touch any letters from such nit-picky people, calling it good enough to just have his chamberlain summarize the contents. And now him receiving a sermon had been set in stone.

“Im – poss – i – ble! I’m trapped in here and cannot leave! I can’t go with you for any queen’s education!”

“Then we can just have you study here! The only thing we wouldn’t be able to do is have you practice your dancing!”

“I went to great pains to get into this prison¹, why should I have to study here!?”

“It’s because you have a lot to study!”

No matter what the grannies told her, Rachel refused to give up hope. However. These women wouldn’t be fit to be educators if they were forced to back down by the whims of some young whipper snapper.

Rachel continued arguing vehemently while hiding her face behind the curtain.

“What meaning is there to continuing with my queen’s education when His Highness has already broken his engagement with me!?”

“So that you can gain the necessary skills to become the next queen!”

But they aren’t engaged.

“That’s why His Highness is..........!”

“When it comes to Elliott, I don’t care!”

Duchess Somerset loudly rebuked Rachel’s pitiful excuses.

“Rachel will be the queen! That is set in stone. This was the response we received from Her Majesty, and His Majesty appears to agree with her. All Elliott needs is two or three shots of true grit and it’ll be easier for him to hear!”

The Duchess prescribes to an old-fashionable method of education.

“And if he still says he hates me.............!?”

“Then we’ll hit him with twenty to thirty shots of true grit, and he’ll be ready to go!”

This Duchess would get along marvelously with Martina.

“In the first place, I don’t like him! I don’t even want to look at that i***t Prince!”

Even though they were words said by someone he had broken off an engagement with, the Prince let out a small groan as if those words had shot through him like a stray arrow. The women who had still yet to notice his presence were heating up.

“It’s because Elliott is a narcissist with an empty head that he needs a solid queen to stand by his side!”

Madam Somerset was getting heated up as well. Still nobody was aware that Elliott’s group was there.

“In the first place! We knew that someone whose head was as useless as a vase with a hole in the bottom was unfit to act as a king for the rest of their life. As the first born though he was destined to inherit, so that’s why Rachel is needed, to fill in all the cracks!”

The Madams were unknowingly pelting the man in question with new facts about himself he didn’t know.

“To become the queen and marry His Highness, after all I really don’t want to!”

“We could care less about such a trivial thing!”

“Don’t care!? Isn’t that quite important!? Don’t you have any respect for my will!?”

“You’re the daughter of a nobleman, marriage for political reasons is basic! And His Majesty has ordered it, so you have no choice in the matter, Rachel!”

“But still I haaaaaaaate that i***t Prince!”

All of these stray arrows were digging themselves in Elliott’s flesh. He was forced to crouch down, unable to stand up straight anymore.

“If you don’t like him, then you can just marry Raymond instead. It’s already decided that Rachel will be the queen, we can figure out who your husband is going to be later on.”

“Isn’t that reversed!? Generally wouldn’t you change the bride marrying into the royal family!?”

“This country won’t survive if we hang on to such minor details!”

Elliott’s hands and knees fell to the floor as all the damage from these women saying whatever they wanted left a deep wound on his heart.

“Elliott! Stand strong Elliott!”

Margaret tried to comfort Elliott by rubbing his back, and cutting through the bickering of the women in front of her, she tried chiding the grannies for what they were saying about their prince..............so reckless.

“Hey, what are you doing denouncing someone as important as Elliott!? Elliott only stood up because he thought he had to do something about Rachel’s oppression!”

“Margaret.........!”

Elliott’s eyes became wet with tears.

“Elliott..........!”

The two shared a loving gaze.

And then the voice of an older woman shattered such a boorish atmosphere.

“Elliott!? You dare brazenly show your face here like this!?”

“Elliott........you’ve always run away whenever I’ve come to lecture you before, so I was wondering whether or not you’d grow up to be a decent human being........but congratulations for being able to make such a happy face in this place! Let me teach you the differences between right and wrong!”

“I, I can do the right thing..........!”

“I²!”

“Yes!”