For You In The Cage

Episode 104: Break the Cage (IV)

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The wizard accompanied by Count Enderk prepared space movement magic. There was a magic circle connected to the Imperial Palace in the ducal castle, and there was a way for Yulif to use magic himself, but Count Enderk insisted that they used this. Yulif silently followed Count Enderk’s words. It’s a masterpiece prepared by Deltinus, so it wouldn’t deviate much from his expectations.

After judging the situation, Yulif decided to have Derek come along. Someone had to be informed when the allied forces were ready to go.

The magic was activated and his vision changed suddenly. The quality of the surrounding magic was not very good, so Yulif frowned slightly. It was said that it was difficult to find a capable wizard belonging to the imperial family. Deltinius seemed to be in a very bad situation that he even accepted a wizard with such crude magic.

Everything was the will of the emperor. No matter how much money he would give them, with the risk of being killed or thrown as food for monsters, what kind of wizards would accept the offer? To begin with, wizards were sensitive people. Anyway, it was good for Yulif. Even if there were hundreds or thousands of wizards like this, he could easily deal with them.

“You have come at last, my brother.”

With a smug smile, Deltinus sat on the throne and looked down at Yulif. It was reality. Yulif looked around quickly. He was standing in the center of the audience room, and well-armed secret knights and wizards surrounded him from all sides. The imperial nobles could be seen behind them.

It didn’t matter how many knights there were. Creating variables lies in wizards. It was difficult to count with his eyes, so he estimated the number of wizards with his magical powers. About 50 people. It was so small that it made him laugh. Still, Deltinus looked confident.

‘You seem to think that your pre-installed device is working.’

But Yulif was free. There’s only one thing that binds him. It was given in exchange for passing through the gates of time, so his life was short-lived. It had been a long time since the magic tools and magic circles were already removed by the people of Duke Theodore.

Derek had not been contacted. It seemed that the army wasn’t ready yet, so he should pretend he was falling into the trap to pass time.

Yulif slowly went down on one of his knees and lowered his head as if in agony. Sure enough, the Deltinus burst into a frenzy as the audience left.

“Kahahahaha! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the Duke get to his knees first, even though I didn’t order it. Wonderful. Very good. You must be afraid that even you might become a traitor.”

Deltinus, who slammed his armrest with his fist and laughed for a long time, came down from the throne and stood in front of Yulif. Yulif lifted his head.

The moment his eyes met with Deltinus’. Dark brown leather gloves slapped his cheeks. He wasn’t hurt. It just felt like something touched and fell. The first sensation the body that was approaching the last loss was pain.

There was no injury, so Yulif didn’t show any reaction, and after a few seconds of stillness, Deltinus seemed to think Yulif was making fun of him. Deltinus’s face turned red. He took the whip from his waist and slammed it to the floor. It sliced through the air, followed by a loud plosive, piercing the ears.

“Canaren, no. Should I call her Duchess Rubius now? This is the same whip that pierced the duchess’ soft skin. Endure without screaming like your wife. Then maybe I can forgive you for your sins.”

How dare he put Canaren’s name in his dirty mouth. Yulif wanted to kill Deltinus right away without waiting for the army. He wrapped his hand on his lap and clasped it tightly. He endured this far. It wouldn’t change anything if he waited a few more minutes. He had to clean it up completely and then Canaren would be at peace. As he thought so, his lost composure returned.

The whipping began. Pak, pak! A small piece of iron was attached to the whip, and the whip was merciless. His clothes were torn, his skin cracked, and blood began to flow. Yulif’s surroundings were quickly stained red with blood. Yulif’s blood splattered on Deltinus as well.

The knights and wizards turned their heads at the tragic sight, but Yulif did not let out a single groan. However, there was an unexplainable pain on his face.

It hurt his mind, not his body. It hurt unbearably to know that Canaren had endured such harsh beatings with her slender body. It felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces, not his skin.

“Heh heh, heh heh… What a damn bastard.”

Deltinus stopped whipping. Yulif looked down. Truly, in spite of the whip scratching and ripping everywhere it went, there was not even the slightest pain like a brush against the thorn.

“Done. There’s no reason to waste any more time on a dirty and filthy traitor.”

“Is there any evidence that I have rebelled?”

Deltinus arrived at the audience and stared at Yulif, who opened his mouth for the first time, with gleaming eyes. Then he opened his arms and shouted aloud to those gathered in the audience to listen carefully.

“Let’s all listen! For a long time, the empress, who was imprisoned, had been in love with Duke Rubius, not me. You must be familiar with the case where Duke Rubius escaped from the Imperial Palace after unleashing the monsters of the northern barbarians. I was seriously injured from the incident and was unable to attend government affairs for a while. It was at that time that the empress began to conduct government affairs in her own way on my behalf. Coincidentally.”

No one objected to the assertion that cleverly mixed fact and speculation. It was true that at present, the empress and Duke Theodore were imprisoned in a dungeon for treason. Deltinus continued his speech while slowly walking around Yulif.

“Even after that, Duke Rubius tried to harm me whenever he had the chance. Remember the raid at his wedding? The assailants were aiming precisely for the crown prince and I. Duke Rubius was afraid that the truth would leak out, so he killed all the captured assailants.”

Yulif made no excuses. He didn’t even protest. His silence seemed to admit to all charges. People started to fuss. The voice of Deltinus, who thought had captured the vantage point, was strengthened.

“And not long ago, I went to Pionia to comfort the Duke because I regretted that his wedding had gone awry. But instead of welcoming me, he trampled on me and broke my limbs. Inflicting harm to my body, the Empire itself! He threatened to kill me. If this is not rebellion, what is it?”

“That’s, that’s right. I saw it on the spot. Duke Rubius… I have seen his violence against His Majesty.”

A certain wizard testified in a very low voice. The gossip grew out of control.

“He broke His Majesty’s limbs?”

“But… Isn’t the duke under an oath? I was told he could never harm His Majesty.”

“Did you not know that the duke broke the oath?”

“Huh… He must have believed in the empress.”

“Then what about the duchess? Wasn’t she the duke’s love and he took her to the point of going against His Majesty?”

“The empress is being used by the duke.”

The nobles even talked about Canaren, speculating further.

They would know soon. The fact that there were many lies mixed with Deltinus’ words. But the truth did not matter to those who sought power. If there was a justifiable cause to attach to their actions, anything was possible. They have lived by collecting any truth or falsehood. Just like right now.

Yulif del Rubius, the hero of the empire, fell in a few words as a traitor, along with the empress, a sister-in-law through his brother. The dazzling glory and splendid achievements that followed him all faded away in one scandal. Even though the forces supporting Yulif were all elsewhere, the attitude of turning over the palm of his hand was light and futile.

“Bring it.”

At Deltinus’ command, the auditorium door opened and something entered. It was a special cage made with magic, and there were three monsters trapped inside. The monsters who hadn’t eaten for several days drooled and stared at the people in the audience. It stopped in front of Yulif.

“Treason is a treason that cannot be forgiven even in death. If I am drawn to my feelings and give a weak punishment on the basis of being part of my blood and flesh, the discipline of the empire will be shaken. So Yulif, you must die the most miserable and cruel death in the world. I will kill you and set an example.”

The wizard cast a spell. The light flashed, and Yulif was not sitting on the floor of the audience, but in the cage with the demons. Some moaned and covered their eyes, while others turned their heads.

“I’ll show the duchess how you die. Try to survive until the duchess comes. If you can.”

—And in front of your corpse, I will make Canaren mine.

Deltinus, who whispered to Yulif near the cage, turned around. Now, all he had to do was go to the ducal castle and bring Canaren…

“Hey, what is that…!”

“Wow…!”

Disbelieving voices came from all over the place. Deltinus, feeling anxious, quickly turned around.

Yulif, who was covered in scars, came out of the cage in a good shape. The monsters he had shredded as if he had chewed and tasted were charred, turning into ashes.

Staring dryly at the blue flames that slaughtered the demons, Yulif raised his head. A blue light was shining like a flame in his eyes.

“Deltinus Roven Elemian. Your claim is a mixture of truths and lies.”

“… Uh. Argh. What the! What are you doing! You’re a traitor right now…!”

“Yes. I am a traitor and I am here to kill you.”