Free Web NovelChapter 86: The final
The atmosphere in the dungeon was no longer as quiet as it had been the night before. Now, it was filled with the heavy footsteps of armored soldiers surrounding them.
Whispers broke out among the soldiers who watched and heard Duke Herold’s words, and they began to look at Javien with expressions of fear.
This was because, for them, any individual who practiced forbidden magic was treated with the utmost severity. It was the greatest crime that existed at that time.
The air felt tense. Javien and his soldiers, who were still standing, watched the situation in shock. Duke Herold, who appeared out of nowhere to suddenly make those accusations, caused Javien to clench his jaw.
This man is truly cunning!
His hands were gripped so tightly they turned white. The air felt heavy, as if the entire place was waiting for a decision that would change someone’s fate..
In the middle of the vast space, Javien stood tall. He did not move. His face was calm, but his eyes were clearly enduring something heavy.
In front of him, Duke Herold stood with a perfection so cold it was as if everything had gone exactly according to his plan from the start.
To the side, the corpse still lay on the ground as the primary piece of evidence. The black marks on the body were beginning to look even clearer under the morning light.
"Bring him forward," Duke Herold’s voice finally broke the silence. His voice was not loud, but it was enough to make everyone focus completely. A guard stepped forward, ready to act.
From behind the crowd, Olivia watched from a distance. Her heart was in turmoil. Her eyes moved quickly between Javien, Duke Herold, and the corpse in the center of the dungeon. Everything felt too "arranged." It was too clean for an ordinary death. And then, Olivia saw something.
At the edge of the stone floor near the corpse, there was a trace of dark liquid that was almost invisible. She narrowed her eyes.
That was not just ordinary poison. There were fine patterns within it a structure of magic she had read about in the books Avelvion had given her.
And that... was not Javien’s.
Before Olivia could think any further, something else caught her attention. A servant stood among the soldiers in the back. Too calm. Too inconsistent with the situation.
Delia. Olivia tensed. Delia did not look panicked. She did not look shocked. She only watched the corpse with an expression that was too blank, too cold. It was as if she was not just watching an incident, but evaluating the results of her own work. Olivia held her breath.
..Why does she look so calm?
And at that moment, Olivia knew... this was not just an accusation against Javien. This was something that had been planned down to the very last detail long ago.
Duke Herold did not even look at the corpse. He was more interested in the parchment scroll brought by his personal secretary.
"Javien," Duke Herold’s voice echoed, sounding very authoritative. "In the imperial elite military code, anyone who brings a ’source of foreign magic’ into a nobleman’s residence without the permission of the High Council is considered to be committing an act of trespass and treason."
Javien bit his lip. "That is a killer, Duke! He even attacked Lady Ophilia! I brought him inside to be interrogated!".
"That is an excuse you built yourself," Duke Herold replied calmly. He signaled to a group of guards who were bringing in an old man the Duke’s own family physician. The old man, his hands trembling slightly, showed a small bottle containing a thick, black liquid.
"Your Grace," the physician’s voice sounded very convincing. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"This liquid was found in a hidden pouch on Knight Javien’s armor just moments ago. This is not just ordinary black magic. This is ’Essence of Malice’ a source of energy used to activate forbidden magic. And what is most shocking... the energy pattern in this liquid perfectly matches the effects of the magic that killed the guard at the entrance last night."
Olivia, hearing this from afar, felt her blood run cold.
That is impossible! Javien does not possess that!
Javien was stunned. He knew he had been framed, but the trap was too perfect.
"That is slander! I have never owned that!"
"Denial will not change the facts, Knight," Duke Herold stepped forward, his eyes staring at Javien with a crushing gaze.
"The witnesses are here. The physical evidence has been found. And even worse..."
Duke Herold signaled to Delia. Delia stepped forward with a face full of feigned sadness.
"Javien... I myself saw you communicating with a mysterious creature in that cave that night," Delia’s voice was soft enough for all the soldiers to hear.
"You said you wanted to ’master’ that power to protect Lady Ophilia, right? I did not expect you to be willing to trade your soul for this filthy power."
The world seemed to stop. Delia used the ’truth’ about their meeting in the cave, but she twisted Javien’s intentions completely.
"Guards!" Duke Herold ordered.
"Based on Article 42 of the Royal Code, Knight Javien is found guilty of the charge of possessing forbidden items and conspiring with dark entities. Strip him of his rank and his knight’s sword immediately."
Javien tried to fight back, but ten elite knights men who had once been his subordinates now pointed their swords at his neck.
They did not dare look into Javien’s eyes because they themselves were afraid of Duke Herold’s authority.
"And that servant..." Duke Herold glanced sharply at Olivia. "She is the primary accomplice witness. Imprison her in the Black Tower. We will await orders from the Royal authorities for their hanging."
Olivia watched Javien, who was now forced to his knees, his hands tied with iron chains soaked in holy water to suppress his demonic aura. Javien’s face was no longer calm; there was deep despair behind his eyes. He had failed to protect anyone.
Duke Herold had won completely. Systematically, he had eliminated the threat of Javien using the law, witnesses, and evidence that could not be denied in front of the public.
Their downfall had begun. The cold iron chains shackled Javien’s wrists, while Olivia was dragged away by the Duke’s personal guards. The atmosphere in the plaza became very chaotic, filled with curses from the soldiers who had once respected Javien.
"Javien!" Olivia cried out, trying to struggle from the grip of the guard who was holding her arm roughly. However, Javien’s gaze stopped her. The knight gave a very slow shake of his head. He did not want Olivia to fight back; he knew that if Olivia resisted, she would be punished even more severely as a political prisoner.
"Do not do anything, Olivia," Javien’s voice sounded hoarse, yet remained firm even though he was currently forced to kneel on the dirty ground.
Duke Herold stood in front of them, his long shadow covering the sunlight, making his face look like a demon that had just won a bet.
"Take this servant to the Black Tower," Duke Herold directed without looking at Olivia. "And as for Javien... lock him up under strict surveillance. Do not allow anyone, even Lady Ophilia, to visit them without written permission from me."
Delia, who was behind Duke Herold, smiled cynically. She approached Olivia as she was being dragged away. While pretending to adjust Olivia’s position, Delia whispered something sharp enough to make Olivia’s heart feel as though it were being stabbed.
"You know, Olivia? This place has long been prepared for you. Thank you for being the reason why Javien fell into his own grave. He was simply too stupid to protect you, to the point that he was willing to trade the honor of a knight."
Olivia did not answer. She bit her lower lip until it bled. Her eyes stared sharply at Delia, but her heart was crushed to see Javien, who had now lost everything—his sword, his cloak, and his honor.
As Olivia was dragged past the dungeon gate, she looked back one last time. She saw Javien still standing tall, surrounded by his former subordinates who had now turned their backs on him.
*Javien... I will not let it end here,* Olivia thought with determination.
Inside the dark, quiet, and damp cell of the Black Tower, Olivia was thrown onto the cold stone floor. The iron door slammed shut with a loud thud, locking all their hopes outside. The atmosphere inside the prison was very oppressive. Olivia tried to stand, but the wound on her shoulder throbbed with pain again. She fell back, gasping for breath.
However, as she endured the pain, she realized something. On the wall of her cell, there was a new, rough scratch. She approached the wall. It was the symbol Javien had shown her in the cave—the symbol for a ’rat run’ or a secret passage unknown to anyone else.
*Javien... he knew?*
At the moment when hope was almost destroyed, Olivia realized that Javien could not have let them be trapped so easily without a backup plan. However, a heavier question arose: If there was a secret passage, did Duke Herold already know about it? Or were they now stepping into yet another trap that was even deeper?
Olivia held her chest. She had to survive. Because out there, their real enemy was celebrating their victory, unaware that the ’biscuit’ they were trying to destroy was actually the key to their own destruction.
The darkness in the Black Tower was not just an absence of light; it seemed to drain the last of Olivia’s energy. Every time she breathed, the musty smell of stone walls and groundwater filled her lungs.
However, Olivia’s focus was not on the pain in her shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on the scratched symbol on the wall.
*Javien would not have given this mark if he did not have a plan,* Olivia thought.
She began to examine every inch of the cell wall with her trembling fingertips. The stones there were arranged neatly, but when she pressed on one stone block that had a slightly different texture—right below the symbol—a soft ’click’ sound was heard.
The stone did not open wide, but it was enough to reveal a narrow space behind the wall. Olivia held her breath. Inside that dark space, there was a small scroll and a signet ring belonging to Javien’s family.
With trembling hands, Olivia opened the scroll. Javien’s neat and firm handwriting appeared on it:
"Do not come out yet. Wait until midnight. When the church bell rings twelve times, this passage will take you directly to a secret room beneath Duke Herold’s quarters. There, look for a black box with the royal family crest. That is the real evidence of Delia’s involvement in forbidden magic. Do not look for me. Go straight there."
Olivia pressed her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle a sob. Javien was being dragged toward death, yet the man was still thinking of a way to save Olivia’s honor and her life. He did not want Olivia to be caught in the execution; instead, he wanted Olivia to be the witness who would bring down Duke Herold.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded outside the cell door.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Olivia quickly hid the scroll and the ring inside the folds of her dress. She immediately lay down on the stone floor, pretending to be a victim who had lost all her strength.
The heavy iron cell door was opened roughly.
Light from a torch outside blinded Olivia. A guard entered, followed by a figure she recognized all too well. Delia.
Delia stepped into the cell in her beautiful gown, which contrasted sharply with the filthy, disgusting prison environment. She looked at Olivia with a gaze full of disdain.
"You know, Olivia?" Delia started to speak, her voice soft but sounding very malicious. "It is pathetic to see a lowly servant like you dreaming of being part of a War General’s life."
Delia stepped closer, her high heels stepping on Olivia’s hand which was resting on the floor. Olivia bit her lip, holding back a scream of pain.
"Duke Herold has decided. Tomorrow morning, right after sunrise, Javien will be hanged in front of the public. And you..." Delia leaned down slightly, her face only a few inches from Olivia’s. "...you will be thrown into the pit of the living dead. No one will ever remember your name again."
Delia chuckled, a laugh full of satisfaction.
"Before you die tomorrow, it would be better if you hand over the item you stole from Javien’s room before he was arrested. That signet ring... where did you hide it?"
Olivia’s heart beat fast. How did she know?!
Olivia looked up, her eyes that were previously weak now turning sharp. She knew, if she confessed, she would die. If she kept silent, she might also die.
"A ring?" Olivia chuckled with the remainder of her strength, a laugh that made Delia slightly startled. "Is Duke Herold so afraid of that ring that he sent his lapdog to snatch it in the middle of the night?"
Delia’s face turned bright red with anger. "You! Do not challenge my patience!"
"If you want that ring," Olivia replied, her voice calm but full of defiance, "you will have to kill me now. But remember, Delia... if I die, the secret I know about who the real mastermind behind the dark magic is will spread throughout the empire. Duke Herold might be able to silence the guards, but he cannot silence those who have already seen the evidence outside."
Delia went silent. She was not sure if Olivia was bluffing or actually holding evidence that could destroy them all.
I need to buy time,
Olivia thought to herself.
Tonight, in the midst of the darkness, a game of life and death was beginning. And Olivia, the servant who was considered useless, now held the final pawn that could end Duke Herold and Delia’s lives. freewёbnoνel.com
Would Olivia manage to hold out until midnight, or would Delia act sooner before the church bell rang?
