The dungeons of the palace had been the nightmare of the Fourth Prince's childhood. Descending the stone steps, this feeling involuntarily surged into Roland's heart.
Flipping through his memories, he quickly found the source of his fear.
When he was twelve years old, Tifei pulled the Fourth Prince, Goron, and Garcia to explore the basement of the palace. The Fourth Prince, who had always wanted to integrate into their circle, naturally couldn't ask for more. But he didn't expect Tifei to steal the key from the guards and lock the Fourth Prince in the prison cell, then the three of them left laughing.
In the pitch-black room, the Fourth Prince trembled with fear, not even daring to shout loudly. Because he could occasionally hear shrill cries in the palace, the guards said that it was the ghosts in the underground making trouble. He was afraid that the cries would attract these undead, so he had no choice but to curl up in a corner of the wall, burying his head in his knees and sobbing softly. By the time the three came to watch the joke the next morning, his face was covered in snot.
From then on, the Fourth Prince never dared to approach the palace basement again.
The current Roland naturally understood that the so-called ghost cries were just screams from torturing prisoners. It was just that very few prisoners were qualified to be locked in the palace, so it was only occasionally heard.
Reaching the bottom of the basement, Roland saw Tifei. Wimbledon in a small cell. This was also where the Fourth Prince had buried his head and cried all night back then – compared to the prisons in the outer city, the environment here was actually not bad. At least it didn't leak everywhere, rats and cockroaches didn't crawl all over the place, and the air wasn't filled with dampness and stench.
Ironically, the positions of the two had now been reversed.
Hearing the sound, Tifei, who was sitting against the wall, opened his eyes and met Roland's gaze.
He was the brother that the Fourth Prince feared the most – his appearance was almost identical to the image in his memory. Gray short curly hair and eyes symbolized the Wimbledon family's bloodline. The nose and cheek contours inherited the characteristics of his father, looking angular and quite handsome. It was just that the slender eyes ruined the overall feeling, and they looked even more sinister in the flickering torchlight.
In the past, the Fourth Prince wouldn't even dare to look his second brother in the eye, but for Roland, he was just a stranger who had been stripped of his fangs and claws.
The two silently stared at each other for a long time, and for a time only the crackling sound of the torches was left in the cell. A hint of unconcealable haggardness appeared on Tifei's face. Although he still wanted to put on his former aura to overwhelm himself, everything was in vain. The tough expression gradually disappeared from his eyes, replaced by an unspeakable fear.
"Who… who exactly are you?" Tifei finally couldn't bear it anymore and opened his mouth to break the silence.
The dry voice echoed in the basement, and the emotions contained within were also clearly discernible. He was afraid, Roland thought. As for why the other party would ask this question, Roland was not surprised. Compared to the little-communicated Tilly, Tifei knew the Fourth Prince better. After all, the latter's vile and capricious personality was largely created by the Second Prince himself.
"I am Roland. Wimbledon," he squatted down and looked at the other party at eye level, "Don't you remember me?"
"You're not!" Tifei trembled, "He wouldn't look at me like this, he wouldn't dare face me directly!" He gasped for two breaths, "I know… you are the real devil! It's not that he was seduced by the devil, but the devil has transformed into his appearance, wanting to steal this kingdom!"
Roland didn't bother to explain anything to a dying man, "So what? Do you think you are any better than the devil? Murdering your own father, pushing the conspiracy to your own brother, and then executing him. In order to protect the stolen throne, you not only colluded with the church forces that your father hated the most, but also forcibly conscripted innocent people to attack the territory of the Third Princess. You didn't even let go of the most cowardly and incompetent Fourth Prince. In just one year, the kingdom was in chaos, several cities were destroyed by war, and refugees were everywhere. I'm afraid even the devil can't do this!"
"No!" He panicked and defended, "I didn't kill my father, he committed suicide! Just like you, he was controlled by the devil!"
"Suicide?" Roland frowned and asked.
"I'm not lying! He was lying in bed as usual, smiling and killing himself with a bishou!"
"Not a witch?"
"He was wearing a God's Punishment Stone at the time! Damn it…" Tifei's hoarse words were tinged with a sob, "Everything was completely unexpected, I couldn't stop him at all!"
Roland looked at Nightingale behind him, and she nodded lightly.
An Enchanted-type witch, he thought. Once the ability is activated, it is not affected by God's Stone. If it is an ordinary witch organization, it is almost impossible to get close to the king. However, the church, which also possesses purists, has no difficulty in having the opportunity to make close contact. Roland quickly recalled the refugee evacuation battle half a year ago, when a witch mixed into the camp and assassinated Wendy and others. Her ability was to change her appearance. If you put the two together, the answer is obvious.
If the church was secretly directing all of this, then the decree of the King's Contest, which was purely intended to create strife and turmoil, would also make sense. However, all of this still needs to be confirmed. Roland believes that he will find the truth from the mouth of the High Priest of the Royal City Cathedral.
"This is also not your reason for plotting against Goron and expanding the war to the entire kingdom," Roland said in a deep voice, "Especially colluding with the church and using Berserk Pills to create slaughter – have you ever thought about how many people have died because of this?"
"Even if I don't use it, wouldn't Garcia use it? If they had crowned me king from the beginning, why would I have used such cruel methods!" Tifei crawled to the railing and grabbed the iron bars with both hands, "And what does all this have to do with the devil! What exactly do you want to do to me?"
"State your crimes, judge you, and then send you to the guillotine – just like Goron. It's just that your crimes are conclusive and unforgivable."
"No! You can't kill me, the devil can never stand in front of the stage, the power of the gods will destroy you – if you want to get the Greycastle kingdom, you must rely on my help!"
"God?" Roland grinned, "Are you referring to the church?"
"You don't understand them! The church's hidden power is unfathomable. My father's notes recorded some incredible rumors, which is why he could never make up his mind to expel the church's forces!" he shouted, "Pills are just one of their methods. Once your identity is exposed, you will soon be doomed!"
"It's not like that… Tifei. Wimbledon, I know far more than you imagine, and I also know what the future will be like. This path is too difficult, and you cannot lead the people through its trials." Roland said slowly, "In order to meet the upcoming challenges, your destiny must end here. But don't worry, your journey to hell will not be lonely, many people will go with you, go in peace."
After saying that, he stood up, ignored the Second Prince's shouts, and walked out of the prison cell. (。)