How To End This Marriage-Chapter 84: The Dungeon’s Enigma

In the lit depths of the ancient prison, the cold, damp stone walls seemed to whisper secrets of long-forgotten tales. The flickering torches cast eerie shadows as Crown Prince Maximus ventured into the desolate cell. The echoes of his footsteps reverberated through the corridor as he found himself alone, except for Lucius, who hung in shackles with an expression as enigmatic as the prison itself.

Maximus approached his captive, the clinking of his armored boots mingling with the unsettling silence.

The prince’s voice, calm but tinged with curiosity, sliced through the stillness. "Tell me, Lucius, why were you so taken aback when you entered this cell? What is it about this place that haunts you? Who is behind all of this? Is there a plot against the empire?"

Lucius, his face an unreadable mask, remained silent, as if he held the key to secrets he was unwilling to unlock.

Maximus’s patience waned, and his voice grew louder, emphasizing the gravity of the situation. "I’m asking you a direct question. Why did you do this? Why did you kill that knight?"

In the dim light, Lucius’s silence seemed to stretch into eternity. He appeared as though he didn’t know the answers or chose not to reveal them.

Maximus’s frustration boiled over. He moved closer, grabbing Lucius by the hair. "Don’t force me to take more extreme measures, Lucius! I am not a man easily deceived by words. I am Maximus Insteius Belenus, the Crown Prince, and I earned this position through merit. Don’t think you can outwit me with your words."

Lucius, still held by his hair, responded with a respectful tone, "Yes, my lord, you did earn your position as Crown Prince. However, it’s not as if the title was simply handed to you."

The exchange grew tense, and Maximus’s grip tightened. "Explain what you mean."

Lucius’s smirk held a hint of mockery. "Have you ever considered what loyal followers of the previous empress whisper?"

"Previous empress?" Maximus inquired, intrigued and taken aback.

"Yes, my lord. The previous empress had an heir, a firstborn, but have you ever wondered why nobody speaks of the child born to the deceased empress? Do you think there might be deliberate secrets, meant to ensure your position as Crown Prince because you were ’chosen’ by the Emperor?" Lucius’s words were like a dagger, slicing through the very core of Maximus’s beliefs.

Maximus’s anger flared. "That’s enough of this nonsense!"

Lucius continued, unfazed, "How can you accuse my father, the Emperor of this empire, with such baseless allegations? Do you truly believe that he became Emperor because he was ’chosen’? Do you hold the Empire’s heir in such disdain as to make such unfounded claims while tarnishing his reputation?"

Maximus’s face contorted in fury as he tightened his grip on Lucius’s hair. "Do you think you can escape this? The body will be found, and you will face the Emperor’s justice."

Lucius retorted, "The Emperor? How about he be the one to release me from this cell first?"

Maximus began to respond when the Emperor’s attendants entered the prison, led by a lady, her presence shrouded in an air of mystery.

"Greetings, your royal highness," she addressed Maximus.

Maximus, taken aback, questioned her. "How did you enter this place when I didn’t inform anyone?"

She explained with a sense of urgency, "I apologize if I overstepped, but the Emperor has personally ordered the immediate release of this knight, which is why I’m here without delay."

Maximus’s brow furrowed. "Father said?"

"Yes, your highness. The Emperor has explicitly requested that I convey this message to you," she replied.

"I will discuss this with him. You may leave now," Maximus said, attempting to exit the prison. However, an unexpected noise interrupted his departure. "What on earth are you doing? I had not given the order to remove the cell. Who instructed you to do so before I commanded it?"

The attendant, undeterred, replied, "Your highness, the Emperor has wished for the immediate release of the knight. I cannot allow him to remain confined and in distress. If you have any concerns, you may address them directly with His Majesty, who is awaiting you in the imperial garden."

As she removed Lucius’s shackles, Maximus’s confusion and anger grew. Lucius, his voice shaky, couldn’t resist a final taunt. "As I said, your majesty, you cannot lock me up."

Frustrated and bewildered, Maximus made his way to the imperial garden, where his father, the Emperor, sat beneath the moonlight, sipping from a cup of rum.

"You have arrived, my son," the Emperor greeted, a knowing smile on his face, sensing Maximus’s disquiet.

Maximus’s frustration and confusion spilled over. "What are you doing, Father? How could you do this? This is the very first time I’ve taken charge of a situation, and yet you are interfering with it. Why? Why are you so determined to save that criminal who committed murder within the palace? Don’t you think you are making yourself look bad in the eyes of your own son?"

The Emperor responded calmly, "Maximus! He did not commit any murder. You are misunderstanding the situation, just as Alexavier did. You, too, are losing your sense of reason because of that woman."

Maximus, resolute in his belief, retorted, "No, Father, I’m not. He committed murder, and I am aware of it. It’s just that the body has not yet been found."

The Emperor, equally steadfast, questioned, "If you haven’t found the body, how can you claim a murder has taken place? You can’t kill an invisible person, Maximus. To declare a murder, there should be a body with flesh, blood, and a human form, yet nothing was found. So, how can you label someone a criminal without any evidence?"

Maximus was undeterred. "Evidence? You require evidence, Father? What if I claim to have evidence? What will you do?"

The Emperor, growing anxious, demanded, "Evidence? What kind of evidence? Show me!"

"Ha ha, Father, you are the evidence. Didn’t you send your attendants when the commotion occurred? Didn’t you order them to clean the floor, which had been dirtied by that criminal? Didn’t you instruct them to hide the knight’s body?" Maximus asserted.

The Emperor vehemently denied, "It’s unfounded!"

Maximus, however, remained determined. "It’s not unfounded at all. I touched the floor. I felt the moisture on my fingertips. The guard admitted to the arrival of your attendants. How can it be unfounded? Just because the crime scene was cleaned, and I can’t find concrete evidence, doesn’t mean it’s unfounded. I’ll soon provide you with evidence, and if it goes against you, the people will decide."

Maximus declared and turned to leave for his room. However, he heard a loud scream that made him flinch.

"Where did that scream come from?" he wondered and rushed toward the old prison, from where the sound emanated. Upon arriving, he discovered blood splattered all over, and his footsteps left marks on the bloody floor.

As Maximus stormed away from the prison, his mind was ablaze with confusion and anger. The Emperor’s involvement and the mysterious attendant’s actions had left him feeling like a pawn in a convoluted game. But the sudden scream that pierced the night shook him to his core, drawing his attention back to the source of the turmoil.

"What have you done?" Maximus shouted upon reaching the prison’s entrance. His voice reverberated through the cold, damp chamber. Blood was splattered on the floor and walls, creating a gruesome tableau of violence, and Lucius lay sprawled on the ground, clutching his wounded side, blood seeping through his fingers.

The Emperor’s attendant, her clothes stained with the fresh blood of Lucius, stood nearby, her demeanor shockingly calm. "He irritated me, your highness, so I had to stab him," she replied in a disturbingly matter-of-fact tone.

Maximus couldn’t comprehend the surreal scene before him. "No, that’s not what you’re saying. Tell me the truth. Tell me why you did this. Tell me why you killed the person I needed the most," he shouted, his voice echoing off the prison’s walls. Yet, she remained as unfeeling as stone, her eyes devoid of remorse.

"As I said, your Royal Highness, this knight irritated me, so in anger, I stabbed him. I didn’t realize I had stabbed him so many times," she repeated, her voice unshaken.

Maximus pressed on, struggling to fathom her cold detachment. "Then why aren’t you showing any remorse? Why do you lack emotions?"

Her response was chilling. "Because this is who I am."

With a sense of finality, she dropped the bloodied knife onto the grimy prison floor and raised her hands, as if to signal that she was ready for arrest. "Your Highness, I’ve already told you everything. I surrender myself to you. Place the handcuffs on me and take me to the new prison. Tomorrow, don’t forget to execute me, for that is the way it should be done."

Maximus gazed at her, unable to reconcile the brutal reality of the scene with the calm facade she presented. He detected a subtle change in her expression, a flicker of something that hinted at depths of complexity he couldn’t yet grasp.

The dungeon was now a tableau of horror and intrigue, where every action seemed to lead to another layer of mystery. The truth remained elusive, and Maximus was left to navigate a labyrinth of deception, secrets, and betrayals in the heart of his own empire.