At 10:00 AM, inside Sedona City, outside the gates of the Security Department.
Catherine had been standing here ever since she finished breakfast. Whenever she thought about seeing her father, a trace of resistance welled up in her heart.
It reminded her of how her father had treated her like a bargaining chip. Although she resented him for it, Kerrac was still her father after all.
As if making up her mind, Catherine gripped the token Lucas had given her and stepped into the Security Department. After her token was verified, she was escorted deep into the facility. Here lay a dungeon where high-profile criminals were held, and this was exactly where Kerrac and Tove were imprisoned.
Following the guiding knight, Catherine walked all the way to the very end.
The area was incredibly dark and damp. The only light came from the faint, flickering flames of the oil lamps mounted on the walls.
"Miss Catherine, it's just up ahead," The knight said, stopping in his tracks and pointing toward a cell at the very end of the corridor.
"Thank you," Catherine nodded slightly, then proceeded forward on her own.
She knew the knight was giving her some space so she could have a moment alone with her father.
"Let me out of here! That fucker Lucas! My father is a Grand Duke! Imprisoning us is a major crime!"
Before she even saw him, Catherine could hear Tove roaring. This caused her brows to slowly furrow.
Catherine slowly approached the cell holding Kerrac and Tove. By the dim light, she peered inside.
Inside the cell, Kerrac was leaning against the wall with his head bowed. Tove, on the other hand, was lying flat on the ground, his mouth spewing a stream of foul curses.
Catherine's arrival blocked some of the light, catching the attention of the grounded Tove. He scrambled to his feet and looked outside the cell.
Despite the poor lighting, he recognized Catherine instantly.
Tove lunged forward, pressing himself against the prison bars. "Catherine! Catherine, is that you?" He shouted loudly.
Tove's voice roused Kerrac, who had been resting with his eyes closed. He raised his head, also looking toward the obscured face outside the door, only able to make out a general silhouette.
"It's me," Catherine replied. Her voice trembled slightly, imperceptible unless one listened closely.
"You must have pleaded with Lucas! You're here to get us out, right?" Tove said, acting as if he had just grabbed onto a lifeline. He reached through the bars, trying to grab Catherine, but his arms were too short and he couldn't reach her at all.
"I..." Looking into Tove and Kerrac's eyes, Catherine suddenly didn't know what to say.
After a moment of silence, Catherine took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Given everything you've done, what did you think Lucas would do?"
"You're not here to get us out? Then why are you here? To laugh at us?" Tove dropped his outstretched hand, glaring at Catherine.
"I just came to see how you're doing." Catherine suppressed her inner turmoil, trying her best to keep her voice steady.
"We're locked in a dungeon! How well do you think we're doing?! Catherine, I knew you just came to mock us!"
Tove pointed a finger at Catherine, berating her angrily, "Your own father was thrown into prison, and you wouldn't even plead for mercy on our behalf? Are you really just going to stand by and watch us get sent to the mines?!"
During his time in the dungeon, he had overheard quite a few inmates talking. The most common rumor was that anyone convicted of a major felony would be sent to the mines.
"I..." Catherine was at a loss for words.
Facing her two closest blood relatives wearing prison uniforms inside a cell, Catherine felt a strong urge to turn around and walk away.
Seeing Catherine stay silent, Tove waved his hands around, wanting to say something else.
"Shut up."
Before Tove could even open his mouth, Kerrac angrily cut him off.
"..." Tove was intimidated into silence by Kerrac's voice. He had always been afraid of his father, and even being locked in a dungeon together wasn't going to change that fact.
Step, step, step...
Kerrac slowly stood up and walked over to the cell door. Looking at Catherine through the gaps in the bars, his eyes held a look of apology. He suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Catherine, I'm sorry. I failed you as a father."
These words made Catherine's body tremble. She hadn't expected to hear such a sentence come from her father's mouth during this visit.
It wasn't just Catherine who was shocked; Tove was too. Growing up, this was the first time he had ever heard his father apologize.
"..." Catherine opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing. Her mind was already a tangled mess.
Seeing that Catherine remained silent, Kerrac continued, "Lucas must treat you pretty well, right?"
Catherine nodded. Her time in Sedona City had been the happiest period of her life since she was a child.
"I figured. The day I saw your smile on that stage, I knew," Kerrac said with a self-deprecating chuckle.
Thinking about how he had raised Catherine as nothing more than merchandise since she was young, leading to their current situation, he realized he had brought this entirely upon himself.
He had done a lot of thinking in the dungeon. When a person falls from a high place and loses everything, returning to square one, they tend to reflect on things they had previously ignored.
Perhaps, knowing that his pursuit of power was utterly hopeless had finally brought him some clarity.
"I don't expect you to forgive me, but from now on, I hope you can live happily." Kerrac seemed to have discovered his conscience, speaking these words to Catherine.
Catherine couldn't hold it in any longer. She lowered her head as tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, sobbing silently.
After a long while...
Catherine lifted her head and suddenly said, "I heard the Fourth Prince was placed in a courtyard doing manual labor. I will plead with Lucas to let you two join him."
In the end, she couldn't bear to watch her own father be sent to slave away in a dark, sunless mine.
"Haha..." Kerrac suddenly laughed. He was already very satisfied with this outcome. It was enough to prove that his daughter still held a place for him in her heart.
At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Doing manual labor was infinitely easier than mining for ore.
Catherine stared blankly at the smile on her father's face, then turned and walked away. She was smart; regardless of whether his words were genuine or not, at least her conscience was clear now.
"Tell Lucas to be careful of the First Prince," Kerrac's voice rang out from behind her.
Step, step...
Catherine paused for a second, then continued walking outside.
The knight, who had been waiting for a long time, glanced toward the cell at the end of the hall before slowly closing the corridor gate. This was the dungeon's second layer of security; even if the inner cell doors were broken open, no one could escape the prison.
Clang!!
The gate locked shut.
Seeing that Catherine had left, Tove carefully asked Kerrac, "Father, why did you warn Lucas about the First Prince?"
"If Lucas loses, and we fall into the hands of the First Prince, our only outcome is death." Kerrac looked at his useless, incompetent son and sighed internally, regretting that he hadn't just shot him onto a wall all those years ago.
Right now, at least they could eke out a living under Lucas. But if they ended up with the First Prince, given Lucia's ruthless nature and their previous betrayal, he would absolutely never spare them.
After all, the First Prince was a ruthless man who had even dared to murder his own father.
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