Picking Up the Exiled Prince
Translator: CleizZ
Editor: mon cherry
Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!
Ch 17 Ruthless Side
Danis and Chris were running to the place when they caught one of the underworld’s subordinates who had scattered after the National Guard’s pursuit, who had originally been in charge of this area, and got him to spit out where Gabriel and Alan were headed.
“You are the head of the dark organization!?”
“Speaking of which, you don’t have much trust for a captain of this country either, do you?”
Chris gulped at Danis’ words and swallowed them. It was certainly Chris’ fault for not noticing the chase. Apparently, the Prime Minister had suspected him from the beginning.
Danis had been betrayed by his own subordinate, so it was mutual. There was no point in arguing about it any more.
“Well, I didn’t even notice the adhesion of my subordinates, but… rather than that, it would be better to somehow manage the current situation.”
“I know that without being told!”
While heading to the destination in that way, a familiar face ran from the other side. It was Tim who came toward me while shaking his hair.
His face was grim.
“Danis-san…! I’m sorry, I…!”
When I saw Tim’s somewhat regretful face, I was able to grasp the situation, as well as the fact that Alan was not with him.
Chris and Danis stopped running, and Tim stopped in front of them, out of breath. I could tell by the way he was gasping for breath that he was running as fast as he could.
“His Majesty The King Alan…”
Danis put his hand in between them to stop Chris from biting his head off.
“…Alan went himself, didn’t he?”
“…Excuse me?”
Tim turned his face down and clenched his back teeth.
If it was just an act of desperation, an act of sycophancy, Tim would not be here. He would have done whatever it took to stop Alan. Tim is a compassionate person and will do what is asked of him in a crisis. He knew Tim well enough to know that if his spirit had been broken, he could return it to normal at will.
“What’s your role in all this? Alan understood why I needed you, so he put you first, right? That’s your top priority right now. I don’t care if you have to use your men, bring me your trump card!”
At Danis’ words, Tim raised his grim face and said, “Yes, sir.” And he ran to another place.
Chris watched the whole thing and turned to Danis.
“What is the trump card?”
“…Isn’t the corpse predicted to have been assassinated yet? If the assassin is discovered, the prince’s suspicion will clear up.”
“… There have been no reports so far, but it’s been over a week. I’m sure they’re already working to destroy the evidence.”
Danis looked at Chris and gave him an inappropriate smile.
“Well, I doubt it.”
To be honest, it’s a gamble.
There is basically no advantage to keeping someone alive who has assassinated the king. More so since Prince Alan is suspected. He gets in the way even more.
But… There are many other ways to take power by making the prince a puppet. What is his reason for being so obsessed with the prince? I had some doubts.
It would be possible to make up an assassin…
“Anyway, we’re on our way. We may be late.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
Danis and Chris started running again.
Then, out of a narrow alleyway, a wounded man appeared, looking desperate. Danis noticed him, and when the other man noticed Danis and the others, his face turned pale. Danis stopped and faced the man. The man was the leader of the group that Danis had entrusted with this area.
In other words, the man who had betrayed him by conniving with Prime Minister Gabriel was right in front of him. He was injured, and from the way he looked, Danis could guess what had happened.
“Sorry, go ahead, I’ll be on my way after I’ve given him some moxa.”
Chris seemed to understand those words, and he shot a sharp look at the man, and the leader of the group looked horrified and shivered, but Chris took the initiative and ran ahead just as Danis had said.
Danis approached the wounded man, “You look pretty dumb after betraying me. Ravaghi?”
The man with the scar, Ravaghi, shuddered, his face pale, as Danis narrowed his eyes and smiled wickedly. The man’s eyes showed agitation and frustration. He hadn’t expected to run into him.
“It’s because you’re an idiot! It’s a common occurrence in our world.”
Danis glared at the frightened and barking Ravaghi with a sharp eye. He grabbed the man’s neck with his left hand and forcibly pushed him against the wall, strangling him as he was lifted.
“Kuk… Ugh… Ah…”
As his neck was crushed and his trachea tightened, the man kicked his feet, leaking his unvoiced sobs, but his limbs only shook, perhaps because his neck was closed and oxygen was cut off.
“Oh, I’m sure I was off guard without even noticing your shallow betrayal…”
Danis let go of his grip just as the man nearly suffocated and his eyes rolled so far back that they went to the day after tomorrow.
The man collapsed on the spot, strangled, and turned back defiantly. Without giving him a chance, Danis pushed his gun against the man’s forehead. The man took a deep breath. His body trembled and his expression remained blue.
“You can go for my seat. Do what you want. But I will not give up my seat to a man who is so easily taken advantage of that loses his men so easily. How many of my men have died because of your foolish schemes? If you want to take this seat away from me, you’d better use your head.”
The man was so terrified he couldn’t even move.
Danis had pressed a gun against the man, but he was not angry, and threatened him with a calm and light tone. Ravaghi was afraid of Danis’ complexion not wavering at all.
There was no gap in his appearance. The only thing that made Ravaghi shrink was the cold words that came down nonchalantly from above.
When it came to threatening each other in underworld organizations, they would threaten their opponents with power and bravado. But this man, Danis, was different. He threatened me with a calm voice. His voice was very cold and far more frightening than any shouts of anger.
This man, Danis, could draw his gun with no expression on his face. He had no emotions whatsoever. He acted as if this was normal.
The reason why Danis could be so sharp was partly because he was smart, but it was also because he was different. He could be ruthless with an innocent look on his face. That was what made him so scary.
It was a mistake, Ravaghi thought, to think that he had an opening when he saw that Danis had brought the boy with him.
“I’m dropping you from this area. Be as grateful as you can to be able to start over.”
Danis deflected the gun away from the man. The man put his hands on the ground as he collapsed. The man replied weakly, “Yes, sir.”
Seeing this, and sensing that there was no more hostility, Danis put the gun away in his inner coat pocket and headed toward the target.
When Chris arrived at the place where he got the information, there was Danis’– No, the injured man’s subordinates were lying on the ground.
There was no sign of Alan, and the soldiers seemed to have pulled back.
“Damn it! I’m too late!”
He wrinkled his brow and bit his back teeth to suppress his frustration. His hands were clenched into fists, trembling with anger at his own carelessness.
“Captain…!!!”
Then several soldiers from his unit appeared.
Chris looked up and faced the soldiers who had called him, and they looked apologetic.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t realize that this happened…”
“It’s not your fault, I was just sloppy.”
But Chris shook his head, interrupting the soldiers who were about to say…
Maybe Gabriel even used his own troops. The other party was the Prime Minister, so at worst they didn’t have the right to refuse. If they were suspicious to begin with, it wasn’t the subordinate’s fault.
What a lack of power he had… he was pathetic.
“It’s too late after all. I didn’t expect you to kill me like this…”
Danis appeared after him, and Chris’s men, surprised by his face, took a stand. Chris shook his head, pointing his hand at his men to put their swords away.
Danis went in front of Chris, who still hadn’t found a place to put it, and held out his hands.
Chris looked at Danis’ face, unsure of his intentions.
“Catch me. You’re going to have to take me out from the inside, aren’t you?”
“Now… Sure, but I’m already suspected by Prime Minister Gabriel. I don’t know if it will work.”
“Then why don’t you let your men do it?”
Chris was about to say something when he came to a realization and brought his hand up to his mouth.
“Then I’ll do the same.”
Chris’ words startled his men, who widened their eyes.
”What are you talking about?” They shouted.
“I want you to help me when I run away.”
“It would be even more necessary then, would it? I’m the one who knows about the castle.”
It seemed that Chris had decided. Entering a prison should be the same as getting stigmatized as a knight. But it wouldn’t make sense to look at Chris’s face. If this guy thinks he’s right, he won’t bend.
Danis shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not your man. He’s your subordinate to begin with. Can they even be trusted?”
“It’s a simple matter. A souvenir in exchange for being transferred to another unit after being disgusted by the captain who committed an indiscretion. You can call it that.”
“Hey, we’re still soldiers of Captain Chris’ unit no matter what!”
All the soldiers straightened their backs and saluted in front of Chris.
Chris made a slight smile, as if he was somewhat relieved by that.
“Thank you. But I can’t get you involved right now… Let’s go with this strategy now. Next time I will take the prince out and send him to the Vander family… Will you help me again then?”
“Of course!”
Chris’ subordinates had a slightly regretful looks on their faces, but they replied in honor of their captain.
Danis chuckled.
“Well, you have good subordinates, don’t you?”
“Unlike you.”
After the conversation, Danis’ and Chris’ hands were tied together. Chris’ men took care of their weapons so the prime minister wouldn’t get suspicious.
“We’ll go to the jail to make it easier for you to escape.”
“No need… I know what that place is made of.”
Chris heard that and glared at him quizzically, “How do you know the structure of a castle prison?” Danis shrugged and exhaled, glaring at him.
He had only been there once.
But Chris didn’t seem to be convinced by that. But he ignored it because it wasn’t important.
Well… I wish that the prince is safe…
Remembering the trauma that had been inflicted on him when they first met, Danis had a bad feeling about it.
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