LUCIA

Chapter 117 The Beginning and the End

Dean was back. It had been a month since Hugo gave him the order to capture Philip. He had gone to the village that Hugo had asked him to, but because it had been a little while since Philip left, he had to search around and that took time. Dean explained that fortunately, he found Philip somewhere not too far from the village and was able to bring him in.

"I took him to the safe house."

"Good job."

An old mansion, located at the outskirts of the capital, was currently being used as the Taran Information Division's safe house. The old mansion gave off a time-worn, somber atmosphere and was surrounded by a considerably large courtyard, masking any possibility of knowing what was going on within the walls. There were only rumors that a cranky old man that did not go outside, was the owner of the mansion.

The entrance to the safe house used a secret passage that was a little distance away from the mansion so externally, only a few servants frequently visited to manage the place.

Hugo left for the safe house late at night in order to avoid being seen by others.

The inside of the seemingly old mansion was reinforced with soundproofing. Especially down in the basement, there was no chance of any noise or racket spreading outside.

The knights standing guard in front of the room, bowed their heads when Hugo appeared. Even after the heavy stone doors were completely opened, Hugo momentarily remained still.

"Do not follow me inside."

Hugo was about enter the room then he stopped. He looked at Dean and extended a hand.

"Sword."

Dean immediately removed the sword strapped to his waist and handed it to Hugo. As Hugo held the sword and walked in, the door quickly closed behind him.

The room he entered had stone walls on all sides and it was not very spacious. The soundproofing was so thorough that one couldn't hear any sound from the inside once the door was closed.

There were two chairs in the middle of the room, facing each other. In one of them, sat Philip, with his hands tied behind his back and to the chair. And the chair, made of iron, was tightly bolted to the floor. Since thorough safety measures had been taken, the knights obediently obeyed when Hugo ordered that he would be going into the room alone.

Hugo sat down on the opposite chair. He stared at Philip, who had his head hanging low.

Philip's complexion was haggard as he slowly lifted his head. He was not hurt anywhere but he had been loaded onto a carriage, unable to rest properly the entire time, and was at the limit of his physical strength. He had a lot of endurance, but age wasn't something that could be deceived. Philip smiled faintly when he saw the cold red eyes facing him.

"It has been a long time."

"Cut the crap."

Even though Hugo's response was cold, Philip didn't care. Despite being in a situation where he was suddenly dragged away and bound up, Philip's expression was no different from usual.

Hugo knew the old man was this type of person. He expected that even moments before his neck was cut off, the old man would still look calm. Today of all days, that expression of his was very annoying.

"I'm sure you know why you're here, you bastard."

"I will know when you tell me."

Hugo pressed down his surging murderous urge to wrench off the old man's neck this instant.

"You told me to come, didn't you? Or are you saying that you blabbered all that meaninglessly?"

"No. However, there are many reasons for young master to come find me. Do you need treatment for the Madam? Or, has the Madam gotten pregnant?"