The straw-covered floor was filled with the smell of urine, and the chamber pot used for relieving himself was cracked and could not be used, but no one took care of it. There were no windows, no beds, and it was pitch black in the dark dungeon, so dark that you couldn't even see your fingers.
The sounds were the rustling and hissing of rats.
Holding a torch, Pavel came to the deepest dungeon alone. He carefully walked through the corridor filled with excrement, and used the torch to light the oil lamp on the wall. Under the flickering light of the kerosene lamp, Pavel could clearly see the appearance of the dungeon.
There are at least forty or fifty separate cells densely scattered here, all surrounded by huge iron bars. According to her mother Catalina, this is where various political prisoners and battlefield fugitives are detained. Basically no one cares about them.
The jailer would come and deliver a cold meal every day and then leave, leaving the prisoners to fend for themselves.
Well...it is indeed self-destruction. Pavel saw more than one skeleton scattered in many cells. Presumably those prisoners have died here for many years, and the corpses have all rotted away. Because of this, the dungeon has become a place for rats.
of delicious dining spots.
For the pampered prince, he really couldn't imagine how people could survive in such an environment. If it weren't for pursuing the truth, he would never come here.
"General Vladimir."
Pavel called softly, but there was no response. There was only the sound of a few mice chirping in the corner. Pavel was very disgusted with this kind of creature, and even a little afraid. All creatures in the dark made him feel uneasy.
"Vladimir..."
He called again, but still no response.
With the help of the weak firelight, Pavel continued to move forward, and finally, at the end of the corridor, he saw the deep cell. Two frail figures in the cage were vaguely visible.
"General Vladimir..."
He called out again. This time, there was finally a response. In the dark cage, the man stood up. His long, messy hair was untied and exuded a stench. His clothes were also in tatters, with some residue left on him.
Some kind of indescribable odor. But the man's eyes were still sharp and sharp. He stood there, looking at Pavel calmly, even indifferently.
The cleanly dressed prince carefully approached, opened the iron door of the cell, and walked to the middle of the cell. He put the torch on the wall, but found that there was no place to sit. There was no bed or table where Vladimir and his son were imprisoned.
chair.
"What are you doing here? Your Highness."
Vladimir looked at the cleanly dressed Prince Pavel and asked in a low voice. There was almost no expression on his face.
"Come to see you, great general; and I want to know something from you. Something that no one dares to mention."
Pavel said seriously. He saw the boy beside him squatting on the ground, staring at him with a pair of dark eyes. This darkness seemed to be integrated into the dungeon. The darkness swallowed it up, but gave him the ability to see the world clearly.
bright.
"Ask, Your Highness."
Despite being persecuted by Catalina, the queen is the queen and the prince is the prince. Vladimir knows that he cannot be angry with his son because of what the Snow Queen has done. He can pinch Pavel to death here, but
This makes no sense and is not what chivalry does.
"You've faced a vampire before, right?"
Pavel asked. His eyes stared at the weather-beaten noble general, with curiosity and sympathy in his eyes.
"Yes, I have faced a lot."
Vladimir replied calmly.
"When was the last time?"
Pavel asked.
"During the rebellion in Elengrad, I once led my troops to exterminate a group of ghouls. Their leader was a vampire."
"You know what they look like, right?"
Pavel asked questions step by step.
Vladimir nodded.
The smell of the cell made Pavel feel suffocated. His stomach was churning, as if he was about to vomit out everything he had eaten for lunch.
"So what do they look like?"
Pavel asked, enduring the stench.
"Horrifying and bloody, vampires' fangs can bite the throat of any animal, and their claws can tear through armor and shields. But this is when they are angry. Normally, they are no different from ordinary people."
Vladimir maintained his decorum and returned calmly.
Pavel fell into deep thought. For a long time, the air became quiet, and only the crackling sound was made when the flame burned the grease.
He finally spoke again——
"There are rumors that my mother, Catalina, is a vampire? Do you know about this rumor?"
Pavel's face was very ugly. Vladimir instantly understood that the prince was not here to ask for help. His real purpose was to seek the truth. After all, this truth was buried layer by layer. When Duke Cohen rebelled, all witnesses
The perpetrators were all killed inexplicably, and some went crazy. People talked about it in private, but it was quickly suppressed by the secret police, and no one dared to mention it again.
"I know." Vladimir took a deep breath. He didn't know whether the prince in front of him had the ability to shoulder the burden of saving his country, but he still chose to let him know the truth. After all, if he didn't tell him, the truth might be revealed.
I want to be buried with him in this deep underground prison.
"Katerina is indeed a vampire. During the decisive battle with Rhodes, I met Randyll."
Vladimir's deep voice echoed in the dark dungeon, like a ghost.
"Are you talking about the Grand Duke Landao who was captured by Rhodes last year?"
"Yes, that's him. He revealed his true face as a vampire. He is your mother's most trusted assistant, and you know their relationship. Going back to the Oerengrad rebellion, Duke Cohen once led the troops to siege Bingxue Dong.
Palace, at the most critical moment, an army of the undead rushed out of the magic academy and headed straight for Cohen's knights. Do you think these two things are coincidences?"
After Vladimir finished speaking, Pavel fell silent. He thought about the worst result, but when this result was nakedly placed in front of him, he still couldn't accept it. The mother he had trusted for twenty years turned out to be a vampire...
The conflicts of those years and his mother's cold attitude all flooded into Pavel's mind at this moment. He was thinking, struggling, not wanting to believe it but had to believe it. Connecting this series of events, the result was so obvious.
.
"Vladimir, I will save you, I promise."
After the shock and grief, Pavel recovered. He made a promise to the man in front of him and glanced at the boy sitting in the dunghill.
"Your name is Boris, right?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Boris stood up slowly and answered calmly.
"You will get out of here too, I promise."
After Pavel finished speaking, he picked up the torch and hurried away. Vladimir and his son were left standing there. They did not expect the Prince of Kislev to really do anything. If he really could, he would have done it long ago.