Framon and the nobles had nowhere left to escape.
Hans and the guards had sealed the passage behind them, while Javier stood several meters ahead with Alaric and the remaining hunters blocking the only path forward.
The narrow stone tunnel suddenly felt much smaller than before.
Torchlight flickered restlessly along the damp walls, stretching the shadows of armed men across the stone as Framon’s hand slowly tightened around the hilt of his sheathed sword.
He glanced from one side of the corridor to the other, measuring the distance between himself and the hunters surrounding him.
Even he understood that drawing his weapon now would be no different from choosing his own death.
“Don’t even think about fighting, Framon.” Javier drew his sword with a quiet metallic sound and directed the blade toward him.
His posture remained steady, without the slightest sign that he intended to rush forward, yet the warning in his voice left little doubt about what would happen if Framon resisted.
Framon stared at the blade for a moment before clicking his tongue and looking away.
“Tch…” He released a slow breath before turning toward Gardo.
“Gardo.”
“I’m sorry, Lord Framon.” Gardo immediately lowered his head, forcing nervousness into his expression.
“I never expected the Crown Prince to have planned all of this behind my back.”
Framon said nothing.
His eyes narrowed as the events of the past few days began arranging themselves differently in his mind.
Dolan’s confession should have been enough.
The Crown Prince should have accepted the man as the culprit and ended his investigation there.
Did Dolan tell him the truth?
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.
No…
he wouldn’t dare.
A colder possibility settled in his mind, and Framon’s expression darkened.
That damn Prince knew from the beginning that Dolan was innocent.
“Just surrender, Framon,” Javier said.
“You will answer for your crimes according to the laws of the kingdom.”
For several seconds, Framon simply stared at him.
Then his shoulders began to tremble.
A laugh escaped his throat, low at first before growing loud enough to echo through the underground passage.
“HAHAHAHAHA!” Several of the hunters tightened their grips on their weapons, but Framon continued laughing until he finally lowered his head again.
A wide grin had spread across his face.
“Punish me? Do you really think this is going to be that simple?”
Javier gave him no answer.
Framon straightened his coat and brushed the dust from one sleeve, behaving as though the armed men surrounding him had suddenly become irrelevant.
“Do you even know who owns this place?” His smile remained as he lifted his chin.
“I’m merely someone who works under him.”
“Count Luiss Vyloria.”
The name left Javier’s mouth before Framon could say it himself.
A subtle uneasiness moved through the nobles gathered behind him.
Count Luiss Vyloria was among the most influential nobles in the Kingdom of Sylvaris, possessing wealth that few families could rival and military forces loyal directly to him.
His connections reached deep into the royal court, and his political influence was enough to make even powerful nobles consider their actions carefully before opposing him.
For years, rumors had also connected his name to the Underworld, though few had ever possessed enough evidence or courage to accuse him openly.
Framon’s surprise lasted only a moment before his grin returned.
“So you already know. Good. That makes this much easier.” He deliberately allowed a short silence to pass before continuing.
“But perhaps there’s something you don’t know. Count Luiss isn’t merely one of the kingdom’s most powerful nobles. He is also very close to His Majesty the King.” His confidence gradually returned as he watched Javier.
“So tell me, Crown Prince. Do you still intend to punish me?”
Javier did not answer.
He stood with his sword lowered slightly at his side, his face revealing nothing as the torch flames continued flickering around him.
The silence lasted long enough for Framon’s smile to grow, and behind the gathered hunters, Elena felt her fingers slowly curl into her palms.
Why isn’t he saying anything?
The confidence she had placed in Javier began to waver.
Only the previous night, he had stood before her and promised that he would rebuild Srivi, that he would not hide behind palace walls while its people suffered.
She had believed him.
Against every instinct built from years of disappointment, she had trusted his words and given him the route into the Underworld.
Now a single name had silenced him.
So…
he’s the same.
Elena lowered her gaze as an old bitterness returned.
Nobles, officials, royalty; their titles changed, but when someone more powerful stood before them, survival always came first.
She had been foolish enough to believe that Javier might somehow be different.
I’m such a fool…
The faces of her younger siblings surfaced in her mind.
She remembered their small hands and frightened eyes, along with the promises she had made before they were taken from her.
They were the reason she had endured everything.
The threats, humiliation and every task the Underworld had forced upon her had been endured for one purpose: keeping them alive long enough for her to bring them home.
Elena closed her eyes as her breathing began to tremble.
I’m sorry…
I still haven’t been able to get you out of there.
Her fingers shook slightly at her sides.
If I fail this time…
please forgive me.
“Alaric.”
Javier’s voice suddenly broke the silence.
Elena opened her eyes.
Alaric stepped forward immediately.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Read out their charges.”
There was no hesitation in Javier’s voice.
Framon’s smile faltered as Alaric reached inside his coat and removed a folded document.
He opened it carefully before facing the criminals trapped before them.
“Framon Donius and the nobles involved in this operation will be charged with human trafficking, bribery, embezzlement of royal funds, abuse of power, unlawful dealings within the Underworld, and the illegal production and distribution of prohibited substances.” Alaric paused briefly as several nobles lowered their heads.
“They will also answer for their actions against the authority placed over Srivi by the Crown.”
Framon’s expression slowly changed.
Alaric lowered the document slightly.
“Under the authority granted to the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Sylvaris and in accordance with the laws of the kingdom, Framon Donius shall be sentenced to death on the spot.”
“What…?”
The color drained from Framon’s face.
“WHAT?!” He stumbled backward before quickly regaining his balance.
“How dare you?!” He pointed toward Javier, his voice rising through the corridor.
“Have you lost your mind?! Count Luiss will never allow this! If you kill me, you’ll regret it! Do you really think he will simply stand by and watch a Crown Prince execute one of his men?!”
“Enough.”
The single word silenced the passage.
Framon’s mouth remained slightly open as Javier lowered his sword and began walking toward him.
His footsteps echoed clearly against the stone floor, each measured step closing the distance between them.
Framon instinctively moved backward until there was almost nowhere left for him to go.
“As long as Srivi remains under my authority, every life in this city is under my protection.” Javier stopped several steps away from him.
His voice was quiet, but unlike Framon’s, it needed no shouting to command the tunnel.
“The people starving in its streets. The children being sold beneath them. The Elves forced to produce your drugs. Every one of them.”
Framon clenched his teeth.
“You think you can go against Count Luiss just because you’re the Crown Prince?!”
“Whether they are nobles, commoners or people forced to survive in the Underworld, the law does not cease to exist because someone powerful decides it should.” Javier slowly raised his sword again.
“Those who break it will answer for what they have done.”
“And you think you can simply do whatever you want?!”
Javier turned his face directly toward Framon’s voice.
“I did not come to Srivi to bow my head to nobles, and I certainly did not come here to ask for their approval.”
The tip of his sword settled toward Framon’s chest.
“If someone threatens the people placed under my protection, I will stand against them. Their title will not change that.” Javier’s fingers tightened around the hilt.
“A noble, a commoner, a Count…” He paused, but only briefly.
“…or even a King.”
No one spoke.
Even the faint crackling of the torches seemed louder in the silence that followed.
“If they choose to threaten the people of Srivi, then I will judge them by their actions, not by the name they carry.” Javier lowered the blade slightly.
“I am the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Sylvaris, but here in Srivi, that title means nothing if I cannot protect the people entrusted to me.”
Elena stared at him.
The doubt that had taken hold of her moments earlier slowly disappeared.
Javier’s silence had never been fear.
He had simply never considered Count Luiss’s name an answer to the crimes standing before him.
Behind Javier, Hans had watched the entire exchange without moving.
His eyes remained fixed upon the blindfolded prince as the words settled in his mind.
He had seen enough of the world to understand how easily powerful people treated ordinary lives as disposable.
Nobles used those beneath them when they were useful and abandoned them when they were not.
Even those who spoke of justice often discovered reasons to remain silent when the person standing opposite them possessed enough wealth or influence.
Javier had been given that opportunity.
He had refused it.
Hans’s fingers slowly curled at his side.
Until now, Javier had merely been the blind Crown Prince he had agreed to accompany, someone whose intentions he was still trying to understand.
Yet standing in that underground corridor, surrounded by criminals and nobles who believed their names placed them beyond consequence, Javier had shown exactly what kind of man he intended to become.
He was not protecting his position or reputation.
He was willing to place both at risk for people who could offer him nothing in return.
Hans lowered his gaze for a moment before looking toward Javier again.
Something had changed.
For the first time, he found himself thinking that perhaps this was not merely a prince worth protecting.
Perhaps Javier was someone worth standing beside.