Chapter 737: Prison Break

Chapter 737: Prison Break


Rhodes continued on his way after effortlessly dealing with that small, unremarkable gang. The fight hadn’t even been worth describing.


They weren’t far from the Royal Capital, and any bandits left behind would soon be picked up by the local enforcement team anyway.


The couple’s next destination was Carondom Town, located in the eastern region of the Joya Kingdom.


The King’s grant of land to the newly appointed Earl Rhodes included this town and several surrounding villages, along with their farmlands, forests, and waterways.


The total area spanned roughly 150 square kilometers.


Thanks to its proximity to Lake Sephyr to the east, the area enjoyed abundant water, fertile soil, and even potential for freshwater fishing.


Just as Jun Danton had said, it truly was the best land outside the capital.


So... why was there no bandit activity anywhere near such a prime location?


Rhodes found the answer as soon as they actually arrived.


Lake Sephyr was the largest freshwater lake on the Ishgar Continent, a brilliant "Sapphire in the Palm," resting at the continent’s very heart.


In addition to bordering the Joya Kingdom, it also touched three other countries.


The Joya Kingdom’s eastern borders were ringed by mountain ranges; apart from the western Cloverleaf Gulf, Lake Sephyr was the only area offering easy access.


As a result, merchants from neighboring nations had long used the lake’s waterways to trade goods into Joya’s interior.


These merchant convoys traveled heavily guarded. For ordinary bandits, attacking them was the same as courting death.


At the same time, this region served as a border stronghold.


Even the most arrogant nobles weren’t foolish enough to stir up trouble here, so the nearby military presence remained disciplined and strong.


Though the Joya Kingdom held a long stretch of lakeshore, Rhodes’s newly acquired fief occupied only a small, unassuming section.


Even so, bandit gangs stayed far away. Some merchant guards were too zealous, they would actually hunt down and wipe out any bandits they saw.


Rhodes and Mira entered the lively border town as ordinary travelers.


Since Rhodes had only just agreed to accept the title that morning, word hadn’t yet spread that the area would soon become an earl’s domain.


Even so, it didn’t take long for people to recognize the Ten Wizard Saint and Fiore’s former top model and most beautiful Magician.


Fame, it turned out, was quite a convenient thing, it made information-gathering effortless.


Mira’s fans were particularly enthusiastic; they practically volunteered every rumor they knew.


Back in her modeling days, Mira had mostly male fans. But after her marriage, that balance had flipped, female fans now made up the majority.


Perhaps it was because she’d married the youngest, most promising, and most handsome of the Ten Wizard Saints.


Many young women had begun to view her as a "winner in life."


Ironically, Rhodes had no idea that ever since his public reappearance after "resurrection," his frequent mentions in the papers had earned him a quiet legion of admirers of his own.


Their engagement had been six or seven years ago, after all; most of these girls had been children at the time and barely remembered it.


Unfortunately for them, his recovery and marriage had happened too quickly, before any of them could even dream of making a move, their fantasies had been crushed.


In the end, most of them simply defected to Mira’s fanbase instead.


"Miss Mira! Where did you buy your wedding dress? I saw the photos in the newspaper, it was so beautiful!"


After answering an entire barrage of questions, the starstruck fan finally asked what she truly wanted to know.


"Oh, that?" Mira smiled and told her the name of the boutique. Then, curious, she asked,


"Can you even get Fiore Kingdom newspapers all the way out here?"


"Of course!" the girl replied proudly. "Our country’s neutral, and we’re a great magical nation! We pay close attention to Fiore’s latest advances in magic technology and reform."


/


The enthusiastic fan pointed down the street.


"Look, that bookstore over there helps people in town order newspapers from Fiore!"


"I see..." Mira smiled, chatting idly with her while slipping in a few casual questions about the town.


Unfortunately, the girl was far more interested in celebrities than politics; she couldn’t say much about bandit activity or local nobles.


So Rhodes wandered over to the small bookstore, pretending to browse through books and papers while eavesdropping on a few men by the doorway "discussing politics."


After listening long enough, he felt he’d heard all he needed. He casually bought two newspapers and left.


The two spent half a day strolling around, confirming what Jun Danton had said: the town was indeed peaceful and prosperous.At least on the surface, everything matched the King’s description.


Still, to understand the real situation, they would need to see more.They planned their next day’s route, several nearby areas known for frequent bandit attacks.


When evening fell, Rhodes opened a shimmering Hex Gate, took Mira’s hand, and in the blink of an eye, they were back in the inn’s room where he had previously left a magic circle.


Mira laughed softly.


"I’m finding this magic more and more convenient."


"Right?" Rhodes tossed the newspapers onto the table, just about to raise the grand philosophical question of what to eat for dinner, when a bold headline caught his eye.


"Council Prison Raided?"


"What?!" Mira gasped. "How could that happen?"


Rhodes unfolded the paper, scanning the front page carefully.


The incident was believed to have occurred the day before yesterday: six dangerous prisoners had vanished from the Council’s main prison.


Absurdly, the disappearance had only been discovered yesterday.


The main gates had remained sealed; the keys were accounted for; the walls were completely intact. If not for the missing inmates, no one would have realized the prison had even been breached.


Initially, it was treated as a prison break.


The warden claimed that Jellal had escaped, taking with him five former members of the Oración Seis.


Though all of them had been restrained with magic-suppressing shackles, the warden believed Jellal possessed the ability to override such restraints.


However, the Trace Inspection Division later concluded it was an external jailbreak.


Someone had used an extremely rare time-based magic, first erasing part of the wall without triggering alarms, then, after extracting the prisoners, flawlessly restoring it to its original state.


There were few magicians capable of such precision. The Council’s first suspect was none other than Ultear Milkovich, formerly one of their own.


Her association with Jellal was well known, and she certainly had motive. Even though the new Council had undergone many changes, the prison itself had not; she would still know its layout.


The guards had improved their arsenal, and the fortress walls had been reinforced with high-grade enchanted materials.


Yet even the toughest construction meant nothing against Ultear’s magic.


The Council was furious.


A massive manhunt and bounty were immediately issued, but so far, there had been no results.


Mira frowned.


"Didn’t Crime Sorcière swear to never act like a Dark Guild again? Why would she break into a prison?"


Rhodes folded the newspaper, resting his chin on one hand.


"If she took Jellal, it’s probably because she still feels responsible for him. She’s said before that his sins were the result of her manipulation. Maybe she thinks rescuing him is the only way to make amends."


He didn’t want to judge whether that reasoning was right or wrong, but it was believable. She’d once spoken exactly in that tone.


Still...


"What I don’t get," Rhodes murmured, "is why she’d take the Six Generals too."


The only connection Ultear had to them was that they had all been deceived by their former master. Did she feel some twisted sense of shared fate?


Mira tried to see it from Ultear’s perspective.


"Maybe it’s because when she and Meldy fought Dark Guilds, they realized they weren’t strong enough. The Six are also people who lost their way. Maybe she hopes they can atone for their sins... like Jellal."


If one wanted to interpret things charitably, that was probably the best explanation.


But Rhodes frowned slightly. A thought struck him.


"Then what about Yukino? Can she still meet her sister now?"


...


Stones Plzz