Chapter : 153. Neat Resolution
Screeeech. The rusty iron gate opened with an unpleasant noise.
Elise descended the stairs. Each time the lantern she held flickered, the shadow behind her shifted.
The basement prison still reeked of mold. Over it, another faint smell lingered—urine.
Elise wrinkled her nose and looked at the limp Iris.
No… it wasn’t just Iris. Her arms and legs had gone weak and hung down, but her body was pulled taut by the shackle around her neck.
Elise scanned Iris from head to toe.
Completely unconscious, drool streamed from the slightly parted lips and fell into the yellow puddle between Iris’s legs.
Drip, drip.
Elise frowned at the grotesque sight.
“Iris.”
Iris twitched.
“Get up, Iris.”
Would a splash of cold water wake her?
Elise didn’t want to go through the trouble of going upstairs just to wake her.
She picked up a small stone rolling on the floor. Tossing it into the air and catching it repeatedly, she finally swung her hand toward Iris.
“Ugh.”
Finally, Iris regained consciousness. Startled, she flailed and suddenly opened her eyes.
“Gasp!”
Her chest heaved violently. Even breathing seemed painful, her face contorted in agony.
“Did you rest well?”
Elise tapped on the bars and asked.
“Rest… well? Are you crazy?”
Iris’s voice was broken. Elise shrugged.
“Still can’t grasp the situation? Should I come back later?”
Iris bit her lower lip. Blood droplets formed on her lips crusted with dried blood.
“You… if I just get out…”
“Still saying that? What can you do if you get out? Is there anyone who can help you?”
“My father… my mother… and the Ivory Tower… Prince Chase…”
Whether she was naive from being spoiled or her mind had frozen in the crisis, Iris was still living in a fantasy.
“You were kicked out of the Wharton family. Your father outright declared that you are not his child.”
“What?”
Iris’s pupils trembled. It was too early for her to be shocked.
Elise raised the corner of her mouth.
“The Ivory Tower? Amber, who had been supporting you, lost her qualifications as a sage and her magic was sealed. Do you think it would be any different for you? Amber claims that everything she did was because she was deceived by you.”
Even the Ivory Tower abandoned Iris.
“And Chase…”
“Yes, I still have Chase. If I just call Chase…”
“Don’t you remember? Or are you pretending not to? Chase gave you to me. He said I could do as I wish with you. Don’t you know what that means?”
“That can’t be… Chase is my fiancé…”
Iris’s eyes went unfocused. She repeated hollowly, “That can’t be.”
“Your fiancé? You abandoned him first.”
“No! I never abandoned Chase. I… I… him…”
Cornered, she even tried to manipulate her own memory.
Elise cut through Iris’s nonsense.
“Do you want to live?”
Iris nodded. But it was only a gesture—she barely moved, shackled as she was.
“L-Live… I’ll do anything. Just let me live… everything!”
“Tell the truth.”
“What truth?”
Iris immediately grew wary. Even in her fading consciousness, she instinctively knew that confessing everything she had done would mean death.
Her clinging to life was admirable, at least.
“You don’t need to tell everything. Just tell me what Chase did. He wasn’t trying to shoot you, right?”
Iris blinked. Elise waited calmly until she understood what she meant.
Once Iris realized it would benefit her, things would move quickly.
A glimmer of realization crossed Iris’s eyes.
“Yes! You’re right. Chase tried to kill Prince David! He told me many times that Prince David annoyed him.”
Just as Elise expected.
“I’m a witness. I’ll tell everything. In front of His Majesty Langley, or Prince David! Everything! I can tell it all.”
“Really?”
“W-What do you mean?”
Iris was afraid her precious opportunity would be taken away. She glanced at Elise.
“Really? Can you take responsibility for what you said?”
“I-I can! It’s true. I’ll prove it with everything I have.”
Elise smirked. How could she “stake everything” when she had nothing?
“Good. I’ll remember that.”
“Wait!”
As Elise tried to leave, Iris grabbed her urgently.
“You’re just going to leave like this?”
“Is there a problem?”
“You said you’d testify. Elise, I’ll testify. Please get me out.”
Iris was still foolish. She couldn’t grasp the situation.
“Don’t demand anything from me. This isn’t a trade between you and me.”
Elise responded coldly and quickly left. The basement prison was no place for her.
Elise relayed to Karan and Hartwin what Iris had agreed to testify.
“We won’t blindly trust Iris, Elise,” said Hartwin.
“Right. But she won’t be able to corner us either. Chase will also be caught in a dilemma.”
“To resolve this properly, Prince David must wake up,” Hartwin said. It was what everyone hoped for. Concern over David stalled the conversation.
“Leber is doing his best. He’ll surely wake up,” Elise added.
At that moment,
“Elise! Elise!”
Leber burst into the room shouting.
“Leber, what happened?”
Leber was crying. He clasped his trembling hands tightly and sank to his knees, sobbing.
“Could it be… something happened to Prince David?”
Elise tried to move, but Karan quickly held her to prevent her from collapsing in shock.
But Elise didn’t collapse.
“No, it’s not that… he’s awake! And he recognizes people! Ahhh!”
David had awakened. Leber’s sobbing was tears of joy.
Elise’s shoulders, tense until then, dropped. She leaned against Karan’s chest.
“Elise, let’s go.”
Elise nodded with her eyes closed.
“Leber, can we see Prince David?”
Hartwin helped Leber to his feet. Leber nodded repeatedly, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Yes, yes. You can see him. But first, wash your hands thoroughly.”
Overwhelmed, Leber sniffled constantly.
“But don’t startle him. And, uh, you can’t talk much yet. He needs to regain strength first.”
Elise and Karan took Leber’s warnings seriously and headed to David’s room.
When they opened the door, David lay on a white bed.
His face was pale, his torso wrapped in bandages, and potion bottles dangled from his body.
They had cut into his flesh and sewn up his organs. Elise shivered at the thought.
“Ah, Eli… ugh.”
David tried to sit up but clutched his stomach and buried his head back into the pillow.
Even the slightest pressure on his abdomen caused pain.
“Don’t get up, Your Highness!”
Elise said urgently. Leber, who had entered slightly later, hurried to feed him some pain-relieving herbs.
Having experienced similar situations before, David chewed and swallowed the herbs diligently.
The pain relief worked quickly. Though still sweating, David’s face relaxed considerably.
“Sorry for showing such a pathetic side,” David muttered weakly.
Elise and Karan stood about five steps away from the bed.
Only after washing their hands in a basin brought by the servant could they approach David.
Up close, his face looked even worse.
“Seeing your expression, Elise, you understand my condition. Is it really that serious?”
“No. You look amazing.”
Elise, her throat tight, coughed nervously before answering.
“You’d be in trouble if you fell for him, Prince Karan is scary.”
David’s recovery was remarkable—not only due to Leber’s skill but also his strong mental fortitude.
Even joking after waking up from surgery showed how resilient he was.
“You mustn’t speak too much,” Leber warned. David, knowing Leber saved his life, obeyed quietly.
David felt like giving everything he had to Leber.
“How do things stand now?”
David asked. Karan explained briefly.
“Chase… ultimately… made the wrong choice.”
“Does that bother you?”
Elise asked. David let out a small laugh. Even that minor movement caused pain, making him wrinkle his nose.
“No, not at all. Actually, it’s relieving. I expected this outcome.”
David stared into space with a troubled expression.
“What will you do?”
David asked.
“What do you want to do?”
Elise returned the question. David turned to her, his expression finally relaxed as if his mind was made up.
“I want to resolve this neatly.”
“I knew you would. Your Highness, focus on recovering. You’ll need to take part in the upcoming suppression battle.”
He would end things with Chase.
David closed his eyes in agreement.
