That morning, Prince Edward followed the others to dig as usual. They had barely dug much when they were suddenly ordered to stop.
"You are all to drop your tools and return to your rooms as quietly as possible," one guard announced.
Prince Edward felt something was wrong. They were only given an hour of rest every day, so he couldn’t understand how they were suddenly allowed to return to their rooms barely two hours after starting work.
"Did someone really break through the hidden seal?" Prince Edward, who had deliberately been slowing down and allowing others to walk ahead, overheard one guard speaking to another.
"It’s true. I heard the watch guard delivered the news," the second guard confirmed.
Hearing this, Prince Edward was overjoyed. This meant he might finally be rescued.
"But even if someone managed to break the confusion seal this time, why are the guards being so cautious?" the other guard asked.
"There’s an army outside. If the mine is discovered, we won’t be able to fight them off. Although they’ve reached this place, as long as they can’t identify the entrance, everything should be fine," the second guard replied.
"True, but isn’t it strange for an army to come this way?"
"It is. But some soldiers already found this place before. A mine means wealth—of course, the king would try to take control," the first guard said.
They were about to continue their conversation when they suddenly realized Prince Edward seemed to be listening.
"You!" One of them immediately drew his whip and lashed toward Edward, but he dodged in time.
"Let him go. We don’t want to make unnecessary noise," a new voice spoke.
Prince Edward didn’t recognize the third voice, but he quickly hurried to join the others. Even though he wanted to escape, he knew drawing attention to himself was dangerous. If his identity were exposed and he became a hostage, he wasn’t sure he would survive.
"Your Highness, I think our rescue has finally arrived," one of the guards who had been kidnapped with Edward whispered.
"What did you hear?" Prince Edward asked.
"There’s an army outside," the guard replied.
"You should return to your room. There’s no need to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves," Prince Edward said as they continued walking.
"Your Highness, we must find a way to help the people outside identify the entrance. What if they walk past this area?" the guard suggested.
"What do you mean?" Edward frowned. Read complete versıon only at novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"I heard clearly from the guards—if we remain quiet inside, they might not be able to locate the entrance, even though they are already so close," the guard explained.
Edward didn’t like what he was hearing. As a noble prince, he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life mining and eating such terrible food.
"Then call the others. Let’s find a way to stay in the same room," Prince Edward decided after a moment. He had already noticed that most of the workers in the mine had given up on escaping. Only four of them had been kidnapped together.
"Your Highness, this will be difficult. Let’s all go into our rooms first. We can figure out a way later," the guard said before they both went their separate ways.
"How long do you think we have to remain this quiet?" someone asked.
"It depends on how long those people camp outside or search for the entrance," another person replied.
"That’s bad. Are we supposed to stay hungry during this time?" the first man asked.
"Who knows," the second man muttered.
"Don’t even think about cooking anything hot during this period. Fire is the easiest way to expose our location," another person joined the conversation.
"Who is outside?" Edward asked, pretending to be clueless.
"I heard it’s a small number of soldiers, but they seem highly skilled. They appear to be searching for the mine," the only man who sometimes spoke to Edward answered.
"Really?" Edward asked.
"Yes. Those people have been in the forest for two days. Others would have given up already, but they didn’t. They finally succeeded in breaking the confusion seal last night. This morning, they marched close to the mountain. Everyone inside knows where the exit is, but it won’t be easy for them to find it from outside," the man explained.
Prince Edward was shocked. From their conversation, it was clear these men were more informed than him, yet none of them seemed interested in escaping. Instead, they were more worried about food.
"If there’s an army outside, isn’t this our chance to escape?" Prince Edward finally voiced his thoughts. He had only been here for a few days, and he might need the cooperation of others to make a successful plan.
"Escape?" one man scoffed. "The last time someone tried that, those who managed to leave the mine were caught and brutally killed."
"What’s the difference between being killed and living ?" Edward countered. The men exchanged glances. None of them wanted to live in such misery, but death was also terrifying.
"You’re new, so you don’t understand. Listen to me—just follow the rules here. It’s better to stay alive a little longer," the man warned.
"I don’t want to live . Didn’t you say the army is searching for the mine? Before I was kidnapped, I heard the crown prince was visiting the distressed people," Prince Edward said.
"You believe every rumor you hear? The king doesn’t care about common people like us. Otherwise, so many people wouldn’t have gone missing over the years. Nothing has been done about it," the oldest man in the mine spoke up angrily.
"This is not just a rumor. Didn’t I come here for business? The day before I was kidnapped, the prince actually arrived. I also heard some soldiers had come to this area. Perhaps the king knows about the mine," Prince Edward said. He could already tell that the people in the mine had lost faith in the king.
"Could the king really be trying to find this mine?" someone asked.
"Of course. A mine means more gold and treasures—of course, he would want it," another said.
"Then could the army be from the royal city? Could it be that we will finally be rescued?" another person asked.
"Don’t dream. It’s better to stay alive. Those soldiers won’t find the entrance," the oldest man said.
"Then how about we help them find us? If the army is here for the mine, this might be our only chance to escape," Edward argued, noticing that some people still had hope.
"Don’t even think about it. The guards are brutal. Anyone who causes trouble during this time will be killed," the oldest man shook his head.
"But we outnumber the guards. If we unite, we might have a chance," Prince Edward insisted. He could tell that some of the workers were tempted by the idea of gaining their freedom.
Someone was about to respond when their door was suddenly pushed open.