The man who had changed into the guard’s clothes walked toward the other guard. The guard who had stayed behind raised his head when he heard approaching footsteps. The sun had already set, so he could not clearly see the person coming. However, noticing the familiar uniform and similar body structure, he assumed it was his partner returning and looked away.
The man walking over was relieved when the second guard did not seem to notice he was not his real partner. He quickened his pace. Only when he stood close did the second guard sense that something was wrong.
The guard tried to take another look, but the man immediately struck him unconscious. Seeing that the plan had succeeded, Edward and the others entered to collect weapons.
"You two will stay here and continue pretending to be guards. You will go over to the kitchen," Edward pointed at the third man. "Look around and see if it’s possible for us to sneak into the kitchen to light the fire, finding the oil for fire is very important. Remember, if there are guards anywhere and you can’t sneak past them, come back and report the situation. We will wait for one hour," Prince Edward instructed.
"Then, Your Highness, you should return to your room first. It’s not safe here," one of the disguised men suggested.
"I will return and see if I can gather more people to help us," Edward replied, before leaving. He did not think that the four of them alone would be enough to plan an escape.
On his way back to his room, he nearly ran into two guards. Fortunately, he had been walking quietly noticing them first and manage to hide.
"Did you see someone just now?" one guard asked the other, thinking he had spotted a shadow.
"No, there’s no one here. Apart from the tool rooms, all the guards have moved toward the entrance, ready for action," the second replied.
"True... but I thought I saw someone. It looked like they were hiding there. Let’s check it out," the first guard insisted.
"Alright, but let’s hurry. We still need to check on the men and make sure no one has any funny ideas," the other agreed. They started walking toward Edward’s hiding spot.
Edward took a deep breath. He believed that, since he was armed, he could take down both guards quietly. However, he overheard their conversation. They were planning to check on the miners. If he killed them, the missing guards would alert others. But even if he successfully hid, they might still discover signs of his movement.
"There’s no one here," the first guard said after a quick glance. The second guard wanted to check more thoroughly, but suddenly, they heard footsteps.
"Who’s there?" they both asked, turning toward the sound.
"It’s me," a small voice whispered.
"Little medicine girl, why are you outside?" one of the guards questioned.
"Someone is injured and needs their wound cleaned with hot water. Since we can’t light a fire this evening, I came to check if the well water is warm," Dorothy explained, showing them her water bowl.
"Oh. Just remember not to make unnecessary noise and return to your room soon," the second guard said.
"Yes," Dorothy nodded and walked toward the well. Seeing her leave, the two guards turned back and continued toward the minners’ rooms.
Once Edward was sure they had walked away, he emerged from his hiding spot, intending to trace their movements before deciding on his next action.
"I knew it was you," Dorothy’s voice startled him the moment he stepped out.
"Why are you still here?" Edward quickly hid his weapon, though he remained ready to strike if necessary.
"Looking for warm water was just an excuse. I had a feeling you would try to escape, so I came to find you," Dorothy admitted, her expression sincere. This update ıs available on noveⅼfire.net
"You..." Edward became even more cautious.
"It wasn’t hard to figure out. Over the past few days, you kept asking me about different locations. I suspected you might use this opportunity," Dorothy explained, sensing his wariness.
"Are you here to tell me to abandon my plans?" he asked. Not sure he could trust her.
"No. I just want to ask if you can take me with you," Dorothy answered, she was unwilling to spend the rest of her life in a hidden mine.
Edward studied her for a moment before responding. "I have no plans to escape yet. I only took the chance to understand the environment better." With that, he started walking back toward the prisoners’ rooms.
Meanwhile, the guards had begun checking the rooms one by one. As Edward arrived, they had just exited a room and were about to check another; his room.
"This counting is taking too long. Let’s just look around. As long as nothing seems off, we can move on," one of the guards suggested confident that no one would dare escape.
"Alright. These men are usually too scared to act up. If anything was wrong, we should notice," the other agreed.
They pulled open the door. Inside, the prisoners instinctively turned toward them. A few had already fallen asleep and didn’t notice the intrusion.
Seeing nothing unusual, the guards swept the room with a menacing gaze. The prisoners quickly lowered their eyes. In truth, when the guards entered, they feared Edward had been caught and that the guards were there to use him as an example.
The guards left and proceeded to the next room.
"Could that man really have escaped?" one prisoner whispered.
"How should I know?" another replied, shaking his head.
"If he escapes, would we all be in trouble when they find out tomorrow?" a fearful prisoner asked.
"No. As long as we all stick to the story that we don’t know when he left, we should be safe," an older man in their midst assured them.
"No buts," the older man interrupted. "I have been here long enough to know their tricks. Don’t believe them if they promise to spare you in exchange for information. It’s always a trap to get us all killed."
The men exchanged glances and silently agreed to follow his advice. Just as they relaxed, the door suddenly swung open again.
Their breath hitched as they stared at the doorway.
Seeing Edward’s familiar face, they all sighed thinking that he had been caught by the guards.
Unaware of their thoughts, Edward carefully stepped inside and closed the door as quietly as possible. He had timed his return perfectly—sneaking back while the guards were inspecting the next room.
As he moved forward, a fearful prisoner suddenly spoke. "We really don’t know when he left," he blurted out, assuming the guards had brought Edward back to interrogate them.
Edward froze. He quickly covered the man’s mouth.
The older prisoner cursed internally. Answering a question before it’s even asked? That’s as good as admitting guilt!
Outside, the guards heard the sudden noise.
"What’s going on in there?" one of them asked, turning toward the door.
"Why isn’t this door locked?" the second guard muttered before quickly pulling it open, sensing that something was wrong.