Chapter 385 - - 382 Duge Super Honest_1

—————✧✧✧✧—————

“Where is Saima Lynch?” a rugged voice came from the cell next door. “Holley, I don’t believe in such a thing as pure eyes, and I’m even less inclined to believe a noble has a conscience, unless you tell me the rumors about Saima Lynch.”

“Li En, shut up.” Feeling his profession was being questioned, Simon angrily rebuked.

“Only a fool like you would believe the stories he made up.” Li En sneered, “Fool, can’t you see he’s just toying with you? The function of a Martial Spirit of foreknowledge isn’t what he says, and besides, I have never heard of someone awakening half a Martial Spirit…”

Simon’s eyes turned suspiciously towards Duge.

Duge smiled: “Li En, you could try moving half a step to the side.”

“Why should I listen to you?” Li En said.

Before he finished speaking.

Smack!

Li En cried out in surprise: “What is that?”

“Li En, if you had listened to me just now, that piece of peeling wall wouldn’t have landed on your head,” Duge continued with a smile.

Thanks to Simon, his divine consciousness covered several nearby cells, allowing him to have a clear view of the layout of the cells.

The cold, damp prison cell walls were covered with droplets of water. With Duge’s current ability to control water, manipulating these droplets to cause a piece of the wall to fall was easier than ever.

Suddenly, Li En stopped talking on the other side.

Curious, Simon went over and glanced into Li En’s cell, his eyes widening in shock.

Li En’s head and one shoulder were sprinkled with dust; the wall skin right above his head had conveniently fallen off.

Pieces of wall peeling off were common in the prison, but for Duge to have predicted it was unusual.

At that moment.

Li En was staring blankly at the fallen wall skin above his head, obviously stunned by Duge’s predictive ability.

“Now you believe me!” A small prank had proven his words were not false, and although the righteousness attribute had somewhat diminished silently, Duge was quite satisfied with his masterpiece and didn’t care about this minor loss.

“Mr. Holley, you indeed can foresee danger,” Simon returned, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked towards Duge.

“What happened just now was not danger. I usually don’t pay attention to things like that,” Duge smiled. “Moreover, I must correct you, I don’t foresee danger, I just predict the imminent disasters that will befall people.”

“What’s the deal with Saima Lynch?” Li En’s voice came again, “If she is really as you say, a promiscuous woman, why would you save her?”

Duge fell silent for a moment, then said, “If Saima Lynch’s adulterous affair were to be discovered by Prince Nelson, in a fit of rage, he would inadvertently kill her. With the loss of his beloved daughter, Duke Linqi would start a rebellion, leading to widespread devastation across the kingdom of Lucerne and countless families would be destroyed.”

“…” Simon.

“…” Li En.

“But once I take all the disasters upon myself, then none of this will happen,” Duge’s tone remained calm, as if he was discussing something unrelated to him, “I not only saved Saima Lynch but also countless families. The price paid was merely my own life.”

“And your family,” Simon added quietly.

“Compared with the devastation of the kingdom of Lucerne, the sacrifice of the Allos family is worth it,” Duge said with a smile. “I believe my father would understand me.”

“Damn! I still can’t believe there is a noble with a good heart like you in this world,” Li En said angrily, yet the attributes Duge gained had already proved to him that Duge was a man of integrity.

“Whether you believe me or not is completely unimportant to me, nor am I trying to prove myself to you,” Duge said. “I told you all this just to feel a bit more at ease. Now that I’m done, I feel much better. Simon, you can go back and rest, don’t worry, I won’t make any more noise.”

Simon, however, did not move but looked at Duge and said, “Mr. Holley, a person like you shouldn’t just die like this.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me. I believe you are a decent noble,” came Li En’s voice from next door, increasingly irritated. “If those damn dogs hadn’t sealed my Martial Spirit, I would risk my life to rescue you from this prison. You don’t deserve to die for that dirty slut or this filthy country…”

“Li En, don’t complain about this country,” Duge smiled, “Ignore those dirty nobles, and observe the world with your heart, and you’ll find there are still many beautiful things and many people worth protecting.”

“Ha!” Li En sneered with disdain, “Only fools like you would still believe in the goodness of the world. It’s fucking unbelievable, the utterly evil Holley is actually a good man, that alone is enough to overturn my worldview. Rest assured, Holley, if I ever make it out alive, I will personally take down that bitch Saima Lynch…”

“There’s no need for that,” Duge said, “After this ordeal, she should have changed for the better. We must give everyone a chance to reform.”

“But did they give you one?” Li En asked, “When you’re executed tomorrow, there must be many people applauding, including those you’ve helped.”

“What does my helping them have to do with them? Expecting gratitude from them is irrelevant, as they can’t save me. Why should they live with guilt their whole lives?

“Rather than that, it’s better to let them watch the death of the evildoer who oppressed them before their eyes, and then live happily ever after.” Duge smiled, “All I seek is a clear conscience.”

Li En was stunned for a while before he cursed with two words: “Idiot.”

Then.

Perhaps realizing he couldn’t help much in this matter, he simply fell silent.

“Sigh!” A sigh came from another cell, “This world really isn’t suitable for good people to live in, Holley, I admire you, but I’ll never be someone like you.”

“Li En is right, he’s an idiot,” another cell offered its own verdict, “I have nothing to say, just wait for death!”

Duge’s attributes had been steadily increasing, and it must be said, the new persona he’d crafted for himself had taken root among those around him.

At least in the hearts of these criminals, he was now a man of integrity.

…

At that moment.

Simon, who had been silent for a long time, seemed to have made up his mind as he suddenly took the keys from his waist and started unlocking Duge’s cell door: “Mr. Holley, you shouldn’t die here, I’m going to let you leave…”

“Good man, Simon,” Li En said, “I salute you as a hero.”

“Simon, you don’t have to do this,” Duge said, pressing on Simon’s hand through the cell door as he was unlocking it.

“Why?” Simon asked, “It’s midnight now, soon I will distract the other prison guards, no one will know you left.”

“If I wanted to leave, this prison couldn’t stop me,” Duge smiled, letting go of Simon’s hand, and grasped the cell door, exerting a slight force.

In the grating, tooth-aching sound, the bars of the cell door were bent open.

“This…” Simon stood there, dumbstruck.

“Now you see,” Duge said through the hole big enough for a person to pass, looking at Simon on the other side, “Awakening even half a Martial Spirit is still an awakening. Although I might seem like an ordinary person, in reality, under the influence of the Martial Spirit, I have great strength. This cell can’t hold me…”

“Why aren’t you leaving?” Simon swallowed and asked, stunned, “You’re sentenced to death.”

“If I leave, what will become of you?” Duge looked at Simon, continuing to display his integrity, “All of you will be questioned by Duke Linqi, and my conscience won’t allow me to leave.”

Having said that.

He bent the bars back in place, but perhaps due to faulty craftsmanship, the bar snapped with a ‘crack’ as it was restored to its original position.

Then.

Duge’s attributes rose yet again.

“…” Simon looked at Duge, feeling something stuck in his chest, speechless for a long while. If before he had a trace of doubt, now he was thoroughly convinced that Duge was a good person, always considering others first.

“Idiot!” Li En’s curse came from the side with a touch of irritability, “How could there possibly be an idiot like you in this world?”

“I’ve offended Duke Linqi, Prince Nelson, and many nobles who admire Saima Lynch. Even if I escape from prison, where could I go?” Duge sighed, “Indeed, I could easily run away, but my father, my clansmen, they would all suffer because of me!”

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦