Imperial Prison

Raymond carried the sleeping form of Lyla outside the bathroom. She looked as if she had been run over by a war chariot. Her hair was dishevelled and her cheeks were flushed red. Her previously unblemished body was full of red spots that were left behind by Raymond's mouth working on it, leaving behind love marks. Raymond didn't know how to explain himself under the questioning gaze of Jasmine.

"Master, is she allergic to you? Why is her body covered in rashes?"

Raymond shot a glare in her direction as he suggested:

"Hehe, come inside the bathroom with me, I will show you what happened to her."

Jasmine shook her head frantically, finding his tone quite eerie.

"No, no, no, I am fine here! Some things are better left unknown."

Ignoring Jasmine, he gently placed Lyla on the soft bed before tucking her inside the blanket. Looking at the peacefully sleeping figure of Lyla, Raymond sighed:

"Why did she suddenly enter the bathroom like that?"

Raymond asked aloud, now that his little brother was resting after a long battle, he was back to thinking with his brain.

"Who knows? Maybe she wanted to help you wash up..."

Jasmine trailed off as she averted her eyes from his scrutinising gaze.

"Hmmm, I see…that's how it is!"

Raymond had a good idea of what might have happened here after he entered the bathroom. A small smile tugged at his lips looking at Jasmine.

'Looks like she is already treating Lyla as family.'

Raymond thought. If she wasn't okay with Lyla, she wouldn't have sent her into the bathroom like that. It wasn't all that surprising for Raymond considering how both of them pretty much shared the same childhood trauma.

"Ahem, Master! I need to meditate."

"Okay," Raymond added before heading outside. "I will be in the canteen if you need anything."

He exited the room, making his way down to the ground floor where the canteen was located. He hadn't eaten breakfast for the day, and since it was lunch time he decided to have a hearty meal.

But just as he descended the stairs, he saw Sasha practically running in his direction from the main door of the inn, with worry written all over her face.

"Miss Sasha, what brings you here?"

Raymond asked curiously. It had been more than a week since he had gone to the guild and met Sasha.

Looking at Raymond's cheerful face, Sasha's worries ceased a bit.

"Ahh! Good timing, Ray, I was looking for you!"

Sasha chirped, giving him a firm handshake.

"Oh! What's the matter? Did you come across any bounty missions?"

Sasha was just about to blurt out about the new mission she had for him but looking around the place and finding it was a bit crowded, she pulled him outside the inn.

"Shhh! Come with me, I have something to tell you in private!"

Raymond narrowed his eyes, she was acting kind of suspicious. He followed her outside to a back alley behind the inn. Without wasting a second, she took out the fake poster from her spatial ring and shoved it in his hands.

"Here, take a look at this poster. What do you think? Can you do it?"

Raymond was puzzled by her actions, if it was just about a mission then there was no need to act so secretive. But soon the nerve on his forehead twitched incessantly looking at the details of the mission.

"What the hell? It tells nothing about the guy! How am I supposed to find him?"

Raymond wanted to refuse, thinking it was a waste of time. He would rather romance his two girls than do this mission that had all the possibilities of failure.

'Damn! But that reward…'

"Please, Ray. You have to help me on this one. He's not just anybody, but my close friend," Sasha pleaded. "I have promised his parents that I will find him before the Phoenix festival!"

It left a bad taste in her mouth every time she lied to him but she had to keep up this act until she got her father's permission or else she would have told him about her background and who she was by now.

"Look, Miss Sasha. It's not that I don't want to help you but this mission is really hard. We will be wasting our time by taking up this task without sufficient information."

Sasha pursed her lips in contemplation, Raymond's words made sense but she couldn't give up on her brother either. After thinking for a few seconds, she added:

"How about this? I will give you half of the money from my pockets if you seriously try to look for my friend and if you somehow manage to find him then you can take the total reward money for yourself!

"Either way, you're going to get the money, what do you think?"

"Really?!"

Raymond's eyes bulged. This was too good to be true. She was basically throwing money at him to do the work and Raymond was ready to welcome it with his open arms.

"Yeah, will you help me now?"

"Fine, I will help you. But wait a second here, I will go inform Jasmine."

With that, he ran inside the inn excitedly. After instructing Jasmine to look after Lyla, he exited the inn and met up with Sasha again.

He wasn't too worried about Jasmine and Lyla since they were in the secured part of the city and moreover, Lyla was a Martial King, so it would be highly unlikely something happened to them when he was absent.

But still, he would check upon them from time to time. It would only take a few seconds for him to come back here with his ungodly speed. Raymond had learned his lesson from the last time when he had left Jasmine alone in pursuit of Mobi, he wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

"So, Miss Sasha, where do we start from?"

Raymond asked, following her along as she led him through the busy midday streets of the Capital.

"According to what I know, he has gone missing somewhere near the outside of the city," Sasha spoke animatedly. "He must be somewhere in the surrounding landmass, we can start looking from there."

Her feet halted on the cobblestone path as if she had remembered something.

"That's right! How did I forget about him?"

"Huh? Who?"

"Mobi!" Sasha exclaimed, with hope shining in her eyes. "He knows all the landmarks outside the Capital like the back of his hands, if we ask him we might be able to get some leads!"

"Come with me, quick!"

Sasha grabbed his hands and dragged him towards the Imperial Prison where high-profiled criminals were locked up.

*******

Imperial Prison, Western Part of the Capital City…

The Imperial Prison stood as a formidable structure, steeped in darkness and despair. Surrounded by towering black stone walls, its imposing presence commanded obedience and instilled fear in those who saw it. Built with sturdy masonry and guarded by golden armoured sentinels, it was a fortress of confinement, a symbol of the power and control exerted by the Imperial Family.

"Woah! This looks creepy!"

Raymond uttered looking at the majestic yet eerie walls of the Imperial Prison. The menacing faces of the guards were enough to give nightmares to children.

As if used to their attitude, Sasha walked to a nearby guard who was guarding the rusty gate with a long spear and a diamond-shaped shield in his hands.

"What do you want, missy?" The guard asked in a surly mood. Sweat trickled down his forehead due to the heat of the afternoon sun.

"Ahem! I am here on behalf of the Mercenary Guild. I need to question a prisoner for my mission. His name is Mobi and he was caught by us during…"

Sasha explained to him how the said prisoner was actually caught by them as a part of their previous mission and showed him the details of that bounty mission.

After looking through the details helplessly, the guard finally nodded, not before checking their Mercenary Badge.

"Alright! You can go. But you have only 10 minutes to do your thing," the guard spoke in his raspy voice. "If you are not back within that time frame, jejeje, you will have to stay inside for a week!"

Sasha didn't know whether to laugh or cry. These walls belonged to her family and this guy was threatening to lock her up.

"Err…whatever. Ray! Come with me."

She gestured for Raymond to follow her and strode inside the place as if she owned it.

Raymond too was excited to see the insides of the infamous Imperial Prison. Many commoners often talked about how a person wouldn't be the same after spending a few days in this prison.

There was also another reason for him to be looking forward to this visit. He was going to meet Mobi. Raymond cracked his knuckles in anticipation thinking about beating the shit out of him for giving him all those counterfeit products.