Chapter 7: The Rabbit Hole Dungeon

How long had it been?

This was Levi’s first thought as he was dragged and thrown into the dungeon.

This wasn’t a prison for convicted criminals, but rather a dungeon used by the constabulary to detain suspects.

Before his official incarceration, he had spent an indeterminate amount of time—whether mere hours or an entire day—in a small room within the constabulary.

There, someone had gone through the motions of an interrogation. However, the process lacked any semblance of formality, devolving instead into a session of private torture before his alleged crimes were finally declared.

He stood accused of involvement in two heinous crimes, with the charges detailing home invasion, the defilement of women, and malicious assault resulting in death.

These accusations were clearly fabricated, plucked from the constabulary’s backlog of unsolved cases and unjustly pinned upon him.

Unsurprisingly, he refused to confess. In response, the constable ordered the guards to bind him to a chair, subjecting him to a brutal beating. They even pierced his right foot with a red-hot sword, effectively crippling him.

Levi lay motionless on the dungeon floor.

One of his eyes had already lost its sight. The wound on his right foot remained untreated, and a persistent ache gnawed at his side, leaving him uncertain which internal organ had been damaged.

He was certain his capture was directly linked to the assault on Camilla.

What truly surprised him, however, was the swiftness of his apprehension. He had departed for the post station almost immediately after the confrontation, delaying for barely an hour, only to find himself ambushed by the guard.

The mere weight of a family’s influence alone could not have galvanized the guard into such swift action.

The only plausible explanation was that Camilla’s family wielded significant power within the city’s constabulary system, enabling them to directly command its forces.

His suspicions were soon confirmed.

As footsteps drew near, the glow of a lantern pierced the gloom, illuminating the entrance to his cell.

A visitor soon appeared beyond the iron bars that served as his cell door.

“You dead bastard from the slums, how do you feel now? Is it comfortable lying here, waiting for death?” the visitor greeted him with a volley of venomous words.

“It truly is you,” Levi said, slowly turning his head to face them.

Standing beyond the cell bars, flanked by guards, was Camilla. A medicated dressing adhered to the side of her face, which still bore a noticeable swelling from Levi’s earlier slap.

She fixed Levi with an intense glare, a grotesque smile contorting her lips.

“I warned you!” Camilla shrieked, her features contorted with rage. “My father is the Chief Constable of Maplewood City! You dared to lay a hand on me, and you still believe you can escape? Huh? To me, you’re nothing more than a worm I can crush at any moment! Do you regret it now, worm?”

“Miss Camilla…” Levi struggled to rise, dragging his crippled leg closer to the cell door. “I truly never imagined you were the Chief Constable’s daughter. I regret it so deeply… *cough cough*!”

He then collapsed weakly against the iron bars, wracked by a fit of coughing.

“Hmph, regretting it now, are we?” Camilla sneered, her voice dripping with malice. “It’s far too late to re—”

“Ptooey!!”

Mid-sentence, Levi abruptly spat a large mouthful of bloody saliva, splattering it directly across her face.

“Aaaahhh!!!” Camilla shrieked, her face contorted in utter horror. She desperately wanted to cover her face, yet recoiled from touching the vile spittle.

Her accompanying servant scrambled to produce a handkerchief and dab at Camilla’s face. Simultaneously, the jailer seized a long pole and thrust it through the bars, striking Levi squarely in the chest and sending him sprawling to the ground.

Levi felt an agonizing pain erupt in his chest, but instead of succumbing, he erupted into a booming laugh. “My only regret is not having killed you outright back then, Miss Dumpty! I am indeed just a worm, one that would sicken anyone who tried to consume it. Yet, you, like an incessant toad, relentlessly insisted on devouring me. I’m truly moved!”

“You bastard! I’ll skin you alive!” The viscount’s daughter shrieked, abandoning all pretense of decorum, her face twisted into a terrifying mask of a vengeful ghost.

“Perhaps you should see a doctor first,” Levi quipped, his voice laced with feigned concern. “I’ve been running a fever since yesterday. Who knows, maybe I’ve caught some plague?”

Camilla’s expression instantly morphed from fury to alarm.

“What are you standing around for? Get me out of here!” she shrieked, shoving her house servant with considerable force. “Call a doctor! Quickly!!”

The entire entourage departed in a panicked flurry, leaving Levi utterly drained, his limbs heavy, to lie flat once more.

He knew someone would eventually return to inflict another brutal beating, a means for the Dumpty family’s precious daughter to vent her fury.

Yet, he no longer cared. He was already a dead man walking.

On the surface, he had not yet been tried or convicted; his detention was merely temporary. However, should he “accidentally” perish in custody due to “health reasons,” the possibility of a posthumous trial clearing his name would become utterly meaningless.

With his grievous injuries left untended and confined within such a wretched dungeon, he knew his life would not last much longer. The Dumpty family possessed the power to ensure his premature demise at any moment, whether through “sudden illness” or by “being killed by other suspects.”

This filthy, sunless dungeon was to be the terminus of his life.

‘A truly terrible end,’ he mused.

He had, in fact, yearned to reach through the iron bars and throttle Camilla directly. Alas, she had stood just out of reach.

‘To die like this, succumbing to this lingering breath, without dragging my enemy down with me—it’s utterly suffocating,’ he thought, a bitter taste in his mouth.

He lay on the cold ground, enduring the torment from his myriad wounds, for what felt like an eternity. No guards appeared.

Instead, another visitor arrived.

“Levi?” A familiar voice drifted into his ears.

Levi’s heart stirred within his chest, and with a supreme effort, he struggled to sit upright.

This time, standing beyond the cell door was Jeanne, clad in her knight’s uniform.

“I kept wondering if you would come to see me one last time…” Levi murmured, a faint smile gracing his lips.

Upon seeing Levi’s wretched state, Jeanne instinctively gasped, her breath catching in her throat.

She had navigated countless channels and pulled every possible string to ascertain Levi’s whereabouts, rushing here specifically for this visit.

The charges leveled against Levi were riddled with inconsistencies, and Jeanne, naturally, harbored no belief in them. Connecting these accusations with the events that had transpired at school, she had swiftly pieced together the true nature of the situation.

Nevertheless, witnessing the horrific extent of Levi’s injuries, a profound tremor ran through Jeanne’s heart.

“How could they…” Jeanne murmured, gritting her teeth in anguish. She then stretched a hand through the bars towards him. “Can you still move? Come, closer, and I’ll help you treat your wounds.”

“It’s pointless, Jeanne,” Levi replied, shaking his head with an unsettling serenity. “Their sole objective is for me to perish in this cell.”

“I will get you out!” Jeanne declared, her gaze fixed on Levi. “Just wait. I’ll write to my family and the Knight Order immediately!”

“They won’t intervene for me, and even if they did, it would be too late,” Levi stated calmly, his voice devoid of emotion. “Even if some powerful entity wished to rescue me, the Dumpty family would simply ensure I die in this cell beforehand.”

Jeanne opened her mouth, but no words would come.

She knew, with chilling certainty, that Levi spoke the truth. She possessed no means to rescue him. Had she commanded such influence and connections, Camilla would never have dared to act with such impunity in the first place.

Though she refused to abandon hope so easily, the harsh reality remained unyielding.

Neither the Duke of the Northern Marches’ family nor the Knight Order would concern themselves with the fate of a mere commoner. Even if someone were inclined to offer aid, it would be too late; the Dumpty family were the entrenched local power, capable of ensuring Levi’s demise within the prison walls at any given moment.

In that moment, despair and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness seized her. Her innocent friend was destined for murder, and she, a knight, was utterly helpless.

Everyone knew this was not how things ought to be, yet this tragic conclusion was irrevocably hammered into reality.

“It’s enough, you should go back,” Levi said slowly, his gaze steady on Jeanne. “I am already crippled. Even if a miracle somehow occurred and I left this place alive, there would be nothing left for me to hope for.”

He continued, “If you truly care, then simply continue on your path. Climb higher. One day, they will surely receive the punishment they deserve. Now, you are the only one I can truly hope to avenge me.”

Jeanne remained silent for a long moment, her gaze falling to the ground. “I’m sorry…”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Levi said, offering a faint smile. “I know you always wanted to help me, and that heartfelt intention is more than enough. I am truly grateful, truly.”

He then gently urged, “Go, Jeanne. This is not a place where you should linger.”

Maintaining any association with a man convicted of grave crimes was undoubtedly detrimental to a Holy Knight’s reputation and standing.

Jeanne slowly raised her face, her eyes fixed on Levi for a prolonged moment. She was forced to confront the grim reality: this was likely their final encounter.

After a long, heavy silence, she finally turned away.

She could find no fitting words. Comfort would be utterly meaningless in such a desolate setting, yet neither of them could bring themselves to utter a final goodbye.

Just then, Levi broke the silence. “Jeanne, it was an honor to have known you.”

“It was for me as well,” Jeanne replied softly, her voice barely a whisper.

Levi watched Jeanne’s retreating figure until it vanished from his sight, then slowly lay back down on the cold floor.

The dungeon’s pervasive chill once again enveloped him, a cold that seeped deep into his very bones.

Reality, like a cold, unyielding blade, severed any possibility of their paths ever crossing again. It also mercilessly cut short the tender, nascent feelings that had just begun to bloom in their hearts. From this moment forward, there would be no more stories between them.

Just then, a man’s low chuckle echoed from the deepest corner of the cell.

“That young lady just now was a Holy Knight consecrated by the Church, wasn’t she? You seem to have a rich history, my friend. Welcome to the Rabbit Hole Dungeon.”