TRIGGER WARNING!!!!

There would be a brief mention of r*pe in this chapter. I don't know if I'm doing this right, but it's only one or two sentences. Still, it would be better for you to know.

~~~

"This is the Empire's Greatest Prison."

"Infra Gehenna."

Avy was appalled by the scene she witnessed, the man started screaming and begging for his life and tried to run away but the Knights prevented him from doing so. He had no choice but to comply, he eyed the opening gates in horror as if he was seeing death itself. Avy was only taken back when something blocked her sight.

"Take the lady inside." It was the Duke who stood in front of her. Even though Avy was a tall girl herself, her Father was superior in terms of height. She tried to peek but Mariel and Clerivan escorted her inside quickly as if they were keeping her from seeing more hideous things. She somewhat understood why Mariel tried to stop her from going.

They entered the headquarters through a small cabin attached to the wall where they passed through a small door before finally reaching the inside. It was bright and the ground was filled with clean green grass that you can roll yourself on. There were some knights scattered around inspecting the surroundings, a couple of yards away from them, was a battalion of top naked men running in line while chanting some kind of soldier chant simultaneously.

She was surprised of course, not because of the sweaty bodies of the running knights but the headquarters as a whole, based on how the man reacted, she thought it would look like hell. But then again, she was wrong. There was a man-made lake surrounding the big estate that stood in the middle of the place with few buildings on the sides and a fancy fountain in front made out of carved marbles. It was way bigger and wider in scope compared to the estate she lives in. And to be honest, it didn't look like a prison at all.

They proceeded to walk father until they reached the vast grounds where the knights were practicing their combat skills, may it be hand to hand or with swords, but none of them were using magic.

"How strange." she muttered

"It's because the ravens are trained to hone the things that no one can take away." someone suddenly said from behind her. She turned around and saw a tall man with messy brown hair, he was wearing the clothes of a knight but the design was slightly different. His emerald green eyes looked down at her without any hint of emotion in them. They were cold before he blinked and opened his eyes again.

"Knights are supposed to be ready to move and fight all the time. But only mastering magic that nature can easily snatch away is a huge disadvantage." he smiled gently before speaking again. "Hello, My Lady. " that familiar smile of his triggered a memory within Avy, she knew for a fact that man was someone that the original Avy was acquainted with.

"Vienny!! Look, look!!" an image of little Avy running happily towards the knight while holding a small dagger adorned with violet jewels flashed in her mind. Her face was bright as the morning sun, hair dancing in the wind as she jumped up and down in excitement.

"That's a pretty dagger, My Lady." the Knight named Luviene crouched down to her level to lift her up.

She childishly hummed and nodded "Auntie Stella gave it to me!" she put the blade on his neck and giggled. "She told me to use this to stab boys who come near me without her permission." she said.

"Are you going to kill this man as well?" Luviene smiled

Little Avy took the dagger away and looked around before leaning in to whisper on the knight's ear. "Auntie said she will kill you herself, but I'll hide you under my bed, Vienny." she told him, making the knight chuckle at her answer.

"I'm honored."

"Vienny..?" that word came out of her mouth on its own, it was like her brain automatically programmed itself to say that name whenever he sees that man standing in front of her. Luviene, on the other hand, looked the most surprised of all, his brows were raised and his pretty eyes widened a bit.

"Y-you still remember me, My Lady?" he said

"No." she told him and looked at her maid. "I'm tired. Can I get something to eat?" she asked.

"Hey. Isn't that fair lady Commander's Daughter?"

"What? Lord Alcasser's Grand Daughter never leaves the Estate you know?"

"No Lady is allowed inside this place, idiot. Who would it be aside from Commander's daughter?"

It was not long before the knights in the middle of training noticed their presence and especially saw Avy who was standing next to their Captain, Luviene. They were of course intrigued about the reason why the Lady who doesn't even attend social events decided to pay the Empire's most well-known Jail a visit.

"Your knights sure love to gossip." Ciel's voice was heard, they turned in his direction and saw him arriving with the prince. They were both looking at the knights with a not-so amused expression on their faces.

Luviene bowed his head respectfully towards the two. "It's been a long time, young master, your highness." he said before looking back at Avy. "Would you like to head inside the mansion, My Lady?"

"I was about to do so," Avy answered and glanced at the knights one last time. They were still looking at them with intrigued eyes until they averted their eyes and went back to what they were doing. They looked scared shitless as if their head would explode if they swerved their necks in her direction again. She knew that the original Avy is feared everywhere, not only because of her nasty temper but also because of the influence that her family holds. It would not be a surprise that even knights would be afraid to look at her in the eyes.

But the odd thing was, they weren't looking at her before they averted their eyes.

They were looking behind her.

She turned around and looked at the people standing behind her.

"Are you looking for someone, my lady?" Mariel asked her, she was standing a couple of steps behind, next to Ciel. Right. There's the culprit.

She internally sighed in exasperation. She wondered what on earth did he see in his older sister for him to admire her so deeply. As far as she knows, her personality was trash.

"Nothing," she said. "Let's go."

"Then allow me to escort you inside-"

"There's no need, Sir Sival. I should be the one escorting the Lady as her personal Knight." before Luviene could even finish his sentence, Clerivan was quick to cut him off. The former smiled at him with his eyes closed but the latter felt the hostility in the air. He looked at him coldly as if they were engulfed in a silent battle of Knight Pride.

Avy was the first one to notice the tension building up between the two knights until Ares spoke once again.

"I see. The clash of the new and the old, huh?" he commented in an amused manner.

'What do you mean?' she asked but she heard no answers from her servant who just kept quiet afterward. She was about to break the ice when someone called her attention.

"Sister." it was Ciel.

"What is it?" she shifted her gaze from the two knights to her brother who was already standing next to her.

"We usually spar with the knights whenever we come here, so we might not able to stay with you." he told her with a bit of hesitation in his tone.

"It's fine. Good luck then." she shrugged and patted him on the shoulder before turning around to leave.

"We're going, Revie." she made her voice a little louder for her Knight to hear which immediately snapped him back to reality and quickly followed his Lady.

"What was that?" Avy asked him as soon as he caught up with her and Mariel. She usually doesn't care about other people's business but Ares' statement ignited the curiosity within her. The stupid snake won't say anything and kept his mouth shut when he's told to speak.

"It was nothing, my lady," Clerivan replied.

Figures. The man was quite tight-lipped. She just brushed off her own question and continued to walk.

Now that she thought about it, Clerivan was not mentioned as Avy's personal guard in the novel, rather, he was introduced as a talented knight of the Arkwright Household. Other than that, he barely made an official appearance and never had a proper introduction. The same goes with Mariel who she remembers as the loyal maid who the original Avy left in the mansion when she abandoned her title as the duke's daughter. Calling them side characters doesn't even fit. Why are they so devoted to serving a Lady who never cared about anyone else's well-being? If there's a story behind their affection for her, she badly wants to know. Being a minor villain who was used by the main antagonist in his plans, the author didn't give a detailed explanation about the people surrounding Avy.

Avy was too immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice anything, if not for someone who pulled her arm and the sound of something falling on the floor. Everything happened so fast, Mariel was already standing in front of her with a water barrier around the two of them, countless pointed ice could be seen through the wall of water. A couple of seconds passed and the water spell dispersed, but not the icicles that looked like big needles though.

She saw Clerivan pinning something on the ground, rather, someone. It was a grown man in a disheveled state as if he just come out of war. He was wearing brown pants and a top, barefooted. Not so far away from them was a knife lying on the floor.

"Please stay behind me, m lady." Mariel told her.

"There is no doubt." she heard Clerivan state. "This man is a prisoner from Ground B." he added, raising the man's hand with a black crest with a small B on it.

"What is a dangerous man like him doing here?" Mariel commented.

"Oh man~ The fucking dog really ran away with the knife." the three of them quickly swerved their necks at the direction of the voice and saw a man dressed in all black walking towards them. Half of his face was covered with a mask, but it didn't hide the malicious glint in his eyes.

"I even told him to fight me when I don't have any weapon on my hands." he added and stopped in front of the man lying on the ground, both his arms were being held behind his back by Clerivan. The man in black crouched down and tilted his head on the same level as the man's.

"Surprise, bitch."

His pair of scarlet eyes looked dead and grim as he stared straight at the prisoner's soul. The prisoner burst into tears a few moments after.

"Please!! I beg of you! No more!" he pleaded.

The strange man laughed like a psychopath. "Please!! I beg of you! No more!" he repeated the exact same words that the prisoner said before he stopped and looked at him dead in the eye.

"Must be the same words you heard while pushing your dick onto those innocent ladies, huh?" he then held his chin and forced him to look up. "Or maybe those were the words they said while you skinned them alive on the exact table where you fucked the living daylights out of them?"

"Sir Rohan!" Mariel shouted at him with a frown on her face. "Refrain from using those words, the lady is with us."

The man named Rohan looked behind the maid where Avy was, he stood up. " Oh my goodness!" he said, faking his surprise. "You were just as tiny as my favorite dagger when I last saw you."

He walked towards her and bowed. "My deepest apologies, Lady Avy."

Avy didn't answer and just stared at him, his voice and his physique were familiar, she felt like she saw that man before. And she's not referring to Avy's memories, but her own.

"What is this all about?"

Avy was brought out of her thoughts by another voice. It seems like the Duke had finally shown himself. To her surprise, her father wasn't alone, the former Duke stood beside him with his ever so intimidating aura.

"Would you care to explain, Rohan?" Duke Alton told the man as soon as he saw the Prisoner being held by Clerivan.

"I was just taking the new dog for a walk, Your Grace." Rohan responded, his playful tone didn't change but one could say that his words were polite.

Lord Alcasser heaved an exasperated sigh. "I have warned you not to let loose any prisoners today, have I not, Rohan?"

Rohan lowered his head in a slight bow. "Forgive me, My Lord."

The Duke looked at the prisoner and noticed the knife a couple of steps away. He shifted his gaze at Avy, her lips formed into a tight line, although his face didn't show any changes, everyone felt the chills seeping through his calm demeanor. "Take the filth back to his cage." he stated before he and Lord Alcasser continued walking.

"Right away."

But before they could even walk far away from the rest, Duke Alton halted, he looked behind his shoulders and shot the man one last glance that made the latter shiver in fear. "That thing shall be transferred to Ground A."

Aside from Avy who didn't understand what he said, all of them had surprise evident on their faces, the Prisoner was too shocked to even talk straight and just muttered things that came out of his mouth. He finally lost it.

"Heh." Rohan laughed. "You should've killed yourself before you stepped inside this place." he added, talking to the man. He took him from Clerivan's hold and guided him away harshly.

Avy watched the two figures disappear before her eyes. She definitely has seen that man before! She just couldn't figure out when and where but she is for certain that she has already crossed paths with him in the past. If not, she wouldn't be that bothered.

"I'm deeply sorry, My Lady. It must've been too much for you." she heard Mariel's voice.

Indeed her face looked like she was shocked that she couldn't even talk, but that was only because she was trying hard to remember where she saw that man before. This little misunderstanding didn't let her maid and her knight rest their thoughts.

"Ugh. My head hurts." and her statement made them feel even worse.

"It was all my fault, My Lady. I should've paid more attention." Clerivan bowed his head down low and so did Mariel. Avy raised her brow at them confusedly.

"What? I didn't even see a single thing before you tackled the man to the ground. Chill your selves, would you?" she told them before breathing in. "Anyways. I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."

~~~

"She volunteered to come with you?" Lord Alcasser was as surprised as the Duke when he heard of the reason why Avy visited the Headquarters with her father. He himself was wondering why she wanted to go outside of the mansion, especially in a dangerous place like Gehenna, to think that she even asked her father to take her with him, what happened to the girl who hated leaving her room even if the reason was to attend three meals in the dining hall?

"She is behaving unlike how she used to. It must be the 'going through puberty' that Valentina mentioned." the Duke replied as both of them neared the end of the stairs all the way down the Mansion.

"I have no knowledge of Young Girls but I can say that I am glad about this change." the Old Lord stated, his hands were behind him as he walk. They reached the end of the stairs and were greeted by a big gate made of thick metal bars. It was guarded by two knights outside and another two inside.

"I advise you not to dwell on this matter too much. Women are difficult creatures to understand." he added before the two of them went inside.

The Empire's most secured prison was located under the Pillar's Fortress.

Infra Gehenna

The prison where prisoners who had committed serious crimes that cannot be forgiven are taken. Those people who are deemed unredeemable and the only end was death. But the Arkwrights, being the devils that they are, thought that death is very light of a punishment and took things into their own hands. Hence, Infra Gehenna was built to bring despair and suffering to the sinners as long as they breathe. A place where those who did wrong would beg the heavens to take their lives instead.

Having mastered the element of Fire, the Arkwrights are able to bend the temperature to their will, they can make it drop to the point where it would be difficult to breathe because of the coldness and they can make it rise to where it would burn the skin of a person by merely being present because of the hotness. One of the many reasons why prisoners would rather spend their whole life doing labor than be inside the underground prison for a short period of time, because of the man-made harsh conditions that would torment them nonstop.

Not only that. They are forced to make an oath to make sure they wouldn't be able to commit suicide and end everything when they are left alone. That is why most of the prisoners go insane and don't even last five years inside Gehenna. The greater sin they have committed, the harsher the hell they would have to experience. That was the rule implemented by the Arkwrights themselves, and nobles aren't an exception. Under normal circumstances, like in other countries, nobles have an exclusive jail built for them to be able to live comfortably once they are locked up.

It was also the custom of Kriseon Empire back then because the nobles are the descendants of the founders that fought side by side with the Imperial Family during the war. They may not be pardoned for what wrongs they did, but they received special treatment. However, the Arkwright Family was against this inequality and strongly opposed the law.

"If the greatness of the ancestor is the greatness of the descendant. The Descendant's sin should also be their Ancestor's. If the son committed a crime, the father should also pay. The nobles could live in luxury inside the prison but as a payment, the name of their ancestors should be erased from the book of heroes. Their relatives will be stripped of their titles and live as commoners for the rest of their lives."

Those were the exact words that the Head of Arkwright Dukedom gave before he built the Greatest Prison, Infra Gehenna. And of course, the nobles who already dirtied their hands and were clearly at disadvantage couldn't go against the most powerful family in the Empire and just stayed silent.

Lord Alcasser and Duke Alton entered a room where a couple of knights were waiting along with a man kneeling on the floor. He was blindfolded, his hands were tied behind his back and his mouth was covered with a cloth preventing him to speak.

"Greetings, Your Grace. My Lord." the knights expressed their respect with a bow.

One of the knights standing next to the blindfolded man cleared his throat "This is Count Marcelo Delahim. The head of the rebels from the north-"

"Skip the introductions. I have no need of unnecessary details." the Duke sat on the chair a couple of steps away from the man while Lord Alcasser made his way to the couch in the corner and poured himself a cup of tea.

The Duke looked at the knights and at the man and the latter quickly took off the blindfold and the cloth in his mouth as if they understood what his gaze meant. The man gasped for air and coughed a couple of times before finally realizing who was the person sitting in front of him.

Duke Alton's eyes glowed red, the atmosphere became colder as he stared down at the man on the ground.

"Speak."

~~~

"How old are you, Revie?"

Avy and her knight, Clerivan, silently walked through the halls of the Manor towards the balcony on the third floor where they could get a great view of the knights training on the open field. Mariel was absent because she volunteered to fetch food for her mistress and bring them to her instead of tiring the Lady.

"Twenty-eight, My Lady." the Knight answered.

"How long have you known the Duke?" Avy asked again, she felt the urge to know more about her new Family, after all, she can't stay a stranger for long. She has to get all the information she can get her hands on.

"My parents served the Dukedom before me and my siblings were born, hence I've known His Grace even as a child, Mi'lady"

"Pops did mention something about going to wars with Grandpa. I guess you guys had to deal with this scary family for years." she chortled thinking about the family consisting of stoic guys with tremendous power. Did all of those with Arkwright Blood grow up like walking icebergs? They must be boring.

"The Arkwrights may be feared all over the Empire, but Mi'lady's family wasn't always this monstrous." Clerivan replied piquing Avy's interest.

"Why is that?" she asked, glancing at him.

"..." the knight stayed silent as he hesitated to answer.

"It's fine. You can talk about it." Avy said, noticing the hesitation in her personal guard.

"It was because His Grace changed."

Avy was intrigued by his words. "Because of what?"

"Her Grace, the Duchess. She was the only person who was capable of doing such a thing. In fact, she changed him twice."

"Once when she entered his life, and again when she passed away."

Avy was about to open her mouth to speak when she was interrupted by another voice.

"Oh. If it isn't Lady Avana." she looked to her left and saw a man with dark blue hair. He looked at least thirty years old but it was obvious that he was a good-looking guy in his prime. He approached them, a knight with a different uniform from the knights of the Arkwright family following behind him.

"Greetings. Lord Rasheen." Clerivan greeted.

"It seems like The Duke and the Lady are getting closer with each other." Lord Rasheed stated with a smile, although Avy doesn't know who he was, his voice was enough to send shivers down her spine.

"I wouldn't say getting closer. I simply wanted to come here." she responded.

"I see. That's too bad." the man let out a short laugh.

"Do you need something from the Lady, My Lord?" Clerivan's tone was respectful, but Avy knew that his guard was up. Maybe the man was a dangerous fellow after all.

"Apologies. It is not the Lady that I have a business with." he looked at Avy before speaking again. "Will it be alright to borrow your trusted Knight for a minute?" he asked.

"With all due respect, My Lord. I am not allowed to leave Lady Avy's side. It is Lord Alcasser's personal order to stay with her at all times." Clerivan butted in, with no intentions of obeying Lord Rasheen.

"No need to worry. My Knight here, Sir Clarkson, will guard the Lady in your stead." he told him, still wearing the smile that didn't waver even just a bit.

"I apologize. But I have to refuse." Clerivan stood his ground stubbornly.

Lord Rasheen sighed in resignation, admitting defeat. "Well. I am not in the position to force a servant of another nobility. Am I right, Lady Avana?" he shifted back his gaze at Avy, this time, his eyes were no longer smiling.

"You believe me, right, Lady Avana?"

Involuntarily, Avy nodded her head. "Y-you can take him. I'm fine."

"But My Lady-"

"Just go. I will be fine." Avy's voice wasn't like normal. Her judgment was clouded as if someone took over her body that exact moment.

"Thank you, Lady Avana." the pure smile came back on Lord Rasheen's face. "Shall we go, Sir Warde?" he stated. Clerivan didn't have a choice but to obey, no matter how stubborn he was, an order from his master is something he shouldn't ignore. He glanced worriedly at Avy for the last time before following the man, leaving the Lady with only an unknown knight with her, he felt unsettled.

Just when the two disappeared, it was just then Avy went back to herself. She was overwhelmed by an unknown feeling that she couldn't refuse Lord Rasheen.

'Wait. Lord Rasheen?' the realization came crashing down on her. 'Isn't that the novel's villain?'

"Should we proceed to the balcony, My Lady?"

Avy frowned when she heard the knight speak. 'How did he know we were heading there?' she thought.

"No. Let's go back-"

"A PRISONER IS ON THE RUN!!!"

Because the balcony wasn't that far away from where they were standing, they were able to hear the shout from one of the knights from the open field. Although hesitating, Avy ran towards it to see what was happening. She knew it would be not as bad as being alone with a knight of an enemy, besides, the balcony is visible from everyone from below. The Mansion doesn't have too many staffs and no one would see if the knight would do something funny.

When she reached the balcony, the knights were no longer training, they were not panicking but surely they are not as calm either.

"The prisoner ran inside the Mansion!"

"What?! The Lady is inside!"

"Ah shit." Avy cursed and instantly regretted letting Clerivan go. She also couldn't run inside the mansion, there is a big possibility that she would come across the criminal. And she's certain that he was going for her too.

"HEY! I'M HERE!" she shouted at the knights.

"My Lady!"

"Where's Sir Clerivan?" it was Luviene.

"I don't know! Some dude took him away! Get in here quickly!" she yelled back. She looked at the knight with her. "You. Stand guard right there. If I get a scratch from that criminal I would castrate you alive." she threatened, her words spitting poison as she speak.

"Y-yes." the knight responded

"My Lady! Please stay right there and don't panic!" Luviene shouted once again.

"Then don't just stand there and prepare to catch! Idiot!" she said and started climbing the veranda. She'd rather break her legs than face a criminal, she's well aware of the fact that she's not suitable for fighting.

"E-excuse me?" Luviene stuttered and immediately panicked when he saw the lady trying to climb the Balcony's banister.

"Get a water-type mage! Now!" he told his comrades.

After a minute or two, Avy heard a loud thud behind her.

"I'M GONNA JUMP NOW!" she yelled, the water that the knights were preparing was still not enough to catch her without her getting hurt. She closed her eyes, but just before she could jump, someone grabbed her hair and pulled her back.

"OW!!!"

"You're not going anywhere. You child of a demon."

"My Lady!"