厨房从后面挺进李婷

The Imperial Palace of the Empire of Azeroth had several hidden corridors, the location of which remained known only to members of the royal family. This was done in case the monarchs could escape safely in time of war or other emergency.

And Razor never thought the day would come when he would have to use it.

It is unlikely that Rachel Cassius knew of the existence of such loopholes, and this was the only way to leave the palace not through the main gate. The prince decided this was his last chance.

The hardest part was luring Leriana out of her chambers and getting rid of the guards who were always hanging around. All the letters she received were scrutinized, as were the visitors. So Razor had to have somehow managed to sneak onto her floor unnoticed.

However, the boy decided to postpone thinking about this step until later.

First, he had to make sure that the back exit hadn\'t been discovered and Cassius\'s men hadn\'t blocked it. The closest one, through which he could get right out into the city, was in the imperial dungeon.

That was where he was going to go.

The next day, after his meeting with Maxi, the lad was able to slip into the palace dungeon unnoticed. Using one of those secret exits under a trapdoor.

Once in the right room, the prince was surprised that there were not so many people guarding him. Had there been fewer criminals in recent years? Or maybe Rachel was just ordering them to be killed on the spot without waiting for a trial.

At any rate, right now, that circumstance was playing into his hands.

Unlike Maxie and the Marquis of Windsor, who always preferred to act with brute force, Razor was better able to adapt to his surroundings.

To avoid battles with guards who might attract unnecessary attention, the prince tried to sneak through them unnoticed. Fortunately, he was lucky in this.

A pair of men in armor seemed not to notice as something small crept in front of them along the corridor.

Were the dungeons guarded by ordinary men, not mercenaries of the Cassius family?

Meanwhile, after some effort, Razor was able to reach the prison cells themselves. A black exit was camouflaged in one of them, and could be opened by pressing on a certain brick.

The boy began walking slowly through each one, trying to remember which one was the one his father had told them about.

I think it was the seventeenth.

Yes, indeed. Razor looked more closely, and noticed that one of the bricks in this cell looked different and protruded slightly forward. It was lucky that almost all the cells here were empty, and he wouldn\'t have to disturb anyone.

The guy was about to cut the lock on the bars with his sword, but at that moment he suddenly heard a cough from the next cell.

What? Is someone here?

The prince was surprised, and decided with one eye to see who exactly. It looked like the poor fellow was the only one here in this dungeon.

Razor walked slowly toward it and peered into the silhouette. Through the iron bars in the very corner was a man of extremely pitiful appearance.

His hair was tangled, and he was dressed in some filthy rags. He looked as if he had been here a long time.

The boy was even going to pity him, but at that moment…

The prisoner, apparently hearing some footsteps, abruptly turned around. Even through the tangled shreds of hair that fell on his forehead you could see his face.

When they saw each other, they both froze in shock.

Razor couldn\'t believe his eyes.

— Philip…?!

They stared at each other in silence for a while, and Razor held his breath, unable to believe it was all true.

The man in the cell bore little resemblance to the older brother — the one he knew. It was a guy whose age was hard to tell because of his very gaunt appearance.

Now the first handsome man of the empire, he had become nothing more than a paltry semblance of his former self. He had grown so gaunt and pale, his face sunken to the skin of a skull.

His shining blue eyes had faded, and his beautiful blond hair looked like rags. It was the last thing one could imagine the crown prince of the kingdom of Azeroth doing.

When Razor called his name, the boy flinched, after which a realization slowly came to him. He finally recognized his brother and his expression flashed.

— RAY!

Phillip ran up and clutched at the iron bars, unable to believe his happiness.

— Ray, you\'ve finally come for me!

The second prince slowly settled down on the cold floor, still in the strongest shock. His brother is alive… He is alive!

Right now he didn\'t care what he looked like or how gaunt he was. The most important thing was that the brother he had grown up with was still breathing.

— Philip!» tears welled up in the boy\'s voice as he too reached out his hand to him.

For a while, Razor did not stop trembling.

Why had Rachel Cassius lied to the entire empire that the crown prince had died when all this time he had been here? And, what\'s more, treated him like that.

Razor could not contain his emotions.

— Brother, I thought you were dead! — He almost sobbed.

Philip Blanche was also moved by the long-awaited encounter, but he was even more dominated by anger. When he learned that everyone in the empire thought he was dead, his blood boiled in his veins.

— I know the wretch lied about executing me that day,» he spat out.

The silence was interrupted by Razor.

— But…» the other prince hesitated as a small hope rose in his soul, «Perhaps my father is still alive, too!»

He immediately shook his head in the negative.

— «No,» answered Philip grimly, «I was the only one spared. When Cassius attacked us, the first thing she did was cut off our father\'s head.»

Razor was silent.

After all, even then the previous ruler of Azeroth was seriously ill, though he stubbornly concealed that fact until the very end. In the original story, he should have died this year, when Philip would have taken the throne. But because of the circumstances, his life was cut short a few years earlier.

It was hard for Razor to accept, but at the same time… It\'s good that at least some of the royal family is still alive.

— Still, I can\'t believe they kept you here,» he admitted.

Philip seemed angry, and he spoke with hatred:

— These two years have been a living hell.

When the second prince met with the only remaining member of his family, he couldn\'t help but ask him.

— Brother, can you tell me what happened then?

Philip sighed. For a while he seemed to have trouble remembering it all, but then he spoke anyway.

— Two years ago. It was on my father\'s birthday,» the crown prince said angrily, «Rachel Cassius\'s men attacked us indiscriminately, and a lot of blood was shed that day. It only took one night… It only took one night for that thing to slaughter an entire palace.

Razor was silent, having a hard time digesting what he had heard.

— His father\'s subjects and himself were killed first. And then…» the boy swallowed. «She simply took the crown off his head and put it on herself.

The prince shuddered as he clearly imagined the scene. But it had been a long time since he\'d seen it. Razor decided not to indulge in negative emotions and continued.

— And then? What happened afterwards…?

— The last thing I remember… Cassius had me locked in here. I haven\'t been outside since.

— …

— She came to me every day at first,» Philip\'s fingers dug into the bars in anger as he recalled it all. «She mocked me and said I was nothing that could be fed to the dogs. And that now I would end my life here.

Razor was still silent.

— And then, I guess she just got fed up… For the last year, I\'ve had servants come to my house to bring me food.

At that moment, Razor felt a tremendous sense of guilt. At a time when he was away from it all, his brother had had to endure such an ordeal.

— I\'m sorry…» he said involuntarily, «Forgive me, brother…»

He looked at the younger man in frustration.

— I wanted to do this from the start,» Philip said angrily, «You should have supported me the time I almost got rid of that thing!»

The crown prince recalled the incident during training when he had had the chance to kick Rachel Cassius out of the academy. If she had been found guilty then and still sentenced, who knows how their fates would have turned out now?

At any rate, it was too late to speculate about that. After all, everything had already worked out one way or another.

While Razor was thinking about it, Philip hastened to remind them.

— Ray, you\'ve got to get me out of here! — he pleaded.

— What…? — He was taken aback at first.

— You\'re not going to leave me here to rot, are you?

Razor stammered.

— No… of course not!

On the one hand it seemed an obvious decision. But at the same time… He did not know what Rachel Cassius would do when she found out. And, what\'s more… There was something else that bothered him.

He feared a renewed civil war. For right now, Philip\'s eyes might be blinded by a veil of vengeance.

Still, after some hesitation, the boy made up his mind.

— Brother, I\'ll set you free,» he said, «but promise me you won\'t do anything rash.»

Philip Blanche became indignant.

— You mean you\'re going to put up with what Rachel Cassius has done to our country! — Loudly erupted.

— Of course not…! — Razor hastily assured him, «It\'s just that our forces are unequal right now… I don\'t want you to suffer or ruin other people\'s lives.»

The Kronprinz pressed his lips together.

He didn\'t look at all reconciled to that, but he nodded nonetheless.

— All right… I promise.

With that, Razor shattered the bars of his cell with his sword, and the boy was finally able to go outside. As he did so, there was a look of indescribable relief on his face.

The other prince sighed, while Philip turned happily toward him.

— Ray, I always knew you were the best brother in the world.

***

In her office, Rachel Cassius was sorting through paperwork while there was a sudden knock on the door.

The girl, without taking her eyes off the papers, muttered:

— Come in.

On the threshold arose the commander of the guard. He was a retired assassin, now a trusted confidant and chief of guards at the palace.

He kneeled before the queen.

— Your Majesty, it\'s as you said. His former Second Highness has already released the prisoner.

Rachel gave a satisfied chuckle.

— Excellent. Keep watching this.

The man squinted uncertainly.

— Your Majesty, this is quite a risky move… Are you sure it will be all right?

But Rachel seemed completely unperturbed.

— Of course she is. I know what I\'m doing,» she replied without hesitation.

In fact, that was the only thing she needed Leerian\'s annoying boyfriend for. So that, without suspicion, she could carry out the main part of her plan.

The Crown Prince… It would have been too foolish to get rid of such valuable «bait.» Especially considering what big fish might have baited on it.

— That man will be in contact with him soon,» she muttered to remind him that that was where to direct her undivided attention.

The commander hastily assured:

— I\'ll see to it that everything is in order.

— Wonderful.

He nodded and bowed out to resume his duties as soon as possible.

At this point the girl, for the first time in a long time, distracted herself from her work and leaned back in her chair. A sophisticated smirk arose on the corners of her lips. The type she had been chasing for two years was not only shrewd, but also very greedy. No doubt he wouldn\'t miss a chance and would easily get caught in the nets he\'d prepared.

And when it will happen… However, why think ahead?

It seems that the most interesting game was about to begin.

— Well, let\'s see who\'s who?