"Of course, I wouldn’t find anything here," Edmund said to Averon as they stood in front of the wooden board he had destroyed. "That’s because you hid them before I could find any of them."

Before Averon could respond, a group of young women slowly came up from the stairs leading underground. But they stopped moving forward when the distance between them and Edmund was only about ten meters.

Each of them looked different—different hair, different eyes—as if Averon had purposely chosen women who didn’t l1ook alike for his harem. But among the five of them, one girl caught Edmund’s attention.

She looked... oddly familiar.

The girl standing at the back had red hair. It wasn’t as bright as Primrose’s, but it was really close. Her hazel eyes almost looked golden under the light. Not only that, even her face reminded him of his wife.

Edmund’s jaw tightened. His hands slowly clenched into fists. [That bastard! He actually looked for someone who resembles my wife!]

Even though Edmund knew it wasn’t the woman’s fault, he still felt a suppressed anger in his heart every time he looked at her. But to be honest, that anger wasn’t directed at the young woman, it was directed at Averon.

If he were being honest, right now, he wanted nothing more than to tear Averon apart and throw his body into a demon beast’s den.

"Can you explain to me what the hell is going on here?" Edmund asked in a cold tone, staring at Averon just as coldly. "Why are there women behind the walls of your palace, and..." he lowered his head slightly, "...why are they wearing chains on their feet?"

Averon forced a smile. "This is just... a misunderstanding."

"Bullshit," Edmund said coldly. He didn’t even bother trying to be polite to Averon anymore. "Now that I know you’ve imprisoned not just one or two of my people, I can’t turn a blind eye anymore."

Two of the five women were beastwomen, and Edmund was certain there were more beastwomen underground.

Averon looked around, his eyes darting rapidly as if he were searching for a way out. [Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why do these beasts keep causing trouble?!]

Primrose rolled her eyes when she heard his thoughts.

Cause trouble? This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t imprisoned them in the first place.

And just like Edmund, she felt a chill run down her spine when she realized that Averon had imprisoned a young woman who looked almost identical to her.

This level of obsession... dear heaven, Primrose didn’t even want to think about it further.

At the same time, Averon finally realized he had no way out, so Averon finally decided to escape by jumping out of the window.

"Watch out!" Edmund quickly pulled Primrose back so she wouldn’t get hit by the broken glass. Then he rushed to the window and looked down.

Just as he was about to jump as well, a cloud of green smoke suddenly appeared around Averon.

Out of nowhere, a man wearing a black mask stepped out of it. In just a few seconds, he grabbed Averon, then threw another cloud of smoke before disappearing from the palace.

"What?" Primrose widened her eyes as she witnessed it. She turned to Edmund and asked, "Where did he go? Can’t you smell his scent?"

Edmund paused for a moment before shaking his head uncertainly. "No, he’s really gone."

He then clenched his teeth and let out a frustrated breath. "Damn it! Someone took him. He didn’t escape alone!"

After cursing a few more times, Edmund pressed his lips together. "I—I’m sorry, wife." His voice softened when he spoke to Primrose. "I didn’t mean to use harsh words in front of you or... our child."

Primrose, whose mind was too occupied with where Averon had gone, simply replied, "That’s alright."

Both of them fell silent for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. Then, after a while, Primrose spoke first. "Since he’s gone..." A thin smile appeared on her face. "That means we can free all the prisoners here and put a bounty on Averon’s head."

Right now, since Edmund could legally bring this case to court, whether they liked it or not, the Emperor of Vellmoria would have to declare that Averon, the King of Azmeria, was a criminal and a fugitive on the run.

===

In less than an hour, Edmund and Primrose had brought out thirty-one women who had been hidden underground by Averon. All of them looked pale and weak, and most of them could barely walk, but even so, they still tried their best to move toward the exit.

The moment they stepped outside, the sunlight stung their eyes. They blinked again and again before they could finally look up at the blue sky and the world beyond those dark walls.

"Right now, everything is still covered in snow," Primrose said gently, smiling at one of the women. "But when spring comes, you’ll see a lot of beautiful flowers."

"The snow is nice too," the blonde-haired woman—Ramona—replied, her voice slightly shaking. Her sapphire eyes turned glossy as she scooped up a handful of snow. "It’s been so long since I’ve seen it."

[It reminds me of when I used to make snow dolls with my father,] she thought softly. [It’s cold, but... I like this kind of cold.]

What she really wanted to say was no matter how cold the outside world was, at least she could breathe fresh air now and see something beyond cold, lifeless walls.

"Alright, let’s get you all warmed up first," Primrose said, gesturing to Solene. She quickly stepped forward and began handing out warm coats to each of the women.

"Evelia?" The red-haired girl with hazel eyes stumbled forward, reaching out with trembling hands. "Is that really you? It’s me... number thirteen... P-Prudence."

She said her name slowly, as if it felt unfamiliar to her because all this time, she had only been called by a number.

"Oh, God. It’s you!" "Oh... God... it’s really you!" Evelia covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide with disbelief. For so long, she had only heard their voices. They had never been allowed to meet each other, but at least they had imagined one another by describing their appearances.