The Law of the Silent Gentleman

"Hoist the sails! Lift the anchor!"

With a loud yell, the ship "Rising Moon" that escorted the exiled prisoners raised its jib sails, and the sailors on the deck turned the capstan with all their strength, and the anchor came out of the water with a "crash". The "Rising Moon" is a warship, and the sailors, wearing sailor uniforms, stood in a row on the side of the ship, saluting relatives and friends on the pier to see off.

Two of these sailors were unusual. Although they were also wearing uniforms, their demeanor did not look like soldiers. They neither took part in the work on deck nor said goodbye, but watched everything calmly from the crowd. The chief mate who supervised the sailors not only did not reprimand them for being "lazy", on the contrary, when he talked to the two men, he was respectful and respectful, as if they were his superiors.

These two are Enzo and Giuliano. Relying on the mediation of General Suweita, the two obtained permission to board the "Moon Rise" as commissioners sent by Suweita to **** and interrogate the prisoners. Although the two had no military ranks, but because they were Su Weita's "confidantes", the crew members were very polite and treated them as distinguished guests with special identities.

The ship left the port slowly. At this time, a shout suddenly came from the shore: "Wait a minute! Wait for me! I want to get on the boat!"

A young man with brown hair fought his way through the crowd. Carrying a sword and a bulging duffel bag, he had to apologize to the people he hit, while pushing to the shore, and several people were almost pushed into the water by him. The "Shengyue" was several feet away from the shore, and the young man let out a loud "Wow", leaped high, and rushed towards the warship. Everyone thought that he would fall into the water, but his jumping ability was so good that he even caught the rope hanging from the side of the boat. There was a burst of exclamation on the shore, and some people who didn't know why clapped their hands.

"Let me get in the boat! I want to get in the boat!" cried the young man pitifully, hanging from the rope.

The sailors were about to kick him back into the sea. "A suspicious person is climbing the rope!" "Cut the rope!" "Throw him into the sea!"

"Stop it! I, I am the commissioner sent by General Suweita! I have a special mission! Let me aboard!"

Hearing the name of General "Suweita", the sailors looked at the other two "commissioners" on board. The first officer happened to accompany the two of them over to check the cause of the commotion, and asked, "Do you two know the person below?"

Giuliano leaned on the board of the ship, looked down, and sighed: "I know... please pull him up."

A few minutes later, Antoine climbed awkwardly onto the deck with the help of the sailors. The boat is not always stable like on land, but goes up and down with the waves. Inexperienced people often feel dizzy when they first board the boat. So did Antoine. He couldn't stand upright at all, so he just sat down, panting, sweating all over his body, he obviously didn't fall into the water, but his face was as pale as a rescued person from drowning.

"What are you doing here?!" Giuliano asked in surprise, "Do you know that this is a warship, not a passenger ship where you can get on board first and pay later? Trespassing on a warship is a crime!"

"Nonsense...I... am not an idiot..." Antoine was furious, "I have a warrant issued by General Suveta himself, appointing me as a commissioner, and departing with the 'Rising Moon'..." He struggled to open the luggage bag, Rummaging inside, "Warrant...Where did the warrant go?"

"What did Suveta send you for?"

"He didn't 'send' me, but I 'begged' him." He gave Giuliano an annoyed look, as if the latter didn't understand his painstaking efforts, "Since I heard that you are going to go with the ship to those prisoners Island, I'm very...very worried. Lexi also said that he was worried about you. Ms. Theodora and Ms. Constantia are both worried about you, so I had no choice but to step in and be ordered to protect you!"

He took out everything in the bag: a pile of clothes, a whetstone, a dirty wallet, a piece of bread wrapped in oiled paper that looked moldy (Antoine threw it into the sea with a blushing face) , a broken sword wrapped in black cloth.

"Protect us?" Giuliano didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Enzo's swordsmanship was excellent, and he himself was not bad, not to mention there was a boat of well-trained sailors, so there was no need for protection!

Antoine nodded proudly: "Of course! You two are so worrying, you know you will cause trouble all day long. How can I not protect you!"

En Zuo knelt down beside him and picked up the broken sword: "Isn't this Leixi's 'Poetry of Frost'? Why is it in your hands?"

"Leixi gave it to me! He said it was useless anyway, so just give it to me. This is a treasure! Leixi said that if one day I was poor and desperate, he would sell this sword. Although it is a broken sword, it is still It's worth a lot of money!" Antoine snatched back his treasure and put it back in the bag with great care.

"Hey, I found it!" He exclaimed, and pulled out a letter from the deepest part of the luggage bag. The letter was crumpled and suspiciously stained, but the seal was still intact. "General Suveta said just show the letter to the captain."

He stood up staggeringly: "I'm going to meet the captain right now." After taking two steps, his expression suddenly changed, he clutched his stomach, and arched his body in pain.

Giuliano supported him with concern: "What's wrong with you?!"

"I am seasick…"

After that, Antoine rushed to the side of the ship, facing the sea, and silently vomited.

Giuliano kindly placed a wooden barrel next to Antoine's bed, so that he could vomit in the barrel at any time. Antoine has already vomited out yesterday's meal, his stomach is empty, and now he is vomiting acid water. The doctor on the ship came to see him once, but according to his statement—"Seasickness is born or not, he is hopeless!"—There is no particularly good treatment method, and it is impossible for the "Rising Moon" to return to the voyage for only one person. , so Antoine can only survive with his own perseverance.

("When he gets over it, he'll discover a whole new world!" the doctor encouraged optimistically. "What if he didn't make it through?" Giuliano asked. "Dead of dehydration," the doctor replied.)

Now, Antoine is curled up sadly like a wounded hamster, with only his furry head sticking out. Giuliano helped him tuck the quilt in a complicated mood: "Didn't you also take a boat when you went to Akertown? How did you survive that time?"

"Forget it...it's like going to hell..." Antoine looked like he was going to throw up again. So Giuliano wisely ended the topic of boating.

"Then go to sleep, you won't feel dizzy when you fall asleep. Remember to drink plenty of water." The doctor added sleeping pills to Antoine's drinking water. It would be great if he could sleep peacefully all the way. Antoine responded weakly, sobbing and closing his eyes. Giuliano patted him on the back, turned off the alchemy lamp, and tiptoed out of the cabin. The captain deliberately set aside a single room for the three distinguished guests, so that they would not have to sleep with the sailors in the same bunk.

Enzo leaned against the outside of the cabin, with his arms crossed over his chest. Seeing Giuliano coming out after closing the door, he sneered undisguisedly: "What a 'protect' us, he hasn't shown his skills yet, but let us take care of him first."

"He's kind too..." Giuliano defended his friend.

"I think he was sent by Suveta to slow us down."

Giuliano made a grimace: "Leave Antoine alone. Let's go see Fernando."

"That's what I meant. I thought you would rush to the cell as soon as you got on the boat, but I didn't expect it to be delayed until now."

"Fernando can't run away, he can go anytime. This is in the middle of the sea, and he can hardly fly even with wings."

Fernando was imprisoned in a cell on the lower deck. The walls of the cell were cast with molten iron, making it airtight, and there were special guards around the clock. Unless he suddenly learned the magic of penetrating walls, he would never be able to escape. In the four years since the "Shengyue" has been in service, it has transported countless prisoners, and there has never been a fugitive.

Giuliano and Enzo descend to the cell area below deck. With the permission of the captain, they are free to enter and exit any place on the ship. The sailors guarding the prisoners knew them. Maybe it was because of the captain's order, or maybe he wanted to make a good impression in front of the "commissioner of the general", he enthusiastically welcomed the two of them in.

"Prisoner Fernando is locked in the innermost cell. Be careful, he has a violent personality. When he was escorted to the boat, he beat several people like crazy. We had no choice but to chain him up. We need villains Open the chain?"

Giuliano shook his hand: "No need. We just came to ask questions, just across the iron railing. You step back."

"Yes, yes." The guard bowed and stepped back respectfully.

It was dark below the deck, and the only source of light was the alchemy lantern Giuliano held. Being locked up in such a place where you can't see your fingers, even a normal person will go crazy. For a moment, Giuliano sympathized with Fernando. But this small sympathy was quickly replaced by a surging hatred. He had run for his life in the same dark night, and now it was Fernando's turn. It's really a cycle of heaven and earth, and the retribution is not good.

Holding the lantern, he walked to the deepest part of the cell area with Enzo. As the guard said, there was a person in the innermost cell that was firmly chained. The man was wearing a striped prison uniform, with disheveled hair and a deeply bowed head. Hearing the sound of footsteps, he moved, and the iron chain made a rattling sound. He shrank back as if startled by the sound he was making. Giuliano came to the iron bars and raised his lantern to illuminate the prisoner's face.

That's right, Fernando. His cousin used to be a glamorous noble young master, whose unrestrained style and handsome face won the hearts of many ladies and ladies, but now he is disheveled and disheveled, and he no longer has the noble and elegant demeanor. Ordinary prisoners are no different. Giuliano couldn't help sneering, his chest full of revenge.

The light from the lantern blinded Fernando. Giuliano shook the lantern deliberately: "Fernando, open your eyes and see, who is visiting you?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Fernando shivered suddenly, and the iron chain rattled again. Enduring the pain in his eyes, he looked at the man holding the lantern.

"Is...you...?" He gasped, "Are you alive? You really are alive? When Malcolm told me you weren't dead, I didn't believe it..."

"Of course, I'm alive and well. I didn't expect it, Fernando, not only did I escape, but now I'm back to seek revenge from you!"

"Revenge? Ha!" Fernando laughed dryly, "I have lost all power and can only spend the rest of my life on an isolated island, how do you want revenge? Are you going to kill me?" He simply closed his eyes, "Then do it Come on! It’s my bad luck to fall into your hands!”

"My parents regard you as a close relative, but you betrayed them and caused them to die miserably. If you die, it will be too cheap for you." Giuliano took a step towards the iron railing, "Give you a chance, honestly Tell me, and I'll give you a treat. Tell me, why did Boniwell kill my parents?"

"You want to torture me? Torture me? Oh, whatever you want. I won't say anything."

"You—!" Giuliano wished he could whip out a whip on the spot and give Fernando a hard lesson. But he didn't have a torture tool in his hand, so he walked out of the cell angrily, looking for the guard.

Seeing that Giuliano returned so soon, the guard guessed that he didn't get any information from the prisoner.

"Do you two adults need anything else?"

Giuliano snorted: "The prisoner can't speak, so he can only use torture."

"Oh, my lord, you can't do this. When you arrive at the place of exile, there will be people to meet you. If they find traces of torture on the prisoners, they will definitely blame us for indiscriminate punishment. Don't embarrass the villain."

"Then what do you say?!"

The guard rubbed his hands, obviously experienced in this matter, and had a clever plan long ago. "The villain has a way to make him speak without torture."

"Don't be tricky, just say it!"

"Yes, yes. Prisoner Fernando was born in a noble family. He has been pampered since he was a child, and he doesn't know what it's like to be hungry. The villain suggested starving him for a few days. As long as a person is extremely hungry, he is willing to eat and do anything, let alone never. A noble young master who has suffered? As long as you starve him for a few days, he will know everything and talk about it."

This method is really insidious, but it is still a coup. Besides, Giuliano was quite happy to see Fernando suffer. He nodded: "Just do as you say."

He took out a coin and tossed it to the guard. After getting a reward, the guard's attitude is more attentive. According to the military regulations, he should be punished for accepting bribes like this, but life on board is hard, and the sailors have long been used to collecting bribes from the family members of exiles and giving preferential treatment to prisoners along the way. This is a kind of ethos, and no one will report it. The same is true of cruel treatment of prisoners now.

"When he is willing to confess, you will inform me."

After speaking, Giuliano and Enzo left the cell together.