The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

I quickly spread my arms and pressed my body flat against the tunnel wall. The water suddenly poured out with a loud crash, carrying heaps of garbage along with it, which quickly assaulted my body. I closed my eyes and leaned fully against the wall.

Before long, the water began to creep up to my neck, and the heavy current enveloped my body. For a moment, I nearly lost my balance, but the heavy stone I had created allowed me to barely hold on.

The stench of waste hit my nose. I grimaced and closed my eyes. The water swiftly passed by me, and soon, the current around me weakened. I slowly opened my eyes.

The water had risen to my chest.

"Derol, are you alright? What about the red-eyed rat?"

"We’re fine. Thanks to you, Master, we managed to hold on."

Relieved, I turned to the side. The others seemed to be holding on well thanks to the heavy stone I had created. I dipped my hand into the water and spread my fingers. Only then did I notice that the stone surrounding me was gradually becoming lighter.

I shouted, "We can move now."

Then I immediately asked Derol, "Derol, where should we go from here? Could you ask the red-eyed rat?"

"Yes, just a moment, please."

I heard squeaking sounds above my head. The weight felt strange, but there was no helping it. The red-eyed rat jumped down from my head.

Surprised, I looked up.

Derol said, "It says it will swim ahead. It prefers to be on top of your head, but it says it’s faster that way."

"Alright."

The red-eyed rat seemed quite experienced in swimming as it moved skillfully ahead. I followed it closely.

Although the surroundings were dark, the sound of water cutting through the current was loud enough for me to keep up. However, due to the water, my movements were slow, and the others seemed to be in the same situation.

"I never want to be in water like this again."

I silently agreed. I didn’t want to explore through this filth anymore.

After swimming for a while, the red-eyed rat suddenly stopped and looked back.

Wondering what was wrong, I approached it. But since we couldn’t communicate directly, I asked Derol, "Derol, do you know what’s happening?"

Derol squeaked from above while the red-eyed rat approached me.

"Master, it says it can’t swim any longer. It’s too tired."

It had become noticeably slower in its swimming. I reached out my hand to the rat. It struggled to climb onto me and shook itself off, splashing droplets of water onto my face.

I closed my eyes and exhaled. The disgusting smell hit me hard.

Grimacing, I reluctantly opened my eyes and moved the rat to the top of my head. The added weight on my head made it feel heavy.

I let out a quiet sigh. Rowell, I won’t let you do what you want.

That was the only thought running through my mind now.

I followed the squeaking of the red-eyed rat. The current seemed to be growing stronger.

Was it because my body was exhausted, or was the current too strong…?

I also noticed that the voices behind me had become less frequent. Everyone seemed to be tiring.

In a weak voice, I asked, "Derol, how much farther do we have to go?"

I heard squeaking again, followed by Derol’s voice.

"Just a little bit more."

Hearing that, I felt slightly relieved and immediately turned around. "They said we only have a little farther to go!"

I heard a light sigh behind me.

"Thank goodness. We’ll finally get out of this dreadful water."

"We've been walking for quite a while. Are we sure this is still inside the prison?"

At that moment, I felt a chill run down my arm. We had indeed been walking in this tunnel for a while. If it didn't lead farther underground, then we must have already left the prison.

I quickly asked Derol, "Derol, where will we end up when we get out of here?"

After a brief pause, Derol replied, "We’ll emerge near the sewage treatment plant by the capital."

"The sewage treatment plant… That's quite far from the palace, isn’t it?" I muttered.

A voice from behind responded, "Does that mean we’ll end up at the sewage treatment plant?"

I immediately turned around. "Yes, is the sewage treatment plant far from the palace?"

"Well, it’s quite far. If we keep going, we’ll end up at the treatment plant…"

Upon hearing that, I felt a cold shiver run through me. "The treatment plant…"

Suddenly, the sound of water grew louder. I heard the red-eyed rat squeak more intensely, and for some reason, I had a bad feeling. The flow of the water around my ankles seemed to have grown stronger…

"Master, be careful! If we keep going, there’s a place where the water falls."

"What should we do then? Is there another way?"

Derol hesitated for a moment before responding, "There’s no other way. It’s either the waterfall or nothing."

"What?"

Before I had time to react, the current grew fiercer.

"What’s going on? The water is getting stronger!"

"What’s happening?"

I hurriedly answered, "There must be a waterfall nearby. Agh!"

I almost lost my balance but barely managed to steady myself. I quickly shouted, "Everyone, gather together and hold hands! I’ll try to make a barrier to block it!"

It might not be as strong as what Ardion could do, but since my mana had stabilized, I should be able to form a protective barrier around the people here. Of course, I had never tried it myself, but I had read about it in books.

The others gathered around and held hands. I joined them as well, feeling a little more confident.

Phew, I can do this. Ardion gave me mana, and it’s stabilized now, so I can make a barrier.

I took a deep breath and waved my hand. To my surprise, a strong barrier formed as water shot outward from my hand. I stared at the barrier in astonishment. I’m using such advanced magic.

I couldn’t believe it. After all the admiration I had for Ardion, it was my turn to use magic of this level. I was deeply grateful to him. Thanks to him giving me his mana, my own mana had stabilized, and now, I could use high-level magic.

But suddenly, my legs gave way.

The physician beside me quickly helped me up. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I’m fine." I forced a smile and called out above me, "Derol, hold on tight to my head. You too, red-eyed rat."

"Yes, Master. Don’t worry."

No sooner had I heard that than the current suddenly wrapped around my feet. There was no time to find solid footing as I heard the screams of the people holding hands, and water poured into my mouth.

The barrier of water around us briefly formed before quickly collapsing.

❋ ❋ ❋

Ardion slowly exhaled as mana swirled around his body. He gripped his chest and leaned 

against the wall for a moment. His whole body felt as though it was being pricked by needles. Even now, one person came to his mind.

Laila.

Ardion bit his lip and turned his gaze to his wrist. His eyebrows furrowed. Laila was moving little by little. Mana was visibly spinning around his arm. A servant passing by lowered his head in surprise. Ardion walked past the servant and quickly went down the stairs.

He ran to the carriage that had stopped in front of Rowell’s palace. He got into the carriage, saying to the coachman, “Go to the Entry Prison right now.”

The carriage soon started moving. But there were many people on the streets, so it stopped frequently.

Ardion opened the middle door of the carriage. “Don’t worry about the people and drive ahead. I’ll take care of the rest.”

The coachman nodded in confusion. Ardion looked at the window and touched it. Mana light began to surround the carriage beautifully. Then a person about to be hit by the carriage suddenly stopped under pouring water.

As Ardion’s carriage passed, people were stopped by the wind, dirt, and water, allowing the carriage to arrive at the Entry Prison in less than a few minutes.

Ardion immediately got out.

“Your Highness, this is…”

Ardion waved his hand as he quickly passed by, making the gatekeeper fall asleep. He had remained orderly and cared about people’s opinions of him, but all he had gotten in return was more pain.

I should have just destroyed everything from the beginning and thought only about Laila.

Ardion bit his lip as regret welled up from the depths of his heart. Mana surged from his arms, causing people around him to fall from their seats one by one. He entered the prison without any effort.

The hallway was dark. Ardion simply snapped his fingers to create a small fire, and the fire floated around him.

At that moment, a person coming down the stairs of the central hall met Ardion’s eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“I came to find Laila.”

“Laila?”

Ardion passed by him.

“Hey! You can’t go that way.” The person grabbed Ardion’s arm.

Ardion stopped and slowly looked down at his arm. The person holding his arm was startled by an inexplicable sense of pressure and pulled his arm away.

Ardion glanced at him and continued up the stairs.

The person blinked for a moment and stood there in a daze before turning around. Everyone was lying on the floor. His legs gave out.

“W-what is this…”

At that moment, the door to the entrance opened, and someone came in.

“What’s going on?” The prison warden frowned at the strange sight.

“A strange man came in.”

“A strange man?”

“I think I’ve seen him somewhere before… I’ll immediately contact the knights…”

The prison warden raised his hand. “There’s no need. His Highness the Crown Prince told me to keep an eye on the prison… It looks like that person has arrived.”