“As the eldest son, I realize my abilities are insufficient, so I voluntarily renounce my right to inherit the territory.”
In the hall, Raphael took a deep breath and spoke in a muffled tone.
“Very well, Raphael. You have self-awareness.”
Seated at the head of the long table, the middle-aged man’s expression was indifferent. “Your abilities are not enough to uphold the honor of our ducal family. Even if you are the eldest son, you should step aside for the more capable.”
Raphael seemed engulfed in great grief, lowering his head as if sobbing.
‘Crying again. Always crying. What a disgrace to the Lancaster name!’
‘If he weren’t the duke’s eldest son, the Blood Race would have already ripped out his heart and lungs.’
‘What a shame. The lady passed away too early, otherwise the young master wouldn’t have turned out like this.’
On both sides of the long table, seated close relatives and high nobles, as well as standing lesser nobles and servants, all unabashedly discussed Raphael.
Some belittled and insulted him, others expressed regret and pity.
To them, this was already a daily routine.
After all, not even Raphael’s father, the duke himself, had ever stepped forward to defend his son’s reputation.
After a while, the duke waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
“Next, I declare that the dukedom and all inheritance rights to the Lancaster family territory belong to my second son, Antonio Lancaster!”
At that moment, applause and praise erupted, stinging more sharply than the earlier taunts and insults.
Raphael slunk away from the hall like a beaten dog.
But no one noticed that his face, which had seemed utterly devastated, suddenly shifted expression.
Joy spread across it.
‘I’ve been pretending to be a fool for sixteen years. Today, I’m finally getting free!’
‘Go ahead and laugh! Laugh all you want! Biased father, scheming brother, nagging aunts and uncles—with you people, the ducal house is doomed sooner or later.’
Raphael excitedly returned to his room and began packing his belongings.
‘Based on the timeline, it’s only a few months until the original plot starts.’
‘Time waits for no one. I’ll leave immediately. Destination—Tulip Prison!’
His former self was the eldest son of Duke Lancaster’s household.
In the original story, he was assassinated by an unknown figure on the eve of inheriting the dukedom.
That event became the trigger for the Imperial capital’s civil unrest and the Blood Race invasion.
As a transmigrator who knew the plot in advance, Raphael naturally had no intention of following the same path.
Thus, over the years, he had spared no effort in playing the fool, all to shake off the burden of inheriting the dukedom.
Of course, that was only one reason.
As for the other reason…
[Ding!]
[It has been detected that you possess insights surpassing this world.]
[To promote the rule of law in this world, the Prison System has been automatically installed.]
[Unlock Condition: Be at least 18 years old and become the warden of any prison.]
Compared to the dukedom, Raphael coveted this system far more.
Yesterday, he proposed to his father the duke that he exchange his inheritance rights for the management authority over a medium-to-large prison.
Given the duke’s status and reputation, this was not difficult.
The duke had accepted the proposal without hesitation and never once questioned his motives.
‘You—even if you said you wanted to go shovel manure, I wouldn’t be surprised.’
Now, his grand plan had succeeded!
All that remained was for him to assume office and activate the system.
From then on, he would cheat his way to glory and prosperity!
He was determined to indulge in wine, women, and all the pleasures of life!
To soothe the traumas he had endured over the years.
‘Ah, my birth family.’
He boarded the steam train, and it raced onward.
The scenery of the Imperial capital flashed past the window: the crowded main district, the dilapidated slums, the bent-over farmers in the suburbs, the soldiers patrolling back and forth…
The Imperial capital—this prosperous cage—with its ceaseless steam engines, had pushed countless people into the abyss of capitalization.
Magic was in decline, the Blood Race was rampant, serving as both internal and external drivers of the empire’s industrialization.
All kinds of social problems naturally emerged.
Crime and mortality rates remained alarmingly high.
And his destination, Tulip Prison—a prison located between the Imperial capital and Angres, housing death row inmates and half-bloods—was now close at hand.
He got off the train and took a carriage to the prison. By the time he arrived, it was completely dark.
The prison’s outer perimeter consisted of high walls covered with silver-plated steel spikes.
This was a necessary measure to prevent Blood Race infiltration.
The moment he stepped inside, the system notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding!]
[All unlock conditions have been met. The Prison System is now officially activated.]
[Current Level: 1]
[Inherent Skill: Warden]
[Warden: As the supreme leader of the prison, you can fully grasp the dynamic attributes of the prison and the loyalty of its staff. You can also release a pressure that intimidates prisoners and staff.]
[Inherent Skill: Executioner]
[Executioner: Execute prisoners to obtain rewards. You can see each prisoner’s sin level. The higher the sin level, the richer the execution reward.]
[Expand the prison’s scale and increase its reputation to upgrade the system.]
[Upon system upgrade, more skills will be unlocked!]
Gulp.
Raphael swallowed hard.
Even though he had already confirmed the system’s authenticity, seeing it now still stirred an uncontrollable excitement!
He opened the prison’s detailed status panel.
[Tulip Prison: Level 1]
[Current Influence: 8 (Unknown)]
[Staff: 35]
[Guards: 80]
[Prisoners: 1,220]
[Liquid Capital: 13,000 Crowns]
[Fixed Assets: 5,000,000 Crowns]
[Current Debt: 6,000,000 Crowns]
[Current Net Assets: -987,000 Crowns]
[Projected Monthly Expenses: 18,000 Crowns (including staff and guard salaries of 11,500 Crowns, daily prison expenses of 6,500 Crowns)]
[Projected Monthly Income: 2,000 Crowns (labor subsidy of 1,400 Crowns, weaving workshop 600 Crowns)]
[Prison Riot Index: 98 (Influenced by factors such as work, living conditions, salary and benefits of staff and prisoners. Once it reaches 100, a riot is inevitable.)]
[Special Note: This prison has been privately acquired. It must operate at its own profit and loss.]
After quickly scanning the prison’s details, Raphael’s face twisted into a grimace.
“Damn it. I voluntarily demoted myself to a prison, and that old man still has to screw me over here.”
“In a world where the average worker earns 100 Crowns a month, how the hell did this prison rack up 6 million Crowns in debt?”
“A riot index of 98—probably means if they can’t pay this month’s wages, everything’s going to blow.”
Raphael recalled today’s date.
May 23rd.
‘So, a riot next week?’
Hearing a noise, a guard poked his head out the window.
“Who goes there!”
“I am Raphael Lancaster. As of today, I am appointed as the Warden of Tulip Prison.”
Hearing this, the guard glanced at the documents on the table and then opened the door.
‘The discipline here is terrible. The guards are negligent, opening the door without thoroughly verifying my identity. Truly a mess inside and out…’
Meanwhile, inside the prison guardroom, several guards were drinking and playing cards around a small table.
“Boss, the new warden is coming soon. Is it really okay for us to be playing cards here?”
“New warden? I don’t care if he’s new or old. They can’t even pay our wages. You expect me to go greet him?”
The woman threw down a card and grabbed a peanut from the table. “Besides, what decent person comes to a prison in the middle of the night? Not afraid of getting snatched by the Blood Race and refined on the spot?”
The others burst into laughter.
“Heh. Sorry I didn’t get snatched by the Blood Race then.”
The woman froze.
That voice… She had never heard it before. It was soft and clear, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness—the oppressive aura of a superior!
Thud.
The peanut fell to the floor, splitting into two halves.