The Duke took Oliver to the dungeons and locked him in a cell on the first floor.
"Have you heard about the recent abductions?" asked the Duke.
"No, Your Majesty. Did something happen to William? Was he abducted?" said Oliver with a slightly worried voice.
"You answer my questions, not the other way around." said the Duke with a cold voice. "Now, where did you learn the law? You seemed to know it pretty well."
"I studied all I could for my entry exam. I didn't have access to a lot of books, so whatever I could find, I read a few times. I stumbled upon an old book that described the principles that were used when the laws of our kingdom were written 100 years ago. Also, there were described most of the laws and how they were applied. I guessed that most of them would still apply, only with minor changes." responded Oliver.
"It is true that 100 years ago, such a book was sent to each city and town in the Kingdom of Sapphire. You did well to prepare from there. The laws haven't changed much since then." said the Duke with a praising, yet still cold, tone. This boy was very smart and it was commendable that he had the determination to learn everything by himself. William was the same, but most kids, at least those from Susa, wouldn't learn a thing on their own. Their parents had to beg them to study. The Duke realised as he looked at Oliver that he looked really familiar... He reminded him of... Wait a minute! He was getting off track. He shaked his head and said: "And where did you learn to fight?"
"Growing up in the village made me encounter many wild animals. I fought bears and snakes lots of times when I went in the woods near the village to find berries of mushrooms. Also, today I learned a lot from watching your son fight and my opponent attack me."
"If you hadn't had combat training before, how come you had enough time to defend while watching and learning?" asked the Duke regaining his suspicions.
"I just told you that I was used to fighting snakes and bears. They are a lot stronger and faster then me, so I had to watch their moves very carefully to not get hit or bitten. That's how I developed my defensive skills. Also, the martial arts master didn't start his attack with hard to defend attacks. Thus, I had enough time to learn slowly." responded Oliver sincerely.
"That is by no means slow. However, your responses don't seem right. Normally, you would need some time to recall past events, but in only a few moments you are able to give a clear response. It is almost as if you have your answers prepared." said the Duke even colder. He was getting more and more suspicions. Although when they left the village he was ready to just ask him some questions on the way and then take him to his palace to see William, now he was glad that he didn't do that. Oliver was either a very smart kid, or a trained assassin. If he was a professional assassin and the Duke would have let him free, it could prove fatal. He seemed like a good kid, but all the previous assassins that came in the past after his family were also great at masking their intentions, so he had to make sure that Oliver was 'on the good side' before letting him free. A good idea to test Oliver popped into his mind: "Guards, take him to the torture room!"
Oliver's eyes were instantly covered and he was lifted. He was confused and scared. Could he be suspicious because of his accuracy? This was not how he thought that things would turn out.
"Your Majesty, I think there has been a misunderstanding. Although I don't expect you to believe me, I did not do anything wrong! Has something happened to William? Could you tell me why you are questioning me, please?" asked Oliver a little bit scared. He never thought he would even visit a torture room, much less be the one tortured. He waited for a response, but he didn't get one. The only sound that came in response was the closing of a metal door, then, his eyes were uncovered. He was now in an underground room with stone walls and some dangerous looking weapons on them. The Duke wasn't present. Only one guard was with him inside the torture chamber. The guard checked outside the door for a moment and then shut it back and came closer to Oliver.
"Sorry mate, but this might be the end of the road for you. The only thing I can do for you is to let you free. If you want, you can run. The Duke is in the next room, getting ready. You will have to flee the capital and run far away if you don't want to get caught, but that's better than being tortured, right? " he said as he freed him.
Oliver was confused. This was the soldier that allowed him to speak to sister Mary too. Could it be that he was on Oliver's side and believed that he wasn't guilty? He was almost ready to make a run for it, but decided to stop. Why would spend his whole life on the run if he was innocent? He decided to wait for the Duke and just tell him the truth. However, he didn't forget to thank the soldier for his good intention: "Thank you very much for freeing me, but I want to stay. I am innocent, so I don't have any reason to spend my life on the run. I will wait for the Duke to come and I will explain everything to him."
The soldier exhaled a little bit disappointed. Then he said: "I just gave you the chance to run away and you shut it down. Do you think that righteousness will free you? I am sorry to tell you, but this world isn't fair and those in high positions tend to make abuse of their power... However, it is your choice. You can sit in silence and wait to be tortured until the Duke is satisfied and kills you."
Oliver started to fear that he made the wrong choice. Could it be that the Duke was actually evil? It would somewhat make sense then, but it couldn't be true. As he was having this internal struggle trying to choose if he should stay or leave, three knocks were heard on the door. The soldier opened the door and the Duke entered: "Let's begin!"