Volume 4, Chapter 58 – The Test

In the dark, damp, and cold prison, two young women with a rather noticeable height difference were walking side by side. The expressions on their faces were nearly identical, both wearing a cold indifference that inspired awe. The clacking of their hard-soled shoes on the stone steps echoed like a death knell in people’s hearts.

These two were Fia and Erin Slate. The former, with her black hair and black formal dress, seemed to blend into the dark corridor, with only her flashing red eyes indicating her presence. The latter was like a demon queen descended into the night, her alluring curves and long, shapely legs attracting one’s gaze while also exuding a dangerous aura, like scorched honey.

This was the prison in the capital of Blossom where important criminals were held. If a criminal did not have a certain status, even if they had committed a capital crime like murder, they were not qualified to be imprisoned here. At the same time, once one was imprisoned here, there was almost only one way out: death. The only difference was the method.

As they had already gone some distance underground, Erin Slate knew that no one could hear their conversation. She tilted her head and suggested, her elegant and delicate face filled with puzzlement and doubt.

“Lord Thanatos, I do not think you will get what you want. In the end, there is no need to do this at all, because the answer has already been determined.”

“One can only be sure of the result after trying everything. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand possibility, if it is missed, it will become a lingering regret in one’s heart.”

Fia answered calmly. Because the weather had turned cold, and this was a dark and damp underground prison, she had deliberately worn a cloak before coming in. But she hadn’t expected that even with a cloak, the chill still seeped into her body from her ankles.

She really didn’t know how Erin Slate could walk around with bare legs and not feel the cold. Fia secretly glanced at her. In contrast to herself, who was wearing black stockings, Erin not only had no stockings, but was also only wearing a pair of high heels that only reached her ankles. The sight of her skin directly exposed to the cold air was enough to make one feel a chill.

As if noticing Fia’s observing gaze, a brief flash of happiness appeared in Erin Slate’s eyes, but she quickly hid it. She frowned, her expression becoming serious.

“But your worry is unnecessary. Loca knows what kind of person Reinhardt is better than any of us. And even if he has a change of heart now, she will not forgive him.”

“Hah, I more or less hope that he can repent. That way, although Loca may not forgive him on the surface, she might feel a little better in her heart.”

After all, there was no child who did not want their parents to care more about them.

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Fia had no intention of letting Count Reinhardt go. She was just considering things from Loca’s perspective.

However, only she could understand her own words. Erin Slate could not. She only thought that Fia might be trying to test Loca’s loyalty. And if it was to test her loyalty, then she would say no more. With the precedent of Becky, Erin Slate knew that loyalty must always come first. If Count Reinhardt’s choice truly made Loca waver, then there was no reason for her to continue to exist in the organization.

She did not press further and accompanied Fia to the end of the prison. This place was like the prison where Liti had been held in the temple, with many single cells on both sides of the corridor. A layer of mithril had been poured into the walls, and several reinforcing magic barriers had been added. Since this prison had been built, no one had ever successfully escaped.

Erin Slate took out a key with an inscription and opened an empty cell. After laying out a warm cushion for Fia to ensure that she would not have to sit on the cold stone bed, she walked out of the room and, with a series of clanks, opened another cell door here.

It’s so cold.

Sitting on the cushion, Fia subconsciously stood up and touched her bottom, then sat down again. Because the stone bed was so cold, she had thought for a moment that she had sat in water. Even through the thick cushion, the cold still seeped through. After spending a night here, even a person with the best constitution would probably catch a cold.

While Erin Slate was away fetching Reinhardt, she looked up and observed the single cell. As this was a prison for high nobles, it was fully equipped. Besides the lack of a window, there were tables, chairs, paper, towels, and cups. Even the quilt folded on the stone bed was of high quality. Fia also saw a clean wooden bucket and a curtain to cover it in the corner. She guessed that it was the toilet, since there was no bathroom in the room.

So this kind of wooden bucket was for toilet use.

Because she had never had the need to relieve herself, and had been in a carriage for the past period of time, she did not know that this kind of bucket was a container for people’s convenience. When she had seen it in an inn in the past, she had thought it was a container for people to pour out wastewater like face-washing water.

By the way, now that she was living in the Royal Castle, and her every move was being watched by the maids, should she pretend to have excretory needs? After all, if the maids noticed, it might become something of an urban legend over time… how embarrassing.

“Have mercy, Your Highness! Have mercy!”

“I was only implicated! I didn’t know that idiot Aldrich would rebel!”

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“Spare my life, Your Highness!”

With the sound of Erin Slate opening the cell, the quiet corridor instantly became noisy. The nobles imprisoned here all squeezed their heads to the small windows that their hands couldn’t even reach out of and cried out. Fia could clearly hear the voices of Count Lafaria and others from inside—as the failures of the coup, most of the nobles belonging to Prince Schain’s faction were imprisoned here.

“Silence!”

Erin Slate’s oppressive voice quickly silenced the corridor. Then, she led the just-released Count Reinhardt before Fia.

Although his hands and feet were in shackles, the obese Count Reinhardt’s movements were surprisingly agile. As if he had practiced it in his mind countless times, the moment he saw Fia, he fell to his knees with a thud. The fat on his face trembled as he cried and complained to her with a mixture of snot and tears.

“Your Highness, I-I’m innocent! I didn’t know that idiot Aldrich would rebel! If I had known, I would have told you immediately! I really have nothing to do with him!”

Erin Slate, standing behind him, clearly frowned. Fia had a feeling that if she hadn’t given the order, she would have already taught him a lesson.

Faced with his tear-streaked face, Fia, sitting on the stone bed, was expressionless. As if to say it for others to hear, her volume was undisguised.

“The evidence of your participation in the coup has already been found by the Imperial Guard. You still want to argue at this point?”

“Uh,” he was stunned for a moment, but he seemed to have long expected that the evidence would be found. Almost without hesitation, he kowtowed to her and begged for mercy. “I-I was also forced, Your Highness! That guy Aldrich threatened and lured me! He said that if I didn’t help him, he would send people to assassinate me just like he did to General Greyan! I had no choice but to—”

“Kneel properly!”

Because his pig-like body had lunged forward, Erin Slate instantly placed the blade of her sword against his neck.

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Feeling the bone-chilling cold on his neck, his body trembled. He swallowed and looked up with a pleading expression.

“Your Highness, please spare me. I-I promise to be your dog in the future. I will do whatever you say, and I will never go back on my word!”

“Oh?” Hearing him say the expected lines, Fia threw a piece of paper filled with the elf language in front of him and said coldly, “You know what to do.”

“This is…?”

Although he didn’t know what she wanted, the hope of life was right before him. He quickly and tremblingly picked up the paper and read it.

And then, his face turned pale. His features scrunched together, his smile uglier than a cry.

“Your Highness, this…”

“It’s fine if you don’t agree. Count Lafaria will take your place.”

“Ugh…”

Count Reinhardt’s breath caught, and he hesitated.

Although there was a lot written on the paper, it could be summarized in a few points. He needed to admit that he had participated in the coup, and to confess the entire process of Prince Schain’s intended rebellion. And in this process, besides the things that had actually happened, he also had to admit to some things that Schain had not done.

First, spreading the false news of the Elf King’s death in an attempt to lure Fia away from the capital. Second, that Greyan had been murdered by him. Now that idiot Schain was dead after his failed coup, he had no psychological burden in agreeing to these things. He had already thought it through during his night in prison. When you’re dead, you have nothing. Compared to being ridiculed, being alive was more precious.

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His hesitation was only because, would Fia really spare him just because he admitted to these crimes?

He had a look of wanting to say something but not being able to. He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but didn’t know how to start. The sword on his neck made his skin ache, and he dared not say a single word of dissent.

“You have committed the crime of rebellion. It is impossible for you to continue to live as a noble. But if you are willing to testify, I can just exile you. As for whether you are exiled to the north or the south, you can choose one yourself.”

“Ex… exile…”

As if he were trying to understand the meaning of the word, his lips moved, his eyes filled with great reluctance.

Fia said, intentionally or not.

“If you feel that without your status and power, you might as well die, you can give your chance to live to your daughter, Loca.”

“Give it to Loca?!” Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, the news made Reinhardt’s whole body tremble. He stared with wide eyes, his expression clearly anxious. “Your Highness, could it be… could it be you only plan to spare me alone?”

“I am giving you a choice out of mercy. You, as the main culprit of the rebellion, still want your family to live?”

“Your Highness, I think you should just find Count Lafaria. A greedy person has no right to speak with you.”

Erin Slate’s prodding made the anxiety in his heart even stronger. His breathing quickened, and his face flushed red. He wanted to fight for something, but Fia directly stood up. This action made his heart sink. He disregarded the longsword still at his neck, straightened his back, and hurriedly shouted.

“W-wait, Your Highness!”