Chapter 16: Interrogation (Part 2)

Although only half an hour had passed, the purple hue in the light ring behind Hansen's head, which had originally accounted for one-third of it, now filled nearly half. It was growing at a rapid pace.

Combined with Kaios's Emotion Perception of Hansen's current state, he judged that this growing purple hue likely represented fear rather than disgust.

In this world, nobles with a certain degree of history and property generally selected their Servants, Guards, and Contracted Servants from among the ordinary Subjects in their territories. Therefore, once these Servants or Guards made a mistake, they were terrified of implicating their families, who might be living on the territory or working in other positions. Although ordinary punishments did not involve guilt by association, there would inevitably be some repercussions.

This was also why, when the Mad Knight charged into the manor the other day, those Servants and Guards—regardless of whether they were bound by Soul Contracts, whether they possessed Magic or Spiritual Qi, or what color the light rings behind their heads were—did not choose to flee. Instead, they immediately stepped forward to intercept and fight back. They all knew that if they cowered during such a major crisis, the noble's rules alone would be enough to make their lives a living hell and implicate their families, even without the punishment of a Soul Contract.

Those Subjects who relied on the nobles were essentially no different from slaves. Let alone freedom, they did not even have control over their own lives. A Lord could dictate everything about them at will. On the contrary, those whose Cultivation Talents were recognized and who signed Soul Subordination Contracts with their Lords experienced a qualitative change in their status and living conditions, even though their lives were now even more tightly controlled by their Lords.

These were the conclusions Kaios had drawn over the past two days through observation and conversation. It seemed simple, but it helped him understand many behaviors that his original cognitive framework could not comprehend.

Take the current situation for example. Hansen believed he had been dragged here to see the master because he had spoken ill of him.

In the aristocratic values of this world, speaking ill of a Lord behind his back was a crime with a highly flexible scope of punishment, completely dependent on the Lord's attitude and the sensitivity of the remarks. Judging by Hansen's reaction, he clearly knew that his bad-mouthing was extremely sensitive and could directly trigger the maximum penalty. His family, and even those close to him, would suffer alongside him.

"Tell me, why did I call you over?" Kaios asked, his voice flat, revealing neither pleasure nor anger.

"It was because this lowly one was reckless and ungrateful, spreading... rumors about you behind your back, Master. I... deserve ten thousand deaths," Hansen said, pressing his forehead against the floor.

"Repeat exactly what you said."

"I wouldn't dare."

"I told you to repeat it, so repeat it. Do not lie."

"Yes..." Left with no choice, Hansen briefly recounted the conversation he'd had in the kitchen. However, he deliberately omitted what the young Servant had said, especially that most crucial sentence.

"In this rumor, what happened to Woda and the Tec family's two Chief Stewards?" Kaios asked leisurely.

Hansen originally wanted to say he didn't know, but he seemed to realize that such an excuse wouldn't hold up. After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "They died..."

"Did you make up this rumor?"

This time, Hansen hesitated even longer. After a good while, he replied in a trembling voice, "Yes..."

Kneeling on the floor, Hansen tightly shut his eyes, awaiting his final judgment. To his surprise, Kaios asked instead, "What are you responsible for in the kitchen?"

"I am responsible for preparing the ingredients—oh, mainly the vegetables and fruits." Although Hansen didn't quite understand why he was being asked this right now, he hurriedly added, "I have always poured my heart and soul into my work! I've never made a single mistake."

"Do you only prepare ingredients on a regular basis?"

"Yes... My culinary skills are not yet up to par, so I cannot take charge of the cooking for now. Uh, sometimes, when Mr. Chris is too busy, I also help him purchase vegetables and fruits."

"How many times have you gone out in the past three days?"

"Once. Oh, it was the day the Kendall family's Mad Knight went crazy. I just so happened to be at the market buying supplies."

"On your way there, or while at the market, did you discuss my affairs with anyone?"

"Master! I have never spoken of your affairs to outsiders, nor have I spread rumors to them... I deserve a thousand deaths, but I am loyal to you and loyal to the Li family!"

"Alright. You may step down for now," Kaios said.

Hearing this, Hansen could hardly believe his ears. He looked up, waited for a moment, and tentatively asked, "I can leave?"

"Do I need to have someone carry you out?" Kaios said, annoyed.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master..."

After a profoundly grateful Hansen exited the room, Kaios gave an order to Sharvella. "Have someone keep an eye on him. Be careful. Then, tell Harvey to bring Zhu He here."

"Yes," Sharvella replied. Then, unable to hold back, she asked, "He didn't confess honestly. Should I question him again on your behalf, Master?"

Kaios, of course, knew exactly what she meant by "question." Just like Pete, her idea of interrogation was straight-up torture. It wasn't that he was being overly compassionate; rather, his Emotion Perception, combined with observing the Goodwill Light Rings, allowed him to determine whether someone was lying. Sometimes, this was far more effective than direct physical torment. Although it seemed like his conversation with Hansen had yielded no results—having not even touched upon the most critical question—he had actually gleaned quite a bit of information.

Kaios waved his hand dismissively. "No need. I have my own arrangements."

Soon, the Contracted Servant and Light Guard, Zhu He, was brought into the study. The light ring behind his head was one-tenth yellow, with the rest entirely gray.

Since he was also one of the Guards injured during the Mad Knight incident, Kaios remembered him and had even visited him personally. He recalled that when the Mad Knight was first wreaking havoc in the manor, the light ring behind Zhu He had been entirely gray with just a hint of purple. By the time Kaios visited him, it was completely gray. Now, seeing him again in the study, it even had a touch of yellow.

If judged solely by the Goodwill Light Rings, there was no doubt that Hansen looked more like the inside man, the traitor, than Zhu He did. However, when Kaios probed Hansen earlier, the man had shown no abnormal reactions. He had even voluntarily linked the time he left the manor to the Mad Knight incident.

"This lowly one, Zhu He, greets you, Master." The moment Zhu He entered, he dropped to one knee to bow, displaying utmost reverence.

"Mhm, rise. How are your injuries healing?" Kaios asked amiably.

The official reason for summoning him was to reward him, so it was only natural for Zhu He to look a bit cheerful and entirely un-nervous right now. After all, Kaios had visited these injured Guards more than once before.

"Thanks to your blessings, Master, Physician Grossman's Magic is superb. My injuries are completely healed!" Zhu He's gratitude appeared incredibly genuine; at the very least, Kaios couldn't sense any falsehood in it.

"It's good that you're fully healed. You performed very well this time," Kaios nodded with a smile, before suddenly shifting the topic. "By the way, before the Mad Knight barged in the other day, you were away from the manor for a while? I heard from Commander Lu that you were supposed to be patrolling outside the manor with several other Guards, but you wandered off halfway through?"

Zhu He clearly froze for a moment. Though his face remained relatively expressionless, Kaios distinctly felt his emotions rapidly shifting—from fondness to confusion, and then swiftly plunging into nervousness.

"I urgently needed to relieve myself, so I stepped away for a moment to urinate."

"It took you quite a while, didn't it?"

"I couldn't immediately find the patrol squad when I returned, so I was delayed for a bit..."

"I already know what you did," Kaios interrupted.

Zhu He looked up at him in surprise. "I don't understand." Yet, his emotional state screamed extreme anxiety. Furthermore, Kaios saw the light ring behind his head. The yellow hue was fading rapidly, quickly turning into a completely gray ring that even began to seep purple.

"Who did you go deliver the message to?" Kaios stared at him and demanded quickly.

"Master, I don't understand what you mean. I didn't..." Beads of sweat formed on Zhu He's forehead, and the light ring behind his head was now one-tenth purple.

Kaios interrupted him once again. "I know you were just following orders. You couldn't call the shots, and I can understand that. Tell me the truth. Although I cannot guarantee that I won't kill you, I promise your family will not be implicated. Otherwise..."

But before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly noticed that all of Zhu He's emotions had vanished in an instant. The purple in the light ring behind his head disappeared alongside them, leaving the entire ring completely gray.

"Something's wrong! Sharvella, subdue him!" Kaios ordered.

At the same time, the whites of Zhu He's eyes became bloodshot. A dazzling white glow burst forth from his entire body, quickly turning into a crimson light, as his emotions morphed into sheer, tyrannical madness.