Confession Magic’s side effects are as clear as its performance is certain.
A symptom where those exposed to the magic for a long time go mad.
It inflicts great damage on the mind, as it forcibly extracts information one wants to hide.
“I am against it.
If he is innocent, the responsibility Your Highness will bear is too great.” “I cannot ignore a suspect just because I fear future responsibility.”
Camellia Andalusia walked leisurely to the terrace.
Her silhouette, bathed in the noon sun, looked like an ancient goddess statue.
“Can you assassinate The Holy See’s knights?
Without leaving any evidence, I mean.” “That…
is a difficult task even for me.”
The Head of the National Tax Service readily admitted it.
Certainly, in that regard, Derek’s family, famous for assassinations, was a prime suspect.
“As he is of a hostile family’s bloodline, I will personally confirm how great an ambition he holds.”
With a grim expression, Camellia slung a white jacket over her shoulders.
Then, she folded the report and tucked it into the pocket of her taut Dress Shirt.
“Will you depart immediately?” “I must.
Didn’t he say he wanted to meet me?
I will personally grant him a Royal Visit.”
Outside the terrace, the perpetually snow-capped mountains unfolded.
The Princess thought of a certain prison beyond the horizon.
Everyone had avoided meeting her, fearing her Confession Magic and sharp Aura Sense.
Yet he said he was eager to meet her.
“He’s certainly a strange one.”
***
“You certainly are strange.”
That afternoon.
The sound of clashing swords in the Prison Yard was incessant.
“The Swordsmanship is clearly that of our Imperial Knights, but your movements are as light as a thief’s.”
Her blue hair, tied to one side, danced haughtily.
Clea, who had even loosened her necktie, had been sparring with me for hours.
“Moreover, it’s unpleasant that you seem to be reading the flow of my mana.” “That’s a compliment, right?”
“Yes.
At this level, it certainly wasn’t just bravado.” “If you want to praise me, just do it.”
Clea took out a piece of graphite and wrote something down for me.
It was a swordsmanship training method used by the Imperial Knights.
She speaks coldly, but she’s meticulous in things like this.
“You mustn’t get complacent.
Even if you took care of two knights, The Youngest is the strongest in terms of pure force.” “It’s fine, I’m stronger…
wait a minute, who took care of what just now?”
As I widened my eyes, the Adjutant wagged her finger.
With the eye-smile unique to a cynical northern beauty.
“There’s no need to act in front of me.
No matter how hard you try, you can’t hide that Cunning Gaze.”
She, who looked pleased that The Holy See had been hit by a surprise attack.
A smile graced her shadowed face for the first time.
“I’m satisfied that the scoundrels who drugged and assaulted believers with aphrodisiacs are gone.”
Come to think of it, Clea was also demoted for assaulting a lustful member of the Imperial Royalty who had been obsessed with her.
Romancing her was something even veteran players failed at, so it was only natural.
“Because the aphrodisiac the prince tried to use on me was also from those filthy religion-peddlers.”
The Adjutant, seeming to be in a better mood than usual, lightly straightened my wrinkled sleeve.
With a soft and delicate touch unlike her personality, she even buttoned it for me.
“As a special treat today, I’ll put a sugar cube in your coffee.”
Putting in a sugar cube, even.
For her to give me one of the things she secretly snuck, one by one, while single-handedly saving the ruined prison’s finances, she must have a major misunderstanding.
If she, with her high intelligence stat, could have such a misunderstanding, in others’ eyes I must already be the culprit.
Still, it’s a relief I secured a solid alibi.
According to my memories from a previous life, the Three Great Holy Knights, unlike their flashy title, were famous for their debauched lives.
So I thought it was plausible enough, but for two of them to die so suddenly…
‘Based on the circumstantial evidence, it seems like the Saintess’s doing, but why did she suddenly kill them?’
While I was thinking about the unexpected variable, the Adjutant brought coffee.
Savoring the sweeter-than-usual aroma, I threw out a joke.
“You didn’t spit in it, did you?” “Do you want me to?”
Clea asked, sticking her tongue out slightly.
I quickly shook my head at that and tried to take a quick sip.
But…
Rumbleeee—.
My face, reflected on the black surface, began to vibrate slightly.
To the point where the entire old prison was shaking.
We simultaneously looked toward the prison entrance, the epicenter of the tremor.
In that moment.
I instantly realized who had come to visit this place of exile on the borderlands.
White armor and white horses, glittering in the noon sun.
The Empire’s finest elite soldiers, who had crushed the two kingdoms of Bacal and Ephina at the northern border.
At their head stood a woman in a form-fitting Combat Uniform.
「Derek Minster.」
Golden hair fluttered beautifully in the northern wind.
With a giant spear stuck in the ground, she pointed a finger straight at me.
「Prime Suspect in the murder of the Head Guard, in addition to two of The Holy See’s knights.」
It was just a voice, yet the mana was so powerful it made the surrounding air grow hot.
As if a fiery hell had opened up, the chill of The North was completely gone.
「Come before me at once.」
She beckoned with her finger as if training a puppy.
Had it been anyone else, they would have all instinctively recoiled.
But I, being an acquaintance from a previous life, managed to remain calm.
“As expected, you’re calm even before Her Highness, the Princess.
I believe in you.”
Clea clenched both fists and cheered with a deadpan expression.
It was the same for the Great Elder, who was admiring the spectacle from a distant window.
“He asked me for an introduction, yet he’s summoned her himself.
A truly unpredictable fellow.”
The white crow sitting in the tree also took in this magnificent view with delight.
As if proud that the prospective prophet’s prestige had already risen so much.
「How dare you harbor such a wicked ambition in The North where I reign.
Today, you will pay the price.」
I blankly blinked my sly-fox-like green eyes.
Who has what ambition…?