The vast grounds in front of the prison.
In its center, only she and I were standing.
“Derek Minster.
Do you know why I’ve come?”
She asked, her Great Spear Landruin resting on her shoulder.
In my memory, she had swept away hundreds of soldiers from the neighboring country with that spear.
A crazy character who possessed both absolute mana and martial power.
It wasn’t for nothing that she was assassinated for the sake of game balance.
Because her death would only increase the flags for the Empire’s ruin.
Her very existence was overpowered.
“The Prison Warden of Berihill greets Her Highness, the Princess.”
I greeted her as naturally as possible.
The moment I acted servile, she would surely think I had a guilty conscience.
“If I may be so bold as to guess Your Highness’s profound intentions, would you please withdraw this powerful mana?” “That will be decided by how well you cooperate.”
“I understand.
In that case, as your humble servant, I will first state my humble opinion.” “Be brief and to the point.”
Thankfully, the Princess was giving me a chance.
As if to repay her, I straightened my disheveled uniform hat.
“First, I suspect this is because of the recent incident with the Holy See.
It seems I am the prime suspect.” “That’s right.
You’re very well-informed.”
The Princess arrogantly smoothed her hair as it fluttered in the north wind.
But her hand froze mid-air at my next words.
“However, it seems you have no evidence.
I can tell just by seeing you lead the White Horse Unit, the pride of the Empire.”
Because the Prison Warden of the borderlands had grasped her intentions so precisely.
“You’re hoping I’ll see the army, get scared, and confess.
Because if I deny it, you’ll have to resort to Confession Magic.”
I placed a hand on my left breast and bowed my head respectfully.
As politely as I had in my days as the Commander of the Imperial Knights.
“Confession Magic causes great pain to its target.
That must be why you wish to end this situation as humanely as possible.”
I slowly raised my face.
With my emerald-like green eyes, I gave a faint smile.
“I express my gratitude for your merciful consideration of me.”
Watching from afar, Clea let out a sigh of relief.
The Great Elder, watching from his prison cell, scoffed at my slick flattery.
“You understand my stance very well.
Thank you for your understanding, Warden.”
However, there was no change in the Princess’s expression.
Like a beautiful ancient statue come to life, she showed no emotion whatsoever.
“Yes.
Now that you know my intentions precisely, you should give a fitting answer, shouldn’t you?”
Everyone fears the Princess who can forcibly learn the truth.
However, having watched Camellia’s life over three regressions, my perspective was different.
Because the woman before me was a very dependable guardian of this world.
The Princess, blessed from a young age with talent in both magic and spearmanship.
Thanks to that, she suffered from an even more coercive education and the jealousy of the surrounding nobles.
Most Imperial Royalty would go mad or give up if they lived such a life.
However, she protected herself by silently dedicating herself to her training.
In other words, she was the type of woman optimized to be a monarch, one not swayed by her environment.
She is perfectly suited to be the successor to the throne to maintain the Empire.
For the sake of my comfortable noble life, Camellia must live.
“Understood.
I’ll be direct.
I have no connection to this incident.”
First, I have to prove my innocence.
Only then will she listen to my advice later and be able to prepare for her assassination.
“I have no ability to hire a wizard who can handle monsters.
I’m a child abandoned by my own family.” “Yes.
I knew you’d answer that way.”
Hearing my firm answer, the Princess let out a short sigh.
She rested her face against the spear on her shoulder.
“Everyone who meets me is busy denying their charges first.”
Camellia just stared at me haughtily, oblivious to my inner thoughts.
She pointed at the old prison and commanded.
“Then we must call the witnesses as per procedure.
Bring me Saintess Ange and Great Elder Darc.”
As expected, she doesn’t make things easy.
But it’s fine.
They also have nothing to do with this incident.
Of course, the Saintess is highly suspicious, but she’s the only one whose level of mental magic is higher than Camellia’s.
Confession Magic won’t work on her, so she just has to feign ignorance.
“Understood.
I’ll summon them right away.”
I glanced back at Clea, who was standing far off.
The quick-witted girl nodded and immediately complied with the order.
In truth, taking disaster-level prisoners out as one pleases is absurd, but…
the Princess, who possessed the skills of both a Sword Master and an Archmage, didn’t care at all.
It was probably thanks to her confidence that she could take on anyone.
“…”
A few minutes later, Clea returned with the handcuffed Saintess and Great Elder.
Fortunately, both prisoners’ expressions were very calm.
“It’s been a while, Your Highness, the Princess.” “It’s been two months.
It’s a pleasure, Great Elder.”
While her uncle, Darc, greeted her nonchalantly, the Saintess was expressionless.
Finding this suspicious, Camellia immediately went after her first.
“Miss Ange, the self-proclaimed Saintess.
Is life in the detention center bearable?” “There are no particular problems.”
The soldiers waiting in the distance saw the Saintess for the first time.
Matching her infamy for casting mass brainwashing on the people, all of them had tense eyes.
The Great Elder was an equally intimidating presence.
Thanks to them, despite being a place of exile in the borderlands, a huge sense of pressure lurked, as if we were in the Imperial Palace.
“That’s a relief.
I called you to ask a few questions.”
The Princess first looked at her uncle.
The political titan who values ability over good and evil.
“First, Great Elder.
Have you noticed anything suspicious about the Prison Warden during your time here?” “I wouldn’t know.
How would a mere prisoner know of the Prison Warden’s affairs?”
“The Elder I know is not one to usually speak so vaguely.” “I have simply answered in a manner befitting my station.”
The Princess’s face stiffened at her uncle, who spoke to her like a politician.
She had always disliked how his good and evil were ambiguous, but today, he was even defending the prime suspect.
That sight stimulated her suspicion even more.
‘No, he could just say I didn’t do it, so why is he only saying he doesn’t know?’
The Great Elder looked at me and gave a cynical smile.
His eyes said that since he feigned ignorance, I should hide the evidence myself.
That look drives me even crazier.
It seems that since the murdered were my tournament opponents, he also believes it was my doing.
“It would be problematic if you’re protecting the new Warden because of a collusive relationship.
More could be added to your current sentence.” “Of course.
You can draw out a person’s true feelings if you so choose, can’t you?
There’s no reason for me to lie.”
Still, the Great Elder drew the line well.
Thanks to him, I was just starting to feel relieved when…
“Our Prison Warden is a very thorough person, you see.
I don’t know what happened, but it’ll be hard to uncover it easily.” “Cough…!!”
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Character illustrations & later chapters: