Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Hellish Interrogation
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"Kuhugh..."
The imperial underground prison.
A nauseating stench of damp moss mingled with rotting blood permeated the air.
The only sounds were the occasional crackle of torches hanging on the walls.
An old man lay bound like a beast.
He was Head Steward Dwight, the Empress Dowager's loyal hound and keeper of the imperial vaults.
His clothes were crusted with dried blood, his face swollen beyond recognition.
He looked more corpse than man.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed, shattering the silence.
"Ki, kill me. Hurry up and kill me..."
Dwight moved his mangled lips and screamed.
A dark silhouette loomed in his blurred vision.
It was Emperor Darcor, the empire's most ruthless tyrant.
Bloodshot eyes glared at the emperor as he gasped for breath.
"No matter how much you torture me, my mouth stays shut until the grave."
'Sharp old coot.'
He knew that the moment he spilled, his value would vanish.
And his head would roll.
That's why he kept his lips sealed through the brutal torment.
"Ugh, the smell. It's absolutely vile."
A voice like cold water doused the tense atmosphere.
A woman pinched her nose as she stepped out from behind Darcor.
Saintess Chloe.
She grimaced, carefully skirting the pools of blood on the floor.
"Your Majesty, why summon me in the middle of holy worship? These are the new designer shoes I just bought today.
> Blood splatters won't come out."
Chloe whined, scratching her head.
Darcor replied flatly, as if it were routine.
"Shoes are the issue? Our saintess, we've got a real madman right here."
"A madman?"
Chloe's brow furrowed.
"What, diamonds? Ancient relics?"
Her blue eyes sparkled with greed.
Darcor chuckled and pointed at Dwight.
"Nah. That old coot."
"Eh?"
Chloe's face soured instantly.
"You're joking, right? Why would I care about some half-dead geezer? Your tastes are impeccable as ever."
"The old man's not cracking, even staring death in the face. I need your help."
Darcor got straight to the point.
Chloe snorted in disbelief.
"Hah... You don't mean torture? I'm a saintess! As the noble proxy of the goddess,
> I can't sully these sacred hands that save lives with blood..."
"No. You just keep him alive."
"Pardon?"
"I'll do the hitting."
Crack!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a horrific scream ripped through the prison.
"Gaaahhh!"
A guttural wail burst from Dwight's throat.
Darcor had snapped his finger without hesitation.
The grotesquely twisted bone pierced through the skin.
"H-Hiiik!"
Chloe recoiled in horror.
Darcor shook off his hand casually and turned to her.
His impassive eyes fixed on her.
"There you go, saintess. Your patient's ready. Heal him up."
"A-Are you insane? Why break a perfectly fine finger..."
"He's not dead. If you don't heal him quick, he might actually die. Wouldn't that be dereliction of duty for a saintess?"
"Th-This is dereliction? This is torture!"
Chloe shook her head firmly.
Even a money-grubber had lines she wouldn't cross.
"I absolutely cannot condone such barbaric acts against the goddess's will. I'll be taking my leave now..."
"This old man's got the ledger for the Empress Dowager's slush fund."
Darcor's low murmur snagged Chloe's ankle.
"..."
Her ears perked up like a rabbit's as she turned to leave.
"Edel mobilized every search team and still couldn't find it. Mountains of cash, hidden tight.
> At least a few hundred thousand gold, easy."
Gulp.
Chloe swallowed hard.
'Hundreds of thousands of gold?'
Darcor didn't miss her wavering pupils.
"Help me out, and I'll give you ten percent of the haul."
"..."
He could almost hear the calculator whirring in her head.
She bit her lip, put on a solemn face, and spoke.
"Y-Your Majesty, like last time, you seem to be misunderstanding... I am a saintess.
> Trying to buy my noble divine power with money is blasphemy..."
"Thirty percent."
Darcor cut her off.
"..."
"That's my limit. Take it or leave. I'll find it myself."
As Darcor waved her off irritably,
Grab!
Chloe seized both his hands.
Her eyes gleamed with madness as she looked up.
"I absolutely must help. Of course I do."
Chloe clenched her fist and shouted dramatically.
"Your Majesty, why don't you ever let me finish? Punishing evil is the goddess's will.
> Offering my divine power for justice is a saintess's sacred duty."
"Right? Not about the money at all?"
"Heavens, no. What do you take me for?"
Chloe rolled up her sleeves and strode toward Dwight.
"Alright, old timer? Get your head straight."
She grabbed his collar and shook him roughly.
"My money—no, justice—is waiting. You can't die here. Got it?"
"Y-You crazy bitch... Mmph!"
Dwight was dumbfounded.
The woman before him wasn't a saintess.
A devil in white.
'She sure has a nose for money.'
Darcor smirked and balled his fist.
"Ready, saintess?"
"Ahh... Of course, Your Majesty."
Chloe winked, pulling a mana potion from her bosom.
And so the gears of hell began to turn.
Thwack!
Darcor's heavy fist slammed into Dwight's solar plexus.
"Guhk."
A dull thud as his ribs caved in, and he vomited blood.
Breath cut off, vision whitening in agony.
As consciousness faded,
"Holy light, care for this lamb."
"Holy light, care for this lamb." Flash.
A dazzling white glow enveloped Dwight.
Warm energy seeped in; his caved ribs cracked back into place, torn organs mending in an instant.
The pain lingered vividly in his mind,
but his body was perfectly restored.
Darcor clapped in admiration.
"Wow, top-notch performance. As expected from our saintess."
"No time for chit-chat. Next! Hurry!"
Chloe urged frantically.
Thwack.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Light..."
Crack.
"Kuhugh... J-Just kill me..."
"In the goddess's name..."
Snap.
"Please... please stop..."
"Blessings upon thee."
The underground prison turned into living hell.
The snap of breaking bones intertwined eerily with sacred incantations.
An endless cycle.
A Möbius strip where death was denied even in desire.
To Dwight's eyes, the two were no longer human.
The emotionless tyrant Darcor snapping bones.
The saintess Chloe, eyes ablaze, reviving him relentlessly.
'Th-These demons...'
Dwight wept snot and tears, begging.
"Just... kill me... please..."
But Chloe knew no mercy.
She chugged mana potions,
then smashed the empty vials on the floor.
Crash.
"Why die? I won't let you. In the goddess's name."
Crash!
Dwight shuddered.
Darcor's fists paled compared to
Chloe's obsession.
'She's serious. A total lunatic!'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ How much time had passed?
Dwight's spirit lay utterly shattered to dust.
His hollow eyes stared into space, body trembling.
His flesh was pristine thanks to the saintess's blessings, without a single scratch,
but his soul was in tatters.
"I-I'll talk... I'll tell you! P-Please, stop."
Dwight screamed in a raspy voice.
"About time."
"Hahk, hahk..."
"Where's the ledger and slush fund?"
Dwight hung his head in resignation.
He had nothing left to endure with.
He'd sell his soul just to escape these demons.
"W-West annex... underground wine cellar..."
"Be specific."
"Farthest back... under the red oak barrel... secret vault beneath the floor tiles."
The moment Dwight confessed,
Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Discovered the location of secret funds belonging to key figure Empress Dowager Elizabeth.] [Hidden Quest Complete: Tracking the Empress Dowager's Secret Funds.] [Reward: Memory Search proficiency greatly increases.] [Acquired Trait: Ruthless Interrogator.] Darcor's lips curled slyly.
'Oh? Bonus rewards I didn't expect. Jackpot.'
He'd only aimed for the slush fund location.
Extras on top.
Not a bad deal.
Darcor patted Dwight's shoulder lightly, satisfied.
"Good job, old timer. Thanks to you, we'll tighten the belts a bit less."
"H-Hic... sob..."
Dwight buried his face in the floor and sobbed.
The traitor's end.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Stepping out of the prison door, cool corridor air soothed the heat.
Chloe leaned against the wall, staggering.
Mana exhaustion had her on the brink of collapse.
Her legs buckled, nearly giving out.
But her blue eyes gleamed with golden radiance.
"Your Majesty. Th-Thirty percent. Don't forget. Absolutely..."
"Yeah. Well done. The empire's best nose for cash, as always."
Then, from down the hall, blue hair fluttered as Edel rushed in.
"Your Majesty, did Dwight talk?"
She'd been anxious from the horrific screams echoing from the prison.
Worried the emperor might lose control and kill their only witness.
"Yeah. Spilled everything. Sang like a bird."
"R-Really? That stubborn old man?"
Darcor nodded calmly.
Edel alternated glances between the collapsing Chloe and unscathed Darcor, incredulous.
What on earth had gone on in there?
Darcor approached the dazed Edel and whispered.
"West annex, underground wine cellar. Take troops and strip it clean now."
"Pardon?"
"Not a rat or a single coin left. Scrape it all."
"Understood. Mobilizing search teams immediately."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Darcor sauntered back to his office.
His steps felt feather-light.
'Got plenty of cash now... Time to meet that guy.'
One thing left.
The wildcard to upend the coming war,
and shake the empire's fate.
This damn novel's true protagonist.
Darcor's lips curled slyly.
"Let's see your face, hero."