I Didn't Order That
I Didn't Order That
After sending Count Ophilo away, Daniel headed to the underground detention cells with Frien.
Originally, he had intended to leave it entirely to Frien, but after seeing Ophilo's attitude, he changed his mind.
He decided it was right to extract the list of collaborators from Duke Belvar as quickly as possible and eradicate them, so that the Noble Union would be unable to conceive of any other schemes.
So, Daniel descended to the basement of the Central Security Office, accompanied by Duke Belvar's family and soldiers, and looked around.
Under the indifferent glare of incandescent bulbs, various nobles could be seen living like convicts behind iron bars.
The nobles, unwashed and in shabby attire, bowed their heads or averted their gazes whenever Daniel passed.
They were cowering in fear like puppies facing a tiger, their tails tucked between their legs.
Seeing this gave him a terrifying thought.
'If the 7th Armored Division had suffered near-annihilation on the eastern front.......'
It would have been none other than Daniel himself who would now be branded a traitor and thrown behind these iron bars.
Power was truly a cruel thing, where the victor monopolized everything and decided the fate of the loser's life.
Even so, he felt not a shred of sympathy for them.
Because they were collaborators who had bet their chips on Duke Belvar, the man who drove their nation's soldiers to their deaths.
Daniel, having watched them contemptuously, looked away just as Frien, walking ahead, stopped in her tracks.
"It's here. This is where Duke Belvar is confined. There are quite a few visitors, but the space is large enough for everyone to fit inside."
Having delivered the message in a cheerful tone, Frien took a key ring from her waist and opened the iron-barred door.
Frien entered first, followed by Daniel and Duke Belvar's family, who filed in one after another.
Upon entering, the first thing Daniel saw was Duke Belvar, tied to a chair under a faintly flickering incandescent bulb.
Presumably subjected to merciless torture by Frien, his hands and feet were covered in blood, and distinct traces of dried blood remained around his mouth.
Nevertheless, he looked fairly intact outwardly, because immediately after finishing her torture, Frien had used her unique healing magic to restore Duke Belvar's body to its original state.
'In theory, that means she can inflict eternal pain. There's no other hell like it.'
As Daniel clicked his tongue, Peremilla, who had entered belatedly, was horrified and clapped a hand over her mouth.
The other family members, too, upon seeing Belvar's state, began sucking in sharp breaths or sobbing quietly.
It was because they had all just seen, for the first time, the fallen state of Belvar, who had always been resolute and authoritative.
"Father......."
"How could Duke Belvar be like this......."
"This is absurd. Father is......."
Belvar's family muttered in shock, but Frien paid them no mind.
She merely walked lightly toward Belvar, who remained motionless with his head bowed.
"Your Grace? It's me."
She spoke in a soft, gentle voice, but Belvar still did not stir.
"Oh dear. It seems you haven't recovered from your fainting state yet. In that case, I'll perform a little magic trick for you."
Having spoken as if explaining to an audience, Frien placed her hand on Belvar's head.
A black energy seemed to flicker at her fingertips, and Belvar's body flinched as if convulsing.
Immediately after, Belvar's parched lips slowly parted.
"......Is it you again, you bitch? How many times must I say it? There is no information to be gotten from me."
Having confirmed that Belvar's consciousness had returned, Frien withdrew her hand.
"Truly, your willpower is remarkable. Even though I've employed all sorts of methods to force Duke Belvar's lips open, a normal person would have been crying and begging to tell me anything by now."
A faint smile spread across Belvar's lips.
"What would change if I told you everything I know? That I wouldn't be tortured until the trial proceeds and the death sentence is pronounced? Forget it!"
Belvar shrugged his shoulders and let out a laugh.
"I am a dead man anyway. It's easier if I think of it as paying for my sins in advance before I die. So no matter how skilled a bitch like you is at torture, I will never open my mouth."
"Is that so? Hmm. But what if the ones to suffer the pain are Duke Belvar's family members? Wouldn't that be a different story?"
"What do you mean, my family......."
Belvar, who had absently raised his head, was cut off mid-sentence.
Because Peremilla was visible beyond the strands of hair that had fallen forward.
Nor was it only Peremilla.
The second and third sons were also staring at him with extremely tense expressions.
At first, he thought his mind, unable to withstand the pain, was seeing illusions.
But no matter how much he blinked, the family members in front of him did not disappear.
"Why are you people here? Why are you, who should have departed long ago......."
Belvar's voice trembled for the first time.
Having confirmed that Belvar was agitated, Daniel quietly opened his mouth.
"I'll state the conditions now."
Hearing Daniel's voice, Belvar hastily turned his head to look at Daniel.
In his bewildered, trembling eyes, Belvar saw Daniel standing with his arms crossed.
"Duke Belvar. If you want to protect your family's safety, you will spill every piece of information you know. If you refuse again this time, I will have no choice but to use the worst method you are imagining."
Belvar did not answer.
Because of the chaotic situation, he could not grasp how exactly he should respond.
Amid his quickening breaths, Belvar's pupils trembled faintly.
"Absurd. Why? When Daniel Steiner stormed the Imperial Capital, it should have been normal for my family to have already arrived at the port city of Lost Bellemont. So how were they captured?"
Belvar, who had been speaking in a daze, stared at Daniel.
"Don't tell me you used a private organization to move ahead of schedule."
When Daniel did not answer, Belvar let out a hollow laugh.
"Brilliant. Truly brilliant. You use any means and methods to root out your political enemies. Then allow me to ask you one thing. What is the difference between you now and Count Kaledra? Just as that bastard made a puppet of his own king to gain power, you too have-"
Frien swung her hand.
Jjaak─
Struck squarely on the cheek, Belvar's chin snapped to the side.
Frien, who had been looking down at Belvar with an impassive expression, moved her lips.
"Do not insult Colonel Daniel ever again. This is your final warning."
Frien's lips were smiling, but her eyes were utterly murderous.
"Also, Your Grace, you don't seem to properly perceive the situation you are currently in. So allow me to kindly explain it to you."
Frien lightly grabbed Belvar's shoulder.
"I'll start with your eldest son first. I'm going to place a chair in front of Duke Belvar, tie him up the same way, and then subject him to all kinds of torture. Not only what Duke Belvar himself suffered, but I'll introduce new torture methods as well. How does that sound? Doesn't it seem like it'll be fun?"
Belvar clenched his teeth in rage, but Frien paid no mind.
"Duke Belvar's other family members will also be tortured one by one. Just try to imagine it. Once it's over, who will Duke Belvar's family, screaming in pain, ultimately resent? Me? Or......."
Bowing her head, Frien whispered into Belvar's ear.
"You, who led your innocent family into hell?"
Belvar's hands, bound to the chair, flinched and trembled.
Belvar pictured it.
His family, tied to chairs opposite him and being tortured by Frien.
It felt as if their screams, resentment, and tears were already replaying inside his head.
A suppressed groan escaped through Belvar's clenched teeth as his hands shook violently.
The groan soon turned into a sob, wetting Belvar's eyes with tears.
He had kept his mouth shut all this time to protect his family.
But what use was it if keeping his mouth shut instead brought pain to his family?
'Besides.......'
This crazy bitch in front of him was a woman who would do exactly what she said.
If it was something that would benefit Daniel Steiner, she would never hesitate.
Because after talking with her for some time here, he had concluded she was such a ruthless zealot that she would even throw her own life away for Daniel Steiner's sake.
'Therefore.......'
It was safe to consider the words Frien was now spouting as representing Daniel Steiner's own intentions.
'This woman is merely a mouthpiece for Daniel Steiner's intentions.'
Having thought this, Belvar looked at Daniel with fear in his eyes.
Standing with his arms crossed, his eyes consistently cold, he looked like nothing other than a cold-blooded killer.
'He doesn't even bat an eye upon hearing that innocent people will be tortured.......'
Just as Belvar was feeling a sense of resignation, Daniel was secretly breaking out in a cold sweat.
'No. Frien? Why go that far........'
It wasn't that he didn't bat an eye; Daniel, too, was frozen stiff from surprise.
Because he hadn't imagined that Frien would torture all of Belvar's family members one by one.
But Belvar, unable to know that, felt there was no loophole left to escape through.
"......I will speak."
If hell existed, it would be this very place.
Closing both eyes, Belvar let out a sob and then opened his mouth.
"I will tell you everything you want......."
Having taken a deep breath, Belvar opened his eyes and pleaded, looking not at Frien but at Daniel.
"Colonel Daniel Steiner. I beg you like this."
Having let go of everything, Belvar continued speaking, his expression breaking.
"Please, spare my family."
Seeing this, one of Daniel's eyebrows twitched.
'Why is he looking at me.......'
To be honest, he felt a little wronged.
'Though it's fortunate that things worked out well.......'
He couldn't hide the uneasy feeling that yet another infamous title had been added to his name against his will.