Chapter 135: 27th Floor: Truth and Lies
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 135: 27th Floor: Truth and Lies
While Elina and I stood there tensely, the Prime Minister looked at us and gave a faint smile.
"There is no need to be so tense. Winning people over and bribery are, in the end, also skills of a Crown Princess. However, discerning the truth from lies is also a Crown Princess's skill."
Thankfully, it seemed the Prime Minister had no intention of making us out to be complete lunatics.
'What the hell? So what's the plan?'
"Each candidate for Crown Princess will be given only three opportunities to ask a question. You may direct your questions to the supervisors or to the other candidates. However, the answers must be a precise 'Yes' or 'No.' This makes the questions themselves very important, wouldn't you agree? Naturally, that too is a skill befitting a Crown Princess, is it not?"
'Damn it... This is a real battle of wits!!'
"And for those of you with the right to vote, please keep this in mind: what we need is not a kind Crown Princess, but a wise one."
'To think he'd connect the public welfare experience to wisdom...'
I was wondering why we were doing something like this, but the Prime Minister had a plan all along.
He acted as if he'd expected the supervisors to be won over, and designed the test to incorporate that very fact.
First, I immediately pulled up the chat window.
I'm counting on you, my brains!
Lend me your strength!
Of course, the viewers' brains are my own.
"Then let us begin! First, we shall start with Lady Elina!"
'Damn it, going first is an advantage!'
Since no one can prepare questions in advance, it's obviously easiest to defend when you're the first one being questioned.
But just then, Kesira shot her hand up.
"I will go first!"
'What's this? So suddenly?'
Seeing this uncharacteristically proactive side of Kesira, even the Prime Minister seemed a bit taken aback as he nodded.
“Ah, very well. Then we shall proceed with Lady Kesira first.”
One of the supervisors who had managed Kesira's lodging came up to the podium, took hold of a voice-amplifying magical tool, and began to speak.
"Ahem... I will now recount the events that transpired, just as they happened."
The place where Kesira had worked was a serf collective in the northern part of the empire.
It was a hut so cramped she couldn't even stretch her legs out to sleep.
She would wake up in the morning to eat rotting oat porridge, relieve herself collectively in a pit that served as a toilet where everyone's genitals were exposed, and then head out to work in the fields.
This was at around five in the morning.
She would clutch her starving stomach and toil in the fields until two in the afternoon, at which point she would chew on something resembling bread, made from a mix of dirt and grains like rye.
It was so hard it could break her teeth, so she had to slowly dissolve it with her saliva to eat it.
Once the twenty-minute mealtime was over, she would begin managing the barn in earnest.
In a large barn teeming with pigs, she would clean up their dung and feed them.
Getting covered in excrement and filth was a daily occurrence.
After finishing that job, she would move on to her assigned labor.
By the time she returned after finishing a mountain of tasks—cleaning the stables of the baron who owned the fief, repairing the castle walls, mending the living quarters, doing laundry, cooking, and so on—it would be night.
On a bed of straw swarming with insects, she would scratch at her itchy skin and fall asleep instantly, without even a moment to wonder where she was or who she was.
She was so exhausted, she didn't even notice the insect bites.
'What the... that's a real public welfare experience.'
Everyone, used to their comfortable lives in the capital, grew solemn upon hearing about the life of a true serf in the rural backwoods.
The supervisor even said he hadn't known Kesira was such a high-ranking person. He'd assumed she was the daughter of some minor baron, sent to be punished for a crime.
If she had been a common serf, he said they would have naturally raped her or sold her as a sex slave, but they barely restrained themselves because she was a noble.
This, he said, was the reality of a female serf's life.
As the realistic and tragic story concluded, Kesira raised her hand and spoke.
"Prime Minister, I would like to use the first lie detector on myself. Is that possible?"
Kesira, using the lie detector on herself.
"Uh... y-yes, that is possible."
"The supervisor's testimony above is all true, and I, Kesira, truly suffered. I endured the urge to burn everything down! I endured it again and again! And of course, I had no idea there was a supervisor. Yes, everything I have said is the truth."
Kesira immediately placed her hand inside the lie detector set before her.
And the truth is?
Beep— It is the truth.
Of course, it was the truth.
A familiar mechanical sound came from the lie detector.
"Then, I will use my two remaining chances to ask the other two candidates a question. You both suffered as I did, correct?"
Kesira had clearly changed after her public welfare experience.
At first, she had just wanted to stay quiet and let Elina take the spotlight, but it seemed she had suffered some kind of mental shock and become a little strange.
And upon receiving her question, Elina and I were lost in thought.
'Hmm... Did I suffer?'
I recalled the events in the city bordering the great southern forest.
Serving tables while being sexually harassed and assaulted.
Having my breast milk squeezed to increase the shop's sales.
Getting paid to be creampied in public.
Almost getting flattened like dried fish jerky by a giant ogre.
I had endured shame and humiliation that no ordinary woman could bear, and even survived a near-death crisis.
'Yeah, could anything be harder than that?!'
"Yes!"
I said confidently, placing my hand in the lie detector.
Beep— It is the truth.
As expected, it came out as the truth.
Everyone wore a shocked expression at the verdict.
"No way, the Princess went through something that difficult?"
"Is the Prime Minister crazy? Does he have a death wish from King Crawford?"
"That Kalisha... astonishing."
“To think the villainess suffered...”
And then, only Elina was left.
"I also... had a hard time..."
It was obvious she was struggling to tell the truth.
"Please answer with 'Yes' or 'No.'"
The Prime Minister's voice was cold, making it hard to call him an ally to anyone anymore.
Elina glared at the Prime Minister for a moment, then, as if realizing she had no choice, she answered.
"Kugh, yes...! I had a hard time too!"
Beep! Beep! It is a lie!
Bzzzzzt!!
"Kyaaaaah!!!"
She hastily pulled her hand back from the sharp electric shock.
And seeing this, the crowd fell into chaos.
"It's a lie..."
“What… Elina lied?”
“No way! Our kind Lady Elina would never do that! The machine must be broken!”
“Tsk, tsk. I knew it. Filthy non-virgin!”
“What? How dare you insult our Lady Elina? Get over here!”
“Booo! The non-virgin Elina has been deceiving us all this time!”
“It's a dirty conspiracy! Prime Minister, you bastard! Have you sided with Kalisha?!”
'As expected, Elina's followers refuse to believe even this.'
Elina's followers.
It was as if they were brainwashed; no matter how much reason and common sense you presented them with, they wouldn't let go of the idea that 'Elina is a kind and honest woman!'
They dismissed all the bad rumors as nonsense fabricated by Kalisha, the filthy non-virgin and villainess.
It's never easy for people to change their minds, but Elina's followers seemed particularly extreme in that regard.
'But they do change.'
The Prime Minister and the Crown Prince were prime examples.
And during the five-day silent war, I saw a fair number of them who seemed to be breaking free from the brainwashing.
The key to my victory is figuring out how to unravel this. Of course, if the vote were held now, I'd win with a high probability, but you never know.
In any case, to the neutral parties, excluding Elina's followers, it was easily proven that while the other two candidates were going through hell, Elina had been having it easy.
'Nice assist! Did I help her out by destroying the Blue Magic Tower?'
This wasn't a courtroom. So, Elina wasn't going to be arrested for lying.
Now, it was Elina's turn.
Several supervisors came out, and one of them spoke as their representative.
The place she worked was a textile manufacturing workshop, said to be part of a large merchant company.
He said Elina had simply spent her days diligently making cloth. And that she didn't know they were supervisors...
“Hoooold on!!!!”
Seriously, isn't this too sloppy? Kesira just proved that was a lie, yet they're lying without even batting an eye.
“My apologies. Please continue.”
I stopped myself just as I was about to fly off the handle.
'I have to save one question, no matter what.'
I have to save one question to ask about her virginity at the end.
In the end, I only have two questions I can use.
With those two, I have to figure out how Elina won over the supervisors.
'This is surprisingly difficult...'
It feels like a waste to end it with a simple question like, 'Did you win over the supervisors?' 'Yes.' Didn't the Prime Minister just say that winning people over is a skill? It might not be a strong enough appeal to everyone, and it lacks the impact needed to shatter the delusions of Elina's followers.
The chat was scrolling by with suggestions for what to ask, but I hadn't seen anything useful yet.
I can't ask anything too specific. Since the answer has to be 'Yes' or 'No,' I basically have to ask something I already know the answer to.
In fact, a clumsy question could just end up highlighting the other person's sincerity.
I need a novel question that can expose her wickedness and demonize her!
Meanwhile, the supervisor continued to spout obvious lies.
The same old tired lines about how kind Elina was, the good deeds she did, how she helped someone, and so on.
'Think, my brain!!'
- That bitch probably offered her body too lol
- How about asking if Elina actually brainwashed them?
- fr is she a brainwasher? lol
- Brainwashing, my ass...
- Guys, be serious...
- Let's ask if they took money?
- Didn't she seduce them with her body too?
- Just ask about her winning them over, then let's play the video of Elina's squirting orgasm show
- Porn screening go go
- Just ask the supervisor!
Without any concrete information, I have no choice but to take a stab in the dark.
First off, questioning the supervisor is out.
'If he was really brainwashed, the lie detector wouldn't react, would it?'
I realized it after putting my own hand in the lie detector just now.
That thing... it's cruder than the ones used in the modern era.
It doesn't determine objective truth, but rather whether the user sincerely believes what they're saying. That's why ambiguous questions are difficult. I need something concrete.
Just then, the testimony from Elina's supervisors concluded.
They had expressions on their faces as if they truly believed Elina was a kind and sincere woman.
As if they had actually been brainwashed...
'Wait, actually brainwashed...?'
Huh...?
Suddenly, I found myself thinking, isn't this world just too strange?
'No matter how different the world is, isn't this weird? No, in fact, the world itself is quite similar to Earth, isn't it?'
Plausibility.
Maybe because it reminded me of the romance fantasy novels I read as a kid, I had unconsciously accepted this ridiculous reverse harem without questioning it. No, I did think it was strange, but that was as far as it went...
Elina is pretty, sure, but aside from that, how could she possibly have so many men wrapped around her finger? Why don't the men find it strange?
And it wasn't just me, but even the viewers...?
A deep sense of wrongness.
I have no proof, but my intuition is sounding an alarm.
I feel like the puzzle pieces of the world are falling into place.
A strange feeling washed over me.
How many problems did I solve with this intuition in my past life?
I trust myself.
“Are there any questions?”
At the Prime Minister's words, I raised my hand.
“I have a question for Lady Elina. I'll be direct. Have you ever brainwashed anyone, including the supervisors?"
I asked precisely, looking at Elina as if I were already certain.
“Huh…?”
“What kind of question is that…?”
“What brainwashing! This is love!”
"The Princess has read too many novels."
"To think Kalisha would waste a question so foolishly..."
The crowd let out hollow laughs at my out-of-the-blue remark,
- No, you crazy bitch lol
- What brainwashing
- As if lol
- Do-hee, don't trust the viewers
- No, I just said it as a joke...
- Ah, who posted that weird chat? This bitch is so dumb she'll just believe it lol
and the chat window exploded, but...
Elina's expression had frozen solid.
She wasn't smiling or flustered; she was just glaring at me, as if I had said something I absolutely should not have.
- ????
- Is this for real?
- Huh?
- Her expression is scary...
- What the fuck is with that blank face???
- What's with Elina? Was she really a brainwasher?
- She guessed and got it right?
Even the viewers couldn't believe what they themselves had suggested.
It might have looked like I just took a wild guess based on intuition, but I had my reasons.
'It was a familiar feeling.'
Yes, a subtle form of brainwashing.
An ability that most people, aside from the one who cast it, can't perceive.
No, even if they do perceive it, they enter a strange state where they can't recognize that they're perceiving it.
It wasn't an obvious brainwashing like black magic, but something that altered perception itself.
I knew the feeling because I had experienced it once before.
'Baek Do-hyeon, the head of that giant guild... it felt similar to that bastard of a con man.'
But one question remains.
'Just how in the world did Elina get that kind of power?'