"Going all the way to the border without being told, you really are diligent."
Estephan did not remain idle in the face of Aiden's attack.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Aiden laughed as if mocking, turning the sarcastic remark into a compliment. Estephan also smiled faintly, but the atmosphere felt like walking on thin ice. Just then, everyone was so cautious about swallowing their saliva that the little emperor, who had been silently observing the situation, suddenly stood up.
"Party."
"Maybell?"
"Let's have a party!"
Party? Estephan was the one who asked on behalf of the confused people.
"What kind of party are you talking about, Maybell?"
"A victory banquet to celebrate Aiden's triumph at the border and the recovery of the border territory."
"……."
Everyone had a bewildered look on their faces at Maybell's fluent words, which came out without a breath.
'My daughter is too smart. ……I should probably reduce her study time with Franz.'
There were too many dirty things in the world that one didn't need to know. Estephan wished Maybell would learn about them as late as possible. As he planned, Maybell would be shocked if she knew. Estephan looked at his daughter intently. Maybell looked up at Estephan with her bright eyes.
"……Cute."
"What?"
"Ah, did my inner thoughts slip out?"
"Dad, don't joke around."
Although Estephan's sincerity was dismissed as a joke, he decided to play along to maintain his cool dad image.
"Victory banquet. It's right to give appropriate treatment when someone has accomplished something. But, Maybell-."
The words that followed were naturally a list of reasons why it shouldn't happen. He had no intention of holding a banquet, even if it meant acknowledging Aiden's sudden hero status. However, Estephan's adorable daughter was no less cunning.
"Wow, Dad agreed too!"
She beat him to it before he could object.
"Come on, let's clap!"
She even went further, looking around at the ministers and encouraging them to clap. Overwhelmed by Maybell's incredible hosting skills, the ministers clapped as if they were enchanted, barely making eye contact.
"Maybell……!"
Thus, Estephan was outmaneuvered by his daughter. *** Everything was proceeding according to plan. I smiled at Aiden, who had returned to his role as my bodyguard today.
"Good job, Aiden. Casey said it would take a lot of effort, how was it? I wish I could have seen it."
"……It's better you didn't."
"Why? I told him to use all the flashy effects."
Aiden tightly closed his mouth. His gaze seemed to carry a deep meaning.
"Was the order you gave to Casey…… revoked?"
"Yeah!"
I felt quite satisfied, thinking it was the best way to engrave it in everyone's memory. However, Aiden sighed softly and avoided my gaze.
"Anyway, you're free from the stigma of being Devlin's spy, so that's good. How does it feel to have taken revenge as well?"
"I just did what I had to do."
"Huh? Is that it?"
Despite waiting so long for this revenge, it felt somewhat hollow.
"It might still be in the early stages. We only touched the border area."
If we really started the serious work of bringing down the Devlin Empire, it might feel better. I was thrilled just thinking about making Beron Arthur Devliska eat his words.
"By the way, Aiden. Where is the man I told you to detain?"
"Ravied Penant, you mean?"
"Yeah."
As Aiden avoided my gaze, I sensed something.
'Something must have happened!'
I asked anxiously.
"Surely…… you didn't kill him?"
It's too early to kill him. Even if we were to deal with him, we needed to extract all the information first.
"He's still alive."
Relieved by Aiden's answer, I let out a sigh.
"Phew, that's a relief. Where is he?"
"He's locked in the guild's basement."
"Have you interrogated him yet?"
"I haven't looked at him since I locked him in the basement unconscious."
Nodding, I suddenly realized something.
"When did you lock him up?"
"About three days ago, I entrusted him to one of the guild members."
"Is that so."
That meant Ravied Penant had been starving for at least three days. Given Aiden's personality, he probably didn't tell anyone to take care of his meals.
'He might starve to death.'
I needed to meet Ravied Penant secretly before that happened. However, Aiden, with a stern expression, tried to dissuade me.
"Leave Ravied Penant to me."
"No. I'll interrogate him myself."
"Why?"
"I know this type of person well. There's a more effective method than physical torture."
Aiden nodded reluctantly, though he didn't seem to like it.
"However, if I sense any danger, I'll deal with it immediately."
*** Due to her previous disappearance, security around Maybell was extremely tight. Maybell didn't seem to notice, but Aiden did. Invisible experts were guarding her from a certain distance.
"One behind that tree, two behind the bushes, and one inside the building."
Aiden pointed out the secret guards to Maybell.
"Dad is too worried, it's a problem."
Maybell shook her head. There were far too many secret guards. She had no confidence in slipping out of the palace without them noticing.
'If Casey's research succeeds, maybe.'
But who am I? I'm not the type to be discouraged by such a minor setback. Thus, the method Maybell devised was-.
"Dad, I want to go out!"
A frontal assault. Estephan nodded involuntarily at Maybell's confident declaration.
'Anyway, the guards will always follow, so it should be fine.'
Thus, Maybell easily slipped out of the palace with twenty guards. The secret guards followed secretly as well. Maybell headed not to the guild's hideout but to a rather large mansion.
"Where are we, Your Majesty?"
A knight asked. Maybell answered nonchalantly.
"I'm here to see a friend."
"Which family's mansion is this?"
"The Marquis of Maylado's family."
"Maylado?"
The guards exchanged glances.
'You don't know?'
'No, I've never heard of it.'
Regardless of whether they found the name unfamiliar, Maybell and Aiden entered the mansion.
"If anything happens to Maybell, you'll have to answer for it."
The knights, who received Estephan's veiled threat, hurriedly followed. They assumed such a family must exist since they couldn't memorize all the noble families. Inside the mansion, a butler greeted them formally.
"Your Majesty, I am Charlie, the butler of the Marquis of Maylado. The young lady is waiting in her bedroom."
"Is she still not feeling well?"
"Yes. She's not ready to receive visitors yet……"
Butler Charlie glanced at the knights behind them, hinting.
"Knights, please wait outside the bedroom. If Isty sees you, she might be startled."
"We cannot do that."
"Anyway, it's just one door between us. If Isty collapses because of you, will you take responsibility?"
Though they couldn't see her, it would be troublesome if the mansion's young lady collapsed. The knights stepped back, and Maybell entered the bedroom. Aiden, who followed, glanced at the secret guards.
'……We have no choice but to wait outside.'
The secret guards, intimidated by Aiden, also decided to wait outside. Once inside the bedroom, Maybell let out a sigh of relief and sprawled on the sofa.
"Finally got rid of them."
She whispered, lowering her voice in case the guards outside could hear. The space they believed to be the young lady's bedroom had no young lady, only Maybell and Aiden. Aiden looked at Maybell with renewed admiration.
'Using the guild's second hideout like this.'
Maybell's cunning was incredible. She had created a fake Marquis of Maylado's daughter to cover the mansion and title she had bought in preparation for the guild's expansion. This way, even if the situation required a background check, it wouldn't be exposed. She planned to pretend to visit a friend while handling all guild affairs confidently.
"Where is Ravied Penant?"
"This bedroom connects to every part of the mansion."
Aiden had made all the necessary preparations for Maybell, who needed to hide her identity. When he pulled a specific book from the bookshelf, it easily slid aside, revealing a secret passage. It was a short walk to the basement.
"Aiden, did you prepare what I asked for?"
"Yes."
Aiden couldn't understand what Maybell was planning. The items he prepared were far from torture tools.
'Maybell must have her reasons.'
When the torture began under Maybell's direction, Aiden was speechless. ***
'The preparations are perfect.'
Now, it was time for the cruel torture.
"What are you going to do?!"
Ravied Penant, bound tightly, looked at me with a terrified face.
"Heh heh."
I laughed like a villain, standing on the other side of the bars.
"I have nothing to say. Even if you are the emperor, I won't bow to power……!"
Before I said anything, Ravied declared resolutely. His cheeks were sunken from starvation. Seeing his pitiful state, I shrugged.
"Do as you please."
"……?!"
When I backed off, Ravied was surprised. Regardless, I started pulling out the items Aiden had prepared.
The first thing I held was a dog tickler. I waved it gently and entered the cell.
"What is that? D, don't tell me it's a poisonous herb?"
Ravied tensed, his face pale. As expected, he was a complete coward.
"It might be……"
I deliberately left the sentence hanging and began to tickle Ravied lightly with the dog tickler.
"Ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah!"
The man, who had been holding out, broke down at his feet. Seeing him almost convulse, I intensified the tickling.
"Tell me what Devlin is planning, and I'll stop."
"I, I don't know. I don't know anything! Ah, ah, ah!"
"Tch."
It seemed tickling wasn't effective enough. I feared it would take too long and my dad might find me, so I quickly moved to the second method. It was-.
Sizzle. Roasting meat in front of a starving man. I even fanned the smell to make it more enticing.
"Wow, it smells delicious. It must be really tasty!"
"……."
"Plus, there's water. Really refreshing water."
I waved the cup of water in front of Ravied. The man, who had been tough with the dog tickler, had a visibly shaken look in his eyes.
"V, villain!"
"Heh heh."
It was surprisingly enjoyable to be treated as a villain. I roasted the meat enthusiastically, receiving Ravied's resentful gaze.
"Please, I don't know! It's embarrassing to say, but I just followed orders!"
It seemed to be the truth.
'I wouldn't tell this idiot anything either.'
Beron wouldn't have shared important information with someone like him. In the end, all we learned was that the Devlin Empire was obsessed with collecting the essence of the World Tree, which we already knew. Feeling disappointed, I placed the plate in front of Ravied. He stared at me, not eating.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"I need my hands free to eat. And a fork and knife?"
"……."
Asking for a fork and knife as a hostage was a classic example of a spoiled noble.
"No way."
Aiden firmly refused. I had no intention of freeing his hands either.
"If you don't want to eat, don't."
"I, I will!"
Ravied leaned forward, his face contorted. At that moment, a black bead rolled out from his clothes.
"That, that's!"
In his panic, a voice came from the bead.
[What's the matter, Ravied Penant?]
A low, cold voice devoid of emotion. Aiden's immediate tension confirmed it.