The symbol of the capital city of Zekrit, the Grand Plaza in front of the Royal Palace.
Rony, the Captain of the 8th Patrol Division of the Royal Guard, responsible for patrolling the southwest of the Grand Plaza, was struggling intensely while interrogating a very, extremely, and severely violent criminal whom he had just apprehended with great difficulty.
In order to capture this one criminal, a whole patrol unit consisting of 20 members was deployed. The criminal was so fast and agile, and his skill with a short sword was exceptional, even the Royal Guard suffered numerous injuries.
If the boy who was running wildly like a monkey had suddenly not stopped for some reason, even with the net imbued with restraining magic that had been thrown, it would have been difficult to catch him.
“Name.”
“….”
“Age.”
“….”
“Place of origin.”
“….”
“Look. Nothing is going to be solved if you keep your mouth shut.”
“….”
“The victims have been given 18 weeks of recovery. On top of that, the one who was beaten the hardest is apparently the youngest son of a judicial officer. Even if this goes to trial, it would not benefit you in any way.”
“….”
“Haa. Look. I’m giving you advice because you’re like my younger brother. No matter how much this happens between commoners, a judicial officer’s family is part of the noble class. If you’re a commoner, it’s better to just beg and apologize unconditionally.”
“…..”
“Think about it carefully. It’s not like I’m ignorant of the circumstances. I’ll consider some degree of leniency.”
Bam.
The door to the interrogation room closed.
And Klisha, sitting inside, was seriously thinking about this situation… What the heck!
‘Why me! Why me after coming all the way to the capital only to end up in the interrogation room!’
No. She didn’t even get caught for destroying the auction building, and got away with it without a problem. She never thought delivering the smallest bit of justice would be this hard. And furthermore…
‘Of all places, to be ended up in the interrogation room of the Royal Guard!’
The purpose of coming to the capital has gotten one step further away.
Until just a moment ago, Klisha was bathing in a moment of satisfaction after punishing the villain who was assaulting the young siblings.
Of course, some of her personal feelings must have slipped in because of the building hunger since last night, and she admits she went overboard. However, she didn’t expect the Royal Guard to be dispatched.… The Royal Guards in the capital must be idle… In Schmarin, no matter how much she fought, once it was over, the two parties would just shake hands a few times and part ways.
It was fortunate that she was at least able to send the siblings away before the guards arrived. Somehow, that unlucky guy, who was acting like he was some big shot just because he could fart around the neighborhood, really belonged to a powerful family, just like he claimed.
While Klisha was giving a lesson to the culprit of this situation and his guards, some guy passing by suddenly shouted, ‘Oh my, Young Master!’ or something like that, and then disappeared.
And soon after, the guards appeared with a whistle.
And then, a breathtaking chase unfolded around the square of the capital.
Normally, no one would have been able to keep up with Klisha’s speed.
However, today.
She was so hungry.
Since arriving in the capital, Klisha had been moving without a rest, from the temple, the bank, the square… In addition to that, she was fooled by the handsome detective who said he would buy her food and caused a ruckus at the auction house… It had been over a day without rest, and aside from a small piece of dry bread given to her by the little boy at dawn, she hadn’t eaten anything.
At that moment, she thought that if she followed the Royal Guard, maybe they would give her food. And without realizing it, her steps came to a halt.
The body that was true to its instincts. The damn body doesn’t obey its master’s orders. Who raised it? This plump, bad body.
Seizing the moment, a magic orb flew and enveloped Klisha’s body.
‘Damn it. A magical net!’
If they heard that she was caught by a net, not only her father, but also the entire family of the Viscount would applaud and laugh for three nights and four days.
And that was not all. The self-proclaimed ‘relatives’ would have started shaking their heads, thinking she has lost her edge and gotten lazy. And they would immediately drag her to hellish training to fix her mental state before things get worse…
As Klisha was racking her brain under the flickering lights of the interrogation room, the Captain of the Royal Guard, Rony, entered again, holding a stack of documents.
“What do you say? Do you feel like answering now?”
“I….”
“Good. Good. Are you willing to make a statement?”
“I’m very hungry. Please give me some food first.”
“….”
Klisha, who had the thickest face in the whole Schmarin, somehow felt a little embarrassed today.
Perhaps when someone is hungry, their self-esteem drops, and their sense of shame doubles.
Ah.
Was it because she had no money? To realize such a simple truth now….
Suddenly, Klisha felt sorry for having scolded Shukrim for his gluttony.
“After you have your fill, you have to tell me everything, understand?”
Klisha willingly exchanged food and personal information.
Of course, she couldn’t sell her father’s name, well, even if she did, they probably wouldn’t have believed her. For now, Klisha decided to use the identity she had when she was busy causing accidents in Schmarin.
“Name.”
“Shasha Rin.”
“Age.”
“21 years old.”
“Place of origin.”
“Schmarin.”
“Purpose of coming to the capital.”
“….”
“Hey, purpose of coming to the capital.”
“…as the former Empress… to meet the High Priest and His Majesty the Emperor….”
“….”
“….”
Rony stopped writing and stared at the boy’s face for a moment.
The boy’s face gradually turned red, and his almond-colored eyes shook violently, unable to find their way.
“…Okay. I understand.”
And thus, the interrogation was completed,
‘Report on the Personal Information of the Suspect (ver. FINAL)’
「The boy’s name, age, and occupation are unknown. The boy appears to have borderline personality disorder, anger management issues, and delusional disorder. He has been living on the streets of the Grand Plaza for some time now. His hometown and place of origin are unknown. Based on his use of small swordsmanship typically employed in close combat, it is assumed that he is a war orphan turned vagrant. Continuous behavioral observation is required. End of report.」
Today, the arrest report of the assailant in the Grand Plaza contained fairly accurate yet extremely incomplete information.
* * *
“Master. I heard that Zenya will be on the move tonight.”
“They are going to die a dog’s death. Tell them to do their best.”
In the study of the capital’s Anga (Private Manor).
A young man with black hair and red eyes spoke with a hint of cynicism, prompting the elderly man before him to continue speaking with a look of despair.
“Shouldn’t we still comply?”
“For what? You know how much time and resources it takes to raise a person. Is it really necessary to include them in the suicide squad?”
“That’s true, but….”
Homer Ryuiken turned his gaze toward the window, where darkness had fallen, and spoke.
“Such matters are usually symbolic. Even if they fail, they can make our presence known. If we don’t offer support…”
“….”
“There will be a lot of criticism after the failure. They will say it happened because the Archduke’s lack of support, or the Archduke has lost interest in revenge, and so on… It could even give them an opportunity. Moreover, if by any chance they succeed, your position will naturally become more narrowed.”
“It’s a trap using their allies as bait. They’re not trying to catch Ian Perza, but me.”
Eugene’s lips curled up.
“The chances of success are zero. If there had been even a 1% chance, I would have already taken it. But…”
Eugene, who had been lost in thought for a moment, loosened his tie with one hand and spoke.
“You can’t feed soup to a dog. I’ll go myself.”
[T/N: “You can’t feed soup to a dog”, this metaphor implies that you can’t offer something unsuitable or inadequate for a desperate situation. Just as you can’t feed soup to dogs as they’re canine and they have no way to drink it.]
“!”
“Bring my attire.”
“Master! You don’t have to go by yourself. It’s fine as long as you send two support teams….”
“I’ll have to go and see what they’ve prepared. If I can get it, I will. If not… Zenya is a pawn to discard. However, no matter how foolish they are, they must have figured out a way to infiltrate the Inner Palace. I might as well take this opportunity to have a look at the Royal Palace.”
“…I understand.”
The sky of the capital city of Zekrit was consumed by a red sunset, just like Eugene’s eyes, and then was dyed in pitch-black darkness.
Wrapped in black fabric with no markings or emblems, Eugene covered the hilt of his beloved sword with a black cloth, swung the sword behind his back, and then tightened his shoelaces.
As he wrapped a black mask over his black hair, Eugene’s handsome face was concealed, leaving only his two red eyes which gleamed even redder.
“Noah.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“Today, we won’t take action. Try to familiarize yourself with the surrounding terrain as much as possible.”
“Understood.”
Twelve shadows covered in the same outfit disappeared into the darkness.
* * *
“Hey, newcomer. Is this your first time in prison?”
A large man spoke to Klisha, who was lying in a corner with her whole body curled up.
“Newcomer. You don’t need to worry so much. The Royal Guard’s prison is better than the judicial prison outside. They give you plenty of food. After dinner, they even make you exercise in the yard from time to time.”
“…I have been wrongly convicted.”
“Hey. There’s no one who comes into prison without a story.”
“No… I’m really wrongly convicted….”
A man with an innocent face that didn’t match his large build placed his hand on Klisha’s shoulder and spoke.
“But you came in on a summary judgment, so you’ll be out in three months. You’re lucky. Think of it as life experience. I still have a whole year and five months left.”
Klisha jumped up from her lying position at those words.
‘Three months! The nanny told me to come back in two months!’
Klisha’s eyes sank heavily as golden flames flickered in her eyes. A sharp smile appeared on her red lips.
‘I can’t stay here for three months. I….’
I have to escape. But first… Let’s have dinner.
