The interrogation had continued for several hours, but there was no significant outcome.
Despite all the intimidation and persuasion attempts, the assassins remained utterly unresponsive, as reported by the knight. Karl casually replied, “I grant permission to intensify the interrogation.”
Given that these individuals made a living by receiving orders to take lives, it was only natural that they would risk their lives to protect their secrets.
They were the type who would hesitate to divulge anything even at the brink of death.
If they had received training akin to brainwashing, they might willingly sacrifice their lives to keep information about their client confidential.
Even attempting to bargain for their lives by offering information would likely result in the betrayed client sending someone to kill them again, leading to foolish assassins thinking it better to guard their secrets and die honorably.
It would have been wiser not to get involved in such matters in the first place.
“How far can we escalate the intensity of the interrogation?”
While it was called an interrogation, in some aspects, it resembled torture. Karl lifted his gaze from the documents and looked at the knight.
“As much as necessary. As needed.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I will carry out your orders.”
Karl waved the knight away. He expected the assassins to be captured, but he did not hope to gain any meaningful information from them through interrogation.
It would likely be much faster to acquire information through other means.
The knight exited, and Clovis entered.
“Your Highness.”
Clovis was doing his best to maintain a polite demeanor, but Karl quickly noticed his urgent breaths. It seemed he had obtained some crucial information.
Nodding, Clovis gave a brief salute before springing directly to the seat beside Karl.
“During the interrogation of the intermediaries, I discovered a mark that you must verify.”
A mark that needed confirmation. Karl’s eyes lit up.
“Don’t tell me.”
“Yes. It’s a tattoo written in an ancient language.”
The same mark found on the backs of the hands of the group that had attacked Celeste and Valerie. The exact same mark was discovered on the intermediaries captured from the Kellever black market.
This meant it was vital evidence proving they were part of the same group.
After scanning the surroundings again, Clovis lowered his voice.
“And among those intermediaries, I identified someone connected to the Dives Guild.”
“Dives?”
“They are the lower group operating under the Abun Guild.”
“What do you mean by the Abun Guild?”
It’s one of the four guilds owned by Franz.
Karl and Clovis exchanged glances.
Finding crucial evidence linking the illicit distribution of magic stones and the orchestration to harm the Grand Duchess and her child to Duke Toskur was significant.
“I’ll issue a search warrant, so get ready to search the Abun Guild immediately.”
“Yes, I will do it right away. However… I doubt they will just let us in. The reputation of the Abun Guild precedes them.”
“Who dares to refuse when the Imperial Search Team is authorized to conduct a search? Is there someone so insane they’d want to be punished by Imperial law?”
“It seems they feel secure backed by Duke Toskur.”
“We’ll need many knights then.”
Having just a half-baked royal like Franz backing them, the guild has brazenly acted with impunity until now. But that ends today.
Karl scoffed.
They might have felt safe until now because no one openly confronted Duke Toskur, but if the investigators directly commanded by Duke Albrecht show up, everything changes.
Merchants who had been holding out with, “Do you dare lay a hand on someone from Duke Toskur?” will now face the swift retaliation of, “Are you daring to obstruct someone sent by Duke Albrecht?”
“First, we will search Dives, which has a tattooed person, then we’ll thoroughly comb through the Abun Guild without leaving a single trace behind, Clovis.”
“Yes, I will do that. We’ll begin with Dives for justification, and at the same time, I will send knights to the Abun Guild to prevent any escape routes.”
“If necessary, the use of force is authorized.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. What are the limits of the use of force?”
It seems I should give the same answer as I did to the knight who reported on the assassin’s interrogation earlier. Karl nodded.
“As much as necessary. As needed.”
“Yes, understood, Your Grace!”
Clovis’s response was stronger than ever.
“And one more thing, Clovis.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“What about the knights stationed by Septfera?”
Septfera was an area adjacent to the southwest of the capital. It was also the most likely place where Marina, who had suddenly disappeared from the palace and the capital, might have gone into hiding.
People mocked her sudden disappearance, claiming the emperor’s consort had fled to save her own life now that the source of her power was lost. However, Karl did not believe that was the case.
It seemed suspicious that she had left in such a manner, prompting Karl to secretly send knights to track and monitor Marina.
“We’ve confirmed that there’s a force moving periodically in and out of Septfera, even if they’re not openly exhibiting suspicious behavior.”
“Have you determined their connection to Marina?”
“There are multiple suspicions, but nothing concrete yet.”
Until things became clear, he wouldn’t report anything lightly. Clovis stating, “there are suspicions” suggested there was some valid evidence. However, to avoid leaving room for rebuttal, it also meant they were seeking more solid evidence until they attained certainty.
“What about the investigation into the child abduction cases? Is there any progress?”
“As you feared, we have confirmed signs of a specific force being involved in the abductions.”
“A specific force….”
At a certain point, the number of child abduction reports that began pouring into LaHart exploded. This had been a story that had already spanned over a decade.
The child abduction cases that started in LaHart began to spread to neighboring areas and further across the entire empire.
The primary targets were orphaned children with nowhere to go or those submitted to institutions due to difficult living conditions.
After an inexplicable fever that caused an uproar in LaHart passed, children from reputable families began to disappear one by one.
While the number was not high, the gravity of the child abduction cases peaked with Madam Pulcheria losing her child.
As the head of the imperial investigation unit, Karl sought to resolve these cases fully. The forces that had started abducting children mysteriously vanished at some point.
The frequency of reported child abduction cases began to decrease, from one-tenth to one-hundredth of the previous amount.
The culprits weren’t moving, and thus there could be no new evidence to find. Attempts to uncover evidence from past incidents yielded no substantial results.
Karl and the search team suspected a powerful group was capturing vulnerable children and selling them to foreign countries or pirates, profiting immensely.
However, such a well-equipped, dangerous organization would not be numerous, narrowing their suspicions to a select few. With no new incidents occurring, they could not discover fresh evidence, meaning they couldn’t find substantial leads unless new events transpired.
“Still, we shouldn’t hope for another child to be sacrificed in the search for evidence. In fact, the case of the infant abduction was in a deadlock, unable to proceed in any direction.
Karl nodded.
“Then I’ll take my leave now, Clovis.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
As Karl watched Clovis dash outside to direct the knights, he too began to mentally organize the actions he needed to take from now on.
Franz and his mother Marina. It was time for an end to this long, messy conflict with them, one way or another.”
***
In a dark room where not a single beam of light entered, there existed only pitch-black darkness, just as it always had, without day or night, without light or shadow.
“Lady Marina.”
The eyes, accustomed to the darkness, skillfully scanned the room and turned toward the person who had come to visit.
“Did you bring what you ordered?”
“Well, um….”
“Why are you stammering? Just give me a clear answer!”
Crash. Instantly on the verge of collapse, Marina expressed her frustration by knocking over tables and shelves.
“As you instructed, I did manage to rescue the young girl.”
“Bring her here. Hurry!”
“But, Lady Marina….”
“I said to bring her right away!”
“Many children have gone missing, and the search parties are becoming increasingly vigilant. As you know, every child born in the Empire is assigned a unique birth number….”
“Who cares about that nonsense? Stop rambling with useless words! I’ve told you countless times to just bring what I asked for!”
“All the orphans roaming without homes and parents are now being tracked. It really means we can no longer just take them at will.”
“Then what do you mean by saying you found her just a moment ago? Are you mocking me?”
Crash. Once again, a table toppled, and a vase shattered unforgivingly on the floor. The shards broke apart, and the face of the loyal subordinate watching the scene turned stone cold.
