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Chapter 87: Corpse Interrogation
🕑 Added 2024-08-30 14:37:55 +0000 UTC“C-c-Claire?” I stammered.
"Will you sit? You can have him after I'm done questioning him."
Feeling the pressure, I obediently sat beside Claire. She began interrogating Tione as her maid gave me tea. "So, did you know how Dregorn planned to kill me?"
"No, Your Majesty. I have no idea that Dregorn would do such a despicable thing! We have only the utmost loyalty to you!" Tione desperately pleaded. His performance was convincing, but after seeing how well the people of Elderan could lie, I had my doubts. Seles had managed to lie even with a knife at her throat, after all.
"Is that so? Wonderful! Here's some tea for you." Claire smiled sweetly. She requested a cup of tea and poured water from a glass vial. The vial was exquisitely crafted. How much money had been wasted on such an intricately designed glass vial? It held even less water than a teacup. These rich nobles were so wasteful. First the street lamps, now this vial. No wonder Elderan struggled to progress.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Hm? Just some scented water. Here, Tione, have a drink."
"HIEEK!! No!!!" Tione's reaction was immediate. He recoiled as if his life depended on it. Realization hit me instantly.
"It's poison!" I spat out my tea reflexively, fearing she had put some of the poison into my tea earlier. I looked at Claire, horrified. How could I have been so careless? I'm dead now. My only hope was to beg R25B for an antidote. But if the poison she gave me was a fast-acting poison, I could be dead in a few hours!
"It's just water, my dear. I swear." Claire smiled sweetly. "I simply had a glassworker in Althemer make this exquisite bottle to resemble the one I found in Dregorn's luggage."
I glared at her with as much intimidation as I could muster, but she merely sighed. She then pondered, placing her hand on her cheek and tilting her head as if she were troubled. "I wish Elderan could learn a thing or two from you. You rarely lie…"
"Princess, I have brought the mercenaries you requested," a soldier said, kneeling before Claire. Behind him, Hellhound and his group knelt in unison.
"Princess Claire! My name is Hellhound. I am eternally grateful for freeing us from the unjust apprehension by the royal knights," Hellhound declared.
"I heard you took good care of my sister here. Thank you for being with Elidranthia!" Claire smiled as she hugged me. Goosebumps crawled across my skin as I shuddered. Why on earth is she calling me her sister?
"Sister?" Hellhound's eyes widened like a saucer in disbelief as he looked at me, bewildered.
"I don't know what she's talking about!" I protested.
"Don't be shy! We'll be sisters when Ludwin marries you, and I marry Heracles, right?"
"Eh? That th—" I tried to respond, but Claire cut me off. "Stop it, sister. The engagement hasn't been canceled, you know." I thought I was practically a fugitive after killing Dregorn, but now Claire is saying I'm not? And the engagement is still on?
"Eli, are you a princess of Althemer?" Hellhound asked, surprised.
"No. I'm just a count's daughter…"
"She is, but since she's a level 8 dark mage, the prince and the mage faction have taken a liking to her. She soon will become their princess!" Claire said, elevating my status as she pinched and poked my cheeks.
"You're really level 8?" Hellhound stared at me in shock, then dropped into a perfect dogeza. "I apologize for my disrespect, Princess Elidranthia! Please, find it in your heart to forgive my impertinence and rudeness."
"No, it's fine. Really, stop calling me princess. I'm not a princess. Eli is fine." I felt embarrassed and wanted to find a corner to hide, but Claire held onto my arm.
"Ahem, enough with the small talk. Eli, could you cast necromancy on Tione? Hellhound, your gratitude is appreciated. Ah! I almost forgot. I must thank you for bringing the spawner to us. I really needed it. As a reward for your efforts, I shall give you 500 gold coins. Will that suffice? You don't need to share with Eli; I'll give her a separate reward later. She will be my family, after all."
"Huh?" I blurted out, still trying to process everything.
"Necromancy. You did it in Althemer, right? That's how you figured out the plot Dregorn and Tione cooked up to assassinate me," Claire said, lying as effortlessly as she breathed. I had done no such thing.
“But… that means…”
"Yes. Kill him if you must."
"Your Highness, please! Forgive me! I had no part in this! I knew of the assassination plot, but I didn't participate. It was all the nationalist faction! I swear! Please!" Tione started sobbing, desperately begging for his life.
"More lies? Can you give me any names, then?" Claire asked, sulking. She wasn't from Elderan, but she must have stayed here long enough to understand the typical behavior of these treacherous nobles.
"Um… yes! It was Droner Gustav, Gregory, and Elizabeth! They are the masterminds! Please, forgive me, Princess Claire. Aren't you the most magnificent and benevolent princess of all? Please, show me a bit of your infinite kindness!" Tione pleaded desperately.
"Princess Claire… he's a jerk, but should you really kill him?" Hellhound asked.
Claire sniffled. "I'm sorry, everyone. But to prevent civil wars, I must do this. I don't want to kill these people. That's why I've hesitated for so long. I'm weak and indecisive. What if there were innocent nobles involved? However, thanks to Eli's ability, I can finally identify each. Tell me, between the lives of three hundred thousand people in the capital against the lives of forty nobles, which are more important?" Claire cried crocodile tears. Her acting was so convincing that, even though I knew it was fake, it still moved me.
"Princess Claire! I beg for your forgiveness. My foolish mind failed to grasp the brilliance of your plan. Yes, you are absolutely right. I should not be swayed by the tears of the wicked. The evil must be punished! Let's find out who dared to conspire against you!" Hellhound and his team were utterly captivated by Claire's masterful words. They gazed at her as if she were a saint.
"Eli, I'm sorry for placing this burden on you. Please, let me handle it instead." Claire motioned to one of her lackeys, but a dark tentacle shot out from me, holding him back.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Eli shouted inside my mind. I sighed. Even though Claire put on a sorrowful expression, I could see a faint smirk playing on her lips. Her face told me that she expected me to owe her for this "privilege" of killing Tione.
"I'll do it. You don't need to dirty your hands…" I muttered, drawing a dagger from my waist as I approached Tione.
"Please! I'll give you anything! Don't kill me! If you kill me, the nationalist faction will retaliate! A civil war will break out! Do—"
Spurt.
A fountain of blood erupted from his neck. Once again, I had aimed for the neck, the most vulnerable part of the human body. My hand seemed to move there instinctively. I was a bit tired, but after measuring my mana, I figured I had just enough to cast a single necromancy spell on Tione.
Dark tentacles invaded his body, defiling the corpse that had once been Tione. After expending a tremendous amount of mana, Tione's body stood up, his eyes wide with horror as he spoke in a raspy voice.
"Where is Droner Gustav?" I demanded. The last of my list. The one who planned everything.
"I don't know…"
"Are you sure? You don't know? don't lie!" I raged. However, necromancy shouldn't be able to lie because it directly asks the user's soul. If he didn't know, he didn't know.
The answer was simple and concise. The trail had gone cold, and it dashed my hope for an easy resolution of my vengeance, and now I would have to start from scratch to find the last man responsible for my mother's and grandfather's deaths. I need to kill Tione's friends or family to ask about Gustav's whereabouts. As I pondered my next move, Claire walked over to me. An idea popped into my head: I could just follow Claire. If I stayed close to her as she eliminated her enemies, I would find Droner sooner or later. After all, his name was also on Claire's hit list.
"Are you done? May I ask him some questions?" Claire asked. "I want to find out who planned my assassination and who else was involved in the plot."
I nodded. The corpse ignored Claire's question, but after I repeated her question, Tione started answering. The undead only obeys the caster.
"The nationalist faction consists of twenty members. They are…" The undead spoke a list of names. Claire waved her hand, and the maids hurried over with pen and paper. After The maid was done, Claire slumped in the corner, breathing heavily. A tired sigh exuded from her mouth.
"That's over twenty names! How dare he only mention three when he was alive!" Claire groaned, crumpling the paper the maid handed her. After looking at Claire's tired expression, I resolved myself to escape from Ludwin's engagement. I don't want to become a princess. I don't want to handle this kind of political affair!
"Let's get them all!" Claire's henchmen roused Hellhound and the maid, and they followed the rally.
"Kill these corrupt officials!"
"They wanted to kill Princess Claire! They must not be forgiven!" Hellhound was even angrier than Claire when he realized how corrupt these officials were. He and Claire's maids and soldiers instantly bonded over their shared mission to capture or kill these lowlifes.
"Eli, let's go!" Claire said. "I want to catch Droner Gustav, too."
"I'm a bit exhausted. I don't think I can use necromancy anymore…."I slumped down. I could probably handle one more necromancy, but I didn't want to push it. I need to save some mana for myself, just in case.
Claire paused when she heard me. "I guess I've overworked you. I apologize for being insensitive. Could you tell me the conditions under which you can use necromancy? I can't let you bear this burden alone."
"Um… as long as the head isn't separated from the body, I guess? But the fresher the body, the better."
"Very well. Thank you for the information. Lisa, please take Eli to her room in my mansion and let her rest."
"Hm? not to the castle?"
"No. I don't want to disturb our guests there. They will go back to the mansion tomorrow anyway. The castle is not very safe."
"Yes, Princess Claire," the maid replied, bowing before escorting me to a carriage.
The twilight of dusk had passed by the time I reached Claire's mansion in the noble district. It was practically next to the castle gate. As expected of the novel's protagonist, although Claire was wealthy, she didn't flaunt her riches. All of her decorations were simple but high-quality. The guestroom the maid brought me to was modest but comfortable. Only a single bed, a chair, a table, and a wardrobe. No gaudy carpets, chandeliers, or bed curtains and canopies.
The following day, I was surprised to find a group of men tied up in front of Claire in the guest room. Hellhound proudly presented them to me and asked me to interrogate them. Apparently, Claire had been working through the entire night to capture these rebels. Since she no longer trusted their words, it was up to me to use my necromancy to uncover the truth about their organization.
I worked hard, casting necromancy on three people that day, and Claire got new names for her witch hunt. Hellhound, who was turned into Claire's obedient dog, ran to fetch the corrupt officials.
In the end, the last person we needed was still missing: Droner Gustav.
