Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Dielo gestured.
"Prepare as the priestess says."
There was no coercive feeling in his words.
But the intelligence agents moved quickly. As if a knife was held to their throats.
I felt a strange sense of incongruity there.
It couldn't be that there was a contract like 'If you don't listen, you'll burn' before becoming an Argenta…
Then there's only one possibility. Dielo is controlling them.
How?
"Krua?"
But when Dielo met my eyes, he just looked up at me with pure, light blue eyes.
…This soft person?
"Let's go."
As our eyes met, he smiled prettily, unaware of what I was thinking.
Villain Krua Alroze.
I had heard rumors about her.
Although her innate ability was weak, her temperament was extremely violent.
The story of her drowning Alloze servants who tried to ignore her because her Water Manipulation Ability was weak was already famous.
It wasn't something she did with her Water Manipulation Ability.
'If they ignore me, isn't that the same as ignoring the blood of the Alloze main family?'
Knowing well what blood she inherited, she moved the servants in such a way that those who ignored her were drowned by the hands of those who had ignored her.
'Hoo.'
Duke Alloze, who couldn't stand to see his authority diminished, only found the sight interesting.
The cunning Duke Alloze and his illegitimate daughter, who was busy enjoying her position.
That was the image of Krua Alroze that Dielo Argenta knew.
No, it was the image of Krua Alroze that he had heard until now.
But.
'I'll teach you.'
The Krua he had seen before the wedding was completely different from the rumors.
Rather, she was a lovely woman, unlike what he had heard.
Besides.
'…I need to practice pretending to be bad more.'
Dielo almost laughed as he thought about the words he had heard on the beach.
What should he do with this pure priestess?
He, who was disguised as innocent, had to worry. He thought that seeing a new side of the priestess, who was only rumored to be a villain, would end there.
But it seemed that wasn't the end.
Dielo looked at Krua standing in front of the bathtub.
"Listen carefully. Water will gradually fill the space you are in."
The two traitors were kneeling in a large bathtub that was big enough to swim in.
Rocks were tied to their bodies so they wouldn't float even when the water was full.
Their mouths were free. Only their hands and feet were not free.
It wasn't that Dielo was surprised by the sight. He had guessed that Krua would know how to torture people.
"I know that not just one or two people wanted to go to Kartiel, so you were planning to leave one by one in order so as not to be suspected. That means."
Krua's eyes were shining as she looked at the people kneeling in the bathtub.
Dielo watched the scene quietly.
Those weren't the eyes of a foolish person who wielded power just because they believed in their position.
They were the eyes of a clear-headed person who knew exactly what they could do with their abilities.
"You communicated with each other and had a pre-determined order, right?"
Moreover, unlike the rumors that she simply enjoyed being cruel, she was even sharp.
"…!"
The two traitors flinched at Krua's words.
"Turn on the water."
Krua gestured.
The intelligence agents looked back at Dielo.
'Should we follow her orders?'
Since earlier, they had been looking at Dielo every time Krua's orders were given.
'Should we take care of it ourselves?'
It was the same when those guys were caught earlier.
If he had said 'take care of it' as usual, they would have interrogated them in the Argenta way.
That was the natural procedure.
The intelligence agency didn't know what kind of person Krua was yet, and Krua didn't know much about Argenta, so they thought she wouldn't be able to handle it skillfully.
So, of course, they were trying to get permission from Dielo himself every time.
But Dielo was subtly bothered by that.
'Let the priestess do as she pleases. She said she would show us something.'
In the end, he only whispered with his mouth. Then the intelligence agents understood what he meant.
The intelligence agents knew his cool temperament well, unlike what was known to be gentle.
They would have realized that if he said this, it meant 'don't ask twice whether to carry out Krua's orders'.
―Chwaaaa!
Water began to fill the bathtub.
"…!"
The traitors, who had initially scoffed, began to hesitate as the bathtub gradually filled with water.
It was because they belatedly realized that the bathtub was higher than they thought, and that they could drown in the bathtub.
"Th, this is…!"
"Only the water of the one who says the name of the traitor will decrease little by little. The reduced water will go to the other side."
It is natural for water to go from high to low.
But.
When Krua raised her hand and released her Water Manipulation Ability, the water began to move as if it would create some shape.
―Chwaa!
The water, moved by her Water Manipulation Ability, quickly crossed the wall and passed between the traitors.
"…!"
The traitors looked at each other at Krua's calm words.
The water was already up to their chests.
And the rocks tied to them were only heavy.
―Chwaaaa!
While they were hesitating, the water reached their chins.
"Are you going to keep your mouths shut?"
Is she trying to drain the water because she can't kill them?
Dielo watched Krua with interest.
But Krua, on the contrary.
―Kwaruruk!
Turned on the water even more violently.
"!"
As the water swirled, the traitors' eyes began to be filled with fear.
And how much time had passed?
"I, Illian!"
Illian, the name of one of the knights.
―Jjoruruk…….
The rate at which the water rose on the side that shouted the name noticeably decreased.
And at the moment when the water was about to pour to the other side.
"Ante, there is also a guy named Ante!"
A name came out from the other side.
Then Krua poured water back into the side that shouted 'Illian'.
At that moment, the water rose and the traitor whose nose and mouth were blocked made a bubbling sound.
It is definitely an effective interrogation method.
In that it stimulates fear, urgency, and survival instincts.
…But.
"……?"
At some point, Dielo was looking at Krua instead of the traitors.
To be exact, Krua's clenched fist. Her trembling hand.
In particular, she was clenching her fist tightly every time the traitors' lives became precarious in the water.
…As if she had never played with someone's life directly.
Dielo's eyes sparkled.
This was another new look.
The interrogation method that Krua had used in the original work was not as difficult as I thought.
All I had to do was control the water.
"Eupuup!"
But seeing the faces of dying people in real time was inevitably nerve-wracking.
But.
If I don't stay calm, I'll die.
With that in mind, I continued to interrogate the traitors.
"Th, there's no more!"
"Really!"
Thanks to that, it didn't take me even ten minutes to find out all the names of the traitors.
Because they could see that the water was being drained every time they said a name, the traitors were competing to spill information.
"So there are thirteen of them, huh?"
I looked back at the Argenta intelligence agent. It meant, did you write it down well?
The intelligence agent, who met my eyes, bowed politely.
―Chwaak!
I created a sharp blade in the water and cut the rope that tied the traitors and the rocks together.
And I only let their faces show above the surface of the water.
"Eupu!"
"Heok!"
The two traitors quickly inhaled. Their faces and even their lips were pale, as if they were short of oxygen.
I looked back at Dielo.
"I didn't kill them yet because there might be more to find out."
It was my first time doing it in real life, so I was nervous, but I couldn't show it.
I put my hand on Dielo's shoulder with a nonchalant face.
"Ask if there's anything more you want to ask."
"…Me, directly?"
Dielo asked carefully.
I nodded.
"Yes. Dielo is the head of the family."
Dielo had to get used to interrogating.
Not just watching the scene with such surprised eyes.
"I'll try, Krua."
Dielo grabbed my hand tightly as if he was nervous.
No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was staining a person who was like a pure white paper.
But what could I do, it would be better to survive stained than to be torn as a blank sheet of paper.
"Okay. Then I'll go rest for a while."
I coolly went outside.
"I will attend to you, madam."
Pielle had already followed me from behind. I nodded.
Even though I had just used my Water Manipulation Ability, I wasn't in that bad of a condition.
Maybe it was because moving the water in the bathtub was nothing compared to moving the sea last time.
"Hmm."
I looked back at the room where Dielo was.
The soundproofing was good, so no sound leaked out.
…Should I stay by Dielo's side?
I wondered if Dielo would be able to interrogate the traitors well with those pure blue eyes.
"No."
I shook my head and moved my feet.
You have to get stronger, Dielo!
I could feel Pielle's puzzled gaze on me, but I didn't bother to explain.
Dielo wasn't some baby bird, he was also the head of a family.
He should be able to handle this much. Even if the interrogation is awkward, the intelligence agency will take care of it.
"There's a place I need to go."
Instead, I quickly moved my feet.
We were in the annex of the Argenta mansion.
"Where shall I take you?"
Pielle asked. I answered without hesitation.
"The first floor of the main building."
Surely the knights of the 4th floor were there before going to catch Mirta.
Will they still be there?
Why would Dielo put the knights of the 4th floor there?
I was going to find out.
