Chapter 4 (1/2)

Volume 1

Chapter 4

Currently, Rio was locked up in jail inside the Royal Castle .

After Christina and Flora were found, the palace soldiers quickly placed them under their protection .

Therefore while Rio was still trying to make heads and tails of the situation, he was arrested and thrown in jail .

A little while later, he found out that Christina and Flora were princesses of the country .

Three days had gone by since he was arrested .

With meager amounts of time for sleep and meals, the majority of the time was used for interrogation .

That was how Rio passed his days in jail ever since he arrived .

While his body and mind were still asleep, he would be questioned every 5 minutes by over three investigators .

“Spit out what you know . ”

Rio wondered how many questions he had already been asked over the three days .

Tired of hearing the same questions over and over again, he was disgusted by the suspicion placed on him in the first place .

“I already told you, I just happened to pass by . Bu chance when I was walking in an alley, I happened to see the kidnappers with those kids… with Christina-sama and Flora-sama . On an impulse I decided to help them . That’s all . ”

The interrogator became visibly agitated when Rio mentioned “those kids” .

Realising it, he switched and called them by their honourific titles instead . Rio was becoming fed up at repeating the same testimony .

“You’re lying . You’re a spy aren’t you?”

Rio was asked the same question over and over again .

“I’m not lying . ”

And Rio would resentfully spit out the same answer every time .

“Naa~, once again, you said that you only helped Christina-sama and Flora-sama on a whim . I find that really hard to believe . ”

The interrogator said that while showing an unusual expression .

“Up until now, we’ve been courteous with you during our investigation . But if you refuse to tell us anything, we’ll have to change up our methods . ”

The interrogator’s oppressive attitude was caused by the gloomy jail atmosphere and the lengthy yet fruitless interrogation .

For the interrogator, being able to keep up in appearances until now was praiseworthy .

“Heh~? And by what sort of means?”

Rio was smiling defiantly with a rebellious spark in his eyes .

Fed up, the interrogator returned Rio’s smile by striking him in the chest using the hilt of his sword .

Rio’s face was then slammed into the table .

“GAH!”

The interrogator repeatedly slammed Rio’s face into the table . By the second time, Rio’s lips were already starting to crack and bleed .

At least he could decrease the damage through flesh body reinforcement but he had difficulty controlling his magical powers .

It seemed that the shackles on his wrists were obstructing the flow of magical power .

“Isn’t it weird? For a kid like you to face four armed opponents and on top of that, defeat them . Furthermore, no ordinary orphan would be able possess that kind of training . It’s strange even considering when you caught them by surprise . ”

The incident was too incomprehensible for the interrogator causing him to shake his head .

“This is like a miserable play written by a peasant . You get what I’m saying?”

Rio was glaring at the interrogator as if he was his parents’ murderer .

The interrogator pulled Rio’s hair, raising his face to eye level and punched him in the stomach .

“KAH!”

Seeing Rio groan in pain, the interrogator revealed a satisfied expression .

It was certainly the attitude of a sadist .

The pain in his stomach made Rio’s face distort in pain .

“His Majesty told us to treat you with utmost consideration . After all, you are Christina-sama and Flora-sama’s saviour . It’s only natural . ”

If that was the case, what the hell was with this treatment?

Rio’s frustration and anger was already reaching its boiling point .

“But you’re too dangerous . As I said before, all your testimonies are too suspicious . There are too many unknowns surrounding you . Even if I have to resort to force, I will extract the information out of you . Understand?”

Grasping Rio by the head, the interrogator was scowling directly in front of Rio’s face .

The two people hatefully glared at each other . Rio floated a ridiculing smile on his face .

“If I say I don’t know, then that means I don’t know . ”

Rio readily answered without hesitation .

He did not try answering any other way because what he stated was the truth .

“Hmph . Can a criminal like you not understand His Majesty’s grace? Fine, there’s an easier way for scum like you to understand . ”

Saying that as provocation, the interrogator patted Rio’s face .

“After all, you might tell me who the mastermind is . I wonder who it is . Is it a noble?”

To the interrogator’s misguided reasoning, Rio could only let out a tired sigh .

“You don’t know? Why not try asking the perpetra- GAH!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Rio was hit in the face .

“The perpetrators, THEY’RE ALREADY ALL DEAD! They were killed! You’re the only one left alive . ”

Hearing those words, Rio’s face cramped up .

At that moment, he wondered if his body could hold up after receiving so many beatings .

But with existence of recovery magic, he reconsidered the thought as he could probably be kept alive for further questioning .

“Killed?”

“You know? Poison . Their meals were poisoned . Fortunately, your meals weren’t . ”

While Rio still harboured some doubt towards the interrogator’s words, he believed what he was just told was the truth .

“…”

Hearing those words made him shiver .

To be able to poison the perpetrators, the mastermind behind the kidnapping incident must be somewhere in the castle .

But why did he not kill me?

That was because the mastermind would not be affected even if he was left alive .

Rio immediately arrived at that conclusion .

Rio and the mastermind had no connections . For Rio to be interrogated would be a benefit for the mastermind .

So Rio was deliberately left alive to throw off the investigators .

If that was the case the Rio’s life was not in danger for the time being .

However that was only limited to the mastermind .

If he got careless, the state would not hesitate to take his life .

Even though he rescued royalty, thanks to the suspicion placed on him he was treated as such .

If this trend continued, they would probably soon resort to torture .

In that case it would not be strange if he died .

(DAMN IT! At this rate I really will be killed…)

Feelings of anxiety and frustration began to accumulate .

Did he make the right decision by saving Christina and Flora?

If he ignored them, he would not have to suffer through such hardships .

This was the result of him getting caught up with his own feelings .

He just wanted to end the terrible incident; in the end Rio guessed he was just a selfish person .

“Hmph, how’s that? Feeling scared? If you’re afraid to die then tell us what you know . ”

The interrogator ignorantly said that with an arrogant expression causing Rio to snort through his nose .

Seeing that, the interrogator hit Rio in the nose .

“Who’s the mastermind? From my superior’s investigations, you and those thugs never came in direct contact with the mastermind but received instructions through a third party . ”

Rio was already fed up with everything . He could not do anything but protest which only worsened his situation .

Thinking about it, Rio thought he was a victim caught in the political crossfire occurring within the Royal Palace .

If that was the case, everything started to add up .

Disposing of the perpetrators by poisoning their meals and leaving Rio to fend for himself . Naturally he would be interrogated as he was the only remaining link to the incident .

Rio calmly analyzed the information he gathered so far .

Someone probably stood to gain from perpetrating the incident .

The mastermind was the most likely candidate since the thugs were disposed of to destroy any remaining evidence .

The losing side would fall into predicament and try their hardest to extract information from Rio .

For example, the mastermind could be the King if he was a ruthless person who had no qualms with using his daughters as political chess pieces . But the chances of that were low .

Aside from the king, a person who had the most to gain from this incident would have to be a highly influential noble .

But those with close relations to the royal family had no incentives to do so either . It was doubtful that they would gain anything from the King’s downfall .

For those reasons, the person who stood to gain the most from this incident was neither the King nor any of the nobles associated with the King .

But as far as Rio was concerned, he was caught in a political dispute between nobles .

(This is no joke . )

Rio had a delirious smile in his mind .

An influential noble lost in the power struggle this time and was using all their efforts to forcefully extract a confession from Rio while the winning side was against it . As long as the losing side held their suspicions, Rio would not be released .

That kind of suspicion would be very difficult to clear .

The interrogator remained paranoid throughout the interrogation and continued questioning Rio . If things did not go well, faking his confession was a possibility .

(If I can fabricate a confession that makes the losing side’s influence fall, there’s a chance I can get out of this alive . )

But he could not run away .

“Who did you receive orders from? It was a lower class noble’s child wasn’t it? You’ve actually received combat training right?”

Without growing tired, the interrogator continued to question Rio .

Carrying a stick, the interrogator tried to provoke him by hitting him on the cheek .

“…Peh . ”

Rio spat out a mix of blood and saliva at the interrogator .

He could feel a bit of his resentment wash away .

Even if showing defiance to such a degree would not change his fate .

Without a command from his superiors, the interrogator could not kill Rio .

“…YOU~!”

Enraged, the interrogator roared at Rio . At that moment, the cell door opened .

Seeing the man who just entered, the interrogator immediately stood up straight .