Boom!
A squad of well-trained soldiers surrounded a certain mansion in a tight formation.
“So then, Your Excellency Sheriff.”
Colonel Raine coldly dragged out a pitiful man, shackled all over, unable to move, letting out nothing but incessant squeaking noises.
The once imposing and impeccably dressed Sheriff was now a completely different sight.
His top hat had vanished without a trace, exposing his full head of short, white hair to everyone’s gaze; his wrinkled old face, whose usually sharp, capable eyes were now utterly empty. His whole body quivered, overcome with fear.
“If you confess to crimes like selling off military supplies with your son, the quartermaster, and the Tax Guild chairman, maybe you can still hope for some leniency.”
Raine licked his lips, his face bearing a bloodthirsty expression as he questioned in a low voice.
“Wuu, wuu, wuu!”
The Sheriff kept shaking his head desperately.
As a former enforcer, the Sheriff who knew the Empire’s laws inside and out was well aware of the fate awaiting him.
So, he could only refuse to confess, no matter what.
If he died now, his family, his second son in the Imperial Capital, would still have a chance.
But if he admitted his crimes, it would tarnish the Second Prince’s name. Even if he managed to keep his life, what would be the point?
“Not talking, eh?” Colonel Raine seemed unsurprised, making a helpless gesture and saying to those behind him, “In that case, let’s see how you all perform.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A group of soldiers, already eyeing their prey, unsheathed their weapons.
“You bunch of despicable traitors!” The Sheriff glared at the soldiers, heart full of hatred, vaguely recognizing them as his own son’s subordinates from the old Cavalry Regiment.
“When my son was here, didn’t you all enjoy the good life with him? Now that you’ve clung to another royal branch, you just throw all past favors away?”
With bitterness, the Sheriff shouted, “Fine, kill me then. Send me and the Tax Guild chairman to the guillotine together if you wish, but don’t act like you’re representing some kind of justice!”
As if remembering a joke, the Sheriff threw his head back and let out a cackling laugh, “Besides, didn’t that so-called God of Justice die long ago anyway?”
Bang!
Those battle-hardened commandos, reborn from the crucible of war, weren’t swayed in the slightest by the Sheriff’s words. They ignored the fallen man, who looked like a stray dog on the roadside, and crashed through the main door.
“We’re doomed! Quick, destroy the documents!”
A man dressed as a butler frantically directed the servants; in the vast courtyard, a flurry of busy figures scurried about in panic and confusion.
No one had ever imagined that the Sheriff—who once ruled this town with an iron fist, his reach seemingly limitless—would one day fall so low.
Once news broke of the Sheriff’s arrest, the grandeur within the mansion vanished in an instant.
“No one move.”
Clang!
A row of gleaming weapons suddenly appeared in everyone’s sight.
“Ah, ahhh!” One of the more vicious servants, weapon in hand, tried to make a desperate last stand.
Splat!
Blood sprayed everywhere.
“I already said, unless I allow it, none of you are to move.”
Colonel Raine wiped his brain-splattered longsword, then kicked the corpse aside.
“Search every inch, leave no detail unchecked.”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers moved into action without hesitation.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Similar events spread through every corner of the town like wildfire.
This town, and indeed the whole border region, was about to see a drastic change.
Several hours later, at the Unyielding Bastion Fortress.
“Old Man Martin, you’ve worked hard.”
Theresa personally poured a cup of hot tea, placing it on the desk.
The old general’s face was lined with exhaustion as he removed his heavy military coat and took the cup from the princess, quietly sipping, his face occasionally lit by memories.
“It’s like—”
Old Martin sighed softly.
“Like what?”
Theresa looked at her master, confused.
“Your Highness, you and your mother, you really are alike.”
Mother?
Theresa only had vague memories of her mother.
After giving birth to Theresa, her mother’s health was shattered. She died of illness not long after being granted the title of Imperial Consort by the Emperor.
That year, Theresa was only six.
Even so, Theresa could still remember how her mother, in those days, would dress her up like a doll in beautiful clothes within the deep palace halls.
Those were her rare moments of happiness.
Her father, who loved her for her unique eye color and placed high hopes on her.
Her gentle mother, doted on by the Emperor beyond compare.
They were like an ordinary family, bringing rare warmth into the Empire’s seat of power, sheltering her from the bloody political struggles.
“But it was all an illusion.” Now, understanding how hard the path she had chosen truly was, and having witnessed her father’s sudden changes with her own eyes, Theresa felt a pang in her heart.
“Many people in the Court love to sneer that you don’t know proper etiquette, that you’re truly a wild monkey born of low nobility, but they’re not entirely wrong.”
Old Martin didn’t notice the turmoil in Theresa’s heart, lost instead in his memories, “Ever since your mother became Consort, she did restrain herself a bit, but before that, she was a mischievous terror to all her tutors…”
“She even traveled the Empire as an adventurer.”
Martin revealed an astonishing fact with a calm tone.
“M-mother, an adventurer?” Theresa was transfixed.
So, I inherited her blood too?
Thinking of how, under her father’s encouragement, she modeled herself after the founding Emperor, devoting herself completely to military studies, and how the Court gossiped about her behind her back—
Theresa smiled, feeling a bit more at ease.
“Mr. Green, do you think I have a knack for being an adventurer?”
As if struck by a thought, Theresa turned curiously to Green, who sat nearby, quietly pondering and waiting for Colonel Raine’s report.
“An adventurer?” At this at-once familiar and foreign word, Green sized up Her Highness with interest.
Truth be told, though she wore a military uniform and the emblem of advancement on her chest was striking—
That youthful face, slender figure, and most importantly, the yearning for freedom in her heart, truly made Theresa more like a high-level adventurer than a general.
“If one day, Your Majesty takes the throne and brings peace and prosperity to the Empire, I’d be honored to form an adventuring party with you, traveling all over the continent.”
Green smiled slightly and lifted his teacup.
“Great! Mr. Green, then when the time comes, an emperor, a prime minister, plus Mr. Martin and Colonel Raine, we’ll all go adventuring together!”
Theresa spoke her dream with enthusiasm.
Bang bang.
As the group chatted idly, the doors swung open.
Colonel Raine strode into the office, setting down a thick stack of documents, his face grim as he reported, “Commander!”
“How did the investigation and interrogations go?” Theresa wiped away her smile and asked solemnly.
“Very bad, Your Excellency.” Behind Raine’s grave expression was a heart burning with fury. “It’s worse than we thought. Those traitors—”
“Traitors?” Theresa was startled.
She had originally thought that the Sheriff and the Tax Guild chairman had simply sold off some military supplies, perhaps smuggling a few contraband goods to the barbarian tribes.
But looking at Colonel Raine’s expression, and hearing him say “traitors”?
Thud.
Colonel Raine laid down a crystal with deep pain.
Sizzle—
Under the flickering light, the Sheriff and the Tax Guild chairman’s sins could no longer be hidden.
In a muddy, damp, sealed basement, several ragged, trembling young girls stared numbly at the recorder.
“What is that?!”
Even though she’d witnessed the horrors of war, when Theresa saw those pitiful figures, she immediately recalled dark memories.
Those eyes—what kind of eyes were those?
Just like Cousin Tom’s older sister, after being captured and tormented by the beastmen, her gaze was utterly devoid of hope.
“Slave Trade.” Colonel Raine gravely spread out the files in his hand. “According to our investigation, this group has long been colluding with barbarian tribes. More importantly… they have ties to the Beastman Kingdom in the northern plains.”
Beastmen.
Unlike the primitive tribes who lacked advanced magitech and were seen by the Empire’s upper echelons as mere pests, the Beastmen were a wholly different intelligent race with their own faith and culture.
In other words—
They possessed power to rival the Empire, and were its greatest rivals in recent years.
“This means… Second Prince?” Theresa suddenly realized.
“Yes, Princess Theresa. According to our interrogations, these poor girls were lured in under the pretense of being hired, then imprisoned by the Sheriff’s group. Insiders confessed they would smuggle these girls in batches through the barbarian tribes into the Beastman Kingdom.”
Because of their mutual enmity, the Beastman Kingdom and the human world bore deep-seated hatred for each other.
As a result, in each other’s territory, members of the opposite race could be legally auctioned as goods.
And in recent years, with the Empire gaining the upper hand, Human Slaves had become precious commodities in the Beastman Kingdom, absolute luxury items for the upper class.
“According to our interrogations, these girls were… gifts that the Second Prince specially prepared for the Birthday of the Great Shaman in the Beastman Kingdom.”
Colonel Raine’s eyes turned somber, and he struggled to speak the truth he’d learned.
Bang.
“Unforgivable!”
Theresa was seething with rage.
Why did Second Brother have to do this?
Actually, Theresa knew the answer.
The throne.
Just as the First Prince courted favor by inviting a female magician for the Emperor, just as her father sought immortality and even tried to sacrifice her—
Second Brother too had chosen depravity to satisfy his desires.
Could it be that power truly corrupts a person so utterly?
In Theresa’s memories, her Second Brother, though melancholy, was at heart a shy, literary type!
And me… Will I become like that too?
As Theresa’s thoughts tangled, a strong, calloused hand gripped hers tightly.
Theresa looked up in confusion and saw Green nodding at her, as if he could read her worries.
“You won’t, Princess Theresa,” Green whispered. “With me by your side, you will never become that kind of person.”
“But what if—”
“If that day ever comes,” Green said solemnly, “I will personally end your life, Your Highness. I promise.”
Green swore the vow with unwavering resolve.