“What do you think, Miss Sheng Gereisi?”
Sheng Gereisi, one of the twelve saints who followed the Son of God 1,200 years ago. The descendants of the saints enjoy supreme glory in the Empire and are revered as the Twelve Noble Houses.
The Twelve Noble Houses each control one of the Empire’s twelve ancient cities. The lakeside city of Angres on the Great Inner Lake is the city controlled by the House of Sheng Gereisi.
After the Imperial Reform, the Noble Houses’ control over the cities has been steadily weakening, while the Imperial bureaucracy has been growing stronger.
“…No comment.” Sophia clicked her tongue.
Lafeier gave a dry chuckle and continued, “It’s fine. This is just the beginning.”
“What could possibly attract a daughter of a Noble House to work at a nearly bankrupt prison? What is it about this prison that draws her?”
“After thinking it over, the only person I could think of is Wells, the former leader of the Black Party.”
“The Black Party—the party His Majesty the Emperor despises—was only sentenced to life imprisonment… Why? It’s hard not to suspect he has some secret.”
“Countless eyes are fixed on him, on that old man on the brink of death. Whether he’s rescued or dies inside, either outcome carries great significance.”
“For those directly connected to Wells, rescuing him would certainly be a good thing. But his dying there wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing either.”
“Right, Chief Guard Sophia?”
Sophia’s brow furrowed deeply. The muscles between her forehead squeezed her bloodied eye socket, and the sharp pain made her calm down a little.
But the wound inside her socket burst open again, causing her heart to race.
Warm blood slid down her pale cheek. Only the corner of her mouth maintained a forced smile of feigned composure.
“So that’s why Lanse, who was hired by some daughter of a Noble House, turned a blind eye to the prison riot.”
“Why didn’t you act sooner? Why wait until my first day as the new warden to carry out your plan?”
“I imagine for such an important matter, you needed a scapegoat for ‘poor management.’ Otherwise, how could our young lady vanish into the shadows with all this credit?”
“So, if Wells dies or escapes, who benefits the most? Clearly not the Emperor, or he would have acted long ago.”
“That being the case, there’s only one truth.”
“Sophia, as a member of the Black Party, you took this position as a guard to complete the Black Party’s mission: to eliminate its former leader, Wells.”
“To that end, you’ve been lying low in this prison since last July. You used some method to manipulate the Warden into firing the original mercenary company and hiring Lanse and his men. During that time, you’ve been waiting for some fool to become the prison’s warden.”
“After all your eager waiting, finally, yesterday, I arrived at the prison. But what you didn’t expect was that I possess a power you fear. Isn’t that right?”
Hearing this, Sophia couldn’t help but grit her teeth, feeling quite indignant.
“Magic. That’s right, I also know magic—and I’m far stronger than you.”
Seeing Sophia’s face like she’d eaten a mouthful of shit, Lafeier knew he had guessed correctly.
From the way Sophia lost her composure in the hall earlier, it was easy to see that her magic was Mind Magic.
Not only did her mind control fail to work on Lafeier, she even suffered some kind of backlash.
Maybe it was the System that made him immune to control, or maybe he had some Ancient Sacred Body.
Either way, the result was here. The how didn’t matter.
“To avoid complicating things further, you abandoned the plan to rescue Wells. You opened the death row cell doors, created chaos in the prison, and waited for an opportunity to kill Wells. On the surface, it looked like Wells died naturally while being detained by Estina. But for a man who’d lived in prison for over a decade to die on the day of the riot—that’s far too coincidental, isn’t it?”
“That was your doing, wasn’t it?”
“You’re extremely sensitive to mental control, so your magic must be related to the mind. And you inferred that I also possess Mind Magic. That’s why you kept hiding by the door watching when Lanse was on trial.”
“You know that using magic has a cost. You were waiting for me to exhaust my mana before making your move. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”
“But no matter how you calculated, you never expected how strong I am.”
Lafeier spoke with conviction, without a trace of guilt.
To Sophia, these words were nothing short of an insult—a complete humiliation.
Telling her plans and goals like a story, belittling her abilities without mercy—this was more degrading than being stripped naked and paraded through the streets!
But she didn’t show panic, shock, or anger.
On the contrary, she was calmer than ever.
She had been outmatched.
Not only was she trampled underfoot by Lafeier in magical skill, but her schemes had also been seen through completely.
But that didn’t mean she had lost entirely.
“You’re very good at making up stories, Warden.”
“But I’d suggest you apply your writing talent to fairy tales, instead of pretending to be a detective here with wild guesses.”
She neither confirmed nor denied.
No matter what Lafeier said, she would treat it as a story.
Sometimes the stupidest method is the most effective.
As long as she didn’t answer, didn’t reveal a flaw, then any judgment Lafeier made based on this premise would be compromised.
He could see everything, but he couldn’t be sure of anything.
As long as doubt existed, a hidden root of disaster would grow.
Even if the probability was only one in ten thousand…
“Chief Guard Sophia, do you misunderstand something?”
“I’m not asking for your opinion. The above deductions—though only deductions—I believe the Imperial Judicial Bureau will investigate rigorously.”
“At the same time, I will report to the Judicial Bureau and to His Majesty the Emperor that the House of Sheng Gereisi is harboring the Black Party and involved in treason. I think His Majesty would be very willing to give the remaining eleven Noble Houses a satisfactory answer.”
As Lafeier spoke, he walked over to Sophia.
The pressure grew heavier as the distance closed, as if the air itself solidified in the heat.
His fingers slid through the blood on Sophia’s face, and he whispered softly in her ear:
“Miss Sophia, you wouldn’t want the entire House of Sheng Gereisi to be executed, would you?”
Upon hearing this, Sophia’s expression changed drastically.
“You—!”
She suddenly remembered a factor she had overlooked: the Emperor, known for his iron fist.
If it were the Judicial Bureau, no matter how brutal or harsh their methods, they couldn’t make her talk.
The Bureau’s power wasn’t enough to shake the House of Sheng Gereisi.
But what if the Emperor wanted to intimidate the other families and chose this opportunity to strike at the House of Sheng Gereisi?
The Pope was far away in the Northern Territory. No one could protect the saint’s descendants.
And her family—the people of the House of Sheng Gereisi—were truly not innocent.