From Lafeier’s understanding of that old emperor, he would absolutely not kill ruthlessly for the sake of so-called deterrence.
These words were merely to probe Sophia. Clearly, Sophia panicked.
“Don’t be nervous, Chief Guard Sophia.” Lafeier said with a smile.
“This is an extreme measure. Unless absolutely necessary, I don’t want to add more killing. But,” Lafeier paused, “you need to cooperate with my work.”
After going in circles, Lafeier finally reached the position he envisioned: interrogating Sophia in an absolutely overwhelming manner. He would not give this woman any room to maneuver, nor would he allow her any chance to make conditions. The method? Simple.
“Sign the confession letter.”
“Are you humiliating me?” Sophia said through gritted teeth.
“Think whatever you want,” Lafeier reiterated in a mocking tone. “If you don’t want to take this to the Judicial Bureau or to His Majesty the Emperor, then obediently listen to me.”
The harsh words stabbed straight into Sophia’s heart, making her tremble all over.
She gritted her teeth, biting her pale lips until they bled.
Her hollow, shattered eyes looked at Lafeier.
The messy bits of flesh and white fluid mixed together, like an offering to an evil god. After a long silence, she finally nodded with difficulty.
“I’ll sign, but you…”
“You’re not qualified to negotiate with me.” Lafeier interrupted.
With a glance from Lafeier, Liliya immediately pulled the rope apart with her hands. Lafeier then threw paper and pen on the ground. “Write.”
Sophia clicked her tongue, picked up the paper and pen, and began to write the confession letter.
‘Wait, her eyeballs exploded—how can she see?’
This doubt had been bothering Lafeier from the very beginning.
“Young master, this is called Spirit Vision.” Liliya replied.
“Spirit Vision?”
“Correct. Ancient mages often have a sixth sense beyond the five senses, called Spirit Vision—using the soul to perceive things. What Spirit Vision sees, besides ordinary objects, also includes souls, energy, and waves that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Waves are a special form of energy. The manifestations of magic may vary, but the phenomenon is always triggered by waves. The third pope, Ruo’en I, once conducted an experiment. He released Holy Healing and Holy Radiance, two Holy Arts that cause no physical effect, onto sand, stagnant water, and dust-covered wooden boards respectively. The result was that the Holy Arts emitted radiating ripples on all three media. Especially on sand, it was most obvious. That ripple is the emblem of the present-day Council of Divine Affairs.”
Liliya explained patiently. Lafeier was rather surprised by this.
“Where did you learn so much? Do maids have to receive higher education?”
After crossing into this world, Lafeier had been pretending to be a brat, but he wasn’t so ignorant as to have never read a book. On the contrary, his knowledge was even considered extensive. While drawing graffiti on books as he read, anyone would just think he was a troublemaker. But Lafeier had never heard of what Liliya said.
“Young master, I heard it from someone else. You know, our race has a relatively long lifespan.”
“I see.”
Liliya’s expression did not change, and Lafeier did not question further.
Indeed, from the time he was a child, Liliya had been like this. Over a decade, she hadn’t changed at all. Was she an elf?!
As the two were talking, Sophia finished writing the confession letter. She stamped the prison seal on it.
[Individual Name: Sophia]
[Sin Level: 62]
[Execution Reward: Eye of the Night Goddess * 1]
[Eye of the Night Goddess: A divine eye, gazing at you from the deep root of the starry firmament.]
“Eye of the Night Goddess?” Good grief, where did this random goddess come from? The Church is monotheistic—this is outright heresy! The prompt did not provide sufficient information.
For now, this reward… better not take it.
What does ‘gazing at you from the root of the starry firmament’ mean? Aaaaaah—! Peer pressure from a god! Hey, what a malicious god!
Getting back on track, this supernatural power beyond the laws of reality was not something Lafeier could control at present.
Maybe this eye could bring Lafeier some unexpected benefits, but the threat was also a fact.
If he took this eye into his hand, what if those strange things followed the scent and came after him? He was able to deal with Sophia purely by dumb luck.
He couldn’t guarantee that the next person who came to cause trouble would be as laughably pathetic as Sophia.
Moreover, although Sophia’s Sin Level had reached the Execution Threshold, she was more useful alive than dead.
The House of Sheng Gereisi was, after all, an ancient family with a thousand years of heritage, not comparable to the upstart House of Lancaster, which had risen only a few decades ago.
To the House of Lancaster, he was just an unloved waste. If he truly offended the House of Sheng Gereisi, the family would surely kick him out immediately.
Therefore, keeping Sophia alive would not only ensure he didn’t offend the House of Sheng Gereisi too deeply, but also serve as a bargaining chip to negotiate with them at a critical moment.
After his experiences with Neil, Jiege, and Lanse, Lafeier discovered that the Pressure of the Warden’s Authority had a significant impact on prisoners, even capable of causing mental breakdowns.
As for guards, it was somewhat weaker.
He didn’t care which crimes Sophia confessed to; the key was the confession itself.
Although he could knock her out with a blow like he did to Lanse and forge a confession letter, Lafeier still wanted to extract some information, so naturally, he had to break her psychological defenses step by step.
Threaten her with her family’s safety to pry open an opening. Turn her into a sinner, then pour on the Pressure!
Of course, in Sophia’s view, the so-called “confession letter” was just Lafeier’s means of humiliating her.
“Sophia, where did you take Chief Guard Rena?”
“Rena?” Sophia laughed, as if she had caught Lafeier’s weakness, and said smugly, “She’s already in a ghoul’s belly now.”
Sophia laughed wantonly, hands clasped in front of her chest.
The ferocious corners of her mouth curved into a long crescent arc, casting a layer of desecrating filth over her face, which was so delicate it could be called “holy.” This was no longer the appearance of a Descendant of Saint, but rather a follower of an evil god.
“There she goes again.” Lafeier couldn’t be bothered to listen to her nonsense. A wave of Pressure immediately twisted Sophia’s face into a grimace.
As someone capable of using magic, she had mental resistance beyond ordinary people.
Although Lafeier’s Pressure affected her, it was still within her tolerable range.
But this time… something seemed different.
Previous mental attacks could be called “resistance”—Sophia could defend against them with her mental shell. That was an equal confrontation based solely on strength. But now…
“Urgh—!”
A piercing pain spread from her soul to her body, as if she were being stung by tens of thousands of bullet ants.
“What did you do?!”
The Pressure eroded her soul cloak, devouring her Spirit Vision.
As a prisoner, how could she hold anything back from the Warden? The so-called Pressure was meant to directly strike the unforgivable soul of every prisoner, mercilessly tearing apart their defensive mental shell and exposing their filthy hearts! This was an absolute rule engraved in the prisoners’ bodies, one that could not be violated.
It was the “Bloodline Suppression” from a superior being!
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