“‘How do you know so well?’”

The report was vast and detailed. It was enough to let her imagination vividly picture what had happened to the two princes.

This fact allowed Queen Raviosa two possible guesses about the source.

Either someone who, like the queen herself, had been investigating this incident for a long time. Or...

“Someone who experienced the incident firsthand.” 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

She flinched for a moment but quickly suppressed the suspicion coldly.

She knew well that desperate wishes could cloud judgment. Since Reminic was her most fatal weakness, she had to calmly reduce the possibility.

“Shall we burn what’s unnecessary?”

The head maid, who until now had destroyed all reports except the evidence, asked.

“No.”

The queen answered honestly, revealing how contradictory her head and mouth could be. And she had no intention of changing her mind.

“Keep everything well.”

It might be precious after all.

Even if it was chasing delusions, there was no helping it. The queen lamented her own weakness and habitually touched the pendant on her necklace.

The time spent immersed in sorrow and tenderness didn’t last long. She had already learned that such fragile feelings did not help one survive in the palace.

Rather, it was better to live fueled by the burning anger she had ignited.

“I need a change of mood.”

Joy and anger were one and the same. Now that she knew the truth, she needed to vent her rage.

Unfortunately, she could not kill Hadeil right now. But she could relieve her anger by tormenting someone else.

The queen’s eyes grew cold.

“What about that one?”

“He’s been locked up with poison administered. Shall I bring him?”

“Yes.”

Queen Raviosa descended the spiral stone staircase. The place she arrived at was shabby and gloomy—unfit for the most noble lady of the kingdom to step into.

“I will confront him.”

The underground prison was filled with a musty and fishy stench. Opening one barred door revealed a young man chained inside.

He responded to the queen’s presence by slightly raising his eyelids.

He seemed too weak to even stand on his own and completely leaned his weight on the chains, but his condition was better than the queen had expected.

“They said he’d be a hanging chunk of meat. Indeed, as Ria said, he is a monster.”

Reid raised his head and looked ahead. His corrupted, bloodshot eyes met those that once were his own color and gaze.

“Are you conscious? Do you know who I am?”

“...Your Majesty, the Queen.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Queen Raviosa circled Reid. The clicking of her footsteps echoed in a circular pattern for a while before her hand boldly picked up one of the tools on the wooden table.

She tested a sleek whip meant for beasts by swinging it through the air; the sharp crack echoed fiercely. It was a torture tool that would work perfectly with a delicate wrist.

“You said you were the Black Prophet. Use your clever skill to predict the future once more.”

“...”

“What do you think I will do to you?”

“...”

Reid knew the answer well but kept his mouth shut.

Queen Raviosa snorted.

“How can you call yourself a prophet if you can’t even predict your own future? I’ve seen more than a few frauds like you.”

A faint hissing sound escaped from Reid’s lips.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Your words and actions differ.”

“What did you say?”

“You said you don’t believe Prince Reminic will return.”

“Of course.”

“For someone like that, you carry an interesting thing around.”

“...!”

Reid’s gaze fell on the queen’s neck. She unconsciously touched the pendant, and flinched.

“Isn’t that a magical tool that can verify the legitimacy of blood relations?”

“...It’s just a habit to wear it.”

As if hiding a weakness, the queen roughly untied the necklace. The teardrop-shaped white pendant shone alone on the wooden table.

“Tell me. Under whose orders did you spread false prophecies to confuse the royal family and kingdom?”

“I received no orders from anyone.”

“Who do you serve?”

“That’s not a name to be mentioned here.”

“Celestid?”

“Of course not.”

“What is your relation to Celestid?”

“Well... explaining it would «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» be complicated.”

No answer satisfied the queen, but she didn’t care. Because of that, Reid easily realized.

“You’ve already decided on the charges and punishment.”

“You’re quick-witted for a fraud. Those who mislead the people deserve the death penalty. Therefore...”

Her watery eyes shone dangerously.

“Your head will be cut off and displayed, and your body given to Celestid.”

“...Does that please you?”

“Seems so. I’m venting my anger now. To me, you are a substitute for Hadeil.”

Her tone was gentle. But the contents were chilling, revealing her broken humanity.

Queen Raviosa’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

“And what about you?”

“...”

“Are you afraid?”

“...”

“Tell me how you feel.”

“...”

Avoiding her watery eyes, Reid lowered his gaze. As if the dark underground prison floor was his heart, he stared long before answering.

“Nothing.”

“...”

“I feel nothing.”

“...”

He was a much more broken person than the queen.

“How pitiful.”

“...”

At that moment, Reid took a small breath.

He felt a white hand gently cover one of his cheeks. Guided by the tender touch, he raised his head and saw the queen looking at him with a seemingly pitiful expression.

It was when he was unintentionally drawn into tenderness for a moment.

“Still, you must feel pain?”

Looking into eyes shining with malice and madness, it certainly seemed so.

“If you won’t confess, it’s best to cut out your tongue.”

Instead of putting down the whip, Queen Raviosa picked up a dagger about the length of her forearm.

Reid’s eyes darkened heavily.

“Are you going to do it yourself? Someone who has never dirtied their hands with blood?”

“I can do anything for my son.”

“For your son...”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

With that mutter, Reid came back to himself.

“Very well, I understand.”

He felt it was enough now.

His self-destructive curiosity about how far they would go had been sufficiently satisfied.

“So, let’s stop here, Your Majesty.”

“What...?”

Reid, who had been lying helplessly, straightened his body.

Perhaps because the shadows covering the walls grew larger, the queen was momentarily startled and stepped back.

But the real surprise was about to come.

“Wh-what is this...!”

The chains biting both his wrists clanked as the magical cuffs released themselves. Even a layperson could immediately recognize it as magical interference.

“That’s impossible. It’s an extremely potent poison that completely twists the mana circuits. Why isn’t it working...?”

“It worked. For about five minutes.”

“...”

“Because I’m a monster.”

It was a self-deprecating remark with no real threat intended. But Queen Raviosa seemed to think differently.

“B-beware!”

She had the dagger in her hand just then. The pointed tip aimed at Reid’s face.

“Didn’t I tell you to beware?”

“...”

The precariously trembling dagger made Reid feel a faint sadistic pleasure. He couldn’t tell if it was directed at himself or at the queen, but he took a step forward.

“...!”

The blade sliced one of his cheeks. Despite her trembling hands, Queen Raviosa managed not to drop the dagger.

Blood dripped along the white blade. Reid, however, spoke with a face that showed no sign of pain.

“Revenge tends to cloud the eyes a lot.”

“...What?”

“If your son reappears, will you be able to recognize him?”

“...!”

That was a phrase that pierced the heart strangely deeply.

“Who the hell are you to say something like that?”

Enraged, the queen swung the dagger hard, splattering blood far and wide. On the ceiling, the floor, the walls, and some objects placed on the wooden table.

Reid, whose face had turned sideways as if slapped, turned his face forward again. Even with one cheek reddened, the handsome man looked as if his expression and emotions had all been severed.

“I will see you again at the birthday banquet.”

Reid disappeared beyond the prison threshold. His exit was unexpectedly polite for someone so severely injured.

The young man’s presence, who quietly vanished despite being fully subdued, was full of mysteries.

But for now, Queen Raviosa was too preoccupied with relief that the threatening presence had disappeared.

On the wooden table, the bloodstained pendant continued to shine.