SSS Demon King System: The Rise of a Dying Extra-Chapter 15: Confessions. (2)

The reason Lloyd didn’t confront Clarinda before was because he didn’t know what could happen.

When you corner an animal, it tends to act desperately.

If Clarinda lost control, Lloyd wouldn’t know what she could do.

If she was the assassin, it surely wouldn’t be difficult for her to finish him off; after all, he was a sickly child who struggled to stand.

And even without being the assassin, Lloyd knew she could finish him off in an outburst.

However, now he had Sebastian with him.

He didn’t know his strength, but it was enough to block his Eye of Greed, something Clarinda couldn’t do.

"By any chance, does this pendant ring a bell?" Lloyd commented cunningly while showing Clarinda the pendant.

"Huh? I, no, I’ve never seen it," the woman affirmed, somewhat confused.

However, Lloyd knew that couldn’t be true; after all, the original Lloyd had to wear it for almost his entire life.

"Are you sure? Because it so happens I found it in your room, don’t you find that curious?" Lloyd’s gaze sharpened, like a predator analyzing its prey.

Though, the woman didn’t seem intimidated, her nervousness and confusion gave her away.

"T-that’s not mine, you must be confused, young master," she said. Lloyd was surprised at what a good actress she was, but it was clear she was nervous.

"Well, perhaps my illness made me hallucinate? What do you say, Sebas...?"

Lloyd noticed the air become denser. When he turned, he was surprised by what he saw.

Sebastian’s gaze had darkened and he looked more intimidating.

His elbows were resting on the table facing outward, while his fingers joined just below his nose, partially covering his face.

"Clarinda!" the voice resonated with authority in the room.

Lloyd could hear a stifled scream behind him, and how someone collapsed on the floor.

When he turned, Lloyd could see a depressing scene.

Clarinda was on the floor, trembling with fear; her face showed terror and fear, while her eyes had reddened from tears.

The previously arrogant maid had become a frightened girl.

Lloyd knew what that was: it was killing intent, though he was surprised by Sebastian’s mastery in avoiding affecting him.

"Is that true?" the butler asked, his purple eyes shining between his hardened features.

Lloyd never imagined Sebastian could be this terrifying.

"I-I n—"

"DON’T LIE TO ME!" the man roared.

He no longer seemed like the usual old man, but someone much darker.

Looking at Clarinda, Lloyd noticed as if something was crushing her; that was an aura technique, Haki.

Again, Lloyd was surprised that Sebastian could control it so well.

Soon, the pressure softened.

Sebastian seemed to calm down a bit while resting his face on his fist.

"It’s true that I came to suspect some things but I never gave it too much importance, after all I fully trusted you. Though, it seems I was wrong, I suppose the saying is right: ’raise crows and they’ll peck out your eyes.’"

While his attitude was calmer, he still looked intimidating.

Lloyd noticed how a puddle formed beneath the maid; withstanding that killing intent seemed difficult.

He couldn’t help but feel some pity for her, though he decided to make sure himself if all that theater was true.

"I-I don’t k-know anything," the woman stammered between sobs; it seemed she could break into tears at any moment.

[Clarinda’s Thought] "Why is this happening to me? That damned child, what did he do? Is he trying to frame me for something? How I hate him!"

Lloyd’s pity evaporated the mere instant he read those words.

He simply deactivated his Eye; he would no longer show compassion.

"Dear, if you don’t confess now, I’ll kill you," a silence fell.

While Sebastian spoke calmly, his tone indicated he wasn’t making empty threats.

Lloyd noticed how Clarinda’s eyes darkened; the fear reflected in her face became an expression of defeat.

Without saying a word, Clarinda stood up, adopting a professional posture while ignoring the fact that she was soaked in her own urine.

"Fine, I’ll talk. For a few months now, I’ve been conspiring with one of the guards, Roberto. He had found out that I worked for you, helping you administer."

The girl paused, but none of those present spoke, so she continued talking.

"Roberto dropped certain hints about an unethical business. Obviously I rejected it immediately, threatening to report his proposal. Now that I think about it, perhaps I should have done so, that was my mistake."

Lloyd began to understand what might have happened, but didn’t interrupt Clarinda; he would let her talk.

"Over time, his offer started to become more attractive, and he also became more convincing. In the end, I thought that maybe he was right, valuable objects shouldn’t be left gathering dust! It’s a waste!"

A loud bang interrupted Clarinda’s narration; Sebastian had hit the table hard, he seemed angry.

Without saying a word, Sebastian indicated with his gaze to Clarinda to continue.

"In the end I agreed. At first they were small objects, some utensils that weren’t used. But, then you left and I found the perfect opportunity to earn more money. I started taking more valuable things... It was only fair, right? No one was using them, and now I had much more work to do! Why would it be wrong to take a couple of useless trinkets?"

"What audacity! I’m truly surprised at the person you’ve become. You let yourself be carried away by greed, no, it’s worse than that. Greed corrupted you, so much so that now you even justify it. When I gave you that extra work, it wasn’t free, was it? Your salary increased considerably, in fact, much more than I should pay you for such a task," Sebastian remained serious, but Lloyd could also notice sadness in his eyes, and some guilt. "I gave you this position because I trusted you, and where did my trust go? You were given a home and food every day. Can you even tell me what you spent so much money on?"

"Shut up! You don’t know anything, I was never happy with this life, you know?" the woman finally exploded. "I’m practically a slave, no one would want to live like this. I wanted to leave, see the world, live my life, not stay in this place forsaken by Mara, damn it, it’s so unfair!... If only I had been born in a different place."

Lloyd couldn’t help but grimace at those words; he knew well what it was like to feel trapped, to curse your condition.

Still, Clarinda wasn’t in such a bad position, and he wasn’t going to feel sorry for her either.

"Where did the clumsy but hardworking Clarinda I knew go?" Sebastian said with a sigh. He seemed like a father who had discovered his son stealing. "Get out of here, change your clothes and clean yourself up. Come back when you’re done, we’ll discuss what happened."

Clarinda nodded.

Lloyd could see a glimmer of guilt on her face; perhaps Sebastian’s words made her reflect.

"I truly apologize, young master," the old man finally said, when the woman had left. "If I had been more efficient, you wouldn’t have had to witness this scene."

"It’s fine, I accept the apology. We all make mistakes, we just need to learn from them so we don’t repeat them."

"Wise words, as expected of you," The butler cleared his throat a bit. "Well, what will you do now? I’ll accept any decision you make. I suppose we can’t simply fire her, and we also need to deal with the guard."

Lloyd closed his eyes, he had to reflect on what had happened.

In his mind appeared the pieces of an unfinished puzzle.

First he had to gather the information that seemed to be connected.

For this, his knowledge of the novel would also be helpful; that knowledge was his most powerful weapon in this fight.

After pondering for a few seconds, Lloyd smiled.

"Alright, this is what we’ll do."