As soon as I concluded my words, August used his divine power.
A piercing light filled the dimly lit prison, which was barely illuminated by a few candles, and it was immediately quiet.
The messed-up Pedica was restored to the way he had been before his capture when he had looked down at me triumphantly beside Fabian.
But the situation was the opposite.
I looked down at him and said.
“Why don’t you be honest and confide in me about your relationship with Countess Nerus?”
“… I will die anyway.”
He answered bluntly. Even after all this time, he was still insubordinate, and I felt that my patience had run out.
“You’re going to die anyway. What are you talking about? Death is a matter of course.”
I burst into laughter. What carefree thing is he talking about now? I clucked and kept talking.
“Our Summer saint, as long as his life is tidily attached to him, you can make him okay, right?”
“…”
Didn’t he cleanly fix him, who was actually on the verge of dying?
I spoke in hushed tones as if I had gone rogue.
“To die peacefully, like lying in bed with your hands on your chest, or to live with both eyes open and feeling the flesh of your entire body gaping open rawly… I really don’t know which one Mr. Mental Wizard will choose.”
Was it blatantly expected to unfold in front of him? Pedica’s complexion turned pale.
Along with the interrogations he has undergone so far, the wizard’s peculiar imagination would further fuel his fear. Perhaps because of the horror, he had been dribbling tears from the start.
But Pedica shook his head to the end.
“I… can’t betray her.”
“That’s strange. I didn’t think you were such a loyal type.”
I mumbled, stroking my chin.
A look of frustration crossed Pedica’s face. Whether it was because of my assessment that he did not look loyal, or whether it was because he was not loyal to Countess Nerus that he kept his mouth shut, it was not particularly compartmentalized.
It’s not that there’s nothing I can guess.
I looked back at August and asked.
“There may be some brainwashing spells at stake, so release him.”
“Do you mean brainwashing magic? Isn’t this a mental wizard?”
“Yes, but… If the conditions are right, he can brainwash himself.”
August clicked his tongue softly as if he hadn’t thought of it, and used “Clean Mental Power” to remove mental magic.
“Ugh!”
Pedica grabbed his head.
If it weren’t for the magic of the mental system, there would have been no reaction… it seemed that my prediction was right.
Immediately Pedica gasped for air and suddenly crawled to me and shouted, holding my legs together.
“Save me! I’ll say anything!”
The interrogator stuck in the back was surprised by the 180-degree change in Pedica’s appearance.
It was natural that he would be confused when someone who had never opened his mouth, despite rigorous questioning, would suddenly be like that.
“Hmm… How did you come to cast brainwashing magic?”
I could guess from the situation, but I needed to find out a little more precisely.
Pedica confided honestly with his head bowed.
“When my level was low, Countess Nerus had me brainwash myself. If I raise my level, I’ll hit the back of my head so that I don’t betray her… That’s why I couldn’t say anything, I didn’t mean to deceive the Vice Commander!”
Said Pedica, and his head clenched on the floor.
“Vice Commander, please do me a favor… I will do anything…”
“From the looks of it, it seems that he can open up honestly about his relationship with Countess Nerus… What do you think?”
Asked the interrogator cautiously.
I stared at Pedica.
The Pedica I have seen was so gloomy and inferior that he was jealous of young Jeanne. I would never want such a person anywhere near me.
‘But… There may be a lot of good things to use him for.’
Especially after defeating the Demon King…
Having made up my mind, I quietly cut him off.
“As long as you’ve hidden yourself from being a mental wizard, you’ll end up dead. Even hanging is a luxury.”
Hanging was a moderate pillar of the death penalty.
Pedica dropped his head when he heard my story. He asked me to help him, but he seemed to guess that he had no choice.
I said to him.
“But what if I could save you?”
“Sister Jun!”
August hastily dissuaded me. It was clear that I would be forced to put a time bomb next to me.
On the other hand, Pedica looked up at me blankly, as if he had heard the voice of Saint Marianne from the sky. He asked in a trembling voice.
“Can… I really live?”
“Opportunities always come with conditions.”
Contrary to Pedica’s desperation, I reluctantly continued in a relaxed voice.
“So make your choice. Either die with free will or be my loyal dog after Countess Nerus.”
He needed to brainwash himself to show his loyalty to me, as he did to Countess Nerus.
Because no one would try to save Pedica if I didn’t hold the reins so tight. Especially ordinary nobles without magical powers.
It was Pedica who knew better than anyone the fear, contempt, and hatred of those around him for mental wizards. And immediately Pedica replied with a sneer.
“Better the Grand Duke’s dog than the Count’s dog.”
August and the interrogator were taken aback by this attitude, which was not painstaking, and I laughed muffled as if I thought it was so.
Preparations were completed to deal with those who rose like mold before entering the Demon King Battle.
This was cleanup time.
***
It was the day of the trial of Countess Nerus. Countess Nerus’ eyes flashed defiantly as she was brought before the stern presiding judge.
She was not a guilty person until the outcome of the trial. So there was no great torture, I suppose…
That didn’t mean she was treated like an aristocrat, and her dust-free ceremonial dress, which she always wore with authority, remained wrinkled and soiled.
At first, she gained momentum.
“What crime, Your Majesty, am I guilty of sponsoring gifted expeditionaries for your country? This is a conspiracy to frame me and the Nerus family by someone who is jealous of us!”
“But it has been discovered that you secretly hid and raised a mental wizard.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
Despite the emperor’s stern words, Countess Nerus shouted at the top of his voice. Her wincing and trembling appearance were truly like that of an innocent victim.
“But I heard there was a witness.”
“… Pardon?”
A sense of unease flashed across Countess Nerus’ face as if she had not expected it. Her face hardened as she looked back to see if anything had been spilled.
“Witness, step forward!”
It was Pedica who appeared on the witness stand. As soon as she saw Pedica, she had a small smile on her lips.
However, as soon as Pedica’s mouth was thin, the smile was shattered.
“Don’t deny it, Countess Nerus. Have I not used my abilities to the fullest in return for your material and moral support?”
“… You!”
Countess Nerus was about to point, but she stopped. Realizing that the brainwashing magic had been lifted, she clenched her teeth and shouted.
“What mouth does a con man have to speak!”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know me. I was taken to the lake when you met Marquis Conditio face to face in the spice-related business.”
“You, you, you, you! The shield!”
Marquis Conditio, who had been staring at him in awe, pointed his finger in surprise at the spark that fell on his feet.
“That’s right! Then I suddenly thought it strange that I had stamped a business contract in favor of Countess Nerus!”
“I feel like I’ve seen him when I’m talking to Countess Nerus about business… No way?”
There was growing frustration among the nobles.
Countess Nerus’s face turned pale.
The expedition was a money-losing hippo. No matter how wealthy Nerus was, how could she support so many expedition members?
She could not easily use his mental-based magic on the expedition members because of the possibility of being grabbed by the tail, but she used it little by little on the nobles to open the door to money for herself.
Countess Nerus continued to defend herself, but the axis of judgment had already tipped.
Perhaps relieved by the prohibition, Countess Nerus let Pedica do quite a lot of illegal things. The charges spread to every corner of this court.
She lashed out in anger at Pedica.
“Do you think you can live just because you let everything out that you know? You’re like a dog that doesn’t even know how to thank me!”
Despite Countess Nerus’s criticism, Pedica remained calm. Countess Nerus, who had been making a long meaningless accusation, turned her anger.
“Fabian! Where is Fabian Ignis! It’s all about his ulterior motives, Your Majesty. He deceived me.”
“Nevertheless, it is a felony to conceal a mental wizard and use them for private matters, Countess Nerus. It is indeed the crime of concealing a mental wizard. The charge of abduction of the Vice Commander of the Black Knights has not even been taken up yet.”
The emperor’s cold words tore down Countess Nerus. Falling down, her face on the floor was filled with emptiness and injustice.
But there was something strange about Countess Nerus’s manner…
I was missing a step through the trial, and I couldn’t resist my curiosity and stepped in and asked.
“Isn’t it you, Countess Nerus, who gave Fabian the movement scroll? I don’t understand how you could have given him the means to escape, and yet search for his whereabouts.”
“Scroll? What are you talking about? Even if there was such a thing, it wouldn’t be given to him. What’s the point of him running away by himself?”
