Chapter 143: Viki?
Mother…
After glancing over the scene and spotting the boldly printed words “Dead or Alive,” I turned on my heel without so much as a twitch on my face. I noticed a few nobles in a row looking like they might take flight, so I called out, “Freeze! Don’t move a muscle!”
“Wow—”
A child’s wail erupted, startling a woman clutching the little one, who quickly covered the kid’s mouth with a panicked expression. The would-be fleeing men suddenly stood frozen, while the rest were so spooked they couldn’t utter a sound, standing as still as statues.
Well, at least this counts as…
Somewhat good news.
The Church was hot on Mother’s tail, probably scouring the town already, but the fact that they were still questioning with portraits here in Black Fort meant they hadn’t truly caught her… even though the “Dead or Alive” label had momentarily sparked a murderous urge in me.
But on the whole, it wasn’t too shabby…
As long as I could find Mother before the Church did…
“Cooperate, and I won’t hurt you.”
With a mind racing in a thousand directions, I walked back to the flustered crowd, eyeing their ghostly pale faces, and raised the portrait. Softly, I asked, “Has anyone seen her?”
Pausing, I scanned their faces individually: “It’s fine. If you’ve seen her, just say so! No fibbing. If I catch anyone in a lie, you’ll end up like those knights over there.”
My calm, threat-laden words sent shockwaves through the group, making the women inch behind the men, who exchanged cautious glances filled with sheer terror.
“…Speak up?”
Seeing them too scared to utter a word, I frowned in irritation, “My patience is limited, and you have thirty seconds. After that, if I don’t get the info I need… none of you are walking out of here.”
After a brief silence.
“I—I know her…”
Suddenly, a rather rotund middle-aged man who looked vaguely important spoke up, rubbing his hands nervously and forcing a grin, “Um, my lord… I’m the steward of Black Fort, and I know the lady in the portrait…”
His voice quivered as he carefully chose his words: “She’s the wife of Duke Skarlij. She’s been coming in and out of the fort for the past two months. Before last night, we almost saw each other daily… it’s just that I’m not familiar with her… we’re not rebels—”
“No unnecessary details,” I interrupted him immediately. “Where is Catherine? Just tell me what you know.”
“Uh, well…”
The man wiped sweat from his brow nervously: “My lord, you see… we have been living in the fort. We took care of various tasks in Baihao City… when the Northern Army came, the city fell, and our lord went missing. This place was taken over. We had no choice; we couldn’t resist, and we gained no one’s trust…”
“You’ve got ten seconds.”
“Y-yes… After last night, the Church Army raided us, looking to clear out the rebels hiding in the city… proclaiming they were going after the Northern Army, it all happened so suddenly! We were terrified… Before dawn, we thought to gather and discuss what to do, only to find that the Northern Army had vanished without a sound… Neither Duke Skarlij nor Lady Catherine was anywhere to be found…”
“So, you’re saying you know nothing?”
“Ha, haha…”
Seeing my displeasure, the man was sweating bullets at this point: “I’m just the lowly steward… I can’t leave the city, so I’ve just been holed up with the rest in the fort, too scared to ask anything. How could I have any inkling about the whereabouts of the Northern Army’s leadership…”
“Liar.”
I fixed him with a steely gaze, asking earnestly, “As the steward of Black Fort, you wouldn’t know if she left or not?”
Whoosh—
With a flick of my wrist, a sharp ice shard shot out, cutting through the air and hovering ominously against the flabby man’s neck.
“Ah!”
That sent him into a panic, his face drained of color as his legs threatened to give out, only to be propped up by the quick reflexes of those nearby.
“W-wait! My lord, we truly don’t know anything! Please don’t do this—”
bl**d trickled from his neck where the ice had pierced, freezing almost instantly, visible frost creeping across his flabby skin.
He was thoroughly terrified, his face a picture of anguish, as he tried to explain: “The guards of the fort were taken over by the Shanter hunters long ago, and this morning, they swapped again for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s people!”
“I’ve been sidelined for two months! For these months, all I’ve done is manage everyone’s meals in the fort, like some useless servant! They treated me like a thief, and I didn’t even know where Lady Catherine stayed. How could I have known anything else? I swear to the Deity!”
He was practically shouting now, on the verge of tears, and even the nearby child stopped crying, utterly startled by his antics. The man’s feeble and ridiculous expression was starting to annoy me.
What a bumbling bag of nerves…
This guy must be really scared of dying; he wouldn’t dare lie to me.
“Alright, zip it. No need to be this terrified…”
I waved my hand, retracting the ice and tossing it aside. Slowly, I walked to the wall, lit the image of my mother on fire with a candle, and watched it burn.
“You said this morning the guards were replaced by Her Majesty? Now, tell me about her situation, and I might let you live…”
Ashes swirled around as I turned to the rotund man and stated coolly, “Is she still here?”
“Yes! She—she should be here!”
The man, as if grasping onto a lifeline, likely felt a wave of relief wash over him. Tears brimming in his eyes, he pushed away the people supporting him, successfully standing upright for the first time: “Lady Queen, right now… she should be in the main hall on the first floor…”
“Should be?” I narrowed my eyes.
“She is! She’s in the main hall… About two hours ago, the Church’s knights broke in, surrounding the area, but it seemed like they didn’t wish to clash with Ethanbel again. I saw both sides stalemated outside the fort for quite a while. Then, it seemed a Pope Knight came to negotiate with the Queen, so they should be in the main hall by now…”
So…
Viki is still in this fort.
“And?”
I pressed on.
“Also… I overheard that the Church suspects that the Queen of Ethanbel has hidden Lady Catherine… You saw they were just searching the fort…”
“Good.”
I patted his shoulder.
That simple gesture nearly sent him plunging right back to the ground again.
“Don’t let me find you lying; there’s nowhere to run.”
“Y-yes… I won’t…”
“Now, tell me how to get to the main hall.”
Once the man described the general route to the main hall, I had no further questions, turning to leave. But just as I was about to step away, I suddenly remembered something and turned back.
“M-my lord, is there anything else…?”
The portly noble, having just relaxed, now tensed up again, forcing a smile.
I ignored him, pulling out a half-eaten biscuit from my pouch, the one I had swindled from the Sword Demon earlier that morning, and tossed it to the woman holding the child.
“Let the kid have something to eat; he looks famished.”
She couldn’t reach her hand out, so the man beside her, presumably her husband, hurriedly caught the biscuit.
The man stared at the piece of bread, unsure what to make of it, his expression one of confusion.
I paid them no further mind.
With a bang, I leaped into a Moon Step, the gust of wind swirling around me as I vaulted over the corpses of knights, disappearing down the corridor.
