Chapter 79
Chapter 79
***
Stairs leading down to the dungeon. The air was quietly damp and stuck to the stone walls.
I was going there to witness Jaxor’s interrogation in the afternoon.
I stood beside Kwanach and stepped slowly. Kwanach grabbed my hand and escorted me. Behind us were many knights and attendants.
A few hours ago, I had tangled Kwanach in the bathtub to do something embarrassing, and if I let go of my reason a little, the embarrassing scene seemed to hit my mind.
I deliberately suppressed my emotions. So much for the sweetness and ecstasy of the wedding night. Now it was time to concentrate on work.
Kwanach looked at me intently and said in a low voice.
“If you are not feeling well, we can postpone the questioning until tomorrow.”
“No, I’m fine.”
I wasn’t injured anywhere, and I couldn’t put off state affairs just because I was tired from my wedding night.
Kwanach nodded, but still seemed dissatisfied. Then he mumbled in a low voice.
“I think I lost control and went too far yesterday. I said I would hold back but I couldn’t.”
I hurriedly looked behind me. Everyone was following us silently at some distance, but it still bothered me.
I whispered quickly, clutching Kwanach’s arm.
“Kwanach, there are many ears.’
“Well, what do you say? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Still. And really, my body has recovered.”
When I woke up in the morning, I was stiff and sore down there, but now it has mostly subsided. I didn’t know what the ointment that Kwanach applied to me was, but it seemed to have helped.
However, there was hot heat on my face.
Kwanach smiled and said, raising only one side of his mouth.
“I think they would rather be pleased to know that we work hard at night. They didn’t know that the emperor and his wife were on good terms. Isn’t it a matter of congratulation?”
When I was embarrassed, he seemed to deliberately make it meaner. Why did he have to act so brazenly with such a thick face?
I clenched my fist and weakly punched his arm. Kwanach laughed if it was fun.
“Stop talking about this. Please concentrate on Jaxor.”
At the mention of the word “Jaxor” Kwanach gave a small click of his tongue.
“I don’t know if he’ll speak.”
How was it that he was one-armed and in prison, yet he has not spilled any information…. I don’t know what on earth he was keeping faith with Roman for.
Roman was imprisoned in a more secret and deeper basement than Jaxor. It was a place where even the guards could not get in and out easily.
“I think we can only see the outlines of the case clearly if Jaxor confesses something…”
We descended the stairs with an uncomfortable feeling. Soon the interior of the dungeon was revealed.
It was still sunny outside, but very dimly lit here. It was different from the other Imperial Palace basements. There were only a few torches and luminous stones set up on the walls.
He told me that all the prisons here are single cells. It was divided into several sections, each with a cell at the end of the road.
At first glance, the paths were so complicated that it was difficult to find the way around. It was like a maze. Even after escaping from the cells, it would be difficult to find the way to the top.
Blue moss grew on the stone walls. That little moss was also a plant. I could feel a lot of emotion and momentum emanating from the moss.
“One moment, please.”
I stopped Kwanach and put my hand on the stone wall. Kwanach stood beside me.
Hmmm, as soon as my hand touched the moss, power began to shake from within my body.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the plant’s energy. My senses became extremely acute and there seemed to be simultaneous sparks in my head. I felt connected to all the mosses growing around here.
Quickly, what the moss saw passed over and through my head. There were several inmates who were put here. Jaxor, and even Roman……
“Ugh! Ugh!”
I had a scene in my mind of Roman moaning in pain as he was locked in his cell. His tongue was cut off and he could not speak, only spit out his suppressed voice.
Roman’s appearance was a mess. His silver hair was dirty. His body showed signs of having been tortured on the way here.
And above all, his purple eyes.
He was terrified.
They were not vile, condescending eyes. Roman looked as if he were trembling with extreme fear.
He looked around, craning his neck to the side, crouching his shoulders and groaned. He even went into the back of the room and curled himself up like a child.
It was hard to watch him the whole time, so I pulled my hand away from the moss.
“…… are you okay?”
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw the worried look on Kwanach’s face.
“Yes……Let’s go.”
“You don’t look well.”
“I saw Roman. He’s very sacred……”
“He was as soon as he got to the dungeon. He had never been intimidated by any torture before, but he seemed to have lost his mind.”
He was the the diabolical one who put a curse on the river that was as good as poison, injured many people, piled up dead bodies, and conducted various experiments.
Was the prison so scary for such a man? He might be scared because he was a person, but his reaction certainly seemed like overkill.
I bit my lip gently and said,
“I don’t think Roman is in a position to confess anything.”
“Jaxor must speak.”
“Did he say anything about my brother?”
“Yes.”
“Does Diaquit know that Roman has been captured?”
“I’m sure there will be news in the north by now.”
What would Diaquit be thinking? I tried to guess his position.
Diaquit was hand in hand with Roman and had a black heart to take over the continent. But no matter how many forces behind him, the Kingdom of Achaia alone could not take on the Radon Empire.
As in my previous life, his plan was to form a coalition with the various northern kingdoms to take on the empire.
The North, being a conservative cultural area, placed great importance on piety and chivalry. In other words, there had to be a justification to come together.
The North would not side with Diaquit unless there was enough of a justification to break the marriage alliance and start a war.
Diaquit could not have been unaware of this. So, after assassinating me, he probably intended to put the blame for the assassination on Kwanach and create a justification for the war.
But Diaquit’s plan went down the drain.
On the contrary, it was a situation in which one’s reputation would be tarnished.
If it was revealed that Roman and Diaquit had been up to no good, the North would turn its back on Diaquit.
The problem was that there was no evidence of this yet.
That was why we had to ask Jaxor for more evidence.
‘Whatever they’re up to, they won’t get what they want.’
I spoke slowly, imagining how Diaquit felt.
“Diaquit probably feels like he’s on the edge of a cliff right now. The moment his relationship with Roman is revealed, he probably thinks it’s over for him. If it’s the Diaquit I know, I think …… he’s planning something very dangerous and reckless.”
Diaquit was greedy and proud. However, he lacked cold reason and the ability to objectify. This was why he did this, saying he would win the throne of the continent without knowing his subject.
Even Roman, who was the only one he could rely on, was gone now. It was more likely that he would proceed more recklessly than to think of confessing first and preserving his life.
It was a character that could never endure defeat. He was a man who knew that there was a fire right in front of him, and he was so angry with me that he would try anything.
Kwanach wrinkled his forehead and asked.
“A reckless plan…. Which one?”
“He will try to encompass the northern part of the country quickly before his own shame is exposed. Even if it is a lie. He might surprise attack first.”
Kwanach laughed in disgust.
“No way, they are going to make a preemptive attack. Under the current circumstances, it would be nothing short of suicidal.”
Since Roman is tied up here, they wouldn’t be able to take advantage of his magic or his funds. Moreover, even if he made up a justification under false pretenses, it was unknown how many allied forces he would be able to gather.
“At least not as much as the army he had gathered since my death in my previous life.”
But that rationale did not matter to Diaquit.
“He is a man who thinks it is better being branded a coward than having his honor disgraced. Be careful, Kwanach.”
“Yes, we will be more attentive to border defenses.”
Before we knew it, we arrived in front of the cell where Jaxor was locked up.
A thick iron door was visible. There was a small hole at the top. It looked like a space for ventilation and food distribution.
As usual, the room was dimly lit. When Kwanach jawed, one guard approached and opened the iron door.
“Stay close to me.”
Kwanach whispered softly. I nodded and swallowed my saliva.
As the door opened, a sickening stench wafted out. The smell of blood and pus. It was the smell that came from someone rolling in pain.
But I didn’t cover my nose with a handkerchief. I stared at the front with a strength on my neck.
“Jaxor.”
Kwanach called him in a low voice. Jaxor slowly lifted his head at his old friend’s voice.
He was tied securely to a chair in the center of the cell. It seemed they had fastened him in advance before interrogating him.
Unlike Roman who I saw through the moss, Jaxor still had eyes with some intelligence left in them. He just looked shabby. The part of the arm cut off by Kwanach’s sword was remarkably noticeable.
Jaxor gasped weakly and looked at me with his eyes wide open.
“No way.”
He seemed quite surprised after he found me. Then he said sarcastically.
“Are you insane, Kwanach, to bring your wife into this filthy place?”
It was a mouthful that threw out every courtesy.