novelraw Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Ch.155 The More You Reveal, The Easier It’ll Be For You
Giovanni, who had imprisoned all the Church of Death followers in jail by Father Hans’s order.
Just as he turned to go back to his room to sleep, since it was late.
He met Mia coming toward the prison.
“Oh? Lady Mia.”
“Giovanni. I heard you captured the Church of Death followers?”
As Mia spoke, her gaze fixed on the prison tower, Giovanni broke out in cold sweat.
‘Surely he didn’t let that crazy brother order high elf to torture them, did he?’
Thinking such an unthinkable thing about the peace-loving elves, he answered Mia’s question.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Good. Summon priests at dawn. Competent ones, mind you.”
Giovanni was puzzled by Mia’s words.
‘What does she need priests for?’
Though curiosity arose, he didn’t dare ask.
After all, that woman was dangerous.
“I’ll instruct the soldiers myself.”
“Good. Guide me.”
“Huh?”
Guide her to what? Giovanni blinked repeatedly, staring at Mia.
Annoyed by his cluelessness, Mia frowned, grabbed his shoulder, and shoved him toward the prison.
“I mean guide me through the prison.”
“Th—the prison?”
“Yes. I’ve decided to personally handle the interrogation of these Church of Death followers.”
“What? Interro—interrogation?”
“Yes, interrogation. So you’ll need to give me a tour.”
A faint smile curled at the corner of Mia’s lips as she spoke.
‘Gyaaah… Someone please do something about this woman—no, this insane high elf!’
“Are you not coming?”
At Mia’s words, Giovanni quickly stepped ahead.
“I’ll show you the way myself.”
***
The dark, damp prison.
Her face was filled with boredom as she looked at the torture devices inside.
She pulled a whip from the display case brimming with such tools and examined it.
A multi-tailed whip.
A weapon that would surely sting badly if struck.
“What primitive torture devices. Barbaric.”
“Yes, I suppose for an elf, they might seem…”
“Haah!”
—Chang!
Mia swung the whip forcefully, smashing it onto a table.
—Clatter!
An ink bottle on the desk shattered on the floor into countless glass fragments.
—Pafat!
—Chang!
Mia lashed the whip over the glass shards.
Her cheeks flushed as she admired the glittering glass pieces embedded in the leather strands.
“Aaah… So beautiful…”
‘Wh—where exactly is the beauty in that?’
Only then did Giovanni realize what she intended to do with that whip—and inwardly reeled in horror.
‘Th—this woman is a demon! She actually plans to use that…!’
Even veteran inquisitors would’ve fainted at such equipment modifications.
“W—won’t they die if you do that?”
“Don’t worry. Didn’t I already tell you to bring skilled priests?”
“Oh…”
Right. Mia was a professional interrogator.
‘So… she had a plan all along.’
At that moment, Giovanni resolved never to irritate Mia again.
“By the way… are you doing well these days?”
Caught off guard by Mia’s sudden question, Giovanni tensed.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I seem to recall telling you to speak positively about me to the Sage—no, to Hans.”
Giovanni took a step back under Mia’s icy stare.
His eyes darted around frantically.
He recalled what Mia had said when Cecilia visited previously and answered shakily.
“W—well… I’ve just been so busy lately…”
—Sssshhk!
Something sharp sliced past Giovanni’s cheek with a sharp whir.
“Hmm… Maybe the handle’s faulty? This whip isn’t as good as I thought.”
‘Ugh… Bro… Hans! P—please save me!’
Giovanni nearly jumped out of his skin—Mia’s strike had nearly flayed his face clean off.
“Well, I understand you’re busy managing this domain’s affairs…”
She lifted his chin with the whip’s handle.
“But I’d appreciate it if you carried out your tasks.”
Under Mia’s cold gaze, Giovanni’s voice trembled.
“H—how could I refuse? Starting tomorrow morning, I’ll tell Baron Hans constantly—until his ears grow calluses—how stunningly beautiful and wise you are, Lady Mia.”
“Fine. I’ll modify the tools myself. Bring the priests in the morning.”
“Yes.”
As she turned to inspect the tools, Giovanni quietly slipped out of the prison.
***
Three days had passed, perhaps?
While reviewing reports from the domain,
—Knock knock.
“Come in.”
Opening the door, Mia entered—her face drenched in blood.
“Eeek!”
“What are you so startled about?”
“Y—you just came back from interrogation, didn’t you?”
“Indeed. Oh, but how did you know?”
Giovanni subtly turned the mirror on his desk toward her. Only then did Mia see her own reflection.
“Oh dear. My apologies. Undine.”
She summoned a water spirit.
“Could you please wash the blood off my face?”
—Wheeeeng!
The tiny water spirit gently wiped Mia’s cheeks, making the red blood vanish instantly.
“Anyway… what brings you here?”
“Those wretches have started confessing. I need you to verify their statements through questioning.”
Mia, unfamiliar with human society, found it difficult to confirm whether the Church of Death followers’ confessions were truthful.
Thus, someone else needed to handle this part…
“Right. I’ll head to the prison immediately.”
Giovanni walked toward the prison.
Feeling uneasy at the damp, moldy air, he heard Mia’s chilling voice again.
“Are you doing well with what I mentioned before?”
Forcing a smile, Giovanni replied.
“Oh, that? Every day, I tell Baron Hans how virtuous and capable a wife you’d be.”
In truth, every time he saw Hans, Giovanni begged for his life.
He’d even submitted a resignation letter—only to have it rejected.
‘Damn it… Can’t I just live in peace… please…?’
But he had no choice but to swallow his pride and keep working.
“I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. Thanks to you, if I marry Hans, I’ll help you rise higher—perhaps one day the Barony of Pisa will be yours.”
Giovanni was stunned by Mia’s unexpected words.
“What?”
“Do you really think the Sage would settle for this place? Foolish. He’s a man of great capacity, destined to rule vast territories.”
‘What nonsense is this?’
Hans was perfectly content in Pisa.
Though undoubtedly capable enough to aim higher, he chose not to.
What good was becoming Emperor if surrounded by untrustworthy nobles?
Giovanni knew better than anyone that Hans understood this perfectly—he preferred modest material comfort and stability.
Having served beside him for years,
Giovanni knew Hans loved leisure and spending money but hated taking on complicated responsibilities.
‘If that were his goal, he’d have just run Pisa Trading Company and bribed politicians heavily.’
“I… I didn’t know that.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t know—it was that this vision clashed entirely with Hans’s desired lifestyle.
“How curious that you, his trusted aide, wouldn’t know.”
She paused briefly, glanced sideways at Giovanni, then continued walking.
“For now, once the King of the Dead falls, he—who has connections with dragons—will be restrained by the Emperor and nobles.”
Mia’s words were, in fact, accurate.
Currently, Hans wielded more influence than the Emperor himself, thanks entirely to Auros Auripex, the Dragon Lord, who supported him unreservedly—forcing the Emperor to reluctantly comply.
Other nobles were in the same boat.
But what if the King of the Dead vanished?
And if Auros and the dragons returned to their lair?
No one could predict Hans’s fate then.
‘So that’s why my brother’s trying to sell the domain…’
Indeed, Hans—well-versed in local politics—was gradually liquidating his assets into cash, planning to slip away quietly.
He’d begun secretly offering the valuable Pisa domain to close allies, but its high price made purchase difficult even for his inner circle.
So he proposed forming a consortium among his trusted contacts to jointly acquire it—a plan slowly unfolding.
“Therefore, Hans and I will inevitably be dragged into war. And we’ll gain vast territories—making Pisa yours.”
‘It’s already… half mine anyway…’
Giovanni had been appointed head of the consortium set to acquire Pisa, effectively making him its de facto owner.
But fearing his words might derail everything, he forced flattery into his tone.
“Haha! Thank you kindly! Beyond Pisa as a reward—where else in this world could one find a bride like you, Lady Mia? Beautiful, ageless, and wise to boot!”
‘There’s probably no worse bride than this woman…’
“Enough flattery.”
As Mia opened the prison door, an apparently unharmed man looked at them—then shrieked.
“Nngh! K—kill me! Just kill me!”
A man who appeared to be in his forties—perhaps fifties—trembled violently in terror at the sight of Mia.
‘He looks perfectly fine externally…?’
Mia spoke with a bloodthirsty smile.
“Alex. If you just tell the truth, your suffering ends.”
“Ma—master! Please kill me! I beg you!”
‘What could she have done to make a man, unmarked by injury, beg for death?’
Curious but fearing for his sanity, Giovanni held his tongue.
“Just tell the truth. Simple, right? Then I’ll either kill you mercifully or let you go—your choice.”
Mia finished speaking and sat beside me.
“Time to interrogate, right?”
“Y—yes!”
In the small room,
Giovanni sat at the interrogation desk and began writing.
“Name.”
“I’m Alex.”
The timid man, unable to meet Mia’s eyes, seemed so utterly broken it was hard to believe he was once an infamous Church of Death follower.
“What did you do for the Church of Death?”
“I… I was recently appointed branch chief in Roman…”
Thus began the formal interrogation, gathering intel on the Church—until an unexpected name surfaced.
“Before that, I served as butler to a woman named Selena.”
Selena.
The original owner of the body currently possessed by the King of the Dead, as Hans had previously mentioned.
“Selena?”
“Wait—that Selena?”
“D—do you know Lady Selena?”
Seeing Alex’s bewildered expression, Giovanni pressed him.
“Tell us everything about Selena.”
“I… I…”
As Alex’s eyes darted nervously, Mia reached out—
—Slap!
“Stop scheming. Just speak plainly—or you’ll play with me again.”
Terrified by her threat, Alex blurted out,
“Lady Selena was the Chosen One!”
Giovanni frowned at the cryptic phrase.
“The Chosen One? What does that mean?”
“She was the vessel destined to fulfill our god’s prophecy—our savior!”
Mia glared sharply at Alex.
“Don’t dance around it. Tell us everything about her. The more you reveal, the easier it’ll be for you.”
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