Ch.128Ill Fate (11)

The downhill path was harder than the uphill. The slope was too steep. They couldn’t even use a carrier frame. One slip could be dangerous.

Elisabet had no choice but to ride on Kain’s back. Wrapped tightly in a blanket like a baby sling, her slender arms embraced Kain’s chest and neck.

During the descent, even Elisabet didn’t play around. In fact, she kept her eyes tightly shut. Just looking down the slope made her dizzy.

“Um, I’m sorry, but… if you keep squirming, it could be dangerous.”

“But I’m scared.”

Though she said this, she used it as an excuse to snuggle closer. Kain didn’t notice, but she was even looking at him with somewhat suggestive eyes.

“But I like this. It feels like I’m being pampered. Being carried by a man young enough to be my daughter’s age, like a frail princess…”

“Isn’t that a bit childish?”

“Hey. Can’t I be a little spoiled?”

Despite her words, Elisabet kept flicking her fingers. The attendants who had been watching with lecherous eyes suddenly continued walking with blank expressions.

Kain became curious about the extent of Elisabet’s powers, but digging too deeply into the affairs of witches and wizards didn’t seem wise. Instead, he expressed his gratitude.

“Still, thank you. For conducting the interrogation yourself, and for neutralizing the curse…”

“Hmph. Actually, I hated seeing that so-called ‘curse.’ Like a child playing house pretending to be an adult… just scaring people.”

“Is shadow magic that simple?”

“Like any specialized skill, it’s easy if you know the trick and difficult if you don’t. The concept of offering a substitute sacrifice is a bit uncomfortable, but at least it’s not sacrificing a person for a person.”

She explained that while reversing an existing curse was complicated, it could be transferred to something else. By tying a part of the cursed person’s body to a chicken or pigeon and offering it as a sacrifice.

The body part didn’t need to be a hand or foot. Hair or fingernails would suffice.

The fact that they needed to perform something clearly “witchlike” in the middle of a monastery, a facility for transporting witches and wizards, was concerning, but Kain had his own plans and wasn’t too worried.

His only concern was Elisabet’s capriciousness.

“But may I ask why you decided to help…”

“Because you play with me.”

“…Is that all?”

“Should I stop then?”

“Ah, no…”

“I don’t know. I’m a witch. A witch only knows a witch’s ways. I do what I feel like doing, and don’t do what I don’t feel like doing.”

Her tone sounded sulky. She really was like a child. Like a little sister riding on her big brother’s back. There was even a slight nasal quality to her voice.

“Am I… a bad mother?”

At these puzzling words, Kain continued walking silently. He felt Elisabet rubbing her cheek against his back.

“This is my daughter’s body. I should return it to its owner. But I’m enjoying this too much. The way my heart pounds with every change of mood, listening to the songs the wind brings, even the pain in my legs. But I’m already dead… Ah. Hmm.”

The feeling of swallowing tears down her throat. Kain disliked that.

“It’s okay to cry.”

“Shut up. That sounds so plausible. My daughter’s eyes are so pretty, I don’t want to return them all swollen.”

Instead, Elisabet pressed herself closer to Kain’s back. Her breath could be felt on his now-damp back.

“So I keep making excuses. To stay a little longer. ‘Didn’t you know? There’s a curse. Two people will die.’ ‘You know what? I can help with the interrogation too. So try to satisfy me.’ …What a terrible mother I am.”

“But you love Maria more than anyone in the world.”

There was no answer. There was no need to hear it. A daughter she never got to properly hold. A daughter she would never be able to hold with her own body again. But parents too are people with desires. They’re not gods. They just endure and suppress.

“…Ah. This is… dangerous. I shouldn’t stay any longer.” Elisabet forced a cheerful laugh.

“I might get addicted to this happiness. I might stubbornly refuse to leave. So, I’ll stop here. I’ll help with the interrogation, lift the curse… and then I’ll go down there and bring Maria back.”

“Bring her back?”

“The child is late coming back, isn’t she? I’m worried, so I should go find her. Kain. May I ask you a favor?”

Somehow it felt unsettling. Like hearing the last wishes of someone who died. It was the request of a dead person. But it was also the request of a mother setting out to find her child.

“I’m listening.”

“The best thing would be for Maria to overcome this herself… but the situation is too bad. I can’t stay here any longer. But when I go down, Maria’s body will be in a complete comatose state. Literally a body without consciousness. Do you understand what I mean?”

“I understand.”

“Until she regains consciousness, please protect my daughter.” Another sigh weighed on Kain’s back. “…I’m sorry. It’s a difficult request. So… could you think of it as indulging me?”

An excuse. An excuse to comfort herself. Elisabet probably never intended to go back. After all, she had obtained a body that could live and breathe again after 20 years. A second life. Another chance to live… and now she was about to give it up.

They could meet again. But if they did… it would be when Maria was seriously injured, for whatever reason. Such a reunion would not be welcome. Both Kain and Elisabet knew this. So, today would likely be the last time they would say goodbye with smiling faces.

“…I understand.”

“If only you were born 20 years earlier. No, 25 or 30 years earlier.”

“Why is that?”

“Then I could have called you ‘big brother.'”

“You know that’s really childish, right?”

“Is that any way to talk to your friend’s mother? How rude. I’ll have to teach you some manners.”

With a bounce, Elisabet leaped up. She peeked over his shoulder and pressed her cheek against Kain’s. Even then, she didn’t forget to flick her finger to divert the attendants’ gazes.

“The day is so beautiful.”

It was a dazzling day.

* * * * *

The interrogation took place in a separate interrogation room attached to the prison. The reason a separate building was needed was because before the “interrogation,” there was a procedure where knights would “soften up” the prisoners. So they would confess all their crimes as soon as they saw the inquisitor’s face.

Since there are quite a few people in the world who would rather have their bones broken than bend their will, the knights adopted the motto “Break them until they break” as something of a service creed. Of course, it was an extremely tedious and tiring job. So when two urgent investigations were scheduled, the knights complained.

But those complaints didn’t last long. Inquisitor Maria had requested that “the prisoners just be moved to the interrogation room, as confessions could be obtained without such methods.” Everyone praised her wisdom, though there were some questions.

First, it was strange that a mercenary would be present as a witness. Interrogation was a sacred duty, and witnesses should therefore be clergy. But Kain, though a mercenary, didn’t look particularly holy.

But even that doubt soon faded. It helped that Kain had volunteered to assist with chores around the monastery that he didn’t need to do. “He may not be holy, but he seems trustworthy and diligent. And he’s gentle too…” Even the attendants who were constantly compared unfavorably to the instructor admitted this.

Moreover, when news spread that Kain would be assisting Maria, essentially doing transcription work, all suspicions completely disappeared. As always, not many people could read and write. Someone skilled enough to transcribe reports for the still-recovering inquisitor must be quite proficient.

For the knights, writing reports was a nuisance. Above all, it was customary to thoroughly question “who wrote the report, and who was present.” If something went wrong in the inquisition process, everyone who was present would be called in and asked “if this really happened” two or three times.

So it was advantageous to just handle security and stay far away from the reports. Therefore, many were pleased with Maria’s decision.

Eventually, Bördem was dragged into the interrogation room by the knights.

The interrogation room was a stone building separated by bars. On the other side of the bars was the criminal, and on this side was the inquisitor. The criminal was left on the stone floor, while the inquisitor sat comfortably in a chair at a desk and conducted the interrogation at leisure.

But it wasn’t very pleasant. This was due to the stench coming from Bördem’s body. With all his joints dislocated, he couldn’t clean himself properly after relieving himself, and the knights, far from diligently cleaning him, had merely splashed some water on him a couple of times.

Despite this, Bördem hurled all sorts of insults at the top of his lungs. Do you know who I am, once I get out I’ll use you as a public toilet and force you to mate with a mare in heat, he said.

These were insults that could not possibly be tolerated, but Elisabet was gentle.

“Step outside for a moment.”

She was speaking to Kain, not Bördem.

“…Will you be alright?”

“Come back in three minutes.” Elisabet winked one eye. “It’ll be so scary that a good child would wet the bed just watching. So you should wait outside, okay?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Oho, you lustful creatures, trying to get it on somehow! Go ahead, mate like beasts in front of me, I’ll personally take out my treasure and wave it to give you my highest praise!”

Bördem shouted, but Kain nodded and went outside. Shortly after, an otherworldly scream was heard. Sound rarely leaked from the interrogation room. It was a thick stone building reinforced for “special purposes.” For sound to burst out meant that someone was literally screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Ah. Nothing to worry about. Inquisitor Maria is skilled at interrogation.”

Though it wasn’t his intention, Kain had to block and turn away the gathering attendants and knights.

“…You’re not cleaning up a corpse, are you?”

“I don’t think so.”

Thinking that might actually be the case, Kain anxiously waited for three minutes. When he finally opened the door to the interrogation room, he wrinkled his nose at the acrid smell. Bördem was rolling around in his own filth like a pig.

“Uh…ugh…ungh…”

“Your name is Bördem, right?”

“Yes, yes!” Bördem, rolling on the floor, rubbed his hands together with tears streaming down his face. Any pain seemed to have been consumed by terror. In contrast, Elisabet’s words were incredibly gentle.

“Good Bördem, you need to answer all my questions properly. If you don’t answer the first time, we’ll start over from the beginning. The person next to me isn’t very patient, you know?”

Kain, who had inadvertently become an impatient person, blankly looked back and forth between Bördem and Elisabet. Suddenly, Bördem flipped over and raised his palms upward.

“Please, please I beg you! I hate rats, I hate rats! I hate! Rats! Please, please, please! Uhuhuhu…”

“That’s right. Bördem hates rats.” Elisabet’s tone was incredibly gentle. It was like she was reading a fairy tale. “But what happens if you lie?”

“Rats, rats… rats…!”

“That’s right. We don’t want that, do we?”

“No, no!”

“So, tell me. What were you doing in the Black Forest, and what was your relationship with Roberta, the Empire’s hero?”

Bördem convulsed as he confessed all his crimes in detail. Occasionally Kain would ask questions, and Bördem, who was out of his mind, revealed everything. His position with the Elector, how Roberta, himself, and the Elector were connected, and so on.

Kain quickly wrote down all of it. The content was obscene, horrific, and utterly bizarre. Even Elisabet frowned.

“I don’t understand… why did Roberta need ‘that’? Bördem. Good Bördem, do you know why?”