“If I am to die one way or the other, then I will take the details of my mission to my grave,” Pacer answered, cold sweat rolling down his face.
“Hmm, I respect that. Well, I still have more questions for you, so do try to endure the pain. I’ll be cutting your right hand off next. Please try to stay conscious,” she said gleefully.
Then she resumed her questioning.
In the end, Pacer did not give up any important information. Dee, Arb, and Lowe were still calmly watching the situation unfold, but having seen Arte and Till go pale, I sent them back to our lodgings.
The expressions on the faces of the Seatoh Chivalric Order were complex, to say the least. None of them looked particularly well, but they were all doing their best to remain calm and observe. Well, they’d certainly accumulated some real combat experience by now. I shouldn’t be surprised that they were made of stern stuff.
Khamsin and I, meanwhile, were both surprisingly calm as we watched the interrogation.
“Ah, he died of blood loss.” Panamera smirked. “I’ll be sure to stop the bleeding when I question the next one.”
She turned to the second man. The assassins on the ground all looked pale, and a few were crying from fear. I suspected Panamera would have gotten the answers she sought if she interrogated those individuals first, but instead, she opted for a man who was glaring at her.
“First question. Are you ready?”
As Panamera spoke, about twenty men approached from behind us. “Viscount Panamera, wait.”
She raised her head, wiped the blood off her sword, and turned her gaze toward two men who walked side by side: one stout and clad in white armor, and the other shorter, beefier, and dressed in black. Both men wore extravagant capes, marking them as nobles. Each had knights marching behind him, all wearing similarly colored armor—their respective Chivalric Orders.
The shorter man in black armor glared at Panamera. “Please refrain from doing anything that could lower the morale of the other Chivalric Orders. Especially in the middle of such an important battle.”
Panamera smiled and cocked her head. “My, if it isn’t Viscount Tron. How strange! I always heard that, much like myself, you never show mercy to those who oppose you. Have you suddenly learned the concept of benevolence?”
Tron clicked his tongue, furrowing his brow further. “That is not the point. What I am saying is that by conducting such a harsh interrogation behind the scenes of an important battle—a battle in which even His Majesty is participating!—you run the risk of lowering overall morale. You should cease these activities before His Majesty notices.”
As he spoke, both the black-armored knights and the soldiers of the other Chivalric Order visibly tensed. Despite his short stature, this Tron had an imposing presence.
But Panamera ignored his anger, laughing scornfully. “Viscount Tron. Are you trying to sweep this attack on Baron Van’s life under the rug? Imagine if you were the one who was attacked in the middle of the night. Would you waste any time in seeking out the culprits?”
Tron shrugged and shook his head. “It seems to me that, though you are a capable warrior, you fail to understand how the nobility does things. I am saying that this is not the right place for your interrogation. Fear not—I intend to ask Baron Nouveau here to interrogate these assassins. He can drop back to the rear and continue the process in a tent, away from prying eyes.”
The plump man nodded but did not speak. Tron and Nouveau. I finally have faces to put to the names.
Panamera hummed. “In that case, could I not interrogate them in Baron Van’s underground lodgings? It won’t take me more than half a day, and nobody will be able to hear anything from the outside.”
She wore a defiant grin on her face. Tron and Nouveau’s gazes sharpened, but they could think of no way to protest.
Just then, the knights behind Tron and Nouveau split off to either side, clearing a path. Panamera, Tron, and Nouveau noticed. When they turned around, they saw His Majesty approaching with his royal guard.
“What is this?” he asked in a low, annoyed voice.
Both Tron and Nouveau dropped to one knee. Tron stared at the ground, looking particularly shaken. “Y-Your Majesty!”
The king glanced down at Tron’s head, then turned his attention to me. “Oh, if it isn’t Baron Van! I slept wonderfully thanks to that astonishing gate of yours. In fact, I would love to have you build something similar in the capital.”
“It pleases me to hear that, Your Majesty. I imagine you will be using it for a while, so if anything comes up, please do not hesitate to let me know.” I bowed slightly, feeling like a merchant offering a warranty on his product.
Soon thereafter, His Majesty noticed the bloody corpse on the ground near Panamera. “What happened here?” He looked at Panamera sharply. “Explain.”
She sheathed her sword. “Last night, Baron Van’s lodgings were attacked. He seemed to register the intruders as unwelcome visitors, so he paid them no mind, but this marks the second nighttime attack against Baron Van during this march. As his ally, I cannot allow this to go unpunished, so I have captured his attackers.”
His Majesty’s gaze sharpened even further. “He came under attack twice? I see. In other words, these are the actions of someone who knows that Baron Van is one of our trump cards. Only one of the orders marching with us could so accurately pinpoint Baron Van’s whereabouts…” He harrumphed. “I did not expect anyone among us to provide aid to Yelenetta.”
Despite his clear anger, His Majesty presented his theory calmly. I saw him clock the fact that Tron and Nouveau had begun to tremble in fear.
He turned to address Panamera. “And so you, Viscount Tron, and Baron Nouveau have been conducting an interrogation?”
Panamera shook her head. “No. Viscount Tron and Baron Nouveau took issue with my approach. I was told to back down and allow Baron Nouveau to take over somewhere else, out of sight.”
“I beg your pardon?” His Majesty frowned. “Regardless of your tactics, you are Baron Van’s singular sworn ally. You have every right to conduct the interrogation yourself. What issue could anyone possibly take with that?”
This smooth transition into discussing the two noblemen made the whole conversation feel perfectly scripted. I was beginning to suspect that His Majesty and Panamera had discussed it ahead of time.
I looked over at Panamera, who shot me a meaningful smile.
I knew it! I love how reliable she is, but man, she is terrifying!