Chapter 83.
The door opened and Regina walked out with a sigh.
Seeing her somber expression, I could roughly guess Benjamin's condition.
“How is he?”
“I’ve administered a sedative, so he should calm down in about 20 minutes. Then I’ll check his condition and administer the truth serum.”
“Understood. Please go down and rest for a bit.”
“There’s sothing I need to talk to you about before that.”
Regina stopped as I was about to head down.
From the look on her face, it didn't seem like she was about to say anything good.
“Is sothing the matter?”
“Who is the dical officer in charge of the headquarters?”
“…I wonder?”
Was there even a dical officer to begin with?
At my answer, Regina’s eyebrow shot up.
She seed to think I was teasing her, so I quickly corrected myself.
“There probably isn't a specifically assigned person. If needed, we call a doctor from across the lake or go find one ourselves.”
“…I didn't know that.”
There was hardly ever a reason to get injured at the headquarters.
At most, it was a paper cut.
“Then who is managing my brother?”
“The butler manages his als and hygiene.”
“Does Mr. Ron also handle his treatnt?”
“As you just saw, he’s not in a state for treatnt or anything of the sort.”
I heard that every ti Ron entered, Benjamin would scream and throw things, so forget treatnt, even providing for his basic needs was being done by force.
“Isn't this a bit far from the treatnt you promised?”
“Just getting him out of your father’s clutches is a treatnt in itself.”
“That’s true, but.”
Regina readily admitted it.
At the ti, they were both so focused on securing Benjamin’s safety that they had barely discussed treatnt thods.
“For the ti being, I will stay and monitor his condition. In the long run, it would be good to have a doctor stationed here.”
“It’s because there are a lot of quacks.”
I rembered the quack who ca to examine Wilhelm’s left arm last ti and was kicked out after suggesting bloodletting.
To be honest, my trust in the doctors of this world had diminished greatly.
“That is true. The truly skilled doctors have already been snatched up by various places.”
“If you understand….”
“No, a doctor is necessary, and not just for my brother. You have a subordinate who was severely injured this ti, don’t you? You need soone you can trust to handle things if a similar incident occurs again.”
The thought of Wilhelm, who had been hanging on in a half-dead state, made agree.
However, the fact that the person bringing this up was Regina, a mber of the Raven, made feel uneasy.
Should I toss out so bait?
“Do you have anyone to recomnd?”
I asked casually.
If she intended to plant a spy who could move openly within the headquarters, she would recomnd soone herself.
“The people I know are all tied to my father. Besides, you wouldn't be at ease if you hired soone I recomnded, would you, Count?”
“I won’t deny that, but you could at least tell where to look.”
When I pressed her once more, Regina frowned slightly and pondered.
I wonder if she's weighing whether to snatch it up or to back off one more ti.
“If you insist, then look into the Vestol Assembly’s People's dical Center.”
“I thought you would recomnd a place in Leitche.”
“Unfortunately, Leitche isn’t famous for its doctors. In terms of skill alone, Vestol is the best.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The Vestol Assembly.
It doesn't seem like I'll have a reason to go there for a while.
Well, it’s not an imdiate need, so I can think about it slowly.
“It’s about ti. Let’s go in.”
“Am I going in as well?”
“The sedative has taken effect, so he won’t have a fit.”
“What if he does have a fit.”
“We’ll have to use a stronger drug.”
From her unconcerned tone, she seed confident that the drug had worked well.
Though I was a little anxious, considering he had scread for to be killed the first ti he saw .
When the door opened, light stread into the dark room.
At its end, I saw the haggard figure of Benjamin, crouched down.
“…….”
Benjamin, whose eyes t mine, neither scread nor trembled.
He just shrank back a little more.
“His eyes seem a bit glazed over.”
“It’s within the normal range. I’ll administer the truth serum now.”
After examining Benjamin, Regina took out a syringe.
Benjamin’s face contorted when he saw the syringe, but he obediently offered his arm.
As the transparent liquid fully entered, Benjamin let out a gasp and his breathing beca ragged.
Just as I was about to ask if he was alright, Benjamin opened his mouth.
“Have you co to kill , Count?”
“I have not.”
At my denial, Benjamin’s breathing gradually cald down.
Regina, who was checking Benjamin’s pulse, smiled faintly.
“It’s okay, brother. We’re just going to ask a few questions.”
“Father?”
“He’s not here. This is the Eslick Empire.”
“I see….”
As if his tension had eased, he relaxed his posture a little.
According to Regina, the effects of the truth serum would last for about 2 hours.
It was a long ti if you thought it was long, and a short ti if you thought it was short.
“May I begin the questions.”
Benjamin glanced at Regina once, then caught his breath and nodded.
I decided to ask what I was most curious about first.
“Why were you so terrified when you saw ?”
“You ask because you don’t know? It’s because of the promise you and Father made.”
“Ah, you an that.”
Regina ntioned it last ti.
That there was so kind of pact between the Duke and Valheit.
I still don't know the details, but….
“If my mory is correct, it wasn’t aid at you.”
“Technically speaking, that might be true. We agreed to take care of each other’s troubleso matters, not that you would kill . Isn’t that the sa thing?”
Benjamin, his words now flowing, excitedly poured out his speech.
I was just fishing with a rough guess, but it worked well.
“Until a request is made, I have no reason to kill you.”
“Isn’t the pact you and Father made about scratching each other’s itchy spots without a request even being made?”
So that’s what it was about.
A setup where one would do the other's dirty work if they just hinted at their intentions.
“Killing the Duke’s eldest son is not a matter to be handled so lightly.”
“Then why did you do it back then? Before Father even noticed, you, Count, dealt with and my followers first.”
“I didn't kill you.”
“Only I survived!”
“Yes, so I didn’t kill you, did I?”
As the conversation continued without knowing the exact details, it ended up looking like I was teasing him.
Benjamin bit his lip and glared at .
This was better than him cowering and hiding in fear.
“Let’s take a short break. Please be careful, as pushing him too hard will make the drug wear off faster.”
“Let’s do that. I’ll give you two minutes.”
While Regina checked his pulse and readjusted the syringe, Benjamin continued to glare at .
I responded with a smile.
“Alright, let’s start again. I understand the reason you were afraid of , now tell how you ended up being captured by trolls.”
“After you found out about my coup, I went straight to the North. I thought I could get at least minimal support since there are many demons in Leitche who are discontent.”
“But the Duke made his move first.”
“Those trolls were hired by my father. He said it to my face several tis, so I'm certain.”
“Do you know why he used such a troubleso thod?”
“He probably wanted to stop you from making a move. He wouldn't have wanted the information I had to get to your ears, Count.”
I had a faint idea that might be the case.
He disliked handing Benjamin over to enough to openly refuse.
Still, seeing as he backed down a step, it probably wasn't information he could never let be known….
“What is this information?”
“While working in the Raven, I once investigated what my father was doing.”
“You were also part of the Raven?”
“Originally, my brother was the head of the Raven. Now, Father is managing it directly again.”
Regina added a supplentary explanation.
Thanks to her, what Benjamin was saying sounded a little more credible.
“It was the task of uniting the families of the nobles and rchants you dealt with for my father into a single organization. And I found out about it.”
“He threw his own son into the midst of trolls for sothing like that? Isn’t that an overreaction.”
“Because it didn’t end there. Though they were ruined for opposing Father, they were still the upper class of Leitche, so the organization they ford had so power. Father acted as an anonymous benefactor and guided them to search for the Commander of the Eight Council.”
Why is the Commander suddenly coming up here?
“I also don’t know why he tried to find the Commander of the Eight Council, or why he used anti-establishnt figures instead of going through the Raven. But he must have known that the Count wouldn’t stand idly by if it was related to the Commander.”
“So he tried to hide that fact….”
“He borrowed your hand to cut off all my limbs, and I was imprisoned among the trolls.”
So this was all done with the knowledge that Valheit would pursue anything related to the Commander with gritted teeth?
It felt like there had to be more to it, but Benjamin said no more.
“Is that all?”
“Regarding what you asked, this is everything.”
“Is that so? Then let ask so more.”
Now that the biggest question was solved, it was ti to ask about the minor details.
There was still plenty of ti left, after all.
“Tell all the information regarding the coup you prepared and the Duke’s response.”
A long interrogation began.
***
After 2 hours, Benjamin began to show signs of anxiety again.
When Regina suggested ending the interrogation, Valheit agreed without much protest.
Regina sighed as she looked at the room from which sounds of sobbing and muttering could be heard again.
“The truth serum was quite effective.”
“It can’t be used consecutively.”
“I don’t have anything to ask for the ti being. Though I think I will again soon.”
Valheit said with a grin.
Considering the number of questions he asked today, it seed unlikely he would have anything to ask for a long ti.
However, there was one thing that bothered her.
‘There’s no way he didn’t know what my brother did, so why did he ask in such detail?’
Wasn’t Valheit the one who crushed the conspiracy Benjamin had plotted to eliminate their father?
From his questions today, it was as if he knew nothing at all.
‘Was he confirming it against his own information?’
Thinking of it that way, it wasn’t entirely implausible.
Perfect information wasn’t necessary to send Benjamin into the abyss of ruin.
But that wasn't the only strange thing.
‘It felt like he was deliberately hiding sothing about the promise he made with Father….’
One thing was certain.
He had blatantly fished for information from Benjamin, and if it weren't for the truth serum, Benjamin would never have answered.
Moreover, there was more than one promise between the Duke of Leitche and Count Valheit.
Taking care of each other’s sses was just one of the promises.
The other promise was much more important and heavy.
But today, Valheit never once ntioned that promise.
‘It was a promise to overturn the Eight Council and change its structure when the ti cos.’
Before the Duke of Leitche lost interest in the Eight Council, what he was most interested in was changing the structure that was focused on the Commander, and Valheit had agreed.
‘Did he change his mind? Is the current state more advantageous to him? Or….’
“…ss Regina. Miss Regina?”
“Ah, yes! What is it.”
“Are you unwell?”
“No, no. I was just thinking about my brother’s condition. What did you say?”
“I said sothing has co up and I must be going.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Valheit, who had stopped for a mont to observe Regina, turned around.
At so point, the Count’s loyal butler had appeared beside him.
As they walked away, Regina unintentionally overheard an interesting conversation.
“The Third Duke’s younger sibling was kidnapped?”
“Yes, His Grace the First Duke has begun an investigation.”
“Damn it.”
Hearing the sigh laced in Valheit's voice, which was different from usual, only deepened Regina's curiosity.
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