Ivyn’s drooping head reflexively lifted.
Her hyper-sensitive ears picked up the gentle, lapping sound of water.
“…W-water?”
Her mouth fell open before she even realized it.
“Yes. Fresh water is right here.”
Clink- Her restraints rattled as she flinched.
She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for what felt like an eternity.
Gulp- gulp- The cold mouth of the water bottle touched her lips, and Ivyn greedily tilted it, drinking as much as she could.
“Haaah… kgh… coff…”
She choked from drinking too quickly, but immediately brought the bottle back to her lips.
“That’s the earnestness I expect, Ivyn Kinzell.”
The dry, commanding voice of the paladin fell over her like holy water.
“Face the interrogation with the same desperate will to survive.”
Swsh- The faint scent of damp wood drifted closer, clearing the darkness from around her eyes.
The blindfold had been removed.
“Ugh…”
She squinted against the bright light that seared her corneas.
Once her vision cleared, she saw that impossibly handsome face.
He was brushing the water off his fingertips, probably what she had spilled while drinking.
“This is your last chance, Ivyn Kinzell.”
Theodore picked up a stack of documents from the table.
“If you don’t cooperate properly, I will have no choice but to hand you over to the inquisitors. You know what that means, don’t you?”
She knew perfectly well.
Inquisitors, a.k.a “torture specialists.”
They dealt with heretics using many cruel devices and fire.
“Shall we begin?”
The paladin asked it as if it were a simple question.
Ivyn could only manage a small nod.
‘So, the interrogation begins…’
—Ivyn, captured as a prisoner of the Holy Nation, resisted fiercely. She never bent, never compromised. But the endless torture and harsh treatment from the Holy Nation eventually led her to die in a cold, stone cell…
According to the original, Ivyn was supposed to “resist fiercely.”
She would have defied the interrogation, refused to cooperate, and probably showered them with curses.
‘But… what if I respond differently?’
In the novel, reinforcements from the Kinzell family arrived only after Ivyn’s death.
If her death was just a matter of timing…
‘Then… if I can hold out through the interrogation until help arrives, maybe I can survive cooperating just enough while staying alive.’
Ivyn took a deep breath, organizing her thoughts, and slowly lifted her gaze to meet the paladin’s eyes.
There was no going back now.
Hadn’t she survived unpredictable corporate life before, no matter how grueling?
And she had read the novel several times already.
She knew the paladin’s nature and the circumstances of her situation.
Now it was time to apply that knowledge to endure.
‘Alright. Let’s face this head-on!’
╭══ ≪ •❈• ≫ ══╮
On the top floor of the white stone tower, where the afternoon sunlight seeped in with a warm golden hue, the Saintess knelt in the center of the room. Her long blonde hair flowed down to her waist.
Knock-knock- The sound echoed just as she was murmuring prayers under her breath.
“Saintess Pavella, Elder Mateo is here.”
The Saintess opened her tightly shut eyes, revealing their mysterious emerald glow.
“Please come in.”
Moments later, Elder Mateo stepped inside with careful, measured footsteps.
He traced the sign of the cross over his chest and bowed his head toward the Saintess.
The Saintess lowered her own head, too.
“What brings you here so early?”
“We have succeeded in capturing the youngest daughter of the Kinzell household, Saintess.”
“I see.”
The Saintess’s voice sank calmly, and Elder Mateo lowered his gaze further, a hint of bewilderment in his expression.
“…This is not an opportunity to be taken lightly. Please proceed with utmost care.”
“Understood, Saintess.”
╭══ ≪ •❈• ≫ ══╮
“What is the defendant’s name?”
“Ivyn Kinzell.”
“Do you know what crimes your Kinzell family has committed?”
“…I do not know.”
Theodore’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at Ivyn’s answer.
“The Kinzell family has committed crimes of sacrilege and treason.”
The paladin lifted the top sheet from a stack of documents piled on the iron table as he spoke.
“Since you share the blood of your family, their crimes are, in a sense, your own. This is what’s known as a family’s joint responsibility.”
‘Wait… joint responsibility?’
The unexpected word made Ivyn tilt her head slightly in confusion.
“First is the sin of defying the natural order, desecrating the cycle of life. The second is the sin of raising the dead for selfish gain, threatening the living and disturbing social order. The third is the sin of slaughtering innocents to gather materials necessary to summon the undead…”
Watching the man recite the charges without hesitation, Ivyn frantically tried to think.
‘How am I supposed to handle this…?’
No matter how hard she strained her brain, the plan she had come up with earlier still seemed like the best option: act harmlessly and buy time until reinforcements arrived.
Ivyn loosened the tension in her eyes first.
‘Please let them think I’m harmless!’
“Um… but what exactly is ‘joint responsibility’?”
Theodore furrowed his brow at her question.
It was as if he were incredulous that the daughter of an esteemed ducal family didn’t know such a basic concept.
“It is a system in which those related to a criminal are held accountable and punished for that person’s crimes.”
“But…”
“What?”
“But why… why do I have to bear that responsibility?”
“Because that is the law of the Order.”
“Why?”
“It is a rule established by the State.”
“Who decided that?”
Theodore studied Ivyn with a hard gaze for a moment before slowly speaking again.
“…By the highest clergy and their predecessors.”
“Why?”
“Ha…”
Finally, the paladin let out a quiet, thin sigh into the air. Something was bubbling beneath the surface.
“It was to set a standard for judging similar incidents in the past—crimes and events alike.”
“Why?”
“…”
A chilling silence settled between them.
The one growing impatient was Ivyn. She dampened her dry lower lip with the tip of her tongue.
‘If you don’t think the person is harmless… is this enough at least to make my brain look harmless…?’
As she nervously stole glances at Theodore…
“Very well. Let’s make this easier.”
I’m sorry, but why does this man sound so hot? I mean, this line, “That’s the earnestness I expect, Ivyn Kinzell.” ??? I think I have some issues lmao
Also, she’s so funny. The “why” attack had me cackling.
