Kingdom of Lies

by Yuri Kitayama

  “Princess Christina! Please refrain from such provoking actions!”

  “He’s the one at fault! This is treason!”

  “The boy doesn’t know that you’re royalty. We need to figure out what happened first.”

  “Then hurry up and arrest him!” Christina screamed angrily, making Vanessa sigh tiredly.

  “You heard her. You... Rio, was it? You’re coming to the castle with us.”

  “No,” Rio declined, shaking his head.

  “This isn’t a request. It’s an order. You have no right to refuse,” Vanessa said, moving the sword pointed at Rio’s neck closer.

  The tip of the blade was mere millimeters away from his skin, but Rio looked into Vanessa eyes without fear. Vanessa stared back into Rio’s eyes as Christina, Celia, and Roanna watched on silently, sensing the tension in the air. Silence continued between them for a moment; in that time, Vanessa pondered in her head:

  Is this boy really a child?

  She was astonished by Rio nerves. A regular child might have thrown an angry tantrum, burst into tears, or groveled for their life. That would have been a normal reaction. Yet while Rio was rebellious, the way he was looking at the clearly advantageous Vanessa was bordering on serenity. A strange chill traveled down Vanessa’s spine.

  “All I did was save that unconscious girl over there. You can ask her when she wakes up.”

  “No. I want to hear what you know directly from your mouth.”

  Vanessa immediately rejected Rio’s suggestion. Rio determined that arguing any more than this wouldn’t benefit him. Vanessa would only use her authority and strength to forcefully take him to the castle instead. He did have the option of using the power he learned earlier to counterattack them and flee, but there was no guarantee he would win against them, and they already knew his face. Rio would truly become a criminal if he did that, since his opponents were royalty and nobility. That would be the worst possible move he could make...

  Rio prepared himself.

  “...Just to talk, right?”

  “Yeah. If we find that you’re innocent, we’ll release you. Nothing bad will happen. You can tell us the gist of it while we move.”

  And that was how a mere orphan like Rio was brought from the slums of the capital to the castle in the center.

  Then, several minutes later...

  Around the same time that Rio was arriving at the castle, the official search party dispatched by the castle closed in on the crime scene at the wooden shack.

  ...As did the residents of the slums and other noisy onlookers.

  “Sir Alfred! We’ve found someone that’s still alive,” a man clad in the knight’s uniform of the Royal Guard exclaimed as he burst out of the wooden shack.

  “Arrest him and bring him here. He could be one of the kidnappers.”

  Alfred Emerle — a man in his late twenties — ordered. He wore an extravagant cloak over the top of his knight’s uniform. A certain individual watched this conversation unfold while remaining hidden among the onlookers. They wore a black robe covering his whole body, hiding their appearance, age, and gender.

  Just then, the captured suspect was dragged out of the shack. It was the man who had attacked Rio earlier. His mask had been removed, revealing his true face underneath. He was awake, but grimacing in pain from the damage he’d received in the fight earlier.

  “This... might be bad,” the robed figured muttered after seeing the state of the man.

  Judging from the voice, the person was male. His expression was hidden under the darkness of his hood, but the tone of his voice showed no panic, despite his words.

  “...It can’t be helped.”

  With a small sigh, the man took out a jewel from his breast pocket and crushed it between his fingers without hesitation.

  Then...

  “...Ah... gah!”

  As soon as the gem crumbled to pieces, the restrained man cried out in pain. His body gave a single shudder before he dropped dead.

  “H-Hey!”

  The knight supporting the man panicked.

  “What’s wrong?” Alfred asked, noticing that something was wrong.

  “H-He’s dead.” The knight confirmed the man’s condition before informing him.

  “What?” Alfred said, raising his eyebrows.

  Hidden among the onlookers, the robed man looked on in satisfaction.

  “Perfect timing. Mission accomplished... time to go home.”

  And with those words, he left the scene.

  Chapter 3: False Accusation

  Rio was taken into custody in an interrogation room on the lowest floor of the castle.

  “Please wait here. An investigator will be with you shortly,” the soldier who escorted him to the room said before leaving the room, door lock clicking shut behind him.

  Rio looked around. There were no windows in the interrogation room, only a wooden table and chair placed in the center. A truly bleak scene to behold. The only way in or out of the room was through the single door, which locked from the outside. Once the door was locked, it was a completely closed room.

  “Guess they don’t trust me much,” Rio muttered, unamused at his current situation. For the record, Vanessa and the others had rushed away with Flora the moment they handed Rio over to the escorting soldier. He had given them a simple rundown on what happened on the way here, but they’d probably keep him in custody as a primary witness until Flora woke up and confirmed the truth. In the meantime, they’d conduct an official investigation to record his account of events. They wasted no time at all, which made perfect sense. Considering their respective positions and relationships, this kind of treatment was to be expected. Rio could understand that. But if he was being honest with himself, being in custody wasn’t all that fun.

  Perhaps it would’ve been better if he hadn’t saved Flora.

  Then he wouldn’t get treated like this now... He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he was under suspicion and locked away like a criminal — all as a result of being unable to abandon the unconscious girl and carrying her outside. This world was unfair: kindness was shown to the strong, while the weak were defined by irrational rules. Even though he should’ve known that already... Rio heaved a sigh filled with all his frustrations and moved to sit in one of the shabby chairs, which was far from what could be called comfortable. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a frown. He had no information, no leads on his future, and no way to change this situation just by thinking about it.

  So... he decided to relax as he waited instead.

  Soon after his heart had calmed down, the sound of the lock turning could be heard. Then, the door opened, and three men appeared. They were all wearing the knight’s uniform of the Royal Guard, but the man in front, who looked to be in his late twenties, had an especially ornate design embroidered on his. His facial features were well proportioned, but there was something pretentious about the scornful way he looked at Rio. The lavish knight shot Rio a glance before immediately opening his mouth.

  “I am Charles Arbor, deputy commander of the Royal Guard and the investigator for your case. We’re going to ask you a few questions; if you want to be released quickly, then answer honestly,” he ordered with an air of superiority.

  Rio furrowed his brow as Charles sat down in the seat opposite him.

  “Are you the one who kidnapped Her Highness, the Second Princess?” he asked as he flipped through some documents. He didn’t seem to care for Rio’s feelings at all.

  The knight who was serving as the transcriber sat next to Charles and began to record his testimony. The remaining knight stood intimidatingly next to Rio.

  “...No, I’m not,” Rio answered bluntly, feeling a little bitter at Charles’ arrogant attitude.

  “Then where did you find the Second Princess?”

  “In a wooden shack in the slums. She was stuffed inside a sack.”

  “Why were you there?”

  “The people who raised me lived in that shack.”r />
  “According to the report, they were the ones who took the Second Princess prisoner. Is that true?”

  “Seems so. I saw them come back carrying the sack with the princess inside.”

  And so, the investigation continued. All of it was information he’d already told Vanessa on the way to the castle. The documents in Charles’ hand probably contained all of that intelligence so that he could cross-check for any inconsistencies as they proceeded with the investigation. There were parts of his testimony that put Rio in an unfavorable position, but it was all information that could be clarified with a thorough search. It would have been worse if Rio lied and lost track of the actual facts, so he decided to answer as honestly as possible.

  “So you’re saying you weren’t involved in the kidnapping of Her Highness, the Second Princess?” Charles asked doubtfully.

  “That’s right,” Rio confirmed without hesitation.

  “Hmm... how suspicious,” Charles noted. “According to the report, the thugs that tyrannized you were killed by a masked man of unknown origins. So why are you the only one alive?”

  “He was defeated.”

  “By who?”

  “By me.”

  Charles scoffed at Rio’s answer.

  “Don’t lie to me. A little kid like you defeating a bandit? Impossible. He would’ve gone through some form of training.”

  “I don’t know, maybe he let his guard down? I was so frantic at the time, I don’t even know what happened...”

  Rio chose not to tell them about how he had enhanced his own body.

  “Hmm. Fine. Where is that man now, then?”

  “Who knows? If he hasn’t woken up and fled, then he should still be lying somewhere among the corpses in the shack,” Rio replied in a rather fed-up tone.

  “Our search party is at that shack right this moment. Their report should arrive shortly. If it’s as you say, then we may be able to extract some information from that man...”

  Just as Charles finished speaking, a knock echoed from the door.

  “Seems like it’s here. Open it.”

  At Charles’ order, one of the knights opened the door, and another knight entered the room.

  “Excuse me. Here is the report from the search team, Sir Charles,” the knight said, leaning in to whisper something to Charles’ ear. Charles stared silently at Rio as he listened to the report. Rio watched on in silence, too. Several moments later, Charles scowled unhappily at the report he’d finished listening to.

  “...It seems like we have to relocate. Stand up,” he ordered Rio.

  “Why do we have to relocate?”

  “To do the interrogation, obviously.”

  “Then why can’t we do it here?”

  Charles’ vague answer left Rio extremely puzzled. He couldn’t understand why they had to leave the interrogation room to do an interrogation.

  “Just stand up! We don’t have time!” Charles shouted menacingly. The other knights grabbed Rio by an arm each and moved to life him out of his seat.

  “I can stand by myself,” Rio said with a sulky expression.

  He got up quickly and tried to shake off the knights that had him by the arms, but they seemed to have no intention of releasing him, as their vice-like grip didn’t budge at all.

  “I’m not going to run, so could you let go of me?” Rio asked Charles, who was still sitting before him.

  “Hmm, let’s see...” Charles stood up abruptly and made his way over to Rio. “Stick out his hands,” he ordered the knights restraining Rio.

  “Yes sir,” the knights replied promptly, forcing Rio to put out his hands.

  “Hey, stop it!” Rio tried to fight them off, but his child’s strength was no match against these adults. He might’ve been able to throw them off easily if he had strengthened his physical body and abilities like in the battle before, but the situation moved too quickly for him to react calmly. And even if he did manage to shake off Charles and the other knights, it would probably be considered obstruction and make him a criminal for real. Which meant that if Rio had acted calmly and enhanced his body, he was unlikely to escape successfully anyway. Rio struggled with all his might, but the adults held him still with ease.

  Charles chose that moment to make a move. Clink! A jangling sound echoed throughout the room.

  “Huh?” Rio looked at his hands in shock. Cuffed around his wrists were a pair of shackles and a long chain leading away from it; a knight held the end of the chain to prevent Rio from running away.

  “Let’s hurry. Bring the brat along,” Charles said to a confused Rio, who still hadn’t caught up with the situation.

  ◇◇◇

  Tugged forward by the chain, Rio was led to a damp and humid dungeon. The air in the room was chilly against his skin. There was a lantern against the wall giving off faint light, but for some strange reason the light source didn’t appear to be fire. There had been several similar lanterns in the interrogation room earlier, but there was only the one in this room, leaving it rather dim. The entryway consisted of a sturdy metal door and there was a bed placed in the corner of the room. Both the floor and the ceiling were entirely made of stone, implying absolutely no regard for the inhabitant’s comfort. On top of that, there were several restraining tools set in the room along a stained wall with patches of different color — probably from blood. It was exceedingly easy to imagine what this room was for: a prison cell dedicated to what was most likely interrogation by torture. That’s what Rio deduced.

  “Hey, what are you throwing me into a cell for?” he demanded, no longer bothering to soften his words out of resentment.

  “You’re the suspected culprit behind the kidnapping case of the Second Princess. We need to take you into custody for the interrogation, obviously.”

  “I did no such thing!” Rio replied angrily. He could understand being called the primary witness, but having the crime placed on his head was a different matter entirely.

  “That’s what all the suspects say,” Charles scoffed, dismissing Rio carelessly.

  “This is ridicu — ugh...” Rio tried to voice his complaints, but the chain hanging from his shackles was yanked hard, throwing him off-balance and sending him toppling to the ground. Charles looked down at him.

  “I have determined that you are deeply involved with the kidnapping of Her Highness, the Second Princess. Therefore, an interrogation will now be conducted. You have no right to remain silent. Answer the questions truthfully — refusing to answer will only bring you pain,” the knight explained.

  “Piss... off...”

  Rio had almost fallen speechless from astonishment, but the rage within him burst forth as he glared at Charles.

  “Hmm... What rebellious eyes. Typical of a criminal with no morals, I’d say.”

  Charles heaved an exaggerated sigh of exasperation, a mocking action filled with sarcasm. It made it unclear whether he was being his honest self or intentionally provoking Rio.

  “I suppose we’ll have to teach you your place first. Do it.”

  Charles gestured with his head, prompting the knights to move. One knight yanked the chain from Rio’s shackles up to the pulley hanging from the roof and started to adjust the height for him.

  “Hey, stop it!” Rio protested, but the knight continued to work. He strung Rio’s hands upward until his feet could just barely touch the ground, placing all of his body weight on his wrists.

  Despite his weight being that of a child, it was still quite a burden on his joints.

  Rio’s face twisted in pain as Charles huffed smugly. He held in his hands a wooden club that he had picked up at some point.

  “I don’t want to do this the hard way, either. If you’re cooperative with the interrogation, I can release you right now. First, acknowledge your participation in the kidnapping case of the Second Princess. What do you say?” Charles offered, caressing Rio’s cheek with the end of the club.

  Enduring the pain in his wrists, Rio gritted his teeth. “No than
ks,” he said. “I did... no such thing.”

  He shot down Charles’ proposal.

  “Are you sure?”

  Rio replied with silence. Charles then swung the club in his hands into Rio’s abdomen.

  “Gah! Hah...”

  A groan slipped from Rio’s mouth. Charles gently brushed the club against the stomach area he had just hit.

  “You were involved in the kidnapping of the Second Princess. Isn’t that right?” he asked once again.

  “I... did no... such thing...!”

  “Fool.”

  Charles heaved another dramatic sigh, before leaning into Rio’s ear.

  “You’re going to regret that,” he whispered coldly.

  ◇◇◇

  Meanwhile, on the upper floors of the Beltrum Royal Castle, in Flora’s bedroom...

  “Zzz... zzz...”

  The Second Princess, Flora Beltrum, slept peacefully in a luxurious four-poster bed. A gentle spring breeze blew into the room through her balcony, which overlooked the scenery of Beltrant, the capital.

  “Reveles.”

  Celia chanted the spell for detection, and a circle of light appeared at her hand. She closed her eyes, moved her hands over Flora’s body, and focused her mind. After a moment, Celia opened her eyes and exhaled in relief.

  “There are no traces of any sorcery being cast. Medicine is outside my area of expertise, but I’d say she’ll recover quickly with enough water and rest.”

  Vanessa sighed with relief after Celia reported her diagnosis.

  “Thank you, Celia. If your Reveles couldn’t find anything, then Princess Flora is surely safe from any possible curses,” Vanessa said, bowing her head at Celia.

  “No, I’m glad I was able to help. Now we can all rest easy.”

  “Yes, but we never found out what the culprit wanted to achieve from the kidnapping...” Vanessa said.

  “I think the information we received from Rio will be useful. We may be able to identify the culprit from that.”

  “...If what that boy said was true, that is,” Vanessa added.

  “You think he was lying?” Celia asked with wide eyes.