“How can there not even be a single chair or a single curtain left?”
It looked as if someone had known in advance that the investigation team would come to inspect the scene and had cleared everything away.
“How is this possible? The head of the slave trade, that Baron bastard, is sitting in detention over there, and his trading company was thoroughly investigated and dismantled.”
“Exactly. The slave auction house should have just been left abandoned, but someone deliberately came and emptied it completely.”
It was as if they intended not to leave behind even the slightest piece of evidence that could be used against them at the scene.
Since the transaction site was gone and there were no staff members on duty or slaves who had been imprisoned for sale, the physical evidence was somewhat lacking.
However, there was still plenty of documentary evidence, which was sufficient to apply slave trading charges to Gerald.
Collin, the deputy leader of the Violent Crimes Investigation Team, flipped through the thick slave transaction records and spoke with a sigh mixed into his voice.
“Still, we have secured quite a lot of slave transaction records, including who was sold to whom and for how much.”
Some of those names would be aliases, but it wouldn’t pose much of a problem for the investigation. Once they dug into even one of them, the rest would come spilling out like sweet potatoes pulled from the ground.
“And there are also testimonies from slaves personally rescued by the anonymous informant.”
More precisely, it had been Rastan who rescued them, but his name had been concealed to avoid creating a situation where he would have to testify.
“And above all, the suspect’s testimony has been going very well.”
Gerald, who had been brainwashed by Evelyn to testify truthfully, had confessed everything without omission, even the parts that were unfavorable to himself.
“It’s to the point that it feels like he has given up everything. I have never seen a suspect spill everything this smoothly. It makes things easier for us, though.”
Nevertheless, there was one part that remained unresolved, so Gerald was ultimately dragged into the interrogation room for further questioning.
Investigator Jake slammed a bundle of documents down on the table with a bang and raised his voice.
“So, where did you source the slaves from?! You are the one running the slave trade, so how can you not know?!”
Gerald flinched at the terrifying force of his presence and shrank back.
However, he didn’t refuse to testify. In a somewhat androgynous voice, he answered each question obediently.
“There was a separate slave supplier, and I, I only handled the operation and management of the auction…!”
“Ha, do you think inventing some imaginary person and shifting the blame will lighten your sentence? You expect me to believe that?”
“No, it’s true, it’s true!”
Gerald desperately shook his bound hands.
“H-his name was someone called Walilolu, but it probably wasn’t his real name!”
“What kind of name is that?! Even if you’re making something up, that’s the best you can do?! There is no effort in it, no effort at all!”
Angered by the ridiculous name, Jake struck Gerald cleanly on the head with the bundle of documents he was holding.
***
“…So, it seems he has firmly kept silent about the slave supplier until now.”
Rastan was explaining the progress of the investigation to me. The investigation, which had been proceeding smoothly thanks to the evidence I submitted and Gerald’s testimony, had apparently stalled at the final hurdle.
“Even when we ask the slaves we rescued, they only remember the circumstances of their own abduction, and know nothing at all about the supplier or the organization.”
“We need to find that out in order to properly uproot the slave trade…”
“So we are considering whether to administer a truth serum to him.”
A truth serum was a drug made using magic, and naturally, it was extremely expensive. Moreover, strict procedures had to be followed in order to use it legally.
Of course, given Rastan’s position and power, those procedures wouldn’t be difficult. Even so….
‘The problem is that there is no need to use that drug on Gerald.’
I instinctively realized that now was the time to confess to Rastan.
“Um, Rastan. I have something to say about that.”
“Please, speak comfortably.”
I quietly took a deep breath, gathering my courage. And before that courage could scatter into the air, I quickly spoke.
“There is no need to use the truth serum. Everything Gerald says will be the truth. Because I instructed him to testify only the truth.”
Rastan tilted his head slightly to the side. Naturally, he wouldn’t understand.
“Are you saying that he is testifying obediently because you instructed him, Evelyn?”
I nodded slightly.
“That is true… but it is something on a different level.”
And I told him everything about my ability, which had expanded into a new domain. Even the fear in my heart that had made me afraid to tell him.
Rastan, who had listened carefully to everything I said with slightly widened eyes, murmured.
“…How astonishing. An ability that can control people. Even me.”
At his words, I suddenly recalled the times I had suspected that he might possess an ability to control people.
‘But since he said he could heal as well, I had dismissed that assumption, thinking he wasn’t a dark mage.’
I still didn’t know the exact nature of Rastan’s ability, but it was only natural for him to be surprised that he himself, who wasn’t only no ordinary person but a highly capable one, could be controlled.
“If you were to control the Emperor, Evelyn, you could become the true ruler of this Empire.”
The sheer scale of what he said made my mouth fall open on its own.
“That is a dangerous thing to say! I have never even had such irreverent thoughts!”
Even though we were inside Rastan’s office, I glanced around nervously, worried someone might have heard.
“Even if it were possible, I have no intention of doing such a thing.”
“Regardless, you are saying it would be possible.”
No matter how strongly I insisted that I had no intention of doing it, it was still a fact. Feeling like a deflated balloon for some reason, I spoke weakly.
“As expected, it makes you uncomfortable, does it not? I understand.”
I had always thought that I would leave him someday anyway, yet it was ridiculous how much my mood sank just from the assumption that he might think poorly of me.
But at that moment, Rastan lifted his handsome lips and smiled gently.
“I believe that you are someone with good intentions. So even if you were to control me, I would not be worried.”
“Even if I control you… you do not mind…?”
I murmured in shock, my face blank. Seeing my expression, Rastan’s smile deepened slightly.
‘Ah….’
Strangely, even though it was a face I knew well, it felt as if my breath had stopped all over again.
Unaware that he was effortlessly exuding a captivating charm, he simply continued speaking calmly.
“I may feel that way, but others may not. So I recommend that you either hide your ability, or if you wish to reveal it, describe it in a reduced way, to the extent of simply ‘nightmare purification.'”
He explained that even if it became known only that I could control dreams, there could be those who would try to use me for their own benefit.
Indeed, there was a high possibility that someone might try to make their political enemies or business rivals suffer terrible nightmares every day, or implant specific dreams as if they were divine revelations.
“To have trained yourself consistently without anyone guiding you is remarkable. It seems the reputation of a long-standing prestigious family is not built without reason.”
“It is not that remarkable. This is the only thing I can do, so I should at least work hard at this.”
My face grew warm at the unexpected praise.
I had only said it casually out of embarrassment, but Rastan’s reply was both gentle and firm.
“You are the daughter of the great House Krone, and now you are also my fiancee. There is absolutely no need for you to lower yourself anywhere.”
“I-I understand. Anyway, what I was trying to say was….”
As I stumbled over my words, feeling embarrassed and slightly flustered, Rastan smiled softly.
“You mean that since he will only be speaking the truth because of you, there is no need to use the truth serum.”
“That is right.”
“Then that means he truly does not know who the slave supplier is. We will have to concentrate our investigative efforts on that part.”
Originally, this had started with the goal of bringing down House Lansval, but after personally meeting the victims of their slave trade, my thoughts had changed somewhat.
‘Even my Sally almost became a victim.’
Since it had come this far anyway, I now wanted to completely eradicate the Empire’s slave trade at its root.
***
Some time later.
“Whether we investigate under the assumption that the slave supplier is a trading company, or that it is an individual acting alone as a trader, nothing turns up.”
Investigator Jake was giving Rastan an interim report with the mindset of a condemned criminal awaiting judgment.
“They are far more meticulous than expected.”
However, even so, it was astonishing that not even the slightest trace had been found despite concentrating the investigative power of one of the top teams in the Security Department.
