237 – Interrogation
The Count, who joined the Resistance, was imprisoned in the dungeon of the palace.
He went downstairs to meet him, and as soon as he got near him, his stench stung his nose and greeted me.
As only one person approached the prison cell, as expected, the count’s condition appeared to be half-corpse.
I didn’t feel particularly sympathetic. Doesn’t he see the karma of the choices he made? Rather, the fact that he did not open his mouth even after undergoing such torture was more important.
“Please step aside.”
I asked the guard who accompanied me to the dungeon.
He frowned at him as if he didn’t like it, but he didn’t openly ignore it, perhaps because of the queen’s orders.
“…Do not kill sinners.”
“I have no intention of using physical force.”
Why would I inflict savage torture? There is a much more useful and cleaner way than that.
After confirming that the guard had left, he strode forward. He unlocked the cage door with the key and went inside to examine the count’s condition closely.
Even though we were in the same space, I didn’t feel any sense of danger. After all, the opponent was chained to the torture chair and seemed physically exhausted.
I looked down at my face bent down, ruined by dried blood and bruises.
“Wake up.”
I didn’t mean to be polite with respectful words. The opponent is a member of the organization that kidnapped Sharon. In other words, he was like an enemy to me.
I tried calling out several times, but when there was no response, I reached out and grabbed the opponent’s chin and forcibly lifted it up.
The Count looked up blankly at me with unfocused eyes, perhaps noticing my existence only then.
“…Who are you?”
“I don’t know that. There is something I want to ask you.”
He burst out laughing when he heard my answer. A faint cough followed, as if even that was difficult.
“Whoever you are… No matter what you do… You will get no information from me…”
That is a noble will. The opponent must thoroughly believe that they are a righteous secret society against injustice and dictatorship.
I have no intention of denying that value itself.
As I have been talking about since I was a phantom thief follower, I have no desire to get involved in complex issues such as politics or ideology.
It just doesn’t matter who the opponent is, whether it’s the resistance or the royal family.
I can never forgive you if you carelessly touch my precious existence.
Whether it’s jewelry or people.
Because a phantom thief is a being who steals, not a being who is stolen.
I continued to hold the count’s chin, pushed his head closer and met his gaze.
[Are you really going to write? Mind-related magic is dangerous. If you hadn’t tried it without accumulating theoretical knowledge…]
‘It’s okay. Because I have often encountered the inner world. Besides, it’s night now, so if the goddess helps, there’s no way it’s dangerous for ordinary people.’
[Huh… I get it.]
The Goddess sighed, but granted my almost forced request.
At the same time, the count fell into the inner world under the brainwashing spell while meeting my eyes.
“W-Where is this…!?”
As the surrounding scenery changes in an instant, the opponent turns his head around and shows his embarrassment. This place gave off a similar feeling to the clock tower street where Hayang met, but there was a difference that the moon was shining blue.
This blue night city is the inner world where I reveal myself.
The Count didn’t notice that fact and he was mistaken that he had teleported somewhere.
“You bastard, were you a wizard?”
“Something like that.”
“What are you trying to do by bringing me here? No matter what I do, my mouth won’t open!”
Jjong-al jjong-al Why can’t I open my mouth to the subject that is making a lot of noise?
It didn’t matter how determined the opponent was. After all, the fact that I was drawn into this inner world in itself meant that I had the initiative. In other words, the Count was already in a state of complete hypnosis.
If the opponent had magical powers or had experienced something like this, he might have resisted, but it would be impossible to break the situation beyond that.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to chat with you. So I’d like to talk to you right away. Where is Sharon now?”
As soon as I asked a question, the Count’s eyes blurred and muttered softly.
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of such a name before…”
“I guess so.”
I didn’t think it was a lie. This man had been imprisoned in the dungeon before we arrived in Paris in the first place. There must have been no communication network to check what was happening outside.
“Then tell me where your base is.”
“I don’t even know that.”
This time, a disappointing answer came back. But the Count did not seem to be lying.
It’s very likely that you really don’t know. In fact, the royal family also tortured him to the point where he was severely tortured, but the only information they found out was the name Juliet.
It must mean that the Resistance put so much effort into hiding information. Even if one person gets caught, they can always turn off their tail and run away.
It is difficult to find the roots of an organization operated as a point organization, but it was not impossible at all.
In the end, resistance is also an organization that moves to achieve one goal: to overthrow the system.
Especially, the attempt to intercept the Blood Moon that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the middle must be carried out according to a thorough plan. In other words, there is no choice but to have an ally in Paris as well as in London who knows the outline of this operation and is prepared to cooperate.
“There must be a communication book in Paris. The person who seduced you into becoming a resistance in the first place must be somewhere in Paris. Anything is fine, so anyone can talk about someone related to the resistance.”
Then the count showed a different reaction than before.
He had never lost his resolute attitude, but he suddenly began to react suspiciously, visibly trembling. As if terrified.
At the same time, something flickered through his opponent’s eyes.
Instinctively, I realized that it was a fairly powerful magical security device.
You have to break that.
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It was a systematic structure that would not have been easy in real life, but it was not so difficult here, where I am the master of the world.
Clang-!
With the sound of something breaking, he finally opened his mouth.
“…The Count of Monte Cristo.”
The name of another earl came out of his mouth.
The fact that he was prevented from mentioning his name through magic must mean that he is not an ordinary person. Feeling certain that this was the crucial clue, I inquired more persistently about it.
Not only the count in front of you, but also other nobles are secretly recruited, and he is said to have designed this operation himself. In other words, there is a high possibility of playing a key role within the organization called Resistance.
I asked several more times, but no other names came up. It was a little disappointing, but this was enough, and it seemed like it was worth the money.
This is enough for interrogation. For the rest, you just have to meet the Count of Monte Cristo and check it out.
If my prediction is correct, the kidnapped Sharon will probably be near his mansion too. At first glance, he looks like the backbone of the resistance.
As soon as I decided that I had all the information I wanted, I unlocked the inner world without any regrets.
Actually, I was pretending to be relaxed, but I was already at my limit no matter how long I’ve been using it.
As the goddess was concerned, it seems that mind-related magic is quite risky. If the opponent was a magician, it might not even be possible to attract them at all. If used incorrectly, on the contrary, I could become an idiot, so I don’t think I should use it carelessly.
“Whoa…”
All of the surrounding scenery was erased, and it returned to the original, damp dungeon.
The count lost consciousness as if his mental power had run out because he was forcibly dragged into the inner world.
I didn’t feel particularly sympathetic because it wouldn’t affect my life anyway.
In the first place, since the other person touched us first, isn’t this level of cause and effect? It’s not like I tortured with ruthless violence like the royal family.
Since it was a waste of time, as soon as I returned to reality, I turned around and tried to get out of the basement.
And as soon as I came out, I ran into the queen who was openly waiting for me.
“It seems less than 5 minutes have passed since I entered, but is it already over?”
“I got all the information I needed.”
“You’re not the only one who knows, are you? Wouldn’t it be nice to have more allies at a time like this?”
It was a nasty idea to get a free meal, but it wasn’t exactly wrong, so I decided to share it.
“The Count of Monte Cristo. Even if you can’t do it, you can be an executive or maybe a leader.”
“…Is this reliable information?”
“Anyway, I plan to go to him right now, so the queen just needs to wait.”
At my words, the queen, who had been pondering while holding her chin for a while, said with a flash in her eyes.
“Wait a minute. I will help you.”