Chapter 39 - Episode 10: Wait, Execution?
Greetings! I am Violia Nico Fortesia.
I am currently inside the slammer. My third time in the slammer. I am already used to it.
Well, since I know Doran-san and the others are coming to rescue me this time, there is no need to panic.
I shall leisurely enjoy this prison life.
The view obstructed by iron bars, the narrow stone room, the crude bed, and even the heavy shackles and fetters give me a sense of nostalgia. After all, it is my third time in the slammer. My composure is on a different level.
"Stay quiet in here!"
"I shall do so even if you do not tell me. Oh, could I have some tea? I am thirsty. If I do not get any, I shall go on a rampage."
"I told you to stay quiet!"
"That is why I am telling you to bring the tea. This 'heinous criminal' will stay quiet just for that, you know? Don't you think it is a bargain?"
By the third time in the slammer, the soldiers' level of fear is also different. I am practically a grandee of the slammer now.
"Could I also have some tea cakes while you are at it?"
To think I have grown enough to be able to order soldiers around from inside a cell. I am proud of my own growth.
And so, I lived leisurely in the Elsemarin jail. Well, for about two days.
...That's it. This time is, in short, the time spent waiting for the army from the capital. I feel a strong determination from the Royal Family side not to repeat the same mistake (T/N: 'Nino tetsu' refers to repeating a failure) as last time.
What was I doing during that time? I spent my time idly and lazily enjoying prison life while having time on my hands.
Only mediocre meals are served, but even so, meals come out just by sleeping and waiting. It is an easy life.
Furthermore, the soldiers, who know very well that their heads will fly if they do not keep me quiet, brought me treats, so I was able to spend my time without much inconvenience.
"You'll really stay quiet with this, right?"
"Yes. You have all been very helpful. I shall not go on a rampage in a place where you are responsible."
And while making that promise to them, I waited for the day I would be escorted to the capital.
And then, finally, the day of my transport.
"...You are doing this as grandly as a royal funeral procession, aren't you?"
"There is no reason not to be wary of a great criminal who has escaped twice."
It seems an entire division of soldiers is being used for my transport.
"Everyone must be quite idle. To have so many people gather... being a soldier of the capital is an easy job, isn't it?"
I was surprised by various things, but it is fine. We won't move until we arrive at the capital anyway.
I have decided to be escorted quietly!
So, I ended up being swayed in a carriage while being guarded extremely tightly. Surprisingly, the soldiers continued the transport without any breaks.
It must be quite pitiful to watch them having to stay on edge constantly...
...Well, I am the cause of that tension, though. Ohohohoho.
I cannot see outside from the carriage, but I can tell that a magnificent number of soldiers are marching together. It truly looks like a funeral procession or a wedding procession of a royal family member.
...Is this treatment because I am being transported? If this is the response even after I am thrown into the capital's dungeon, it will be quite troublesome...
Yes. While feeling a hint of anxiety, the transport column safely arrived at the capital. Since it was such a grand column, the residents of the capital were all tremendously surprised. That atmosphere reached me from outside the carriage's hood.
...Looking only at the scale, it truly was like a royal funeral procession, or perhaps a wedding of some princess... The reality is my entry into the slammer, though.
Passing through the capital's gates, then through the castle gates. ...It brings back memories of events in early spring. At that time, I was dragged before the King without knowing why, but now I am entering the slammer by my own choice after understanding various circumstances. I do not have the confusion I had last time. Though I do have a different kind of confusion. Mainly about the scale of the soldiers and the strictness of the facilities.
...Yes. The facilities and scale are quite large...
"Now, stay quiet here."
If my memory serves me correctly, the dungeon under the Royal Castle was supposed to be a simple structure with a stone room, a wooden door, and iron bars on the small window...
"Was the capital's dungeon always this tightly secured...?"
"We must keep you under constant surveillance, after all."
The wall on the door side is entirely iron bars. They can watch me all they want.
"It looks sturdy, doesn't it?"
"It's a specially made cell using special steel that won't break even with a dragon's fangs, let alone human strength."
The iron bars look unbreakable no matter how you look at them.
"By the way, what about this lock?"
"It's precise and complex. It's not something that can be opened with a mere wire."
The lock also seems to be tightly secured...
...Isn't escaping from this cell going to be quite difficult?
Inside my dedicated, tightly secured cell, while being closely watched by soldiers through the iron bars, I ended up staying quiet.
...With it being this tightly secured, I am starting to get worried. I wonder if I can really escape.
No, whether I am anxious or not, I have no choice but to wait now.
...The sentry soldiers have changed. That means at least three hours have passed.
Since this is a dungeon, the view outside the small window is also underground. There is almost no way to know the time. I can only tell the time by the changing of the guard and, after that, by the timing of the meals being brought...
Well, knowing the time is only for killing time anyway. It is not that important.
What is more important is... to look for a way to escape this cell in advance.
Breaking this cell seems extremely difficult. Iron bars that won't break even if a dragon bites them. It feels like it might be easier to dig through the stone wall and go through the ground.
Therefore, there seems to be no other way than to leave this cell by legitimate means. In other words, the legitimate method of escaping the moment they try to take me out of the cell.
However... that is also difficult. After all, there are this many soldiers. Why on earth are they putting so many guards? Are they that idle?
Since there are this many guards just in front of my cell, even more soldiers will likely appear when they take me to the execution block...
...Can I really get out of here...?
The more I think about it, the more anxious I become, but I can no longer afford to be. That is because...
Tap, tap, the sound of footsteps. Simultaneously, the sound of many footsteps and the clanking of armor.
I knew immediately who had come.
"My, it has been a while, Your Majesty the King. You have gone to a lot of trouble to come all the way down to the dungeon to see me in my captive state."
His Majesty the King. The biggest idiot in this country is right in front of my eyes.
"You've spent four months running around well, Violia Nico Fortesia."
"Running around? I merely moved as I pleased. If you could not find me, that is simply your negligence."
I immediately landed a blow. A vein popped on the King's forehead. I wouldn't mind if his blood vessels just burst and he dropped dead right here.
"You haven't changed. Without any reflection, you say such ridiculous things."
"I am reflecting. I was thinking that I should have at least shot fire arrows at the Royal Castle before becoming a captive."
The King showed his anger again, but he was stopped by a soldier when he tried to swing his sword through the iron bars. Honestly, for the ruler of a nation to lack composure more than a mere soldier is quite a laughingstock.
"...I didn't come here to listen to nonsense."
"Oh, is that so? I thought for sure you were performing for me out of pity for my boredom."
"You daughter of Fortesia!"
"Your Majesty! Please, pull yourself together!"
I really want him to pull himself together. Doesn't this guy lack not only wisdom but also a high boiling point for his anger?
"...Tell me about the Elsemarin Guild. Why were you being harbored by the Guild?"
Ah, finally a proper conversation.
About the Elsemarin Guild... well, does that mean they are currently deliberating on the Guild's treatment? In that case, my move is decided.
"My, Your Majesty. I was not being harbored. It was their choice to harbor me."
Pretend to be hostile.
That is my choice.
"...The Guild itself offered to protect you? Is that what you're saying?"
Protect? Hmm? The story has jumped quite a bit.
If the Guild had a crime, it would only be that they did not investigate the existence of a clearly suspicious adventurer named 'Ayle Kanone' in detail.
...Could it be that these people are misunderstanding something?
If so... if I say something careless, these idiots might just go straight with their misunderstanding and punish the Guild as well. I must proceed cautiously.
"It was never put into words, but I was under that impression, you know? ...Well, I'm sure the investigation has already been done, so I'll admit to having threatened them a little bit, though?"
"Threatened, you say?"
The King made a suspicious face after saying that... and then immediately made a face like 'I knew that, so what?' In other words, far from 'not knowing that fact,' he 'hadn't even thought of it'!
Look, as expected, these people know nothing! This idiot! When the opponent is this much of an idiot, I don't even know how to act! Why is their information so garbled?!
"...I'll hear the content of the threat, just in case."
"Then why don't you try investigating? Before I registered as an adventurer at the Guild, several adventurers should have gone missing."
Mainly, they went to hunt bandits and were hunted instead and buried in the mountains. This is the truth. If you want to doubt, go ahead and doubt. No matter how much you dig, only the truth and corpses will come out. Feel free to investigate and go on a wild goose chase.
"...It differs from the testimony... no, but..."
The King is muttering while tilting his head, but I shall naturally tilt my head as well.
What do you mean by 'testimony'? Does it mean someone testified that 'Violia Nico Fortesia was being protected by the Guild'?
...Ah.
C-Could that be... the Pin-Hane Girl?
If so... things are starting to look a bit ominous...
"Next question."
"Go ahead?"
"You were the one who mass-murdered the nobles of Elsemarin, weren't you?"
Ah, that's next.
However... regarding that, there should be no evidence that I did it. At most, I spread a lie using my name that 'poison was scattered in the water supply.' If that's the case, the possibility that someone else used my name without permission cannot be denied.
"No? I did not do such a thing. Do you have any evidence that I was involved?"
"Information has come out that you poured poison into the water supply."
"My. That is merely a 'rumor,' isn't it? I am not the only one who can say my name. You could say it too, couldn't you, Your Majesty? Just as you were able to say 'Violia Nico Fortesia attempted to assassinate Prince Dactor.' Please do not try to pin every single crime on me without evidence."
This is a bad spot for the King. Because it is true that he framed me. Ohohoho.
"...Next question. You were protected by the Guild for these past four months, weren't you?"
"No? After being caught at the Elsemarin Guild, how could I possibly do something as foolish as returning to Elsemarin? After crushing the transport unit and escaping, I was moving from place to place. Besides, if I had been at the Guild the whole time, surely the soldiers who came on patrol would have found me?"
When I mixed lies and truth, the King let out a deep sigh.
He must have known that he wouldn't know the truth even if he heard it from me.
"...I see. That is enough."
The King said that... and continued, as if to put on a brave front.
"No matter what you say, the decision will not be overturned! Your execution is tomorrow morning! Until then, you had best regret your life!"
...Eh? Execution? Tomorrow morning?
Wait... eh? Isn't that a bit too soon?