"Not everything ends the way one expects."
"How to get justice without harming the innocent."
"This is not something most people worry about, especially those only interested in the political outcome they want."
"Everyone has a family who is innocent, and most have someone who loves them."
"Each death and execution is another broken family, another person who suffers."
"But as long as I am here, as long as I can lower the suffering imparted onto the innocent."
"I'll endure whatever criticisms come my way."
Vice Count Valentine Thorn, known as 'Rikutus' Red-tailed Hawk.'
….
"AHHHHHH."
In a deep, dark dungeon, a man screamed as a hot iron was pressed against his charred clothes, burning his skin crimson, though not black. The experienced torturers knew when to stop to ensure the mercenary would stay alive with no permanent physical problems, at least though they made no promises about the mental well-being of their 'guests.' Other piercing screams coming from different parts of the prison could be heard when the man strapped to the chair was not yelling in pain.
"Captain Packard, we have been at this for 2 days now. Aren't you getting tired? You are already destined to go to hell, so why don't you just tell the truth and who hired you?"
"A few others have already broken and given us what we want, so why make it harder for yourself."
Vice Count Valentine said casually but coldly, impressed by the mercenary's endurance as usually people barely last a few hours when Valentine personally sees to them, sitting on a chair relaxedly while gnawing on a piece of bread he is watching on as one of his guards press the blazing red-hot iron back onto Packard's leg sizzling the mercenaries once fair skin, getting another loud scream of pain from the veteran mercenary.
"AHHHH!"
"Ah, this bread from the duke's kitchen is really nice."
Vice Count Valantine said, talking to himself while finishing the piece of bread held in his hands that Packard looked enviously at; obviously, a prisoner like him would not get such good food. The crumbs scattered across the cold, hard stone that made up the cell's floor as if he couldn't hear the screams that resounded through the room. He raised his hand to give his victim a bit of respite and a chance to respond to his previous question.
"I-I-I-I already told you it was the duke that gave the order!"
Packard shouted, which only drew a deep sigh from Valentine, who rolled his eyes and motioned for the torture to continue.
"Haiyaa, I have told you before, Packard, there are right answers, and there are wrong answers. Why do you keep giving wrong answers?"
"Why can't you be like Timmy? He gave the right answer in 2 seconds, and I even managed to keep him alive. Some people are just stupid!"
"Don't you know what happens when you give wrong answers by now?"
"Do you like pain that much? Are you a masochist or something?"
Valentine complained with a sigh while tutting slightly, enjoying this interrogation a bit more than he probably should have, considering the intense pain he was inflicting on Packard, who continued to scream in pain until Valentine raised his hand again, and the torturer stopped giving the heavily breathing Packard a bit of respite from his ordeal.
Looking at the fear in Packard's eyes, Valentine asked again in an ice-cold voice that sent shivers throughout the tied-up mercenary's body.
"Who gave you the orders to attack the caravan?"
Packard had long heard of Valentine's reputation as a demon when it came to getting confessions and information out of people, but it was only now that he was experiencing it first-hand that he realised that it was an understatement.
Valentine was not a demon but the incarnation of the devil himself!
After a bit more torture, Packard finally gave in, his mind and body tortured to the limit as blood dripped from his scarred back.
"It-it-it was Count Louvel Ceno."
Packard said in resignation that he already knew the names Valentine wanted.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Vice Count Valentine rang a bell resting on a table as if he was hosting a TV gaming show and congratulating someone who had just won. While he did not know what one of those was, he enjoyed playing little games like this with his prisoners in an attempt to lighten up their interrogations and provide a bit of fun himself.
"Congratulations, Captain Packard! Finally, you said the right answer! Come, come, come! We need to get this in writing! Why couldn't you have given it earlier?"
Valentine said while maintaining his evil smile while releasing Packard from the chair he was strapped to and dragged to the table the bell was just on and shoved into a normal chair that was opposite the vice count's own afterwards, a confession that was placed on the table that had just been written up. The ink was still drying and even dripped down the brown piece of parchment and to the floor, waiting for the broken mercenary to sign.
"It would have saved you some pain and me much time. It's not that I have not enjoyed our time together, but there are just too many people, too! Now, all you have to do is sign this, and all your pain will disappear. Alternatively, you can enjoy our hospitality a little more. I don't mind, I have plenty of time to spend with you, and either way, I will get what I want."
"When it comes to things like this, I always get what I want."
"Don't you agree, Packard?"
Valentine said casually with a slight chuckle as he lifted up Packard's chin with one of his slender fingers only to see the once proud man's broken expression and soulless eyes. Countless people had tried to resist him, but they all broke one way or another. In the end, Packard signed the document, unwilling to be tormented any longer. His handwriting was like that of a child's scrawl, thanks to the torture he had had to endure.
"Take this shitstain away, but don't do anything against his family. They are to remain free and unmolested."
"Do you understand?"
"It is his reward for giving the right answer."
Valentine said coldly to a guard who nodded. He knew better than to get on the wrong side of the capital magistrate. However, a tiny bit of compassion was tinged in the vice count's voice that did not seem to fit his character as even Packard gave out a relived groan of thanks as he was hauled away back to his cell to the Vice Count who had saved his family that was innocent of any wrongdoing, which was something that the old mercenary did not expect from a noble so close to the duke as most of them cared little for people like him or their families.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Bring the next one in. We need to ensure everything lines up nicely."
"Or else our good Count will escape justice."
The vice count said casually as if It were an afterthought as a few other men came in and washed and cleaned the room for the magistrate's next victim,
People had always asked him when they saw this hidden side of the Vice Count….
"Why do you serve the government if it is so corrupt?"
Valentine had only coldly said it was his duty and walked away, but that was not the truth.
'Even if I am hated, I will harm the innocent to keep this job!'
Vice Count Valentine thought, his eyes glinting with an unseen determination when Packard had left the interrogation cell as he clenched his fists in frustration, for Count Louvel Ceno was but one of a plethora of nobles who infected the duchy with their greed. 300 people! 300 people he had sold illegally into slavery, but when he brought the evidence to Duke Ridorfin, he dismissed it.
This annoyed the vice count, but he kept his frustration hidden like every other emotion he had while doing his job.
'Because if this position falls into the hands of others.'
'What little integrity this duchy has left with be destroyed….'
'And scattered to the winds.'
Even though Vice Count Valentine knew that Packard told the truth when he accused the duke of plotting the attack on Ralston's caravan as his vassal, it was his job to find a scapegoat, so Valentine used this unique opportunity to deal with some other corrupt people in the duchy.
Usually, these people were protected by Duke Ridorfin because they were some of his closest allies. However, currently, Duke Ridorfin had to defend himself and couldn't bother with them, making it much easier to blame these once-protected corrupt nobles than before. It also happened that it would be harder to convince the world that a noble with a clean record plotted this instead of one without.
Valentine had long written down and found evidence against several corrupt nobles, hiding it away in old dust-covered boxes that people ignored, and now he was using this evidence and the confession of Packard to take one of them down.
If it were not for that man, then it is likely that he would have been similar to Count Nidor, who openly detested the duke, but it was thanks to him that he decided to do what he could within this corrupt system to fix it or at least not to let it get too much worse.
'Baron Urias, just how many men have you fooled with your fawning ways.'
Valentine thought before the dragging of another struggling man into the cell attracted his attention.
'Time to get back to work. It's going to be a long day.'
…..
Sitting at a desk in a palace in the royal capital of Nathia Nathonia, a young 20-year-old man was writing at a desk. The scribbling of quill on paper was the only sound within a well-furnished room. A mahogany desk, its wood, was imported from the other side of the world and placed in front of a purple leather-backed chair that bore the sigil of the Nathian royal family, that of a golden lion showing clearly the vast wealth and authority that the individual sitting held on his hands.
Two servants waited in silence at the side of the large chamber as the man worked until faint footsteps attracted their attention, and the doors to the large chamber creaked open to reveal a young man entering a small letter in his hand that he presented respectfully to the young man.
"Your Highness, a letter from Count Nidor Pagnar."
The young man said respectfully to the prince, bowing slightly.
Kodjis Kendari, the Crown Prince of Nathia, finally looked up from his work. His eyes, a mix of purple and yellow, seemed to mirror the colours of his house, his gaze directed at his young friend, seemingly able to see through all the secrets of the world as he looked curiously at the piece of paper in his advisor's hand and the serious expression with which he gave it.
"Oh, has something else interesting happened in Detarnor Flintorus? I thought we had already investigated and found the emperor of Chavaria had really abandoned the remnants of House Aurellion."
The wise crown prince said as he looked at his loyal advisor, the eldest son and heir to the Count of Finorian, who came from a noble house with a territory bordering the royal family they received thanks to their generations of loyal service, the kings of Nathia created a territory who gave up some of their own lands to reward House Rhalun for their contributions to the kingdom.
"Yes, your highness, but House Aurellion has begun to expand its power faster than it should be capable of. From reports, we have been getting a large number of refugees who are Chavarian citizens and want to join our kingdom and settle in Detarnor."
"Though they come in small numbers and hide themselves well, I suspect that they are the families of the Pelican Guards and loyalists of House Aurellion."
Flintorus said, his eyes showing a rare fox-like cunning as he analysed the situation. While he was not a genius like the prince, he was not a stupid man quickly making such connections.
"How many people are we talking?"
The prince asked calmly as if he had already expected this sort of phenomenon and was not surprised in the slightest.
"Around 5000 people, your highness, as some decided to settle down elsewhere or returned to live in the Chavarian Empire. I suspect that those who left are primarily those whose family members have died getting Railius to safety."
"Have we found the whereabouts of House Aurellion's young lord yet?
"It is unconfirmed, but we have seen a young boy who fits the right age staying with an old man who, according to one of our master fighters, is not someone who should be confronted easily."
"I see Flintorus. There is no need to do anything else. Just keep tabs on them, but don't interfere! Do you understand?"
Prince Kodjis said with authority.
"Yes, your highness, I understand."
Fintorus said with the same respect but with a knowing smile.
"How many Pelican Guards do we think survived."
"According to our spies in Chavaria, at least half should have died while helping Railius escape from Chavaria and the emperor's pursuit, so I suspect at least a thousand are left your highness."
"A thousand, huh? That's quite a lot."
Just as their conversation was about to continue, the crown prince's gaze sharpened, and the slight eye twitch and the change of expression were not lost on Flintorus, who knew that something unexpected had happened, which was rare.
"What has happened, your highness?"
"It seems our good Duke of Detarnor has begun to contact my second brother and has dealt with the little present left by the Count."
Crown Prince Kodjis said with a sigh as he continued reading the letter penned by Count Nidor.
"Oh, who has taken the fall?"
Flintorus asked, interested, but his eyebrows narrowed when he heard the answer.
"Count Louvel Ceno and a few other minor nobles."
Prince Kodjis said, retaining his calm.
"Impossible! He is one of the duke's closest allies. Why would Ridorfin abandon him?"
Flintorus said, raising his voice slightly. He could not believe what was happening.
"He didn't."
"Have you heard of Vice Count Valentine Thorn Flintorus?"
Prince Kodjis asked his advisor.
"Isn't he the duke's dog?"
Flintorus asked.
"Apparently not. For he is the one behind this, or the man seems to have some agency as what he did even surprised Ridorfin himself with his actions."
Prince Kodjis said, handing over Nidor's letter to Flintorus.
"Oh, why would he go against the duke? It seems illogical, no.
"Duke Ridorfin did nothing to stop him?"
Flintorus said while taking the letter and reading it quickly.
"Because he can do nothing."
"He needs this man because, if nothing else, he is competent and follows the duke's orders to the letter."
"Also, because he saved the Red Blades from extermination. He turned what was a treason case into a case of corruption and banditry, even getting Count Louven to confess to being the one behind it, managing to save The Red Blades, who had nothing to do with the ambush on the caravan."
"And thanks to Count Louven's status, even if he dies or is executed, his son will inherit the man's noble title, satisfying all parties involved. Of course, the mercenaries and bandits who attacked the caravan will be killed, but compared to treason charges, this is a far better outcome for Duke Ridorfin as otherwise I could put new nobles into the duchy."
"You could say Valentine is helping the duke or trying to prevent innocent casualties as if the treason charge stuck even the innocent families of the offenders would be implicated….
"Either way, he is not a man to be underestimated."
Prince Kodjis said his piercing eyes looked up at the sky while a brazier burned, giving warmth to the large room.
....
Sorry, I accidentally posted the wrong chapter has now been resolved.