He mumbled inwardly that it was better not to be involved in anything related to a god. Moriarty decided to avoid trouble as much as possible.
While the lady thought that he had lost interest and chosen to run from them. She was amused by his choice, knowing that there was no way to escape the influence of a god in this world.
Seiren Kingdom had been isolated from the rest of the world, but that was only because someone was pulling the strings in the shadows. And those strings would snap at any moment, dropping a heavy puppet that they could not handle. She wondered if Moriarty was aware of the impending doom that awaited his country and its people.
The lady did not ask why Moriarty had drifted to the fortress. She had already convinced herself that he was no spy, by just seeing the previous reports she already knew the truth.
It was very laughable that someone could drift to an enemy fortress by accident. Nevertheless, she still proceeded with the interrogation scene, but Moriarty got lucky that a visitor came unannounced, making her decide to change the scene and postpone the questioning for another time.
Kisesh, the kingdom where they were, had a tradition of treating active followers of a god with the same respect as their master. And a god was to be treated as a noble or a royalty. With this in mind, the lady prepared a room to welcome the guest even though it was annoying and inconvenient for her to do so.
Before, they used to welcome guests in the ballroom, which was quite wide and not cleaned often, but that place had been remodeled and repurposed, connecting it to the small soldiers' mess hall and making it bigger and suitable for the soldier count. It was one of the first things that the lady had done when she had placed herself in charge of the fortress. She had wanted to make it more efficient and practical for her troops and their needs.
The fortress inward building where the soldiers stayed had only a few rooms where the guests could stay for the duration of their visit. But those rooms were not suitable to use as they were full of dust, cobwebs, and broken furniture. The windows were cracked and the curtains were torn. The beds were stained and the mattresses were sagging. The bathrooms were dirty and smelly. The rooms looked like they had not been cleaned or maintained for years. Clearly not suitable to welcome any guest. It seemed like someone had intended it that way so that a guest would not stay a day longer than necessary or feel comfortable in their presence.
They did not receive guests much often, and once they did they only showed them the management room where they discussed important matters. And the lady did not want a fanatical follower and Moriarty in that room where they could see her plans and strategies. Given no time to prepare a proper accommodation, she had chosen her sister's room without even telling the owner who was away on a mission.
After a brief explanation of the lady about the difference between Kisesh and Seiren, she had decided to cut the script and stop their conversation at that point before Moriarty could even ask a question. They had not even introduced themselves.
She stood up and said, "Well, the only reason you are in this room is because of that fanatic who claims to be on an important mission. A meal will be sent here soon, you should enjoy the food while you can. So you won't regret having a good meal for the last time once your round of interrogation starts." She spoke in an indifferent tone that hid her true intentions.
Though the meal was actually meant for the fanatic in case he stayed for a few hours and shared some information with her. Not wanting to waste it, she had given it to Moriarty at the same time using it as a second scene for her scheme to make him lower his guard and made an attempt to escape.
'Meal?' Moriarty thought with dread. 'Does she mean it to be my last meal? So those rumors about last meal before execution were true? Gulp. Crap, does that mean I am going to die soon?' He felt a surge of fear and panic in his chest as if the relief before was just an illusion. He wondered if there was any way to escape from this situation or convince the lady to spare his life. And he needed it right now, before the lady left.
"WAIT!!!" Moriarty shouted desperately, making her startled. She was about to twist the door knob and leave the room.
'Ughh, that surprised me, shouting all of a sudden, does he forget respect because we had a casual talk?' the lady thought with annoyance.
The lady turned to look at him with a cold gaze, but suddenly Moriarty realized that her leaving the room meant he would have a chance to be alone and plot his escape.
Nothing came out of Moriarty's mouth, making the lady wait impatiently. 'What? Stopping me and not saying anything afterwards?' she thought with irritation.
"Dessert! Does it have a dessert?" Moriarty blurted out anything that came to his mind, not wanting to make the lady wait any longer or suspect his intentions.
"Dessert? Yes, it has." the lady said, quite puzzled. She had thought he would beg or plead for his life, not ask for a sweet treat. She wondered what was going on in his mind.
'Clearly he wanted to say something else instead of dessert, what changed? Now, now. I'm starting to get curious about what the fanatic saw in him. Maybe Moriarty unknowingly witnessed something that he doesn't find odd.' The lady had decided to change the simple interrogation as a form of standard procedure into a real one.
Still, the lady was unsure if Moriarty could be a pawn in her ploy, but this had already made her interested and a bit invested in him.