Chapter 3: False Accusation
Rio was taken into custody in an interrogation room on the lowest floor of the castle.
“Please wait here. An investigator will be with you shortly,” the soldier who escorted him to the room said before leaving the room, door lock clicking shut behind him.
Rio looked around. There were no windows in the interrogation room, only a wooden table and chair placed in the center. A truly bleak scene to behold. The only way in or out of the room was through the single door, which locked from the outside. Once the door was locked, it was a completely closed room.
“Guess they don’t trust me much,” Rio muttered, unamused at his current situation. For the record, Vanessa and the others had rushed away with Flora the moment they handed Rio over to the escorting soldier. He had given them a simple rundown on what happened on the way here, but they’d probably keep him in custody as a primary witness until Flora woke up and confirmed the truth. In the meantime, they’d conduct an official investigation to record his account of events. They wasted no time at all, which made perfect sense. Considering their respective positions and relationships, this kind of treatment was to be expected. Rio could understand that. But if he was being honest with himself, being in custody wasn’t all that fun.
Perhaps it would’ve been better if he hadn’t saved Flora.
Then he wouldn’t get treated like this now... He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he was under suspicion and locked away like a criminal — all as a result of being unable to abandon the unconscious girl and carrying her outside. This world was unfair: kindness was shown to the strong, while the weak were defined by irrational rules. Even though he should’ve known that already... Rio heaved a sigh filled with all his frustrations and moved to sit in one of the shabby chairs, which was far from what could be called comfortable. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a frown. He had no information, no leads on his future, and no way to change this situation just by thinking about it.
So... he decided to relax as he waited instead.
Soon after his heart had calmed down, the sound of the lock turning could be heard. Then, the door opened, and three men appeared. They were all wearing the knight’s uniform of the Royal Guard, but the man in front, who looked to be in his late twenties, had an especially ornate design embroidered on his. His facial features were well proportioned, but there was something pretentious about the scornful way he looked at Rio. The lavish knight shot Rio a glance before immediately opening his mouth.
“I am Charles Arbor, deputy commander of the Royal Guard and the investigator for your case. We’re going to ask you a few questions; if you want to be released quickly, then answer honestly,” he ordered with an air of superiority.
Rio furrowed his brow as Charles sat down in the seat opposite him.
“Are you the one who kidnapped Her Highness, the Second Princess?” he asked as he flipped through some documents. He didn’t seem to care for Rio’s feelings at all.
The knight who was serving as the transcriber sat next to Charles and began to record his testimony. The remaining knight stood intimidatingly next to Rio.
“...No, I’m not,” Rio answered bluntly, feeling a little bitter at Charles’ arrogant attitude.
“Then where did you find the Second Princess?”
“In a wooden shack in the slums. She was stuffed inside a sack.”
“Why were you there?”
“The people who raised me lived in that shack.”
“According to the report, they were the ones who took the Second Princess prisoner. Is that true?”
“Seems so. I saw them come back carrying the sack with the princess inside.”
And so, the investigation continued. All of it was information he’d already told Vanessa on the way to the castle. The documents in Charles’ hand probably contained all of that intelligence so that he could cross-check for any inconsistencies as they proceeded with the investigation. There were parts of his testimony that put Rio in an unfavorable position, but it was all information that could be clarified with a thorough search. It would have been worse if Rio lied and lost track of the actual facts, so he decided to answer as honestly as possible.
“So you’re saying you weren’t involved in the kidnapping of Her Highness, the Second Princess?” Charles asked doubtfully.
“That’s right,” Rio confirmed without hesitation.
“Hmm... how suspicious,” Charles noted. “According to the report, the thugs that tyrannized you were killed by a masked man of unknown origins. So why are you the only one alive?”
“He was defeated.”
“By who?”
“By me.”
Charles scoffed at Rio’s answer.
“Don’t lie to me. A little kid like you defeating a bandit? Impossible. He would’ve gone through some form of training.”
“I don’t know, maybe he let his guard down? I was so frantic at the time, I don’t even know what happened...”
Rio chose not to tell them about how he had enhanced his own body.
“Hmm. Fine. Where is that man now, then?”
“Who knows? If he hasn’t woken up and fled, then he should still be lying somewhere among the corpses in the shack,” Rio replied in a rather fed-up tone.
“Our search party is at that shack right this moment. Their report should arrive shortly. If it’s as you say, then we may be able to extract some information from that man...”
Just as Charles finished speaking, a knock echoed from the door.
“Seems like it’s here. Open it.”
At Charles’ order, one of the knights opened the door, and another knight entered the room.
“Excuse me. Here is the report from the search team, Sir Charles,” the knight said, leaning in to whisper something to Charles’ ear. Charles stared silently at Rio as he listened to the report. Rio watched on in silence, too. Several moments later, Charles scowled unhappily at the report he’d finished listening to.
“...It seems like we have to relocate. Stand up,” he ordered Rio.
“Why do we have to relocate?”
“To do the interrogation, obviously.”
“Then why can’t we do it here?”
Charles’ vague answer left Rio extremely puzzled. He couldn’t understand why they had to leave the interrogation room to do an interrogation.
“Just stand up! We don’t have time!” Charles shouted menacingly. The other knights grabbed Rio by an arm each and moved to life him out of his seat.
“I can stand by myself,” Rio said with a sulky expression.
He got up quickly and tried to shake off the knights that had him by the arms, but they seemed to have no intention of releasing him, as their vice-like grip didn’t budge at all.
“I’m not going to run, so could you let go of me?” Rio asked Charles, who was still sitting before him.
“Hmm, let’s see...” Charles stood up abruptly and made his way over to Rio. “Stick out his hands,” he ordered the knights restraining Rio.
“Yes sir,” the knights replied promptly, forcing Rio to put out his hands.
“Hey, stop it!” Rio tried to fight them off, but his child’s strength was no match against these adults. He might’ve been able to throw them off easily if he had strengthened his physical body and abilities like in the battle before, but the situation moved too quickly for him to react calmly. And even if he did manage to shake off Charles and the other knights, it would probably be considered obstruction and make him a criminal for real. Which meant that if Rio had acted calmly and enhanced his body, he was unlikely to escape successfully anyway. Rio struggled with all his might, but the adults held him still with ease.
Charles chose that moment to make a move. Clink! A jangling sound echoed throughout the room.
“Huh?” Rio looked at his hands in shock. Cuffed around his wrists were a pair of shackles and a long chain leading away from it; a knight held the end of the chain to prevent Rio from running away.
“Let’s hurry. Bring the brat along,” Charles said to a confused Rio, who still hadn’t caught up with the situation.
◇◇◇
Tugged forward by the chain, Rio was led to a damp and humid dungeon. The air in the room was chilly against his skin. There was a lantern against the wall giving off faint light, but for some strange reason the light source didn’t appear to be fire. There had been several similar lanterns in the interrogation room earlier, but there was only the one in this room, leaving it rather dim. The entryway consisted of a sturdy metal door and there was a bed placed in the corner of the room. Both the floor and the ceiling were entirely made of stone, implying absolutely no regard for the inhabitant’s comfort. On top of that, there were several restraining tools set in the room along a stained wall with patches of different color — probably from blood. It was exceedingly easy to imagine what this room was for: a prison cell dedicated to what was most likely interrogation by torture. That’s what Rio deduced.
“Hey, what are you throwing me into a cell for?” he demanded, no longer bothering to soften his words out of resentment.
“You’re the suspected culprit behind the kidnapping case of the Second Princess. We need to take you into custody for the interrogation, obviously.”
“I did no such thing!” Rio replied angrily. He could understand being called the primary witness, but having the crime placed on his head was a different matter entirely.
“That’s what all the suspects say,” Charles scoffed, dismissing Rio carelessly.
“This is ridicu — ugh...” Rio tried to voice his complaints, but the chain hanging from his shackles was yanked hard, throwing him off-balance and sending him toppling to the ground. Charles looked down at him.
“I have determined that you are deeply involved with the kidnapping of Her Highness, the Second Princess. Therefore, an interrogation will now be conducted. You have no right to remain silent. Answer the questions truthfully — refusing to answer will only bring you pain,” the knight explained.
“Piss... off...”
Rio had almost fallen speechless from astonishment, but the rage within him burst forth as he glared at Charles.
“Hmm... What rebellious eyes. Typical of a criminal with no morals, I’d say.”
Charles heaved an exaggerated sigh of exasperation, a mocking action filled with sarcasm. It made it unclear whether he was being his honest self or intentionally provoking Rio.
“I suppose we’ll have to teach you your place first. Do it.”
Charles gestured with his head, prompting the knights to move. One knight yanked the chain from Rio’s shackles up to the pulley hanging from the roof and started to adjust the height for him.
“Hey, stop it!” Rio protested, but the knight continued to work. He strung Rio’s hands upward until his feet could just barely touch the ground, placing all of his body weight on his wrists.
Despite his weight being that of a child, it was still quite a burden on his joints.
Rio’s face twisted in pain as Charles huffed smugly. He held in his hands a wooden club that he had picked up at some point.
“I don’t want to do this the hard way, either. If you’re cooperative with the interrogation, I can release you right now. First, acknowledge your participation in the kidnapping case of the Second Princess. What do you say?” Charles offered, caressing Rio’s cheek with the end of the club.
Enduring the pain in his wrists, Rio gritted his teeth. “No thanks,” he said. “I did... no such thing.”
He shot down Charles’ proposal.
“Are you sure?”
Rio replied with silence. Charles then swung the club in his hands into Rio’s abdomen.
“Gah! Hah...”
A groan slipped from Rio’s mouth. Charles gently brushed the club against the stomach area he had just hit.
“You were involved in the kidnapping of the Second Princess. Isn’t that right?” he asked once again.
“I... did no... such thing...!”
“Fool.”
Charles heaved another dramatic sigh, before leaning into Rio’s ear.
“You’re going to regret that,” he whispered coldly.
◇◇◇
Meanwhile, on the upper floors of the Beltrum Royal Castle, in Flora’s bedroom...
“Zzz... zzz...”
The Second Princess, Flora Beltrum, slept peacefully in a luxurious four-poster bed. A gentle spring breeze blew into the room through her balcony, which overlooked the scenery of Beltrant, the capital.
“Reveles.”
Celia chanted the spell for detection, and a circle of light appeared at her hand. She closed her eyes, moved her hands over Flora’s body, and focused her mind. After a moment, Celia opened her eyes and exhaled in relief.
“There are no traces of any sorcery being cast. Medicine is outside my area of expertise, but I’d say she’ll recover quickly with enough water and rest.”
Vanessa sighed with relief after Celia reported her diagnosis.
“Thank you, Celia. If your Reveles couldn’t find anything, then Princess Flora is surely safe from any possible curses,” Vanessa said, bowing her head at Celia.
“No, I’m glad I was able to help. Now we can all rest easy.”
“Yes, but we never found out what the culprit wanted to achieve from the kidnapping...” Vanessa said.
“I think the information we received from Rio will be useful. We may be able to identify the culprit from that.”
“...If what that boy said was true, that is,” Vanessa added.
“You think he was lying?” Celia asked with wide eyes.
“No... Of course, that might not be the case. It’s just an occupational hazard of mine to doubt everything.”
“Well, I don’t believe he’s a bad child.”
“I guess if a professor at the Royal Academy says so, then it must be true,” Vanessa said with a small smile.
“I’m still a newbie, though,” Celia replied bashfully. Then, she noticed something, and asked, “Come to think of it, where did Princess Christina and Roanna go?”
“Oh. They’re probably being scolded for abuse of power and leaving without permission by His Majesty right about now...” Vanessa answered tiredly.
Just then, Flora stirred.
“Uhh... Mmh...”
“Princess Flora!” Vanessa called in a panicked voice.
Flora opened her eyes slowly. She blinked a few times before looking up at Vanessa’s face in a daze.
“Is that... Vanessa? Where...”
“You’re in your bedroom, Your Highness. You were weakened from dehydration and it caused you to pass out. Please, drink this.”
Vanessa picked up a metal jug from the table and poured water into a glass to offer to Flora.
“Thank you.” Flora accepted the glass and sipped slowly from it. After a moment, she lowered it and noticed Celia watching her.
“Oh, umm. Who might you be?” Flora asked.
“My name is Celia Claire, Your Highness. I am Princess Christina’s class instructor at the Royal Academy.”
“You’re my sister’s... I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I’m honored.”
Celia bowed respectfully as Flora gave a weak smile.
“Would you explain what happened to me? I don’t...”
“Yes. Please allow me that honor, Your Highness,” Vanessa said, and began explaining the situation to Flora. She spent the next few minutes giving Flora the general outline of what happened.
“ —which brings us here. The boy claimed he was merely protecting Your Highness. Is this true?” Vanessa asked Flora after finishing her explanation.
“Yes. I faintly remember asking a child my age to save me,” Flora confirmed with a nod.
“And that boy’s name was Rio?”
“...I’m sorry. I didn’t ask for his name, so I don’t know,” Flora shook her head, eyes downcast. “But I’ll know his face when I see him. Where is he now? I want to thank him.”
“...He’s probably being interrogated right now,” Vanessa replied.
“Interrogated? Why?” Flora asked curiously.
“There was a need to confirm whether the boy’s statement was true, so...”
“Then please bring him here. He’s the one who saved me.”
Flora declared Rio’s innocence and made her request, but Vanessa seemed troubled as she looked down.
“That’s... I’m afraid it’s a little difficult to call him to this room.”
“Why?”
“The boy is a mere orphan. He’ll need to be cleaned up and receive permission from His Majesty first...”
“...Then please do that quickly,” Flora requested rather forcefully. “I won’t allow him any more discomfort.”
“Understood. Please rest some more, Your Highness. It will be better for your health.”
“I know. Please do as I asked.”
“Of course. Celia, could you please keep Her Highness company for a moment? I need to get some things ready.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Thank you. I shall return as soon as possible.”
Vanessa extended her thanks at Celia’s agreeable nod before hurrying off to find Rio.
◇◇◇
Rio was exhausted. The shackles digging into his wrists had torn the skin apart, but he could no longer feel pain. Rather, his whole body had been so bruised by the club, he could no longer feel the pain in his wrists.
“You damn brat! Spit out the kidnapper’s details already!” Charles’ angry yells echoed through the cell; a layer of impatience could be heard underneath all of the rage. Rio had noticed that too, though he didn’t know the reason for it. Once he realized how flustered the other party was, though, he was able to keep his own thoughts rather calm.
But the situation was still bad.
Ever since he arrived in the second interrogation room, he’d been beaten and bruised in an attempt to coerce a false confession out of him. They wouldn’t let him pass out and find peace. He had barely any stamina left, and was only holding on through pure will and stubbornness.
In an attempt to reduce the physical damage he had to suffer, he tried to strengthen his body.
He could remember the feeling of that moment quite vividly... He should’ve been able to reproduce it easily if he concentrated, yet for some reason, Rio couldn’t enhance his body.
It was because of the shackles that restrained him.
Sorcery had been cast on them to seal the magic essence of whoever wore them. Rio didn’t know anything about essence or sorcery, but he knew the physical enhancement he did in his previous fight used essence as the source of energy. With the shackles preventing his magic essence from flowing out of his body, he couldn’t perform the physical enhancement.
Even so, Rio kept waiting for a chance without giving up.
There had to be a reason why Charles was impatiently trying to force a confession out of Rio. It was easy to assume that if Rio confessed here, the situation would only benefit Charles... That’s why Rio hardened his resolve. He absolutely wouldn’t give in to this violence and confess to a crime he didn’t commit.
“I don’t have anything else to tell you.”
“You brat!”
Charles swung the club with all his pent-up frustration. It was a merciless blow to the face.
“Guh...!”
Blood started pouring from Rio’s nose.
“D-Deputy commander! He may die if you go overboard...”
One of the knights that had been silently watching the interrogation tried to hold Charles back in a panic.
“Silence! My position is in danger right now!” Charles shouted hysterically.
“B-But sir! Your position will be in worse shape if you kill him of your own accord. We’re treading on thin ice as is.”
“Then what would you have me do? Fear of taking a risk will bring no reward in this situation! If I don’t regain my honorable standing here, I’m taking you all down with me!” Charles yelled. Silence fell over the room.
All the knights present in the room were part of the Royal Guard, and they were all knights in danger of losing their position due to Flora’s kidnapping case.
The uproar from Flora’s kidnapping case all started yesterday.
The royal family of Beltrum held a ritual every spring to pray for the prosperity of the kingdom. Flora was appointed the vital role as the priestess in charge of performing that ritual. By tradition, a purification ceremony was conducted before the ritual. In order to do that, Flora had to visit a spring on ancient holy land in the outskirts of the capital. However, it was forbidden for anyone other than the priestess and her attendant to enter the holy land during the ceremony. This time, though — the custom ended up backfiring.
The Royal Guard surrounded the holy land with heavy security, but the spring was located in a forest and the kidnapper managed to slip through the cracks of their security. Flora’s kidnapping was the fault of the Royal Guard in charge of the security on site and the knights at the center of the security — in other words, the members gathered in the cell with Rio. At this very moment, Charles was in danger of losing his position as deputy commander of the Royal Guard. Fearing that outcome, he was now desperate to recover his disgraced honor, and had forcibly taken over Rio’s interrogation from the investigator that Vanessa had assigned — to force the interrogation in his favor. He was prepared to twist the truth with a small false accusation or two if it came to that...
All in order to lighten his punishment as much as possible.
Since confessions were considered to be irrefutable evidence under Beltrum’s justice system, an admission would be enough proof to sentence the crime. If Charles could make Rio give testimony that was favorable for the knights during the interrogation and repeat that in front of the King before his verdict, then his guilt would be proved. Even if Flora woke up and testified that Rio had saved her, there would be no overturning Rio’s guilty sentence. This was how strongly confessions were considered as evidence. Rio was a seven-year-old child — with a little pain and fear, he’d easily bend his confession to their will, Charles thought.
However, Rio showed more endurance and courage than he expected, greatly derailing his plans. Normally, an interrogation had no time limit... but this case was different. The battle was against Flora’s awakening. Should Flora confirm that Rio was the one who saved her, Rio would become her savior, the crime would still be unsolved, and Charles would no longer be able to interrogate him through torture. If that happened, the only fact left would be that Charles forcefully tortured the savior of the royal family, making his situation take a turn for the worse, rather than the better.
That was why he was feeling extremely impatient. Flora could wake up at any moment now, and it would only be a matter of time before they discover the interrogation taking place in this room.
He had to get Rio to confess before then, no matter what it took.
“...Bring me the Collar of Submission,” Charles ordered in a low voice.
The surrounding knights all widened their eyes in surprise. “I-It’s a felony to use the Collar of Submission on a suspect without permission!” one of the other knights stammered.
The Collar of Submission was a magic artifact that bound the free will of the wearer and compelled them to obey the orders of their registered owner. If the wearer rebelled against the order, the owner could chant a phrase to inflict sharp pain upon the wearer’s body. Furthermore, because the artifact had a history of being abused for malicious intentions, there were strict national laws imposed around its usage. Such laws included the wearer being limited to either slaves or criminals, and its actual use had to be reported to the government.
Charles, having lost his rational mind, was going against protocol.
“Silence! Shut up and do as I—”
Just as Charles yelled angrily, the door to the underground room slammed open. Startled, all the knights in the room whirled to face it. In the open doorway stood Vanessa Emerle, the female knight that escorted Rio to the castle. She took in the state of the room and furrowed her brow.
“What do you think you’re doing, Lord Arbor?” she asked in a furious voice.
“...An official interrogation by the authority of the deputy commander of the Royal Guard.” Charles nearly stumbled over his words, but he answered immediately, his reply bold and calculated.
“I assigned one of my own subordinates to the investigation,” Vanessa objected.
“That person had a mission arise. I was available and took over instead.”
“...Why was there a need for the deputy commander of the Royal Guard to personally take over this investigation?”
“That’s because this investigation is partially my fault. I felt a sense of duty over it. Is there a problem with that?” Charles asked nonchalantly.
“I believe I sent a message for the boy to be treated gently, as there was a possibility he was Princess Flora’s savior.” Vanessa looked over at Rio hanging suspended in the air.
“Hmph. Something like that may have been mentioned. However, I highly suspect that this boy is deeply involved with Her Highness’ kidnapping,” Charles said, feigning ignorance.
“Do you have proof of any crimes outside of his statement?”
“I merely deduced it from the circumstantial evidence. The possibility exists, wouldn’t you say?”
“...True, but shouldn’t you have waited until Princess Flora woke up?” Vanessa inquired.
“We’ll agree to disagree there. Or are you saying I can’t be rough against Her Highness’ savior? That will only make the truth more difficult to uncover.”
It was just one excuse after another. He sure knows how to talk in circles, Vanessa thought.
“...Well, it seems like he’s Princess Flora’s savior after all. Did you find any connection to the kidnapping?”
“Fortunately, he seems uninvolved. His Majesty would have been most upset if she were to find that Her Highness’ savior was a criminal, after all. Oh, what a blessing,” Charles said dramatically with exaggerated delight.
Vanessa had quite a few things she wanted to respond with, but questioning him here any further would only lead to more evasive excuses. She’d have to send a written report to the higher-ups later — they could handle it instead.
“Then I’d like you to stop the interrogation here. Princess Flora’s savior should not be treated so rudely. His Majesty wanted to meet him as well.”
“In that case, I will gladly step down here. Hey. Remove the shackles,” Charles ordered. The knights hurried to remove Rio’s shackles. With no energy to remain standing, the boy fell to the ground.
“We’ll be taking our leave now. I have other things to do, after all.”
With those words, Charles and the other knights left the dungeons hastily. The only ones left behind were Rio and Vanessa.
“...My apologies. I’ll call a sorcerer who can use Cura immediately,” Vanessa said as she approached Rio, who was lying face down. “Can you stand?”
Rio ignored Vanessa’s voice and tried to rise on his own.
“Ugh...”
Intense pain ran throughout his body, causing Rio to fall instantly to the ground again.
“Don’t push yourself. Your bones might be fractured. I’ll carry you, just stay still—” Vanessa said, reaching out to Rio with a careful hand.
“Don’t... touch me...” Rio slapped the hand away.
Vanessa paused, staring at her hand in shock.
“Umm. I’m sorry. I’ll call a healer here, so just stay put.” With a conflicted expression on her face, Vanessa left the dungeon.
