Great, situation resolved. When I left the cell, Leonhardt and the Duke immediately followed, returning to interrogate the prisoner as they had before. I told them everything was fine, that Philomeu would probably spill everything from now on, which greatly surprised the inquisitor, who widened his eyes, but my father kept his usual grumpy face.
"What did you do?", the blonde heartthrob asked.
"Nothing, it's just my way. By the way, Duke, can I get a reward for this?"
The Duke crosses his arms and thinks for a moment, but soon gives in to the request.
"Speak at once."
"I want wine, a hot bath, and not to touch that paperwork until next week."
He frowns. Nobody would want to go back to that hell, no wonder I was put to work on that while he played with using a prisoner as a punching bag. The Duke inevitably gives up and shrugs.
"Do as you wish."
Yes, thanks! With a nod and a face full of happiness, I almost run out of that stinking dungeon before get in secret government cases and they want to involve me in torturing other people.
Look, I have no problem trading punches or stabbing someone I hate or who's trying to kill me, but damn, I don't have the stomach to watch someone being destroyed like that.
Worse still, it's terrifying to know that Philomeu, who a while ago was fighting on equal terms with those two, is now kneeling and chained while being beaten in every way.
I climb the stairs back to the palace corridors, this even got me thinking about these things. Technically, Philomeu is now a woman because of that sex-swapping magic, that is, his physical attributes and physiology are completely different... Damn, he looked quite androgynous for me not to have noticed before.
Well, what do I do now? I'm never going back to that hellish office to touch paperwork, I'm free again to play with whatever I want! Let me think... see Moriah? I'm feeling kind of up for it, considering she must still be here.
I also need to get some revenge for almost drinking poison because of her, honestly.
Escaping state torture, securing some free time, and getting a reward request approved without even needing to take off my shirt, this deserves a celebration, which will be putting that moth in a cage!
The last time I saw that woman, she was covered in sweat and blood from one of the Libertarians and probably had a heart still pulsing between her fingers, saying she'd finish things quickly and take me to the room.
Lies, she actually slapped me while I was stunned, unable to believe Philomeu didn't have a dick. Anyway, let's find the beauty, I love playing with her.
I follow through the wide corridors, my reflection in the blue crystal windows gives me a tired look. I really slept little in the days before the attack, the adrenaline still seems to run through my blood, just like then.
Thinking in retrospect, it's very strange that I'm still here, alive, breathing, and screwing. I didn't die from intoxication, nor from a mugger stabbing me, or anything like that... instead, I prevented a revolution in the Imperial City! How cool is that!
But I'm still worried about that. The attack on the Imperial City doesn't happen with golems, nor with these half-baked Libertarians, but with a black dragon that commits genocide in this place. It's an event much further ahead in the story and also serves as a motivator for Leonhardt to leave the church and abandon his position as inquisitor.
I don't remember the name of a sorceress who starts with "Lura" or "Luthra," which is even stranger. Of course, many names don't appear in the original work, but this character should at least be mentioned somewhere if she has the power to create an army of golems.
What chills me even more is the fact that she wasn't in the attack. We arrested everyone we could, then asked the Magistrate's mages to check which of them had magic, the problem is that none of them were women.
What a headache, so much to think about!
The servants move away when I pass, I guess there's still Philomeu's blood on my sleeve, or maybe I just look like someone who's about to rob the queen. Wouldn't be the first time.
Moriah is supposed to be in the alchemy rooms, doing whatever an apocalypse alchemist-countess does when she's not trying to kill me with love or poison. The room is on the third floor, in a part of the palace where the corridors are darker and no one enters without a very good reason.
Last time, I came here to get the liquid silver to finish Ravenna's ritual, but consulted her before entering and observed the procedure closely.
I knock on the door without ceremony. Love it when they don't answer.
I knock again, this time harder.
"Whoever you are, knock one more time and I'll kill you!" a muffled voice shouts from inside.
I knock one more time, increasing the rhythm. Listening to the thuds, aka Moriah's footsteps, doesn't even make me anxious, in fact, I feel an almost uncontrollable urge to laugh.
The door opens at once, and I'm faced with Moriah's face almost entirely green with rage, but I can easily see inside... and my goodness, it's much more chaotic than last time.
The place looks like one of those villain's laboratories. There are flasks everywhere, colorful vapors rising from metal tubes, arcane symbols glowing on the floor, and an aura of "Here we fuse dog with child" so dense that even the hairs on my arm react.
In the center there's a golden basin with a glass rod, probably stirring some malevolent mixture to poison the rivers of enemy nations.
As soon as Moriah realizes who has come to bother her, she widens her eyes and takes a step back. I've never seen her in such casual clothes, with her hair tied in a loose bun and a pair of gloves covering her hands, besides a leather apron and thick fabric clothes. She also has a cap on her hair to protect her antennae.
She's no longer radiating that noble vibe, or deadly beauty that usually appears to scare others. She's more reminding me of a normal nun-worker... but with a touch of scientific experiments forbidden in 50 countries.
"O-Oh, Darius, it's you..."
"I missed you" I say, crossing my arms. "But it seems you didn't. You said you'd kill me, so I should just run for my life."
"W-What? No! It was a mistake, I thought it was someone else! Come in, please!"
"Me? After you almost made me drink poison? I'm not sure if that's the most sensible choice."
"B-But I didn't have time to explain and...!"
It's so cute watching her try to explain herself... it almost makes me forget I nearly died and was drugged by this same woman. How crazy love is, right? I lean forward, touching Moriah's chin and kissing her, which is enough to disarm her.
She gives in, but doesn't touch me, which is smart considering how much stuff must be on those gloves. The moth-woman breaks away after a moment and looks away, a little embarrassed.
"It's normal for you to show up after causing trouble... did something happen?"
"Ah, my bad, it's my charm. No trouble at all, I just wanted to see you... and maybe ask you out on a date? Yeah, that's right. Want to go out with me? I have the whole day free."
Moriah looks away, not knowing what to say immediately. She clears her throat and pulls her gloves against her wrists.
"A... date? Are you serious?"
She looks around, wanting to see if it was a prank or not. The mixture bubbling in the golden basin, spewing greenish vapor, made Moriah sigh.
"Darius, I-I first have to finish a reagent fusion for a potion, I also need to write a report for the King and the Duke about my participation in that event and..."
She makes a move to go back to the workbench, but can't take two steps. Her eyes returned to mine with that same gleam that appeared every time she desired and hated me at the same time. I take another step closer, holding the door with my fingers and flashing my mischievous smile.
"Of course, of course... I understand that a perfect woman like you has work to do, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go with me. Today I'm really keen on just admiring you. You can refuse, no problem. I won't insist."
She measures me with her eyes, doing that typical clinical assessment, deciding whether she should dissect me or kiss me. In the end, I could see a sign of surrender on her face, it was clear she would want to go out with me.
"Maybe... this afternoon?" The question comes with a timid Moriah touching her fingertips. "I still have to go back before the basilisk skin infusion coagulates. If it hardens, I'll have to start from scratch, so I don't want to lose the work, but I promise I'll finish before late afternoon!"
"If you come, it's all good."
A kiss on the cheek seals the deal. Moriah goes back into the room like a lost moth, and her feet dangle across the floor with runes.
I feel a certain pity. These kinds of people would suffer greatly in love if it weren't for me... Wait! I'm deluding her, this will surely get me a punctured gut! I finish closing the door and let out a sigh, making my own way through the palace corridors.
"A lightning-fast date with a radioactive woman. Thinking with my lower head really gives me some crazy ideas."