Splash!
Water rushed down the man's head like a very powerful waterfall. As he woke up, he immediately caught the sight of ice pooling at his feet, making him shiver just by the sight of it.
"Don't be delusional." A voice spoke to him from a distance away. "The water is warm enough to keep you alive. The ice is to fool you." Aefia folded her arms and glared down at him. Her eyes shinning like twin rubies in the dim light of the holding cell.
"So... We meet again. In a rather interesting way." She smiled. Stepping forward so that her shadow dissolved his own the ground. "The last time, it was hours before my coronation. Not so long if I am asked correctly. Just about three months ago.
"Huh? To think I would be attacked again so short within my reign? I am starting to think there is a Rebellion forming behind my back." Her voice carried across the room like a deadly poison.
"I don't know what you are talking about." The Guardian spoke with pure confusion.
"Ah! So there is a Rebellion forming. Matthew... You heard it, right?" Her gaze turned towards the Honorary Knight standing in the corner with his hand at the hilt of his sword.
"Loud and clear." He replied, adjusting his position right beside Aefia in the meantime. "I shall report this to the faction immediately."
This sparked a panic inside the man.
"No wait! There is no Rebellion! Truly there isn't!" He shouted, trying to defend the Rise faction along with it. "The second Aethalgard didn't even mention that! She only stated that we take back a ledger which she can alter and frame the third Aethalgard!"
A moment of intense silence took over. It was so still that you could hear a cockroach running around really far away.
"As expected..." Aefia finally opened her mouth. "Pressure does cause a human to spill the truth."
The man sat there, baffled. He swallowed hard, his eyes darting frantically between Aefia's unyielding ruby gaze and Matthew's stoic, ironclad presence.
"Y—you trapped me!" the Guardian hissed, his voice cracking under the weight of his own panic. "You lied about the rebellion!"
"I didn't lie..." Aefia said smoothly, taking one slow, deliberate step closer until her shoes brushed the edge of the puddle at his feet. She tilted her head, her expression ice-cold, as if she was preparing to bulge out his eyeballs directly out of his skull. "I simply posed a theory. You were the one who panicked and provided the exact names, motives and methods. Thank you for your cooperation."
She turned her gaze slightly toward Matthew. "Get a parchment and a seal. Record his statement word for word, have him sign it under official witness while keeping him secured here. I rather that Victoria stays worried then have them carry out whatever shenanigans they are about to cause in my domain."
"Its not what it seems! She just thought that just because you look like Sovereign Seraphina, you could be dealt that way!" He shouted at her face.
"And what makes you defend her this desperately? You are simply a lackey who has no words here." She looked down at him with disgust.
"I am not simply a lackey! I was bribed into this!"
"Then you might as well tell me what kind of a bribe it is so I can defend you."
The man immediately paled. The colour drained from his face too fast to say that this was not a large matter... But a gigantic one.
"That... I can't disclose." He finally spoke while hanging his head low.
"Then do you want me to assume something? Cause I am not holding back when it comes to defending my territory and my reputation. For one thing, I know that Victoria will once and for all... The to push that bribe into my name as well." She narrowed her gaze down, her lips curved into a smirk.
"I am giving you a chance to save yourself before this escalates further. It will be a mess by the time you come running at my feet and begging to ask me to help you. So I am giving you a choice. Either you say it... Or I will assume it and write it down. And it will only be effective by your own mouth."
"I am sincerely telling you... I can't disclose about it." He visibly gulped.
"Then are you a concubine to Victoria?"
Her voice rang across the empty room, making anyone inside it flinch in shock at how unfiltered her words came out. As the words finally reached his ears, she turned around to face Matthew fully. "Write it down immediately—whatever I just said."
Then slowly, she started to walk away.
"N—No!"
Aefia turned around, acting surprised.
"No, no, no!" That man shouted after her. "Just what do you want?! Do you think humans don't have something called dignity and their absolute lowest?!"
She only clicked her tongue in response. "Well didn't you?... When you beat up a minor in the basement under the orders of someone—"
"I can't defy her!" He shouted back, rudely interrupting her. "She will kill me like she killed the others!"
He was expecting both of the people facing him was going to be shocked and he could fool them with dry tears... However...
"Does this involve Athena, Khione and Seraphina's deaths as well?" Aefia asked while offering a grin. "Congratulations... You just saved your neck."
"Huh...?" The Guardian stared with confusion as he watched Matthew write down everything in his clipboard.
"Alright! That is enough for today." She slowly turned around towards the doors while stretching her arms above her head. Matthew was about to follow her as well—reading the witness account as well.
The Guardian sat bound tightly to the chair, completely frozen in horror. His teeth gritted tightly as he finally broke under the immense pressure that she had set up.
"To what motive was I the one used to spill the truth?! There was the other Guardian! Why me every single time?!" He glared up at the back of her dark head. "You broke my nose once! And you even absorbed a massive portion of my powers! You absolute menace! There is another one as well! Why not him?!"
She irritatingly turned around, her expression immediately made the Guardian recoil. It was something between extreme annoyance, disgust, and as if she was about to claw in and pull out his vocal cords.
"Isn't it simple? He is smarter then you and knows how to navigate the situations better than you! Are you still going to be arrogant and keep me standing here for any longer?! I feel like I will be the one to hold a knife to your throat." She snapped at the man. Confirming that he didn't have anything else to say, she finally turned away and slammed the door behind her.
Inside, the Guardian felt utterly defeated and drained. His eyes fell on the ice that were already melting and his own wet clothings. He burned a hole into the door just by glaring at it.
He felt completely cornered and trapped between two powerful Aethalgards who he can't defy even when he tried his best to.
And it wasn't like this wasn't a repayment for his crimes...
***
The way out was rather bothersome for Aefia. She visibly frowned, gritting her teeth in the thought. Her mind was racing miles trying to figure out what to pursue and what to keep stock for later.
"My Sovereign... What is it that is in your mind?" Matthew asked from behind her. Holding a questioned gaze, which was slightly worried as well.
"I can't figure it out..." She muttered under her breathe, biting her lower lip. "Seraphina has more than fifteen libraries of historical copies and none of them ever explained why exactly she wanted to stay hidden as the third Aethalgard and what conflict was between Victoria and her. Was it a shared issue with the first Aethalgard? And how... Exactly did Erebus get along with her?"
The breeze outside felt too loud. They say the quieter the room, the better you focus.
Even after finding out half the truth, she was only able to answer a fraction of the questions inside her mind. Of course... It was both for curiosity and to understand this half-completed mess that Seraphina left behind.
Finally, she let out a sigh. "I will have to through that novel I guess."
"What novel, my Sovereign?" Matthew asked from behind her.
Finally, an idea reached her.
"Can you lend me your ear Matthew? And don't disclose this with the Honorary Knights faction." She stopped walking to turn around and face him.
"Sure?"
"You know this—the competition and all—is part of a story someone wrote that involves characters who are people I know."
A moment of silence flowed between them for a while. Then slowly, Matthew took a hesitant half-step forward. He lowered his voice so that nearby people couldn't eavesdrop.
"Is it a simple fantasy story that involves reincarnation and all?"
"No. There is no reincarnation. But the fact is, now that I look back, I am getting reminding if multiple things. Although it doesn't involve anything about this Guardian Realm or the history of this world, I am quite certain it is related to something much bigger."
"Such as?"
"You know how in some stories, people from Earth go to a fantasy storyline and they use the narrative to progress and save themselves?" She asked. "You can use the same concept, then give the book to a certain someone whose name, characteristics and relatives are used. Then, use that same book to brainwash them and pull them into a situation that alligns the timeline and plot in that book. Repeat the brainwashing part but change the plot to another one.
"One will use the story to solve the case once. But if it keeps repeating, the victim will think they are in the story itself. Then what happens next? You make sure they continue the way the story moved while altering the path slightly... Slowly enough, you will successfully lure that victim into the final den.
"However... What if the final den is a trap you set up to lure the victim towards you? What if you planned on using this victim for a certain something?... Do I make some sense?" She finally paused, waiting for his reply.
Matthew stood astonished at her remark. "Well that is a long-term plan with high-yields for successful results."
"Exactly... And let me tell you that in that story... I know only five character whom I have met... And the rest seems suspicious. You know why?" She asked while folding her arms. "Because I am not following the story... Nor am I even looking at the plots. For which... The person who lured me into this story, can't find a way to lure me back in after I escaped.
"And, that only is the tip of the iceberg... I was a minor villain killed in the plot right before the main character is killed. Which makes more sense that this, was designed to pull me into the lion's den. Minor villain, side character, a character who is described with only one line... Sounds too familiar right?
"Now... I am wondering... Victoria seems to be incredibly smart with somethings. I am certain this story isn't by her—since she herself was unaware of my real identity—I am taking that she must be trying to carry out that same stradegy of luring me into a trap—"
"My Sovereign... I could catch nothing." Matthew finally spoke while holding up a hand. "Don't start from the top... Just tell me what you think right now."
Aefia smirked while turning slightly away. "Remember that story you told me? About Seraphina's life?"
"Yes?"
"Well her journals seem to tell me otherwise."
"What?!" He asked with complete shock. His face drained of colours almost instantly.
"In the journals that were already here when I came, it said that Seraphina hated her family deeply just because she was trying to get revenge and take down the Realm for what has been done to her mother. In truth... Seraphina had more than enough to deal with so she couldn't even dream of revenge. Besides that... She had a value for her life and work that didn't even compare to a revenge." She explained, pointing out the parts. "Then came that she didn't want to seem controversial in front of others so she hid her identity as the third Aethalgard. In truth... She was trying to keep the situation at Bay and stop being close to her father.
"And—keeping all that aside—how do you think Seraphina wrote fourty-two journals when her work lasted sixteen hours a day as a minimum? At maximum she worked for twenty-one hours and slept three hours. I saw her ledgers... She had that many libraries for those ledgers only. And remember how the journals were placed on top of the table? Simply put... This could be one of Victoria's games to corner me and put me out of the throne.
"To add more weight to my claim, it could stated that Victoria just so happened to come to my palace just yesterday—looking all smug and confident while also bringing the first Aethalgard along. And why do you think I was anxious about questions that include 'Seraphina'?"
"Because you knew a portion of her story already so you don't actually know nothing about her. And because you claimed you didn't even know her when you first came here."
"Yes. But no." She corrected him while pointing a finger to the study room. "Because I am absolutely certain that Victoria had framed me of killing Seraphina and stealing her face and acting like I know nothing... And that Guardian snuck into my study to look for a prove to back her claim up. And you know what that would be?"
"Seraphina's journal, that wasn't even real."
"Yes. And Justice had that pin with him for a reason. He wanted to do a truth test, which would either back me up or back Victoria." She finally let out a smile, which made her eyes speak for her before her words left her mouth.
Slowly, she started walking towards the door if her studies. "Victoria committed murder of more then eighty percent of the Realm and got away with it. She bribed the Rise faction Guardians into being her apprentices who would drive me down. Then brainwashed Justice into hating me in one day. Forged proves, tried to corner me and also put the Esclipse division in a risk of falling.
"This is only getting interesting... Victoria isn't so dump after all."
"I have been satisfied with the game... However... I don't like a few plots which will need to be changed." Her voice deadly with the cold atmosphere. "A sheep can't bite a wolf's tail afterall."