"So, it's you!"
Valeska hurled the ice crystal in her hand at his face.
"Damn rebel scum!"
She kicked his head, sending it crashing against the wall.
She didn't stop—her boots rained down on his face with merciless rhythm, turning it into a bloody pulp.
Weakened, Hastora fought to endure the pain.
If only he could use magic… he could escape.
But Darnel's men had fitted anti-magic bracelets on his arms beforehand, suppressing his mana and rendering his magic useless.
Even after his trip to the Nihility Collapse, he was powerless in this state.
He was certain—death was just around the corner.
His body was slashed, stomped, kicked, and beaten with an iron rod until his bones were badly broken.
"Where are the other rebels? Answer me!"
Valeska roughly yanked his hair, her eyes blazing.
She pressed her face close to his, their noses almost touching.
"You better tell the truth if you don't want to die."
Her words were a stark threat.
Her expression showed she would actually kill him this time.
But… what should he answer?
He wasn't a rebel.
There was nothing to answer.
He had nothing to do with Glazareth.
This was a brutally horrific misunderstanding.
He met Valeska's furious glare inches from his face.
Her eyes blazed—not just with rage, but with a hatred carved deep by loss and blood.
He strained to remember.
Was this rebellion a plot point change? Or a genuine event in the novel?
His memories were hazy.
He'd stopped updating the latest chapters a long time ago.
Many details of his novel were lost to him. This made things difficult.
But.
That didn't mean he would give up.
He had to find another way.
Anything to survive, to grow stronger, to withstand whatever threats came next.
"Bitch."
He offered a small, wry smile.
Valeska reacted.
She was slightly taken aback by the pathetic smile.
'Even close to death, why is he still smiling like that? Is he crazy?' she thought.
She desperately wanted to kill him, but his insolent words felt like a personal insult.
She couldn't accept it.
She would silence him, torture him first, then kill him.
"Repeat that."
She punched his stomach, sending him vomiting blood.
"Say it again!"
"Bitch!"
He grabbed her collar, pulling her face close to his.
"I said bitch! Damn bitch! What do you want!? You want to kill me!?"
She recoiled at his defiance.
Her restraint shattered like brittle glass.
She stood, kicking his face until he collapsed onto the floor, helpless.
"Die!"
An ice sword shimmered in her grip, poised above his throat—until a hand seized her wrist, halting the fatal strike.
"Enough, Valeska."
The voice halted her.
It was incredibly familiar, as if she'd heard it countless times before.
She turned, freezing.
Her lips trembled. Without realizing it, she dropped her ice sword.
"M-Mother?" she stammered.
"What are you doing?"
Her mother, Elowen, asked.
Valeska was unlike herself; she seemed to have lost control of her emotions.
This was bad.
She would kill anyone suspected of being a rebel, even if they weren't.
Elowen glanced at Hastora, then narrowed her eyes at Valeska.
"Are you sure that man is a rebel?" she asked.
"…Huh?"
Valeska pursed her lips. Her expression shifted.
"…I… I don't know…" she replied.
"Then why are you trying to kill him as if he were a rebel? Did you even check?"
Elowen asked, slightly disappointed in her daughter's behavior.
It was unbecoming of a queen.
Valeska bit her lip.
She knew her mother was disappointed.
She'd been so enraged she'd wanted to kill anyone suspected of being a rebel without verifying it. She averted her gaze.
"I… I heard from Darnel that he's a rebel. He confirmed it himself."
Elowen gritted her teeth.
Her anger flared at her daughter's blind faith in another's word.
She grasped Valeska's wrist tightly.
"You placed blind faith in Darnel's words?"
"Sorry…"
"Is that the behavior of a queen? I'm not even convinced that man is a rebel."
"B-But… Darnel's words prove he's a rebel."
"What did Darnel say?"
"He said the man was caught eavesdropping on Glazareth's special forces. He even heard them while they were using Selective Sound."
Valeska's explanation made Elowen release her grip.
That reason seemed plausible, considering Selective Sound could only be heard by those who were marked.
If the man could hear them while they used Selective Sound… he was indeed a rebel.
But.
A marked person would have a small purple cross on their ear.
"Valeska, did you check for the small cross on his ear?" she asked.
"What?"
Valeska's expression showed she hadn't checked at all.
Elowen closed her eyes and sighed.
"You didn't check, did you?"
Valeska didn't respond.
That was answer enough.
She hadn't.
If so, Elowen would check herself.
She approached Hastora, lying weak and bloodied on the floor.
She leaned close to his ear.
She checked. There was no mark.
"I figured."
That meant… this man wasn't a rebel, and he was entirely innocent.
She stood, looking at Valeska with disappointment.
"This man is not a rebel, and he is completely innocent," she said, closing her eyes.
"What?"
The words were a harsh slap to Valeska.
Guilt gnawed at her.
She'd tortured an innocent man to the brink of death.
She was the worst.
What was the difference between her and the rebels now?
"You're too young to be a queen, Valeska."
Elowen spoke, walking towards Valeska.
"You're only seventeen. You should be in an academy, not ruling a kingdom. You're too young, you can't control your emotions. If you can't control your emotions over something like this… you're not fit to be queen."
After saying that, she left the torture chamber.
Valeska was frozen, speechless.
She didn't know what to say.
She bowed her head, lost in thought.
'Mother's right. I'm not fit to be queen, I'm too young' she thought.
If this was the case… what else could she do?
She sighed.
"It seems that man needs treatment first."
She turned and left the torture chamber with a somber expression.
On her way out, she saw Darnel, Priest Aldren, and Lysette waiting.
She stopped, speaking in a cold tone.
"Darnel, you're dismissed from the Glazareth special forces."
"What!?"
Darnel was shocked.
He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"I… dismissed?" he asked.
"Yes, you're dismissed, and you heard correctly."
Valeska replied with a cold expression.
Darnel stammered, still in disbelief.
"M-May I know the reason?" he asked, stuttering.
Valeska answered.
"You should find out yourself after checking on that man. Don't let him die."
Valeska walked away without looking back.
Lysette watched her go, her brow furrowed.
Why is she acting like this?
'This isn't like her' she thought.
She glanced at Darnel with narrowed eyes.
Questions about Valeska's dismissal swirled in her mind.
She wanted to know what had happened, and what her mother had said to Valeska in the torture chamber.
She would have to find out later.
Darnel, head bowed, entered the torture chamber.
He looked at Hastora, lying unconscious on the floor.
"This man is almost dead."
He knelt, examining Hastora's face closely.
He wanted to know the reason behind his dismissal.
He finally understood after examining his ear.
"There was no purple cross-mark."
"That means… this man isn't marked."
"But how could he hear my men while they were using Selective Sound?"
This was a mystery.
Only marked individuals could hear someone using Selective Sound.
This man… was different.
Did he have some special ability?
Or was the Selective Sound malfunctioning?
He couldn't be sure.
The most important thing now was to treat this man as Valeska had ordered.
He carried him out of the torture chamber to treat his wounds.
***
Valeska von Asterea's room.
Valeska curled up on her bed, hugging the pillow as tears spilled silently down her cheeks.
She remembered the events of a few months ago.
Her father had been murdered by rebels attempting genocide.
She still couldn't forgive them.
But… she had made a terrible mistake.
The event had made her unable to control her emotions.
Although she sometimes appeared calm and sarcastic in front of the rebels, it wasn't true.
She would kill anyone connected to the rebels.
She had killed 200 suspected rebels in the past few months without verifying if they were truly rebels.
But, were those 200 people really rebels?
What if they were innocent like the man earlier?
If that were true…
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A/N:
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Over and out, Zalario