Chapter 39: An Outburst of Despair

“I’ve lost my memory! That’s all! Do you think I don’t look like a nine-year-old?” I continued, speaking sternly.

“Of course not! What child speaks to their elders like that? Ahem!” The prime minister grew angrier as he spoke, even coughing from the strain.

Hearing this, my nose stung a little. Because of the word ‘elder,’ I thought of my parents.

I hadn’t seen them in so long. I hadn’t even looked at their photos, messaged them, or called.

The door I had kept tightly shut in my heart was broken.

The most fragile part of it collapsed.

My eyes darkened. Worry creased my brows. I gave a bitter smile as a tear slipped from the corner of my eye. Shaking my head, I sobbed, “Mm…” Crying, I began to speak: “So do you think an ordinary nine-year-old could survive in a demon’s castle? Those were demons…” I grimaced, forcing a bitter smile as tears fell in large drops.

I couldn’t control my thoughts. I wanted to vent! I wanted someone to comfort me!

“I don’t know why the demon caught me, or who I am, or where I am…” I looked at the prime minister in despair. “You’re the prime minister. I don’t know what it takes to climb to your position. But have you ever endured days where you could only be beaten? Days where your companions died one by one? Days where you had to eat bug soup that tasted worse than crap?! If I didn’t work, I would be killed and turned into food. Have you ever felt that despair?” I shouted desperately.

I saw a flicker of emotion in the prime minister’s eyes. His furious face eased a little.

“But that’s nothing. Do you know how demons interrogate? They use the cruelest methods, playing with my body, tearing it apart, cutting it. Even if I died, they would revive me and keep playing with me, hehehe. Their reason for interrogating me was, ‘You’re a Black Feather, why did you come to our castle?’ And you? Your reason for interrogating me is, ‘You’re a Nocturnal, why did you come to our castle?’ Right? And then, hehe…” I spoke with tears streaming. “Are you planning to play with me too?”

I finished in one breath. Everyone in the room was silent. Though I only saw two of them.

I continued crying, but now my tears were all fake, all an act.

Because what I really wanted to say, what I wanted someone to comfort me about, I didn’t say. I couldn’t bring myself to speak of it.

After about ten seconds, the prime minister still had that face that didn’t dare meet my eyes, but he seemed to sympathize with my plight.

The general said, “Kong Yingcai, do you see now? He’s just a child, a Black Feather, not a Nocturnal. Let him go.”

Prime minister: “Hmm… what he said is indeed true.” (The prime minister looked at the ‘Truth Hourglass’ placed between him and the general. All the cloud sand in the hourglass floated to the top, meaning Jiushi hadn’t told a single lie.) “But! Who knows what Nocturnal magic is like? Maybe he can rely on magic to hide everything about being a Nocturnal.” This old prime minister was really cunning.

I rallied my spirits, my sense of justice flaring as I stared at Kong Yingcai. “If that’s the case, can’t everyone be suspected? Can I suspect that you, Prime Minister, are also a Nocturnal?”

“You!” The old man was choked off, with nothing more to say.

“Take him down!” (Kong Yingcai waved his hand impatiently. Immediately, two soldiers who had been standing at the back of the room walked toward Jiushi.) Was he furious and humiliated?

“Kong Yingcai!” The general couldn’t sit still. He stood up directly.

“What? What? I just said to take him down, not kill him. I think there’s still something odd, so I want to ask the king for a verdict tomorrow in court. That’s only fair,” Kong Yingcai said, still with that cunning demeanor.

“You! Fine! I’ll escort him. You have no objection, do you?” The general walked over to me. I saw him grip his sword hilt. In an instant, he cut the ropes on my hands and feet, then let go of the hilt.

‘Another iaido slash?’

Then I was carried to a cell. Along the way, the general kept whispering to me, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

“Heh, brother, you don’t have to do this for me,” I said with a bitter smile, looking at him.

But he didn’t say another word.

Even though I said ‘along the way,’ there was actually a side door from the interrogation room that led straight down to the dungeon!

So I was quickly taken to a clean cell. On the floor was a white magic circle glowing with a holy light. All the bars and walls were iron plates engraved with runes.

‘Oh, they’re treating me like a tailed beast. They want to seal me.’

My heart was uneasy as I entered the cell.

At that moment, the prime minister, who had come along, took a wooden staff handed to him by an attendant and used magic to summon two iron cuffs on my hands and feet.

The sudden weight made me fall to my knees involuntarily.

‘Ah, a scene I’ve seen before…’

“Let’s go, General Cloud. What are you still doing here?” Kong Yingcai taunted.

“Hmph.” The general just snorted and walked away from me.

The general, the prime minister, and several soldiers left together.

‘Ah, what a good general.’

I felt a little touched. I had been in this world for over a month, but this was the first time someone had helped me like this.

Was this the protagonist’s halo?

‘Ah, no, no, no! Don’t jinx it!’

I said silently, then stood up and looked at the cell behind me.

Everything was glowing, a golden, warm light like the sun.

‘The temperature, brightness, and cleanliness are all quite good!’

I comforted myself, dragging the four cuffs, and sat down on the chair at the center of the magic circle.

“Ah–this room is nice. It even has a chair!” I said cute things, even if no one was listening. I liked to hear myself talk.

‘Ah, I’m back in the dungeon. How many times has this been? So annoying. Am I fated to be in dungeons?’

I sat on the chair and imagined my own appearance: a silver-haired little girl, wearing a short-sleeved top and short skirt, sitting cross-legged on the chair.

Egg-white smooth skin, with oversized black and silver iron cuffs, sitting on a chair that emitted light.

Oh, and with my current red eyes. I looked just like a vampire queen. So satisfying. ‘Come to think of it, what happened to that gauze shirt?’

I recalled that when I camped with the general, I had stuffed that translucent gauze shirt into my skirt pocket. But now I felt there was nothing in the pocket.

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