CHAPTER 63: ELENA’S INVESTIGATIONS 2

(Third Person POV)

After a few minutes of Elena sitting on the bench and waiting, a middle-aged man entered the restaurant. He looked pale, and signs of malnutrition were clear on his face.

He walked down the center of the room, surrounded by several people wearing white armor.

He looked nervously at Elena, who was sitting quietly in front of him, and took a deep breath before approaching her.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking the citizens of our city without reason?"

Elena didn’t turn to look at him. She remained seated, playing with her phone for a while before finally raising her head.

The man felt a shiver run down his spine because of her cold, red eyes staring at him. He swallowed hard.

"I’m a bit thirsty. Go get me a glass of water."

She pointed at the middle-aged man and spoke in an indifferent tone.

"What! How dare you, woman? I am the Baron. You have no right to order me!"

The man was furious. Her words had wounded his pride.

The guards stood on high alert, watching the woman’s every move.

"Oh, right. I didn’t show this yet. One moment."

Elena began searching through the bag on her back before pulling out a blue ring with a white gem.

The Baron was terrified the moment he saw the ring and thought he must be dreaming.

"You! How are you carrying that ring? That’s the Emperor’s Ring!"

In the Tirshtain Empire, unlike other empires where the crown represented the Emperor’s status, the ring of the Tirshtain family was the symbol of the Emperor.

It was the same ring worn by hundreds of emperors over more than six thousand years.

Before Elena had left, Orlax had given her the ring to use its authority to conduct her investigation without trouble.

Thus, Elena had no need to hide her identity and had directly summoned the Baron.

Since she possessed the ring, she had been granted immense authority. Everyone in the empire was to follow her orders as if they came from the Emperor himself.

She wore the ring on her left hand and looked at it briefly before lifting her head to the man standing before her.

"What are you waiting for? Didn’t I tell you to bring me a glass of water? If you don’t move now, I’ll arrest you for defying the Emperor’s orders."

The Baron’s face turned pale when he heard those words, and he quickly ran to fetch the water.

Moments later, he returned, carefully carrying a glass filled with water.

Elena took the glass, took a sip, and set it aside.

"Now then, Baron, we have a lot to discuss. Why don’t we go somewhere more private?"

"Of course, of course. Please, follow me."

The Baron moved toward his mansion, and Elena followed him, observing the strange behavior of the guards.

’Hmm, they’re not letting him walk alone.’

They arrived at the Baron’s mansion, which looked worn down and neglected.

There weren’t many servants along the way, hinting at the poor conditions there.

Elena sat on a couch in the Baron’s office while he sat across from her, visibly nervous.

"Well then, Baron, tell me, what’s stopping me from arresting you right now?"

Elena leaned back comfortably on the couch, eyes closed.

"My lady, why would you arrest me? Have I committed a crime I’m not aware of?"

The Baron spoke with a nervous look, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Don’t play dumb. In what place are taxes set at 90%? You’re killing people out of pure greed."

The air in the room grew colder as Elena opened her eyes and stared at him intensely.

"My lady, since the Imperial Court didn’t object, I see no issue with it."

’The Imperial Court? Could they be involved in this situation?’

The Imperial Court was a separate, independent authority from the Emperor. Its responsibilities primarily included managing and monitoring the nobility.

But it wasn’t authorized to interfere in imperial affairs directly.

’Well then, time for the hard way.’

Elena stood slowly from the couch and walked toward the Baron, stopping right in front of him.

"Well then, Baron, are you going to talk, or..."

"Or what?"

The Baron leaned back on the couch, staring at her in deep fear.

Suddenly, he felt excruciating pain in his right arm. He tried to scream, but his mouth wouldn’t open.

"Ummgh!"

"Shhh, don’t make a scene."

Tears streamed down the Baron’s face as he stared into Elena’s cold eyes.

"I’ve just broken your right arm. If you don’t get it treated quickly, you may never use it again. So, talk. Fast."

The Baron looked at his arm, and his eyes widened in horror. It was so disfigured, it was unrecognizable.

"I’ll make you talk now. Keep it short."

The restraint on the Baron’s mouth vanished, and he immediately began screaming.

"Aaaghh! My arm! My arm! You devil! Why did you do this?! My arm!"

He held his arm, sobbing uncontrollably from the pain.

Slap!

A look of disgust appeared on Elena’s face as she watched the Baron in his pitiful state. She couldn’t bear it anymore and slapped him.

"Shut up. Talk now, or I’ll break your other arm."

The Baron held his cheek in shock, still feeling the sting from her slap.

"I swear I don’t know anything! The Duke of the South ordered me and several others to raise taxes and send the money to him!"

Elena listened carefully, then took a moment to process the information. Something felt off.

"Why didn’t anyone say anything to the Emperor?"

A bitter smile appeared on the Baron’s face at her question.

"The Duke took our children as hostages. If any of us spoke up, he would kill them all."

’This just keeps getting more and more complicated.’

"These guards seem odd. Are they...?"

"Yes, the Duke sent them to keep an eye on me."

Elena sat back down on the couch to gather her thoughts.

’But how could the Duke do all this and not face punishment from the Imperial Court? Unless...’

"You—tell me. Is the Imperial Court involved in this?"

The Baron’s face turned to sheer terror, and he refused to speak.

"No, no! I don’t know anything about that! Please don’t involve me—I have nothing to do with it!"

"So they are involved, huh."

Elena held her head as a headache set in while she imagined the implications.

’If the Imperial Court is involved in all this... everything changes. I must inform the Emperor immediately.’

Elena stood from the couch and looked at the Baron for a moment before stepping forward and grabbing his other hand.

"Aaagh!"

She broke his left arm and walked away from him.

"I don’t like leaving things unfinished."

Elena took out her phone and called the Emperor to report her findings.

"Elena, what is it?" came Orlax’s calm voice through the phone.

"Your Majesty, I have something to tell you. It’s like this..."

Elena began explaining everything she had discovered, then waited for his instruction.

"Alright. If the dam construction request was made by the citizens and not the Baron—"

"Yes."

"Elena, I want you to go to the Duke of the South and arrest him. As for the Imperial Court, I’ll handle them myself."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Elena ended the call, put the phone in her pocket, and began heading toward the Southern Duchy.

The distance wasn’t far from her current location, so she arrived in about an hour.

She entered a city that appeared developed and prosperous, unlike the surrounding cities that mostly suffered.

The people walked the streets looking content.

’You vile man. Today, I’ll make you suffer more than those people ever did.’

Elena made her way to the Duke’s palace, her cold gaze sending shivers through the people around her.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital—

Orlax sat in his office, reflecting on the information Elena had provided.

"The Imperial Court, huh? In the game, Orlax wiped them out when he was seventeen—about three years from now. But I guess I’ll do it now."

Orlax rose from his chair, left his office, and headed toward Alice’s room.

There, he found her sitting on her bed, reading a book, with Sera asleep in her lap.

"Alice, I need you to come with me."

Upon hearing his words, Alice closed her book, gently laid Sera down on the bed, and stood up.

"Alright. Where are we going?"

"We’ll go to the Imperial Court."

Alice nodded at these words and silently followed Orlax.

They both left the Imperial Palace and headed toward the court.

The court was located at the far end of the capital, in an empty space with only the giant court building standing in front of it.

Orlax stood with Alice next to him, looking at the large court before him.

It was a giant palace with a golden dome above it that showed the prestige of the imperial court.

He took a deep breath before stepping forward and entering.

"This is going to be a little troublesome."