Interrogation

"Cyrus... Cavendish."

His position in the Holy Church was not low, and he was a minor noble himself, holding a small fief in Brilliant City.

While he was not wealthy enough to rival a nation, he was certainly prosperous and well-off, living a perfectly happy life.

Therefore, I was very curious.

Why would he defect to the demon army?

Only by understanding this deeply could I prevent the appearance of a second Cyrus.

"Lola."

"Your Highness."

At my call, Lola understood perfectly and presented a file to me.

Sitting on the wooden chair, I flipped through the file, which contained all the information regarding Cyrus.

"Cyrus, twenty-four years old. He has one wife and one concubine, two sons and a daughter. Usually kind and charitable, he commanded five hundred soldiers and held high prestige in the army. His family owns fifty acres of fertile land, with thirty households and one hundred and twenty-two fief residents under him. Such a family is not incredibly wealthy, but they are at least well-off."

After reading this, I closed the file.

I looked at the knight before me, who seemed to have absolutely no reason to defect.

"So I am curious, Cyrus... why did you join the demon army?"

"Why? Hehe... Hahaha! The Lady Saintess of the Holy Church is actually asking me why I joined the demons?! That is hilarious!"

Watching Cyrus laugh maniacally, I nodded seriously.

"Yes. It is precisely because I am the Saintess and must protect the tens of millions of people in Brilliant City and the Kingdom of the Moon. It is because I am the Saintess that I must shelter you Temple knights. It is because I am the Saintess that I am sitting here patiently asking you, Cyrus... please answer me. Why did you join the demons? You are a Temple knight with a wealthy home, a wife, and a concubine. While not exactly a harem, you have a family and children. Why do this?"

Cyrus began by laughing, but as my voice continued, he gradually withdrew his arrogant smile and studied me seriously.

"No wonder the demon army lost this raid. It was not an undeserved defeat. However, I also want to ask... who exactly are you?"

"I am who I am. I am the Saintess of the Moon and Brilliance of the Holy Church."

Cyrus stared fixedly at me. In that moment... time seemed to freeze.

After staring for a long while, Cyrus seemed to think of something, and his expression darkened as he looked at me.

"Then... respected Your Highness, why have you personally come to this filthy prison to interrogate a traitor of the human race like me?"

"As I said before, I am here to understand you, and to prevent another Cyrus Cavendish from appearing. As the Saintess, I must ensure my knights live prosperous and healthy lives, and ensure my people live in peace and happiness."

Cyrus was stunned for a long moment, then let out a long sigh.

"If you had appeared in Brilliant City twenty years earlier, perhaps... I would not have become like this."

I did not speak, simply watching Cyrus in silence. The remaining human part of his face showed a hint of reminiscence.

"You have likely investigated the events of the past ten years thoroughly. However... you probably do not know what happened twenty years ago."

"I am all ears."

"The Cavendish family... do you know how this family started their fortune?"

I frowned slightly and looked back at Lola.

Lola quickly grasped my meaning and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Slave trading."

Although Lola's voice was very low, Cyrus still heard it.

He glanced at Lola, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

"Correct. The Cavendish family built their wealth on the slave trade. And my mother... was one of those many slaves."

Great!

The news I least wanted to hear had appeared!

The slave system was not something that could be changed overnight by my efforts alone.

But now, Cyrus's situation was directly tied to it.

This was going to be difficult to handle.

I lowered my head slightly, a flash of anxiety in my eyes.

Cyrus seemed to sense my unease and laughed.

"The fact that you can show such an emotion proves you truly want to solve this problem. But I know... I understand that this is not something you can solve alone."

At this point, his voice became somewhat ethereal.

"My mother was a princess of a small southern country. I no longer remember the name of the country because my mother never mentioned it in my memories... she was a slave. After her country was destroyed, she went through several hands before finally falling into the possession of the current head of the Cavendish family, Fulong. I was born after a night of drunken indulgence."

He looked up at me, his face filled with deep bitterness.

"Do you even know what kind of bullying a slave's child faces in a great family? I saw it with my own eyes... Fulong's primary wife, that woman, threw boiling water on my mother!!! Boiling water!! What did my mother do wrong?! What did I do wrong?! Why did we, mother and son, have to endure so much pain?! Lady Saintess! Please answer me!! Answer me!!"

Suddenly, Cyrus's emotions surged violently, and the crimson in his pupils began to spread into the whites of his eyes!

That was the characteristic of a high-level fiend going berserk!!

Only a fiend above level thirty possessed this berserk ability!

'Thud!'

A fist the size of a copper pot struck Cyrus in the face.

Instantly, Cyrus went silent.

Sake's bull face turned to look at me.

"Your Highness, I am afraid we cannot continue the questioning."

"Why?"

I had just reached the most critical part. Why couldn't we continue?

"A demon's berserk state lasts for an entire day. For the next twenty-four hours, no matter how many times he wakes up, he will immediately fall back into a frenzy."

Old Sake explained in his heavy, muffled voice.

I let out a long breath.

"In that case, take him back to his cell."

"You got it!"

Sake quickly unfastened Cyrus from the iron rack. Holding the chain in one hand, he dragged the unconscious Cyrus across the floor, his heavy footsteps thudding as he headed into the depths of the prison.

Watching Cyrus being dragged away, my heart was filled with mixed emotions.

It seemed that even if I could not completely change the slave system, I should at least start preparing to improve the status of slaves.

Otherwise, situations like Cyrus's would likely happen again in the future!

In fact... there might even be people like him among the current Temple knights.

"Lola, I remember there was something else we needed to do. Let's..."