Chapter 325
Cold sweat poured from Alardus as he looked at the King, unable to respond.
The King had no patience for his nonsense.
He said, “Margaery, you ask.”
Margaery nodded and turned to Alardus. “There are two secret passages. Where is the exit of the other one? Who is an charge over there?”
Alardus remained silent, utterly distraught.
If he spoke, everything would be lost.
This was his own mistake, and it would implicate a large group of people.
Margaery had no intention of letting him go, so she spoke frankly, “Whether you confess voluntarily or not, those who deserve to die will die.”
However, she crouched down and looked at Sigurd. “If you refuse to speak, I will make you wish you were dead.
“When the time comes, we’ll see whether your mouth or your bones are harder.”
This was the first time Alardus faced the young girl from the Wallen family directly, and he found her vastly different from what he remembered or imagined.
In his previous understanding, Margaery, a sixteen–year–old girl from the inner chamber, no matter how capable, could never be a true match for an adult.
The Wallen family and the Hadley family had suffered only because of his own incompetence, which exposed their weaknesses and led to their downfall.
Now, facing Margaery directly, he realized he had completely underestimated her.
Margaery’s eyes were clear, her face still carrying a hint of baby fat, yet her words were decisive and ruthless, and her gaze remained calm and unruffled.
To be precise, she possessed the same qualities as the King.
Moreover, as a young girl, she portrayed someone like Mark so vividly that she even managed to deceive him.
Alardus felt that this time he had truly capsized in the gutter, and deservedly so.
He said, “Just kill me.”
Yet he always believed that, being nearly ten years older than Margaery, there was no way she could force a confession from him, nor did he believe she could produce any particularly effective methods in the Imperial Study.
Therefore, he took a deep breath, looked at Margaery, and a cold, reckless smile appeared in his eyes.
It was provocative and contemptuous as well.
Seeing this, Margaery offered a gentle smile.
“Someone, gag him for me. Her tone was remarkably gentle, not as if she intended to use torture, but rather as if she were
1/4
9:10 pm P PPD
Chapter 325
inviting Alardus for drinks.
Two imperial guards stepped forward and gagged Alardus.
55 vouchers
Margaery unfolded her silver needles and inserted them one by one into Alardus’s acupoints.
Soon, an unbearable itching sensation swept across his entire body, making his eyes widen, driving him mad, causing him 1 struggle, making him want to scream, making him yearn for both ecstasy and death.
The imperial guards held him down.
He could not struggle, tears streamed uncontrollably, and soon his eyes turned bloodshot, his eyeballs nearly bulging out.
“Ready to talk now?”
Margaery looked at him calmly, her face showing not a trace of anger. “If you don’t want to talk, I’ll continue to serve you.
She picked up the silver needles again.
“I’ll confess! I’ll confess!” Alardus could not speak, but in his heart, a single voice screamed, and he nodded frantically.
Margaery smiled, “You’re nodding. Does that mean you want to talk, or not?”
Alardus thought to himself; he wanted to die.
In front of Margaery, he broke down in tears.
“Release him.” Margaery stood up, her smile fading from her face.
The imperial guards removed the cloth from Alardus’s mouth. Alardus sobbed uncontrollably, “Please, please remove the silver needles, I beg you!”
He felt he was about to lose his mind.
His hands were still bound, so he could not relieve the discomfort in his body. Now, he only felt as if his whole body was about to explode, driven to madness.
Margaery put away the silver needles.
Alardus collapsed to the ground; the unbearable itching sensation faded from his body, but his heartbeat remained irregular, as if an invisible fear seeped into his limbs, bones, and the depths of his soul.
It was as if, at this moment, all his life force had been exhausted.
He lay there as if dead, motionless, with only tears streaming from his dry, wide–open eyes, soaking the floor.
In the Imperial Study, not a sound could be heard.
Warren, Estelle, and the Imperial Guards watched this scene, all feeling a chill down their spines.
At that moment, only one thought remained in Warren’s mind: “Smiling tiger, someone who seems friendly but is actually dangerous.
When Margaery interrogated Alardus, there was not a trace of anger on her face, only a gentle, spring–like smile and a wait
Voice.
9/4
9:10 pm PP
Chapter 325
But what was the outcome?
The outcome was that Alardus was on the verge of madnews.
Now, his face was ashen, as if his soul had been drained away.
His feet would occasionally twitch involuntarily, like some dying animal
The King also sighed with emotion.
When they first met, he thought this young girl had the composure to remain calm.
With some cultivation, she could be useful.
Later, he thought she was intelligent; with training, she could take charge independently.
At this moment, he thought this sixteen–year–old girl was not only clever and steady, but also ruthless. Such a person was suited for bold, decisive actions.
In other words, she was fit to accomplish great things.
After a long while, Margaery finally spoke, “I hope Lord Sigurd will explain the other secret passage.”
Alardus felt he did not even have the strength to breathe, let alone resist
Previously, he thought at worst he would endure all seventy–two punishments of the prison. Wasn’t it just pain?
He could endure it.
Now, he realized there were many sensations in this world far worse than pain.
For example, just now, he had already lost his sanity.
At this moment, his mind was still blank; to be precise, his willpower was gone.
He could no longer spare a thought for anyone else.
He spoke, his voice hoarse and trembling. The other secret passage originally ran beneath Springcourt House, but it was later sealed out of necessity. It was dug in from outside the southern city, starting four years ago and continuing until now…
Outside the southern city?
Margaery pondered this, connecting many events together. “So, the bandit crisis four years ago was actually something you deliberately created, wasn’t it?”
Alardus’s eyes widened.
He had only said one sentence.
Why had this young girl before him thought so far ahead?
Margaery looked at him and said, “This matter was suspicious from the start.
“Logically speaking, Southern Mountain outside the city is only a dozen miles from Sinderin City. Even if the bandits were audacious, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble right under the King’s nose.
9:10 pm P PPD
Chapter 325
55 vouchers
“So, that bandit turmoil was fake; what you truly needed was manpower. But these people couldn’t just appear out of thin air, so you brought in mountain bandits from elsewhere, didn’t you?”
Alardus was stunned. “Well…”
Warren was also stunned and instinctively glanced at the King.
The King looked at Margaery, deep in thought.
In his heart, a subtle feeling arose: This young girl is so clever. If only she were his daughter.
But then he reconsidered: if she were his daughter, it would likely lead to a struggle for succession, with her and Dashnell fighting to the death.
Perhaps it is better this way.
Margaery was unaware of how her deductions affected those around her. She continued, “During the bandit crisis, you cleverly achieved two goals: first, you used it as a chance to sideline General Griffith so he had to recuperate; then you took the opportunity to place your own people within the city’s defense forces.
“Second, you gave Lord Sigurd the chance to suppress the bandits, allowing you to claim military credit. Under the cover of this operation, you secretly turned these people into your labor force and began excavating the tunnel.”
At this point, she abruptly changed the subject, fixing her gaze on Alardus. “So, there is one thing I am quite curious about.
“Back then, those people Lord Sigurd killed, where did they come from?
“I suspect they were not mountain bandits at all, but rather dissenters you wanted eliminated, correct?”
Margaery let out a cold laugh, so chilling that it made Alardus’s soul freeze.
AB
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
