Chapter 96 - Vengeance is a dish, and oh gods, I’m hungry

Chapter 96: Chapter 96 - Vengeance is a dish, and oh gods, I’m hungry [CW: the last part of the Chapter has some implicit gory acts.] This isn’t satisfactory at all. Motherfucker Duke Addlington is being escorted to the dungeon and will be executed tomorrow. But it feels empty. He will be decapitated, and that’s a death too quick and clean. It. Is. Not. Enough. There is a quote from a webcomic from Earth that I used to love, the one with the people drawn as stick figures who go on a tabletop RPG adventure. The quote is from a villain in that comic, when a hero tells him that ’in the end’ the good will always win. I don’t remember the exact words, but the meaning I’ll carry with me forever. ’Sure, the last ten minutes of my life will be sad, but I will have lived like a god for decades before a hero is able to kill me. So I don’t really care about it.’ That man lived lavishly, inflicting pain on others for decades, and now he will die in one single cut of a sword, and it’ll be the end of it. It isn’t fair. He deserves worse than that. I want him to suffer, even if only a fraction of the suffering he has inflicted on others. "Aurea. What is going through your mind?" "Huh?" I’m still on the carriage. At my side are Lovelace and Mother. In front of us are the king, queen, and prince. Grandfather, grandmother, and uncle Jyllian. The one who asked me the question is grandma Thieda. "You seem troubled and uneasy. Has something happened?" "Oh, no, no... I’m just... I just think that the death sentence is too lenient on him." "Your face is too scary right now, dear niece. I can’t even imagine what fate would be worse than death for you to be saying that." Maybe you are just too naïve, dear uncle. "I understand what my daughter is saying. I’ve suffered for twelve years, and he’ll get away with it with just a single cut of the sword." "But you are alive and can build a new life with your daughter. He won’t have that option, dear sister. He will have no life after tomorrow. No plans, no future, nothing." "No future also means no suffering. More often than not, death is a relief, not a punishment, dear brother." "Would you prefer to have been dead the day you were captured, avoiding all the twelve years of suffering, or to be alive today, with your daughter?" "That’s a mean question, brother." "Just answer me. Death or twelve years of suffering, with a daughter and a return home at the end?" "If I died in the moment of capture, Aurea wouldn’t have been born..." "There you have it. Even with all the suffering, death is still a worse fate." I retract my words. That was clever, dear uncle. "He could at least suffer a bit before he dies." "My daughter, my dear Lily. I know that you are agitated, and I recognize your desire for vengeance. Do you want to wield the blade tomorrow?" "Yes, father. I do." "Then, you will be the one to deliver the fatal blow. Make sure to train those arms of yours, as the muscles are probably weakened over the years of captivity. We don’t want it to take more than one chop to cut his head off, do we?" "Thank you, father." Oh, I know that gleam in her eyes. "Grandpa, you are the best." "Hahahahahah. My wonderful granddaughter, it isn’t appropriate for a girl your age to think such things, so leave it all to your mother." "Okay, grandpa. I have one question, though." "Please, ask away, dear Aurea." "The Duke had a hand in the failed coup all those years ago and managed to get away with it. The only way to do it would be with the help of allies, right?" "Right... and...?" "I assume that the knights are already searching his mansions and domain thoroughly. But shouldn’t the man himself be interrogated as well?" "Yes, the knights are, and yes, there are plans to interrogate him overnight." "Please, let mother perform the interrogation as well." And I will sneak in with her, obviously. "Is it something you would like to do, Lily?" "Yes, father." "You will be the one in charge of the interrogation, then. Keep in mind that a scribe has to be witnessing and recording for the information he spills to be valid." "Of course. Thank you, father." Hehehehe... ::: "I will go too, Mom." "No, Aurea. You are a child." "Mother..." "Okay, I know, but even so. Your body is thatof a child." "And so what? I have a full life of anger to unleash on him. For me, for you, for Mimby, Cambucy, Yaci, and all the others. I want to be part of this." "Ugh... There’s no way to change your mind on this, is there?" "No, there isn’t." ::: "Sir Odegart, you might record everything he says, but for all official purposes, you and I are the only ones present here with the prisoner." "Of course, Your Highness." We are actually four in this cell. Five, if we count the prisoner. The knight Odegart, Mother, Lovelace, and I. Lovelace’s main duty is to protect the king against the vampire, so she will be ’off’ most of the time, focused on the fluctuations of mana around the palace. She will participate with us only momentarily, to heal the Duke when he gets too near to passing away. Her heals are able to even regrow lost limbs without leaving any marks, after all. Sir Odegart is a bit pale, looking at us. "I’ve witnessed countless interrogation sessions, but I’ve never seen eyes like the ones on your faces right now. Please, don’t forget that we also have information to collect." "I won’t forget, Sir Odegart. Don’t worry, this little bird will be singing very soon." She walks to the Duke, who is chained to the wall, half naked, whimpering. He sees her approach and cowers. "H-hi, Lady Lillian. I will tell you. I will tell you everything. Please." "Hooo? Easy like this? Do you remember when Aurea escaped, the way you tortured me every night for weeks?" "I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was wrong..." "You’re sorry? How convenient. Are you afraid that I will treat you the same way you treated me?" While Mother teases him, I take a look at the instruments that are over a table in the corner of the room. The light in the dungeon is created by some magical torches that don’t require combustion, but this room also has a special source, a little fireplace, that is already lit. I take some of the iron skewers and put the metal part on the fire. "Do you think that the Duke is feeling a bit cold, Mother? This dungeon is a bit humid, and he is half-naked, after all. We could help him to warm up a little bit." "Oh, great idea, Aurea. What do you say, mister?" "No, no, please!!" "Tell me, who assisted you to capture me?" ::: "Have you written it all down, Sir Odegart?" "Y-yes, Your Highness." "Great. We even have directions to documents that would prove the involvement of the Church, if what he said is true." The Duke is not in a state in which he can speak right now, so he doesn’t even protest. Lovelace is healing him back, so we can do a second round of interrogation. I didn’t expect that interrogating people was this fun. And I haven’t even tested half of these things on the table. This little metallic cord here, is it for inserting where I’m thinking it is? "Mom, how does this work?" ::: Sir Odegart is starting to show signals of tiredness, so maybe it’s time to wrap this up. I don’t think that there is any other information to milk from this guy. And, after six rounds, even I am starting to feel satisfied. "Should we call it a day, Mother? It’s getting a bit late." "Yeah, I think that it was enough. I’m feeling like I took a whole mountain from over my shoulders." "Y-your Highness. T-thank you for your help with the interrogation." Poor Sir Odegart is trembling like a leaf right now. We might have gotten him a bit traumatized.