“I told you, inside the carriage.”

“No. It’s not that; is this…?”

Raven couldn’t continue his sentence and pursed his lips. It seemed like he wanted to see outside the carriage, but the window was already closed, and the curtain was drawn to block the view.

Revanpelle, who had been quietly holding his fist, stepped forward.

“Why? Do you want to ask if this is where the Perdik experiment is taking place?”

“…Huh? Perdik experiment?”

Revanpelle threw out a question as if testing Raven. However, Raven’s face showed more confusion than being caught off guard.

When the four of us exchanged glances, Raven quickly intervened.

“Perdik experiment? What does that mean?”
“Raven. Before asking where this is, we need to know why you are here.”

“Yes?”

“What’s your relationship with the thugs you fought against?”

Raven’s face quickly stiffened. He raised his upper body again and retreated backward as if on guard.

“How did you know I fought with those thugs?”

“The Imperial Knights were undercover to catch that thug.”

“The Imperial Knights were undercover? Why would the Imperial Knights personally go undercover to catch those thugs and…”

Raven, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly stopped talking. Then, he pondered the words Revanpelle had used a while ago.

“A while ago, Your Majesty asked me about the Perdik experiment, right?”

Raven’s eyes trembled.

“Could it be that these authors are related to the Perdik experiment?”

“Raven.”

“Yes?”

“You used to be afraid of swords.”

At my words, Raven lifted his head. His blue eyes met mine. The undulating blue eyes seemed like unending tear ducts.

“But now your body is covered in sword wounds. How should I accept this?”

“This is…”

“Raven, I don’t care about why you are here or what reason brought you. What’s important to us now is one thing.”

“…”

“Whether you are on the same side as those thugs or an enemy.”

Raven, with a troubled expression, tightly bit his lips.

“You need to answer carefully.”

As I finished speaking, Revanpelle and Clint moved forward ominously.

“Because there are two impatient people here.”

With a frightened face, Raven looked alternately at Revanpelle and Clint, who were now in front of me.

It was a face that realized he couldn’t run away or win against these two.

“I… I…”

“I’m just telling you just in case, but it’s better not to lie. We’ve already finished a light interrogation on the thugs we caught. If your stories don’t match…”

“Can I ask you one thing?”

Raven interrupted my words. Instead of continuing the conversation, I nodded my head, urging him to ask.

“Are those thugs conducting the Perdik experiment?”

Before I could answer, Revanpelle delved into the conversation between Raven and me.

“He’s just asking without answering anything. You probably already noticed it.”

“…”

“There’s no need to act disgusting. We’ve already figured it out. Did you leave the Liraneph mansion to meet Generba?”

Raven raised his puzzled eyebrows.

“Generba?”

“I can only kill Liraneph Marquis; he’s the only one. Even if you’re his son, it won’t change anything.”

“Wait a minute… Revanpelle!”

Swish.

I urgently called Revanpelle, but he had already drawn his sword.
Given the urgency of the situation, it might be because there was no time to wait for Raven’s response, or perhaps he was even more angered by thoughts of himself and the children as victims.

“Revampelle. Calm down.”

Anyway, Revampelle was extremely furious.

“Whether you are an enemy or an ally with those thugs doesn’t matter. In the first place, I’m not such a kind person to care about that…”

“Aaaargh!”

Before Revampelle could finish his sentence, Raven, who saw the sword in his hand, had a seizure.

Raven crouched down, clutching his head with both hands, screaming wildly, as if someone were trying to kill him.

Startled by the sudden situation, Revampelle stepped back in surprise.

‘It’s the same as I saw in the reception room…’

The trembling figure, like a willow tree, protecting himself. Even his face turned pale, unable to breathe properly.

“Sword, sword, sword!”

This is not smoke. It was a truly terrifying sight.

I quickly grabbed a blanket and covered the sword Revampelle was holding. Then, after placing Revampelle on the opposite chair, I blocked the view between the two.

“Raven! The sword is gone now!”

“H-huuh…”

“It’s okay! You can breathe now!”

Tears that had been trapped in Raven’s blue eyes flowed down his cheeks.

Following my words, Raven gasped for breath with great effort.

“Sorry, Raven.”

I comforted him, apologizing softly.

I thought he might be pretending to be afraid of the sword. That is, it might be a lie to deceive me.

He fights against those thugs, despite being afraid of swords, and even gets cut by them.

“Raven is afraid of the sword. I’ve seen it before. It’s not an act.”

Turning to Revampelle, I explained, and he slowly lowered the sword in his hand.

“Is it because of the incident with your brother?”