Try Begging Novel - Chapter 88

“The following summer, the late King embarked on a summer retreat, accompanied only by direct royal family members. On their way to the detached palace, the royal family visited a certain monastery. You know what happened next without me having to tell you.”

A bomb exploded in the chapel. The late King and several heirs to the throne died instantly. It was a shocking event still talked about nearly 30 years later.

He heard rumors that the King’s body was found under a collapsed cross, leading to absurd talk of God’s wrath against the royal family. But it was eventually revealed to be the work of rebels.

“How did the rebels know the King’s movements, such top-secret information?”

For decades, the current King had tried to uncover it, but it remained a mystery.

“When I investigated out of curiosity, I found that you, Commander, were among those responsible for security at the time.”

“What of it? I’ve already undergone an official investigation and faced no charges. Slander is a grave crime.”

Leon ignored the commander’s bluster and connected the two seemingly disparate events: the mistress and the assassination.

“Immediately after that incident, Nora Watson disappeared, claiming she was returning to her hometown to care for her ailing mother. In fact, that married woman gave birth to your daughter, Commander, and raised her as her husband’s child.”

The commander’s eyes began to waver again.

“Her husband must have known it wasn’t his child. He must have been the one who ordered her to become your mistress, Commander.”

Leon pointed his index finger at the woman’s composite sketch and asked,

“Do you know this woman’s real name?”

The blood instantly drained from the man’s face, as he sensed his fate would change the moment her real name was uttered. Leon articulated, letter by letter, the name he had always gritted his teeth and spat out.

“Angela Riddle.”

The teal eyes turned stark blue with terror. They were no different from the eyes he had seen in the annex before coming here.

“The very Riddle who killed my father.”

The commander suddenly tried to flip over the composite sketch. But his trembling hands, visibly shaking, kept slipping, unable to grasp the paper. Even his fingertips were as bloodless as his face.

“There’s a line you shouldn’t cross, even when committing misconduct. Truly excellent words.”

Leon calmly retrieved the evidence of misconduct, far more devastating than his own, and invisibly fastened a dog collar around the commander’s neck.

“Yes, that’s right. I am indeed holding a rebel captive in the torture chamber and using her for private purposes.”

“……”

“A rebel with rare teal eyes. Evidence, Commander, that you unknowingly participated in the King’s assassination.”

At the revelation that the rebel Leon held captive was his illegitimate daughter, the commander’s face looked like a man who had a grenade with its pin pulled thrown in front of him.

“Damn it…”

His face soon contorted horribly, and the elderly man groaned, clutching his neatly pomaded brown hair.

“Captain…”

His voice, which moments ago had been like a roaring beast, was now as thin as a mouse’s squeak.

“As it happens, I have a report to send to His Majesty the King, and I suppose I should send this along with it. His Majesty will undoubtedly be very curious about the truth of how his father passed away.”

As the blackmailed commander slowly reached his hand under the desk, Leon twisted his lips into a smile and warned,

“I hope you don’t believe killing me will solve anything. My family has a safe. A safe named, ‘If I am murdered, expose what is inside.’”

Leon shook the file in his hand.

“This is a copy, and I put the original in that safe before coming here.”

“Now, Captain Winston, please, have a seat.”

The commander, trembling like an old man with a stroke, offered the chair in front of the desk, but Leon stood tall like a god, looking down upon the pathetic creature.

Isn’t a god omniscient, omnipotent, and holding the power over life and death? At this moment, he was a god.

Daisy, Sally, Grace Riddle. Whatever.

That damned woman who had reduced him to a fool had made him a god.

“In fact, do you know that the inspector was sent by His Majesty to pressure me about the report? It caused me quite a bit of trouble, but if I offer this…”

Each time Leon lightly shook the file, the commander held his breath, as if facing a blade dancing in the hands of an executioner.

“The audit will be stopped immediately, and I will become a hero.”

“Wait, just a moment…”

“Of course, if you, Commander, stop the audit, such a thing won’t happen.”

“Of course, of course.”

A father easier to tame than his daughter, it seemed.

“Oh dear… I wanted to be a hero. A bit of a shame.”

Leon smiled contentedly before his dog, who, unlike when he had barked fiercely moments ago, now meekly tucked his tail.

As the commander and his aides ascended, a group of officers descending the stairs moved aside and saluted in unison. The commander, who had been graciously returning their salutes, quickly averted his gaze the moment his eyes met those of a young officer standing a distance away from the group.

He’s acting like he’s seen a ghost.

As the commander passed, Leon lowered his hand and twisted his lips.

He resumed walking. As he passed the group of junior officers, envious gazes followed him.

Leon was well aware of the rumors circulating among the officers these days. Rumors that he, a mere captain, was receiving the commander’s full favoritism after secretly launching a dirty offensive against the new commander.

He even heard the phrase, “Winston is Davenport’s dog.”

Leon merely smiled.

Who was the real dog, though?

Commander Davenport was a quite useful guard dog. Since that day, he had chased away everything that bothered him.

Whether at the mansion or at headquarters, Leon never saw the inspector’s face again.

Of course, Leon’s retaliation didn’t end there.

His mother, who had heard from the gatekeeper and butler that the inspector had visited that day, would not have remained still. Leon knew this and allowed it to happen.

Rumors spread instantly. They reached the royal society, which always kept the military in check due to the power struggle between the military and the parliament, and the King, who had no choice but to consider their sentiments, dismissed the inspector.

That’s how tails get cut off when one is overly loyal.

The Winston family eventually received a very polite letter of apology from the former inspector, now a major general relegated to a sinecure.

The man must have been quite bewildered by the commander’s sudden change in attitude. But that’s how connections work. The person with the thicker rope always wins.

Thanks to this, the woman was still in his hands. He was maintaining an appropriate emotional distance quite smoothly. Though she seemed to be completely submissive at times, she occasionally tried to get the better of him, which was a headache.

Grace, darling. Try to be a little more like your father.

Sinclair had long since delivered the investigation report through the Grand Duke. Since then, there had been no further word from the Grand Duke.

Everything was resolved, and the days were peaceful.

But as he entered the underground interrogation room at his superior’s summons, that brief peace shattered.

“Captain Winston, you’re finally here.”

“……”

Leon, who was about to salute Lieutenant Colonel Humphrey, who was already there, froze.

Why is he here?

The man sitting at the interrogation table, handcuffed, was Jeffrey Sinclair, the eldest son of the Sinclair family.

Leon walked past the table and approached the lieutenant colonel, who was leaning against the wall.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, an emergency arrest warrant suddenly came down from above while you were out this morning.”

Emergency arrest? Suddenly? It all sounded preposterous.

“Is this within our jurisdiction?”

The Sinclair family’s base was in the east, not the west.

“As it happens, this man visited Winsford today.”

From the lieutenant colonel’s leisurely reply, Leon read many truths.

The “above” that issued the arrest warrant was clearly the King.

He must have instructed the lieutenant colonel in advance to arrest Jeffrey Sinclair on the day he came to the west. He had deliberately sent Leon out on an assignment to sideline him, then used an officer under him.

The lieutenant colonel approached Leon, who had turned his gaze to his subordinate sitting opposite Sinclair.

“Captain Winston, a special order came from above for you to conduct the interrogation.”

Special. From above.

It clearly meant to properly finish the task he had been given.

“A good opportunity for further advancement.”

Leon didn’t need advancement.

“We need a confession.”

The lieutenant colonel lowered his voice, subtly giving the instruction, then disappeared out of the interrogation room.

“Just one phone call, please. I need to call my lawyer.”

Jeffrey Sinclair demanded, and the lieutenant colonel sitting opposite him scoffed.

“You seem unfamiliar with the law, but those arrested by the military on suspicion of rebel activity cannot be accompanied by a lawyer during interrogation.”

Rebel activity, he said.

Leon picked up the file laid out before the lieutenant. The file was packed with evidence. It even bore the seal of the Western Command Intelligence Bureau, proving that the investigation and verification were complete.

Investigation? By whom, exactly?

Within the Western Command Intelligence Bureau, rebel investigations were the responsibility of the domestic intelligence division, which Leon headed. It was impossible for all this to have happened without his knowledge.

This also came from above.

The phrase “we need a confession” meant that the evidence existed; they just needed to secure the confession.

Flipping through the documents, searching for a link between Jeffrey Sinclair and the rebels, Leon narrowed his eyes.