The Other Twisted Princess

"A-Ahh…"

Azu and Orleans, having been made to watch the waterboarding, held hands and trembled in a corner of the room.

It was understandable.

They had probably never seen anything like this before.

Alexia was playing with her hair, looking uninterested, while Elza simply stood there.

"Amateurs are so soft. If you've trained to hold your breath, that kind of thing has no effect at all."

"Don't mutter such terrifying things. What if it blows back on us?"

"Yes, yes. I'll just quietly observe her technique."

According to Finn, that didn't even count as much of a torture.

Though if it were me, I couldn't imagine being able to endure it.

Only the sound of splashing water echoed through the room.

"That's enough."

Even while being held by both arms, the embezzler breathed frantically, desperate for oxygen, and fearfully looked up at Princess Tianis. His face showed no trace of the contempt from before.

Only fear and pleading seeped through.

"Was it painful?"

"Y-Yes. Please stop."

"Stop?"

The embezzler trembled when he saw Princess Tianis about to signal the guards again.

"Please stop! I'll die from this!"

"You're exaggerating. It might be painful, but this much won't kill anyone. Though I have heard it might leave permanent damage."

"Hiii."

Fortunately, he didn't seem to have any training, so the waterboarding was having a strong effect.

Princess Tianis seemed satisfied with the result and smiled.

Her cheeks seemed a bit redder than usual, giving her an alluring air.

Perhaps she had sadistic blood in her.

"You've become quite obedient now. I like obedient people. I don't like deceiving or being deceived. You understand that, don't you?"

"Y-Yes. Your Highness."

"Then let me ask. You stole supplies from the soup kitchen. There's no mistake, correct?"

"…"

"It seems you've become disobedient again. I'd like to meet the obedient you once more."

"W-Wait. It was us. We did it!"

Perhaps fearing another waterboarding, the embezzler hurriedly answered.

He must have been so terrified that he confessed.

Inflict suffering, then carve the memory of that suffering into them.

Once that was done, the other party would fear that memory on their own. So that was how it worked.

No wonder rulers used torture.

There was no more convenient whip than this.

Though from Yohane's perspective, it wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Do you have any other accomplices besides yourselves?"

"N-No."

"Is that so."

His face was plunged into the bucket again.

This time, a little longer than before.

When pulled up, the man was completely limp.

"I know that at the very least, whoever received the goods from you was in on it. I said we caught them, remember? … Oh, he passed out. Who's next, I wonder."

The embezzlers' accomplices tried to back away but were immediately blocked by the room's wall.

The guards tossed the unconscious man aside and brought another man before Princess Tianis.

That man shook his head as he looked at the unconscious one.

It seemed he was refusing to accept that it was now his turn for the waterboarding he had been made to watch repeatedly.

"I won't make you suffer any more than this if you talk honestly. So will you tell me everything obediently?"

Princess Tianis rose from her chair, brushed back her hair, and brought her face close to the man.

Perhaps because of her beautiful features, it only heightened the terror.

Their spirits broken, the culprits finally began to talk honestly.

"I see. I understand most of it now. One last question… Who ordered you to do this?"

"We came up with it ourselves. No one commanded us. We thought it would make for good pocket money."

"Then that would make you the masterminds. Meaning all of you face capital punishment."

"Capital punishment!? For just some theft? That's too harsh!"

"Too harsh? Is it? Many people spent sleepless nights going hungry. You stole what the royal family had prepared, so it seems only natural to me… But if you truly aren't the masterminds, I won't make the punishment that severe. I promise on my name."

The man seemed to be deliberating considerably.

Princess Tianis waited patiently for his answer.

"W-Will you really not execute us?"

"I don't lie."

"… W-We received a letter. Saying there was a lucrative deal and asking if we wanted to try it."

"A letter? From whom?"

"Don't know. But it also said that even if we got caught, they'd get us out of it. So we thought we didn't have to worry."

"Unbelievable. You believed someone whose identity you didn't even know? That's why your work was so sloppy in places. Well, it made things easier for us. So where's this letter?"

"He still has it."

He pointed at the man who had been waterboarded first and passed out.

Princess Tianis made a distasteful face, then had the guards search the unconscious man's pockets.

A single letter came out.

It was a bit wet, but apparently still readable. After skimming it, she handed it to me.

She wanted me to read it, I suppose.

I read through it quickly.

In summary, it was an invitation saying they didn't have to worry about the aftermath and asking if they wanted to do a lucrative job.

Their cut would be half of the money obtained.

The budget allocated for the soup kitchen was a substantial amount.

If they could get half of that with no worry of getting caught, I suppose it would look like a sweet deal.

"What do you think?"

"It's too suspicious by any measure. The moment they claim you won't get caught, there's intent to deceive."

"I would have torn it up immediately. Because this is clearly wrong."

"They probably weren't thinking at all, were they?"

"A lesson in vice, hmm."

"There are much better jobs out there…"

Even Azu and the others had harsh assessments.

Even for underhanded work, this was pathetic. No matter how you looked at it, they were destined to be discarded.

And this was the result.

Honest work was definitely the way to go.

"Doesn't seem like we can squeeze anything more out of them. Go ahead and waterboard all of them. After that, send them to the mines. Process it that way."

"B-But, that's—!"

"As promised, I'll spare you from capital punishment. If you work in the mines, you can contribute to the Kingdom too."

"Wait, please wait!"

His final cry was in vain as he was dragged away by the guards.

"It looks like it'll still take a while to resolve. It would be a problem if the mastermind just found some other random people to do it again."

"That's true. However…"

"What?"

"No, I was just thinking that you would resort to such measures."

"Oh, the torture? My older sister… Not Anatia-neesan. My actual older sister. She rather enjoyed it. She gleefully taught it to me. So I know a fair bit."

"I see."

Even saying that bashfully, her words weren't cute at all.

But her actual older sister… That would be the retired First Princess, Her Highness Yupe.

What a remarkably twisted hobby to have.

I hope we can learn something from this letter.

Or perhaps it would be better to trace where the funds were sent.