Chapter 14: Interrogation
In the dark night of Kankerdar, the church prison ship belonging to the Inquisition, the Fire, was docked at the port pier. In the cabin of the Fire, in a narrow, long, rusty corridor, Inquisitor Clifton walked quickly on it, followed by two followers, and their target was a blocked iron door at the end of the corridor.
Arriving at the iron gate at the end of the corridor, Clifton personally took out the key and opened it. After the iron gate was opened, a steel fence appeared in front of him. Behind the iron fence was a man who was tied up with shackles all over his body, wearing a thin prison uniform, with small wounds and blood all over his body, and a look of horror on his face. He was Kidd, one of the guards of the Adust Mission.
After seeing Clifton suddenly appear in front of him, the imprisoned Kidd showed obvious fear on his face, and he subconsciously shrank back a little. Clifton glanced coldly at the prisoner in front of him, and then slowly spoke.
"Reverend Hank Kidd colluded with the heretics of the Savior Sect and assassinated the Baruch royal family in public. The evidence is conclusive and witnessed by everyone. What else do you want to say..." Listening to Clifton's words, Kidd shuddered and then spoke hurriedly.
"No, I didn't intend to assassinate anyone! I was accused! I knew nothing at the time. I was accused by someone else for no apparent reason while I was sleeping. I didn't know what happened until I woke up! Please investigate this, Your Excellency the Judge!"
With a panicked tone, Kidd looked at Clifton and spoke loudly, but Clifton continued to speak silently without changing his tone.
"Accused? Haha... Many prisoners who come to us try to use this excuse to justify their crimes. There are not so many extraordinary abilities in this world that can arbitrarily accuse others. You said you were accused, do you have any evidence? If you can't produce evidence, then it's just an excuse!"
"I……"
Listening to Clifton's words, Kidd wanted to say something to explain, but the words he wanted to say were stuck in his mouth for a moment, and he didn't know how to say it. Indeed, he did not have any evidence to prove that he was not accused, but in the eyes of others, his attempted assassination was indeed true.
Seeing Kidd at a loss in front of him, Clifton's mouth curled up slightly, then he took a step forward and continued to speak to Clifton in an oppressive manner.
"If you can't produce evidence, then you are colluding with the heretic assassins. This is irrefutable. You also know what the consequences will be for a Saint Warrior who colludes with heretics."
"Collaborating with heretics is... a capital crime..." Looking at the approaching Clifton, Kidd said in a trembling voice in panic. Clifton, who seemed very satisfied with his appearance, nodded and then continued speaking.
"Yes, colluding with heretics is a great blasphemy against the Lord, even more serious than colluding with pagans. It is an unforgivable sin. Once convicted, there is no room for rebuttal... This time when I came to Kankedar, I was granted the right to conduct an immediate investigation, as well as the right to conduct an immediate trial and the right to execute. This Pyre also has the power of execution. Father Kidd, do you want me to lead you out now and let me choose a method of execution for you?"
With a slightly dangerous tone, Clifton looked at Kidd and spoke, for other special envoy guards, Clifton still needed to interrogate them, but for Kidd, who had direct assassination intentions, Clifton could sentence him to death without even a trial. It could be said that Kidd's life and death was completely in Clifton's hands.
Hearing Clifton's words, Kidd's panic became even worse, and his whole body suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably, his eyes widened and his expression became distorted. Because of the fear of death, his inner emotions were turbulent, and he finally burst out unable to bear it any longer.
"Have mercy, Judge! Please have mercy! I am really not a heretic! I really don't want to die! Please have mercy! As long as you can spare me, you can ask me to do anything! I am willing to do anything!"
Under the threat of death, Kidd had a mental breakdown. With tears in his eyes, he begged Clifton humbly. Clifton looked at Kidd and pretended to think for a while, then he looked at Clifton and spoke slowly.
"Actually... there is a way to save your life. Although you colluded with the heretics and attempted to assassinate a prince, which brought great negative impact to the church, your assassination attempt was stopped in time and you did not do it until the end. So if you actively cooperate with my investigation and make amends, there is still a glimmer of hope for you."
Clifton nodded and continued to speak. Hearing Clifton's words, Kidd quickly spoke.
"Cooperate... cooperate! I will absolutely cooperate, Your Excellency the Inquisitor. I will absolutely fully cooperate with your investigation."
After seeing Kidd's performance, Clifton couldn't help but nodded, then he leaned forward slightly towards Kidd in front of him, and then continued to speak.
"Well, then, Father Kidd, you should confess your crimes. Tell us who your accomplices are. Who are your other targets besides Prince Mazar? What is Sister Vanya's position among you beast heretics and corrupters? Was your assassination plan designated by her?"
Facing Kidd, Clifton asked a bunch of questions directly. After hearing Clifton's words,
"Sister Vanya... um... this..."
"What? Don't you want to talk anymore? I advise you to know the current situation and confess everything you know. As long as the others are arrested, you will be in prison. Now you can only save yourself by firmly establishing this prison. So I still advise you to look carefully, think carefully, know the current situation... confess everything you should confess..."
Clifton said to Kidd in a meaningful tone. Kidd finally understood what Clifton said. He knew that Clifton wanted him to perjure himself. Clifton obviously wanted to get Vanya, but he seemed to lack some key evidence, so he needed his own testimony.
What Clifton wanted now was for him to point out Vanya! Point out that she was the culprit of everything. No matter whether she was really related to the heretics or not, as long as he pointed it out, he would definitely have it. As long as Vanya was sent to prison as the leader of their group of "heretics", then he would have the possibility of relying on labor to pay it back!
"Your Honorable Judge... as long as I give up the leader and expose the corruption of the special envoys, will I be saved?" Kidd asked Clifton with a slightly expectant look. In response to Kidd's words, Clifton nodded and promised again.
"Of course."
"Okay... okay! I report it... I confess! I confess everything!" Kidd said loudly like this. Facing Clifton, he planned to confess what the other party wanted to hear according to the other party's ideas. Facing Kidd's performance in front of him, Clifton's mouth corners slightly raised a little.
"Your Excellency the Inquisitor, you must confess! Our entire special envoy group was corrupted by heretics when we were in Addis... Um..."
Just when Kidd was about to say something, he suddenly paused, his body trembled slightly, his eyes rolled up, and after making a strange noise, he fell to one side. But at the critical moment when he was about to fall, he suddenly stood up and looked at Clifton in front of him with a normal expression.
"What's wrong with you?"
Seeing Kidd's abnormal behavior just now, Clifton asked directly. Kidd looked at Clifton with a silent look at this time, and then responded with a slight breath.
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