B2 Ch 88 - The Woman in Chains [Bonus]

The person behind those iron bars was Esta, someone who was supposed to hold a fairly important position at the side of the second princess, Rania.

Her eyes immediately settled on Jester's face, and whatever exhaustion had been there a second ago burned away into something much sharper.

“Well, well.” Her voice was hoarse. “Look who finally decided to come see me. Come to gloat, crybaby prince? Or did you finally work up the courage to do it yourself instead of hiding behind your pet dog?”

“Lady Esta would be wise to watch her tongue,” Igrio said from beside Jester. “You're speaking to His Highness.”

"Oh, I know exactly who I'm speaking to." Esta bared her teeth. "You have no idea what you've started, do you? Keep me chained down here as long as you want. It won't matter. Someone far more dangerous than me will come for you and burn this pathetic little city to the ground. You'll be lucky if there's enough of you left to identify. Once they find out what you've done to me, you'll wish you'd died during the attack."

Jester only gave her a faint smile. He reached out and unlocked the cell gate himself, its hinges groaning as it swung open. He stepped inside and stopped in front of her, staring down at the woman bound and helpless on the stone floor.

“You're chained to a wall, bleeding through half your clothes, and you're still running your mouth like you're the one holding all the cards.” He crouched slightly, tilting his head. “I have to admit, that's almost impressive.”

“Go to hell, you miserable little bastard!” the woman screamed. Her chains rattled violently as she tried to pull herself free. “When I get out of here, I'll tear that smug smile off your face myself!”

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Jester laughed quietly, his eyes narrowing. “Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to burn Rania's ambitions to the ground, piece by piece, starting with whatever plans she had for this city. And you're going to help me do it, one way or another.”

Esta let out a harsh laugh and forced herself upright, yanking hard against the chains restraining her.

“Listen to yourself, you worthless little worm. Put on a crown, hide behind a few loyal dogs, and suddenly you think you're someone worth fearing? You're still the same pathetic little prince everyone used to laugh at.”

“Oh really? Let me hear more,” Jester said.

She continued. “You think this has anything to do with Princess Rania? Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night. I have no connection to her whatsoever.”

“Is that so?” Jester lowered himself into a crouch in front of her, his elbows resting on his knees, close enough that she had little choice but to face him. “I appreciate the effort you're putting into lying to me. Trying to protect that pathetic princess, perhaps? Then who sent you?”

Esta only ground her teeth, glaring at him with open hatred.

“I asked you a question.”

“Then stop barking like I owe you an answer!” Esta snapped. “Don't start thinking you're some great ruler just because I'm the one wearing chains. You're nothing. This miserable city and that stolen confidence of yours haven't changed that.”

Jester gave a quiet sigh. “I suppose you don't even understand basic manners or how to hold a proper conversation. No wonder you failed so miserably at a mission this simple. You couldn't even teach a lowly crybaby prince a proper lesson.”

“Don't you dare mock me, you arrogant little shit!” Esta screamed, her chains clattering as she lunged as far as they allowed. “Take these chains off and say that again! I'll remind you exactly why everyone used to call you a pathetic little crybaby!”

Jester raised an eyebrow, a faint smile resting on his face.

“You attacked my city. You very nearly got a Behemoth to finish the job for you. Forty-one of my knights are dead because of whatever you set in motion. I think you owe me a name, at the very least.”

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“Like hell I owe you anything.” Her eyes narrowed. “You want a name, you're going to have to earn it. Torture me if you want. Starve me. Do whatever makes you feel powerful down here in the dark. I've survived worse than some crybaby prince playing dungeon master.”

“I wasn't planning on torturing you.” Jester glanced toward Igrio, who remained just outside the cell. “Pearl could handle this, couldn't she? If it came to that. Take over her body, suppress her will, turn her into another vessel she can control.”

“She could, Your Highness,” Igrio replied evenly. “Pearl has already done it once, though the process was never taken to its full extent. Given sufficient time alone with the subject, complete control would be well within her capability.”

For the first time since Jester had entered the cell, something in Esta's expression cracked.

“You wouldn't,” she said. “You stupid bastard. You have no idea what you're threatening me with.”

Jester turned back to her. His faint smile remained.

“Scared now?”

“You wouldn't dare!” Esta's voice climbed sharply. “Don't you even think about using that thing on me! I'll bite through my own tongue before I let some parasite crawl into my skull, do you understand me? I'll kill myself first! I mean it! I'd rather die a hundred times than end up like one of your little puppet maids, wearing my face while something else pulls the strings!”

Esta's chest heaved, her breathing ragged, eyes darting between Jester and Igrio like she was searching for some crack in the threat, some sign that it was a bluff.

But, she said nothing.

Jester held her gaze for a long moment, then rose to his feet, brushing off his knees as though the conversation had already ended.

He stepped out of the cell, and Igrio sealed the crystal light behind them, plunging Esta back into darkness before the gate had even fully closed.

They walked back down the corridor in silence for a while, their footsteps echoing off the bare stone.

“You don't believe it was Rania,” Igrio said eventually. It didn't sound like a question. “Do you, Your Highness?”

Jester let out a slow breath. “I don't know what to believe yet. That's the problem.”

“Esta serves Her Highness directly. The connection is difficult to dismiss.”

“I'm not dismissing it.” Jester shook his head. “Rania's a lot of things. Arrogant, cruel when it suits her, obsessed with proving she's stronger than every other sibling in that palace. But burning down part of her own kingdom's territory just to spite me? That doesn't fit. Whatever else she is, she's not stupid enough to weaken the crown she's trying to inherit.”

“You believe someone else may have given the order, then, using Esta's loyalty to Rania as cover.”

“Maybe. I don't know yet.” Jester's jaw tightened. “But I told her something before all of this started. That I'd make her kneel before me with her head lowered. I meant it. And I'm not about to let her off the hook just because it turns out there's a more convenient villain hiding somewhere behind her.”

"So we continue treating Princess Rania as responsible."

"For now, yes. Until I know for certain otherwise." Jester's eyes stayed fixed ahead.

According to Igrio, Esta's level was simply too high, and her resistance was unusually strong. That made it difficult for Pearl to take complete control of her body. It would take time.

Weakening or injuring Esta further would certainly make the process easier, but that came with another problem. Once Pearl fully took control of a vessel, she would share its physical condition. Any serious injuries Esta suffered beforehand would become Pearl's burden as well, including the pain.

“Then take your time,” Jester said. “I want Esta completely under our control when we do this. There's no reason to rush and risk Pearl in the process.”

“Understood,” Igrio replied. “I will instruct Pearl to proceed carefully. We will preserve Lady Esta's condition until the process can be completed safely.”

There was one more important matter Jester wanted an answer to. Something he had only recently gained proper access to after Igrio and the others discovered who he really was.

“Now, Igrio, give me an answer to something more important.” Jester started up the stairs. “Why was Caelan so determined to get that item? Enough to put himself in conflict with the Silverwings Guild over it.”

He paused briefly.

“What exactly did he need the Heart of the Abyss for?”

Jester continued climbing, taking the steps at an easy pace until they finally reached the upper floor. He stepped out of the narrow stairwell and back into the room they had passed through earlier, where the brighter glow of crystal lamps replaced the darkness below.

Igrio followed shortly behind, his answer coming as he entered the room.

“The Abyss Horn Tyrant is a rather troublesome monster to hunt,” Igrio explained. “It appears only three times each year, and its level is relatively low compared to the people usually interested in hunting it. That creates an unusual problem. A party that greatly exceeds its level can defeat it easily, but doing so drastically reduces the quality of its drops. A party too close to its level, however, may struggle to defeat it at all.”

Igrio continued after a moment.

“The greater the disadvantage of those fighting the Abyss Horn Tyrant, the greater their chance of receiving its rarest drop. That is why the Heart of the Abyss remains so difficult to obtain despite coming from a monster that powerful adventurers could otherwise kill with little trouble.”

“That's practically how loot-drop mechanics work in this game,” Jester muttered. “The higher the risk, the better the reward.”

He turned slightly toward Igrio.

“What exactly is the Heart of the Abyss used for?”