Chapter 138: Kaelthar Has No Idea Truth Serums Work on Him
Chapter 138: Kaelthar Has No Idea Truth Serums Work on Him
Elyn’s POV
Kaelthar gave me a glare. He tried to hold back, but it didn’t work. I might not have much magic, but the truth serums I carry work well. I’d give it a kiss and a ten-star rating if possible.
"I...I...I am," he said finally after much struggle. His eyes widened as the words spilled out of his mouth.
"What did you do to me?" he asked all of a sudden. "I know you put something in that drink. What was it? What did you do to me?"
I pointed at myself in shock. "Me?" I asked him.
"Don’t play dumb with me. What did you do to me?" he demanded.
"I didn’t do anything. I just gave you a drink, and you drank it," I told him.
"You forced me."
"I did not. And speaking of force, did anyone force you to sell the children?" I asked him.
He tried to fight again against the hold the truth serum had on him, but he failed.
"N...no," he gritted out.
Zorathys made a sound of shock, his eyes widening like he couldn’t believe what was happening right now.
"So you just sold your kind because you felt like it?" I asked him.
"They have better use being sold off," Kaelthar told me.
"Really?" I asked.
"Who would want a child who only cries? Who wants a child—"
"You don’t have a child of your own, do you?" I asked him.
"He’s barren," Zorathys supplied.
"Impotent," Naviel corrected.
"So that’s why you sold children? Because you can’t get yours?" I asked Kaelthar.
"Yes," he said, his face scrunching up in anger.
"Well... that’s stupid," Zorathys said.
"I agree," I said with a nod. "You profited from selling these children, taking them away from their families, all because you couldn’t have a child?" I asked, trying to come to terms with what he had just said, because it made little sense to me.
And you know what he did? He smirked. He smirked like what he did was so cool. I was this close to slapping the smirk off his face.
"You are free to do so," Zorathys told me.
I turned to him in shock. "What?"
"You want to hit Kaelthar, then go ahead, because if I hit him, I’m not sure he’ll survive," he told me.
"There is another reason why I sold the children. Everyone knows the beast demons have a higher birth rate than other demons. And we’ve been short of funds recently because someone decided to kill my husband—"
"Oh, it’s been years already. Get over it. How do you fault the king for killing your spouse when it was your spouse who planned to kill him?" Naviel asked, his voice cold.
"And he would have succeeded if Zorathys didn’t kill him. Zorathys isn’t even fit to be king," Kaelthar spat out.
"True," Zorathys said with a nod. "You’ve said this before, and I’m getting tired of you repeating it over and over again. Can we move on?"
I watched as Zorathys stood straighter.
"You are in charge of the trafficking, right?" he asked Kaelthar, who nodded.
"You did it because you apparently can’t give birth and decided to sell children, and also because, according to you, when I killed your husband, I made your territory poorer?" he asked Kaelthar, who narrowed his eyes at Zorathys but nodded anyway.
I had to give it to Kaelthar, though. How was it that he could still give Zorathys that look when he knew that, with a snap of his fingers, Zorathys could get rid of him?
"So in your twisted logic, I’m the one at fault, right?" Zorathys asked him, and he nodded.
"It’s not some twisted logic. It is your fault. If you had done better, then—"
Zorathys signaled for him to shut up, and he immediately did. Then he turned to me.
"What do you think, Firefly? He just admitted that he’s the one behind everything," he told me.
"I still have some questions for him," I told Zorathys.
"Will it take time?" he asked me. "I’m supposed to be taking my nap right now."
"You will not take a nap until I’m done," I said sternly.
He gave me a pout in response. His lower lip jutted out, and his beautiful red eyes grew bigger, but I was firm in my resolve.
He released a heavy sigh. "Fine."
He released Kaelthar, who gave him a scathing look, but Zorathys scratched his ear in reply.
"Are there more of you involved in this?" I asked Kaelthar.
He nodded. "You will write the names and give them to Naviel. I want every location and everyone involved," I told him firmly.
"And what makes you think I’d give it to you, human queen?" he asked me.
I pointed at Zorathys.
Kaelthar sneered but said nothing.
I went about asking him questions, and thanks to the truth serum, he couldn’t hide anything. The truth spilled out of him easily. And the other culprits were not left behind. If I have to say, I did a thorough job.
And immediately after we were done interrogating them, Zorathys disappeared, leaving behind a note.
’For any more questions, ask Firefly. I’m going to sleep.’
There was a bed drawn at the bottom, and it was a beautiful drawing. How was it that he had the energy to draw a bed but did not have it to stay behind and work with me?
Naviel sighed when he saw the parchment. "At least he stayed for a while," he muttered.
I left the work of finding the other culprits to Naviel while Morthen and I went back to the office, pulling every record of missing children and recording everything that had happened regarding the trafficking. It wasn’t until night that I finally got some sleep.
And tomorrow, I begin training properly for the introduction ball.
Explain to me, why I suddenly dread the thought of it.