Zion watched as the man continued to walk inside the servant quarters building. This building was near the servant headquarters where he had initially gone to seek the head servant. And these quarters building was the place where he would often come to rest. So except for the night, this place would be empty. If some of the servants were sick, they would come back to relax, but this was a rare occurrence because the head servant was strict, and unless someone were bedridden, they wouldn't get a chance to take a break.
At this time, Zion's furrowed further. Since the servant's quarters would always stay empty, this could give the masked man a good chance to either find or create an underground chamber. His lips pursed at that as he took a deep breath and continued to pretend to be unconscious.
Since he closed his eyes a while later, he couldn't see what was going on outside. He didn't know where the masked man was taking him at this time. It wasn't like he absolutely couldn't keep his eyes open, but it was a specific risk factor that he didn't want to consider anymore. It was better to use caution while doing an undercover operation like this.
After a while, he heard the footsteps of the masked man pausing at a particular place. Zion didn't dare to open his eyes for fear of being watched by the masked man all of a sudden. So he strained his ears and continued to listen.
The footsteps echoed in the hall again, but this time, the man didn't drag the wheel bed with him. Instead, the man went around the flat wheel bed and did something that Zion couldn't hear anymore. After that, he heard a click sound, and a few seconds later, the man dragged the wheel bed again inside the chamber.
It seemed like there was a hidden chamber inside this building that Zion wasn't aware of! Sure, he had thought that the masked man would choose an area near to the place where he was staying. But Zion was wrong this time. Even though such an underground place would have been convenient, the masked man wanted to be more cautious and selected a place far away from the elf queen.
Zion sneered at this thought. Sure enough, he had underestimated the villains again, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like he had to suffer like in the previous kingdom. He knew that the first case had turned out to be challenging only because of the presence of the imposter. Otherwise, he would have found evidence sooner than ever.
While he was thinking, the wheel bed came to a stop, and he heard the shuffling sound. He opened his eyes a little to see that the masked man was picking up one of the children and going inside. Just like that, the man continued to repeat this process multiple times until he took hold of Zion's child identity.
The detective slowed his breathing as he pretended to be asleep even though he felt immensely uncomfortable while being carried like this. He wasn't a kid anymore!
After a while, they soon reached the destination as he was placed in one corner of the room on the ground with other children. Just when he thought that the masked man was alone, he heard a scoffing sound echoing in the room. "Husband, why're you still so good to these stupid children? They're all unconscious anyway. So why does it matter whether you treat them better or roughly?"
The husband took a deep breath and pursed his lips. "You still can't see how adorable they look?"
They both paused as if the elf girl was seriously looking at the kids to see whether they looked adorable or not.
Meanwhile, Zion was shocked after hearing a familiar sound. Wasn't this Queen Odina's sister, Carol Fieldse?! He had already learned the names of Carol and her husband Arnold from the servants he was working with all day long, but he was surprised to find that Carol would be the main instigator of the crime! He would often hear from his fellow servants that this sister of the elf queen was the most compassionate and especially good with children. The reason why she was good to kids was that she had lost her twins when they were still in her womb, and after that, she couldn't give birth anymore. So he had heard the servants shedding tears after thinking of how Carol was suffering in silence for a year now.
But who would have thought that this so-called compassionate girl would end up becoming the main villain?!
Even though he looked like he was calmly sleeping on the ground while snuggling up to other kids, he wasn't peaceful at all! Out of all the people, the person whom he hadn't suspected of giving the masked man a hand was his wife, who would always show herself as if she were the most compassionate and kind in the entire palace.
Then he heard the conservation of the two of them again.
"They indeed are, especially the last kid." She said, pointing at Zion and sneered. "But what does it matter? These kids can't help me fulfill my desire! These kids can't turn back the time! What's the point of them alive anymore? They'll be safer and happier in hell with my little fetus that died years ago! My children also need friends. Aren't these enough?"
The thinking process of this girl seemed to be terrible enough to make Zion puke, but he continued to stand on his ground and keep silent. He knew that if he were even to furrow his brow, he would miss his chance and end up getting killed instead. Being in the body of a child has its disadvantages. He wouldn't have enough energy to fight back with these people. He still remembered how he had to face difficulties while fighting the masked man.
Now that he had turned into a child, he couldn't think of facing the masked man again, let alone two. And he still didn't know the power level of this elf girl yet.
And after listening to these words by the elf girl, he almost felt that this time, the psychopath wasn't only the masked man, but his wife was also one. Zion paused for a moment and thought, 'No, this elf girl seems to be more insane than a psychopath.'
The masked man didn't say anything at first and lowered his head as if he were some obedient kid who his mother was scolding.
But Carol seemed as if she wanted to let out her anger in front of her husband. She continued to ramble on. "And look at you. You can't even find a human servant and kill him, and you dare to speak like that with me! How shameful! Do you have any idea how much of a danger we all are in at this time? You just thought that the human slave of the dhampir girl was dead, but the next day, his body had disappeared! What the heck is wrong with you? Couldn't you even check if he had really stopped breathing?"
After saying it all out loud, the wife took a deep breath and calmed herself. Her facial features returned to normal as if she hadn't been angry at Arnold out of the blue. Then she gave him a glance filled with tears and said in a mild tone, " Husband, you know I don't like it when things aren't perfect. What if we get caught? My sister will kill me! That's why I'm so rude to you!"
The husband hastily said, "Carol, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Trust me. With how our plan is going, your sister will never doubt us. She has set her eyes on that unfortunate dhampir girl and is torturing her. Even my men are torturing her to get a fake confession out. The moment she breaks, she will confess for sure! Don't worry. Our victory is near."
When Zion heard how Lia was being treated in prison, his brows furrowed. He felt uncomfortable all over, and his chest especially felt tightened. Even though he knew that he didn't like the girl even a single bit, getting a fake confession was itself a crime in itself. In his world, no one would dare to have a phony confession, especially ever since Zion had become one of the topmost officers. If he could see the court case video of any crime, he would immediately catch the people who dared to produce a fake confession or evidence.
So if he said that he hated the people who would create fake evidence and confessions, he wouldn't be exaggerating.
He would have to do something to save that dhampir girl sooner than ever!
His heart was filled with anxiety at the same time. After that, the elf girl calmed down and looked at the children. "Then….Let's get started."
The husband said while caressing his wife's hair. "Okay. Just make sure they don't suffer."
Carol's expressions softened, and she said in a low voice, "Husband, I know you love me, but you don't have to give me a hand. I know you hate it when you see a child's corpse. I know you feel compassionate over them."
Arnold pursed his lips and sighed. "I used to feel uncomfortable, but when I think about how our children will play happily with these kids, I don't feel bad anymore.. I just don't want them to suffer while dying."