Chapter 496 - 492: Come In
"Shut up! Stop talking nonsense! What brother and sister? Do you take us for idiots? Come out and confess the truth of the wrong you did!"
As Ryder kept lying, the man who was standing beside the woman couldn't control himself. The man glared at Ryder while he screamed.
The man was none other than General Linni.
The highest authority in the Death Domain belonged to the Prince. After him came the Death Generals. Next were Death Warriors. After them came the normal generals.
So even though General Linni didn't have the highest position, his position was still not something someone could laugh at.
Ryder had already guessed that this man was the husband of the woman he slept with. How unfortunate. When he did it, he didn't even know that the woman was married. He found it a bit awkward.
"I'm not lying. She's really my sister!" Ryder said as he noticed the woman not resisting what he was saying. It must be the right path, he thought.
"Someone is trying to accuse us falsely to accuse a woman as innocent as her wrongly? I know she is innocent as her brother. Shouldn't you also know that she is innocent as her husband? Have faith in your wife!" he insisted, utilizing the opportunity.
General Linni was taken aback by Ryder's passionate voice. He actually didn't have much proof. All he knew was that his wife went to this guy's home and spent a few hours there occasionally.
That was what he knew. When he asked his wife, she was shocked and started babbling nonsense about that person being her brother. He was sure that she was lying. He wanted to kill that guy who dared to do this to his wife, but he couldn't.
Times were special. Some guests had come, and the Prince had told everyone that no one could take any action against citizens without his permission. That's why he approached the Royal Court first.
But if it was true that Ryder was actually her brother in name and he had misunderstood, then it was going to be embarrassing.
"General Linni, I'll advise you to not interfere with the matter of this court now," the Prince told the General who had started talking without permission.
"I apologize, Your Highness," the General replied as he went silent.
"Well, your story does match her story. But I'll still give you a chance. If you want to tell us something, this is the only chance. If you lie to us, you'll be killed. But if you tell us the truth and even if you did wrong, you won't get punishment. How is that offer?" the Prince asked Ryder calmly.
"Your Highness, I don't think I can tell you anything else. That I'm telling you is already the truth as it is," Ryder replied calmly.
His art of bluffing was also acting, making him good at lying. Not a single person could see that he was lying. Even the woman herself was surprised at how good Ryder was at lying. She was the only one here who knew that he was lying.
After hearing the final response of Ryder, the Prince nodded his head calmly.
He gazed towards the four Death Generals and asked their opinions about it, "What do you all think?"
"I don't think he is lying. If he is, then he's really good at it," the first Death General said calmly.
"It's possible what he's saying is the truth. There's no evidence, on the contrary, to prove that he is lying. All we know is that the woman was meeting him. If they only talk, then it also makes sense," the second Death General also nodded his head as he shook his head.
"I also think he's telling the truth. There's no way someone like him can fool us otherwise," the third Death General said confidently.
The fourth Death General was the only one who still hasn't said anything yet.
He was observing Ryder, who kept his head down.
"What about you?" the Prince asked the Fourth Death General, who didn't say anything.
"I'd like to ask a few questions to him as well," the fourth Death General said.
"You may," the Prince nodded while giving permission to the Death General.
"So, Jiw. How long has it been since you first met her?" the Fourth Death General inquired.
Ryder raised his head slowly as he gazed at the Death General. This was really the question he didn't know how to answer.
It was tough to guess if the woman had been asked this question. He also didn't know exactly how long these two had known each other.
'I guess this is where I lose this game. I can only answer a random thing and hope they hadn't asked the woman. If I'm wrong, then back to the past,' Ryder as he decided on an answer.
"It's been slightly over a year, but to me, it feels like I know her for an eternity," Ryder answered calmly.
"Is she good in bed?" the Death General asked Ryder.
"I wouldn't know. But she is really smart. I get to know so many things just by talking to her," Ryder replied calmly.
"Alright. I think you're telling the truth. We did wrong by disturbing you unnecessarily. To make up for it, I'll offer you something. As a Death General of this place, I give you one wish. Anything you ask will be made true. If you want General Linni to be killed so this woman can be yours, I can make that happen as well," the Death General said.
"So think carefully. And don't think that I'm lying. As a Death General, I won't lie. It's beneath my dignity. So choose your wish wisely," he added.
"But-" General Linni wanted to protest, but before he could even say a word, the Death General interfered.
"Silence!" The Death General let out, stunning the General who closed his eyes.
"So, Jiw. Tell me what your wish is?" he asked Ryder.
"What do I want? I just want to make sure that no lies are made against us. Such accusations shouldn't taint our pure relationship. We only talk to each other and nothing more, but still, some people talk back about us. I just want our innocence back," Ryder said, requesting the Death General.
Even though he was asking this, inside his heart, he was thinking something else entirely.
'You idiot, I'm the soon-to-be King of the Demon Realm. Do you think you can even offer me something that I can't take myself? I'll soon take over your place. Everything will be mine anyway. So I'm not going to fall for your little trick here. Greed is the last thing someone like me can have. So I won't even test if you're telling the truth or not,' he thought.
"Interesting. Even after I offer you everything, you still don't desire anything. You really have a pure heart. I agree that you're innocent as well. The ones who accused you and this woman should be ashamed of themselves," the Death General said, nodding his head as he smiled in appreciation.
Ryder's reply had really impressed him. He didn't expect him to say that. If he were wrong, he would have asked for something that would have proven his guilt. Not not only did he give up the opportunity, all he asked for was his innocence.
General Linni lowered his head in embarrassment. After everyone had accepted that Ryder was right, he was feeling red-faced. Did he really misunderstand his wife? Was she really Innocent?
In any case, it didn't matter now. Now that Death Generals had accepted that Ryder was innocent, he couldn't do anything.
"Alright. Since Death Generals agree with your innocence as well, I've come to a verdict. You're innocent. The one who accused you clearly misunderstood a pure relationship. You can go back," the Prince told Ryder.
He even commanded the same guard to send him back that had brought him here.
Even though Ryder wanted to go back alone, he couldn't oppose the commands. He left with the guard.
...
Ryder and the guard finally reached back to his home.
The door was in the same condition, so Ryder didn't know that his guests had already come. He thought that they probably left from the gate.
A deep sigh left his lips, "If you had taken me later, I could have finished giving a feast to my guests. Now because of you, they must be angry with me."
"What can I do? I had the commands. Anyways, you did offer me to taste your feast before. How about I eat that now as a form of apology?" the guard asked Ryder as he smiled wryly.
'Well, one prey is better than nothing. I'll only need ninety-eight more after him. As for the others, I can handle later,' Ryder thought as he nodded his head.
"That's great. Come on in," he said smilingly as he opened the door.