ââ¦There was a fake in Tezeba. Did you investigate it already?â Noah asked.
âWe have seized and searched the Vatalereâs mansion first, but only the answer we acquired was that she had been away a month ago. When I summoned the man who had reported to me, he replied that he must have mistaken Lenia Valtalere for her maid. All the pictures taken as evidence are of poor quality for some reasonâ¦â Kyle spat. He must have been very angry as bits of profanities slipped from his lips.
I knew it. She must have been able to change her attitude like that because she had already taken care of her alibi.
âAnd crucially, the woman believed to be Lenia Valtallere or her stand-in had never entered the Imperial City on the day of the disappearance of the egg.â Kyle continued.
âWhat?â
âThe defensive barriers surrounding the Imperial City automatically recognize and record the identities of the visitors. I checked everyone who entered and left the Imperial City that day, but there was no record of Lenia Valtalere.â
âYou mean it was manipulated?â Noahâs eyes widened in disbelief.
âI donât know. The problem is, we canât keep her in custody right now because we donât have sufficient evidence. Thereâs no excuse to persuade His Majesty and the Minister.â
Now that Lenia had gotten the better of Noah, Noah was driven into a corner. She even admitted to the crime with her own mouth, being interrogated just now.
âAs soon as they received Lenia Valtalereâs statement, they ordered you to be arrested first. Itâs probably hard for you to be cleared of charges now that itâs like this.â
âWhat then? Do we really have to destroy this place with Mu and end up as fugitives?â
âYouâre so extreme. Why do you keep resembling Mu?â
Uh, I do? While Noah was bewildered by the unexpected remark, Kyle gave a clearer answer.
âIf the truth isnât revealed, I canât release Miss Noah no matter how much I do. Of course, we canât keep you in a cellar like this for fear of revenge, but you canât get out of the Bureau of Investigation for months. Then, thereâs only one way you can get out of here the fastest. Acknowledging the charges and being sentenced to a moderate time.â
âAh.â Only after hearing that much did Noah realize why Kyle had to take a false statement from her. Kyle flipped his pen and continued.
âThe trial is probably just a formality. Once you cooperate, Laurent will have another magical revival in 500 years, so itâs a waste of time. Besides, our cute baby dragon is hitting all kinds of bricks in the Imperial Palaceâ¦ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Nice, Mu. Noah wanted to hold the child back in her arms and smother him with kisses. Kyle snapped his pen down on the table and concluded the conversation.
âSo, Miss Noah, of course, would be as relentless as she was, but now she has no choice but to endure.â
âWhat should I expect in prison?â
âPart of the property, volunteer work, depending on the circumstances. Thatâs about it. Thereâs no way they could ask you to be sentenced to prison in the first place when a dragon is scared.â
âHmmâ¦â
The witchâs body already had fifteen previous convictions, so whatâs going to be so different if one more was added to the list? There was no need to worry, Noah convinced herself. She tried to nod her head as a sign of agreement, but stopped at the words of Kyle that followed.
âOf course, thereâs something you need, and you need it in a formal way.â
âWhat is it?â
âSelf-reflection.â
âWhat?â
Letter of apology? âWell, Iâm sorry. I wonât do that again, so please forgive meâ? Noah asked in wonder. âIs that really enough?â
âIt depends on how much you use it.â
No matter how awful it might be, it couldnât possibly be worse than her graduation thesis. The thought made her feel a little better.
âOkay. Iâll finish it right away tomorrow. Itâs like a letter of apology.â
Kyle only uttered an ambiguous response. âMaybe.â
ââ¦..?â
Well, it didnât take Noah long to understand the real meaning of the word.
Just the next day, when Noah went down to the underground interrogation room to write her letter of apology, she found a pile of blank sheets of papers piled up on the steel desk.
ââ¦You didnât tell me I had to write twenty sets of reflections, did you?â Noah grumbled as she wrote on her fifteenth letter.
âNo one believes you anyway, so a single page will never be enough. Itâs not that the content is important, but itâs important that Eleonora Asil wrote on a hundred sheets for self-reflection.â Kyle replied as he handed Noah a new piece of paper, his face awkwardly stiff, as if he was stopping a laugh from coming out.
In other words, it was her effort that would matter. With all her heart, Noah was reflecting on the sins she had not committed in a hundred pages or more.