Chapter 9: Edith Taylor

Edith: Who are you?

Michael: It doesn't matter who I am, I'm just here to interrogate your torture officer. www.biquge.info So I'm obligated to tell you that you'd better answer my questions honestly, or you'll suffer a lot. Maybe it's not true, and how do I know if you're telling the truth, or if you're just saying something to fool me? If the court wants to punish you, what you say is of no value. But with the slightest hope, you should take my interrogation seriously, and your words will be used in court to defend you or to press you against your crimes.

Edith: Why should I have such a small hope?

Michael: I've heard that His Majesty Michael Periyar X, Michael Periyar, will personally try him.

Edith: How can you guarantee that what I say will go to court?

Michael: I have my own unique approach, so don't waste time and start talking.

Edith: Where to start?

Michael: Start wherever it's convenient.

Edith: Some time ago I was a mage that no one cared about, or rather, I was just a mage for the Margaret family. But I have my own talents, and I'm magically very successful. Many times I have come close to discrediting mages who are out of repute, but I haven't been able to do so because of their reputation. I'm also proficient in a lot of magic, and things that aren't called magic.

Michael: So, you admit to learning blood magic?

Edith: Magic itself is just knowledge, and learning it doesn't mean you become a bloodthirsty demon. There are many more things I have dabbled in, many of which have been prestigious but have not brought me fame, and the only one who has been reviled has rightly brought me reviral.

Michael: When did you learn blood magic?

Edith: From the time I first saw blood magic, I was an apprentice.

Michael: Have you ever practiced one of these horrific magics?

Edith: I've never tried, my lord.

Michael: I understand that the Margaret family wants you to pledge allegiance to the Emperor. Presumably you have a close relationship with the Margaret family, and you are a close confidant, is this true?

Edith: Yes, sir. The Margaret family wanted to install an internal response around the emperor in order to earn more political power. They concentrate their candidates in their families, but they don't trust the arrogant mages who don't really have the talent to learn. Even if they believed that it would be a naked insult to the emperor to plant such useless waste next to him.

Michael: But they believe you?

Edith: Yes, it's not easy to earn their trust.

Michael: How do you do that?

Edith: I can't say.

Michael: What if I torture you?

Edith: If I had said it, I would have ended up worse than torture.

Michael: Is someone threatening you? Can you even be scared in prison?

Edith: Trust me, sir. Even in Midangele's strongest fortress, Delvenori, there is something that can find me in the smell of betrayal.

Michael: But isn't it a betrayal that you easily admit that you were sent by the Margaret family?

Edith: No, my lord.

Michael: I'm sure you've already guessed why you ended up in jail.

Edith: Obviously, there are people who don't want me to be loyal to the Emperor.

Michael: yes, and sadly. Since when did the courtiers also start to dictate everything to the emperor. I wonder what you would do if you were truly loyal to the Emperor?

Edith: I will serve my emperor with all my heart.

Michael: Why? What are you having?

Edith: I work for the Margaret family, and a prerequisite for that is to be loyal to the Emperor.

Michael: How are you going to work for the Margaret family, betraying your emperor at the right time?

Edith: I will do my best to serve the Margaret family, but I will never betray my Emperor.

Michael: Why do you think the Emperor needs your help?

Edith: The Seven Magics, the Elven Mysteries, the Blood Magic, I think the things I'm proficient in will make the Emperor's plans come true, and I've heard that Emperor Michael is an enlightened monarch, maybe he understands that even what is considered evil can be used in the right way. This was not a request from the Margaret family, or any other person's conspiracy, my dream since childhood was to one day assist the Emperor. And the emperor is now alone, even in the past, there was no help. The rightful heir of the empire has now become the pet of the nobles. The emperor must have desperately wanted a loyal subordinate who might be able to equalize the nobles in the political arena.

Michael: You mean to make the Margaret family equal with the Wilder family, would you expect the Emperor to have a mage who admits his loyalty to Margaery's special effects to be aided?

Edith: I had no intention of hiding my identity, but the Margaret family trusted me and placed me in the Emperor's side. But I have to think about my own safety, it is not wise to carry the secret of a spy in the palace, and I could die at any time. So I was going to tell the Emperor that I was working for the Margaret family, whether I would stand in solidarity with the Margaret family, and from time to time I would report some insignificant information to them.

Michael: Why did you do that?

Edith: Sooner or later, the Emperor will know, and even if the Emperor doesn't know, someone will. It disturbs me to carry such a dangerous identity, so I want the emperor to hear this come out of my mouth, so that he does not hear it from someone else's mouth.

Michael: Why on earth are you doing that? What you said earlier smelled of betrayal, aren't you afraid of now?

Edith: I do fear betrayal, but not the Margaret family. If the Emperor is suspicious of me, I can only guarantee that my secret will not endanger the Emperor and the Emperor's country, and I can do nothing other than the accusation of suspicion.

Michael: To sum it up briefly, you're a spy who works for Margaret on the surface, but behind the scenes there are more stealthy forces that can pull you out of the Empire's deepest dungeons and punish you. You are burdened with two identities, but you are bent on assisting the emperor. I have to ask you, what is your purpose?Miss Edith Taylor, why did you go to the trouble of climbing to the Emperor's side?

Edith: I told you, for the Emperor!

Michael: Let's do that for now......

Edith: Wait, sir, can you guarantee that this thing will be handed over to Emperor Michael in its original form?

Michael: Yes, Miss Edith. I'll make sure Emperor Michael reads it word for word, and now please forgive me for leaving.