Idle Tycoon System

Her grief and rage had transformed into genocidal determination that persisted even after the actual perpetrators had been hunted down and killed through extensive operations. Justice for the specific criminals wasn't enough to satisfy her need for revenge.

Adrian understood his aunt's pain intimately because he shared it. He hated his mother's killers with a passion that sometimes threatened to consume him entirely. The injustice of losing someone so pure and good to such senseless violence created wounds that would never fully heal.

But that hatred for the specific murderers didn't mean that the entire dark elf race deserved extermination. This wasn't how justice or morality worked, no matter how much emotional satisfaction collective punishment might provide.

"Every soul is responsible for their own actions," Adrian said firmly, his voice steadying as he articulated the belief that had led him to 'betray' his own kingdom. "No soul should be burdened with the actions of another soul. That's my fundamental belief, and it's why I cannot support this war."

He looked directly into Seraphina's eyes, seeing the pain and rage that still burned there after all these years. "Mother wouldn't have wanted this. She believed in unity and compassion, even toward those who were different from us. Using her death as justification for genocide dishonours everything she stood for."

Seraphina's expression had transformed from rage to something far more complex and painful. The mention of her sister had stripped away the facade she maintained so carefully, revealing the grieving woman beneath the crown.

"Don't you dare tell me what my sister would have wanted," Seraphina whispered, her voice carrying more genuine emotion than Adrian had heard from her in years. "You were a child when she died. You don't understand what was lost that day, or what kinds of monsters we're dealing with."

"I was old enough to remember every single detail of her face," Adrian countered. "Old enough to know that she would be horrified by what you've become in her name. She taught me that revenge and hatred only create more suffering, that breaking the cycle of violence required someone to be brave enough to choose differently."

The queen's hands were trembling now, her composure finally cracking under the weight of memories she had tried to bury.

The queen reacted with explosive violence, her hand striking Adrian's face with far greater force than before. This slap carried a lot of her strength behind it, and Adrian's face swelled immediately from the devastating impact. Blood sprayed from his mouth as teeth loosened from the brutal blow.

Before he could recover, Seraphina grabbed him by his neck with a crushing grip, her fingers digging into his throat with pressure that cut off his air supply. Her eyes blazed with killing intent so pure and concentrated that it manifested as a visible distortion in the air around her.

"Tell me now. What exactly did you say to these dark elf beasts? I want all the details, every conversation, every piece of intelligence you shared. Otherwise, I will kill you right here, right now. Betrayal of this magnitude deserves nothing less than death," she demanded, her voice deadly calm despite the fury radiating from her entire being.

Adrian struggled to breathe against her iron grip, his face turning colours as her grip affected him. But even facing imminent death, he managed to force out words through his constricted throat.

"Kill me then," he gasped, his defiance somehow persisting even in the face of certain death. "But just know that if you do... You would be digging your own grave. You would be joining me in death soon enough. I wouldn't want you to meet my mother with your current self, Aunt. She would be ashamed of what you've become. Just know that you will face her eventually with the deed...of killing her only son."

Although he genuinely didn't want to die, Adrian had placed his faith and trust in the mysterious shopkeeper whose appearance had changed everything. The more he delayed this interrogation, the higher the chance that the human would successfully obtain the World Tree's teardrop and potentially use its power and fulfil the deal between the two of them. Every minute he resisted was another minute for events to unfold beyond her control.

"Insolent! How dare you threaten me!" Seraphina screamed, her composure shattering completely as rage overwhelmed her thinking.

She delivered a devastating blow to Adrian's temple, the force behind the strike knocking him unconscious instantly. His head lolled forward as consciousness fled, his body going limp in the restraints that held him.

Seraphina stepped back, breathing heavily as she tried to regain control over her emotions. She stared at Adrian's unconscious form with undisguised hatred, her hands trembling with the desire to simply crush his throat and end his treacherous existence permanently.

But she couldn't kill him. Not yet. Not while he potentially possessed information that could prevent catastrophic damage to her kingdom's security. His death would provide emotional satisfaction but eliminate any possibility of extracting the intelligence she desperately needed.

Her mind worked through alternatives, searching for methods that might break his unexpected resistance where conventional torture and interrogation had failed. Then a solution occurred to her, one that carried its own terrible implications but might prove effective where other approaches had not.

Her face grew back to its cold expression, and her composure was regained before she opened the door, then turned toward the guard who had remained stationed outside the interrogation chamber.

"Bring Shams," Seraphina commanded, her voice carrying absolute authority.

The guard's face went pale with shock at the order, his composure cracking for the first time during this entire disturbing situation.

Her highness must be really mad to bring Shams; this has implications that are not light at all. Once that path is chosen...Adrian will become...

The guard bowed deeply and departed quickly, clearly wanting to distance himself from whatever was about to occur. The mention of Shams had carried weight that suggested something far worse than the previous torture or interrogation methods.

Seraphina looked back at Adrian's unconscious form, her expression unreadable. Whatever Shams represented, it was apparently her last resort for extracting information from someone who had proven unexpectedly resistant to standard coercion.