I Raised A Black Dragon

It was unbelievable. Kyle really had to disappear now? Noah slapped her forehead with her hand and a bitter laugh fell from her mouth. 

Penelope carefully added, glancing at her distraught expression, “We have closed the lab on the second floor for a while because of the Captain’s order not to report on what the Lendia Annex is investigating. And I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be leisurely going in and out of the Bureau.”

“I suppose so. No, why did such a scandal spread in the first place? We haven’t done anything suspicious.” Noah asked sharply, thin creases forming above her brows. Did I grab that guy and hug him, kiss him, or even walk down the street holding his hand?

However, Penelope dodged her question vaguely and even changed the subject. “Well, the Captain gave me a message to hand over the materials from the Lendia Research Institute, which I’ve arranged so far if you ever come. Here.” 

She quickly handed Noah a package with heavy files, a couple of recorders and dozens of keys, as if she was afraid Noah would ask more. “He left a message. Don’t do anything dangerous, never do anything more frivolous to Adrian Rossinell. If anything happens to the capital city, come down…”

“Where?”

“He didn’t tell me that.”

Come down? Where? Noah glanced nervously at the dozens of folders and recorders. What could she complain about in her situation? The worry of Kyle’s demotion, or worst, dismissal, that had consumed her mind in the ship was now becoming a reality. 

Penelope whispered hastily, “Then I’ll go out. Lady Asil can leave alone after I leave…”

“Wait a minute.” Noah grabbed her shoulder, turning Penelope’s body to face her. It could no longer be helped if Kyle had gone already. She had to prove the speculation she had come up with.

“The culprit from Yulem, who was captured in the Angelic, he’s still in the underground prison, isn’t he?”

“What? Oh, yeah. The interrogation is not over yet…”

It was enough. Without further ado, Noah pushed the puzzled Penelope toward the door.

“Show him to me, now. Right now!”

*

The rusty iron door opened with a grotesque sound. As soon as the gate opened, a pungent smell gave Noah a weak headache. Just before the entrance was fully opened, Penelope warned with a wry look. “As the Lady knows, it won’t be a very good sight.”

“It’s alright, open it.” Noah answered, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of it, she felt her knees weaken. Muell’s grip also tightened.

“Of course you’re Lady Asil, you’re used to it, but…” Penelope murmured. 

No, I didn’t know it would look like this. Noah was at loss for words as she stared at the man kneeling in the middle of the prison. Now, she could understand why Kyle refused to show him to her.

The man’s hands were handcuffed, which were tightly connected to the ceiling with black chains. A bandage was wrapped around his head and his hair had long since lost its original white color. Instead, his hair appeared brownish, which seemed to be bloodstains. 

Not only was his head evidently injured, but his arms exposed by the uplift and his body seen through his torn clothes were covered with wounds everywhere. The interrogation must have continued until dawn today. 

It was said that all torture devices and weapons were prohibited in the interrogation room, but if a person was a suspect of a heinous crime, he would likely receive a good beating. And it was crystal clear that he had received not much sympathy.

Perhaps the man felt the presence of someone entering the dungeon as he managed to open his swollen eyes. When he saw Noah, he seemed to mumble something, but he had a gag in his mouth, so Noah couldn’t tell what he was talking about. 

“Hmm…”

Noah ignored the man’s faint voice and asked Penelope. “This guy, did he have a chip removal operation?”

“Yes.”

“Has he told you anything about his employer yet?”

“Nothing. I’ve tried all sorts of different ways to get him to talk. His mouth is tighter than I thought.”

If he had remained mum despite his dreadful situation, there could only be one reason. The punishment he would receive if he were to reveal everything he knew was immensely greater than the punishment imposed to him to confess.

But it all comes under the assumption that this man was really ‘human’.

Noah grabbed the man’s chin without delay and loosened the bandage around his head with her other hand. Penelope called her in embarrassment, “I… Lady Asil, I’m sure the surgical site hasn’t healed yet…”

At this moment, Noah was fortunate to share the spirit of a dragon. At least she could stop herself from vomiting behind the man’s left ear.

There was no thin scar on the back of his ear, a sign that Yulem’s self-destruct chip was planted, and instead there was a tiny red scar. There were clear stitches around the scar. Noah brushed her hands indifferently against the wound and asked Muell, “Mu, show me here. Brightly.”