The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

Ravian didn’t answer immediately. The question was closed and had been chosen precisely so that he couldn’t slip around it.

If he said no, he would be admitting that he had entered the capital illegally, opening the way to far more dangerous questions about the waterway and the City of Light fortress he had fled to avoid falling under Karius’s investigation as well.

If he refused to answer now, Robert would treat that as de facto confirmation of his deduction, giving him reason enough to detain and interrogate Ravian—or worse, have him executed.

But if he said yes, Robert would have no evidence to prove otherwise.

Robert had reviewed the records and questioned the guards, but the absence of evidence didn’t prove that Ravian was lying. He could later invent a disguise, an identity, or a caravan he had entered with, then leave Robert chasing a trail that didn’t exist.

Suddenly, another voice pulled Ravian from his thoughts and urged him to answer.

”Answer the question, Rayan,” Patrick said.

Ravian’s eyes shifted toward him.

Patrick wasn’t looking at him with hostility, but he wanted an end to the suspicions that had entered his mansion alongside Robert. Besides, if Ravian refused now, he would look guilty in front of Larette and Shmichael—and it might push the earl to withdraw from the entire project or even hand him over to Robert himself.

’Right now, I’m seriously considering killing Sophia instead of exhausting myself trying to bring her under my wing... The worst day of my life was the day I decided to help her back there.’

But even Ravian wasn’t convinced by his own thoughts.

He had intended to test his ability anyway, and he had been the one who chose to intervene. Sophia had never asked for his help; he was the one who decided to act like a damned hero.

It just so happened that the man had been inside a shady tavern riddled with crimes and criminal activity—and that a hard-nosed detective like Robert had been assigned to investigate it.

’Is my luck really that bad?’

Ravian returned his attention to Robert.

The detective’s eyes remained steady, his chest rising and falling calmly. His gaze was fixed on Ravian in a way Ravian had always found strange. It seemed to go beyond merely studying his expressions—it felt as though the man were staring into his very depths.

’Void Shadow conceals my soul energy and life force. He won’t be able to sense my body’s reaction even if I lie.’

That was the only thought running through Ravian’s mind now.

Ravian didn’t like gambling, but he saw no choice except to answer.

”Yes,” he finally said. ”I entered the capital through one of its official gates.”

The word reverberated strangely throughout the room.

”Yes... yes...”

The echo wasn’t natural.

The second voice came from somewhere impossible to locate—slower and deeper than Ravian’s voice, as though the room itself had seized his answer and returned it after stripping away something hidden within it.

And at that very instant—

A pure white gleam ignited inside Robert’s hazel eyes.

Ravian froze at the sight, a sense of foreboding mounting within him.

The detective’s smile hadn’t changed, but the eyes staring at him were no longer those of an ordinary man. Faint circles spread through them like ripples forming across the surface of water, and at the center of each circle appeared a point of silvery-white light.

A chill ran down Ravian’s spine.

He could feel that Robert had just done something—he simply didn’t know what.

”You lied.”

Robert spoke those two words in a deep, commanding voice, sending goosebumps crawling across Ravian’s skin.

’What?’

Ravian’s mind couldn’t process what had happened or how Robert had exposed his lie.

Larette’s eyes widened at the sudden declaration, while Shmichael turned toward Robert, his earlier irritation dissolving into wariness.

Earl Patrick’s eyes widened slightly as he stared into Robert’s. Then he slowly rose from his seat.

”That silvery-white gleam...” Patrick said, his tone changing for the first time since the detective’s arrival. ”You are an Ambassador of Truth.”

For the first time since entering the mansion, Ravian lost his composure upon hearing the words that left Earl Patrick’s mouth.

’Truth?’

Ravian repeated the name inwardly.

Then he remembered the discussion that had taken place at the camp with Malrik and the others—the conversation about the Fourteen Taboos, among whom one of the Seven Saviors had been mentioned.

Truth.

’And this detective is an Ambassador of the Taboo of Truth?’

The more Ravian thought about it, the harder he found it to believe.

An Ambassador was nothing like a mere follower. The title alone made that obvious. It meant that an Ambassador possessed special abilities or gifts.

The gleam that had appeared in Robert’s eyes—the one Patrick had recognized—proved it.

’He used one of his abilities on me.’

Ravian reached that conclusion, and with each realization, his body seemed to grow heavier in the chair.

Robert had asked whether he had killed the bald man, and Ravian had refused to answer.

He had asked why Ravian was at the tavern, and Ravian had told him that he had entered to eat something and look for a place to sleep.

He had asked about Ravian’s connection to the earl, and Ravian had said that he had come to discuss a project without ever claiming to know Patrick personally.

He had evaded every question, carefully shaped every answer, and outmaneuvered Robert both mentally and psychologically.

Not once had he directly lied in any of his answers.

That was why nothing had happened before.

And in the end...

He had been brought down by an absurd ability belonging to one of the Fourteen Taboos.

’From the very beginning, he was never waiting for me to confess. He was waiting for a single lie.’

Ravian finally understood and returned his gaze to Robert.

Robert placed his pipe back between his lips, but the light within his eyes didn’t fade.

”I didn’t come here in that capacity, Earl Patrick. I had hoped this could end with me acting merely as an ordinary detective,” Robert said.

The younger detective stared at him in shock, no less stunned than anyone else. It seemed that even Robert’s own assistant hadn’t known.

Robert looked at Ravian, making no effort to conceal the faint smile on his lips.

”At the tavern, you never lied to me. You were careful enough to refuse to answer or speak truths that revealed nothing important.” He removed the pipe from his mouth, and a faint smile tugged at its corner. ”I began to wonder how long you would be able to keep it up.”

Ravian didn’t reply.

”But when I closed every path before you, you chose to lie,” Robert continued. ”And now I know my deduction was correct.”

Robert’s ability couldn’t read thoughts or force someone to speak the truth. It exposed lies within specific answers, which was why it could do nothing whenever Ravian refused to answer.

But this time, Ravian had given it exactly what it needed.

”You used the power of one of the Taboos inside my mansion without my permission?” Earl Patrick asked coldly.

”I used it as part of an official investigation concerning an illegal entry into the capital and a mysterious death,” Robert replied. ”And I haven’t harmed your guest, Earl Patrick.”

Then Robert returned his gaze to Ravian.

”At least, not yet.”

Larette’s fingers tightened around the back of the chair.

”What do you mean by that?” she asked.

Robert ignored her completely as he stepped closer to Ravian.

”I’ll ask you one last time, Mr. Rayan. How did you enter the capital?”

Ravian gradually recovered his composure, his gaze turning utterly cold.

”I won’t answer.”

No echo came.

The light inside Robert’s eyes didn’t change.

A small smile appeared on Ravian’s face as his deduction was confirmed.

”Your ability can’t do anything unless I give it an answer—isn’t that right?”

”Correct,” Robert admitted without hesitation. ”But I no longer need it to prove that you lied about how you entered.”

He returned his pipe to his coat pocket.

”Rayan Veyr, you are hereby detained for entering the capital through an illegal route, providing false information during an official investigation, and suspected involvement in the death of the man inside the tavern,” Robert said, signaling to his younger assistant.

The younger detective moved at once, closing the door behind him before taking up position in front of it.