We were detained at the border checkpoint on charges that had been completely made up.
A few minutes later the fox-eyed knight came in. He looked straight at me, and his first words were—
"I suggest you hand over the illegal items. Otherwise I'll have to interrogate you."
He didn't even bother asking questions. He just jumped straight to a verdict. Talking to him any further would be a waste of time, so I decided to call for someone higher up.
I took a deep breath and started my throat-destroying performance.
"Get the highest authority in here! I'm filing a complaint! This fox-eyed knight is slandering and framing innocent citizens of another country!"
Unfortunately, my "Detection" had been forcibly canceled the moment the handcuffs snapped on. These cuffs apparently blocked magic. Impressive invention.
Since I had no way of knowing who was outside, all I could do was yell and hope someone important passing by would get annoyed enough to come in and shut me up.
"Men, take his away," the fox-eyed knight ordered.
I had no interest in talking to him, and clearly he felt the same. He wanted to skip straight to interrogation. Two soldiers came over to drag me up, but I locked my body in place, using pure muscle and dead weight so they couldn't lift me.
Watching them struggle, the fox-eyed knight clicked his tongue. I grinned and provoke him directly.
"You think you can just drag me around like that? Do you know who I am?"
"Then who are you?" he shot back, arms crossed. He looked nervous, but too stubborn to back down.
I dropped the playful tone and answered with a perfectly serious face.
"A commoner. Hahaha!!!"
I burst out laughing as loud as I could, like a full-blown lunatic. The fox-eyed knight rubbed his temples in irritation after being toyed with, then turned his gaze to Alice.
"...Take the blonde woman."
The moment I heard that, I started screaming.
"Help! The fox-eyed knight is abusing his authority to harass an innocent woman! He's trying to satisfy his own sick desires! Help!"
The soldiers hesitated. Alice was a woman, after all. As bad as it sounded, the word interrogation plus a female prisoner immediately painted a very ugly picture.
Annoyed that I was sabotaging him, the fox-eyed knight drew his sword and pointed it at me.
"If you keep shouting, I'll be forced to use disciplinary measures."
I glanced at the blade. It wasn't even sharpened. Nothing to be scared of.
"Oh? You're going to execute me? Are you prepared for what comes after?"
"What?"
I kept flipping my attitude like a lunatic, then suddenly started shouting that I was being wronged.
"Help! The knight's flying into a rage and trying to kill civilians! Help! An honest citizen is about to be murdered!"
"...This is so damn annoying. Just take that woman away," he snapped.
What a coward. If he'd actually struck me, I'd have had a proper excuse to fight back.
Just then, someone finally stepped in. A tall, broad-shouldered older man entered the room.
"Laje, I heard you were interrogating suspects. What's going on?"
"Lord Golendo, thank you for coming. These people attempted to smuggle drugs into our country. No need to worry—I'll resolve this immediately."
Perfect. He called him Lord. Definitely a superior officer. And someone had already reported the situation. Lucky.
I stood up at once and spoke before the knight could twist the story.
"We're innocent. We're merchants. He accused us of drug smuggling with zero evidence and tried to torture us based purely on his imagination."
"Laje, is this true?" the superior asked.
"Of course not. He's just struggling." the knight insisted.
"Wow. Your delusions are severe. You're in the wrong profession. Please go to a hospital—there's a bed there with your name on it."
I shooed him away with my hand. Behind me, Jacob and the others were clearly trying not to laugh.
The superior turned to the soldier who had questioned us earlier.
"Jack. Is what this traveler says true?"
"This…"
So his name was Jack. Good to know. The fox-eyed knight glared at him, silently threatening him to choose his words carefully. That's when I speak up and warning him.
"Fox-Eyes, stop staring. He's just doing his job. Don't use your rank to force him to lie."
"Laje, step outside."
"But—"
"Outside."
"...Yes, sir."
Once the knight was kicked out, the superior faced Jack again.
"Jack. Don't lie. Tell me exactly what you saw."
"Yes, Lord Ethe. Sir Turin…"
Jack recounted everything from start to finish. I didn't have to add a single correction. Good man.
The superior nodded.
"Release them."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers unlocked our cuffs immediately. Then the superior gave us a small bow.
"I apologize for the offense. He's overly patriotic. Please don't take it to heart."
Judging by how young the fox-eyed knight was, he'd probably never been humbled by the real world yet.
But there was no way I was letting him off that easily.
Someone had to teach him how life actually worked.
I answered the superior in a domineering tone.
"No way. We were slandered and intimidated. If he isn't fired, I'm not letting this go."
"I'm afraid that's difficult," the superior replied. "He's a noble of our country. We can discipline him, but dismissal would cause… complications."
The moment he said that, I had a whole new lecture ready. We were the victims here. As long as I didn't say anything wrong, I was firmly in the right.
"What problem? So what if he's a noble—does that mean nobles can throw around accusations whenever they want? Those three over there are nobles from our country. Shouldn't he apologize to them and be dismissed? Are you trying to start an international incident?"
If he wanted to play the noble card, I'd play it harder.
The superior turned pale and looked at Jacob and the others.
"...May I ask your names and titles?"
They glanced at me, silently asking for permission. Since I'd told them earlier to stay quiet and watch, I gave a small nod.
"I am Grace Somart, eldest daughter of a duke."
"I am Jacob Zereil, eldest son of a viscount."
"Ethefelis Sugued, second daughter of a marquis."
The superior's shock deepened with each introduction. Sorry, Jacob, but I was pretty sure it was Grace the duke's daughter and Ethefelis the marquis's daughter that really scared him.
"...Ah! My deepest apologies! I'll have Laje apologize immediately! Jack, go get him. Now!"
"Yes, sir!"