Chapter 108: Drowning in Water, Who is the Deterrence For?

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The water was so close that Thomas could feel the tip of his nose already submerged. He was about to blurt out some lies.

But in the next moment, before he could speak, he was plunged back into the water!

This time, it was for a very, very long time—so long that his chest filled with water, his lungs completely soaked, before he was finally pulled out. As he emerged, Thomas gasped for air, coughing and vomiting water. Allen, who had previously spoken in a slow, leisurely tone, now spoke urgently and relentlessly in his ear!

"Who?"

"Cough! D-Darius!!"

"Liar."

"It's really him!"

Back into the water.

Pulled out again.

"Who?"

A sob.

"Cough!! Darius!! Darius!! It's really Darius! I'm not lying, I'm not lying!!!"

"Liar."

"No!!"

"Who else?"

"Darius said he found help! I don't know!"

"Liar."

Into the water, pulled out.

"Who's the helper?"

"Cough cough!! I really don't know! I really don't know!!!!"

"How did you pass the message?"

"Letters! Letters!!"

"Where are the letters?"

Thomas hesitated for a moment, and then a tremendous force pressed down on him. The water surface loomed large in his pupils.

"Under the bed!!! Under the bed!!!!"

If one were to ask how much physical torment and mental fear waterboarding could inflict?

Thomas's soiled lower half might serve as an answer.

He trembled all over, staring at the water that had submerged the tip of his nose. The ripples on the surface, usually harmless, now seemed like a lightless abyss.

Thomas gulped, his eyes slowly shifting.

At the corner of his vision.

Very, very close.

Dark gray pupils.

"Floating" on the water surface.

Unblinking.

This was the gaze of "death."

The next moment.

"Death" spoke.

"Scared?"

"..."

"Afraid?"

"..."

"Want to die?"

Thomas trembled all over but still gritted his teeth and said.

"No... no..."

Then he saw the smile in those dark gray eyes.

Could death smile?

How could this be mercy?!

Thomas wept, tears and snot streaming down his face as he cried out.

"Please, I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have... Just... just give me a quick death, kill me, kill me with a sword, kill me, kill me!"

Allen, seeing the palpable fear in Thomas's eyes, grinned brightly.

Looking at Allen's expression, even though it was a spring morning, Thomas felt as if his entire body had turned ice-cold.

In the next moment, a soft voice reached his ears.

"Pray to the water."

Once again, Thomas was plunged into the water, struggling desperately!

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

Until he had no breath left, Allen finally pulled him out of the fountain and tossed him to the ground like garbage.

Thomas's honest face was now frozen in terror, water still flowing from his nose, mouth, and ears.

The sound of the fountain's splashing water was all too clear in everyone's ears.

Allen turned to Sauros, who was now holding some letters, his face grim as he read them. Ghislaine stood beside him and, seeing Allen's gaze, nodded.

The request Allen had made earlier by the fountain.

It had been this conversation.

"Ghislaine, could you do me a small favor? Once Thomas reveals the evidence, immediately help me find it and hand it to Sauros. Can you do that?"

"...I don't quite understand what you're saying, but if he talks, I'll do it."

Now.

Philip stood to the side, his eyes downcast. In the shadows of the sunlight, the admiration in his eyes shone brightly, so brightly it excited him.

Allen had once again done something unexpected, once again made a "perfect" choice.

To expose James's involvement in the assassination through Thomas, forcing Sauros to make a "choice"—this was something Philip should have orchestrated.

But Allen hadn't hesitated for a moment, instantly judging the best course of action given the circumstances. With Sauros suspicious of his identity, how could he use "facts" to convince Sauros to let him stay?

The answer was right before them.

This was the kind of talent Philip needed, this was his son...

With a thud, Thomas's corpse was kicked into Philip's line of sight, interrupting his thoughts.

The lifeless, terrified eyes of Thomas met Philip's gaze.

He slowly looked up.

Allen was staring at him expressionlessly.

Facing such a "gaze," Philip's soaring thoughts suddenly plummeted like a kite with a severed string. He didn't know how to react to Allen.

The emotions in his son's gaze—

Was it intimidation?

Mockery?

Or blame?

He couldn't tell what Allen was thinking at that moment.

But one thing was certain: Allen didn't seem to be in a good mood.

Philip was momentarily stunned, instinctively breaking eye contact with Allen and looking back down at Thomas's corpse.

Thomas was dead.

Dead and gone.

By now, Sauros had finished reading the evidence in his hands. His brows were tightly knit, his grip on the letters firm. He then looked up and gave Allen a deep glance.

A flicker of complexity passed through his eyes.

After a moment, he spoke.

His voice was still loud.

But the words were the complete opposite of what he had said earlier.

"...Not bad, adventurer Allen, is it? I acknowledge you. Stay and teach Eris swordsmanship well."

With that, he turned to leave.

Eris blinked, utterly confused, but her joy was unmistakable. She immediately jumped out of Sauros's loosened embrace and ran over to Allen.

Sauros merely glanced at her, shook his head, and left.

"Allen, you're so amazing... Hmph! Grandpa acknowledged you! So Eris acknowledges you too!!"

Her "tsundere" act vanished in an instant.

She crossed her arms, looking quite pleased.

But the next moment, she caught sight of Thomas's familiar face, now lifeless after being brutally killed by Allen, and her expression paled.

Sylphie and Rudy wore similar expressions.

The three children were all shaken by Allen's near-"torturous" method of revenge, as it was so starkly different from the gentle side he usually showed.

They were struggling to process it.

And did Allen do this on purpose?

Yes.

The unreasonable family rules, the layers of probing, the sudden assassination attempt—all of it had planted a seed of resentment in his heart.

It wasn't until Sauros's typically noble reaction that his resentment fully ignited!

Were there gentler ways to handle this?

Yes.

But Allen truly didn't want to.

He wanted to vent his anger!

He wanted to kill Thomas with his own hands!

To hell with the Boreas family!

He was utterly fed up with them!

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