There was a strange silence inside the tent.
It was the kind of silence that made people instinctively look around, unsure of what would happen next.
Sword Maiden’s second disciple immediately snapped her head toward her master. For a brief moment she was worried that Sword Maiden might explode in anger.
But when she looked closely, Sword Maiden’s face still appeared calm.
Her posture was straight, her eyes were steady, and her breathing was slow. Anyone unfamiliar with her might have thought nothing was wrong.
Then the second disciple noticed Sword Maiden’s arms.
They were crossed over her chest, and the knuckles of her right hand had turned completely white from how tightly she was clenching her fist.
The disciple’s heart skipped.
’She is angry!’ she thought in alarm.
Her mind immediately began searching for a way to calm the situation before it turned into something worse.
"What kind of fool is he?" she quickly said, forcing a light scoff into her voice. "This is obviously a lie. It’s hard to imagine someone tricking Bjorn’s lie detection ability, but that must be what he’s doing. Still, I don’t understand what he gains by saying something like this when we’re testing him."
She spoke quickly, hoping her words would cool the growing tension.
Her eyes flicked toward Sword Maiden again, trying to judge her reaction.
Sword Maiden didn’t respond.
She only stared at Isaac with a calm expression that somehow felt even more dangerous.
Bjorn let out an awkward chuckle.
"Sword Maiden... is your maid?" he repeated, clearly confused. "Could you explain that a little more?"
Bjorn’s goal was simple.
The hypnosis slowed Isaac’s mind, making it harder for him to maintain lies. Even if it seemed Isaac could bypass his lie detection, the hypnosis was still causing mental delay for Isaac, which eventually cause him to slip and reveal something inconsistent.
All Bjorn needed was for Isaac to keep talking.
But the moment Isaac opened his mouth, Bjorn’s regretted his decision.
"Sword Maiden is called Sword Empress in the future. She is one of the pillars of the human race, and a cranky old lady who gets angry whenever someone calls her old. Also, she is a huge pervert."
The room froze.
Unfortunately, Isaac wasn’t done.
"She acts like a saint in public, but she’s always spying on my nights with my wives. And while she watches, she pleasures herself."
Silence fell across the tent. It was not the earlier tense silence. This one was far worse.
Bjorn’s mouth slowly opened.
Several long seconds passed before a strange sound escaped his lips.
"...what?"
Isaac, still hypnotized, interpreted that as a signal to continue.
"Not only that, she always gets angry at me the next morning as if it’s my fault she was spying. She acts very dignified in front of everyone, but her true—"
The space inside the tent suddenly tore open.
Sword Maiden stepped through the tear.
In the next instant she was already in front of Isaac.
Her hand shot forward, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing.
"What the hell are you saying!?"
Her voice echoed through the tent.
She glared at him with blazing eyes.
But what stood out even more was her face.
It had turned completely red.
Isaac dangled in her grip, completely unaware of the danger he was in.
If he had been thinking clearly, he would have realized two things immediately.
First, Sword Empress of the past was unbelievably beautiful. The sharp dignity in her features combined with her furious expression, and perfectly proportional physique in a way that was strangely captivating.
Second, she was genuinely furious.
"How dare you lie like this!?" she shouted again.
"Lies?" Isaac’s lips moved slowly. "I am not lying—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Isaac’s eyes suddenly rolled back and closed.
His body went limp.
Bjorn had activated his ability again, forcing Isaac into sleep before the situation escalated further.
If Isaac had continued talking, there was a very real chance Sword Maiden might have killed him on the spot.
Sword Maiden’s gaze snapped toward Bjorn.
Bjorn felt chills run down his spine.
Every instinct in his body screamed danger.
"What a vulgar man!" Bjorn blurted out. "He must have used something to bypass my lie detection! That’s the only explanation!"
Sword Maiden’s teeth ground together.
Her calm and composed demeanor had completely vanished.
"Helen!" she snapped. Without hesitation she hurled Isaac through the tear in space she had created. On the other side stood her second disciple. "Take him to my office. I will interrogate him myself."
"Yes, Master!"
Helen reacted instantly.
She caught Isaac’s unconscious body with both arms and immediately turned around, and ran. Anyone could feel the oppressive pressure radiating from Sword Maiden at that moment, and Helen had no intention of staying near it any longer than necessary.
As she hurried down the corridor, her eyes briefly glanced at Isaac’s face.
Even unconscious, his features were calm.
Helen let out a quiet internal sigh.
’What a waste of such a handsome face. If you really wanted to die, there were much easier ways to do that,’ she thought.
Back inside the tent, the atmosphere was still tense.
Sword Maiden slowly turned toward Bjorn.
"Everything that happened here must remain a secret. If I hear even the slightest rumor about this, you should prepare yourself," she said.
Her tone was quiet.
But it carried a very clear threat.
Bjorn nodded rapidly.
"I was never even here," he said immediately.
Under normal circumstances, Bjorn was known as a calm and respected figure.
Seeing him respond so quickly might have looked comical to an outsider.
But Bjorn didn’t care about appearances right now.
He was a smart man.
And smart people knew when not to provoke someone stronger than them.
Especially someone currently furious.
Without wasting another second, Bjorn quickly walked out of the tent.
The moment he stepped outside, he sped up into something very close to running.
Inside the tent, only two people remained.
Sword Maiden.
And Gael.
Sword Maiden took a slow breath, trying to calm herself.
Her mind was already shifting toward the next step. She needed to observe Alice’s interrogation and determine whether Isaac’s statements were part of a larger deception.
She turned to leave when—
"Master."
—Gael’s voice stopped her.
Sword Maiden paused and glanced over her shoulder.
"What?"
Gael was smiling.
"I have to admit. I didn’t expect something like this from you," he said lightly.
"...what are you talking about?"
Sword Maiden turned fully to face him now.
Gael shrugged slightly.
"I mean, if what he said is true, you should at least consider the age difference. Isn’t what your future self is doing technically a crime?"
"...Gael, are you suggesting the things he said were true?"
The chill in her voice was enough to make most people freeze.
But Gael only smiled wider.
He had trained under her for years.
He had seen that demonic expression countless times.
And while it still made him nervous, opportunities like this were rare.
"Haha, you can check that easily. If he really is your future disciple, then all you have to do is train him a little. If he starts learning your techniques, then he really is your disciple and everything he said—"
Sword Maiden flicked her finger.
The world went silent.
It was as if sound itself had been erased.
Gael’s voice vanished mid-sentence.
But the smile on his face didn’t disappear.
If anything, it grew slightly wider. He had managed to get under her skin.
His lips moved again. No sound came out. But Sword Maiden could clearly read the words.
’I’ll take good care of him.’
Gael’s grin turned mischievous.
’It looks like he’s going to be my master’s husband someday.’
Sword Maiden stared at him for a moment.
Then she turned around and walked away without waiting to see anything else he had to say.
Her steps were calm.
But the faint red tint on her ears had not completely faded yet. Only she knew whether it was anger, or something else.