The Villain Princess survived the Imperial Riot

The two dogs began to tear at each other, and Hestia was pleased to see it, but the matter of the worms was more important.

"I will obey His Highness's orders." Stein glanced at Adrian, gloating. "You too, please, Governor."

……

The dark cell was covered with torture instruments hanging on the walls, the branding irons were burning red in the furnace, the dim light flickered, and a huge human shadow was projected on the uneven wall, like a twisted and deformed monster.

Adrian's already gloomy mood plummeted when he saw the naked, bruised Sir Loren. The once well-dressed gentleman was devoid of any visible flesh. His jaw was dislocated, his gums cracked, his face looked as if it had been sawed down the middle with a blunt knife, and his eye sockets were so swollen that he could barely see. His fingers and toes were bare, and his thigh was boneless, seemingly healed with some miraculous elixir.

The Governor's face was pale as he spoke gloomily, "Master Stein, you have tortured him to this extent. Even if you ask him to call a horse a zebra, he would probably bite his tongue and admit it."

"Your Highness will judge right from wrong." Stein said calmly.

"So what is this plague you're talking about?" Hestia asked.

Stan said, "That's the information provided by that gang member. He's one of the three managers of the Black Hand Guild... Your Highness may not be familiar with them. The Black Hand Guild is a thief organization that roams across the Seven Seas, filled with lawless criminals. I wonder how the Governor-General can manage to rule the country by allowing these criminals to appear so brazenly within the Empire."

"You're bullshitting! The Black Hand Guild worships an evil god and has widespread ties. It's the Inquisition's job to try these heretics. I'm curious, given their immense power, even controlling the police stations of Yunling, why are they allowing these criminals to flourish?"

"That's enough." Hestia was overwhelmed and scolded the two of them, casting a look at Chloe.

Chloe extended her delicate yet powerful hand, a white moth perched on her fingertips. She paused for a moment, staring intently at the moth's splitting cocoon, and said thoughtfully, "He's been exposed to bacteria and viruses."

Hestia nodded, "Stein, tell me about the plague."

Stein glanced at Chloe and continued, "According to prisoner Logan's testimony, the healing potion they smuggled was simply disguised as an addictive substance with a certain therapeutic effect, and it was also a contagious addictive substance."

"Tell me about the symptoms."

"The healing potion—they call it 'Blood Activating Spirit,' 'Siren's Kiss,' 'Secret Elixir of Regeneration.' There are multiple versions, but they're all essentially the same," Stein said. "The potion has an 'active' property. While it overdraws the user's vitality, it also infuses them with an excessive 'impulse,' causing their emotions to become consumed by a frenzy and excitement, amplifying any emotion tenfold."

"What about contagion?"

"Criminal Logan said that the infected person's epilepsy will spread to people within a certain range. However, based on my experience and experiments, this is most likely some kind of special mystical curse... Your Highness, please read this."

Stein walked up to Sir Glenn. As he got closer, Sir Glenn seemed to smell something delicious. He opened his mouth wide and showed his empty gums: "Water... I want water... ah ah ah..."

Stein put his hand on Glenn's head, and the Inquisitor's power instantly suppressed his frenzy, allowing him to gradually sober up.

"You are..." Glenn's eyes were half closed. He couldn't see the person in front of him clearly, but he could smell the other person's heart-pounding scent. He suddenly remembered something and screamed, "Chief Examiner, please spare me! I have said everything I can and cannot say. Please spare me, Chief Examiner!"

Stein didn't reply. Instead, he calmly demonstrated to the princess, "There's something 'alive' in the healing potion, but it's not a fully living thing. It's more like an embryo that needs to develop. Its nutrients are flesh and blood and the host's sanity."

As he spoke, a dagger slipped out from his long sleeve and stabbed into Glenn's heart.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--"

Glenn screamed, but soon he found that there was no pain in his chest as he had imagined. Instead, there was endless hunger and a blood-red world in his eyes.

"Water, I need water—"

"It's difficult to kill him completely. The excess active energy provides nutrients to this body. The curse will gradually seep through the blood, turning the infected person into a cursed puppet, a living corpse."

"Ghoul?"

"Not entirely. Ghouls are undead creatures. While they share a bloodthirsty soul and can heal their decayed flesh by consuming flesh, they are essentially the product of the curse of death. Our Sir Glenn... his incomparable vitality sustains this body. Mold and bacteria proliferate wildly within him, preventing him from withering away. This alienated vitality only allows for one possibility."

"The Eternal Path," Hestia whispered.

"That's right, Your Highness. And it's an evil being with a twisted path." Stein said gravely. "This 'activity' is subtle, much like an embryo, and normally barely detectable. I used the High Knight Blood-Activating Potion to catalyze Sir Glenn's infection, achieving this effect in such a short period of time. If this 'plague' spreads throughout Cloudtop City, the incubators housing millions of people will cause it to develop to unimaginable levels. I even wonder if this is some secret cultivator's ritual to ascend to myth."

Hestia looked coldly at Sir Glenn, who no longer looked like a human being. Clusters of blue spots spread across his body.

She thought again of the rebellion and tragedy in Yunling. If things really developed in the direction Stein said, then the Iron Army might really massacre half of the city.

"It's not that serious." Chloe stepped forward. "When the virus develops to a certain extent, it will reach a bottleneck. Only a few outstanding hosts can make further progress. And this one in front of me is the result of you using countless catalysts."

Chloe extended her hand, and a white moth emerged from its cocoon and flew to Sir Glenn's shoulder, penetrating along his skin. After a moment, she said regretfully, "He's been deeply transformed. There's no hope. But one thing is certain now: the manipulator behind this is definitely not a follower of the Fungus Skeleton."

Hestia asked, "Who is that?"

"It's unknown at this point, but it's modified the poison's allure," Chloe pondered. "It must have profound knowledge of alchemy, potions, and arcane techniques. It's impossible for such a person to remain unknown."

Stein asked, "Who is this?"

"Just think of her as a detective," Hestia said, without further explanation.

Seeing that the princess stopped talking, Stein didn't dare to ask any further, so he said, "Actually, the Seventh Investigator even found out the source of the smuggled goods from Logan's group... Just as the detective said, those potions came from a reputable private clinic, and the owner of the clinic is registered with both the Austrian Alliance and the Imperial Royal Medical Association. Do you want to..."

"Let's observe for two days. Those who are still exposed outside might just be bait that can be discarded at any time."

Hestia looked at Sir Glenn. The gentleman who had been so energetic last night now looked more miserable than a stray dog.

She pulled out her revolver and pointed it between Glenn's eyebrows.

"Boom."

Smoke and dust filled the air.

"As expected, the Witch's Book did not collect any spirituality. His soul has been devoured by something, leaving him with only a shell and memories."

Hestia thought to herself.

"Your Highness..." Adrian trembled, afraid that the princess would collapse if she disagreed with him.

"It seems you didn't take the matter I asked you to handle last time seriously."

"Your Highness, please be advised. I've been working tirelessly these past few days to investigate the corrupt officials within the Governor's Office. I accidentally overlooked Oli Glenn, the treacherous villain who was right before my eyes..."

Hestia sneered, "Was it an accident, or was it intentional?"

"Maybe it was intentional." Chloe suddenly told a joke to liven up the situation.

No one dared to laugh.

"Hmph. Then I'll punish you by giving you one month to eliminate any potential rebels within the Governor's Office and rectify the Yunling tax system. Next month, I want to see a fiscal surplus of at least 500,000 gold shields."

Hestia did not pursue the matter further. She believed that after this incident, Adrian would no longer have any lucky thoughts.

She asked again, "I remember that the rebels who attacked the Divine Emperor's statue in Crown Plaza were also transferred here?"

"Yes, Your Highness, but the rebels are very determined and time is short, so the investigation office has not yet obtained any valuable intelligence."

"Take me to see him."

……

The rebels were imprisoned at the bottom of the forest prison lake. They took an elevator forty meters down, and the deep and confined atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The gates opened one after another, and Hestia stepped inside under the protection of the jailers. The stone floor under her feet was sticky to the touch. She didn't know under what circumstances it was built, but she felt like she was walking on a road paved with rotten flesh and blood.

"You cast a barrier here?" Chloe frowned unhappily. She suddenly realized how far away she was from Meng Su.

Stein responded coldly, "The lower-level prisons mostly hold dangerous secret cultivators and anomalous creatures. Don't worry, young lady. You are His Highness's guest, and the Inquisition won't do anything to you."

Having said that, after entering the trap set by the review office, Chloe did not feel the slightest sense of freedom, which made her feel very insecure, so she moved closer to the princess.

"Aren't you bored? Don't get close to me." Hestia felt the new lawnmower was trying to take advantage of her. She was now a princess, and she could easily seduce an elf maid into her bed with a snap of her fingers. She wasn't so destitute as to share a bed with a lawnmower.

“…” Chloe didn’t expect that she would be disliked at this time.

Didn't we agree to add a few moth slaves to the villa? So only the cocoon girls are allowed, and the moth heirs are raised by the stepmother?

After gouging out two sharp eyes on the princess's heels and imagining the humiliating begging posture of the pure and arrogant Celestial Dragon after having his ticklish flesh trampled, Chloe finally calmed down her anger at being "discriminated against" and swallowed her anger.

But this prison is still scary...

It was dark and damp, with flickering torches. The ceiling was covered with dense skulls, and the prison cells with locked iron doors on both sides were engraved with secret texts.

If we talk about cults, the style of the censorship prison is the real cult.

As the princess' body fragrance seeped in, it was like a piece of spiced meat thrown into a pack of hyenas, and the iron doors and windows were instantly filled with pairs of eyes.

"Let me out! Do you hear me, you dog of the emperor? Otherwise, after I chop off your dog emperor, I'll make you into a stick and stick it at the gate of the palace!"

"Stein, you bastard, what have you done to my son? Speak up, Stein! I will never forgive you!"

"Hey, Stein, why did you bring two little girls to the back garden today? Isn't it exciting enough to play openly on the ground? You want to open everyone's eyes below--"

Hestia had confirmed through the Witch's Book that this place was filled with secret cultivators, with at least fifty spirits of varying strengths rising and falling at the junction.

"What realm are these secret practitioners at?" Hestia asked.

"Four masters, 4 peepers, and nine apprentices, in addition to 52 arcane scholars studying forbidden arts."

"Open his door." Hestia stood in front of the door of the prisoner who was shouting the loudest.

"Yes." Stein was not worried that the prisoners would hurt the princess.

The secret practitioners here are all imprisoned in the tower and have no ability to resist. At most, they still retain some powers in their bodies, but they cannot use them at will.

The jailer opened the door, and inside was a thin, bony man...

"Elf? Skeleton?" Hestia looked strange, but she could still make out a pair of pointed ears under the long hair covered in blood and excrement.

"He's a spy for the Kingdom of Tailan, a secret practitioner of the Path of Creation, and a mechanic of the Path of Deconstruction. I personally arrested him ten years ago." Stein smiled a rare smile. "Anyone who can spend ten years in a forest prison is a stubborn, unyielding person. But don't be fooled by his current stubbornness. To survive, he even eats his own excrement."

"Okay, you don't have to say anything." Hestia didn't want the Chief Inspector to ruin her lunch appetite.

She was quite familiar with the career of a mechanic, or "gaming career."

The Path of Creation is the pillar of the Tyran Elves' nation. After the God-Emperor killed the Furnace, the ancient elders of the Plantagenet Dynasty, the "Makers", usurped the [casting] authority of the God Furnace and became the master of the source of "casting".

Mechanics are inspired by the roots of "casting", cover the field of "hiding", and are good at combining and decomposing the structures of things, so it is also called the path of deconstruction.

Stein doesn't do his job, most likely to humiliate the elves and not give them any food.

Then his only source of nutrition is the moss and fungi in the corner and his own excrement.

If the power was used in such a place, an ordinary secret cultivator would have committed suicide long ago.

"What's the matter, Stein? Seeing how miserable I was, you brought two bitches with me?" The elf was skinny but incredibly energetic. He grinned, completely failing to conform to the stereotype of elegant elves. "I'm telling you, even if I die, I won't tell you a single clue about the Scepter of Judgment..."

"Oh, then go die."

Hestia had a blank expression on her face as she pulled out her revolver and assumed a standard shooting stance.

The elf was stunned. He was stubborn, but he hadn't truly given up hope of survival, otherwise he wouldn't have spent ten years in prison.