Kyle typed the nonsense Noah was spewing without missing a single word. His eyes were still numb and sharp. If Noah could cut a person’s throat with her stare, she would have cut him five times.
“Then again, why threaten Lenia Valtalere?”
“I didn’t mean to threaten her.”
A lump swelled in Noah’s throat; she thought it was unjust. Why do you keep accusing me of things that I didn’t even do. You promised to clear me of the charges, why would you make me say all these?
“It was just a mistake. Since it’s a dragon, there are moments when I can’t control it. I’m sorry if it seemed like a murder threat.” Noah spat, tasting the blood on her lips.
“Is that true?”
Noah’s eyes glared at Kyle. “If I really wanted to kill her, would Lenia Valtalere be alive to make that statement?”
At her remark, Kyle paused for the first time. He looked at her face for a brief moment, and then turned to the typewriter again.
Tuck, tuck. For a while, only the sound of typing filled the interrogation room. Noah lowered her eyes, trying her best evading the thought that she wanted to smash the iron desk.
Finally, Kyle pressed the transfer button. With a shallow sigh, he scoured the desk and spoke. “It’s over, Minister. I just transferred all the transcripts.”
– Good work, Sir Leonard.
Noah looked to the side, startled at the voice coming from the wall. It sounded like the voice was transmitted through a mechanical device.
– We’ll discuss it again with the Vice Minister. First, inform Lady Asil of the trial schedule.
“Yes.” Kyle replied, marking the end of their conversation.
Now I’m going to trial. It isn’t surprising.
While Noah was keeping her mouth tightly shut like a clam, Kyle rose from his seat, tidying the scattered papers on the desk. And without saying a word to Noah, he turned around and moved towards the entrance to the interrogation room.
He stopped in front of the door, lifted a lid from the wall, and began to press something.
What are you doing?
Noah’s curiosity quickly unraveled. The light on the recorder situated in front of the desk, which was taking pictures of her face, went out. Then, the recorder that was filming the side of her face also turned off, and lastly, the recorder that was recording from the bottom shut off.
When Kyle pressed the last button, every recorder in the interrogation room made a series of noises and soon went dead.
The air was still inside the room where all the tapes had been turned off. Kyle checked whether the recorders had stopped, and then approached Noah. “Good work, Miss Noah.”
Kyle’s tone returned to its original manner. For a moment, Noah was overwhelmed by a sense of relief. While she blinked blankly, Kyle, who took off his uniform jacket and put it down on the desk, sat in front of her.
“Are you surprised?” He asked, unbuttoning his black shirt that was stiflingly tight.
“You know nothing.” Noah murmured, her voice cracked.
“You look pale.”
“I’m not pale.”
Noah could now see why Kyle was acting colder than when they first met. The entire duration of the interrogation was recorded and was currently being transmitted.
“No one can hear us now?” She asked hesitantly.
“No one can hear us now. I turned off all the transmitters. We have…” Kyle glanced down at his wristwatch, estimating the time. “Half an hour would be fine. I was surprised to see you dragged down- Miss Noah?”
When feelings of relief, irritation, injustice, and sorrow for being trapped in such a creepy place reached the extreme, Noah’s eyes were clouded. She bit her lips and glared at Kyle. “It’s really annoying, you.”
“No, wait a minute.”
As tears trickled down her cheeks, Kyle jumped off the table in surprise. “Why are you crying?”
“Really, really, really annoying. What did I do so wrong? Why should I be held in this interrogation room?”
“Miss Noah.”
“And I don’t know anyone else. You can’t do this to me. You know I didn’t!”
It’s unfair. It’s unfair. It’s not fair! I haven’t done anything wrong in all the years of my life. Why should I be in such a tight place? Why would I be detained like this?
To Noah, a commoner, everything in the place was horror. She rose from her seat. “I’m leaving.”
Her strong desire to escape the place shook the air in the interrogation room. As soon as the door of the room jittered, about to be opened, Noah’s shoulders were pulled and her body was swung back.
“Miss Noah, wait a minute.”
Noah wriggled against Kyle’s grip, who tried to restrain her. Eventually, Kyle pressed the back of her head into his arms.
“You can’t go out yet. I can’t reason properly if you suddenly go out.”