The King's Mistress

Chapter 133: Three Things

"Alistair mentioned you wanted to speak to me about it? I know it sounds insane but I have to do this..." she thought Vy would attempt to talk her out of it.

"I’m not here to advise you not to," Vy quickly explained her true intentions, "I just wanted to provide you with some support."

She paused for a moment in thought before continuing, "I was in a similar position a long time ago. I know what it’s like to be set up. To have people pinning a crime on you that you did not commit."

At first, Sierra didn’t know what to believe. But the conviction and emotions evident in her tone of voice as Vy spoke made Sierra realize she meant what she was saying. As Vy looked up, she could see the look of concern on her face.

"It’s a long story, perhaps I’ll explain it in detail another time," Vy reassured her before continuing to speak, "All I can do for you at this time, is to give you some advice."

Sierra nodded, "I’m all ears."

Vy held up her hand, three fingers.

"Three pieces of advice. One, always keep your calm, and never let your opponent get the best of you. Two, turn the situation to your advantage and get your opponent to spill the beans on their own. Especially if you don’t have enough supporting evidence. Three, call the people you trust as your witnesses.

Sometimes the strength of one is not nearly enough."

Sierra listened carefully, committing all of them to heart.

"These are all great advice, thank you, Vy. How can I ever repay you?"

Vy chuckled as she shook her head, "Let’s not talk about repayment. I’m simply giving a little advice, that is all. This reminds me, did his Majesty mention about the Book of Truth to you?"

"Yes he did, but he did not elaborate."

"Let me explain it then. It’s an enchanted book that has been cast with spells that compels the person who placed their hand on it to speak the truth. In some Kingdoms, such as the Kingdom of Kinshearth, it is used as a tool in trials."

"It allows for a smoother court proceeding, I assume," Sierra mused as she processed the information in her mind.

"Yes. If I had it back when I was on trial, I think it would have saved me quite some trouble," Vy chuckled to herself.

Sierra wondered what sort of trouble she encountered, but decided that it was not appropriate for her to pursue the details.

"Do take note, however, that there are some ways to trick the book if needed..."

According to Vy’s explanation, while the enchanted book compelled the person to reveal the truth, it did not necessarily have to be the whole truth. Details can be compelled, depending on the vagueness of the question asked.

"What happens if a person lies?" Sierra asked out of curiosity.

Aether answered this question as he hissed.

’The liar will feel as if their hand is on fire. The longer their hand remains on the book, the fire would spread until they twist in agony."

Sierra widened her eyes in surprise, shocked by the answer.

Vy nodded along, agreeing with Aether’s explanation, "Some have said that the pain will only stop should the truth be revealed. Others say it’s the guilt that causes those people to feel the continuous pain, as it should stop the moment they remove their hand from it."

"I see...," Sierra glanced over to Alistair for a brief moment.

He was speaking to Dygo about something she could not quite decipher. She pursed her lips as she averted her gaze back to Vy. Sierra leaned forward and whispered to Vy.

"Can I ask you something?"

Vy leaned forward too, "Sure."

She assumed Sierra had something she wanted to ask her in private, hence the hush voices.

"Do you know how many days I’ve been here?"

Alistair had mentioned to her before that the last time Vy came to visit was when she first appeared in the secret passageway. However, no matter how many times she pleaded with him, he refused to tell her how many days it had been since then.

Vy leaned back a little for a minute. She pursed her lips as she glanced to her side, then back at Sierra.

"Please, I just... I need to know," Sierra did not know how else to explain the situation.

Vy reached out to Sierra’s hands and held them in hers. Leaning closer to her, she whispered to her.

"His Majesty did request for me to keep it a secret from you," she glanced over to Alistair for a moment before continuing, "But I think you have the right to know. Also, I am not from Drakin so to be honest, he has no jurisdiction over me."

The way Vy spoke at times baffled Sierra. But for the most of it, she enjoyed their conversations. The young woman was always straightforward and sincere. Having met people like Princess Agnes and Princess Cassandra, Sierra much preferred to speak to Vy.

She felt at ease when speaking to her.

"Based on when I last met you, you’ve been here for about four days," Vy revealed.

Sierra sunk back into the pillow that supported her back. She had overstayed her welcome. She bit her lip as she looked down at her hands as she fidgeted in her seat.

Vy knew that look, it was a look of guilt. freēwebnovel.com

"Don’t be so hard on yourself or on him," Vy said as she glanced over to Alistair, "You know how much he loves you, don’t you?"

Sierra blushed, she did not know how to respond.

Vy chuckled as she saw the expression on her face, "Both of you aren’t fooling anyone, you know. He probably didn’t want you to know so that you’ll take your time to heal."

"I know," Sierra sighed as she held on to her arm, "But the longer I stay, the more trouble there will be."