Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 53: Imprisoned

The Soul Art eventually dissipated.

The overwhelming Ether slowly evaporated into the air as the incorporeal force holding the powerless slave began to wither away.

"I have confirmed that the testimony against this slave is correct. You are guilty of all you were accused of." The voice of the Family Head wafted in the air like a death sentence as Rey’s feet touched the cold ground.

"...."

There he stood, in front of all the spectators who watched in sheer horror regarding his actions.

The silence was heavy.

No one needed to tell him how screwed he was.

Rey already knew how it looked.

But—

’I’ve been set up...’ He sighed deeply.

His expression was solemn.

He was tempted to raise his voice and loudly declare that he wasn’t guilty, but what would be the use?

’I have to give it to the mastermind. They did this very well.’

Even now, Rey still didn’t understand how they were able to achieve this outcome. He, despite his vast experience and insight, was treated as a mere fool.

At first, it frustrated him.

Back when he was merely a spectral being watching the events play out, he felt deep anger and helplessness in his Soul.

But those feelings had long fizzled out.

Now?

Now, he simply desired to understand the situation to better himself.

’I’m very curious. How was this achieved?’

He glanced at the woman who accused him, observing her subservient aura towards her superiors and the deep glare she directed at him.

No, it couldn’t be her.

’She’s likely a pawn in this game, just like me.’ He thought to himself. ’There’s a chance she is simply acting, but I find that highly unlikely. Someone this intricate would not put themselves in the line of fire.’

Rey laughed inside.

’They’re likely not even in this room.’

Everyone here had been fooled.

They were duped from the beginning, himself included.

Rey accepted this fact, reflecting on his insufficiencies. He had to admit it very plainly to himself:

’I have lost.’

He no longer had any cards left to play.

There was nothing he could do.

His fate was completely left in the hands of his superiors.

Rey cast a glance at Augustus, seeing exactly what he expected—a helpless, scared Young Master who was unwilling to stand up for him.

Rey already knew this would happen.

’He is abandoning me yet again, though I can’t blame him this time.’

Not only could Augustus not dare to stand against his parents, but all the evidence clearly pointed at Rey being the guilty party.

It was over.

"Do you have anything left to say for yourself?" Dreyfus asked with a deep calmness.

The kind that comes before the storm.

"I am innocent."

That was all Rey said, but even his tone was hollow.

The truth was, even if they slightly believed his words, killing him was still a preferable option.

They would kill him and secretly find the true culprit—but this was even if he showed a possibility of honesty.

But everyone had seen the evidence.

They heard the confession.

Rey had... no way out. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Take him to the underground cellar. Leave him alone there for a few days. I’ll come up with an appropriate punishment once the time comes."

"Right away, Great Lord!"

"Dear—!"

Lady Beatrice Desgarron was clearly dissatisfied with her husband’s decision.

The Armed Guards grabbed Rey and began restraining him while also sending the other servants out.

The maids and slaves scurried off immediately, glad to have been relieved of all suspicion. As for the more dignified servants, they spent some time thanking their very gracious Lord before rushing out.

The guards finished their containment of the threat that was a single slave and began to drag him off.

While this was happening, Augustus simply watched in silence while hanging his head powerlessly.

His parents, on the other hand, were arguing.

"We need to torture him for what he did to our daughter! Show an example to everyone else! He will suffer in such a way he didn’t even know existed!" Lady Beatrice screamed, a great, unfathomable pain evident from her tone.

"In due time..." The Lord sighed. "But the young man has a few gaps in his memories which I find concerning. His Soul is likely already damaged, and my Soul Art isn’t enough to recover these memories without doing further damage. I will need to obtain a specialized Artifact to retrieve them for me. In the meantime, we will keep him locked up and isolated from anyone else"

"B-but—!"

"Torturing him will only damage his body and mind. It could increase the severity of the situation. Just be a little bit patient, my dear..." At this point, Lord Desgarron embraced his wife while they both cast a concerning look at their daughter.

"... We will surely have our revenge!"

*******

’I only have a few days of reprieve, huh?’

Rey had heard his sentence and also overheard a bit of Amara’s mother’s tantrum, so he knew his inevitable fate.

Although he didn’t hear why the Lord had chosen it to be this way, he remained aware that was only living on borrowed time.

’So what are my options?’

Rey didn’t have a lot at the moment.

Firstly, he could simply wait out the days and take on whatever punishment was decided for him.

He didn’t like this option.

After all, he was likely to experience sheer torture, the likes of which woulf make him beg for death.

Rey saw what Augustus did to Leon’s lover just to punish Leon for lying to him.

Rey’s crime was far worse.

And Augustus was far more innocent compared to his parents.

The torture he would experience...

’I don’t even want to think about it.’ Rey shuddered. ’Even though I can likely handle whatever physical pain they throw at me, with the kind of mystical powers they have, I already know the things I will experience will be quite dreadful.’

He would likely wish for death instead.

That led him to the second option.

Dying.

’Although I’ve been commanded not to kill myself due to the Lord’s Soul Art, this only applies to the other Soul and not my real Soul.’ Rey deeply reasoned ’In the worst case, I can just kill myself.’

In fact, this was his most attractive option.

That wasn’t simply due to the fact that he wanted to escape the incoming pain.

There was another reason.

’What if I can revive again? Doing it would likely get rid of the remaining Curse Art, thus removing my Slave Status.’

Rey considered this carefully.

He wasn’t entirely certain that he could revive again.

Besides, even if he did, he would just be in enemy territory, unable to do anything regarding his circumstances.

There was also a chance that Augustus would realize that his Slave status was broken and alert his parents.

Since Rey was trapped underground, with no way out, this would simply seal his fate.

And without a way to truly kill himself, since he would revive anyway, he would have no choice but to experience this endless torture.

But, the premise itself was uncertain.

Could he still revive?

’Since I am not sure, there’s no need to think of this as an immediate plan.’ He dismissed this idea and thought of something else.

Finding the mastermind and the mechanism that they used to trick everyone.

Doing this would not only prove his innocence, but it would also expose the true culprit.

There was only one simple problem.

’I have no idea how they did it or who they are.’ Rey clenched his fist. ’I don’t even know where to begin my search.’

Yes, there were a good number of people who didn’t like him in the Estate.

But none of them had the will or motivation to go this far. They didn’t even possess the strength or resources to conceive such a scheme.

They would need access to so many things and would also be incredibly powerful not to mention knowledgeable.

Rey didn’t see any of his current enemies possessing these traits.

He also didn’t think the malefactor was even an enemy of his. Instead, he was simply a pawn in a much larger scheme.

’This wasn’t a personal vendetta. I imagine this person must have invested some time and effort into this plan, and it likely involves the Desgarron Family and not me. If that’s the case, then maybe... Just maybe... the situation isn’t as hopeless as I imagined.’