The lead investigator looked around, and then focused on Sienna. "We need to talk to you alone. There are some things about the case that are meant for your ears only."

Sienna crossed her arms. "Fine. But you have to make it quick. You came at a bad time. I am worried my daughter has eaten a whole bucket of strawberries already." She gestured at the guards, Liman, Linera and her father-in-law.

They all pulled back, but stayed within viewing distance.

The second investigator stood behind Sienna, and the lead investigator raised his hand. His eyes looked into Sienna’s. A rippled of mental strength surged through the air, pressing against Sienna’s mind like invisible chains. Her vision blurred, and suddenly she felt her thoughts being tugged, as though someone was poking around inside.

She blinked. Was he trying to pry into her mind? She wondered if she could block him...because she could. But in the end, she decided not to do so. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The lead investigator’s voice echoed inside her skull. "Tell me again, why did Lord Edris visit you?"

Sienna moved her lips, as if they were working without her consent. "He came to remind me of my roots in the falcon tribe and asked me to make Elias give the falcon tribe favorable trade deals."

"What else?" He asked.

She replied like a robot on remote control. "He wanted to buy honey from me and sell it in physical locations while I dominated the online market."

"What else?" He asked.

Sienna twisted her lips. "He wanted me to host the falcon god festival. I said no."

"Why?"

"Because I am not a falcon."

The investigator frowned. As expected, she had left something out. But, it was nothing special. "And your father Paris Rocland. How do you feel about him?"

Sienna’s eyes narrowed. "I loathe him. I hate him. If he was not dead, I would kill him myself. He was a deadbeat in every way."

"Are you aware that he had ties to an underground rebel movement?"

She answered automatically. "No. But from what I have heard, he didn’t have much common sense anyway. If he was a rebel, it was because someone tricked him the same way kids are tricked with candy."

The lead investigator pressed harder, sweat beading on his forehead. "What do you think of the king?"

She snorted. "Strong, handsome. A little too nosy but a great beast man all around." She almost laughed after giving that response. The king was probably eavesdropping on this little invasive questioning session. If her answers were perfect, it would be suspicious.

"What about the queen?" The lion asked.

Sienna twisted her lips. "Very beautiful, very unpredictable."

"Would you ever betray the royal family if someone asked you to?" the investigator demanded.

She nearly rolled her eyes. "If someone approached me with treason, I would hit them with my pan and then feed them to my bees. Then I would throw their body into the sea, weighed down with rocks so they would never be found."

The investigator blinked. "That’s....vivid." He sighed. "Do you harbor any treasonous ideas?"

Sienna leaned forward. "Only the idea of treason against my husband by ambushing his mother in a dark alley and beating her with my pan. Or lacing her soup with chilli powder so strong that she would cry and regret being snobbish."

The investigators hand trembled. "That’s not...quite what I meant."

Sienna grinned. "You asked if I had treasonous ideas. I answered."

The questions continued, repetitive and some more serious than the last. But her answers always ended with increasingly creative methods of murder.

"Would you ever conspire against the throne?"

Sienna nodded.

The investigator’s eyes lit up. Finally!

"If they conspired against my family. Nothing breaks a heart like a loyal minister being executed by their king." She answered honestly.

The answer was logical, not rooted in blind hatred. And, she had called herself a loyal minister so it couldn’t count as blind treasonous thoughts.

"Do you sympathize with the rebel movement?"

"Never. I think they are idiots who hate peace. If I run into one of them, I would sprinkle salt over them, tie them up and throw them into a forest as dinner for some wild beasts. I want my children to grow up in a peaceful world, not foraging in the woods."

The lead investigator leaned down, almost getting in her face. "Do you believe in overthrowing the king?"

"Tsk," She replied. "Overthrow? I would overthrow anyone who suggested it. Probably over the cliff. After my bees sting them to death."

The investigator’s strength faltered, unable to reconcile Sienna’s cheerful livestreaming person with her violent imagination. Did she have to hit everything with a pan or make the bees sting them or murder them in one way or another? Her answers were unconventional.

"What would you do if your husband turned traitor?" He asked.

Sienna’s eyes sparked. "Oh, that’s easy. I would smack him with my pan until he remembered that he is the wealthy, handsome fox lord with two wonderful children and a wife who would like to enjoy this soft life for many more years to come. But my husband is not a fool. He would never turn traitor unless the king betrayed him first."

The investigator nearly dropped his phone. She would beat up her own husband! He muttered, "You are either the most loyal subject I have ever met or the most insane one."

Sienna tilted her head. "Why not both?"

"What if your children grew up rebellious?"

She laughed. "They are my children, I would ground them until they forgot what rebellion meant. For Ali, food is her weakness. Make her miss one meal and she is ready to cave. As for Eli, make him watch enough lectures about loyalty and he is good to go."

The investigator raised his brow. "Those are some interesting means."

She beamed. "Thank you."

Finally, the investigator lowered his phone, exhausted. His mental strength had failed to get something useful out of her. Instead, he felt as though his mind had been bent. He withdrew his control over her mind, after whispering for her to forget what she had just talked about with him.

"Thank you for everything, Lady Sienna."

Sienna blinked, "You are welcome. I hope when you deliver the bad news to Lord Edris’s family, you give them our condolences. This did happen in our city after all."

The investigators nodded. "Of course. We are sorry for the intrusion."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I understand. If you wait here, someone will bring you some jars of honey. A gift for your troubles."

They didn’t say no. Liman delivered the honey and they left.

Sienna watched them walk away with clenched fists and a tight jaw. Hopefully, the storm of suspicion was far from over. For now, she needed to let Elias know that the king was aware of Paris’s past. As they suspected, Edris had not kept the secret to himself.