Shaula is surprised by his response. He is able to maintain a level of dignity that she had not expected. Though, she feels like he's bluffing about his importance to the Baron. His heart was pounding wildly as he tried to argue with her about his high value. There were also some movements in his face he was making unconsciously that gave away his truer thoughts.
Shaula decided not to let her thoughts spill just yet.
"Well, I'm not sure how much of what you're really saying is true or false. Either way, you saw how I fought that man earlier today, didn't you? Whether the Baron does come after me, I'm not sure I'd face too much trouble, haha…"
This is a bluff on her part. Whether she can truly face the Baron remains to be seen. Though actually she does wonder if the man in the mask she had fought with earlier was the Baron himself…
That would be a bit disappointing, wouldn’t it?
Rather than leave herself ignorant, she simply asks.
"Wait, may I ask: who was that man to you? You know who I mean right? The man who stabbed my heart with a diamond spear. The masked person."
The Captain tries to stay silent. The identity of the crystal mage is supposed to be secret. Only a select few even among the guards know his true identity.
"Who was he?" Shaula repeats, her voice harder. Flashes of Tom’s sergeants dying appear in his mind.
Yin…
"H-He was Quinn Tritol, a n-nobleman." Tom confesses as if answering a question that Shaula must already know the answer to.
As a noble, she must have known that he was there. She must have been able to sense that he is a fellow noble. Though, he’s not sure he knows enough about the nobility to be sure. He just naturally assumes that nobles can identify each other easily and discreetly.
Meanwhile, Shaula is just glad to have confirmation that the crystal mage is a nobleman, though she didn’t think that the Baron would put his brother to work like this. She is surprised how his "heroic" power was honestly no match for her own.
From what she had learned about the nobility, she knows that they're long lived, but their natural healing is not far above that of a commoner's. Their naturally resilient physiology, physical prowess and magical ability makes up for this deficit.
She knew in that battle that she could keep standing back up, even if her heart was impaled multiple times. Yet if she cut off a limb or two of his, he would find himself backed into a corner, facing blood loss. The nobleman, Quinn, likely understood that as well which is why he didn't pursue her to his death.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
I need more. Why’d he risk a family member like that?
"Tell me a little about him. The brother of the Baron? Cousin?"
"Half brother, a bastard. H-His father was not kind to him and he didn't receive succession rights until Baron Liri took the seat."
The Baron seems to value him then. Come to think of it, he probably didn’t need guards, at least not ones that were nobles themselves. The city guards would be enough to protect him in that case.
"Hm. How old is he then?"
"I think he just became an adult."
So… I was fighting a fifteen year old? He was pretty strong for a kid that age. He definitely had better training too… Better not chance it against the Baron. It’s going to hurt a lot more and there’s going to be more of a chance that he actually destroys my head.
She is not confident enough of her healing ability to allow her head to be tested. She’s almost 100% certain that even if parts of her brain that end up destroyed heal back up, she’s likely not able to regenerate her memories. No need to risk that against an enemy she cannot defeat.
She stands over Tom while he refuses to meet her eyes, staring only forward. She smirks.
"Well, just so you know, mortal…" She smiles at her silly, supervillain line. Who knows if she truly is a mortal anymore or an immortal being already. At this point, only time will tell that. "I'm not here to humiliate you. I really only need some information. If you don't do anything too stupid, you might get out of this with your life at least."
She continues with the question that she needs an answer to the most.
"Tell me, Tom, why are you so adamant on killing the old draconid man?"
"...What?" He was not expecting such a question. Why would a noble show any interest in a demihuman?
Unless she's using the guy for something, her own plans… or is he working for a noble family to try and make the Baron look bad to–
"It's just I noticed you and your men doing a lot to aim for that draconid man, Barden, I think is his name. I just want to compare my own theories with yours. Why are you after him?" She decides to play into whatever assumptions he seems to be making. It would be better that he doesn’t know Barden is important to Shaula as a friend, or at least the friend of a friend.
"He's a nuisance to the Baron's greater p-plans…" Tom knows that talking about this is a form of treason to the Baron.
The Baron is somewhat lenient to people who have been tortured out of information. so rather than sentencing them for failing to obey their noble sire, they will be removed from their positions. Maybe he can spin his big mouth as the result of torture.
Tom still dislikes the prospect of losing his job greatly. Even if he were to somehow live after encountering this noblewoman, he would still be questioned about why he alone was allowed to live and all his superiors died. He grits his teeth, thinking about how he can spin his "chattiness" to the Baron.
"Why is he a nuisance?" Shaula asks, oblivious to Tom's unease at breaking so easily. Tom makes sure not to face her gaze directly.
"His speech caught the attention of Quinn. Thanks to you destroying the statue…" His eyes meet hers momentarily before looking away again. "...Quinn needs something to bring to the Baron."
"Is it really just because he gave a speech in public? That's it? That's why there were so many undercovers planted in the protest crowd? That's what it was all for?" Shaula asks, slightly dumbfounded as to why they would go to such lengths.