Amir's POV: 
Forty years after the realm's independence from the demon invasion.
"This one."
"No, Your Highness!"
"How about this one?"
"No, Your Highness!"
"Solemnly? Then, what about this one?"
"I'm certain it's not him,  your highness."
I strangely gazed at her while holding multiple forensic sketches given by the safeguard council. 
"Young lady,  We're not doing a guessing game, right?"
I put down the sketches on my table and crossed my arms on my chest. She didn't respond or look at me, she just gave me a disagreement nod.
"Then chin up,  look at me in my eyes, and respond," I calmly command. 
She strengthened her poise while standing in front of me, but still couldn't look at me for long.  It feels like someone bothering her sanity and making her uncomfortable with the situation. I stood up from where I sat down and walked towards her with both arms held at my back while fidgeting my fingers.
"Nope, Young lady,  someone's bothering you from telling the truth. Are you a threat? If so,  I'm gonna buzz the guards right directly and tell them to put you in prison and let you live there until you rot from death."  I said while orbiting her, judging her from head to toe.
"I'm not, Your Highness," She responded. Still, nodded her head down.
"Then justify," I utterly said.
She gulped for a moment,  the sweat on her forehead slowly dripping down, her hands trembling and fidgeting. 
"Your Highness,  I plea you to give me more time to ponder about this case,  I am honestly not prepared for this moment.  My apology,  Your Highness!"
She said and bowed in front of me.  I wasn't aghast about what she did because I knew from the moment, that she was playing her own game but didn't realize that she had already lost it.
"I refused. Tell me the truth, Young Lady.  You're caught by your trap created.  No way for you to flee.  Either tell the truth or none,  you're still gonna end up rotting your flesh in the dungeon,"
Tears slowly peeked into her eyes and gulping her saliva. A young Lady was lying exactly in front of me.
"Tell the truth," I said while slightly resting my buttocks at the edge of the table and crossing my arms up my chest. 
She closed her eyes,  tears dropping by, and started weeping.  She's down on her knees pleading to save her ass from what she had caused. 
"I'm sorry for not telling the truth, your Highness. I was threatened from the start, I was told to falsify all of my statements on the said case. I'm sorry!"
She grabbed my leg pleading for forgiveness, sobbing.  I glimpsed at her with scorn. How come this Lady asked forgiveness when she had already caused damage? Pathetic. 
"I refused to, Young Lady. What you did was a crime of perjury; making untruthful and knowingly offering us a false statement. I can't offer you forgiveness, but rather a punishment. You had violated one of the laws of the Realm and you had it coming. You suffer from it! Guards!"
I exclaimed. The patrols arrived and chained up the Young Lady with no uncertainty. They helped the Lady stand up from kneeling while heads down from guilt. I peeked out the window,  viewing the high mountains of the Realm. 
"We're not done yet,  Young Lady.  Still,  you have a truth to settle for me," I gazed at her and caught her eyes in rage. 
"Now, you may go!  Make sure you punish her, whip her with a stingray's tail, and drown her with a bucket full of gourmand junk!"
"Thank you,  Your Highness!" One of the guards responded. 
...
A day after yesterday. 
Viewing the high mountains from afar while sitting on one of the wooden benches up the cliff waiting for someone I know. Shortly,  I hear the sound of the horse-drawn carriage. I saw the coachman driving it waving at me and I waved back. He came down the carriage and opened the door of it. I saw the Young Lady chained up and carried by the two guards beside her. They climbed up the cliff through a well-made stone staircase. 
I stood up and faced them right after.  They bowed at me and did so. 
"You may leave us,  don't worry she can't escape from me, and besides she's all chained up.  People will know her as a prisoner now. I assure you,"
I uttered reassuring the guards before they left us and waited for below the cliff. I took a glimpse at the Young Lady with boredom on her face. Full of dirt and scrapes. 
"Now,  the truth!" I uttered while offering her the bench to sit on.
She just stared at me and did nothing. 
"Oh? How stubborn the real you, Lady."
"Shit!"
I was aghast. 
"Did you just curse at me?"
"Ano pa ba?!  Eh, anak ka nang ina mo! wala naman akong sasabihin kahit na katiting na katotohanan sayo!"
I was in awe when she was a dual-language speaker. Rarely in this Realm spoke multiple languages, but this one is different. 
"A bilingual, huh!?"
"Nyenyenye!" she replied. 
I remained calm in this girl's rudeness showings in front of me.
"Now tell me the truth,"
"What truth? Eh, wala akong alam sa pinagsasabi mo! Wala kang makukuha sa'kin.  Never in my life,  Your Highness!"
She answered back. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.
"You will never escape the truth,  it will haunt you for eternity,"
"Okay! Now, please put me back inside the dungeon. Your Highness!" She uttered arrogantly.
I gazed at her, then turned back at the coachman signaling me an opportunity to take back the girl.  I nodded then he bowed at me and whistled to the guards to get the lady up from the cliff. 
"Gladly will, but still,  I'll keep asking you over and over again.  If you want me to play games with you,  then I will..." I uttered. 
She exclaimed. 
"It was him! He put me in this position where I don't have any choice at all but to follow him. It's him,"
After hearing those, I walk towards and tap her shoulder. 
"Good,"
"Now what?!" she replied with a raised eyebrow.
"You are two-faced,  Young Lady. You shouldn't be trusted at all,"
"I know, now get your hands off me,  highness!" she responded,  I could see on her face the irritation. 
I kept my hands off her shoulder and smirked at her.
"Guards take her back to the dungeon, now."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Response by one of the guards before they took the lady out of the scene.  I waved at the coachman below the cliff while waiting for the guards and the prisoner to get down and bid goodbye. He bowed. As the carriage began to drive away,  I briskly walked down the cliff.  After that, I walked in the opposite direction of the carriage.  Briskly,  regardless of the middle of a hot sunny day.  Thoughts kept entering my senses hinting that the man that the Young Lady was referring to was somebody I knew. Sweating, gradually dropping on my linen and gasping for some air to breathe,  the emotions inside starting to rise;  terrified,  furious,  dismal,  everything mixing around. I almost viewed the wooden house nearby, torches lit up around the gates fence,  and doors wide open.  A meter away from a small cabin, I rushed towards the gate to the open door;  and to my intrigue, I saw nothing inside the cabin but a candle lit up at the table.  I scanned all over the cabin but I saw nothing. He's not here! Unhappy for a moment, I walked out of the cabin seeing nobody inside. But then in an instant, I saw a man standing in front of the gate carrying a newly hunted doe, by the looks on his face with a dominant smile, he knew it coming.
I gulped for a bit and fixed my poise.
"So, it's been a long time since we've met.  How are you?"
He stared at me with that smile on his face and walked passed on me, entered the cabin, and put the dead doe on the table.  He glanced back at me while still here at the front door standing, ignored earlier. 
"Your Highness, a pleasant day to you," He uttered after bowing.
"Same as well,"  I replied. 
"Hope you mind if I ask for some matters?"
"It's my pleasure, my mate."
"What drove you here to my cabin, Your Highness?"
"I came here for the truth,  nothing but the truth,"
I said with conviction in my voice.
"I guess you already knew about it,  does somehow already know about this? Your Highness,"
"It's just me. Now the truth,"
He puffed out and gazed at me. 
"Yes, I'm the one who planned all this... but I'm not the one who ampler this case."
Eyebrows crossed in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"You know,  the young lady you punished did all the work, She was once my servant before she got to work at the palace. Then, I hired her, again. But, completely different from being a servant of the palace. It's quite risky,  I planned the system on how and what to do,  but I'm not the one who rules all this, there's still someone else,  Your Highness,"
"Then who?"I exclaimed. 
"I'll give you a hint,  but the moment you have the hint, you're one of the players of this game."
He said, glancing at the cupboard just in between the two room doors. He stepped through to the cabinet and took the small case above it. He looked at me and held the case.  I looked at the case and then took a glance at him.
"What's this for?" I said with confusion. 
He gasped some air and gradually exhaled.
"It's a hint. You open that,  then you're part of the game. There are other players, it's not just you. I assumed they were doing well or maybe they just simply disregarded it and settled on their own life.  But I knew that someone moved the pawn on the board game..."
He looked at me and politely smiled.
"...and it's you,"
I took the case off his hand and eyebrows crossed exited the scene leaving him behind.
"It's a game,  Prince Amir!  You started it then you have to finish it, " He uttered in conviction, then laughed. 
I turned back at him and called him out.
"This is not a game, I will find the truth on my own, Ki Bou!'
That mischievous old man.  How dare he play with me and my sanity. 
...
and what is this small case about?
  - END.