Tangled By Fate

"But… but what did I do?" the man who looked exactly the same as Arthur desperately asked them. "I swear I did nothing wrong."

"You sure? Look at me in the eyes, bastard. Who do you look like? Whose disguise did you take?" Arthur stepped forward.

Due to nervousness, he hardly glanced at Arthur. Now that he came closer, he saw his face. The moment he recognized that face, his eyes widened in shock, and the blood drained from his face. He tried to move backward. "Y-you…"

"Looks like you remember." Arthur kicked his face. He used enough strength. 

The man rolled on the floor. He let out a cry. His nose was broken. Two trails of blood streamed down his face, covering his lips. He looked horrifying. He wept in pain.

"Because of your action, my wife misunderstood me, left me, suffered alone, and I could do nothing to help her. It's all your fault. You need to be prepared for the endless punishment." Arthur stepped on his right hand's fingers. His fingers created cracking sounds.

He needed to vent all his anger and pain. Now that he found the culprit, he vented everything on him. He blamed his guy for ruining his happiness and made Veronica suffer for months.

"Aargh!" The guy screamed. Tears and blood made a bloody mess of his face, but he didn't care. 

"Because of his action, the world was on the verge of going down," Ovior commented.

"Say it! How did you get my face? Should I break other fingers as well?" Arthur mercilessly threatened him.

The guy realized that it wasn't an empty threat. He stopped crying and quickly said, "I'll say it! Say it!" Although he didn't cry anymore, he couldn't help but tremble. He was scared to the point he could piss on his pants any moment. "It's facial surgery," he finally confessed.

"Facial what?" Veronica thought she heard wrong. Confused, she glanced at other guys in case they heard anything, but they weren't sure about this 'surgery' word either.

The man explained, "It's an advanced medical science that can change your face to any shape."

Ovior looked at him with contempt. "I've heard many things in my life but never this term."

Arthur kicked his face again. "Tell us everything from the beginning."

The guy winched. He licked his bloody lips and started, "I was a farmer. I lost my lands to the lord and came to the Holy City. I knew nothing about the city. No one gave me work either. I was dying without food. 

"Fortunately, a guy came to me and gave me an offer. He said I could live lavishly without worrying about food, money, and women. I could never say no to that. Later, I was taken outside Utahill. My eyes were covered. So, I'm not sure where they took me."

"They took you? How many?" Felix inquired.

The man replied, "Four people. All men. When they took off the cloth, I found myself in the dark. There were lights pointed at my face. Since all the lights were focused on me, I couldn't see those people's faces. I only heard their voices."

Felix asked again, "What were they talking about?"

"They were talking to me about how my life was going to change after this surgery. I was looking forward to it. It wasn't that I wasn't scared. There were tons of knives in different sizes. They cut my face. It was painful. I couldn't cry. My salty tears burned everywhere it went. So, I had to hold my tears. The pain was unbearable. I lost consciousness."

He shuddered as he reminisced about that day. "The next time I woke up, the surgery was done. They used snow to cool off my burning pain. It numbed my skin. I hardly felt any pain later. To tan my body, they took me to the beach for sunbathing. I went through training and exercise. I loved my new face and body. Girls loved me. I never lacked food or money. It's the best life I can ever have."

After he was done talking, he looked at them pleadingly, "So, please, don't snatch my life away from me. I never knew I looked like someone, and I harmed a married couple unintentionally. In my job, I wasn't allowed to ask any questions. I have no idea who you are. If you are an aristocrat, please spare me. I'll ever come before you in my life."

He silently wept. Everyone stared at him. They were quiet.

Ovior finally opened his mouth, "Do you want to believe this guy?" His question was directed to Arthur.

"I'm telling the truth! I'm only speaking the truth. Please believe me! Believe me!" The guy desperately begged.

Veronica inquired, "Do you remember the face of the guy who offered you the job?"

The guy shook his head. "No! I was half-blind back then. They replaced my eyes."

"What? Replace eyes? Not healed?" Felix was stunned. He was as puzzled as the rest of them.

"Take him out," Arthur ordered.

"Please don't kill me! Don't kill me!" the guy screamed as he was being dragged out by Felix.

"No one is killing you," Veronica assured him.

After he left the room, she turned to Arthur and Ovior. "Okay, this is getting out of our hands. We have no clues who did it. It's almost like someone is playing with us behind the screen. And, we have no idea what is happening and who this guy is. I don't like this feeling."

Arthur added, "Yes, it's like the guy knew I was married, and I took you there. And you coincidentally went there to see this playing with women and misunderstood greatly."

"Yes, and after that, I escaped the palace with Ironin. But the moment I wanted to run away, I met the traffickers. They thought I was an elf even though I looked nothing like elves. No matter what I told them, they didn't listen to my words. It was like they were so sure that I was an elf.. Moreover, it was like they were keeping an eye on me for a long time and waiting for the opportunity to get me alone."