Chapter 12: Betrayal
Just before dawn, the girls woke up and made their way to the capital. Hiro hid himself inside them, but through sense-sharing, he could see the four-story buildings scattered across the city, which would have been impossible to build in medieval times.
Rebecca headed straight to the Evesys House without delay. Hiro almost forgot that she was a noble. Despite her being a snotty brat, she didn't actually discriminate against commoners like Nana. Her family's house was quite large. She was a count's daughter. Hiro chuckled at the pun he had just thought of—Rebecca is a count while Nana is a cunt... But Rebecca never actually reached her house, as she was stopped at the gate.
"Do you know who I am? My name is Rebecca Evesys. I am the fifth daughter of Count Evesys. Is my father home? I want to speak with him."
"I see. So you're the traitor accused of killing Alex Balto, correct? My name is Sebastian. I'm afraid, by Lord Evesys' order, I must apprehend you. Oh, how convenient that you've brought the other traitors with you—Nana and Cecile, right? Guards, apprehend them all!" An old man in a butler's uniform appeared and signaled the guards to seize them.
"Yes, sir."
"Wait! That's a false accusation! We didn't kill Alex!" Rebecca protested.
"I loved Alex! We would never harm him!" Nana pleaded. But their voices fell on deaf ears.
"Hahaha! We don't trust Balto, either. But you see, Count Balto is quite influential. This is a good opportunity to show our allegiance to him. If we do, we might get a share of his newly developed diamond mines in his territory. Our territory is quite small, you see. Besides, if we defend you, what could a failure like you possibly offer us? You were a failure at the academy. Alex is dead now. Who in the world would want second-hand goods like you? You have no value to us." The butler smirked, his ridiculing glare igniting even Hiro's anger.
"Sebas! What did I ever do to you?" Rebecca gasped as she was taken prisoner by the guards. Similar to what had happened at Balto's residence, they were locked inside one of the rooms. Unlike Balto's residence in Horaine, which had its own underground jail, the Evesys mansion was more traditional and simply confined to a room.
"Everyone... I'm sorry." Rebecca hung her head, tears starting to flow from her eyes. Hiro wiped them away with his tentacle.
"No, the moment Alex was killed, we were all doomed. We relied too much on him. I never thought I would need to make any other connections besides with Master Alex... Cecile, I'm sorry. You were just a new member, but you got involved in all of this." Nana cried.