Chapter 60: Megmura - 4
"Mudrel," Herald greeted, his voice calm, utterly devoid of surprise.
My mind reeled. Mudrel. The name slammed into me, a chilling, undeniable truth. Mudrel. The man responsible for Prudee Sapphire’s death. Evelina’s brother. The one who had killed him. The commander of the men in red hats and tunics.
I wasn’t angry. Just utterly, profoundly shocked at the plot twist that had just occurred. Herald, the warrior fighting the cult, was allied with Mudrel, the man who had murdered Evelina’s brother. My mind scrambled, trying to process this impossible connection. The lines were blurring into an unrecognizable mess.
"Herald," I managed, my voice a little strained, "how... how do you know Mudrel?" My gaze darted between the two men, trying to find a logical explanation for this bizarre alliance.
Mudrel, a burly man with a scarred face and a grim expression, stepped forward from his chair. He wore simple, practical clothing, but there was an undeniable aura of hardened experience about him. He glanced at me, his eyes sharp, then back at Herald. "He’s your new apprentice, Herald? The one with the... unique signature?" His voice was gruff, but held a hint of curiosity.
"Indeed," Herald confirmed, his eye fixed on Mudrel. "Kai Lorne. He will be useful."
"Useful?" Mudrel scoffed, a humorless laugh escaping him. "He looks like a pampered noble. Doesn’t look like he’s seen a day of hardship."
"Mudrel," I pressed, ignoring his jab, "you’re... you’re the commander of the Republican Movement in Ostina, aren’t you?" I knew this guards at the Sapphire manor, when I spoke with them about Evelina past. The Republican Movement was a shadowy, often violent organization that believed Eudenia shouldn’t be an ethno-region of Ostina, but rather its own independent republic. Their methods often involved terroristic activities, including killing members of the Ostinan aristocracy, whom they viewed as oppressors.
Mudrel’s eyes narrowed. "You know a lot for a pampered noble. Yes. I am." His gaze hardened. "And you know what we fight for."
"I do," I replied, my voice calm. "Freedom for Eudenia. But your methods... they’re extreme. Killing innocents, even nobles..."
I tried to probe him, to figure out where he stood on the way they chose to show their hatred for the system. Personally, I couldn’t care less about what happened to the Ostinan nobility. But this man—he wasn’t just tied to Evelina’s past. He was tied to my future too.
"Innocents?" Mudrel scoffed, a bitter laugh. "There are no innocents in this system, boy. Only oppressors and the oppressed. The Ostinan aristocracy... they bleed our lands dry. They foster the very trades that enslave people, that turn our women into beasts." His gaze flickered towards the hatch above, towards Megmura.
"Herald," I turned to my master, my voice low, "how do you know him?"