Chapter 565: Real Family
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Anfey sat quietly by the window and watched Alice, who was in the building opposite of his room. They had captured Diamond City the day before. However, since then, Alice still had not rested.
Saul and Douminge had returned earlier than expected. Although Anfey had not asked, he could tell from their expressions what had become of Edward VIII. No one knew what Alice was thinking. Many things could be attended to a few days later, but Alice had been pushing herself to finish them now. This behavior was abnormal.
"Sir." Ye opened the door and walked in. "Sir Stan is here."
"Show him in," Anfey said softly.
"We…" Ye hesitated for a while and said, "Sir, must we do it?"
"What do you think?" Anfey raised his brow and asked flatly.
Ye attempted to say something, but he refrained and walked out instead.
After a while, the high priest, Stan, walked into the room and smiled wryly. He openly complained, "Sir Anfey, I was sincere in collaborating with you! But…look, what have you asked me to do? Yesterday…"
Anfey did not defend himself, but instead extended his hand. His gaze was bright and firm. Although he did not say a word, he was clearly sending the message that, since Stan had helped him, he will repay him back.
Stan stopped complaining and looked seriously into Anfey's eyes. He then slowly extended his hand and shook Anfey's.
"Given a choice, I would not have done it," Anfey said softly. "This is the command from His Majesty. I have two choices, one is to defy his order, and the other is to obey."
"Yes. That is why, as the holy priest, I have to take on this murderous task." Stan shook his head and smiled bitterly. He then turned to walk out. After taking two steps, he suddenly stopped and slowly said, "Sir Anfey, please don't make me regret the decision that I have made this day."
"You have my guarantee," Anfey reaffirmed.
The night was getting darker, but Anfey was like a statue, standing in front of the window. After a long while, at the northern part of Diamond City, a fire was being lit in a corner. The fire became brighter, and ultimately, lit up the entire sky.
Alice, who was working in the house, had noticed it as well. She was stunned for a while, and after that, stood up and shouted. Ozzic walked into her room, and after speaking to her for a while, left the room. Alice sat blankly, and suddenly, she crazily took all the documents and threw them on the floor. She then lowered her head onto the table.
Shinbela quickly pushed open the door of Alice's room. She had found something amiss, and had gone in to check it out. Alice sat up again, she was waving and shouting. Anfey could see the tears on Alice's face and heard her cries from where he was. Shinbela was shocked. She quickly stepped out and closed the door.
In this magic world, the effects of natural disasters could be reduced to the minimal impact. Leave alone those magicians who had followed the army, even if the mage group of The League of Mercenaries had gone out in full force, they would have easily put out the fire that had spread to the entire city. However, the strange thing was, although the fire in the northern part had been burning for a long while, the magicians in the city were nowhere to be seen. No one had gone out to extinguish the fire.
"Sir, this is…too cruel to Sir Alice," Ye muttered.
"Do you have a better suggestion?" Anfey asked flatly.
"I…" Ye was dumbfounded. He gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, Sir Alice has not rested for two days and one night. If this continues, I am afraid her body…"
"Go and get Warner."
"No matter how powerful is the Magic of Light, it will not be able to heal the heartache. Sir, we…"
"Just do what you have been told!" Anfey shouted. "Remember, you are the leader of the inspectorate. You are not a poet!"
"Yes, Sir!" Ye held his head high up and replied. After taking a deep breath, he turned and walked out. Just before he reached out for the door, footsteps were heard outside the room. Shortly, someone banged on the door, and Shinbela barged in and anxiously said, "Sir, Sir Alice…"
"I know." Anfey coldly interrupted Shinbela.
Shinbela was stunned. She then noticed that Anfey could clearly see what had happened to Alice in the building opposite his room.
"Shinbela, let's go out." Ye gently held Shinbela's arm and said in a low voice, "Sir is not in a good mood."
After Ye and Shinbela had left the room, Anfey turned to check on Alice. Time passed, but Alice did not calm down. She became more agitated, and finally, her shoulders twitched severely and she lied motionless on the table.
Anfey was shocked and quickly opened the window. Like a meteorite, he shot out. After crossing over dozens of meters, he landed beside Alice and lifted her up.
Alice looked pale, and her eyes were shut. After seeing that she was still breathing, Anfey let out a sigh of relief. He placed Alice flatly on the table and put some documents below her head. He then pressed on her philtrum with his thumb.
After a while, Alice came around. When she saw Anfey, she cried out uncontrollably. She was like a child who had lost her favorite toy. She hammered her fists in agitation on Anfey's body.
Although she had an unbearable past, the truth remained. Blood would always be thicker than water! When Alice was in the Country of Mercenaries, she had thought of taking her revenge. She wanted to punish the people who had dumped her and cheated her. However, she had not thought of the punishment that she would mete out upon them. As she was approaching Diamond City, she had felt uneasy. She had numbed herself by drowning herself in work, so that she did not have the time or energy to think of other things.
The fire woke her. She had called for Ozzic to find out what had happened. After finding that the place on fire was the prison where they had kept the royal families of the Shansa Empire, Alice came to a realization. She had not decided how she would take her revenge, but someone had made the decision for her!
Anfey looked quietly at Alice. Just as Ye had said, he was in a foul mood. If he could help it, he would not want to hurt Alice's family. They did not have a direct conflict, but Yolanthe had given very clear instructions. Prince Jerrick was found missing in the Country of Mercenaries, and was yet to be found. This posed a latent danger to the Empire, and Yolanthe did not want to have more of such dangers. For the sake of the war the following year, Yolanthe had not been too heartless. Other than the three princes and one princess that he had specified, the rest of the royal families would be spared.
After a long while, Alice, who had cried her heart out, gradually stopped. She rested weakly against Anfey and said in a hardly audible sound, "You have done it, haven't you?"
"No." Anfey shook his head. He did not lie. If one had used the knife as a weapon, the one who had committed the crime was the man and not the weapon.
"Is it…His Majesty?"
"Alice, you and Christian have the same problem. You are too soft-hearted at times." Anfey let out a sigh and said, "Don't blame His Majesty. You know your siblings. You should have known what will happen when you lead the army in. Although you have no intention of hurting them, they may not think likewise. No! They will hate you. They will hate you to the core. If they have the chance, they will take revenge on you! Alice, I do not want to see you relive the tragedy!"
"My father…"
"Yes." Anfey nodded. He knew what Alice was about to ask.
"What about my mother? She is harmless. Is His Majesty wary of her as well?"
"Alice, don't let your imagination run wild," Anfey said softly. "When you have been forced to marry, was she sad for you? When Kumaraghosha captured her in the Palace, do you know what she was doing? She was fooling around with a few young guards! More than 10 soldiers have seen it, and news must have spread around. What is the point of keeping her?"
"Does His Majesty intend to…"
"No. His Majesty has no time for a woman like her." Anfey felt helpless. He knew that Alice wanted simply to seek solace. However, he was unable to provide it to her.
After letting out a long sigh, Alice tried to sit up, but she felt faint and fell onto Anfey.
"You rest," Anfey said softly.
"No." Alice shook her head and said, "Now then, I realize what kind of person I am."
"What are you saying?"
"I am a traitor. I am shameless and cruel. I have led the army of the enemy and barged into my country. I have killed my father and brothers. I…"
"Enough!" Anfey was fuming with anger. He carried Alice and strode toward the window.
Alice's cries had caught the attention of many people. Although Anfey and the rest were young, they had won the hearts and respect of the mercenaries. Many mercenaries were gathering at the courtyard, sighing and whispering. Shinbela was standing among them, looking up anxiously.
When Alice appeared at the window, all the mercenaries looked at her. Anfey's voice hammered into Alice's ears, "Do you have to cry for those who do not care about you? Look at these people. They are your real family! Should you meet any danger, who will protect you at all cost? It is not those princes or the princess. It is them!"
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