"What?!"
"How? This makes zero sense."
"Mmm!"
Augustus, Vekas, and Revan responded in kind to the news Sierra had relayed to them.
"Indeed. It seems that Princess Sofamy and her knight in shining armor were attacked by some of the rebels who seemed to know exactly where they were supposed to be at this time," she affirmed, her expression as stoic as ever.
"Wouldn't that imply a traitor in the empire?" Augustus asked, stroking his beard in worry.
"That much can be deduced, considering their uncanny influence and might," Vekas replied, pacing back and forth before turning to Sierra.
"Still, you said that they seemed to be simply exploring the place and didn't have a definitive agenda. If that's the case, it means they didn't tell anyone where they were going, so no information should have been leaked, since there was none to leak. They could have gone literally anywhere else. Why did they go to the exact spot where the ambush was planned? How did those rebels even know where they would go?"
Vekas's words were based on logic, yet the situation at hand defied that logic.
"They could have placed their soldiers in every single place they could potentially visit—"
"Highly unlikely," Vekas interrupted the chef's words. "The possibilities of where they could have gone are endless. There was no certain place they planned to visit, and I doubt that the rebels have enough numbers to account for literally every place they could be in."
"Hmm, you're right... and that still doesn't solve the issue of how they found out about her leaving the palace in the first place," Augustus murmured, stroking his beard in thought.
"Indeed. As far as the rebels should be concerned, Princess Sofamy should not leave the palace as per his majesty's orders after Sierra tried to assassinate her," the general replied, briefly throwing a glare towards the woman.
"Which brings another wild theory," Revan bellowed, raising his hand and turning her gaze at Sierra. "What if you were the one who leaked this info to the rebels, and you are telling us this now so that all suspicion is removed from you?"
A stunning silence fell in the room. The three looked at him with puzzled expressions and wide eyes, their mouths hung open.
"That... is a possibility. She could be part of the rebellion." Vekas frowned.
"Nah! No, no!" Augustus exclaimed, holding his hands out in protest. "I can vouch for her. No need to worry about that."
"Indeed. If I wanted that woman to die, I would've killed her myself. I have already tried that, remember?"
"And you failed spectacularly, which would mean that you would commission others for the job and not risk getting discovered for killing her since your face is already in millions of wanted posters," Revan reasoned, his finger pointed at Sierra as he smirked slightly.
Sierra frowned. "The only reason I failed was your intervention. Not even General Vekas could stop me. If I wanted, I could have easily finished the job without a hint of resistance. That headguard of hers would be easy to deal with as well."
"Well... she does have the power to do that..." the general remarked, his eyes narrowed.
"However," he continued, locking eyes with the woman. "The fact that you were even spying on Princess Sofamy without us telling you to is a big red flag. Considering your assassination attempt, I feel quite tempted to doubt you."
"That may be so, but I had my reasons. Besides, I wasn't siding with you guys during the assassination. I didn't give a damn about the rebellion. All I wanted was my revenge. The whole 'rebellion' thing was Augustus's job."
"I can vouch for that. If she had been helping me back then, then this rebellion might have ended way before all this even began. She only cared about her revenge, though."
"That whole 'revenge' story is already doubtful. Let alone this situation," Revan remarked, crossing his arms with narrowed eyes.
"I won't explain myself more than I already have. It is what it is. However, I assure you that if I wanted to kill her, I would've done it in a flash," she replied, though Revan noticed her fingers curling till her knuckles turned white.
"Plus, she ain't even supporting the rebels since she's with me! We've been partners for who knows how long!" Augustus added, raising his arms in exaggeration as he spoke.
"Which also brings you into suspicion," the general remarked, causing the chef's breath to hitch.
"Nah, he's good. I can confirm that," Revan replied, waving his hand.
"I see... I trust you, Sir Revan." Vekas nodded and relaxed his tensed body.
"And since she's helping me, she ain't part of the rebels. Period!" the chef exclaimed, motioning his arms as if ending a matter.
"I see... that still doesn't explain the attack, though."
"About that, there's one thing I forgot to mention," Sierra remarked, her eyes narrowed. "The leader of the rebels responsible for this attack was apparently someone who used to serve Aethelgard and was attracted to the princess, yet he was later killed by Cronos. The guy seemed to have resurrected."
Both Augustus and Vekas widened their eyes, and even Revan raised his eyebrows, his eyes shining with interest.
"Huh?! Resurrected?! How is that possible?"
"Who was he?" Vekas asked, his brows furrowing more.
"Apparently, he called himself Harmon. He had [Earth Manipulation] and [Dark Manipulation], and he used the former to kill all the civilians there," she replied, making the general stiffen in response.
"Harmon? He died years ago. Are you saying someone resurrected him?"
"Years?! Was his soul conserved or something?"
"Doubtful. There was no spiritual force in the place where he was killed by Cronos. His soul should have withered long ago," Vekas replied to the chef's query, complicating the situation even further.
Resurrection had been done before. However, it required the soul to be present in the universe, which normally didn't happen, as a soul would fade away not long after dying unless preserved by a barrier of sorts.
"Then that's probably not truly Harmon. Just another soul occupying his body and memories," Revan chimed in.
Hearing this, the other two men sighed in relief, while the woman stayed stoic.
"This is more probable," Vekas remarked, his frown fading. "While he did possess [Earth Manipulation] before, [Dark Magic] is something that's prohibited to even learn in Aethelgard, let alone master it and manifest it as an authority."
"But that raises the question. Whose soul is occupying that body?" Augustus wondered, stroking his beard.
"More like was, since the guy's killed," Sierra remarked, prompting the chef to sigh.
"Well, if the guy's dead, then there is nothing to worry about anymore. What's more concerning is how they received the information of where they were going to be," Augustus remarked.
"Hmm... I suspect Cronos, since no one else could possibly know where they were going besides the duo. And since the rebels were against the royal family, the princess herself is out of the question," Sierra suggested, her tone low and even.
"Not possible. Cronos adores Princess Sofamy too much to even think about betraying her," Vekas argued, his eyes narrowed.
"Then how do you suggest they were tracked perfectly?" Sierra asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe someone was following them... someone other than you," the chef wondered, to which she shook her head.
"If that were true, I would have detected that person. However, since I checked and found no one else, I am certain that this is not the case."
"Hmm... so Cronos is a suspect," Revan remarked, to which both silent harmoners nodded.
"No. Whatever happens, there is no way that Cronos would ever betray the kingdom, especially Princess Sofamy. He's too attached to her," Vekas retorted, his fists curled till his knuckles turned white.
"We have no way of confirming that," Augustus countered, "betrayal always comes from those closest to us. Remember that."
"He's right. Till then, I plan on telling this to Charlie. Any objections?" Revan asked, alarming Vekas.
"Sir Revan, please think this through! Cronos can't—"
"Fine by me," Augustus intervened, "even if he is innocent, we can't prove it unless we have concrete evidence. Reporting him might help."
"Sure. I'll mention that you got the information about the assassination attempt from spies and say that Cronos being the traitor is only a theory."
"Wait!" Vekas exclaimed. "What about the fact that both Princess Sofamy and Cronos killed the rebels who attacked them. Why would he kill them if he was with them?"
"To gain the princess's trust. We can't guarantee that his intentions were pure," the chef countered.
"Sure, but Harmon would rather die a hundred times than work with someone like Cronos!"
"Again, that's probably a different soul. That ain't the same Harmon that you know," Revan added, leaning against the wall.
"Damn it..."
"Just leave it, Vekas. Unless the truth comes out, we can't be certain of anything at all," the black-haired man replied.
"Anyway, you got some burritos for me, Augustus?" Revan asked, his attention diverted to the chef, who sighed in response.
"No. I still have to make some for Prince Marcus, his butler, and that kid who's with them," he replied, causing Revan to groan in response.
"Ugh!!! Why can't I eat burritos?!" Revan crouched down and buried his face in his legs like a sulking child.
Pathetic. Even when he can clearly make burritos of his own, he still asks for his cooking. Sierra still couldn't understand his game. He was a mystery beyond her comprehension and experience.
It was frustrating, and she couldn't believe that even though days had passed since she tried to assassinate Sofamy, he was still successful at making her mad.
Augustus then stiffened before narrowing his eyes and turning to the sulking man. "Revan, it's time to move. Prince Marcus is planning to go back."
"Oh?" he muttered, raising his head from his legs. "It's only been a day since that incident. Are you sure he's fine?"
"His healing is fast, so there won't be anything to worry about. Still, we should head out. Can't have him waiting." With that, Augustus turned to the other two.
"The two of us will get going now. Meanwhile, make sure not to fight each other like children."
"You underestimate our self-control, Augustus. I assure you that we won't fight for no reason," Sierra replied, her expression stoic, with Vekas nodding in agreement.
"I see... well, let's just hope that's true."
With that, both Augustus and Revan exited their base and headed to the house where the prince and his allies were staying.
"Say, why did you defend me almost immediately after Vekas said that I was suspicious?" Augustus asked, wiping the sweat off his forehead as they walked.
"Oh, that? I didn't want my favorite chef to be under suspicion. How else would I get more burritos?"
"... what?"
It seems that all Revan cared about was the food the chef had to offer, much to the latter's dismay.
"... you really are disgustingly selfish, Revan."
"Huh?!?! I am not." Revan pouted, crossing his arms in defiance as they headed to the house.
It didn't take them long to reach their destination; they had made sure not to deviate too far from their base when choosing where to tend to the prince, after all.
Opening the door, the two entered the abandoned house, finding both Belfer and the child playing a sort of game on a board, with Marcus simply sitting on another chair, observing them.
"About time you arrived," the prince remarked, turning his gaze at the duo. "Where were you, exactly?"
"Merely exploring the place." With that, Augustus headed to the kitchen. "I'll cook something up for you before you leave."
Revan stauntered to Marcus, leaning closer. "Doesn't he act like a housewife, sometimes?"
"More like a doting mother," the prince whispered back.
Marcus then stood up, dusting his clothes. "It's time I addressed my father not only regarding the attempt to kill me, but also the state of Aethelgard itself."