Chapter 118: Doubt
Selena erupted with energy, the pale pink energy layer surrounded her body making her hair sway and shirt flaps move strongly, eyes extremely sharp and cold.
Hiwcel instinctively retreated in bewilderment and a bit of fear, voice stammering:
"W-What are you doing?..."
Suddenly from behind the door of room number seven. Nara peeked out with bewilderment on her face, she spoke loudly:
"What happened?"
Suddenly eyes as if looking more clearly at Selena. Nara instinctively called out in confusion and curiosity:
"Selena? What are you doing here?"
Selena turned over and smirked mockingly.
"So both of you are here, like this it will be convenient for me to capture you."
Suddenly from behind, the shop guard stepped up from the stairs, his face showed clear bewilderment when seeing Selena being covered by energy, he knew there would be fighting but he also needed to prevent it. Hurriedly roared loudly:
"Miss Selena, if there's anything then be calm. Don't fight here."
Selena turned back, suddenly remembering she could ask him. Selena's gaze swept across both, then stepped toward the back, voice as if being very uncomfortable:
"You, come down here I ask."
The shop guard saw Selena walk past, hurriedly followed in panic:
"Where did you see the two of them come in here from?"
The shop guard was quite bewildered when Selena asked so, but looking at the situation which seemed tense so he hurriedly answered to avoid trouble:
"Yes, those two were brought back here by Master Takeshi's group in a fairly tattered state, afterward Master Takeshi's group rented an additional room for them to stay, sir."
Selena frowned, her face as if creating pressure before the shop guard to force him if he lied. Voice full of suspicion:
"Are you telling the truth?"
The shop guard knew this pressure, he hurriedly nodded repeatedly.
"Yes... yes, I am not lying."
Hiwcel stood at the stairs along with Nara and spoke down:
"See? I am not at all like what you said, is there a problem?"
Selena's face seemed uncomfortable, flicked her hand signaling the shop guard to go elsewhere, gaze directed upward:
"Then from yesterday until today what have you been doing here?"
Hiwcel frowned, he saw Selena was very stubborn, but also needed to answer as if to show he was clean:
"I am here, only in the room together with Nara. Have not stepped out for a single step."
Selena seemed to lower her guard a bit more, but she had decided inside if these two fled or had suspicious behavior, she would immediately act to suppress them right away.
-"If meeting them here, meaning if handing over Varlen's children will he stop this? Temporarily not capturing but will keep watch then."
"So do you know the current situation outside yet?"
Hiwcel shook his head, face seemingly really not knowing.
"I don't, I have only been in here."
Selena in an uncomfortable voice retold, to say from childhood to adulthood nothing had made her as frustrated and uncomfortable like that, especially currently when looking at the two siblings standing above the stairs looking down:
"Currently your father has used the reason we kidnapped you two and has sent a letter that we must return you otherwise there will be real war, both sides are gathering armies already."
Selena while speaking probed through every expression of Hiwcel and Nara:
"All because you two went missing."
Nara spoke up instead of her brother, voice loud as if discarding everything:
"We now are no longer children of that fellow, don't call us like that."
"As for the matter of war between the two cities then I truly don't know."
Hiwcel continued immediately after his sister, as if blocking what Selena wanted to do:
"We will not return, don't hope to capture us. Otherwise we will die."
Selena frowned in doubt, she was quite confused before these words of these two siblings.
"Why do you guys not want to return?"
Nara behind Hiwcel suddenly gripped her brother's left hand tightly, as if not wanting her brother to speak, as if it was a stretch of memory they wanted to black out.
Hiwcel gritted his teeth and slammed his hand hard against the wall. He knew the current situation could only be explained otherwise not certain Selena would let them be in the current tense time. His voice lowered in loathing:
"T-That fellow..."
At this time he just opened his mouth to speak yet why did it look so difficult? He tried to filter out a bit of detail in his head when telling Selena:
"That fellow killed my mother..."
His voice was extremely aggrieved and angry, trying to hold back tears that wanted to flow out. Nara behind gripped Hiwcel's shirt tighter.
Selena only having heard the first sentence already made her open her eyes wide in shock.
Hiwcel continued to speak:
"Afterward he locked us up and frequently tortured us. Afterward we escaped outside and were saved by their group."
Selena was quite shocked, didn't expect the plot to be like that, but naturally she still left a part of doubt. She connected the things currently happening again.
First was during these months he continuously made Tharros City fall into a state of anxiety, due to strange merchants repeatedly bringing into the city secret kinds of monsters and they even destroyed everyone in a large transaction. Right at this time his children escaped and were saved by Kazuka's group, he borrowed the fact of Kazuka winning against Mythyr and labeled it as actually being the selection for the next city guardian.
This made everything more reasonable when looking from the outside. Kazuka was the next city guardian, and Tharros City was preparing to retaliate by kidnapping his two children. Because having a new stronger city guardian made just looking see Tharros side was initiating a challenge first. Like that he could use that excuse and create a battle, when Tharros City side attracted more merchants, and the two cities were very close to each other to reach the count's city, if destroying Tharros City then surely the merchants would have to go to his Roam City.
Moreover both sides were viscounts, having equal soldier limits, could only hire additional mercenaries. And the Roam City side having an iron mine then truly that side not minding war was certain. That iron mine once had very tense disputes, but afterward the royal family saw the situation was not good and was forced to intervene, they analyzed and saw Tharros City actually had too much, while the Roam side was poorer, goods were also very few, so the royal family gave the iron mine to the Drahm family side and they had to give out ten large chests of gold coins considered as cooling down for the side having nothing, but ten large chests of gold coins was too little compared to the value of that iron mine. But the Ravencourt family also couldn't do anything because the royal family had participated in resolving it so had to accept, so both sides hated each other even more.
Both siblings also understood, Selena also understood. Selena let out a smirk.
"Seems you two even though escaping outside still have more value to him, huh?"
Hiwcel and Nara said nothing, gaze dropping down. Selena spoke very correctly, but they truly were very uncomfortable hearing those words.
Suddenly Selena spoke, she knew if having these two there would be a strong card that could overturn the current tangled situation:
"Then how about this, you go with us. We will protect you, the condition is being forced to help us against your father, if possible we will counter-attack and seize the city for you."
Hiwcel bit his lip tightly. If now he agreed, he knew he was the strongest trump card if agreeing. But he was afraid, he did not want to be related anymore. Now he only wanted to live truly peacefully like a normal resident.
Nara behind closed her eyes tightly and clung to Hiwcel's shirt, handing all decision power to her brother. Both siblings had experienced too large a shock already, now they wanted peace. Surely peace for them currently could not fully liberate, but it would gradually fade and erode away old memories.
Hiwcel shook his head, voice loathing and driving away:
"You go back, we are only normal people. Will not interfere anymore."
Selena frowned, she was analyzing in her head:
-"Possibly they are lying, all is fabricated. Like that me recruiting or not is both dangerous."
-"Protecting them then could be spies and gathering information, then if the royal family dips their hands in, and they are in my hands. Like that they only need to say they were captured, then at this time how to argue?"
-"But if letting them here also not good, no different from locking a tiger in a wooden cage. Possibly there will be some plan."
-"Surely there is a plan. That Varlen fellow has targeted us for a very long time, possibly he also divided the plan into many parts and in it there are both of them. If now I choose one of the two then both could be a trap that I didn't foresee."
-"So should I just go back? Like that then the trip is a waste of effort?"
Then Selena only suddenly remembered her purpose was to hire one of the remaining five people in Kazuka's group as a temporary city guardian.
-"Damn it."
Selena spoke, trying to probe more for openings:
"Why not? You were treated like that by him yet don't want revenge or simply hate?"
Hiwcel laughed faintly, but the smile was so faint it was uncomfortable. Turning back and looking at his sister clinging one hand to his shirt, one hand gripping weakly, face down as if no longer wanting to face it. Then he turned back with a gaze having some spark of light flashing slightly.
"I and Nara have told each other already. We will not participate or return or anything, all activities are no. We are commoners, if captured once more then we will commit suicide."
Selena was uncomfortable, she understood that they were wanting to threaten. Which truly was so, if both siblings died here then surely it would be impossible to argue anymore.
-"What to do? Likely Varlen also is certain his two children are in this city. Surely will send people to find and kill, but that case only true when the story these two siblings tell is true, while reality still cannot be seen."
-"But if not, then this is a large plan set up by this father and children."
-"Then will go back and send soldiers to follow. Regardless of whatever case first must grasp clearly the current situation of both these siblings."
Selena was silent for a bit from earlier, gaze pinned tightly on Hiwcel like creating pressure and interrogating. Now she spoke, trying to dig out a bit more of something most useful possible:
"Too unreasonable, if you say so then how can I believe? Seems this is a plan of you and your father, huh?" Finished speaking Selena smirked and sharp cold eyes directed toward Hiwcel.