Treason

The room we entered seemed somewhat neglected, full of dust and old furniture, lit only by a fireplace. Upon entering, the first thing I saw was Harold standing next to the fireplace. Once Ryul also entered the room, the maid left, closing the door.

"What's going on?" I asked Harold.

"We're all here. I'm sorry I called you at this time. Please find a place to sit, and I'll explain why I called you all." Harold reply.

"Darx, over here." I heard a familiar voice calling me.

The one who spoke was Shalia. Because of the low light, I hadn't noticed that Shalia and Leona were here too. And not only them, Caroline and Gerald were also here as well as two more girls from another team that I only know by sight.

Once we were all settled, Harold began to explain why he called us.

"Moments ago, I received information that a carriage carrying something of **** importance was attacked. I don't know if the attackers were bandits or monsters, but it is of vital importance to recover the carriage's content."

"What was the carriage carrying?" Leona asked.

After Leona's question, Gerald also expressed his doubts, "Why us? We are only here to train, not to be foragers. If it's something important, why don't you send the royal guard?"

"Unfortunately, I can't use the royal guard since the other nobles would notice, and it is essential that they don't find out." Harold responded, "We have resumed talks with the Dark Elf's King secretly from the opposition to avoid complications in the negotiations. After much discussion, they agreed to help as long as the content of that carriage reaches their hands."

Does that mean the dark elves will help without Syvis having to go get married? I wonder what they offered for them to accept. Anyway, if that cancels Syvis being **** to marry, I'm willing to help.

Harold continued after a little pause, "The best way to retrieve the contents of the carriage without attracting attention is to send this group and pass it on as part of your training. Everyone here are people I trust. So I ask you to please help me on this occasion. The queen will also be grateful for your help."

The first to say something was Caroline. "I'm in! You can count on me!"

"W-Wait, Caroline, you don't need to..." Gerald tries to persuade her.

This time the girl with dark skin spoke; I think her name is Miranda, "The sooner we get going, the more likely we are to recover what was stolen."

"Exactly! If no one else has anything to say, we'll be out right away." Harold reply.

"Will you come too?" I asked Harold.

"Yes, I need to be there."

"There is a maid outside. She will take you to the carriages on a path where no one will see you. Please try to be quiet. Your things will already be in the carriage."

We all stood up and started walking to the door as quietly as possible.

"Wait, I haven't accepted anything." Gerald said, annoyed.

"Shss! Be quiet..." Wendy, a redheaded girl with freckles, told Gerald.

"Wha.. The lack of respect! Nobody silences a noble!"

It was necessary for Caroline to quiet Gerald, but when she did, we followed the maid who, as Harold told us, led us to the carriages along a path where we didn't see any guards, which was a bit strange to me.

Outside there were two carriages, and next to one of them was Kiara.

"Kiara! Will you come with us too?" Ryul asked.

"To pass this off as training, you need a mentor." She replies.

Makes sense. Gerald, Caroline, Leona, Ryul, and Harold got into the first carriage. While in the other, Shalia, Miranda, Wendy, Kiara, and I would go. According to Kiara, the road will be long, so it gave me the opportunity to ask her if she knew anything about my parents since they were from the same guild.

"According to Harold's report, your mother is Ilene, right!? Although I don't know her in person, I've seen a statue of her in the guild."

"A statue of my mother? How is it possible?"

"I once asked the guild master, Aelbrecht, and he told me that your father Azriel created several sculptures around the guild, including one of Ilene. Her sculpture is especially popular because of how beautiful it is."

I have to go see her sculpture one of these days. I guess if I joined Dark Dragons, I could do it. I wonder if my mother has already received my letter. If there is a sculpture of my mother, maybe...

"Are there any Azriel sculptures by any chance?" I asked.

"I suppose you would like to see one of your fathers since you don't know him, but unfortunately, there are none. What I know about Azriel is that he was a talented magician and a prodigy sculptor, but he never created one of himself."

"I see..."

"But there is one of the Dragonettes in case you are interested." Kiara said.

"This is the group my mother and Alice belonged to. Were they famous?" I asked.

"Of course they were!" Miranda said.

Until this moment, only me and Kiara were talking while the rest were listening, so I was surprised that Miranda entered the conversation.

"Do you know them?" I asked her.

"Of course!" Miranda reply, "I am from the Duchy of Jendayi, in the southeast. I grew up in a coastal village and we often have difficulty getting any adventurers to help us out. But I have heard stories of how the Dragonettes saved our village once from a monster's attack."

"What Miranda says is true." Kiara added, "Ilene, Alice, and Helena were famous for helping in places where many other adventurers didn't want to go. That group has long been separated but even I know several of their stories. Now only Helene is still a member of the guild."

"My mother has told me a little about her. I would like to meet her."

"Y-Yes, just be careful when you meet her, okay..." Kiara replies nervously.

I wonder what kind of person Helena is since I have been asked to be careful when I meet her on several occasions. I guess I'll find out once I see her.

The road was long and the sky was already reddish when we finally reached the place where the bandits intercepted the carriage. When we got off the carriages to investigate the place, a farmer approached Harold and after they spoke for a moment alone, Harold informed us.

"We will face a group of bandits. Informants we have in this area have already located them and are currently at the top of the mountain. We will attack them by surprise and we will recover what they stole."

That said, we went up the mountain. There was a small cabin at the top of the hill and around it were bandits eating and drinking. It seems that they are not expecting to be attacked. I imagine that inside the cabin is what was stolen. We were hiding in the surrounding trees waiting for Harold to give us the attack signal.

Taking advantage of the darkness and that the bandits were distracted, Kiara got close enough without being seen and it was she who gave the first attack. At that moment, Harold gave the signal and we all came out of our hiding place ready to fight. Bandits inside the cabin came out wearing hoods and masks. They were more than us, but we were stronger and little by little, we began to push them back. Harold entered the cabin and came out with a scroll in hand. Seeing that one of the bandits attacked Harold but was intercepted by Leona. Two more bandits attacked Harold, who fell to the ground, dropping the scroll near where Caroline was. She picked it up, but other bandits now went for Caroline. It seems that the bandits know about the scroll and it is their goal to retrieve it as well. Gerald and I task ourselves to protect Caroline from enemy attacks.

Caroline then approached me and she gave me the scroll discreetly and whispered to me, "I'm going to distract them; you take care of the scroll."

Wait, what? Carolina then ran to the cliff. What is she planning to do? It is a dead-end. She's running too fast, don't tell me she's planning to jump? It's suicide to jump from that height. I ran after her, but a bandit reacted faster than me.

Seeing what was going on, Gerald, still fighting one of the bandits, yelled, "Caroline, WAIT!"

The bandit that ran after Caroline threw a chain that wrapped her, knocking her to the ground before she could jump. I was about to attack when the bandit took off his hood and I recognized her. She is a member of the Royal Guard.

"You are under arrest for the **** of Marques Darren!"

What? What's going on? I was too confused, not knowing what was going on, that I froze for a moment.

"Darx, help me!" Caroline screamed.

The royal guard member turned to look at me and yelled, "Stay where you are!"

The rest of the bandits also took off their hoods and masks and they were all members of the Royal Guard. What the hell is going on? Harold, who was being held with a knife to his neck, was released as well. Obviously, we are all perplexed. Harold then walked over to where Caroline was.

"What's happening? Why are you doing this to me?" Caroline screamed, trying to break free from the chains.

"Did you really think you can fool all of us? Why did you do it? Why did you kill Darren?" Harold asked.

"I didn't kill anyone!" Caroline said between tears. "Darx, Gerald, please help me."

"Harold, what is happening?" I asked, "What do you mean Caroline is the killer? I thought we were here to retrieve the scroll that was stolen?"

"I'm sorry I fooled you, but it was necessary in order to catch Caroline. Everything about the robbery was a lie to corner her."

"Stop fooling around and tell us clearly what's going on." Leona spoke, quite mad, "Did you already know that Caroline was the one who killed Darren?"

Without taking his eyes off Caroline, Harold began to speak, "I already knew that Caroline was the one who killed Darren, but I needed concrete proof to be able to prosecute the daughter of a Duke."

Gerald ran to get between Caroline and Harold, trying to protect her, "What are you talking about? You must be making a mistake. I ORDER YOU TO RELEASE HER RIGHT NOW!"

"That is something I cannot do." Harold replied, "As I told you, Caroline was the one who killed Darren in addition to carrying out suspicious activities which are considered treason."

"W-What the hell are you saying. I've known Caroline since we were kids and I know she would never be able to do something like that." Gerald said, drawing his sword.

"Put down that sword!" The woman from the royal guard who was holding the chain said.

"No! Let her go!"

"Heard me out, Gerald," Harold said, "By coincidence, I was close when Caroline attacked Syvis the other night and I detected with my skill how she entered through the secret passages of the castle. I also found that it was she who started the rumors that Syvis was the one who killed Darren."

Did Caroline start the rumors? But if she offered me her help because she wanted to help Syvis.

Harold continued, "Since that night, thanks to my sensory skill, I have been monitoring Caroline. Without letting her realize that I knew she had been spying on me, I devised this plan to catch her red-handed. I disclosed the information about the shipment and the first thing she did was escape from the castle at night to meet the real bandits who were the ones who attacked the carriage. The Royal Guard took care of the bandits and usurped their place to deceive Caroline."

"If you really knew all that, why do all this theater? Wouldn't it have been better to catch her instantly?" Miranda asked.

"Caroline is just a spy who is trying to impede the alliance of humans and dark elves. The question is, who is giving the orders? Why is the daughter of a Duke doing all this? Caroline only hired the bandits who attacked the carriage and they don't know anything, so the plan was to see what Caroline would do. I left the scroll in Caroline's care on purpose and the first thing she did was exchange it for a fake one. The plan was to see where Caroline was going to take that scroll and thus be able to find who was giving the orders. But I didn't count on her trying to jump off the cliff. Either way, this is her end, we have enough evidence to arrest her and the information will be obtained in one way or another."

"One way... or another?" Gerald questioned, "Do you really think you can **** the daughter of a nobleman? I-I won't allow it!"

"Gerald, tell me honestly if you haven't noticed anything strange about Caroline." Harold asked.

"I... I..." Gerald, unable to answer, turned to see Caroline, who was crying, still tied on the floor, "I believe her..."

"In that case, look inside her clothes." Harold told Gerald.

"What!?" Gerald replied, "Fine... I'll prove you wrong."

Gerald kneeled in front of her and began to search through Caroline's clothes. Then he went silent.

"Caro... line..." Gerald said, incredulous, holding a scroll different to the one I have.

Harold turned to see Caroline, "As you may have already realized, that scroll is worthless. Now we will take you back to the castle where the royal court will judge you."

Caroline didn't respond at first, but...

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Caroline began to laugh frantically, leaving us all frankly scared.

"Caro...line!?" Gerald asked with a puzzled expression.

"You really got me." Caroline said, smiling.

Caroline then broke the chains that held her.

"W-What?"

How could she break the chains like that? Caroline then restrained Gerald by snatching his sword and putting it on his neck and moved closer to the cliff's edge.

"Caroline, why?" Gerald asked.

Caroline kicked Gerald.

"No! Don't let her jump!" Harold screamed.

No one in our group could react at all, but some Royal Guard members tried to catch her. Unfortunately, they failed to grab her before she jumps off the cliff.

Before jumping down, she turned to see Gerard and just said, "Idiot!"

Only the sound of branches breaking was heard. Several leaned over the cliff to see if they could see where Caroline fell, but it would be impossible to see among all those trees and even more so that it is night. On the other hand, Gerald stayed still without reacting or moving. He was simply looking in the direction from which Caroline jumped.

After that, there was not much to do. They sent us back to the castle while the Royal Guard would search for the body. I still can't believe what happened. I never suspected anything of Caroline.

Nothing turned out as desired. Harold did not achieve the objective of this quest, Gerald lost the woman he loved, and even I feel betrayed. Everyone comes back with more questions than answers. And despite knowing the truth of what Caroline was doing, I can't help but feel hurt by her ****.

On the way back to the castle, Gerald looked devastated, and I don't blame him. The person he loved and trusted tried to kill him in addition to being the cause of all this and the worst thing is that we don't know why.

"Do you think Gerald will get better soon?" Shalia whispered in my ear while we saw Gerald in front of us, quiet and without raising his face at any moment.

"I hope so..."

Shalia, by nature, cares about others. Even people with whom she doesn't get along.

We return to the castle in the morning. When we arrived, Harold took Gerald away. We were all exhausted, so Kiara allows us to go rest. I slept all day and woke up at nightfall. I went to Ryul's room, but I saw that he was still asleep, so I went to the library to look for Syvis.

Syvis was sitting at the same table as always and when she saw me, she smiled slightly. "It seems you had an interesting trip."

"Something like that. Do you know everything that happened?" I asked.

"Everyone in the castle knows it by now. To be honest, I didn't expect Caroline to be the one responsible for everything."

"Neither did I. It was a shock when Harold unmasked her. She was always such a nice girl."

"After I found out that it was her, I started to remember certain things that I overlooked. I guess I still have a lot to learn as well." Syvis said with a sad smile.

Caroline was one of the few people on Syvis's side this entire time, but it was all just an act. It was Caroline who planned everything to isolate Syvis and kill her once she left the city alone.

I try to give her words of support, "I will not betray you!"

Syvis was surprised by my words. At that moment, the large crystal that hangs from the ceiling of the library went out, leaving everything in darkness.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Sometimes this happens. The crystal has to be recharged with magic and sometimes it runs out of magic before being recharged." Syvis explained to me.

Syvis stood up and sat on the floor under a window that let in the moonlight. Her short dress was pulled up, revealing her long legs and from where I was, I could also see a little of her black panties. Is she letting me see on purpose? Anyway, I wanted to continue watching but decided to sit next to her. As I sat next to her, I noticed that she was reading a book about summons. It seems that she is investigating what happened to me the other day. Sitting next to her, I could smell her perfume. It is an alluring scent.

At some point, it started to rain while we talked and without realizing it, a long time had passed. Our faces were very close to each other and our eyes met again and again and without thinking about it, I brought my lips to hers.

Upon realizing what I did, I tried to apologize, "I-I'm sorry..., I-I don't know what happened to me."

Unlike me, Syvis remained composed and said in a calm tone, "What you said earlier is true? Will you never betray me?"

I was surprised by her question, but I had no hesitation in answering honestly, "I will never betray you."

Sivis smiled and closed her eyes, bringing her face closer to mine and this time, I did the same without hesitation. On this rainy night, I kissed Syvis for the first time.

.

[In another place]

In a forest near the border with the Beast-Kind country, in the ruins of what was once a fortress, Carolina went inside, walking through the ruins. Although a few days ago she fell from a cliff, she showed no signs of being hurt. She entered a large room that had half of the ceiling destroyed. And at the back of that room were two tall guys with toned bodies. One with black hair and the other with white hair, but more importantly, they both had horns.

"What are you doing here? You should be in the castle right now." The black-haired demon asked.

"Things went wrong and I had to escape." Caroline replied.

"Did they realize who you are?"

"No, but they found out that I killed someone inside the castle."

"Absurd. You knew you had to be discreet."

"What did you want me to do? How am I supposed to break the alliance of humans if not by killing whoever tries to form them." Caroline reply.

The white-haired demon approached Caroline.

"HAHAHA! Killing them all is what we should do from the beginning. Why do we waste time on this nonsense? Also, take away that hideous appearance, it's annoying."

Caroline's appearance began to distort. Her hair turned black and her face changed completely. Besides that, she now has horns too.

"I was sick of that appearance and dealing with all those humans. By the way, where is Ufrosa?"

The black-haired demon replied, "She's in dwarf territory doing a better job than you. You knew well that our job is to destabilize and block alliances between the races while the demon king annihilates the rebels who are still faithful to the previous demon king. Now that we don't have an agent infiltrating in human territory, we won't be able to do our job."

"Don't worry. I've been spying a lot while I was in the castle and even if we don't do anything, I see very difficult an alliance between humans and the rest of the other races. Maybe only with the elves. But if you want, I can take the appearance of another human and infiltrate again."

The white-haired demon spoke up, "Why didn't you kill the queen before fleeing? You would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"It is impossible. Her bodyguard doesn't separate from the queen."

"Then you should have killed him too."

"Are you crazy!? Even though I am more powerful than many of those who were in the castle, my strength is not in combat and besides that, this bodyguard is quite strong. Even you two would have a hard time fighting him."

"What? It is impossible for a human to compare to us!" The white-haired demon replied, full of confidence.

The black-haired demon continued, "What she says is true! There are humans strong enough to stand up to us even though they are quite few. Namy, now you will infiltrate the elves' territory and you will make sure that this alliance between humans and elves doesn't happen."

"So soon? Can't I rest?" Namy replies, mad.

"Your ability to transform yourself into whatever you want is valuable and we have no time to waste. Get going!"

"And what are you two going to do while I work? Sleep?"

"We have to make sure that the Divine Beasts are on our side or at least that they don't interfere in the coming war. If you want to take our place, go ahead." The black-haired demon replied.

"F-Forget it, I'll get going."

"Don't you think the demon king is exaggerating with all these measures?" The white-haired demon asked. "It is impossible for us to lose a war against humans."

The white-haired demon and Namy stared at the black-haired demon, waiting for his answers.

After meditating a little, he replied, "The demon king has already lost a war against humans once. This time he wants to ensure the total annihilation of humans and finally take our rightful place as rulers of the world."