A Friend In The Shadow Of Villains

After minutes of chasing and running, all three finally boarded the ship safely. 

The ship they boarded was a freighter and there was only an authorized crew. And since the ship left the port at night and it was raining, the crew did not see them and they managed to safely enter the cargo-carrying part of the ship. 

And after they settled down, they finally started to talk,

Orano sat on the ground and said,

"There won't be anyone chasing us or listening to us anymore for a while. So it would be better for all of us if you explained everything right now."

"Yeah. You acted very weirdly back there. Why did you do all of those?" Caitrin said with a confused expression.

Lydia looked at them and said,

"I apologize for the inconvenience I caused you earlier, but that was all I could do. Since Mr. Natsuki listened to almost every conversation, I had to act without suspicion. So I had to chase you all the way. And since you gave me the chance to come with you, I can explain everything now."

Unlike before, her voice tone was lighter and she was smiling. She looked like a very kind person.

Caitrin looked at her and said to herself,

*Her sure of herself expression is gone now. And I didn't know she could smile this beautiful."

Lydia then added,

When I was a kid, I admired him every time I saw him, and I wanted to be someone who helped people like him. He was my role model. 

For this purpose, I trained myself for many years and eventually became a skilled swordsman. I even saw Mr. Aletha on my first day at the castle. 

I can't even remember how excited I was.

But shortly after I started working in the kingdom, I received the news that Mr. Alethea had passed away. Everyone in the royal family was devastated because it was really hard to find a monarch like him.

I was a bodyguard at last. But instead of someone I looked up to, I was Natsuki Shigeru's bodyguard.

And at first, I wanted to believe him and I respected the way he managed the tasks he took. But over time, his torture over people, his unnecessary laws, and his egotistical attitude were sickening me to the core. It sickened all of us. But because he threw anyone who talked bad about him into the dungeon, we shut our mouths for a long time.

And after everything that had happened, I met you two. 

Even if I only spoke to Mr. Tatsumi once, his goal was similar to mine, and he once again reminded me of what kindness meant."

Then she pulled a cube-shaped device out of her pocket and added,

"So to put an end to all this, I have been collecting evidence for a year and made a plan to give it to the Royal Society."

Caitrin asked confused,

"What is that?"

Orano said,

"If other kingdoms had known or used this device, there would have been too much war going on. Its better like this."

"Exactly. But even though there will be consequences of my actions, I will not step back. I can't just leave the city that I lived for many years. I have to help them."

"Sooner or later we will reach the kingdom of Faye. So until then, we have to go undercover and be on our guard." Orano replied as he listened to her.

Lydia then stood up and said,

"I understood, Mr. Tatsumi."

Then she added,

"Then I will be searching and patrolling the ship for our safety for now. If anything goes wrong, please let me know too."

She then left the storage room and walked away. But as she was getting away, something caught her eye. 

It was a newspaper.

At first, she didn't care about it that much, but then she approached and looked at the date of it. 

It was three days ago's newspaper. But rather than being three days ago, there was news that was written with big letters on it.

And what she saw next, shook her to the core and made her go numb.

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On the other hand, after Orano and Caitrin heard her footsteps got far away, Caitrin sighed and said,

"Oh, boy! We finally managed to escape. We ran so hard and got chased for minutes. I thought we were going to get caught."

She then looked at Orano and said,

"I'm not even talking about Lydia. I thought she was not on our side, but now she looks like she wants to help us."

Orano replied,

"Instead of helping, she seems to have no longer been able to stand towards what is happening at Ellesmere. She worked with a person who couldn't think straight for a year, and we can only guess what she saw while doing that." 

He then stood up and added,

"Let's just hope she doesn't blame herself for it and do something bad."

But as he walked towards the door, Lydia busted through and looked at them, while gasping for air.

Then she gave the newspaper to Orano and said nervously,

"Mr. Tatsumi! You have to look at this!"

As he got the newspaper, he read the news that was written in big letters and felt the same shock as her.

It said,

-FLORA CASTLE IS UNDER ATTACK! THE MYSTERIOUS WINGED MEN LEFT, AFTER KILLING ONE PERSON AND LEAVING FOUR PEOPLE INJURED.-

He felt all kinds of things up until now, but the confusion and the shock he felt right now, was different from any other.