Ch. 21 The Anti-Monarchists and the Church (1)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 21 – The Anti-Monarchists and the Church (1)
Under the crimson sky, we stood on unfamiliar ground. The heat rising from the earth and the glowing red clouds seemed to prove that this was indeed the past, surrounding us as if to confirm it.
Claire, catching her breath, said, “Is this… the past? But why does it look so desolate?”
I shook my head, feeling the unfamiliar atmosphere around us. “It’s definitely the past… but it’s very different from what we imagined.”
Then, a strong voice called out from the distance.
“Who are you?! This is no place to wander into!”
Instinctively, I turned my head toward the voice. A man in a black cloak was walking toward us, holding a long spear. Behind him were two soldiers, their eyes sharp and gleaming.
Claire, tense, grabbed my arm. “Eli… they seem to misunderstand us. What do we do?”
I whispered to her, “Stay still. We can’t act hostile first.”
The man stood in front of us, pointing the tip of his spear at us. “Answer me! Who are you! Why have you intruded here!”
I took a step back and slowly raised my hands. “We’re not intruders. We’re just… travelers who got lost.”
But he scoffed and shook his head. “Don’t lie. Your clothes aren’t from around here. And… where did you get that outfit?”
His gaze lingered on my saintess robe. The pristine white garment contrasted starkly with the crimson land.
One of the soldiers muttered, “That outfit… are they from the anti-monarchists?”
Another soldier added nervously, “It’s highly possible, Captain. The anti-monarchists have been invading this area frequently.”
“Anti-monarchists?” Claire whispered softly into my ear.
I looked the captain straight in the eye and said, “We’re not the anti-monarchists you’re talking about. We’re just adventurers traveling around.”
But he coldly shook his head. “Then explain why you’re wearing the clothes of the anti-monarchists. If you don’t talk, we’ll arrest you immediately.”
In the end, we were arrested and dragged away by the soldiers. Our hands weren’t bound, but we were forced to move at spearpoint.
.
.
.
As we walked, I could overhear the soldiers’ cautious conversations.
“Those anti-monarchist bastards are getting bolder these days. Last time, they even invaded near the Laniang walls, didn’t they?”
One soldier grumbled.
“Yeah!! Do you know how much trouble I went through because of that? I almost died last time.”
Another soldier nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. Those bastards keep spouting nonsense about some sacred mission, but they’re just traitors.”
I cautiously asked, “Um… did you say Laniang? Is that where we are?”
One of the soldiers glared at me and sneered.
“What, are you really pretending not to know? If you’re from the anti-monarchists, there’s no way you wouldn’t know.”
“We’re not the anti-monarchists you’re talking about!” I protested, raising my voice, but another soldier laughed.
“Yeah, yeah. Save that talk for the prison. The truth will come out soon enough.”
Claire muttered quietly beside me.
“They’re really uncooperative. I thought we could reason with them, but they’re completely closed off.”
I whispered to her, “We have no choice. We’ll have to see the situation and deal with it once we’re captured.”
One of the soldiers urged us, “Enough chit-chat. If you keep talking, I’ll tie your tongues first.”
I gritted my teeth and quietly kept walking.
.
.
.
We were taken deep into the fortress and thrown into a prison. The prison was made of damp stone walls and iron bars, and the stench of decay stung my nose. The soldiers shoved us into a cell and locked the door.
“Wait here quietly. Your fate will be decided after the investigation.”
After the soldiers left, Claire slumped to the ground and sighed.
“This is ridiculous. They think we’re traitors… anti-monarchists.”
I gripped the iron bars and looked around.
“The real problem is that they believe we are. We need to clear up the misunderstanding, but in this state…”
Claire grabbed her head and said, “Eli, honestly, this is too much! What have we gained by coming here? We got arrested and thrown in prison as soon as we arrived in the past, and now we’re just piling up misunderstandings!”
I tried to calm her down. “Relax, Claire. There’s still a way. We might be able to find a clue in what the soldiers said.”
Claire raised her hand and exclaimed, “What clue?! This isn’t a game anymore, Eli… They clearly see us as enemies! Let’s just think of a way to escape from here!”
I took a deep breath and looked at her.
“If we escape, we’ll just be chased again. Instead, we need to find a way to prove we’re not anti-monarchists.”
Claire looked at me with a frustrated expression, then nodded.
“Alright. But where do we even start?”
At that moment, a man across the prison was watching us. He had been sitting in the corner of the cell, but now he slowly turned his head toward us. His gaze was sharp, and a faint smile crept onto his lips.
“You… are having an interesting conversation.”
The man looked at us through the iron bars with sharp eyes. His expression carried a strange sense of ease, as if he was enjoying our predicament.
I eyed him warily and asked, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
He shrugged and slowly stood up.
“Me? Just a wanderer, I guess. You could say I’m in the same boat as you.”
Claire narrowed her eyes and asked, “A wanderer? But why do you seem so relaxed?”
He chuckled and took a step closer to the bars.
“I’m not relaxed. I just have a reason to be. You seem to be mistaken for anti-monarchists, but if you cooperate with me, you might be able to get out of here easily.”
I frowned at his words. “Cooperate? Why should we trust you?”
He stared at me and said, “You don’t have to trust me. But do you have any other options right now? If you stay here for questioning, you’re just giving them the chance to fabricate the answers they want. If you’re labeled as anti-monarchists, the next step… is execution.”
Claire turned to look at me. “Eli, I don’t know what to say. He seems to be hiding something.”
I looked back at the man and asked, “What’s your plan? How are you going to get us out?”
He smiled with satisfaction and replied, “Listen. Tomorrow night, there’s going to be a small skirmish outside this prison. A fight near the prison. I’m planning to escape during the chaos, and you two could help.”
“How exactly are we supposed to help?” I asked, my voice filled with suspicion.
He gestured around with his hand.
“You know the layout of this prison, right? The most important thing here is to disrupt the guards. You’ll use a small device I’ve prepared to cause an explosion, and while the guards are in chaos, we’ll escape the prison.”
Claire retorted, “An explosion? Won’t that just put us in danger?”
He shook his head and held out his palm.
“No, the people I’m leading have already prepared everything. All you need to do is create a distraction for the guards, and we can all get out without anyone getting hurt.”
I watched his eyes closely and quietly asked, “But why are you helping us? What do you get out of this?”
He paused for a moment before answering.
“It’s a deal based on mutual benefit. You want to escape this place, and so do I. You don’t want to stay in this prison for long, do you?”
I mulled over his proposal and looked back at Claire. She looked at me with a confused expression and whispered, “Eli… what are we going to do? Can we trust him?”
After a moment of thought, I turned back to him and asked, “So, what exactly do we need to do?”
He smiled and said in a low voice, “It’s very simple. When I give the signal, all you need to do is create a brief distraction for the guards inside. I’ll handle the rest.”
As I listened to his words, I took a deep breath. His plan seemed full of holes, but given our current situation, our options were limited.
“Alright, I’m Eli, and this is Claire.” I said firmly. “Let’s go with your plan. But if you betray us, you won’t get away with it.”
He smiled with satisfaction and nodded.
“I’m Kyle. Wise choice, Eli. Well then, look forward to tomorrow night.”
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
He in fact, will definitely get away with it.
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