Chapter 22 – The Anti-Monarchists and the Church (2)

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As time passed, the prison gradually fell into darkness. The crimson sky beyond the prison bars turned black, and silence filled the prison. But it was Kyle who broke that silence. He leaned his head through the bars and spoke in a low voice.

“Eli, Claire. It’s time.”

I stood up and approached the bars. “Alright, what do we need to do now?”

Kyle pulled something out from somewhere beyond the prison. It was a small pouch and a smoke grenade. He pushed the pouch through the bars and explained.

“Here, this is a smoke grenade and a small explosive device. The smoke grenade will obscure the soldiers’ vision, and the explosive will draw all the guards to the security room when it goes off. Once that happens, escaping will just be a matter of time.”

Claire looked into the pouch and asked, “If we use the smoke grenade and buy time, what will you do?”

Kyle smiled casually and said, “I’ll finish the preparations outside. Once the soldiers are in chaos, I’ll secure the rest of the escape route, so don’t worry.”

I nodded as I listened to him. “Alright. But if this is a trap, you won’t get away with it.”

Kyle smiled meaningfully and said, “Eli, you don’t need to worry about that. Why would I betray you? In a place like this, we help each other, right?”

With that, Kyle retreated to the corner of the prison. I held the pouch and went over the plan once more with Claire.

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As the night deepened, the outside of the prison was enveloped in silence. Occasionally, the sound of soldiers patrolling could be heard, and the prison was filled with cold air. I took the smoke grenade from the pouch and exhaled softly.

“Ready, Claire?” I asked quietly.

Claire nodded with trembling hands. “Yeah… I’m nervous, but we have no choice.”

I gripped the smoke grenade tightly. The moment I resolved to execute the plan, I pulled the pin and threw the grenade through the bars.

“Pop!” The sound of the grenade exploding was followed by thick smoke spreading through the prison corridor. The soldiers shouted in surprise.

“What’s going on?! The smoke…!”

The soldiers were thrown into chaos, and I used the opportunity to prepare the explosive device. I rolled the device toward the security room, and a moment later, an explosion echoed.

Boom!!!

The explosion shook the entire prison. The soldiers rushed toward the security room, and I used the distraction to escape the cell with Claire.

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But just as we were about to leave the prison corridor, someone appeared at the end of the hallway. He wore a black mask and held a sharp blade.

“Are you Eli and Claire?” he asked in a low voice.

I couldn’t tell who he was, but I could feel his killing intent. “Who are you? Why are you looking for us?”

Instead of answering, he raised his blade and walked toward us. “Die.”

I instinctively took a defensive stance, but his movements were too fast. He swung his blade at me, and I barely dodged. But at that moment, Claire charged at him.

“Leave Eli alone!!!”

Claire stabbed him in the side with a small rod she was holding. He screamed and stepped back, but he quickly raised his blade again.

Without hesitation, I kicked him in the side. His body hit the wall and collapsed weakly.

“What… he’s not as tough as I thought?” Claire panted.

I approached him and checked his condition. He gasped for breath for a moment, then stopped.

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We left the corridor and reached the escape route. Kyle was waiting for us there. The moment he saw us, his face filled with shock.

“You… how are you still alive?”

I was puzzled by his reaction and asked, “What do you mean? Of course, we’re alive. Why are you making that face?”

Kyle took a step back and muttered, “This can’t be… he was supposed to kill you…”

At his words, I realized everything in an instant. “Kyle… were you trying to kill us?”

He panicked and stepped back. “That’s… no, don’t misunderstand. I was trying to save you from danger…”

I cut him off and shouted, “Don’t lie! Everything you said was a lie! We were just tools for your escape plan!”

Kyle couldn’t say anything and hung his head. At that moment, the sound of soldiers’ footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

“Let it go, Eli.”

The sound of cold metal clashing grew closer, and a woman wearing a mask appeared. She looked at us with sharp eyes and spoke in a calm voice.

“You’re Eli, right? This place isn’t safe, so we should move.”

I eyed her warily and asked, “Who are you? And why are you here?”

She nodded calmly and said, “You’ll need an explanation. But this place isn’t safe. The soldiers will swarm here soon. Follow me.”

Claire nudged me and whispered, “Eli, isn’t this too suspicious? It’s clear Kyle was trying to kill us just now…”

I nodded with a complicated expression. “I know. But… we don’t have many options right now.”

She led us through a narrow passage and guided us outside the dark building. After navigating through a maze of alleys, we finally arrived at a small hideout. She closed the door and exhaled deeply.

“I didn’t have time to introduce myself earlier. I’m Selena.”

The moment I heard that name, all my thoughts stopped. Claire also looked at me in shock and muttered, “Selena… that name…”

I stared at her intently and cautiously asked, “Selena… the first saintess?”

But she smiled faintly and shook her head. “No, I’m not related to the title of saintess yet. I’m just… living here, fulfilling my role.”

At her words, Claire asked in confusion, “So… you’re not the Selena we know?”

Selena tilted her head and slowly replied, “I don’t know if I’m the Selena you know, but one thing is certain. We… have never met before. I’m seeing you for the first time today.”

At her words, I swallowed hard and exchanged a glance with Claire. Claire quietly looked at me and whispered, “Eli, isn’t this weird? If she’s the Selena we know, then…”

I looked at her squarely and said, “Yeah. But… even if something’s different, in this situation…”

Selena watched us quietly as we talked, then spoke up. “I don’t know why you’re here, but if you want to survive in this place, you’ll need to cooperate with us.”

Selena looked at us with calm eyes and spoke. “I don’t know why you’re here, but if you want to survive in this place, you’ll need to cooperate with us.”

I didn’t understand her words and asked, “Cooperate? What are you talking about? Why should we cooperate with you?”

Claire also added with a puzzled expression, “Do you even know how messed up our situation is? What are we supposed to trust…”

She cut us off and quietly pulled out an old piece of paper from her waist, handing it to us. I took it with a puzzled mind and unfolded it. The moment I saw the contents and the drawing on the paper, my breath stopped.

Wanted Notice

There, our faces were clearly drawn, and below it was written in large letters:

“Wanted: Eli and Claire. Key collaborators of the anti-monarchists. Capture or kill on sight.”

Claire, who was looking at it beside me, turned pale. “What… is this… us?”

I held the paper with trembling hands and looked at Selena. “What’s going on? We’re not anti-monarchists! So why are our faces…”

Selena replied calmly, “You might not actually be anti-monarchists. But what’s important is that the people here already believe you are. Whether it’s true or not, you’ve been branded as enemies here.”

Claire clutched her head and muttered, “What’s going on… What did we do wrong to end up like this…?”

I took a deep breath and looked straight at Selena. “Why did you show this to us? It’s not just to inform us about our situation, is it?”

Selena let out a short sigh and said, “You’re right. This is just a warning. As long as you stay here, everyone will see you as enemies. Not just the royalists… but the anti-monarchists as well.”

“What?” I leaned in, listening carefully, and asked again. “The anti-monarchists too?”

She nodded and added, “But our anti-monarchist faction is always in need of talent. If you sign with us, we’ll protect you as one of our own. But if you don’t sign… well, both sides will try to eliminate you.”

I felt my breath catch as I looked at Claire. Her face had also turned pale.

Selena watched our reactions and finally said, “If you want to survive here, you’ll need someone’s protection. I might be able to play that role. But before that…”

She looked straight into my eyes and gave a subtle smile.

“Shall we start with the signing first?”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
I give up, there’s many things I want to say but I will die before I list it all…

My corpse will haunt the past me for making the choice of picking this thing up

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