Chapter 8 ─ Revelation

Ange was looking out the window waiting for Alex's return.

"That boy said he'd be back soon and he hasn't returned."

"He's at the age where he can visit brothels if he wants, stop worrying about him like you're his mother."

Ange glared at Jason who averted his gaze from her.

"W-well I also spent nights like that when I was a knight apprentice, he'll be fine since I taught him everything I know."

"If you say so"

She went to prepare tea when suddenly the door opened.

Both looked at Alex who was covered in blood with torn clothes.

"I'm hungry, sorry I'm late."

Ange was horrified to see him.

"A-kun what happened to you?!"

"Hey where did all that blood come from?"

Alex sat on the floor.

"I'm tired, I walked here from the forest. I want to eat and sleep a bit."

Ange went to prepare something quick while Jason took him to the bathroom.

After some rest, they both went to see him and he had woken up.

"Are you better now?"

"Yeah, thanks for the care, I was very weak but now I'm better."

"Good, now tell us what the hell happened."

Alex was going to mention the dragon but omitted it because...

(after waking in the forest, I was covered in blood and the dragon had turned to ashes. There was nothing left of him as if it were a dream, I doubt he really gave me his power.)

"Well, to start I'll tell you from when I arrived at the palace."

Alex told them what Isel tried to do to incite war through the pro-war faction and how they wanted the twins to declare war on the kingdom thinking they had killed him.

Ange's facial expression was one of disgust, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Meanwhile Jason was clenching his fist so hard it started bleeding.

He shouted.

"This is the last straw Belkman!"

"Tomorrow we'll solve this once and for all, we can't wait any longer."

"They tried to kill Alex, surely tomorrow when Frankton doesn't arrive at the palace they'll suspect, we have no choice but to act tomorrow."

"Jason, what are you talking about?"

Alex didn't understand what he was saying.

Then he revealed something that wasn't in the game.

"You see, I always said I was neutral for their majesties. But in reality I've always been part of the pro-war faction."

Alex was surprised for the wrong reasons.

"It's a surprise you weren't in the first place. And now you admit it."

"Yes, things happened, my wife asked me to leave since I only joined because of my father. In the end I stayed after his death and then officially left by his majesty's request. But that night, I had to become a member again just so they wouldn't reveal anything."

"Reveal what?" asked Alex. Jason stared at the wall for a moment and with a self-loathing expression told Alex:

"That night, when their majesties died. It wasn't a monster like everyone believes... it was me."

"...what are you saying?"

"I killed the king and his wife."

Alex could feel time stopping, his heart freezing.

In the game, he was never part of the faction much less this revelation.

Alex stood up and grabbed Jason by the collar of his shirt.

"Was it really you?!"

"Yes, it was part of Count Belkman's plan so the twins would grow up hating the kingdom. But I didn't have the courage to say it was them so I said it was a monster and the lie stayed that way."

"You're telling me all this time. To Anne, to Mary, to those girls who loved you like a second father... you took that from them and smiled at them every day."

"Yes. I killed their father."

Alex punched him in the cheek and he fell to the floor.

"Since that day my conscience has never been at peace, there wasn't a night I didn't drink alcohol to fall asleep without thinking about them."

"That's why tomorrow we'll end this farce."

"What Belkman did shows they're willing to do anything to achieve war. They'll probably even target Her Highness Rosemary so Princess Annerose feels hatred toward the kingdom."

"But first I must gather the evidence I have stored in my office for tomorrow."

Jason left without saying another word.

◇

After Jason left I stayed alone in my room.

I can't believe what happened today.

They tried to kill me twice

A dragon gave me a curse I don't understand

And now the game's villain turned out to be the real killer of the twins' father.

I imagined some game plots wouldn't be the same because it's absurd to think they'd be logical with such a plot hole.

But this leaves me speechless.

I really don't know what will happen tomorrow.

Right now Jason is gathering evidence to condemn Belkman and his faction

But also the fact that the twins will learn the truth.

I wish tomorrow would never come.

Someone knocked on the door before entering, it was Ange.

"How are you feeling?"

"Let's say calmer, but I really can't believe any of this."

I thought something immediately upon seeing her.

"You knew, didn't you?"

"You said he took you in because you had nowhere else to go. But you didn't seem surprised by what he said."

Ange nodded slightly.

"It's as you say, I was actually there that day. I saw everything, but I just want you to know there's more you don't know, so wait until tomorrow for me to tell you."

"Since it's something Jason and I have wanted to do for a long time."

"Will you go to the palace?"

"As a witness and key piece of what happened that day."

"They'll surely hate me for lying?"

"I hope they have their reasons."

Ange seemed strange, but stranger was what she told me.

"Tomorrow will be the day I pay for my sin."

What sin is she talking about?

◇◇◇

Morning came and Count Belkman woke up with a smile on his face.

He was attended by his servants as usual but this time for breakfast he ordered more food and for them to eat with him.

Since in his own words, it was a special day.

His carriage headed to the palace and he enjoyed the view of the capital during the trip.

"Today is the day my objective will sail with wind in its sails."

"Isel will arrive and give me the bad news for everyone. I'll run with tears to tell the princesses what happened."

"The conflict against the kingdom might start today, so I wore my best clothes for the declaration."

Upon arriving at the palace, no guards or servants received him.

This seemed strange, but he continued to the twins' room.

Then seeing two blonde heads running at high speed making their firm breasts bounce as they moved.

The Count thought (those brats have developed quite well I must say, a shame they're not commoners, I could have fun with one or both.)

He greeted them and was ignored.

"Good morning Your Highnesses. How are--"

"Not now Belkman"

"Jason and Alex have come to the palace and say it's something important."

The Count was dumbfounded.

"A-A-Alex and Jason?!"

"Wait... where's Isel?"

The Count also ran with them to the meeting hall where almost all the officials, servants, ministers and palace knights were gathered.

Belkman upon entering could confirm Alex was still alive.

(It can't be!)

(Are you telling me Isel was defeated by this brat?)

(If he's with Jason that means..)

He exhaled and inhaled repeatedly but then calmed down.

(No no no. It's impossible for that to happen, this guy more than anyone knows he's the killer of the twins' father. He'd be an idiot to declare it was him and orchestrated by my faction.)

(And even if he did he has no solid evidence to support what he'll say)

(You've dug your own grave, Leone.)

But a doubt arose in him, the same as all present.

(Who is that woman with them?)

Ange was behind Jason, almost hiding.

Jason noticing the Count's arrival began speaking after he entered.

"I've gathered all or most of you here because I want witnesses for what I'll say."

"Yesterday, my son Alex was nearly assassinated by knight Frankton."

The surprise didn't make anyone wait, not even the twins.

"Is this serious?"

"I can't believe it."

The Count kept smiling even as Jason spoke of their relationship.

(It doesn't matter if Isel falls. I'll never fall, you can fall because you have no evidence proving my guilt or the faction's.)

He was confident he had won, Jason looked at him laughing and then sighed.

"You're truly an idiot for not fleeing earlier. But oh well."

"Alex managed to defeat him, that's why you don't see him here."

"The reason for his assassination attempt is that he planned with his death, the pro-war faction could convince Your Highnesses to start a war against the kingdom after planting false evidence."

"My son can tell you what happened in his own words."

Alex approached and showed a piece of fabric, but it wasn't just any, it had the kingdom's emblem on it.

"Yesterday the bandits posing as knights were still there, they slept there and it was easy to neutralize them with my father's help."

"We didn't kill them, we brought them alive, they're over there."

He pointed to a corner where a group of knights were guarding them.

"You can interrogate them and they'll tell you the same as us."

The twins wanted to cry after hearing that atrocity.

"I can't believe our own ministers want to start a war for those reasons."

Mary was crying unlike Anne who was angry.

"To all the pro-war faction, I hope you have an excuse for this! I won't allow you to play dumb!"

After saying these words they ran toward him, hugging him tightly.

"I can't believe how far they're willing to go for their silly conflict with the kingdom."

"Rex-kun, are you okay?"

"I'm fine girls, but there's more."

Alex looked at Jason as if it was time to drop the big bomb.

"What I said was just a small part of my reason for gathering you."

"There's something else, something I always wanted to say but never could."

"Because I'm not the strong reliable man everyone thought. I'm a useless coward."

The veins on Belkman's forehead were about to explode.

(Don't you dare say it Leone. You more than anyone would lose if you say it!)

Despite looking him in the eyes begging him to shut up. Jason took a breath and stared firmly at the twins.

He remembered the first time he saw them, how they grew up to become two beautiful young ladies.

"Ten years ago, on that fateful night when our majesties died. I said it was at the hands of monsters and that's why only I survived."

The Count's face was so red he was about to voice his thoughts.

(Don't you dare say it!)

Jason clenched his fist and looked forward inflating his lungs for his own sentencing.

"...the one responsible for the king's death, was me."

"With these hands I ended his life."

The room fell into complete silence.

After a pause, screams and uproar exploded everywhere.

The twins didn't say a single word as they were still in shock.

Alex took their hands but they pulled away and walked toward Jason.

He knelt before them awaiting their punishment.

Anne looked at him with empty eyes.

"Jason... what are you talking about?"

"Mom and dad weren't killed by monsters?"

"No. It was me, with these same hands that swore to protect you."

"The reason for doing it was because the pro-war faction ordered me."

"I was blinded by the anger I still felt for my family's death. So I accepted, to take revenge on them."

"Count Belkman planned this for months and chose the perfect day--"

"Stop lying once and for all, damn faker!"

Count Belkman approached them agitated and with disheveled hair while his face was on fire.

"I've had enough of what you've said."

"You accuse me of complicity?! Stop lying!"

"You accuse the ministers of being responsible for something you did!?"

"If you killed them then accept your guilt and don't drag others into your crimes, damn cowardly criminal!"

"Yes, yes, it makes sense now. That day the only one who returned home intact was you. There was no one else who could back up what you said."

"You killed their majesties to start a war and satisfy your revenge isn't that right!?"

Count Belkman tried to control the situation by blaming Jason.

"Jason wasn't the only one who returned"

Ange stepped forward showing her face to the crowd.

The twins felt strange for a moment.

"She looks familiar"

"Like I've seen her before."

Ange confronting Jason told him his truths.

"Harry Arlen Belkman. I always believed you were a rat like your faction. I told my husband several times he should eliminate you because you'd only bring problems."

"But he said doing so would only provoke disputes and could induce a new faction to be against us."

"I knew they were capable of something, but I never imagined they'd be so despicable."

Her voice started breaking more and more.

No one, not even Alex understood what this woman was talking about.

She stood on a podium and addressed those present.

"I came here to end this farce. As of today the pro-war faction is dissolved, anyone seeking to go to war against the kingdom will be tried for treason."

Count Belkman was angry at how she spoke.

"Who does this filthy woman think she is to give us orders? You're nobody to order us!"

"Guards! Arrest that woman and these traitors and take them to the gallows!"

The twins seeing Ange illuminated by the light, started feeling strange.

"Onee-chan... don't you think?"

"Yes, I think the same."

They felt like crying.

Alex seeing their faces still didn't understand what was happening until his gaze fixed on a certain frame.

(Remember girls, how your parents looked.)

(Dad hated portraits saying he looked ugly, but we managed to get one and hung it in this place for all to see.)

(Mom said we all looked beautiful, but mom takes the prize for most beautiful.)

Ange placed her fingers on her eyes and removed special blue contact lenses.

While he remembered something from the past.

Ange removed her hair showing it was a wig and golden hair fell down her back.

Her golden eyes stared at the audience who couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Belkman fell to his knees urinating at the same time.

"You... no... it can't be..."

(I never noticed because I didn't pay enough attention.)

He immediately looked at Ange who had just thrown off her disguise.

"It's a pleasure to see you all again."

"Her Majesty Queen Angelica?!" Belkman screamed pathetically.

All this time, the twins' mother was still alive, but how was that possible?

◇◇◇

The twins seeing their mother still alive couldn't contain their joy and ran toward her, stepping on Belkman in the process.

"Mamaaaaaa!"

"Mommyyyyy!"

Ange—Queen Angelica stepped down from the podium and with a pained look extended her arms.

"My little ones, you don't know how much I've missed you!"

After so many years, mother and daughters were finally reunited.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Are you real? You're not an illusion?"

"That's right Mary, it's me, I'm your real mommy."

"Mama, I missed you so much. I tried to be strong for Mary since we found out you were no longer with us... but I always wanted to have you by my side because I can't be strong!"

"It's okay Anne. You perfectly fulfilled your role as big sister. I couldn't be prouder of you."

"So many years bearing so many responsibilities on your small back."

The queen caressed her daughters' cheeks.

"I can't believe ten years have passed. You've truly grown into two beautiful young ladies."

"Mom you haven't changed at all"

"Mom and dad? Is he alive too?"

At Mary's question she lowered her head.

"Your father did pass away that day. But not how you imagine."

Count Belkman lay on the floor grabbing his head repeating "It can't be real. It can't be real. It can't be real."

The queen still with tears on her face turned to the crowd who couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"From now on I'll tell you the truth of what happened."

"But before that I declare here and now the elimination of all factions. No one will show hostility toward the kingdom or any country."

"I'll also say this."

She looked at Belkman who was terrified on the floor.

"I already know who your contact is. It was the last thing we discovered that day, I'll make sure you and that person pay with your lives."

"My husband and I--"

She began telling the true story not even the game knew.

◇◇◇

The principality's queen, Angelica Esther Lulu Blanchette was with her husband in the carriage returning home after finishing some kingdom business.

"So a certain Kirchner is responsible for linking the pro-war faction to the border problems."

Her husband nodded at her.

"You're right, we must solve this but without causing an uproar."

"The girls must be scared by this storm."

"Surely Anne must be trying to appear mature while trembling"

"You're right, Mary must be crying for me. My sweet girls, I'm coming home soon."

It was a political but loving marriage.

While discussing their next family picnic the carriage stopped.

"What's happening?" the king asked the carriage driver.

"We're under attack by monsters!"

A group of horned wolves surrounded them.

"They must be hungry since the storm must have sheltered the animals."

"Everyone in position!"

Jason who was at the vanguard drew his sword and the other knights shouted.

The battle against the wolves began, but they were faster and bigger than them.

The king felt the carriage rocking, he tried to protect his wife by hugging her so she wouldn't get hurt.

Then something fell from the ceiling, she took it and said.

"What is this herb? I've never seen it before."

The king looked at what she held and with dread said.

"This is monster herb. It's generally used in hunting to gather scattered monsters in one place."

"Someone from the kingdom put it here."

They quickly deduced why they were invited to the kingdom for peace negotiations that were in name only.

"It was a trap from both sides from the beginning"

The carriage was rammed and overturned, both emerged with minor injuries and saw the horror outside.

The knights and horses were being devoured by the wolves.

Most of them were facing Jason who with two swords could barely hold them off.

Jason fighting for his life thought (This can't be happening. It's true I was entrusted with the mission to kill their majesties but after much thought, I simply don't want to do it.)

(I can't take those girls' parents away, just as I suffer for my wife and child to this day, I don't want them to think about their parents.)

After cutting down a wolf he turned and saw the king and queen surrounded.

"Your majesties!!"

He lunged at the wolves cutting them all down while being bitten, his armor's thickness allowing him to withstand such pressure.

"Your majesties!"

A knight approached them, Jason was somewhat relieved.

"Hurry and get them out of here!"

"Understood."

Exclaimed the knight before stabbing the king in the stomach.

Jason and Queen Angelica watched as he withdrew the blood-covered sword.

"Count Belkman told me to take care of it in case you failed, the plan went too well except for this excess of monsters."

"Now the queen and upon returning home I'll be a rich man--"

The man before realizing was bitten by a wolf that dragged him to where its pack was.

The king with all his strength shouted at Jason.

"Take my wife and get out of here! Don't mind me, just save her quickly!"

Jason knew escaping wouldn't be easy while trying to protect them, but seeing the king sacrifice himself by running the opposite direction and his blood being appetizing to the wolves, he understood it was the only option.

"Angelica, you must live and ensure the girls grow up to help the country!"

"Darling! Nooooo!"

Jason left the wolves and hurried to take the queen then jumped off the cliff toward the forest.

Before falling they could see the wolves running after the king and a heartrending scream was covered by thunder.

After falling on tree branches and with bruises, they managed to survive.

They avoided the wolves and survived, but now didn't know how to get home.

Jason seeing the queen crying for her late husband told her.

"Your majesty, I must tell you something."

"What is it?"

He told her all about Count Belkman and the pro-war faction's plan.

"It can't be, it's truly inconceivable something like that was planned by people who supposedly love this country."

"But after finding that herb, no doubt it's a plan from both sides."

"What are you doing?"

Jason bowed in a sign of remorse.

"This is my fault, I knew about this but did nothing. I stayed silent, and now the king is dead"

The queen wanted to slap him, but stopped since despite planning it he never did.

"Jason, lift your head. I understand you feel you deserve punishment, but in part by not doing it I understand your remorse is stronger than your desire for revenge for your family."

"Let's return home, we'll confront the count and the faction. I want to flee, but I can't leave my daughters alone in that place."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"How so?"

Jason stopped the queen and explained "It's better to pretend you're dead and I'll hide you. Because if you return, surely the pro-war faction will take the girls hostage and seek to separate them, they planned this so they're the worst and won't allow their plans to be ruined."

The queen with her soul in pain left her daughters alone faking her death for several years, taking advantage of anonymity she gathered evidence in faction nobles' houses so when the day came, she'd make them all fall.

Since no one knew who she was, she could say she came from Jason's house and they'd believe it was to show her indiscreet support.

◇◇◇

The queen wiped her tears and said "It's time to end this, arrest all the pro-war faction especially Count Belkman."

The guards began arresting everyone but when it was Count Belkman's turn he resisted.

"You have no idea what you're saying, stupid woman!"

"The pro-war faction is this country's largest faction since it formed with its foundation."

"Have you forgotten the kingdom persecuted and tried to kill us centuries ago? You wish to sacrifice yourselves for unilateral peace? No one guarantees the kingdom wants peace, thanks to us this country hasn't been destroyed or conquered by larger ones."

"But that stupid king and that brainless woman from there wanted to opt for peace knowing the kingdom has people who want war at all costs!"

Alex got angry at him and went straight to teach him a lesson but froze.

"...huh? It can't be."

The crowd was parting in surprise, the count turned and saw Isel approaching, covered in blood from head to toe.

"Isel! You're alive!"

He ran straight toward him.

"Come on fools! Isel is alive so everything you said were lies!"

"That woman isn't the queen but an imposter, and Leone revealed he was responsible for killing their majesties so they're traitors. Arrest them!"

Alex was sweating cold.

(It can't be. He should be dead, I saw him die before my eyes.)

"How is he still alive!"

Isel opened his mouth and uttered terrifying words.

"Before dying I met a demon called Naga, in exchange for possessing my body he promised he'd make everyone pay."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Isel grabbed the count's shoulders then his jaw stretched to almost half a meter and his neck extended so his head could devour the count's head in one bite.

A huge spray of blood shot out as Isel seemed to chew a cookie from the crunching sound.

"Tastes horrible, but what matters is killing them."

Then his body began gradually transforming into that of a long-necked dragon without front limbs and black in color.

He began devouring everyone.

______________________

That's right, Ange was always the twins' mother, and here is her half-finished design. I couldn't get the eyes right, but she's identical.

https://mega.nz/file/u0wnkT6D#uBkDI4iMzMnB5aVVjjmrZsRJ7iQzyDhbstl_sY9sLcM