Almost every person in the Spirit Connection Tower was panting profusely, their faces covered in sweat. Many of these people had wounds covering their bodies, some deep and some shallow.
Charlie stood tall, gripping his sword tightly as he stared at Harmon's corpse. The corpse was covered with gruesome wounds. It was entirely disfigured from head to toe, to the point that no one could even recognise him.
The king's face was pale. His emerald-green eyes were dazed as he panted. The battle earlier had been nothing less than brutal. His free hand was quivering slightly, the exhaustion finally catching up to him.
Damn it... If we hadn't had Vekas by our side, we might've lost. Charlie thought to himself. It was a close call, since Harmon's battle strength was more than they anticipated.
Defeating a semi-spiritual lifeform as a normal, physical being is something only the rarest geniuses can do. The difference between these types of lifeforms is huge.
Charlie turned to Revan, who stood in a corner of the room, a small smile on his face, with his hands in his pockets. He contributed nothing to the battle, merely staying in the back and watching everything unfold, occasionally killing off one or two people who got close to him with a flick of his wrist.
Both he and Vekas understood that if Revan had wanted, he could've decimated every single enemy effortlessly. Yet, he didn't. He wanted to watch a show, and he got one. Judging by his smile, they could already guess that he was pleased.
"It seems that our suspicions of the traitor were correct, after all." Charlie sighed heavily, his eyelids drooping slightly as he turned away from the corpse, his gaze set on Revan and Vekas.
"Hmph. That guard is only meant to be tailing around Sofamy, yet he actually turned out to be such a scumbag," Marcus snarled, his brows furrowed as he stepped forward.
"It's time we deal with them. Vekas, keep our original plan in mind. Marcus, you should go attack the Aldreach Laboratory and secure it from their clutches," the king bellowed, his gaze scanning each of them.
"As you wish, your majesty."
"Alright, father."
Marcus immediately turned around and walked away at an unhurried pace, his dirty-blonde hair fluttering as he moved. Belfer accompanied him, his own stride calm and professional.
Charlie sighed before turning to Vekas. "It pains me that among all people, he had to be the traitor. I overestimated his loyalty."
"Indeed, your majesty." Vekas nodded. "When Sir Revan first suggested this person to me, I couldn't believe it. Now, after seeing that they indeed knew of our location, it seems that his suspicions were valid."
"Hehehe," Revan chuckled, "so what will you do now?"
"Imprisoning the traitor is the first step. After that, I will handle the administration of our attack on the rebels' bases. Not even one shall be spared," Charlie replied, his gaze sharp and resolute.
***
"Your majesty, there must be a mistake in this judgment. How can I be the traitor?!" Cronos's voice rang in the throne room.
His eyes were wide, his pupils were shrunk to the size of a pin, his neat hair didn't match his panicked demeanor, and his delicate features were ruined by his frightened expression.
"You were clearly aware of the fact that we were going to the Spirit Connection Tower to have a meeting last night. We were ambushed during this process, which ultimately led us to believe that you were indeed the traitor." Charlie's voice was calm and even, filled with detachment and order.
Cronos's body trembled at his words. "Hold on, your majesty. Just because your meeting location was leaked, it shouldn't mean that I am the traitor!"
His lips quivered as he continued. "I was aware that Prince Marcus was secretly involved as well, and that you were setting a trap for the rebels. If I were the traitor, wouldn't the rebels not fall for your trap and instead avoid attacking you?"
"Solid reasoning. The problem is that they had reinforcements. This means that they were aware of the trap, so when we arrived to surprise them, they already had their own army waiting." Marcus scoffed, his arms crossed before his chest.
"You clearly told them about the trap we set up, so they decided to hide their reinforcements until our trap was revealed. We are lucky that we were already suspecting you, so we were expecting them to be reinforced the moment the rest of us showed ourselves."
"Wait, what do you mean you were already suspecting me?" Cronos's brows furrowed, cold sweat trickling down his cheek.
Charlie sighed at this, leaning back on his throne. "When you and Sofamy were attacked in that marketplace, we were unaware of who leaked the info. Seeing that you guys didn't have any concrete plan of where to go, and since you two left secretly as well, we began suspecting that you, Cronos, were the one who created the trap in the first place."
Cronos's whole body shook in response, his eyes looking like they were about to pop out of their sockets. He remembered the time he and Sofamy were ambushed, and recalled that they had indeed not told anyone that they were even leaving the palace together.
"Wait, wait. Those guys were clearly trying to kill me. Harmon was super close to ending my life, had Sofamy not been there. Please, I was a target of that ambush as well! Why would I help the rebels try to kill me?!"
"Or perhaps, they weren't trying to actually kill you. They were merely putting up a front for Sofamy to witness. After all, wouldn't it be disadvantageous if Sofamy were to survive knowing that you are the traitor?" Marcus's voice was cold and sophisticated, but his words cut deep in the headguard's heart.
"I-If that is the case, then why would I kill them? I would, at most, knock them out. Plus! Plus, I even mutilated Harmon's body to the point that no soul could ever inhabit it. I did it secretly, so it wasn't to put up a front at all. Why would I do that if I were the traitor?" Cronos's eyes were wide and reddened, and his lips were quivering as his desperation was painfully evident.
"Regarding your first claim," Charlie began, "the rebels aren't shy of sacrificing their own members. We have seen the mentality of sacrifice in them. Besides, their forces are not small; they wouldn't mind losing a few of their members if it meant increasing our trust in you, their spy."
He sighed heavily before continuing. "As for your second point, Harmon was alive."
Cronos squinted his eyes slightly. "What?"
"You heard me right," the king sneered, "he was the one who led the attack. Other than that, he was a semi-spiritual lifeform when we fought him. How can you, a physical lifeform, ever be able to damage and mutilate the body of a semi-spiritual lifeform? Even if you had Sofamy's help, it shouldn't have been possible."
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp. "This leads us to believe that the 'ambush' you two had faced was merely a play to help you strengthen the trust we have in you. It also reveals that you never truly mutilated his body, lying to us so that we don't expect him to appear later on."
"Wh-What...?" Cronos was left out of words.
"You had said back then that you mutilated his body in secret because you believed Sofamy wouldn't approve of mutilating a dead body like this, but that was a lie, wasn't it? In truth, you knew that we also had an idea of how a new soul could possess his body, so you said that you disfigured his corpse so badly that no one would be able to heal it and have a new soul inhabit it. This would make us have a sense of safety, not realising that Harmon was still amok."
Cronos frowned further. The king's reasoning was logical. He had indeed said that he had secretly ruined the body. If he had known those words would be used against him, would he ever have said this?
"Y-Your majesty... I-I would never... I even defended Princess Sofamy when that woman tried to assassinate her. She is most likely one of the rebels as well. Why would I defend her if I were among the rebels? Wouldn't that be me betraying them?" His voice was shaky, and his pupils also seemed to tremble as panic nearly took over the little rationality he had left.
"The fact that this woman was among the rebels is merely a speculation," Marcus interjected, glaring at him.
"If she were not among the rebels, then it would be obvious that you were trying to protect Sofamy from this unknown variable. However, let's say for theoretical purposes that she was indeed one of the rebels. It still wouldn't solve your case."
Cronos blinked slightly. "Why wouldn't it? I—"
"The problem here is that she didn't bother killing you. According to your own account, she knocked you out before trying to kill Sofamy. This proves that she didn't want to actually kill you. In fact, she even killed the rest of the guards, so why did she spare you specifically?"
He narrowed his eyes. "This is the same case as what we discussed before; you merely resisted her for the sake of appearances. All she had to do was knock you out and then go for the others who were actually on Aethelgard's side."
Cronos was left utterly speechless. He couldn't argue against it, no matter how much he wanted. He never thought that all the times he had protected Sofamy recently would be used as evidence of him being a rebel.
"We even have Vekas's account, which he had given us before his sudden disappearance," Marcus added, though he kept it a secret that Vekas was actually in contact with them, something that Charlie had revealed to him not too long ago.
"No... this doesn't make sense. I... I have been serving the empire since the very beginning. Since my childhood, I have always been by Princess Sofamy's side. There is no way I am the traitor!" Cronos raised his volume, his eyes wide and his tone desperate.
"All I have ever cared about is serving the empire and guarding the princess. That was my only purpose. Why? Why would I abandon it and go to the side of the rebels, when I am happy with this kingdom? It makes no sense!"
Charlie sighed as he heard this, his expression solemn. "Betrayal always comes from those closest to us. Even though you have been serving us from the beginning, so have others. Many of those people have turned on the empire one day or another, so your change is not surprising."
Cronos wanted to grab and pluck his own hair out in response. He didn't understand what to do now. No one was willing to believe him. He had been branded as a traitor by the empire.
"Guards. Take him to the deepest level of the dungeons." The king's voice was cold and indifferent.
As two guards grabbed Cronos by each arm, he wriggled against their grip, trying to break free. "This is a trap! It must be! There is no way I am a traitor. Your majesty, this is a setup! You have to believe me! I am being set up! Your majesty! Prince Marcus! Princess Sofamy! Noooo!!!"
Cronos's screams reverberated as he was dragged away, his whole body wriggling violently, yet to no avail.
Marcus turned to the king. "I shall leave now. The Aldreach Laboratory won't be freed by itself."
Charlie nodded. "Alright. Take at least a hundred men with you. Try to have as few casualties from our side as possible. Remember, the main target is Manori, who had sent us that letter."
Marcus nodded before turning around and exiting the throne room, his hair fluttering as he walked.