The dining table was still spread with a full banquet, but Kaede was not in the mood to eat.
In other words, her appetite had vanished along with the shift in her mood.
'Kurome, Run, Wave, you're here.' Kaede said this, as if she had forgotten that the three of them came over almost every single day.
'Yes, sorry to bother you again this time.' Run said this, and a trace of gloom flashed in the eyes of those around them. If it had been the General from before, she would surely have noticed that something was wrong. But now, Kaede didn't even know that they came every day—perhaps not that she didn't know, but that she simply hadn't cared.
'Yes, come and eat! I feel like my cooking skills have improved!' Koujo Shizuka, feeling that the atmosphere at the dining table seemed to be turning awkward, quickly said, wanting to change the subject.
'Sister...' Kurome sat there, looking at her sister, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. Kaede had become like this because of her two younger sisters. Filled with self-reproach, Kurome felt her heart bleeding as she looked at her sister's state at home.
'Hmm?' Kaede heard Kurome's murmur and a smile appeared on her face. She said words that even she herself didn't believe:'Sister is fine.'
Looking at Kaede's smile, Kurome's eyes suddenly turned red.
"Yes, that's right, Sister." Kurome nodded, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill, and lowered her head, not wanting her sister to see her red eyes.
Even though Koujo Shizuka wanted to mediate, the atmosphere at this moment couldn't help but spiral toward the worst possible outcome. Furthermore, Kaede, the culprit of this situation, seemed completely oblivious—or rather, she had once again fallen into a daze.
However, at that moment, the door was pushed open.
"Who is it?!" Immediately, the group looked toward the doorway and saw a figure.
"Oh, it's Boros." Seeing who it was, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. They were truly afraid that Syura would come over—not because they feared him as a threat, as most of them present far surpassed him in combat power, but because they feared Kaede finding out about the Wild Hunt. Her current state was simply not suitable for dealing with such matters.
However, what they didn't know was that Boros hadn't come to eat. His purpose was to seek Kaede's help, and the one who had been hunting him was Syura...
"Kaede..." Boros dropped to his knees directly in front of her. "Please, help me!"
"Huh? What's the matter? Stand up and talk." Kaede only then reacted, realizing in the blink of an eye that Boros was already kneeling on the floor.
"Um, let's eat first! We can talk after that." Koujo Shizuka suddenly had a bad premonition.
"..." Kaede looked at Koujo Shizuka, who lowered her head. Then, looking at the people around her, she realized they all seemed to know something...
Then, Kaede sighed, set her cutlery on the table, looked at Boros, and said, "Stand up and tell me what the situation is, right now."
Since Kaede had already spoken to this point, the people around didn't say anything more. They watched Boros, only able to hope that what he was about to say wasn't related to Syura.
Boros seemed to understand something as well. Kaede hadn't recovered yet, and everyone present was likely keeping the matter of Syura from her, as her current state wasn't suitable for handling such things.
Boros understood, but, but...
He had no time left. Syura had already found them, and perhaps wasting even a moment now would cause his wife and daughter to come to harm.
Boros clenched his fists, guilt flashing in his eyes. But, let him be selfish just this once! He truly could not lose them; even if he lost his own life, he could not let anything happen to them.
After this, even if he had to work like a beast of burden, he would repay Kaede's kindness. Although his life wasn't worth much, it was the only thing he could offer.
Therefore, Boros did not stand up and spoke directly: "General, please save my wife and daughter... Today, the location of our home was exposed to Syura, and he will definitely bring people to kill us."
Boros's words shocked the group, and they no longer cared about the matter of the secret being exposed.
"Who is Syura?" Kaede frowned and asked.
"He is the Prime Minister's son. Ever since General Esdeath's mission failed that one time, he has frequently come to cause trouble for the Jaegers, and Boros's identity is that of a former member of the Jaegers..." Boros didn't speak, but seeing that it could no longer be hidden, Nahash sighed and said.
"Is that so..." Kaede looked around at the others, seeing them all lower their heads, afraid to look at her. She immediately understood that they all knew about Syura but had chosen not to tell her. What could she say? Scold them? Kaede knew, very clearly, that they were doing it for her own good. Although she was a bit annoyed, she still felt a touch of emotion.
Looking at Boros, Kaede said, "Stand up. Bring them over to stay here; I still have empty rooms."
Then Kaede's eyes turned cold. "I don't believe that Syura would dare come here to cause you trouble if he knew you were with me." As she spoke, a trace of hostility flashed in her eyes.
Suddenly, the temperature in the entire room seemed to drop by several degrees, because Kaede had not noticed that she had slightly released her aura.
"Thank you..." Boros's eyes were red. He then turned around; he wanted to go get them right now and didn't want them to live in fear any longer.
Watching Boros's retreating figure as he ran out, Kaede suddenly frowned. She suddenly had a very bad feeling, as if something terrible was about to happen.
"You two, follow him and check on things." Feeling uncomfortable due to her premonition, Kaede said to Tatsumi and Nahash.
"Understood." Their concealment of the matter regarding Syura had just been discovered by Kaede. Although they did it for her sake, they still felt a bit guilty at this moment. Upon hearing Kaede's words, they stood up immediately and said.
"We'll go take a look too; after all, Boros is one of us." Run also stood up and said.
Wave and Kurome also stood up.
"Mm." Kaede nodded.
After they left, Kaede looked at the remaining people, then leaned back in her chair and said, "Now, tell me exactly what's going on with Syura."
Chikushi, Koujo Shizuka, and the others exchanged glances and smiled bitterly. At this point, they certainly couldn't deceive Kaede anymore and could only tell her everything they knew...
Meanwhile, on the other side, having received news from his subordinates, Syura was standing in front of a house, a wicked smile on his face.
He had finally found them! Those guys had been making him unhappy for a long time. This time, he would brutally kill their former companion and then go tell them, just to see their reactions!
As for worrying about them killing him, considering his status as the Prime Minister's son, would they dare?
At that time, he would definitely take Boros's head and the corpses of that mother and daughter to humiliate them thoroughly. Truly, they didn't take him, the Prime Minister's son, seriously at all!
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