CHAPTER 28 - LEARNING A BACKSTORY WITH A GOSSIP

“Mess? What kind of mess?”

I asked the knight as soon as I finished taking a mouthful of sip from my canned coffee. I noticed that Yufa also sat beside me just to listen to my conversation with the blonde knight.

“Princess Alessia Erindel’s life. Her whole life is a mess. That murder case about her father is just the tip of the iceberg.” Zell said.

“Tell me more about it.”

"Well, I will only tell you about the news and rumors so take it with a grain of salt."

Zell took a few seconds of silence as his gloved fingers play around the half-empty can of coffee. He had this tired sleepless face that states his mental exhaustion for the past days. Maybe he has not gotten a lot of sleep.

“The princess was in a pitiful state before the murder charges started. Her mother, Queen Astrea Erindel, lost her mind ten years ago when her second-born child was kidnapped by unknown forces. Our princess was just eleven years old at that time when the Queen failed to recognize her as her daughter and got replaced by that porcelain doll instead. Not even the deceased King could talk sense to the Queen. As years go on, it went worse and worse until everyone who steps into that room became a stranger to the Queen’s eyes.”

I already figured it out earlier. Even the princess’ nickname “Lizzy” is now the name of the doll. The Queen does not recognize the real Lizzy anymore.

“Princess Alessia visits her mother's room every week to give her new books. The Queen loves reading books, so seeing her flipping pages would bring joy to the princess’ heart.” Zell continued.

“You seem to know a lot about the princess.” I smiled at Zell.

“Not as you do,” Zell said. “All I have told you are from the rumors I got from my superiors who briefed me on these missions. You seem to cohabitate with her, so you should know a lot.”

“We may be living in the same roof, but she always refused to talk about it. She would say ‘It’s not your business, stupid donkey!’ so I just keep my mouth sewed close.”

“Still, you managed to befriend her. You don’t know how much a tyrant she is back here.” Zell said. "And she's also a snub."

“Yeah, tyrant.” I forced a smile as I reminisce my daily lives with the fuhrer-general.

“Tyrant is just a title. But you can take it in a good way. She uses her tyranny to apply the iron rules of this land, not for her selfish ambitions, but for the greater good. She always does her rulership job professionally.”

“You know, for an Aegis Knight that is tasked to capture her, you seem to hold her in high admiration,” I said.

“It’s because I do. Most people might see her as a villain, but I see her as an unsung hero. She even saved me from bullies back when I was starting at the Aegis Knight Academy.”

Zell paused for a little as he took a little sip on his coffee. I momentarily glanced at Yufa who is leaning to my direction. I love how this pop star idol is getting a little touchy with my shoulder, but her curiosity in these kinds of stories is a bit troubling. She might love gossips.

“The princess was the student council president back when she entered the academy.” Zell continued his story. “Just what as she calls me, I was a beansprout that is susceptible to bullying because of my passion for crossdresses and cosplays. I got beaten up on my first days. The princess came to my rescue and punished my aggressors with her own iron fists.”

“That really sounded like her.” I chuckled.

“Yeah right?” Zell smiled at me. “You wouldn’t expect it in a princess that always gets a perfect grade in every subject. But she has her own flaws too. All those achievements are nothing for her father. The King became busy with matters that even he forgot that he has a daughter. So you can’t blame her spiky personality. She’s a little hotheaded, and I can say she’s very much socially awkward. I’ve never seen her made friends with anyone. That’s why I’m surprised that you can tag along with her.”

For a brief moment, I remembered the time before Lizzy gave the Archonlight System to me. I remember her pitiful words that struck my heart.

(“I’m… I’m so helpless aren’t I?” She chuckled. “I always give the best of me, but nothing turns out to be alright. Nobody has ever praised me. Nobody has ever helped me. And yet, this keeps on happening to me. I’m so pitiful, aren’t I?”)

Hearing her story makes me want to cry. I want to jump to her and hug her tight, and whisper “Everything will be alright because I am here!”. But I think hugging her would earn me a kick to the crotch, so no deal.

One detail about Zell’s story piqued my curiosity.

“The King is busy with matters?” I asked. “Looks like your deceased king is a dickhead. Good thing he’s dead.”

“Hey, don’t talk to my deceased King like that, or I’ll arrest you.” Zell threatened. “He did well in his job to protect Agartha for the price of completely ignoring her daughter, so you have to honor his sacrifice.”

“So what are these ‘matters’ that are more important than her daughter?” I asked.

“It’s a little bit confidential, but-”

“It’s about the Cathedral Exa, right?” Yufa cut Zell outrightly.

Zell’s eyes opened wide in disbelief to the teenage idol. To clear any suspicion, Yufa showed her bronze badge that is shaped in a cross and the letters EXA engraved perfectly in it.

“S-So you’re part of that organization too, huh?” Zell muttered.

“I’m just assigned in the Ophir branch. Mr. John and Ms. Lizzy just joined us, so the princess will be in the same mess as what her father had.”

I can build the puzzle now. Basically, Lizzy joined the Cathedral Exa so that she could learn her father’s matters while taking advantage of the present issue of visiting her mother here in Agartha. That hotheaded princess is too smart for me to keep on.

“I don’t have much information about the late King, but from what I’ve heard, they are preventing some kind of ritual from happening,” Zell said.

“Necross Ascension,” Yufa said. “That’s what we’re preventing to happen.”

Zell chuckled. “I don’t believe in that thing. But now that I’ve seen more of it, I think I’m going to become a believer. Is it true that the underworld planet will collide with ours?”

“Not quite,” Yufa said. “There are some singularities and anomalies that we found out. We have little information about it, so we can’t say for sure.”

Now that Zell and Yufa are talking, I feel like being left out. I leaned back so that Yufa can talk with the knight without any blockage. 

All of a sudden, the door of Room 502 opened, revealing a black-haired beauty in a nerd get-up. She momentarily removed her eyeglasses as she wiped her teary eyes. When she saw me, she went back to her cool composed facial expression.

I stood up to meet her.

“Are you okay now?”

“Never been better,” Lizzy answered. 

“Should we, uh, introduce ourselves to your mother?” I scratched my head. “I think I want to raise my PR so that I can work here after I graduate from college.”

“Stupid donkey.” Lizzy chuckled. “There’s no need to introduce yourselves, she will not recognize you anyway. Let’s just go so that you can have a tour in this place.”

“Uh, guys?”

Yufa grabbed our attention. She immediately approached us with her right palm on her right ear, as if she’s calling someone without a phone.

“I think we have to escape. I sensed fifty-plus foot soldiers barricading this hospital. I don't know how they approached this place so fast. And I have no idea how they learned about us.”

“What!?” Zell shrieked. He worriedly looked left and right before realizing something. “Wait… Where’s Jerry?”

“Probably sold you out, you stupid beansprout.” Lizzy sermoned.