// The Broken Owl and the Rat. //

『Who exactly are you?』She asks.

Leanne who is currently recovering was given warm tea.
They were now moving towards the city of bristle.
As they rode in the carriage.

『Ho? you've got something to trade for that?』

Leanne gave him an annoying gaze as she replied.

『You just took advantage of a broken girl,
Made her spill everything of what terrible things happened in her life
and you block her off from knowing who exactly she unveiled that knowledge to?

Are you a Demon?』

『Yes, he is...』one of his men replied with a burst of laughter.

While the woman gazed at him from behind with contempt as she said.

『I would talk if I were you young master.
Or else I won't let you sleep well, tonight.』

While playing with her knife on the side of the carriage.

Once more his men laugh at him.

Levere sighed.

『Tell me, do you know why I am called the rat?』

She shook her head.
He then pulled out a knife and wrote his name in the wooden carriage beside him.
Written in it was Erevel.

As Leanne saw it, she was surprised.

『You don't mean the-.』

『Yes, the Weiss Family.
I am their son.』

The Weiss family.

Regarded as corrupted family that faced guilty charges and executed by their own people.
They received a pardon from my mother(The Queen) but little history is known to what happened after that...

『Your mother once saved my life.
I'm simply repaying a debt.』

『You could have repayed that debt.
When I was on the verge of being ambushed by them!』she retorts.

But he turns his head in disgust.

『That wasn't my problem.
I have a debt with your mother.
Not with you.

But things have changed.
You healed my sister and now your the only trump card, we have left...』

『Trump card? your talking as if I'm some kind of tool.』

『Because you currently are...』he cruelly said.

『The queen intend to speak to the people in a few days.
The order are likely to push the people for a civil war using faith and your father's name.

There are now two possibilites that can happen.

Your city will be pushed into civil war.
Or your mother has a way to quell the unhappy masses from the pressure of the order against your family.』

She frowned and gripped her clothes with fury.

『That's just...
Is this why you said, my voice will be needed.』

He nods then said.

『This is merely my hypothesis because...

Cardigan wasn't in his camp when we rescued you.
It only means, he left as soon as possible.

Which i can predict he reported to the order of his success.
They probably still believe your being insiminated, right now.

Hoping to claim you back and take you on as a victim of their order.
It's more likely they would place a bounty on him to make the order look good.』

Leanne closed her eyes and felt a thorn in her heart as he said "insiminated."

『You don't hesitate at all, do you?』

『Information should be revealed even if it's ugly.』

He said with unfeeling eyes then turned away.

『Regarding my past, If you are so curious.
Then let me tell the reason I called myself the Rat. 』

He looked at a distance as the carriage moved.

『I betrayed my whole family as redemption for their crimes.
Your mother pardoned us in order to give me and my sister.
Enough time to escape.』

『Crimes? what crimes did they do to force you to flee from your own home?』

『Fraud, Kidnapping, Assault and Abuse of territory.
They drowned themselves in wealth and tormented the citizen.

But what triggered my suspicion was the terrible rumor surrounding my family.

When I investigated the ledgers and studied them.
I understood why the fief's of my family were so pitifully poor yet they continue to lavish in their own perpetual wealth.

I was the one who made contact with one of your mother's shadows and offered the head of my own family in a silver platter.

Whether it was right or wrong, the head I served in that platter was still my own family. 』

The woman who was behind him in the carriage winked at her but she then asked Levere.

『Why? couldn't you have stopped them.』

『Stop them?

In that family I was regarded as a black sheep, because of my sister's blindness.
We came from a family of commoners taken in by that family out of my own mother's beauty.

But she succumbed to an illness soon after.
If that wasn't bad enough.

I discovered she was poisoned and I kept my anger hidden deeply inside of me for years.
To the extent I rid of my own emotion making them think I remained oblivious to their schemes.

They treated my sister like a failure all because she was blind.
While intending to sell her to a wicked family for the sake of prolonging their own wealth that is about to reach its limits!

Ofcourse I delayed it by warning my sister and telling her to pretend to be ill.

She was an obedient and kind girl who would blindly follow my words.
(There was a tinge of sadness as he said that phrase.)

I dreaded what would happen if another man were to claim her and took advantage of that...

I unveiled their wicked schemes and leaked information about it to your own mother.

Her shadows aided me in my quest while providing an escape route for me and my sister.
Of course, she isn't aware of it because of her own blindness.

She believes that our family died because of the bandits raided our own home.
You should be aware what happened to my family after that.』

Leanne closed her eyes to try and recall it.

『A certain ducal home was burned down by their own people.
After discovery of their crimes, it was then governed temporarily by the crown

Up until now, we still haven't found a suitable candidate to manage it.』

He gave her a surprise expression and jests.

『Look's like you aren't a complete imbecile.』

 But Leanne retorts.『If i were to become one, the future of this kingdom is surely doomed.』

『Then tell me how did you become this powerful?』

『That one is private and another story.』he said to her.

[Stingy.] Leanne thought as he kept it hidden.
But he then said.

『I met Caillou on the way to where your meeting were about to begin.
Apparently even he received the information regarding their ambush on your family.

And after that...』

His only response was a bitter expression.

A voice from the woman who once threatened him on the carriage, then said.

『Caillou knew the risk, that's why he went in regardless of the danger.』

『But with our current force, we were simply out-numbered.』

『Don't blame yourself for that Levere.
There's a reason why he left me with you.』

『And you are?』Leanne ask.

She bowed and introduced herself.

『My apologies, my name is Sharen Cowl.
I am the Vice chief behind Caillou.

Though his men was crushed along with him.
I intend to take on the things he left behind.

You've been through alot lady Leanne.
But to think you made an ally of levere under such circumstances.

I am quite impressed, he's as callous and unsociable as his name indicated after all.』

He gazed away from her in irritation as

Leanne then thought.
[They appear to have a certain history together.]

『What about my brother?』she ask.

『We already have his corpse.』she said.

He pointed the carriage where it was.

『Can, can I see it?』

But levere interjected and asked her.

『Are you sure about this? you've only just recovered.
We can't have you stuttering and uneasy the moment the day we need your voice.』

But leanne showed a bitter and frustrated expression.

『Yes,
I want to see him one last time.

Atleast let me say farewell to him.
Even if he cannot hear it,
It will atleast ease this guilt in my heart.』

Sharen gazed at levere and nods.

『We will arrive soon.』as he gazed at the distance the city of bristle was now in plain view.

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// A short farewell... //

After they arrived, Leanne was now in front of his brother's corpse.
His eyes were clothes yet showed an extreme sorrow in it.

『How did you retrieve his corpse?』she ask Sharen.

『They carried no interest in the corpse of a dead prince.
To the extent they simply left it on the ground to rot.

We picked it up at night on the day, We sent in men to rescue you.

There were a few patrols but thankfully the dog's they brought weren't with them.
It became an easy task to reclaim his body after silently taking them down and procuring his body.』

『Thank you.』she replies with a bitter expression.

Leanne wept one last moment gazing at her brother's cold body.

『I'm sorry in the end...
We couldn't rescue the both of you.』

Leanne shook her head in response.

『That was combined force of the four dukes,
There was nothing a small force such as yourselves could do against something like that.

An infamous mercenary was also involved in that battle.』

As she said those words, she turned to his brother once more.

She finally had the chance to mourn after all that had happened.
But as she wiped her tear's her face full of fury were written clearly in her eyes.

『I won't let them get away with this... 』

She held her brother's hand whose nails had grown dark while feeling its cold touch.

『I promise you, brother...』

As she closed her eyes.
She then recollected all the terrible things that had happened in that short moment that seemed like it took a large piece of her life. She then bit the side of lips as it bled...

『I will avenge our father's death and erase these bastards from this land!』

She swore as she turned her head as Levere who was at the doorway saw it.
The young owl have restored its broken wings and is now about to hunt its prey.

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