“Carsillion?”
“Nathan?”
They asked in chorus. Nathan stopped for a moment and looked directly at Chaster’s swollen eyes and crumpled his fist.
“Why are you here?” Nathan asked him coldly. Chaster remained silent.
“That’s my question for you, Carsillion. I thought I told you to settle-“
“I settled everything before following you here, Ash.” Ashriel stopped with his unusual tone. “I-Is he angry? No. It’s not anger. Am I imagining things? What’s wrong with him?” She asked herself. An awkward silence covered them. Nathan could not stand the silence, so he walked towards Ashriel, making Chaster flinch. Ashriel only looked at Nathan, who cupped her cheeks with his hands.
“Your eyes are swollen.” He whispered and wiped her eyes, though the tears were already dry. Chaster only observed them, distancing himself. “The Cadre is waiting for you. Let’s go back now.” He said loud enough for Chaster to hear and threw him a look. “We’ll get going,” Nathan said to Chaster and took Ashriel’s hand, who seemed to lose strength.
Chaster nodded and looked at Ashriel, who did not look back at him. “Hope to see you soon-“ He stopped when his phone rang and hissed when he saw the caller’s I.D. He then put it in the loudspeaker.
“What?” He answered coldly. Nathan and Ashriel listened attentively.
“Sir, Teb was caught by one of the Norton Twins.” The man on the other line reported, panicky. Chaster looked at the two, who exchanged glances. “What must we do, Sir? Should we attack them?” Only then did Ashriel looked at Chaster with a grim expression. Chaster shook his head.
“Don’t be a fool. If it’s the Norton Twins, then we cannot do anything about it. Attacking them will only do us no good, and father will kill you. So, leave Teb alone.” He answered, looking at Ashriel’s eyes.
“But Sir, if the Ruler torture him, he may not endure it and tell the truth-“
“Leave him be. What will happen will happen. Understood?”
“Y-Yes, Sir.”
Chaster ended the call and looked at the two. “I think the twins need you now, Zi. Please be safe.” Ashriel nodded and turned back. Nathan and Chaster nod at each other before Nathan walks away with Ashriel. Chaster only observed their back as they walked away hand in hand. He felt his chest tightened. “Goodbye.”
Ashriel remained silent. Chaster’s face and pleading words kept on repeating on her mind. “Why does he have this impact on me?” She asked herself. Nathan saw her indescribable face and squeezed her hand. Only then did Ashriel flinched and finally looked at him.
“You seem to be lost.” He said. Ashriel looked around them and studied the place. “In thoughts, I mean.” He chuckled just to lift the mood. Ashriel smiled, and Nathan stopped when she hugged him.
“What did I felt when Chaster hugged me?” She asked herself and buried her face in Nathan’s chest. “Am I this comfortable?”
Nathan gently stroked her hair and tightened their hug.
“Does she still love him? Do I need to distance myself now?” He felt the pang of misery that had swept him by his thoughts. “As long as you are happy, I’m willing to be ‘just your best friend.” He said to himself.
***
After successfully transacting the authorities, the restaurant, and paying the bills, the eight Quislings, including the suicide bomber and Teb, were put to sleep and were sent to Aparctias for further investigation. It was past two in the morning when they reached the Austere and started the investigation and interrogation at six a.m. sharp.
“Do we really need to interrogate and investigate this early?” Raith yawned and rubbed his half-asleep eyes. He yawned again, but Kate elbowed his stomach, making him swallow him yawn.
“Stop yawning. You’re like a poison.” She tried her best not to yawn as well.
They heard the metal door clicked, and it opened, revealing Teb, who was also half asleep due to the effect of the sleeping gas. Xieaniel prepared the things he needed to record the whole interrogation. Natsuki and John cuffed his hand and ankles with metal cuffs as Teb felt his body’s strength being drained. Oriana and Leon were not there. She was still under Leon’s disciplinary nagging.
“Where is Edom?” Venice started the interrogation. Teb did not answer. “I ask you again, where is Edom?” Still, he did not respond. Venice signed Xieaniel, and he put set the voltage to the second-lowest shock. In just a split second, Teb’s body trembled when the electric shock came out of his cuffs. He shouted in pain as his hands felt numb.
“Answer my question,” Venice asked coldly. Teb’s tear started to form from the corner of his eyes. The other seven Quislings watched everything in fear. Every time Xieaniel increased the shock, Teb’s eerie shout echoes through the whole Eurus Hall.
“S-Stop. Please-arrghh!” His body leaped from the shock. His whole body was numb. He felt the difficulty of moving his limbs as well.
“Let him lie, Xieaniel,” Ashriel commanded, and Xieaniel pushed a button, then a bed appeared from where Teb was chained. His body then lay on the bed, and it was shifted from standing to lying position.
“Get the bucket and the two rats.” Kate nodded and took the bucket and the two huge, black rats from the box. Teb’s eyes grew wider in terror. “I suppose I don’t have to explain to you what will happen.” Kate put the rat on his stomach and covered it with a metal bucket.
“No! No! Please!” He cried out as he felt the two rats panic inside the metal bucket. He looked at the rest of his group, who were crying in fear. The two women bit their lower lips, and the rest cried silently. Their mouths were covered with a metal mask and their eyes focused on Teb.
“Tell us Edom’s whereabouts,” Venice asked for the nth time.
“I-I don’t know, okay! H-He only tells us what to do through his other people!” He shouted angrily but fearfully. Venice signed Olive, and she heated the metal bucket with a gaslighter. The rat started to dig in Teb’s stomach, making him go insane.
“I-I’m telling-ahh! I’m telling the truth!” He shouted and cried like a maniac. The two rat digs faster than they thought. Teb cursed loudly as he screamed in pain. “Y-You freak! You will all die-argh!” Olive hit the bucket with the gaslighter, making the rats panicked more. She heated it again. Teb panicky tried to release himself, but the chains dug dipper to his flash as he moved.
“S-Sir Donovan!” He shouted with all his might. “I-I know where he is, so stops!” He pleaded, and Olive stopped heating the bucket, making the rat calm. Teb inhaled and exhaled deeper before speaking.
“S-Sir… Sir Donovan.” He looked at the other Quislings, who vigorously shook their heads, pleading him not to say it. But he bit his lips and did not mind them. “He is back…. He back at Sephtis.”
“You bastard! How dare you betray Sir Donovan!” The suicide bomber shouted angrily. Xieaniel clicked something, and the suicide bomber flew on the walls. The shock was extreme; He was burned. Teb’s eyes grew wider.
“I-I told you where he is! Why did you kill him?!” He exclaimed. “You merciless traitors!” He spat angrily. Wrong move. Ashriel stood from her chair and walked towards Teb, who seemed to realize his mistake.
“Merciless traitors?” She asked coldly. Teb trembled more than he did with the first shock. “We never told you that you will not die if you say where Donovan is.”
“Y-You’re Highness. Please…. Please have mercy.”
“Death” She took her sharp dagger. “Will be experienced by everyone.” She slides the dagger to his wrist, making him groan in pain.
“S-Stop! Stop-ahhh! Curse you-“ Before he could finish his sentence, Olive clicked the button, and sharp spikes came out from the bed. Blood splashed from Teb’s body as the sharp spiked stabbed him.

“No!” One woman from the Quislings shouted and cried so loud. “Teb!”
“That’s what will happen if you curse the Ruler,” Olive warned them. “Who wants to be the next?”
~ Most of the times, we must not blame someone because of our situation. Because our choices brought us in that situation. ~