The Union 24 Redemption

My connections told me that some Tulosan Knights went to Solon yesterday. Apparently, the Knights cannot stomach the act of killing civilians anymore. The Earl is keeping this a secret from the King. The knights are being detained at the Earl's Villa. Normally, soldiers defecting are a common occurrence in wars. But I've heard that one of the Knights is the famous First Spear. I think you should know about this.

Freya

Lucia was impressed. Freya knows how to gather information. She also knows how to evaluate the importance of each piece of information. First Spear was a famous. Lucia had heard about him several times in the past. For him to defect would be a huge blow to the Tulosans. But something else excites Lucia.

Since First Spear was a high ranking officer, then he knows the secrets of the Tulosans. He could give them valuable information. Earl Mathias was also not a fool. He knew that he couldn't get information out of First Spear by torturing him. First Spear was a knight. The only way to get information out of him was to appeal to his Knight spirit. She needs Freya to report directly to her.

It's time to write another letter to the Earl.

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Solon, Western Region

After receiving Lucia's response, Freya went to see Earl Mathias. Lucia's father was actually a close friend of the Earl so seeing him was not a problem. She went to his villa and gave the Earl Lucia's letter.

"It seems you are friends with the Vanadian Princess. I never expected that our little Frey would make such acquaintances at the capital" Earl Mathias said to Freya. The Earl was actually very fond of Freya. He treats her like his own daughter.

"We just met a few times Earl Mathias." Freya smiled. She had not seen the Earl for a long time so she was a little anxious when talking to him. "It just happens that our interests are similar." She said as she took a sip from the tea the Earl personally prepared.

"Oh? By interests you mean Timothy?" The Earl winked at Freya. She almost choked on the tea.

"Hahaha I'm sorry little Frey" The Earl laughed "It's just I haven't seen you for years. We need to catch up. My daughter, Celine, will be home soon. You must join us for dinner"

"Thank you Earl Mathias. But shouldn't you read the letter first?" Freya also wanted to catch up with the Earl and Celine. She had not seen them for many years. Celine was two years younger than her.

"It's not red-sealed right? It can wait." Earl Mathias took the letter and examined it. He frowned after seeing the seal. "By the way, just call me Uncle like what you used to"

"Okay Uncle"

The two talked for a long time until Celine arrived. She went to kiss her father on the cheeks but she didn't recognize Freya at first.

"Freya? You're Freya right? Freya! It's been a long time" Celine went to Freya and hugged her.

"You've grown up Celine. You are now a beauty." Freya hugged Celine back. It felt like yesterday when they were still playing around the villa.

"What brings you here? You're not coming immediately to Nirvana, are you? Please stay here for a while." Celine begged

"Well I'm staying for a while in Solon so we could go around the city like we used to" Freya smiled. Apart from the mission Lucia entrusted her, she really missed Celine and everything in the city. Yes, Nirvana was better compared to Solon, but Solon is where she grew up.

"Good! Why don't you stay here in the villa for a few days? Father would approve. Right father?" Celine looked at the Earl with puppy eyes.

"Umm..Yeah I think it's okay" The Earl reluctantly said

"Good! By the way, we have another guest. Father said that he's one of my distant cousins. His name is Herny"

Freya already knew who this 'Herny' was. Of course he was First Spear. Lucia asked Freya to befriend the First Spear and report to her whenever she finds valuable information. Lucia's letter to the Earl was also a request to let Freya get close Henry.

"Herny? I can't wait to meet your cousin"

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Henry did not expect this.

When he and 13 of his knights arrived in Solon, he thought that they would be executed that same day. He was prepared for it. He was prepared for death. He is a monster. He should die. The image of a little girl constantly haunted his dream.

Henry did not attempt to kill himself. His life does not belong to him anymore. He will let the Castonians decide. If they want him dead, he will die at their hands. If they want him to rot in the mines, he will rot in the mines. If they want to parade him in the streets of Nirvana, he will let them. He will do anything except betray Tulosa.

But Henry did not expect this. Instead of being imprisoned, they were treated as guests. Yes his Knight brothers were under house arrest at a nearby villa, but the Castonians were treating them good. As for him, the Governor let him stay on his own villa. At first Henry refused, but the Governor insisted. In the end, Henry agreed to stay on the villa. It seems that the Governor doesn't trust him yet though, because there were guards everywhere. There were even guards outside his room. But it's okay. Just a few days ago, he was an enemy prefect so the tight security was not unusual.

This kind of treatment just made Henry guiltier though. How could the Governor treat them like this? Henry told him how they butchered the civilians. He told him everything and all his crimes. Well maybe this was his punishment. The Governor was killing him with guilt.

Just then a guard knocked on his door.

"Mr. Herny dinner is ready. The Earl and little miss are waiting for you" the guard said with an unfriendly voice. Henry doesn't mind. He was, after all, a criminal.

"Thank you"

Henry went outside his room and went to the dining area. The guard walked behind him.

After arriving at the dining area, Henry saw a new face.

"Earl Beyron, Lady Celine" Henry put his hand on his chest and bowed

"You don't have to be so polite to us Herny. And stop calling me Lady Celine already" Celine said.

This was one of the requests of the Governor. It seems he didn't want everyone to know about Henry's true identity. They agreed on a story that his name was Herny and he was one of Celine's distant relatives. Most of the guards knew about his true identity but Lady Celine does not. Henry understands why the Earl wanted to hide his identity so he agreed.

"I'll try Celine. It takes a while to get used to. And this pretty lady is?" Henry offered his hand to Freya.

"Freya. I'm the daughter of Baron Hall" Freya shook Henry's hand

"Freya will be staying with us for a while. I hope the two of you can get along" Earl Mathias said

"Of course. Nice meeting you Freya." Henry smiled and seated himself on a chair far from the three.

"You're sitting far from us again Herny" Celine pouted.

"She's right. Come here. There's nothing to be shy of" Freya smiled.

Henry had no choice. He sat on the chair directly in front of Freya

"So, tell us about yourself Herny" Freya looked at him.

Henry did not expect this question. He was not a good liar so he looked at the Earl

"Oh? Herny?" The Earl gave a nervous laugh "He's a. He's my wife's nephew" he said as he took a bite

"But you said yesterday that he's your nephew" Celine looked confusedly at her father

"Oh. Is that so" The Earl was sweating and Henry can see his reluctance to lie to his daughter. So Henry answered Celine instead

"The earl must have made a mistake. I am his nephew" answered Henry.

"I see. Either way, you're my cousin" Celine gave him a smile "By the way, I never see you eat meat Herny. Why is that?"

"I'm uhhh" Henry thought for a reason " It's because of my beliefs" he lied. It's because every time he looks at meat, the memories of his crimes come back to him. Those village people he killed and burned, the refugees he failed to protect, the little girl who looked like his sister, he can see the image of their dead bodies whenever he looks at meat.

"What a strange belief." Celine commented.

"Stop pestering him Celine" the Earl said

Celine sighed "I'm just curious about my cousin. Okay then"

The dinner proceeded with little discussion about Henry's past. Henry was actually thankful because he doesn't like to talk about his past or even to think about it. He was a traitor, a murderer and a criminal.

After dinner, Henry went back to his room. But he saw Freya waiting for him on the hallway. Freya sent the guard away so the two of them were left alone.

"What can I do for you Ms. Hall?" Henry bowed

"You're so polite" Freya laughed " Call me Freya"

"Okay then" Henry scratched his head "What can I do for you Freya?"

"Nothing. I just want to be your friend, Prefect Henry Molt" Freya emphasized the last words.

Henry was stunned. She knew? How? If she knew about him, then she also knew about what he did.

"You.You know about me?" he asked

She nodded

"How much do you know?"

"Everything" Freya smiled

"Oh" Henry lowered his head. He was too ashamed to look at Freya. He killed her fellow Castonians so she must be angry. She must be confused as to why a criminal was being treated like a guest "Don't worry. This is only temporary. The Earl will give my punishment soon enough" he assured her

"I'm not worried about that. Like what I said, I want to be your friend" Freya went closer to him

"I'm a criminal Ms. Hall" Henry avoided her eyes "You're a noble so why would you want to be friends with a criminal"

Freya pondered for a while. Meanwhile Henry still avoided her eyes. "Your smile" she suddenly said.

"What?"

"Earlier all your smiles were fake. I mean all of them. I've never seen such extensive use of fake smiles before" she laughed "I live in the palace so I know how a fake smile looks like" she explained

"You want to be my friend because of my smile?" Henry was confused

"Yes" she answered "You're broken. More broken than I was when the person I love rejected me. I want to fix you" she smiled

"I can't be fixed" Henry said firmly "I'm waiting for the Earl's punishment"

"The Earl won't punish you. And you don't need a punishment because you changed your ways. What you need is redemption. Pay your debts not with your life, but with good deeds"

Hearing her words agitated Henry.

"No. Do you have any idea what I did?!" Henry shouted "I am beyond redemption! I killed those people. I am a Knight but I did those things. I am evil! I killed them with my own hands. These hands!" He showed her his hands. They were trembling "And I failed" His voice became pitched. " I failed to protect them. I can't do anything. And the girl…the girl" Henry's words were reduced to sobs. Tears came pouring from his eyes.

He's evil. Even after he decided to stop being evil, he was useless. Redemption? He doesn't even deserve to hear that word.

"You're wrong Henry" She lifted his chin and forced him to look into her eyes. She then wiped his tears away. Henry calmed down after looking through her eyes. "Nobody is beyond redemption"

Chapter end