✓ | REBIRTH OF THE REBEL [Book One]

CHAPTER 22

[ C H A P T E R 22 ]

LATISHA VALENTINE

Marami akong naririnig na mga boses, at halos napangiwi na rin ako dahil nagpatong-patong ang kanilang mga timbre. It would be nice if they are harmonizing but they are more of shouting at each other. Palipat-lipat na lamang ang aking tingin sa kanila, kung sino ang nagtatanong doon ako nakatingin, subalit kung may sasabat naman, nawawala rin ako sa pukos.

Nakatunganga lamang ako na parang puslit na hindi maintindihan kung saan ako dapat makinig. Bakit ba kasi ang lakas ng mga boses nila kung gayun ay kay lapit lamang nila sa isa't isa? Isa pa, walang kwenta ang pinag-uusapan ni Wince at Logan na siyang nasa harapan ko. Tinatanya nilang dalawa kung sino ang may mas maraming napaslang sa ambush na nangyari.

Nasa opisina kami ngayon ni Roshan. It was just an hour after the attack happened, and right now, everyone is present to talk about the dispute but these two idiot men were bickering over their body counts. Nababanas na ako sa usapan nila dahil 'yon talaga ang bumungad sa akin ng dumating ako sa loob.

"Are you sure you don't know them, your grace?" mahinahon na tanong sa akin ni Sir Hasan. Sa kanilang lahat, siya lang ata ang concern sa nangyari. He also proposed earlier that I should take a rest before they will interrogate me about what happened, but I insisted on finishing this today.

"I don't know," I lied. I cannot risk the fact that it was Celot and my father's men who tried to abduct me. "You were there, Sir Hasan. They aimed at my carriage, broke it in half and tried to take me away."

Napabuntong-hininga na lamang ito at dinapuan ng tingin si Roshan na prenteng nakaupo sa trono niya. His hands were clasped together looking at me intently, and I returned the favor by staring at him with my bland eyes. Hindi nawala ang galit ko sa kanya, subalit kinikimkim ko na lamang ito.

"They are similar to the assassins we were tailing," said Laphel, who was holding a notebook and looking at it. "Black ordinary robes with thick fabrics as masks. They have both swordsmen and archers that were trained to kill a single person with a single slice."

"Wala ba kayong tinira na buhay?" tanong ko.

"Wala, meron sana kaso nagpakamatay ang kumag." Napako ang tingin ko kay Commander Cyan ng magsalita siya. "That made me curious. In fact, assassins attacked in low numbers, but the men who attacked the Duchess were above 50. They also aimed to leave with no survivors."

"Why would these men attack the Duchess?" Wince asked them all and none raised their hands to answer. "Paano nila nalaman na aalis ang Duchess sa mansyon? That spot in the forest is famous for bandits to lure their prey. But they ain't bandits, they aimed to take her away."

Nagulat ako ng biglang lumuhod si Sir Hasan sa harap ng Duke. I stood up when Sir Hasan lowered his head and put his sword on the floor to his right side. Akma sana akong lalapit ng pigilan ako ni Nethys. "Let him apologize," he whispered.

"I failed to perform my duty at protecting the Duchess, your grace. Please reprimand me," Sir Hasan said.

"No——-"

Naputol ang sasabihin ko ng bigla rin lumuhod si Erwan sa tabi ni Sir Hasan. "I failed to protect the Duchess and the young lady of Riedensteigh, your grace. We will accept any form of punishment for this negligence."

What the fuck! Kung hindi lang nakaharang sa akin si Nethys, hinila ko na patayo ang dalawang unggoy na ito. The room temperature went extremely cold as we all waited for Roshan to speak. Hindi siya nakatingin sa dalawa kundi sa akin mismo. I conveyed my worry without opening my mouth, but I don't know if he understood my intent.