Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 12

While Edgar prepared accommodation for him and Celosia and talked to the King of the Ramil Kingdom to warn him of his and Celosia's arrival, the Count spent his days worrying about his children. He watched Elena train in the garden a few times, often surprised by her progress, talked to his wife about letting their children go so far away and even tried to persuade Edgar to not go there at all a few times.

The mere idea of Elena leaving his sight after losing her once was beyond terrifying. It was absolutely blood-chilling to think she could get hurt again, especially since she was still so weak because of what had happened before. She'd been in a coma for ten month, and suddenly she wanted to go to another country on a different continent, as if nothing even happened? The Count couldn't understand it. Elena was never the type to enjoy adventures, preferring staying at their quiet home, painting and drinking tea.

And when he received the news about Elena being on a wanted list, he almost lost his mind. It was beyond shocking to see that the Temple considered his daughter a heretic and wanted her dead so desperately they would announce it nationwide.

The Count didn't know what to do with the report he'd received. If he allowed Elena and Edgar to leave the North, they would quickly get caught and Elena could end up getting executed for a crime she didn't commit. And even if they somehow managed to evade the knights that were out to get Elena, there was no guarantee that they would make it back safe as well. The journey to Ramil Kingdom would take weeks. Anything could happen to them during that time. They could get caught by the knights, they could get attacked by pirates while crossing the strait, they could get hurt on their way to the mine...

There were so many possibilities.

"Love, I think you're being too pessimistic. Edgar would never let anyone hurt Elena, you know that," the Countess smiled softly at her husband, even though she felt as scared as he did. She still felt reluctant to do more than lightly touch her daughter in fear of hurting her more, but she understood that Elena may have felt the need to leave the house for a while after being holed up there for so long. She was only glad that Edgar would be with her. Letting Elena travel alone would be too horrifying for her, but if she had Edgar with her, it was a different story. Edgar used to be an Imperial knight, he was one of the strongest ones there in fact, so he was more than capable of protecting his sister.

The Countess was aware that Edgar felt guilty for not being able to stop what had happened to Elena, and she thought that them going on a trip together was a good way to alleviate that guilt. She knew her son better than she knew her daughter, to be honest. Elena was always daddy's little girl and liked spending her time with him instead of arranging flowers with her mother.

"I'm not just worried about Elena disappearing again," the Count told his wife, gently pulling her into his arms to calm down his nerves. "I'm more worried about the Temple catching her. The Cardinal drew a knife in her chest, who knows what more he could do to her? My love, he turned our daughter into a criminal! He publicly announced she's now considered a heretic - someone who, by Templar law, should be either converted or executed if they refused to repent for their sins."

"What are you talking about?" The Countess asked worriedly, not liking the despair on her husband's face.

"The Temple issued a warrant for Elena. They even spread her portrait nationwide. She's only safe here in the North, where the Temple has no influence. The moment she crosses the border of the Grand Duchy, she won't be safe anymore."

"Oh no, why would they do that?" the Countess couldn't believe her ears.

"I don't know. But I have a feeling the Cardinal's behind it. He seemed to be very... determined to kill Elena. I'm still trying to find out why, however, it's very difficult to investigate the Temple without them knowing."

"Does Elena know about this?"

"No. And neither does Edgar. I don't know how to tell them..."

The Countess sighed quietly. "We should at least tell Edgar. They need to be prepared if they want to go all the way to Ramil Kingdom."

"Or we could try to stop them from going there," the Count retorted hesitantly.

"You know it wouldn't be easy. Once they set their minds on something, they will do it, we both know it," the Countess smiled ruefully. As much as she wished to stop her children from leaving the safety of their new home, she knew it would be impossible to do so. Since they were little, Edgar and Elena were extremely stubborn. Whenever they said they'd do something, they would do it no matter what.

And now it would definitely be the same.

Unless... they found out about the warrant issued by the Temple. Edgar would never let Elena get caught by the very people who tried to kill her, so if he knew that the Temple was after Elena, he might try to convince his sister to either postpone her trip or cancel it altogether.

The Count couldn't help but agree with his wife. He was aware that his son was just like him, stubborn and unwavering, and that made everything even harder. But he had no choice but to appeal to his son's reason. "I'm going to tell Edgar about this. He needs to know," he told his wife with a heavy sigh, feeling the burden on his shoulders become heavier with each minute.

"What about Elena?"

"I'm not sure it would be a good idea to tell her now. She needs to focus on her recovery."

"True. She's only starting to get better."

And thus, the couple decided to keep a secret from their daughter for the first time in their lives. They had never had any reason to keep things hidden from their children, but this issue was too serious to put it on Elena's shoulders. She didn't need to worry about being chased down like a criminal. Her health was much more important than that.

They had absolutely no idea that Celosia heard their exchange all the way from the garden, having recovered her sense of hearing completely.

She immediately understood what was happening.

The Cardinal was after her. Again.

Which was why Celosia wanted to leave to the Ramil Kingdom. Not only it would let her improve the family's financial condition, but it would also get the Temple's attention. While they chased her down, they would leave Elena's family alone. The only problem was that Edgar was about to go with her. Luckily, he knew how to protect himself, as he used to be a knight, but Celosia still felt bad about putting him in danger.

The only way to rectify her wrongs would be to help Edgar's family get back what they'd lost.

After Celosia's hearing came back, she slowly recovered all the other senses one by one until she was almost back to her original state. Her strength was still not how it used to be due to how weak Elena's body was, but with enough time, she would soon be back on her feet. Her condition improved greatly over the four weeks she spent preparing for the journey to Ramil Kingdom, and she was now able to comfortably ride a motorcycle for hours without having to rest for long.

It was time to go. It was time to leave the shelter of the Heroux mansion and set the bait.

Hopefully, the Cardinal would act exactly as Celosia expected him to. He was a predictable man, it wasn't difficult to figure out what he would do when he found out Celosia had left the Northern Grand Duchy.

He would try to kill her again, but this time, he would try to do it without dirtying his own hands.

And Celosia was more than ready for it.