Lost Ones - A False King

Chapter 21 - Difficult Decisions

"What happened?" Novel asks, his voice heavy with concern.
Lina lets go of Emmod and wipes the tears from her wet cheeks with trembling fingers.
"He killed him," Lina sobs, barely getting the words out.
Emmod and Novel exchange horrified looks.
"Who killed whom?" Emmod asks.
"Who killed who?" Novel echoes.
"They told me," Lina says, staring helplessly at her trembling hands. "And—and now he's gone."
Emmod and Novel remain silent as Lina tries to gather her thoughts.
"And now he's dead," she says, her voice barely more than a whisper, perplexed. "They killed him."
"They?"
With all her strength, Lina tries to pull herself together to tell the story...

After dinner, Lina returned to her room with her maids.
Thanks to her eagle eyes, she was the only one to spot a small basket under her bed. Inside it was Mister Red, surrounded by hazelnut crumbs and a full belly. He had stayed hidden until the coast was clear. Once the maids had prepared Lina for bed and left the room, Mister Red crept out and sat beside her as she lay snuggled under the covers.

The light of a single candle was enough for Lina and Mister Red to see each other clearly.
The present and the future had little relevance in their conversation.
Instead, they spoke about the past.

"Lina, I need to tell you something," Mister Red said.
"You don't have to. I already know," Lina replied, turning her head toward him.
"What? Did Emmod and Novel tell you?" Mister Red asked gruffly. "If I get my hands on them—"
"What? No. How could they?"
Mister Red thought about this for a moment.
"Then what are you talking about?"
"What are you talking about?" Lina countered.
"Ah, never mind," Mister Red said. "What do you know, then?"
Lina eyed her friend carefully.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you were one of the former princes?" she asked gently.

Mister Red froze, his eyes widening. He wasn't sure how to react.

"The gravestone," Lina said, relieving him. "The gravestone of your human self," she corrected. "Emmod and Novel did tell me the name that was on the gravestone before it was erased, but at the time, I wasn't sure if the name really belonged to the person I had in mind."

"And how did you find out?"

"I did some research," she said with a smirk. "A few days later, I found documents in Father's shelves," she explained, "You know how, as part of a noble family, you sometimes have access to information others don't," she added, looking up at the canopy of her bed. "Wynfre—that name was wiped from all the history books. The surname of the four princes," she said, turning her gaze back to Mister Red. "Your name."

The fact that Lina had known for some time that Mister Red was one of the former princes surprised him. But he wasn't unhappy about it. Quite the opposite.

He suddenly began to laugh.

"I should have known that a clever girl like you would figure it out sooner or later," Mister Red joked, pride evident in his tone. "But doesn't it bother you?" he asked, his voice turning serious.

"At first, yes. But that was several days ago," Lina replied calmly.

"And you're not angry that I kept it from you?"

Lina shook her head.

"Even though you know who I am," Mister Red said, puzzled. "At that time, my brothers and I were the most malicious, dangerous, and cursed people in the world," he emphasized. "During my life, I did terrible things to many people. Even those close to me suffered more because of me than they ever gained," he explained. "In their eyes, I was a criminal. That's how the history books describe me."

"In their eyes, you may have been all those things at the time, but not in mine!" Lina said firmly. "Even if you told me everything you did ... it wouldn't change a thing—you are, and always will be, my most loyal and best friend!"