Change || The Promised Neverland

✼ Chapter Fourteen: Strings ✼

<< Whose strings are pulled? >>

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

"A traitor?" Emma asked, her eyes wide. "Among the children?"

Norman nodded. "It's the biggest possibility. Mom should have been able to identify the targets already."

"Identify?" Emma furrowed her brows. "Not roughly have an idea or suspect?"

"No, I'm pretty sure she was able to identify," Norman said. "It's easy to see in the way Mom makes Sister Krone guard in general. She has no intention of specifying the targets."

"Wait, then what was the purpose of observing how I reacted?" Emma rubbed her chin. "So you're saying a traitor is how she identified us this quickly?"

"Yeah," Ray said. "An agent of the demons is among us."

"I wouldn't say an agent of the demons," said Norman, "but we do have one suspect."

"Wait, shouldn't [Name] be here to hear this?" Emma cut him off. "She needs to know too!"

"It's likely she already knows," Norman sighed, "since she's our main suspect."

"...[Name]?" Emma repeated. "She's the traitor?"

"We went over this before," said Norman. "Remember? It's only becoming clearer and clearer."

"She'd be no ordinary traitor," Ray said. "She has the inside knowledge of what we're planning, along with our trust. That's what makes her potent."

"Her knowledge?"

Norman nodded. "I think that [Name]'s purpose is to be a source of information. That's how Mom controls us."

"A source of information?" Emma bit her lip. "[Name]? But aren't we her weakness?"

She remembered Krone's words.

"[Name]'s weakness... Well, it's not a thing or a trait, but a person. Or rather, four certain Grace Field orphans. The moment they're threatened in any way, she loses her cool completely. She's very easy to manipulate, I'll have you know."

"Wait!" Emma looked up hurriedly. "According to Sister, [Name]'s weakness is four Grace Field orphans. We're only three! What's her fourth weakness?"

Norman narrowed his eyes. "It'd have to be someone who means more to [Name] than us. Someone who could make [Name] turn on her three best friends."

"Yeah," said Ray. "Whether we like or not, [Name]'s fourth and biggest weakness...

...is Mom."

"Mom?" Emma stepped forward. "But [Name] hates her! She snapped at me when I accidentally compared the two."

"You don't have to like your weaknesses," Ray crossed his arms. "[Name]'s easily manipulated, remember? And to add to that, Mom's known her the longest, considering that she raised her. They've been close before we met."

"You remember that?" Norman tilted his head.

Ray shrugged. "I've always remembered the things that nobody wants me to remember. Like, Norman, remember when you-"

"ANYWAYS," Norman coughed, shooting a glare at Ray, "so [Name]'s weakness is Mom, and that's why she would rather help her than us? That doesn't make sense. Their bond isn't enough for her to leave us to die."

"Maybe," said Ray. "But we can determine whether or not she's a traitor for sure pretty quickly. Tonight."

"That quickly?" Emma blanched.