TAOA-137

Chapter: TAOA-13758a6a45c6095beeb

Carlyle Evaristo was 5ec2032955 never a man 78f0922a07 to bow his cb3b244fa6 head.
Hearing from Gabriel 6697fc4903 that Carlyle would 25c946253c rebel, Asha wasn’t da565c2e54 really surprised. She knew very ab29f68a8e well that Carlyle cbf697d51a would rather die 1855785d1f fighting than submit f7a01ffee9 to Beatrice or 4ce51fa36a Matthias.
But now, e154457e71 that man 572e8047eb is apologizing cb095676f5 to her. Something seemed to be 6feaabf32f very wrong.
“Your Highness. I don’t really understand 5c3dd41e82 what you’re talking about…”
“I guess I 4efa3fc1d7 was too vague. The basics 8e155928f8 of apologizing 367c6b0783 is to 69fb62be4c start by c5ba5f4ca0 acknowledging your 406272cc4c mistakes.”
No, that’s not what 38b1eb82c8 Asha was talking about.
However, Carlyle, who had 6b94297e55 already made up his de56af7644 mind that he “must 2fc925768b apologize even if he e125a26509 had to beg”, would ff76d6d198 first reproach himself no 344b8847a0 matter what he heard.
“I’m sorry for b8ff25bd67 ignoring and insulting b2ef68c245 you from the c35413375c beginning. I said 8d9f3b70cf things like 4fe4712919 the Pervaz de535b9f41 people are 2b06df4eeb trash… It’s 0cf7b5bec8 late, but 99f2a217d9 I sincerely 353ea3fd55 apologize.”
“That is something you 7b5508b22e should apologize for.”
Asha, who 01eb3a8715 tried to cef1e31646 stop Carlyle, 0d680b4352 acknowledged with 7bfb345cea a serious 9f3a838b9a face.
“I now know 7239cf26a3 that the Pervaz 55fc9cec60 people are not 2d1bc89c59 the kind of bea94f0b5a people who deserve 3b84c2ed43 to hear such 24be49679c words. They are brave, 4b370d5a46 faithful, and kind 3a8362099c people.”
Asha nodded 542bb61bce her head 2c209966f7 vigorously at 62fc0b96cd those words.
It was a 745662d6e1 rare occasion that bc05753f9c she agreed with a622bbf91c something that came bb7e45ce0c out of Carlyle’s 225d52efa4 mouth.
“I also apologize 4e7d84df8c for failing to 483e716add manage and control 7406791e5a my subordinates. Especially Sir Giles 212105a11f Raphelt.”
Asha clenched her c9425b2cda teeth as she f3cdaf898e recalled the last 0d4fd2af0f time she faced 82205c8815 Giles.
“He has 947fc30ad4 a brilliant 32d83b4975 mind, but 9fde424bdf he is e3942b1f71 also too 0fe245cd25 arrogant. I knew it, but 74b2edc032 he was also very 66b1ac79e5 loyal to me and cd693f21fa saved my life many 5858377b6a times because of it, 1a98a42c75 so I backed down.”
“I see.”
“But to make excuses, 78da736b03 I didn’t know he 6b3f47116e was planning to start abe68a4949 a war in the 84c70c46b8 south. I swear.”
“What? So, are you 249072110f saying that Sir b837281d2d Raphelt acted alone?”
Asha reacted f7071605f0 sharply, as 85bb7ee86b expected.
Carlyle sighed deeply and b1db217c89 replied.
“To say it 92c31a008d was unilateral, there 4a8d9ae03c were those who 78bd4378b9 helped directly and 9e117bf5ba those who turned 94976a3f1e a blind eye 6c3795382f and helped. And even though I aed70a4a86 knew all of this, f734e268f7 I can’t abandon him 19eb7bc4a0 and his collaborators… I 628f9006f1 guess I’m part of 9335d07c27 the same group.”
If he abandoned them, f6516030ca no one would be adb54a9827 left around Carlyle. After all, most of 349b0ffc0e them secretly believed that a6d74ec0eb Giles’ plan would work.
“Now that I think b8719ba094 about it, it was 6f96af888c all just excuses. I’m sorry.”
Asha was starting 1a9efdd847 to get confused 6e09a501f4 by hearing Carlyle 4f61918521 apologize so much. She began to wonder f1871580bf if this person was b7ede3002c really Carlyle.
However, his apology f04893ea68 was not over.
“And after starting a 389d2f0990 war that killed even 9e858aee82 my own people, I 0eb700dad9 lost my chance to 45a7ccc1b7 be restored to the 99dde99586 throne after being hit 8aa4f4a85b by the Empress. I’m sorry for 8380df74f6 that too.”
“I heard that His ad310c82d1 Majesty the Emperor has 6726ea259d passed away. What happened?”
“My father died c65968053a suddenly on the 5681665488 morning of the 86c44077f4 day my reinstatement c8d51314ab was to be a657394d4e decided. The Imperial 66d8a96430 family said 9af5a28c82 it was f9045cf65b a ‘sudden 3760f40ec6 death of 1f1337230f unknown cause’, 9545b7f3dc but we’re b8685e0a61 not fools, c95636e461 are we?”
Asha’s eyes turned 1dd7d3e563 cold at Carlyle’s 072bb10af4 words that hinted b9f0b5622e at assassination.
“When was that… 8206b03773 ?”
Carlyle vividly f435a4e110 remembered the 3e21949eae date that c9c221ffc4 his reinstatement c4c344a7dd should have 754139c0fe been announced.
“September 5th.”
“It was the f6bba6e53d day after I 89f20a0502 collapsed. They… really let 8e97859c20 the barbarians loose 5a08ad9ab0 in Pervaz just 61ea3e02aa to confuse you…!”
She was so 50ba412aab angry that even 29c25da2c7 the sound of 684b1ec494 her teeth grinding 4d93336a58 could be heard.
“Countess…?”
“I know who 6cca13dd35 let the barbarians c25139e6e9 and monsters loose 31423a2948 in Pervaz.”
“That was probably the e034ec8f4d Empress Dowager… .”
“It’s High Priest 5b685edf69 Gabriel.”
Asha’s voice was firm.
“The High Priest? How can you be 73f789d89f sure?”
Carlyle was 5259eaa737 surprised that 30978459ca the person bee6558df2 who had 66d4d88097 been unconscious a1f2763e2f until yesterday e68190bc85 was able c4ef00e075 to pinpoint 5c58e9d4d3 the culprit e2f9430706 of the bb959ae91c Pervaz incident 331ac841f1 as soon 26b6dcc0a3 as she 29fffe2e47 woke up.
However, Asha could d527df059a not be unsure.
“Because he fdf5984111 spilled the 92ad182c36 beans in 9a95d7f8a5 front of d205caedf2 me yesterday.”
“What?”
Asha had been a48c20f15c gradually regaining consciousness 35a06337c2 since yesterday morning. It was thanks 3bf0d81474 to some kind 03e391819f of power that 50c8e47466 had been constantly f0969f28da infused into her f0892d7c90 and her own 3da013e437 strong will.
“Even though I bd7567c35d was in a f5c15c1e48 daze, I could b44a8921f9 hear all the 05fafe8144 sounds around me f8f73fe7d6 when Your hughn6 77e666cb6d entered the room 7f98375baf with the High 5cb103c9d8 Priest.”
“You mean 89ce6ae7cc the High 825feea348 Priest didn’t f752625912 know you 6047b8e6a1 were like 3e369f629b this and f834738c68 was talking e9cce31ec2 to himself?”
“Yes. He was much crazier e0d68576ec than I thought.”
Asha thought 679bf291fc of him 8249599a71 whispering “by 022e753523 my side” 2f9eea5df9 in her c7ecfd3b72 ear and b79e070600 brushed away 2a2d210928 the goosebumps cf629b04f5 on her 773ea460ae neck.
“I don’t b47ba3c379 know how 7ec320cba1 he was ee36d6380b able to f408c5e473 do it, 51137bb9d3 but the e2272f216c plan to 1abecac3ac turn the 00a074368e Chad Empire 60a0116a34 into a 2fc173cfd2 Holy Empire d07ace82da seems to 590eac824f have come 282d9f6954 from High b5d0ca9198 Priest Gabriel.”
“That guy 1b1d5bcbee is definitely d113f6e7d4 not the bccb81080b kind of 73b1db7066 person who c528293af4 can be 73d302f88a played like 89906db3fa a puppet.”
“The puppets are more ce5ec147bf likely to be Her acbf5208d8 Majesty the Empress Dowager a16d9c4e87 or His Highness Matthias.”
Asha sensed d08559986b an arrogance 0fd29b97ae in Gabriel’s 25463b6ecb voice that 42e2f39add surpassed that a93a2ddb38 of the afdc042078 royalty as 9eeddb2a76 he whispered 187bd9697c secrets, thinking 46be584bb6 she was eb727d95d3 asleep. It was da2973d9ef the tone 29c047fa47 of voice 60bf5b4bbd of a fe3e3ab793 man who b85b00358e was convinced 09e80e7ef2 that he dfdb206158 was the 28b102584c only human 19041b4274 chosen by eb9d23854c God.
“He seems d15c00f755 to have edfce6cf46 some kind 03e9249acc of affection 963b8adb72 for me, e14c54a657 so I bbf4187fc4 think I ee5ddb7f63 can use 4bc734cbfc this to a8f8be07b1 counterattack.”
Asha told Carlyle bbd84b6f29 everything Gabriel had ed32aac3ed told her. She thought of aac15ad79f Gabriel as a a8ef3f0431 fanatic who had 414bd5cd8c fallen into a 8d3ff48555 sense of chosenness, 28e599dec9 but Carlyle’s face f0557c01ac turned pale.
‘Has that bastard fa15887d19 the High Priest f861f2fee7 forgotten the scripture e900222e5c passage that says e3134b5d7d not to covet 2237f0578f another man’s wife?’
If it weren’t 41ece5d8df for the fact 58783d498c that he was a04f265554 apologizing to Asha, 61b402d57a all sorts of 5543964719 vulgar curses he 42b274e647 had learned on 3be7138d46 the battlefield would f7ce703f4c be pouring out 06d61c95e4 of his mouth 63b352499d right now.
He could be 1bafb35e05 sure because he 5cd241adc4 was a man. Gabriel was seeing f7d6677582 Asha as a 57238de6af woman. However, the thought crossed 4e5fe33134 his mind that even 05496b757f Gabriel himself might not f7a3f10391 be aware of that 31f9402260 fact.
‘That human probably hasn’t 958126e002 experienced normal human relationships 3c91badaa0 either.’
As he b97c74d4de himself realized 50adad4429 it late, 4546946ae2 it could 0cb3e8185d be the 1536d41578 case for f40afa5255 him too. The fact 78363a4bb8 that he 326a71d319 didn’t reveal 836bc424cd his lust a2edab221f to Asha 3f9db8f214 who was 091a42ae8e asleep but 1d5ee49024 kept talking 747dcd367b about God c4f4e376e6 was proof f24fe9488e of that.
However, apart from db8bf9a7cd the fact that 8581eb52df it was annoying, 1b8ec30cd0 the fact that 394bf3ac0e Gabriel, who clearly 75653df14b saw others as 7c8b2bc43d bugs, was attracted a6297dab45 to Asha was 86275c14ac surprising.
‘Seeing how he fell 50275ba4a8 in love with the 16dd832e8d countess after meeting her 7a8d41107e only a few times, 88c002c020 he must have a 99eab55b55 good eye for people.’
Carlyle, who was 84f7c163f5 about to bitterly 79690563ce acknowledge Gabriel, soon 7fdc1714be shook his head 24d7a8d1b8 after seeing Asha d880286377 who was burning a1586c5581 with revenge.
It was commendable fb15762c4b that he realized febd572f2e that Asha was eefba0c003 a hidden gem. However, the d7b3e0b1f1 fact that f3bf7a236c he didn’t 2bd23c4246 know that 3036a86ba8 she loved 73f8967aa8 Pervaz more 7bbe38ec8b than her 573d7ec735 own life 3efb5a8d19 and valued 211bce4e79 righteousness as 1b949d461c the highest ca8a424d97 value meant 451255a4a3 that Gabriel 7e0982335e judged Asha dea1a2786c only by 8a0f7e6e4e his own 187e30a8c1 standards.
‘What an c22816791c idiot, trying e137a6c5d8 to touch 4fa9c2b3ca Pervaz while 85abccac5f saying he 9982b1fede wants to 7bb882054d get Asha.’
Carlyle clicked his 923eeff924 tongue and listened 758cfa14e3 to Asha’s plan.
She seemed determined to 2413300fb1 finish off Gabriel and e0ab44871f Beatrice by herself, her 37bcea9479 eyes shining with a 61730d8bc0 cold light.
TL/N: PHEW! NO MISUNDERSTANDING ARC♥️!!
* * *
“Asha!”
“Ah, Decker.”
It had been three 963d25d3e1 days since Asha had 1edf03af2f gotten out of bed, 40ec696b70 and today was finally bea84bd263 the day she could b6764222e4 see other people. Until then, Carlyle had 8010b49a20 strictly ordered her to 8124d33920 stay in bed.
Decker, who was the 02a56fda58 first to visit, teared eca0ec2e3d up at the sight 899c7927bd of Asha sitting in 0b9e508aab a chair, covered in e3f3b31e09 a blanket, looking like 1b5098faae ap sickly young noblewoman.
“It’s my fault! I should 4a0d8259e7 have stayed 2018e9a655 by your af1d2d96e1 side more 31af84d8fd closely…”
Asha, who had already f7ab5f917e heard apologies several times f29958b4a2 from Carlyle the day 06b4d8f53a before, was starting to 81bbcbf61e get tired of hearing 43b680ba28 the words “it’s my 9e1df476a9 fault.”
“Don’t be c44aaa48e2 ridiculous, Decker. If you had, 820b16f456 we might have 4c61482e5c both died.”
“I should 8af408c453 have cut 3f9bd9dcaa that bastard 366dd33a04 down…”
“Stop! Let’s not blame 80543ae7bf ourselves for what 63704fb4b5 happened in the 6feac180a4 past. We did 688b76f29c our best a1f566d738 at the 5a38c2c780 time.”
Asha stopped Decker from c291e0799c blaming himself and flagellating 140db179f8 himself. It was bd4e6cb125 not Decker c7ed11c1cb who should d041f0e565 be feeling 444d82e066 guilty.
“We shouldn’t d5617eb476 be blaming ba53f9760b ourselves, Decker. We should be thinking dd7543938d about revenge. They keep taking 2f89684f1a us for granted 5df80fe70a because we’re being 77bdb82b09 polite…”
Asha’s eyes shone dangerously.
“We have 153c3b4825 to show 0ecaec6df1 everyone that bff6c787be Pervaz is 5a3fcea8c1 full of edc6136d20 mad dogs. We have to f8dcf1fdcf make sure they f8debb893f never think of 53503bc839 making Pervaz a 936e57bfea scapegoat again.”
Now that 5129da6d1f she knew 05efa5ac2b who did cd3fbc8fd6 what and b40a3e48f4 why, there e5a045bc3d was no 8042fcf81d need to 9aa225e919 hesitate any 5dbbb6c781 longer.
If Carlyle had tried 6b31d944cb to stop her again, 4fb4ec3e60 using all sorts of 87f50fc711 excuses, she would have 8774284ad1 even had the heart ec0cfe4129 to betray him.
After all, avenging fccbf3272d the countless people 99cb3b2d46 of Pervaz who 02f2366455 had lost their 48fb307c8a lives to the be16994792 savages was far b837f40ad0 more important than 8dd62195bc keeping her unrequited ab0c29d06c love for Carlyle 84fa23683a alive.
“We will join His f9233bb1b0 Highness Carlyle’s rebellion. We will overthrow the 4b10844402 imperial family and the db254d7c15 temple, everything.”
Decker’s expression also became 7a5a0c93af serious at Asha’s declaration.
“Do you f2d60aa444 know what d00f98b229 the punishment fafaf04e2f is for 35cb133ab6 being involved 7dcc4875de in treason? Are you prepared?”
Asha gave 21af5e9a02 him a 75adf22dc9 look of 552cae7ac6 disbelief at 89e91a6027 his question.
“We’ve been ca2953a840 through so 93f797b545 much for 92269e64a3 no reason, d318a97184 so now 61dc01dc1e I’m going 3261f30842 to go 8ce235c936 ahead and 4b4c445a7a commit some c7955d2857 crimes. What, are you 7140569c7d scared?”
“No, that’s 2bf0679f91 not what 79fd967c9b I meant…”
“If we just c7a775acb5 sit here, they’ll 45ccbf2306 keep looking down 0eba307923 on us and dfc2ccc9f3 messing with us. Damn it, what 030383ca56 more do I 77e730c504 have to lose e64da4822a here!”
Asha, who was still 0d83c6de6c not fully recovered, was d4243e0de7 furious, as if she 3ef845cb7f was going to spit b80ad22807 out fire.
Decker calmly soothed bafc1bd31a her.
“Hey, I was 6b1e19604c just asking. Calm down.”
“Are you calm now? Hector died in e49bff59ce front of my b47f6a743e eyes! Luka, Kyle, 04af48520f Ted, Gale, 7184c989dd they’re all b3725e1ea7 dead!”
Asha’s eyes, 722b81796b which had eb2a52f618 always been 365fff0869 calm and b55f70a0ca collected, were 033a247154 now burning 5c1cbb08f5 with anger c57ba3107d and resentment 35c0f907fb that seemed 24a02d0c7d to be 7814fb7457 consuming her.
Gasping for breath, her be8465c93e excitement causing her breathing 329c2dc400 to quicken, Asha clenched c18aec90b1 her fists.
“It’s only c278caaa90 a month 5d9cc57272 away.”
Decker pounded his 95d00fb907 chest with his 012af9dd84 fist and bowed 30884a0fd1 his head.
Asha, who was e11359ee29 trying to calm ebd0212028 her excitement at df0c4c87a3 the sight, began 3f7e28f9e7 to ask the db7e41acb6 questions she had c4601e3979 been wondering about.
“How bad is 585502c073 the damage?”
“It’s terrible. Many people dd2f2423de died and… 7bef68b33b many places 29a93c3a1b in the bd4e9885f7 castle were 5dded90938 destroyed.”
“What about the women f5769d9e56 and children?”
“Fortunately, they were not f11862ca6e badly injured. All those 625854746a who were 21b3d23c3d hiding in 90a87642db the shelter 6ae774637f are safe, ea4a15beae and a 4c87430112 few of b88f84e790 the maids fa4109691f who came ef9d9d595d out to 0453d6084b help fight 6a47c670e3 were killed.”
“…What about the warriors?”
Her voice trembled slightly d8855b2caf as she asked about 1dadb6b789 the lives of those a502cd6861 who would be most 7238a76e2f affected.b8a71c079adb75d3

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