He was trying his hardest to persuade them.
“We were all wrong. The Galgad Empire is the villain here, not the king.”
It didn’t make sense.
He was supposed to be an activist who hated the monarchy and was doing his best to bring about revolution.
Why, then, was he urging his allies to side with Nike?
Jean let out a hoarse rasp; he’d been through thick and thin with this man. “You can’t be serious…” The light faded from his eyes, leaving them empty and hollow. “Don’t give me that shit, man. My father—”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? Your dad was willing to support a violent revolution. The government couldn’t just sit by and let its people get hurt.” Gilbert laid a sympathetic hand on Jean’s shoulder. “Remember what I sent you? That stained wing? Our symbol?”
“Huh?”
“That might have been too roundabout, so let me put it clearly. Our secret society is what’s stained. I realized that just before the strike. We’re the ones in the wrong.”
“________”
Jean staggered, like his soul had just left his body. It was like he was having an anemia attack, and it took him a concerted effort to totter over to the wall and keep himself upright.
All Erna could do was stare as the Knights of Valor’s representative’s heart broke in two. Frustration rose within her. She needed to do something, but she couldn’t find the words to turn the situation around.
Meanwhile, the officers in the hall were faring no better. None of them spoke up, and they all lapsed into hushed whispers as they tried to sort the situation out.
A possibility was creeping into the backs of their minds. They tried to deny it, but it welled right back up.
What if we are the ones in the wrong?
As panic began taking hold of the officers, salvation came from an unexpected source.
“None of you did anything wrong.”
Nike, their supposed enemy, offered them a loving smile.
It was the expression of a holy mother, one who forgave all and caught those who fell. She laid a hand on her chest as though to emphasize her ample bosom and spoke in a voice that tickled at their ears. “If anything, I’m moved at what a fine job you’ve done. You found out the truth behind the explosion all on your own.”
Nike clutched at her sides like she couldn’t contain her emotion.
“The talent you have for gathering information is to be valued. And what youngster doesn’t have some complaints with their government? That’s nothing to be condemned. At the end of the day, it’s an expression of your pure, patriotic desire to make our nation the best it can be,” she said consolingly. “What I want to know is, would you be open to using those talents of yours to help hunt down Imperial spies?”
She gestured wildly, spreading her arms out wide and using her alluring figure to capture every pair of eyes in the room.
“The Genesis Army would like nothing more than to work together with you!”
The light of hope briefly flickered in the officers’ eyes. Shock flitted across their faces—maybe they weren’t about to get arrested.
Nike took delight in their reactions. “I’ll get down on my hands and knees if that helps convince you,” she said, raising her open palms to show her sincerity. “Come and work for me. All the crimes you’ve committed will be water under the bridge. What’s important is for us to come together and make our stand against the invaders from abroad!”
Nike had achieved full dominion over the lecture hall.
Not a single person so much as tried to cut her off. Perhaps it was the power of the space itself, but they all mulled over her words like students who’d come to audit a lecture she was giving.
However, the things she was saying were nonsensical drivel.
Is Nike even listening to herself?
Erna stared in blank shock.
Nike was trying to commandeer the entire secret society. She wanted to take the group that Jean and others had built up over generations and repurpose it for rooting out dissidents.
There’s no way they buy this. Does she have any idea just how much they hate the government?
Erna hadn’t forgotten the stories Jean told her during the welcome party. The Knights of Valor had welcomed Erna’s and Annette’s efforts to overthrow the government with open arms, and they’d showered the girls with praise when they returned from the Bertram Mines. Surely, Jean was going to reject Nike’s proposal on the spot.
Sure enough, Jean managed to regain his composure for the first time and let out a dismissive scoff. He knew full well that what Nike was proposing wasn’t collaboration; it was servitude. “If you think for one second we’re going to—”
Then the applause started.
The instant Jean opened his mouth, one of the men in the middle of the hall started clapping to cut him off. A few of the officers joined suit.
They were on board.
The officers in question stared adoringly at Nike, their lips quivering, overcome with emotion.
“What?” Shock overtook Jean’s expression. “Hey, Deck. What the hell do you think you’re—?”
Erna recognized that young man. She and Annette had rescued him from a detention center. When they reunited at the dorm, he’d shaken their hands in gratitude, with tears rolling down his cheeks. He was supposed to be Jean’s right-hand man, the person Jean trusted most out of all the officers.
“Nike’s right,” Dice said as he cheerfully applauded. “Me, I’ve been wondering the same for a while. I was like, maybe the reason our lives are so hard is because the Empire invaded us and tried to steal our land!”
That was the complete opposite of what he’d said in the past.
Was he working for the Genesis Army, too? Did Nike get to him during his time in lockup?
It was certainly a possibility, but Erna had no evidence to accuse him with.
Why? Why are they giving in so easily?
Now that one of the secret society’s leaders had turned traitor, a wave of others followed him as person after person rose to their feet and voiced their desire to change sides. “We should go along with Nike,” they said, and, “What Chloe said makes sense.”
The Knights of Valor were falling apart. One after another, its members were surrendering to the Genesis Army.
Amid that nightmarish spectacle, Nike was the only one smiling. “Quick decisions. You love to see it.”
“No… What are you all doing…?” Jean stammered, shaking his head in disbelief. “Why? Do you even hear yourselves? Think about what the government’s done to us…”