"Richard put down his daggers, feeling somewhat frustrated. "There is no better way for him to learn," Richard said. "You didn't think I was going to kill him for real, did you?" "You tell us," Cyrus said. "I was only being that way because of necessity," Richard said. "What on earth makes such aggression necessary on any level?" asked Cyrus. "Are you serious, Cyrus?" asked Richard. "I thought of all people, you would understand. Felix has no battle experience, and yet he is with us on a mission of conquest against one of the most powerful women on earth. And you are asking me what justifies such aggression?" "If we don't train him that way, who will? The need for immediate mastery is so important because if he doesn't know how to defend himself, he will die sooner or later," Richard said. "On the contrary, I want him alive as long as possible. He is my friend." "You don't protect your friends by trying to kill them while only holding back by a thread," Cyrus said. "That's not h

“We made the mistake of assuming that applying extra security to our homes instead of going out there and fighting against those terrorists was the best way to address the issue. But we have only lost the lives of several soldiers and innocent civilians as a result. So how about we don't make that same mistake again? How about we identify the rebels for what they are - terrorists and take proper action against this movement once and for all? Let's stop pretending like we don't know what to do about this. You all can act all practical and diplomatic in front of the civilians for all I care, but you can't fool me because I know all of you. Let's bring an end to this, and for once in our dishonest lives, stand up for what we believe is right instead of putting up a false front for the approval of men. How about a bit of integrity for once?” All the leaders remained silent, including Kendrick, who wanted what he had just said to sink in. Knowing all the elders, he knew that they all agr

“No, he is not,” Olivia said. “You just made us all suspicious over nothing. Admit it.” “I'll admit it only after I have slaughtered the Prefect,” Harold said. “The Prefect's life and death should be all we strive towards, not petty quarrels.” “Are you serious, Harold?” Olivia asked. “We need to remedy this now!” “No, we don't,” Harold said. “We have a great war ahead of us. That is all that matters. We can settle our disagreement with Emil after all is settled. That way things will be resolved at the right time - when we know we have a future outside the rebellion, and not when things might go either way.” “But Emil is our friend,” Olivia said. “Yes,” Conrad said. “But he needs time to cool off. He might not have to join us tomorrow. Distrust on the battlefield is always a disaster. If he fights with us, it will be as an independent collaboration, not as one team with us.” “I can't believe this!” Olivia said. “Do you want to bail out as well?” asked Harold, looking serious. Oli

Harold struggled to get up, barely recovering from the pain. “Why do you keep doing this to me, Olivia?” he asked. “Shut up!” she said. “We both agreed that you wouldn't bring up what happened that day to anyone!” “I know,” Cyrus said. “But is that why you did this? I don't think I'll ever recover from this pain. You have no idea how painful this is, do you?” “At least it serves you right for breaking your promise,” she said as her reddened face slowly became normal again. “You are evil,” Conrad said to his sister, still trembling in fear from a safe distance. “Not you too,” Olivia said as she looked at her younger brother. “I guess you have endured torture like this several times from her, haven't you?” Harold asked Conrad. “It gets worse,” Conrad replied, and his sister became emotional, almost shedding a tear. “You are so mean, little brother,” she said as she wiped her eyes. “I thought you loved me the most.” Now Conrad felt bad, and as he came closer to comfort her, she

Felix and Richard were alone with Cyrus in their room. Cyrus was fast asleep while Felix and Richard were having a discussion, sitting close to the entrance of the room. They were talking about their last spar, and Richard went on to apologize, explaining himself further. “I think you are the only one who understands me whenever I say that I don't like conflict,” Richard said. “Others get the wrong idea when they see me in a fight.” “Because when you indulge yourself to go the extra mile, you become unstoppable,” Felix said. “That was why you couldn't hold yourself from hurting me a bit during our spar. You were trying to hold yourself back while trying to be tough on me out of necessity, but you couldn't control yourself. I understand.” “Too bad Cyrus didn't,” Richard said. “Well, you can't blame him. He doesn't know you as much as I do,” Felix said. “Besides, if that weren't the case, you might have killed me, you know?” Before Cyrus could reply to that, they saw a female serva