Chapter Thirty Two

"I thought they weren't involved…"

Since Mary and Mr. Williams left all I could think was about the news Mary gave me. I couldn't believe that the Anarchists were really involved in all of it.

'It doesn't make any sense.' I thought confused.

Lena, Alice, and even Flora didn't seem to have any contact or relationship with the Anarchists. If they did they wouldn't have to depend on me to run away.

'Back then it seemed like I was the only choice they had. If they were allied to the Anarchists, then why did they need my help? And why Flora… would kill herself?'

They being allied to the Anarchists doesn't make sense to me.

"But if what Mary told me is true, then the Anarchists are involved." I realized.

I don't know much, actually, I know almost nothing about the Anarchists. But the King's words make me believe that the Anarchists are powerful enough to be a burden to him, probably the most powerful and influential man in this world.

['It's hard to believe that the maids alone convinced the guards to help them with this plan. No sane person would betray us, not without strong support to help them. I can't imagine the guards being so foolish to exchange their stable and honorable job to help these wicked maids if they weren't certain that they would have a chance of escaping from me.'] That was what the King said.

'If what Mary told me is true then the Anarchists must have really strong warriors on their side if they were able to kill a royal knight.'

The Royal Knights are the strongest warriors of this nation, it's not anyone that can serve the royalty as a knight, only the strongest and most powerful warriors can have the honor to serve the King.

"But since when they were involved?" That was the only thing I couldn't understand.

'If the maids were not allied with the Anarchists, then why are they involved?' I asked myself, confused.

To everyone, the maids are the culprits behind the assassination of Lady Elizabeth, and that is why the King is looking for them because they murdered a person of the royal family.

Is that enough reason for the Anarchists to risk themselves and protect Lena and Alice? Because they are fellow criminals?

'No, it wouldn't make sense. For them to be involved the only reason would be…'

"If they know the truth."

The real reason why the King is looking for them. It's not because they killed Lady Elizabeth, or because they had run away.

"It is because the King believes I am with them."

That is the real reason why the King is looking for them, the reason why he framed them for killing Lady Elizabeth. It's all because he believes I am with them.

The Anarchists must think the same, that the maids are with me, the King's bastard. The chance of having a royal child under their liege, for a rebel group like them, would be a good advantage.

'But how would they know that?' I asked myself, confused.

As far as I know, the only people that knew about me were the maids, the northwest guards, the King… and Klaus.

From the beginning, I couldn't understand how the guards could have run away if they were with Klaus a few hours before the King knew that the maids and I were gone.

'How they could leave the palace so fast?' I thought, skeptical.

The King said that just like the maids the guards betrayed him and run away. That they were also allied with the Anarchists.

'If the King really believes in that… Wouldn't it make Klaus suspicious?'

At first, I thought that the King framed the guards just like he framed the maids. But if he really believes that they run away with the maids and me with the help of the Anarchists, then he must not know that Klaus was with the guards at the moment he discovered the maids and I were gone.

When Klaus entered the northwest area and saw a dead body in there, after realizing that the maids and I were gone, shouldn't he suspect the guards from helping us, or even from killing Flora?

"How could Klaus let the guards escape?"

This just doesn't make sense.

"If what I am thinking is true then, Klaus must be the reason why the Anarchists are involved."

***

"I will leave here tonight."

That was what I decided to do hours ago.

After thinking for so long about how I could leave my room with no one noticing it, I realized all I had to do was use my magic.

After training the whole afternoon I managed to create an illusion that would help me to escape. It was a copy of myself laying on my bed covered up to the shoulder with a blanket. It doesn't take more than ten minutes to it disappear, but it's long enough to help me get out of here.

When the maid in charge to bring my dinner came in, everything was already set.

While the real me was invisible near the door, the maid saw my clone sleeping peacefully in my bed.

Just as I thought, the maid didn't say anything, she just quietly left the meal on the small table in my room, trying to not wake me up.

I left just a moment before she did. I stayed long enough to see her locking my room and leaving.

I sighed, relieved.

'It was easier than I thought it would be. Illusions are pretty amazing, huh.' I thought, excited.

If I realized I could do that earlier I would have left my room days ago.

"But the problem is that I can't go back any time soon." I whispered to myself.

I knew pretty well that I could only come back to my room just tomorrow morning when the maid in charge of bringing my breakfast will open my room.

'Well... At least, now I have plenty of time to do everything I want.'

***

Being locked in my room was making me crazy. I couldn't stop thinking about Klaus, and the Anarchists.

'At least now I can do something useful.' I thought looking at the open book in front of me.

I was in the royal library, sitting on the floor, hiding in the middle of two bookshelves. I was trying to learn more about the Anarchists. I have read tons of history books in the past, but I have never heard of them before.

The book I had with me was about all the internal wars and conflicts against the crown that happened in the history of this kingdom.

I remember that I tried to read this book once in the past, but I never passed from the first few chapters, since it wasn't a topic Interesting to me.

'I'm not really interested in studying wars...' I thought, leafing through the book.

'But, if I want to know more about the Anarchists I must finish reading the book this time.' I thought determined.

The first time the rebel group 'Anarchists' was ever mentioned in this book was from an event that happened two hundred years ago. Dozens of royal merchant ships were suddenly destroyed, and quickly news that a group that called themselves 'The Anarchists' was the culprit.

"But it wasn't all."

Just a few days later during a marriage of a princess, where there were reunited most of the royal family and nobles of the high society, a group of men invaded the church and attacked everyone in the name of the Anarchists. These men were all mages, and since the nobles were caught off guard, a lot of them got injured and died in this attack.

Before being caught by the royal knights, all the Anarchists killed themself, burning themselves alive with fire magic. Because of that, it wasn't found any clue about the Anarchists after this attack.

Since that slaughter in the church, the Anarchists kept a low profile never making a public attack like that again. They were suspected to and being involved in many crimes and conflicts against the crown during the years, but it was never really proven.

Some people even thought the Anarchists dissolved many years ago, and that they weren't much of a threat as the rumors made them seem.

But then, the attack against the current King happened.

It was years ago, not much longer after the King's coronation happened. He made a public appearance in the capital, just following the customs. The King was in an open carriage with his mother, the Queen Mother, by his side, waving to the people.

Everything was going alright until a big explosion happened in the direction of the palace, surprising everyone.

While the King had his attention directed to the sudden explosion that came from the direction of the palace, an Anarchist disguised as a guard attacked him on his back with magic, launching ice projectiles in his direction.

He would have died if it wasn't for his mother that noticed the attack and quickly launched herself in front of him, blocking the attack from reaching the King.

That day was the day the King's mother died, protecting her son.

'So that is why he had that expression on his face back then…' I thought, remembering the King's expression while talking about the Anarchists to Prince Noah and Prince Dylan.

Not much longer after this event, a popular uprising happened in the north, commoners rebelled against the tyranny of their liege, an Earl of the royal lineage. They took his castle and killed him, his wife and children.

A troop of royal knights was sent to deal with them. But they weren't expecting that these commoners would be so well prepared and armed, they had equipment and weapons that only a royal arm would have.

The troop sent by the King wasn't enough to deal with this uprising, when the King was about to send more troops, the Kingdom of Pheriza declared war against Arhan to take back some archipelagos that once belonged to Pheriza.

During the war, more popular uprisings started to happen in the north. The troop sent by the King wasn't enough to contain so many of them, and things just got worse when mages with the emblems of the Anarchists started to fight on the side of the commoners.

The Anarchists were the ones behind all of the popular uprisings in the north. After destroying the troop of royal knights sent by the King, they started to conquer the north, taking advantage that the King's army was fighting against Pheriza.

The kingdom was passing through hard times. Being governed by a recently crowned king, fighting in a war against a powerful kingdom, while still having several popular uprisings and losing a part of the territory in the north.

It was one of the most fragile times in the history of Arhan. But still, my father, the King, persevered.

The King formed an alliance with his late father-in-law, the Duke of Durhan, Nicholas' grandfather, the most powerful and influential nobleman among the nobles of the realm in that time.

After this alliance, the King and the Duke of Durhan, together reunited nobles to fight against the Anarchists in the north. That way, the King could concentrate all of his armies to fight against Pheriza.

With time the war turned on the Arhan's side, forcing the Pheriza kingdom to back down, and the army of the nobles led by Duke of Durhan managed to take back each of the lands and castles conquered by the Anarchists.

"...He managed to win in a such hard situation." I said out loud surprised by the King's deeds.

But then, suddenly, startling me, the royal library door was opened.

Quickly I stopped using my magic, a small ball of light that I was using to illuminate the book while reading it.

'Who would come here such late at night?' I thought, confused.

Since I was already invisible, I wasn't afraid to be seen, so I went in the direction of the door, curious.

It was a boy around my age in noble's clothes holding a lamp. When I got closer I realized who it was.

"Nicholas?!"