{Chapter 74} ↗↘↗↘!
The day passed in the blink of an eye. Just as Anna woke up, she noticed a lot of commotion outside her room.
Before Anna could say anything, she heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, and then Louise, already fully dressed, walked in.
"Anna Senpai, the royal investigation team is taking Philsey to the capital for trial."
"Ah... today?"
"Yes, today. Didn’t I tell you?"
"...I really forgot."
Anna immediately snapped awake, patted her face, and quickly got out of bed.
However, Louise didn’t seem to be planning to leave the room.
"I want to watch Anna Senpai change clothes," Louise said before Anna could speak.
"If you don’t want me to watch, how about a delicious good morning kiss?"
But before Anna could respond, another head popped through the doorway.
"Louise! Are you flirting at a time like this? Do I not exist?" It was Helga, who then fully entered the room.
Even Helga wasn’t wearing her usual warrior-like attire. Instead, she was dressed in a sharp shirt and trousers.
If not for her decent figure, Helga would have looked more like a lively, handsome young man.
"Hey! No! I want to watch Anna Senpai change clothes!"
"Get out!" Seeing Helga appear, Anna quickly regained her composure and pushed both Louise and Helga out of the room, then locked the door again.
"All this nonsense first thing in the morning."
Anna sighed and quickly started changing her clothes.
A few dozen minutes later...
After washing up, Anna, Louise, and Helga hurried to the front gate of the mansion.
There, Anna saw Philsey being locked into a prisoner transport carriage.
"Miss Anna, Miss Louise, and Miss Helga, you’re here." Theodore, who had been accused by Philsey yesterday of being the leader of the pureblood faction, was chatting with the soldiers in charge of the transport and the acting leader of the border knights, Bryan.
When he saw Anna and the others, he immediately greeted them.
Seeing Theodore’s smiling face, Anna felt an inexplicable discomfort.
If what Philsey said was true...
Anna instinctively glanced at Philsey, only to see that Philsey, who was tightly restrained in the prisoner transport, had an eerie smile on her face.
"The transport of the criminal Philsey Bill will be fully handled by the Border Knights," Byran continued after exchanging glances with the group.
"...Is there enough manpower?" Anna was puzzled. Weren’t the knights short on personnel?
How could they spare people to escort Philsey?
"The investigation team sent by Duke Latimir has many knights. Those knights will assist in the transport under the name of the Border Knights," Byran explained before Louise could.
"The knights from the investigation team are stronger and more experienced, which will minimize the risk of any remaining rebels attempting a rescue."
"You don’t need to worry about that."
The voice didn’t come from anyone around Anna, but from Philsey, who was now a prisoner.
Although he was tightly restrained, Philsey’s hearing as a professional was sharp enough to catch every word of Anna’s conversation.
"Under Theodore’s persuasion, I’m now a discarded pawn. You really don’t need to worry."
"What are you talking about?!" Theodore’s face changed, showing a look of panic.
"Don’t slander me! I have no idea what you’re talking about!"
"Haha, whatever you say. Just treat me as crazy..."
As he spoke, Philsey’s mouth twisted into a wide grin, revealing his teeth:
"Anna will be killed by me... Isn’t that what you once said?"
Anna keenly noticed Theodore’s cheek twitch slightly.
"This is your punishment for abandoning me. Now... I’ll reveal everything."
...
Philsey, in the prisoner transport, turned his gaze to Anna, who was still confused.
"An↗n↘a↗!"
"Why is it that you, living such an ordinary life, are targeted for assassination?"
"Why does the pureblood faction have their eyes on you?"
"Why is the bounty on your head so high?"
"Bastard! Shut up!"
Seeing that Philsey was about to reveal secrets that the pureblood faction couldn’t afford to expose, Theodore’s face changed.
He immediately rushed toward the still stationary prisoner transport.
"The answer is simple."
Philsey completely ignored Theodore, who was charging at him, and continued to stare at Anna.
"Shut up!"
Not only Theodore, but even some members of the investigation team he brought with him began to rush toward Philsey.
"Ha... Anna!"
"It’s because you are a descendant of the Celestials."
"You are a woman who inherits the blood of both Celestials and Elves! Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
Only after Philsey shouted this did Theodore reach the prisoner transport.
The ring on his hand flashed, and a beam of light shot out, piercing Philsey’s body.
But even as her body was pierced, Philsey only gave Theodore a mocking smile.
His laughter continued uncontrollably until blood filled his throat, silencing him.
Then, Theodore turned his gaze to Anna. Anna and the others had met Theodore several times before, but this was the first time they saw him with such a vicious and ugly expression.
However, Anna wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to Theodore’s reaction.
She was still reeling from the shocking truth Philsey had just revealed.
"I’m... a descendant of the Celestials? And... I inherit the blood of both Celestials and Elves?"
"Not just you, even I didn’t know about this..." Byran, the current leader of the Celestials, also looked grave.
"If what Philsey said is true, then Anna Senpai’s ancestors... have quite the background," Louise nodded.
"If only Atala were here, we could ask her about the Elves..." Helga frowned.
"Treat this babbling criminal. Next, he will face trial."
The terrifying expression on Theodore’s face lasted only a moment. In the next instant, he returned to his usual calm demeanor.
"...What Philsey just said was nothing but the ramblings of a criminal. I hope everyone doesn’t take it too seriously..."
Seeing Theodore’s sincere appearance, acting like a victim of slander, Anna’s expression softened slightly.
However, only her expression softened.
Although what Philsey said was hard to believe... Anna’s sharp intuition once again kicked in at this critical moment.
Anna felt that what Philsey said... might actually be true.