Chapter 66: Intruder Adam
An intruder?! Again?
Just the words were enough to make me get up and start moving.
"Where? Did you guys capture it?"
"Yes! It’s a man!"
"Can I come too?" Arlene asked from behind, and Treska and I both nodded at the same time. It was okay, of course. We rushed down the Grim Palace, back to the cells and the dungeons. It was a familiar place that I hadn’t gone into in a very long time.
Treska was flaring up. He was excited about having caught the intruder.
"I won’t let it go this time," he said. "Once was enough."
Once truly was enough. Intruders were not going to go past us again and again in the Grim Palace. There was no way.
Jake and John were there, standing outside the cell, alongside one of the golems.
Tied up with chains all around was a red-haired man. His face was swollen and his arms and legs all bound together. All color had drained from his eyes, leaving it purple, and visible swellings and punch marks were all over his body.
"Mm..." The man raised his head when he saw me, and croaked through his words. "I am no enemy... I just... want to talk."
From behind me, Arlene Desmond il Reinvelt covered her mouth real quick. I turned to look at her. She turned her eyes away.
"Hey."
"I just want to talk..." he repeated again, his voice fading into the background. I am pretty sure he was saying this all the time, but had no choice but to get punched since Jake and John do not stop all that easily.
"Do you know him?" I asked Arlene.
Did she know him? Of course she did.
Still, she shook her head.
"How is he here?"
"I don’t know. I have nothing to do with this man."
"That voice... Arlene...?" The man raised his head and looked ahead. A chuckle left him. "AHahaha... truly terrifying. I am hallucinating my family."
My eyes narrowed further. I went deeper and the girl shrunk even more.
"I don’t know. I really don’t know how he’s here."
"..."
I could sense Jake speaking to me in my soul. He was indeed holding up the obscurer.
"You may not realize it, Jake, but he actually used this thing to enter. It’s not a toy."
"...!"
"What, you were saying the same thing?"
Jake shook his head.
"Oh. You’re John!"
"Even I can tell them apart, sir..." Treska murmured from the side. "Master Jake and Master John said they didn’t kill him because he kept speaking about conversation... and now?"
"Alright, this is no joke." I said to Arlene once again. "Tell us straight up. Why is the heir of the Duke here? Have you cast some kind of tracking spell or something?"
It was a really annoying situation. I was on edge as well. Could it have been that these bastards had made a plan to find a way to the Grim Palace and attack us? Was that what was going on? The whole corruption being included?
It couldn’t be, Weiss had already checked her for any and all kinds of spell this girl was writhing about in the hotel room back in Serenia. Yet, I couldn’t help being suspicious.
"I-it’s nothing like that. I promise. Let me talk to him once."
"Hey, so!" Treska said from the side. "He’s your brother?"
Arlene nodded slowly.
"Wow. Why would you say you have nothing to do with him?"
"Preach, Treska!" I added on. "What an unfilial girl. Uncouth. Horrendous."
"Bitch," Arlene swallowed those words, then went to her brother. What the hell, she was really fun to tease.
This whole duality of being confused between making fun of this girl and being slightly on edge with her was another annoying thing. It was like a conflict in a business guild, or getting into a fight with a teaching assistant over wrong marks.
One had to be bold and strong enough to make sure the other party doesn’t take you too lightly, at the same time be kind enough to maintain good relationships if you end up needing to maintain those.
Highly annoying.
Arlene sat down and started talking to her brother.
"Haha... I won’t fall for such tricks."
"It’s really me brother, please. This is getting annoying."
"Miss Witch. My sister... My sister needs help."
Treska looked over at me, and shrugged.
"I get him," he said. I pet his head. Sure you did, buddy. You definitely did.
Everything she had told us about Adam Desmond il Reinvelt was heartbreaking, much like Treska, and our beastkin kid seemed to be feeling sympathy as well.
It was only when Arlene whispered something in Adam’s ears did he snap out of his daze and look at her.
"Arlene? Is it really you?"
"Oh my god. Yes! I’ve been saying it like, a hundred times."
"Arlene! Y-y-you’re well!? What’s going on. Don’t tell me, is this heaven."
"Oh for fuck’s sake."
That took another few minutes. And another snide comment by Treska about how it was difficult to be the elder sibling. This really was getting annoying.
Only after he was back to his senses did we give him a potion.
Adam Reinvelt, still tied up, now stood on his feet. I signaled at Jake and John to pull his chains and lift him up by his limbs? Why? For the effect really.
"Adam Desmond il Reinvelt. I am Phantom, the attendant of the Witch Queen. You who have dared to breach into our territory, what do you seek? Are you courting death?"
Adam shook his head side to side. Tears started to fall out of his eyes.
"I came to ask help for Arlene, but you guys already did it... Witch? Witch who? This is the land of Angels. I must either be dead, or this really must be the work of an angel."
Ah fuck.
Lost all the aura.
Why is he calling us angels? For heaven’s sake.
"Thank heavens for you, Mr Phantom, and for the Witch Queen!"
Go to hell!
