Chapter 192: He Begged Her To Stop
Today, many explosions happened at the bottom of the Tower. Rebel groups had rushed into the palace at the top, freeing their friend who was trapped there.
The Queen was furious. The royal guards came rushing out, locking down the Tower for a long while, but they didn’t find anyone, not even the main person responsible. This event even caused some arguments and chaos, but it soon died down without any clear outcome.
This kind of thing had never happened before – an attack on the Tower from outside forces was unheard of in the Empire’s history. So, for a while, it was the talk of the town, not just in the Imperial Nexus, but everywhere in the Empire, leaving a lasting mark on the next generations.
The Tower wasn’t untouchable — from the time this happened, this idea slowly spread among many people, planting a seed of hope in the minds of hidden rebel groups throughout the country.
Years later, this famous act would be called the "Kindle Operation" by the future generations.
Right now, the hero who started the Kindle Operation was unnoticed, walking home by himself, feeling very tired.
Since the Queen couldn’t catch the rebels who were active at that time, the Tower, after being shut for a while, finally reopened, freeing everyone who was stuck inside.
Ren went back to the hidden room where he kept his weapons. He put the black long blade back on the rack and washed his face in the bathroom. Standing with cold hands holding the sink, Ren stared at his reflection in the mirror, his face wet with water, deep in thought for a bit before he finally put his gloves back on, straightened up, and sat at his desk.
The virtual screen of his opticomputer turned on, and quickly, the holographic images of several people appeared around him. Each one of them already knew that their plan had worked, and they were all really happy.
Even though they were in different places, using holographic technology, they met up secretly in this small room, eagerly talking about the operation.
"We did it!"
"Great job!"
"Can you believe it, it’s a historic first!"
"We showed the Tower can be beaten, we actually saved Kindle."
When the excitement cooled down a bit, Ren calmly shared what he had found during the operation, highlighting the tough defenses in the Tower and the Queen’s widespread psychic surveillance. Finally, when they asked how he got away, he didn’t mention Kestrel, vaguely saying that he had some help.
The rest might not know, but Brandon definitely knew who helped.
Ren quietly looked at Brandon. While they talked about this, Brandon stayed quiet like Ren, only giving him a quiet nod of approval.
Brandon hadn’t fully bounced back, but he pushed himself to attend the meeting, to be part of the conversations, and to let everyone know that he had been rescued successfully, marking their first victory against the Empire.
Given how tired Ren was, the meeting wrapped up quickly, and the glowing figures on the screen disappeared one after the other.
All the enthusiastic conversations and jubilant voices vanished suddenly, leaving Ren in a sudden quietness.
The blinds in his room were closed tight, making the room only faintly lit, with patches of light and dark areas flickering on the desk covered with papers and blueprints.
Ren stretched out his legs and pushed the chair slightly back. Resting his forehead on his interlinked fingers, covered in black gloves, he sat in the quiet darkness for a long time. His hanging black hair and the black gloves blended with his silhouette in the dim corner, staying absolutely quiet.
"Why does he seem so down?"
On the weapon rack, the red sword, which had been a bit fussy earlier, quietly asked.
Because the black sword had been chosen by Ren this time, the red sword had felt left out at first, but soon brushed aside its disappointment.
"Heh, I saw a bit of drama, that’s all."
"What the hell? What did I miss?"
"Okay, okay, I’ll spill it. The poor dude was thoroughly examined and toucehd by that Kraken, who took every chance to get her way. She even used her hand to...um... then he was just left high and dry."
"Hahahaha, I knew this would happen if he didn’t take me with him."
Previously, Ren was more sensitive, naive, and easily embarrassed, usually reacting angrily to even a hint of teasing. But now, even after they poked fun at him for a while, the shadowy figure in the corner stayed quiet and still, blending with the darkness, with not even the sound of breathing detectable.
"He looks kind of sad."
"Yeah, after everything he faced, that horrible woman doesn’t even want him, claiming they’re just, FRIENDS."
"Hey, don’t be too upset. Krakens, creatures with numerous tendrils and countless tricks up their sleeves, are known to be indecisive."
"Just hold on a little longer, work hard to be one of her many alphas... pfft.."
For the first time, the two joking swords realized that their attempt to cheer up a human had fallen flat.
The more they talked, the more downtrodden Ren seemed to become, his head hanging lower, his black fingers pressing into his skin as if trying to hold onto something.
Meanwhile, Kestrel returned to her home’s front yard.
A gentle evening breeze swept through, rustling the numerous blades of grass behind her.
Kestrel spun around quickly; the yard was full of lush grass, rose bush branches swayed gently in the night, and the stone walkway leading to the main entrance lay quiet, with no one in sight.
Kaworu was chilling on a tall tree branch, enjoying the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. Locky popped out to say hi, mentioning that she had set aside a bunch of yummy treats, wondering if Kestrel wanted a midnight snack. But surprisingly, this time Kestrel wasn’t in the mood for any sweets.
She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was on her mind, wandering up the stairs without much energy. She spent a bit of time in the game room on the third floor, playing a romance simulation game - which she usually found pretty boring - before heading to the fourth floor’s gym to move around a bit.
When she was done with her bath and got back to her room, it was already pretty late at night. She ran out of things to do to put off going to bed, but when she lay down, she just couldn’t doze off. Every time she shut her eyes, a whirlwind of jumbled pictures popped up in her head: the mixed smells of sweat and breaths, drifting looks, and a hint of redness in the corner of eyes, hands intertwined. And Ren’s lonely smile as he glanced back before leaving.
Near the end, Ren’s voice sounded like he was on the verge of tears, asking her desperately to stop.
"Just stop, Kestrel, please," he begged, wanting her to leave him alone.
The image of him in that moment was etched in Kestrel’s mind. He seemed shattered, unable to think clearly, giving in to his raw feelings. Even though he was normally as strong as metal, in that moment, he seemed to have no fight left in him.
Kestrel couldn’t help but think that Ren seemed really appealing in that state, giving off a kind of magnetic vibe that was almost too intense to resist.
She thought of him as a close friend, holding a special place in her heart, but those people had the nerve to dishonor him like that, trying to crush his spirit and self-respect using such vile methods, wanting him to give in, to experience extreme shame. That was why Kestrel couldn’t just stand by and let it happen.
If she had to, she would wipe everything out, no matter what it took.
But, the memory and its associated smells were overpowering, to the extent that even the soft scent of the moonflowers from her yard couldn’t mask it.
On Kestrel’s windowsill was a bouquet of appealing candies. With some hesitation, she got up, picked a few, enjoying the lingering sweet taste on her lips and teeth for quite a while.
In the silent attic late at night, the restless Kestrel picked up the stuffed orca toy from the shelf, playing with it over and over throughout the night, only managing to fall asleep when morning came.
