𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕖 {ʀᴀʏxᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ}

18:An Alliance?

"Huh?" 

I raised an eyebrow at her words.

What is she talking about?

Isn't her job to find the kids who knew about the secret and ship them out? 

What does she mean by 'team up?'

"Stay calm, let's hear her out." Norman smiled.

Sister Krone nodded. "Exactly! All I'm asking is for us to join forces in order to achieve our goals~!"

"Achieve our goals?"

"That's right." Sister Krone pointed out. "Your goal is to escape while my goal is to become mama of this house. My ultimate goal is to drag Isabella out of her position and snatch it."

I gulped. 

"Just so you know, what I'm telling you is the truth. In essence, my goal is also to..." she smirked. "escape from my position."

She bent down slightly. "Do you know how the rules of this system is organised?"

We shook our heads. 

"Girls who successfully complete a certain set of requirements and end up living until the age of 12 have 2 choices to choose from. 1:Be killed. 2:Work towards becoming a mama."

Gasping, Don asked. "What're the requirements?"

"Satisfactory grades and a recommendation from their very own mama."

"These only apply to girls. Though, I don't recommend taking that path because they'll modify your body to make it impossible for you to leave your designated areas. You however still have a chance to leave."

"What do you mean?"

"A microchip, of course~ We adults have a microchip implanted in our hearts. It'll send an electric shock, stopping our heart if we take even a step outside our areas. It'll also send a signal to notify the higher-ups when our hearts stop on its own for varying reasons."

So we can't kill the adults...

"Since I'm only allowed to live within these grounds, I want to make the best of it." Sister Krone smiled. "All I want is to live in a cozy, comfortable home, be a mama and take care of innocent, loving children who'll love me unconditionally even if it's all fake." Her eyes turned dark. "And that's why I must get rid of Isabella, erase her, sabotage her. Whatever it takes. And when you children successfully escape, Isabella will have to take responsibility! Which is why..."

"I'm not stopping you. Run. Run as far as you can. In the end, it all benefits ME!"

'Oh wow, that's quite...' I leaned back, eyeing her up and down.

Gilda stared in confusion. "You're not shipping us out? We're your targets!"

"Of course not! We share one common target, Isabella. Let's work together to bring her down."

I stared at Norman. 'Seems like he's realised too.'

It's not that Sister Krone won't ship us out. She CAN'T.

Her only job here is to look after us, not ship us out, not signal the higher-ups. 

Furthermore, she has no proof that we know.

Mama has the power to ship us out since the higher-ups trust her way more.

Thus, Sister Krone had to approach us. The targets.

She thinks we'll die if we escape. We won't survive in a world filled with demons.

She's planning on eliminating us to eliminate Isabella just to achieve the goal of becoming mama.

But yet, if she didn't want to ship us out, she would've just stayed silent. Yet, she approached us. Why?

She's useful. We can use her to the maximum effect. In the end, we're the ones using you.

Sister Krone put out both her hands for Norman and I. "Come on, let's form an alliance~!"

I smiled. "Su-"

"Wait."

Emma called out. "I understand Norman's choice but..."

Her gaze darkened as she stepped forward. "Where's the proof you won't betray us?"

Sister Krone chuckled. "Seems like you haven't lear-"

"Just tell us!" Emma groaned.

'It's scary seeing Emma all mad. Remind me never to piss her off.'

Sister Krone smirked. "It's Ray."

"If he mentions our interaction to mama. I'll be crushed. But, if I reveal Ray's true intentions. You'll all be crushed. Hence, both sides are at a stalemate. Is that not enough proof?"

Emma sighed. "Fine."

"Its a deal then. After all, it was thanks to you two who made a ruckus that day that I managed to specify the targets." 

Don and Gilda's eyes widened.

I grumbled but before I could say anything. She skipped away. "See you later kids~!"

I sighed, turning to the group. "Don't let what she said get to you."

Norman nodded. "Y/N's right, I'm glad this happened. We won't need to distract Sister Krone anymore for our investigation! Now all we need to do is to make sure Ray is keeping mama preoccupied during the investigation."

Emma gritted her teeth. "She was one of us! How could she think of raising kids only for them to be killed in the end?!"

Norman sighed. "She's likely to ship us out in the end. She has no proof, power or credibility. But the moment she gets her hands on any of these three, she's most likely going to betray us."

I smiled. "But the situation is favourable for our side."

Turning to the spot, I saw Sister Krone on her way.

"As long as we prevent her from getting one of the three, we're basically winning. She'll have no choice but to let us go. Even if it's not genuine." I smirked. "Let's just go on with the 'alliance' for the moment."

"Norman? Emma?" I called out.

They turned to me. "What's up?"

I smiled.

"Can you two do me a favour?"

-------

Isabella closed her book, smiling.

"It's about time, don't you think?"

TUESDAY, 2ND NOVEMBER, 6 DAYS BEFORE ESCAPE