The Prince and His Servant

Chapter 26

"Ms. Hanji Zoe, you are under arrest for harboring a criminal."

I stood in the manor's main lobby, surrounded by burly men. They were tall, buff, and intimidating, but I stood my ground.

Only moments ago had I been "escorted" to the manor for some important reason. They had ushered me through the gates hurriedly, and from the looks on people's faces, I knew I was in some deep. Why had only recently occurred to me, and it seemed obvious once I had it in mind. Obviously, they assumed that I had Levi in my care. This part was true, but their assumption that he was a criminal was incorrect.

None of them had thought of the possibilities, recalled key information, and so they ran around as if they were beheaded roosters. They were scrambling for information wherever they could find it. If only they would look to the past and realize what's really happening...

"You don't understand! Do you not remember ba-"

"Silence!"

The blonde cut me off. His hair was short, his eyes menacing. If it weren't for my recognition of him, however, I would be trembling in my boots. It was still hard to believe he landed a job here in the manor.

"Mike, please, listen! I know h-"

"I said, silence! I didn't ask you to keep blabbing on, you vile wench!"

I looked down and sighed. It was hard to handle such insults from him. Any other man, and I would have been fine, but to hear it from him was heart wrenching. I couldn't help but think that now would be a good time for the blue-eyed child to come in and save the day.

Although... he was also convicting Levi of these murders last time I saw him... damn, I wish he would change his mind... I know he's my only chance now.

Finally, after I had kept my mouth shut, they proceeded to speak, explaining what I already knew.

"Now... us here in the manorial guard know for a fact that Sir Ackerman is the most likely individuals to commit these heinous acts. His mysterious personality has been hiding things from us all along. But with his close relations to the prince, it couldn't be helped that His Highness would be intrigued.

"Soon, he learned too much, and he ran from the manor to lure away the overemotional prince. We can be sure of this because he disappeared from the manor after sustaining life-threatening injuries. A weakened prince is just what he was after. With the prince in captivity, he believed he was free to commit any act he wanted, so he unleashed his powers and murdered innocent villagers.

"You are the previous guardian to this man, this beast, and so you must be locked away from the innocent. Otherwise, you could potentially aid the man in what he wishes. Your close bonds to him would serve you well in this scenario, would it not?"

The man was right. He knew well my relationship to Levi, and right now, I wished he didn't. He was there when his mother died, and he was there to watch him get harassed by Reiner and Bertholdt. He was there when I decided I would take him in and nurture him as his caretaker. He was there when the young prince visited in his earlier years, offering the small ravenette friendship and a place in his castle... He was there for it all.

Of course, he had to be. He was my ex-husband, after all.

I'd regretted my decision to marry him from the start. What sent me over the edge was his dislike towards Levi. He had been the runt, the druggie's kids, and I couldn't stand to let him suffer. Mike couldn't stand the fact that I took pity to him, and so I divorced him. I soon heard he had married a woman in the manor, landing him this job, but she died a few years later of an illness.