Blades of Despair

-Chapter Twenty-

The King, The Thief and The Traitor

With a shaky breath, Edward concluded the story of his country. I had not realised it, but at some point, I had begun to cry as he relived the memories of his time in Leonis, of the struggles he had faced simply to be allowed to fall in love with Penelope. I could not fathom how impossibly difficult it had been for Edward to keep to himself all those emotions, all that doubt and uncertainty on the fates of those who he cared about so deeply, and I almost found myself sympathising with Edward for what he had done. But even after all that hardship, Edward had still murdered and innocent girl, and I did not know that I could find within myself the justification of Edward's actions. Around the room, everyone else wore similar expressions of astonishment.

"Good grief, that story was so boring!" screeched Monomenon dramatically, breaking the tense atmosphere with his absurd comment.

"Oh, shut up," demanded Iowa, whose tear-streaked face had become red.

"Edward, you really went through all that before coming here?" Miyagawa asked him in disbelief. The monarch nodded.

"Yes, I did. In fact, I left Leonis just a few weeks ago." I could not believe my ears. To think, I thought, that such a war was going on in Leonis, and the outside world has no idea. Unexpectedly, there was a cough, and I looked over at Morihei, who looked unsure about whether or not she should be opening her mouth to say something.

"If I may raise an objection," she said, raising her hand, "I'm a little confused by the story you've just told, Edward."

"Confused?" asked Edward.

"Come on, Morihei, is this really the time?" Saza asked. Morihei bristled.

"Have you all already forgotten why we're even this situation? Edward murdered Uehara. While I have no doubt that the story he just told is genuine fact, and it is a horrible story, I think we can reserve the right to question him."

"But-"

"It's fine, Saza," said Edward with a wave of his hand, "I cannot afford to have regrets now. I am about to die, after all."

"How are you so calm about that?" responded Tokunaga, but Edward ignored the question with a sad smile. He signalled for Morihei to ask her question.

"When we came to Seiko Academy, you told us that it was to be a regular student before becoming king. Now, I understand that it was because you were really in hiding from your father – why did you try to escape? If you were supposed to wait before returning to Leonis, for what sake did you murder Uehara?"

"When it was announced that we were to participate in a game that required us to murder each other, the notion that I had come here to live a normal life was soon gone from my mind. Then, Monoworth gave us those motivational videos," Edward replied simply, his gaze fixated downwards. "What I saw... was my worst nightmare. My video showed Penelope, but she had met the same fate that I imagine everyone else's loved ones had met in their videos. She was on fire, screaming my name in pain as she writhed there, unable to put out the flames. The video broke me, and I knew that I had to escape to verify whether what I had witnessed was real. I could not spend another moment in this hellhole while my Penelope, Malcolm and my kingdom could be destroyed. I had to weigh the lives of the remaining students in this academy against the security of my country. If the mastermind behind this game has managed to get a hold of Penelope and Malcolm, then I told myself that I had to return to Leonis, whatever the cost."

"So, you murdered Uehara to escape and save your country," surmised Morino, "that must have been... hard for you." I was surprised that Morino was showing empathy towards the culprit, but Edward had had a point. Why should our lives be held in any higher regard to the citizens of his country? Obviously, I didn't want to die, but I didn't believe my life had any more meaning or significance than the ensured safety of the entirety of Leonis, both Ebony and Ivory.