jackal-among-snakes-16091326
chapter-521

Argrave felt that he had learned all he could about the time loop itself. The things that he had seen with [Minor Truesight], while lesser than what Anneliese might’ve picked out, still confirmed to him without a shadow of a doubt the truth of this endless repetition. And even more than that, he finally found a path to confirming some hidden things. If Sophia was the cause of the loop, and the Heralds were harnessing her power to kill all those that spoke of the prince, then she, herself, would most likely be untouched by it. In other words, she was his best source of information.

“I have to go now, Sophia.” Argrave took the lens and hid it away in his duster’s inside pocket. “We’ll see each other again. But before I go, can I ask you something?”

“Okay,” she nodded easily.

“You remember Mr. Butler? Bogart?” Argrave put his hands together. “I saved him. He’s the reason why everyone’s panicking, running about everywhere.”

Sophia went through uncountable emotions, and by the end of it all, only watched Argrave with her wide, uncertain red eyes.

“All that’s to say… your father doesn’t have power everywhere. I’m as much a king as he is, and I want to help you. But to do that, I have to understand things. Can you tell me about your brother?”

Sophia blinked her eyes and looked at the ground, then looked up suddenly in what looked like horrified revelation. “Then Sir Ghost… is King Charles? And you… you… came back from the dead to take revenge?”

Argrave smiled at her. “If that’s what you want, Sophia. But most of all… I want to help your brother, if I can—help him as I helped Bogart. And I think you’re the only one who can help me help him. Can you tell me his name? Can you tell me anything at all?”

Sophia played with her hands, and the hem of her red dress for a long time in quiet. Argrave waited patiently. “My big brother’s name is Griffin. He’s one hour older than me. He likes knights, swords, blueberries, and snow. He’s…” After she’d listed the mundane things, Argrave had little doubt that the more emotional memories were surfacing. What they did together, how they lived—their arguments, shared triumphs.

“He stopped daddy and the maids from punishing me when I made a mistake because I’m stupid,” she continued, suppressing her tears with practice a seven-year-old shouldn’t have. “And when daddy took us to the cellar, where those people were…” she started shivering badly. “Griffin did everything daddy wanted me to, because I couldn’t do it, because I’m a baby. Then, to punish me, daddy would leave me in the cells overnight, with all of the…” her eyes went distant, but Argrave got the image. Her father left her among the recently tortured—enduring their resentment, enduring the sight of their misery. To them, she was the daughter of the man that had tortured them. It would’ve been terrifying for anyone, let alone a small girl.

“My brother was going to be the best knight in the whole world, stronger than daddy, and he was going to make sure we never had to do anything we didn’t want to. But then the red knights came, a-a-and…” she trailed off as her shivering became more and more intense.

Argrave walked back over to Sophia and knelt down, tremendous guilt welling up from within for unearthing such memories. “You don’t have to say anymore, Sophia. I’m sorry,” he told her. “Your brother sounds like an amazing person. I’ll do my best to bring him back, just like Bogart. But you’ve got some things wrong.” He shook his head. “You’re not stupid at all. You’re one of the brightest girls I’ve met. And you’re no baby. You’re brave beyond imagining.”

Sophia started to cry, finally. She seemed to be very self-conscious about making any noise. Argrave tried to reach for a pillow on the couch to offer her, but she fell onto his arm. He hesitated for a moment, but he felt if anyone deserved it, Sophia did. He held the broken girl carefully, even as his mind danced with uncertainty.

There’s too many coincidences for me to idly dismiss things. The boundless power within Sophia. The looping of time, reconstructing herself and all else. And the very thing we came here for—Gerechtigkeit—has some connection to Sophia. I can’t very well ask the Heralds how they’re related to Gerechtigkeit, and I doubt Sophia knows anything. As for the Heralds… I don’t know how I’d find them, and given their power, I don’t know how I could compel them to speak. He considered the possibilities. Maybe Griffin became Gerechtigkeit. Maybe the Heralds made him—another endless trap to empower themselves, much like Sophia is. Argrave felt as though he was near the truth, yet not quite grasping it.

But there was another part of Argrave that sang a little louder than his caution. Even before all of this, the Alchemist had confirmed that Sophia and Gerechtigkeit were linked. Argrave saw the path that led to her freedom—all he’d need to do was get his companions on the other side in their proper place, and they could both be freed without a doubt. He wasn’t quite sure what that freedom entailed for this microcosm, but surely anything would be better than this. It was clear that Sophia hadn’t mastered—indeed, she wasn’t even aware—of her powers. If he got her out, they could spend their time answering the harder questions in safer lands, where people like Dario and Traugott couldn’t hope to reach.

Argrave couldn’t deny he’d become somewhat personally attached to the idea. Sophia, though born a princess, never truly had any adult to rely on. To be punished physically for the smallest infractions, to be exposed to the most heinous crimes of humanity, to have her mother killed by her own father… it was a wonder she hadn’t gone insane. He wanted to bring her to safety, to a better life, where they could parse through the truth of it all.

“S-sir Ghost said that you have to go!” Sophia realized with a start after she’d spent a good deal of time crying. “I’m sorry, Sir Ghost. I-I—" she began to stammer, but Argrave patted her head lightly.

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“You’ve done nothing wrong. Never have. I’ve got all the time in the world right now, and I’ll figure things out. So…” Argrave rose to his feet. “Don’t you worry about a thing. Let me take care of it.”