Location: Team Four’s Starting Location
Time: 2:29 PM, February 14th 2108
The situation was starting to get out of hand, so I decided to act proactively. If I let things continue to develop the way they were I would have completely lost control eventually. In that case, it was best to just put all the cards on the table.
“Kill her.” I signed a simple message to Hana.
“Confusion. Who?”
Hana signed back, seemingly unaware of what I was suggesting. Or perhaps she was aware, just unwilling to accept that reality.
She only had herself to blame. She was the one who made this happen. She wouldn’t stop talking about Emelia. She had to go protect Emelia.
Well, once we finally got to her, I knew what had to be done.
I was losing my grip on Hana, and the reason why was clear. Emelia. Hana shouldn’t be able to have such a strong connection to anyone other than me. It must have been Vier’s influence. I suppose the first red flag was her insistence that he was her father, when in reality she is nothing more than a partial clone.
That would make that second red flag her labeling Alexis as her best friend.
But in both of those relationships she never crossed the line.
Why was Emelia different?
If I had to say, it would be because Vier and Alexis were capable of taking care of themselves, but it didn’t matter. If l let her around any longer Hana would continue to become even more independent. Her Highness made sure to warn me about this. Continuing to ignore the problem would only be disregarding the kindness Her Highness has shown to me.
That left only one option: to have Emelia killed before things got any worse. Her Highness viewed Emelia’s life as inconsequential, but that was one of the few things she was slightly mistaken on. Through no fault of her own, Emelia needed to die for Her Highness’s sake.
I had foolishly been hoping that one of those fools working for Eren would manage to kill her, along with Henry, for me, but that wasn’t happening. They were even more useless than I thought.
So I had to take matters into my own hands.
An expression that carries more weight for a deaf girl like me.
I signed my message to Hana again, making sure my hand movements were absolutely clear.
Would she actually listen to me? I thought she probably would, but even if she didn’t, that was something I needed to know. It would be best for me to see the lengths of her loyalty before things got too hectic.
[Hey, ah, what are you guys signing about? Something tells me you’re not here for my flag, not that I could defend it anyway.]
Emelia was talking, but I had no reason to even acknowledge the words scrolling across my glasses.
[Concern. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s like they say, you’re in the pot of lukewarm water.]
[Um, ok, yeah, definitely. I wasn’t really that concerned, but now I’m pretty worried.]
“Stop talking and kill her.”
“Confused. Why are you asking me to do this?”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re supposed to do what I say.”
“Disappointed. No. I’m supposed to protect and support you. Certain. You’re asking me to do something that’s not in your best interest.”
“That’s not for you to decide!” How dare that Number think she has any right to advise me? “Besides, are you really trying to say that everything you’ve done has been because of me?”
“Annoyed. No, but I’m more than my responsibilities. And you’re more than this. Lately you’ve been-.”
Hana’s hands stopped and she started talking.
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[Understanding. I get it now. It’s her. Rage. She’s using you to try and control me.]
My glasses started to short out and all of the bulbs in the nearby street lights exploded.
[I’m going to kill that vampire.]
That vampire? She couldn’t mean Her Highness. But who else?
This is bad. It couldn’t be worse. I knew Hana was getting out of control, and I was fully prepared for her to refuse to kill Emelia, but this was too much.
She wants to kill Her Highness?
Before I could fully formulate what to do next Hana turned to face someone I hadn’t noticed approaching.
[Why were you looking for us? You were eliminated from the game hours ago, and I won’t believe you got lost on your way back to the dorm.]
Hana immediately took a hostile stance toward our interloper; Jacob.
[I don’t think anyone’s been playing that game all day.]
[All the more reason for you to explain yourself. Just so you know, I’m not in a great mood. And I’m a little bit trigger happy by default, so I really don’t know how I’ll react right now.]
Jacob took a step back, but he managed to hold his ground better than most.
[The other Oldridge sent me here. She said I’d be able to find a good fight.]
[Well, love to break it to ya, but she was wrong.]
Olivia sent him here? For a fight? But who would he. . .
Wait.
Has Olivia actually been a genius this whole time?
No. That’s not possible. There’s no reality where Olivia is smarter than I am.
But she’s lucky. Luckier than I’ll ever be.
And her dumb luck will finally work out in my favor. She sent me the perfect tool without even realizing it.
I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Jacob. I sent a similar message to two others.
I stomped on the ground as hard as I could while pointing between Jacob and my phone. I looked like a foolish girl, but I got my message across. Jacob pulled out his own phone and read my message.
[Is this for real?]
[What did you send him?]
I nodded my head in the affirmative, ignoring Hana’s question.
[Seriously? If this isn’t legitimate I’ll take you down with me.]
[What is he talking about? What did you say to him?]
I sent Jacob another message, confirming the contents of the first one.
He started laughing after reading it.
[You’re a real piece of work. I’ve never cared about you enough to even dislike you, but I think I’m starting to come around. Alright, I’ll play ball. I don’t have any interest in the bait you set for me, but I’m definitely interested in the guard dog.]
[Bait? What did she ask you to do?]
Recognizing that I was just going to keep ignoring her, Hana moved on to questioning Jacob.
[You’re little master over there just gave me permission to avenge my father’s death.]
Emelia had been staying out of it, completely unaware that she was the cause of all of this, but she shivered with Jacob’s words.
Of course she would. No one ever brought it up to her face, but obviously we all knew who her family was. And we all knew Jacob’s father died stopping her parents.
As someone with a twisted father of her own I don’t actually believe Emelia should suffer for her parents’ misdeeds.
I’ll use that information for my benefit anyway.
[And you really think it’s worth the risk? You’re already nothing, but if you even entertain the idea of harming Emi Emi I’ll char your very existence from this world.]
[Amazing. I didn’t think it was possible, but even I can admit that I’m scared. Scared of what would happen if you turned that monstrous power on me. You’re definitely not human. I’ve never been this excited before. Exactly. This is what I wanted. A real fight. A real challenge to overcome. Devesh got me with a sneak attack, but once I realized what he was about it wasn’t even a fight. He went down before I could get any real experience.]
Emelia started moving even further back.
[Uh, hey, is someone going to explain to me what’s happening?]
Hana looked away, with a rare expression of guilt clouding her face.
[Yeah, everything is messed up. Karen is dead and some of us were spies. But most importantly for you, Oldridge is asking me to kill you because her Number won’t do it.]
[Is that true? All of it? Even about Karen?]
[I saw the body myself.]
[Then, hey, I think I might actually be in a bit of trouble without Karen backing me. So, Hana, I’m not selfless enough to tell you to not fight to protect me, so, make sure to protect me. I’ve shamelessly hung on this long, and I don’t plan on letting go any time soon.]
[That was never in doubt.]
[Perfect. That’s what I want. I don’t care how my failure of a father died, or who did it. But if I think you’re holding back I won’t hesitate to crush her. I’ve got full permission from your master over there.]
Hana looked back at me, but her face was calm. As the black electric pattern spread over her hands, she signed something to me.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. Even if you can’t understand it right now, I’ll continue to serve the real you.”
What was she going on about? It didn’t matter. Anyone who threatens Her Highness will meet the same fate.
And I’ve even managed to prove my worth without her. I managed to find a new tool willing to act on my behalf.
In no small part thanks to the unknowing intervention of Olivia. Perhaps I misjudged her purpose after all.
I suppose even I have things left to learn.