In another room, Althea and the others stayed to gather more information from the others. They spent hours there—on their wedding day, mind you—and they couldn't be kicked out by the others, despite promising they'd handle it for them.
"Did a lot of civilians and Vismont guards pass on the way here?"
Yao nodded. "There were at least 50 of us who managed to get ahold of Hubert and the others before they left."
The Alterrans naturally couldn't make an announcement of rescue, so everything was extremely low-key and was passed by word of mouth. They didn't even stay for long, no more than a day, and they scheduled meeting up somewhere outside the territory before heading back to Alterra.
It was relatively smooth as everyone just wanted to go to Alterra. Even when they didn't have the money anymore, they had heard Alterra had a bank system that could be used to take loans as long as they get a stable job or give collateral, so they didn't have to worry about their lifestyles for long.
It went smoothly for a while. Sadly, that bastard Cain somehow saw the signs and pried information from one of the rescues. In their escape, they were hunted down and captured, until less than half actually managed to meet up with Hubert and the others.
Even within the territory, arrows rained down on them. Fortunately, the rescuing guards were strong and protected all their lives. Of course, because they were outnumbered, things quickly got dangerous, especially after they passed the gates.
It was only thanks to the smoke and paralysis bombs in the guards' spaces that the rest of them managed to escape intact.
"I thought subsidiaries can't attack our residents?" Crow asked, frowning as to why Cain didn't at least get hurt when he caused so much pain.
"Only in territory lands," Oslo explained, "The power of the system is limited, and they could really only fully work in certain spaces—such as territories."
This was how most rules only applied within territory walls—the 'magic' of the system was limited, so it was focused on specific places to maximize its effects.
"That bastard Cain really needs to die…" Dog mumbled. "He has caused nothing but suffering."
"Well, at least you guys are okay," Sunny said with a sigh, though her eyes stayed on Crow who was clenching his fist tightly. Dog patted his shoulder while Sunny held his hand.
Yao sighed. "I feel very sorry for the lord. He didn't have a chance after the war was lost.
"When the enemies came and announced they would not hurt anyone who doesn't fight back, everyone just… stopped."
If any of the elders in Alterra were in danger, it was estimated at least half the territory would take arms. On the contrary, their lord…
Yao understood that a lot of them had indeed felt betrayed by the lord's inaction back then, but it didn't make it less heartbreaking.
He was such a good young soul who could only make do with what was thrown at him. Most men his age would've done a lot worse, but few people seemed to see that.
Matthew reminded Yao of the child he had lost to an illness back then, and although they hadn't known each other for a long time, the lord was still somewhat of a family to him.
He could only heave a deep breath, trying to breathe out the depression.
"Just like that, the lord lost the token and his life…"
Outside the door, Melissa covered her mouth and muffled her sobs. Her whole body shook as Eugene supported her.
She could imagine what had happened.
After all, she lived there and was privy to what had been happening. How could his people remain completely loyal to him when they found out all of his inactions, all of his shortcomings?
"Brother… my poor baby brother…"
And this was all her fault. If she wasn't there needing his protection, he wouldn't have had to betray his people's trust. How alone he must've felt before his death!
Eugene was teary seeing her . He patted her hand, trying his best to calm her down.
He didn't want her to come here and listen to all this, but she ended up becoming more stressed so he had no choice but to follow her wishes.
However, it was enough that she heard all this. He put his foot down and determined that she couldn't listen to anything else until her condition was more stable.
He carried her, skillfully placing her back on the bed despite having sticks for legs. He sat down to the side and gently wiped her tears. "My love, it's not good for your body to feel so depressed, your brother wouldn't want that.
"You know how he wants you to be happy."
Melissa gripped the fabric of the hospital bed. "I just… feel so sad for what he had to go through. He had such a bright future—"
"Let's not think of the 'what ifs', not now. It'll only make us sad."
She sniffed. "But… how could I not? He's my brother, the only family I had for most of my life…" She looked at Eugene, her reddened eyes filled with tears. "He is my only blood relative."
"No, you're not alone," he told her as he patted her arms.
"I'm with you," he said, pausing, and looked her in the eye. "...and our baby's with you."
Her eyes were wide as she looked at him, face filled with disbelief. When all she could see was Eugene's warm, smiling face, hope filled her heart and its broken shards slowly beat again.
"...what did you say?"
Eugene smiled, wiping her snot. "You're pregnant, Melissa."
The looming new tears immediately escaped Melissa's eyes. Those were words she didn't think she would ever hear when she found out how destroyed her body was.
In fact, she still couldn't believe it. The emotions of her brothers loss, she thought, could've messed with her mind and hearing.
"My love," she said, shaky. "C-Can you repeat that?"
He gave her a small, but very teary, smile. He held her soft face, before the threatening tears really fell off his cheeks.
"We're going to have a child."