C195: Rosen's Secret (3)
Sedina's eyes quickly turned into s at my shocking confession and her mouth also became an inverted triangle.
It must have been quite a shock.
I fully understand. If the boss at work, whom you sincerely believe in and follow, suddenly says "Actually, I am not your boss, but I am an industrial spy," everyone will do that.
Thinking rationally, it was right to keep hiding this fact.
After spending more time with Sedina and knowing that she wouldn't betray me I would've told her the truth. However, as we talked a little while ago, I realized one thing.
There is an irreparable crack in Sedina's infinite trust in the Black Dawn Society and the moment I realized that, I decided to move the plan forward.
'Now that Zero Order has suddenly e to Theon, I can't just move so easily.'
This gamble was made by judging the moment but it was a successful gamble.
"What do you mean? Sir, you're joking too much."
"I'm not kidding. I'm not the First Order you know."
Sedina tried to turn a blind eye to reality, but she couldn't, perhaps because of my hand holding her shoulder.
"I'm not John Doe, nor a member of the Black Dawn Society. My status that you've trusted so far is nothing more than a fake."
Sedina's face turned pale when she realized the reality.
"Well, then……Did you lie to me until now?"
"I didn't mean it."
She moved roughly, shook my hand, and soon tried to run away from the assistant office.
I watched the scene in silence without following her.
"Sigh."
Sedina put her hand on the doorknob but she didn't go outside even though she knew that I was a fake and could run away.
"Sedina."
"How e…!"
Sedina shouted loudly unlike her usual self.
If I hadn't used sound-blocking magic in advance, people would have been able to hear it in the hallway even if the soundproofing was good.
"How e you've been fooling me so far? Then, until now, for whom the hell have I been……!"
"Sedina, you haven't answered my question yet."
"What question!"
Sedina turned towards me with tears in her eyes.
Who wouldn't be sad if the person they respected and believed in so much was a fake? Even a country would tremble at the betrayal of a high rank person.
To be honest, it would be a lie if I said I didn't feel sorry. It might have been better to stay in this false relationship but I made a choice.
I choose the brutal truth over the good lies.
"Sedina, is it me in front of you who you really want to follow? Or is it the First Order of the Black Dawn Society?"
"Of course……!"
Sedina, who said that, bit her lip.
"Of course…"
She couldn't answer.
Once carved, the cracks never return to their original state, rather they create a bigger rift.
"Then I'll ask you a question. Was your entire attitude when you served me so far false?"
"That's…"
"Sedina, you were definitely thinking I was a First Order a while ago. Nevertheless, you showed hesitation in front of the opportunity to turn your back on the Black Dawn Society."
Sedina shuddered at my criticism.
"You know what happens to those who betray the Black Dawn don't you?"
The day I first took office in Theon Sedina came to me and told me all the news.
"Yet you hesitated in a situation where you might be called a traitor."
"……."
"You know that, too. That your actions so far were not sincere loyalty to the organization."
Sedina could not answer that since I must have hit the nail on the head.
"That's why I also gave you the right answer and told you the truth. Do you still think I'm deceiving you?"
"What do you want from me?"
Sedina, who managed to regain her reason, asked.
Having told the truth like this, did she think I might make a new request to her?
"It's simple. All you have to do is give their information to me."
And if you receive something, you have to give something.
"If you do, I'll help you get revenge."
"……My revenge will be achieved by the Black Dawn Society."
"Will they really help you take revenge? If I'm helping you take revenge, why are you abandoning the ability to do so?"
Sedina knows the treatment she has received so far in the Black Dawn Society.
"Sedina, I appreciate your ability. I'm sure you've put a lot of effort into getting where you are even though no one acknowledged it."
"……!"
Sedina's eyes swayed at my words.
Her greatest desire wasn't revenge after all.
"So as someone who recognizes you, I will say."
She wanted to be recognized, that's why she tried so hard and came this far on her own.
"You worked hard."
At my words, Sedina couldn't hold back and shed tears.
She was trying to act mature and strong but in the end she was like the students I've taught.
* * *
Sedina's tears stopped after a while and Rudger held out a handkerchief to Sedina.
"As a teacher and an adult I will fulfill your goal. Will you join me?"
Sedina looked down at the handkerchief she received from Rudger and quickly wiped away her tears.
Her red eyes were straight and steady.
"……Yes."
Her little hand held Rudger's hand.
"I will follow you."
"Good. This adds another secret between us."
"……What should I do now?"
"Act as usual. I'm nominally a First Order of the Black Dawn Society."
"Mr. Rudger, what happened to the real John Doe?"
"……What happened?"
It was this part that she was really curious about.
At least as far as Sedina knows First Order John Doe was supposed to e as a teacher at Theon under the name Rudger Chelici.
"It happened during the train attack."
"Yes."
Sedina needed to know this part, so Rudger explained the whole story to her.
When the Liberation Army attacked the train John Doe was in he fell in a canyon and Rudger used his identity.
"That's ridiculous……."
Sedina, who had her own fantasy about the First Order, stumbled as if her head was dizzy when she heard it.
"He was careless and unlucky. Of all things, the Liberation Army attacked the train."
The Liberation Army's suicide bombing threw John Doe in a canyon in the Arete Mountains.
He was practically dead.
"Then what is your goal, Mr. Rudger? Why are you a teacher at Theon?"
"My purpose is to get rid of the Black Dawn Society."
Although Rudger's actual purpose is to collect pieces of the Relic, he was going to introduce the other members and tell her later.
"What is your real identity?"
Sedina asked in a trembling voice.
"It's Rudger Chelici now."
"You won't tell me?"
"You'll find out over time."
Compared to other U.N. Owen executives, Rudger's relationship with Sedina wasn't so deep. Unlike them, who were united by their bond, Sedina and Rudger joined hands knowing each other's weaknesses however there was no trust between them.
"All right. Then I will act as usual for now."
Sedina answered straight away. After all, she joined hands with Rudger and got on the same boat so she had no choice but to do her best.
'He's amazing.'
Sedina used to look at Rudger with awe.
His ability, his insight and his charisma, there wasn't anything that wasn't right.
'So I thought he was the First Order.'
But in reality he wasn't. If so, it means that he has pretended to be a First Order without being caught by anyone.
'That doesn't make any sense.'
She knew he was great from the start but after seeing the truth, Rudger looked even greater. She even felt a kind of fear but,
'He recognized me.'
He recognized how hard it was for her and held out his hand to her.
It was thanks to Rudger's sincerity that Sedina was able to calm down her anger and despair despite the shock of betrayal.
'He must care about me a lot for telling me the truth without considering the damage.'
She was deeply touched by the warmth she had never felt in her life.
At this moment Sedina's goal has changed. Her original purpose was to follow the Black Dawn Society and support the First Order but not anymore.
She decided to respect and follow the man named Rudger Chelici from now on.
"Then I'll introduce myself again to redefine our relationship. My name is Rudger Chelici, a teacher at Theon."
"Sedina Rosen……No. My name is Sedina Plante."
"Is that your mother's last name?"
"Yes. No one knows……That it's my late mother's last name."
It was a token of her sincere confidence in Rudger.
* * *
Vierano, who left Rudger's teacher's office, recalled the conversation he had with him a while ago.
'Still, he said he would deliver my words, but the expected results probably won't e out.'
Vierano knows that Sedina is wary of him, and on the contrary, she has great faith in Rudger. Nevertheless, he couldn't leave her alone.
'Miss Sedina must be…… She must be her blood relative.'
Elven Forest.
In the kingdom of the elf that exists there, there are seven elders who serve the world's tree and one of them was the Dentis family to which Vierano belonged.
And another family that exists in Vierano's memory was the Plante family, the largest and thickest of the seven roots.
'It is said that she of the Plante family has been missing since the war of the races. I never thought I'd find her blood here.'
She was also under the name Rosen.
Maybe Rosen paid a fortune to buy her as a slave from the black market.
He was ashamed of the atrocities mitted by the Rosen family, but that was not the important thing.
The fact that he found the blood of the Plante family and that she was in Theon was important. However, Sedina did not trust her patriot Vierano. It's not that she hated him. However, she seemed to be reluctant.
'Since you've been a mixed blood, she was discriminated against and persecuted for a long time. Even if I'm an elf, it's natural for her to be wary.'
It was surprising that she followed Rudger sincerely.
As expected, he's an amazing person. I can't believe he's trusted by such a vigilant child.'
In addition, while talking to him in person, Vierano had no choice but to realize that Rudger really cared about Sedina but he doesn't know what kind of power Sedina has. He doesn't even know what her real name, Plante, means.
'Should I have told him?'
Vierano wondered if he should have tipped off Rudger. But when he learned that, he was worried that Rudger's attitude toward Sedina might change.
'I don't think a man like that would change his attitude easily.'
Because Sedina's hidden surname was Plante, things were different and if Rudger knew the truth even he, a man who seemed like an impregnable fortress would be shaken.
'Rather, if I say it now, Mr. Rudger might be surprised. It would be difficult to say too many things at once.'
He decided to bury the truth for now so that Rudger wouldn't be surprised. It won't be too late to talk after they get familiar with each other.
'Should I give him a special tea leaf grown in Elf's forest as a gift next time I visit?'
He thought it wouldn't be bad to have a tea party and drink tea together, although his taste was old enough to be liked by Rudger's grandfather.
Without knowing that, Vierano even had expectations that Rudger and Sedina would be happy.