ROSES HAVE THORNS

With his arms spread long across the top edges of the couch and his legs crossed, Kurt leaned back like a king lounging on a throne.

"–I wish that we could lose this crowd...♫"

*Sob* "P-Please.... *sob* my leg hurts..."

"Maybe, it’s better this way♫"

"It’s not better, Mr. One-eyed Man. *Sob*"

"We’d hurt each other with the things we want to say♫"

"Please... I’m the one who’s hurting..."

"We could have been so good–"

"Would you mind... shuttin’ yer trap!? Yer singin’ is giving me a headache, on top of me bleedin’ to death...! *Sob*"

Kurt paused his song, casting an amused glance sideways. "Bleeding to death? Please. Looking at you, Emy intentionally missed your main artery. You’ll live long enough to stand before the king, so stop whining."

Suddenly, Kurt’s ears twitched.

Through the ambient silence of the warehouse, the faint sound of multiple boots crunching against the wet cobblestones outside drifted through the walls.

"Get ready, Dole," Kurt murmured as he uncrossed his legs. "Looks like your precious cultist friends are right on time. It’s time to dance."

BOOM!

Before Dole could even gulp, the large sliding doors of the warehouse were violently blown off their hinges. Wood splinters rained down into the dark room. Kurt smoothly pushed himself off the couch, stepping out into the open center floor with a wide-open greeting posture.

"Hello, friends! That’s quite the dramatic entrance! You know, the door was actually unlocked–"

"PREFECTS! EVERYONE ON THE GROUND! DON’T MOVE!"

A blinding flash of light magic shined through the shattered entrance, illuminating the gloomy warehouse like the midday sun.

Dozens of armored figures poured through the doorway in a swift breaching line. Through the blinding glare, the Prefect Captain swung his glowing staff forward, his eyes locking onto the scene in the center of the room: an intimidating, one-eyed man casually standing with his arms wide open and a bright smile, towering over a bleeding, terrified civilian on the couch.

Within a split second, a full squad of fifteen Prefects formed a semi-circular perimeter, pointing their enchanted crossbows and magic staves straight at Kurt’s chest.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS! HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM! WE HAVE THIS WAREHOUSE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED! YOU’RE UNDER ARREST, CULTIST!"

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?" Kurt slowly raised his hands to shoulder height. "You guys aren’t the Cultists. God, you being here practically ruined my trap..."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" the captain barked, taking a step forward with his sword drawn. "STEP AWAY FROM THE CIVILIAN IMMEDIATELY!"

"Civilian?! He’s not a civilian! He’s an accomplice to child trafficking and murder–"

"Y-YES! ARREST HIM!" Dole suddenly shrieked at the top of his lungs, thrashing on the couch and pointing a frantic, trembling finger at Kurt.

"HE’S A CULTIST, I TELL YA! HE HAS TWO MORE ACCOMPLICES WITH HIM! ONE’S HIDING UP IN THE RAFTERS AND ANOTHER ONE IS HIDING INSIDE THE STORAGE ROOM WITH THE LITTLE GIRL THEY KIDNAPPED!"

The captain’s eyes narrowed. "Squad Two! Search the rafters! Squad Three, clear that storage room–"

"There is no need for such excessive shouting," a deep, calm voice echoed from directly above them.

A shadow detached itself from the darkness of the ceiling. With his hands in his pockets, Reuben casually leapt down through the air and landed next to the Prefect Captain.

The entire squad gasped in panic at the unknown figure.

"REAR GUARD! TARGET BEHIND US! DON’T MOVE, CULT–"

The words died in the prefect’s throat.

The bright light magic reflected off the crest on Reuben’s chest, the crimson hilt at his hip, and the chilling aura of high nobility radiating from his stoic face.

Simultaneously, the creaking door of the side storage room swung open.

Emelie stepped calmly out into the light, holding the small hand of Rupee. The little girl was practically glued to her side, holding her pink backpack tightly against her chest.

"Lower your weapons, boys. You’re embarrassing yourselves."

All prefects present stood frozen with their jaws hanging open as they slowly realised they had just pointed their weapons at Duke Reuben Valentine and Eldoria’s rising star, Emelie Herst.

The captain’s face turned from aggressive red to a sickly, ghostly pale. He almost tripped over his own steel boots as he scrambled backward, snapping into the most rigid and sweat-drenched formal salute of his career.

"M-MY LORD! MS. HERST! WE... WE HAD NO IDEA–!"

Reuben tilted his head slightly, his gaze locked onto the hyperventilating officer. "What exactly are you doing here, Prefect? You have just compromised our sting operation."

"I... I deeply apologise, Lord Valentine! We... We received an urgent report about an hour ago! A priest from the church brought us a letter regarding the zealots!"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, stepping closer. "Oh really? And? What did the letter say?"

"Th-The letter was delivered to the church by an anonymous messenger," the captain explained, desperately trying hard not to look Reuben in the eye.

"It stated that a group of people from these slums had successfully kidnapped a six-year-old girl with blonde hair and blue eyes and were holding her in this exact canal warehouse for a Brotherhood exchange!

"S-Since the Saintess recently cleansed all churches in Eldoria, there are virtually no Cultists left amongst them. T-The priest – who was mistaken for a zealot by the slum dweller – was so terrified of being implicated that he immediately ran the letter straight to the station!

"At the exact same time, reports of a massive explosion in the slums reached our desk, so we mobilised every available squad to storm this location!"

Kurt let out a drawling sigh, running a hand over his face. "So... There are no zealots coming here at all. The people who our friend here was waiting for were a part of Tobias’ fake priest org. Great. And here I thought we’d get a new lead..."

"More prefects are currently securing the slums." The captain quickly added. "The entire district is locked down."

Realising the grand trap was a bust, Kurt walked over to the couch, grabbed the weeping Dole by his collar, and unceremoniously shoved him forward into the arms of two prefects.

"Here. Take him."

One of the younger prefects holding Dole squinted at Kurt’s face and single blue eye. His eyes went wide.

"Wait... Captain! Isn’t he... isn’t he Diana Vallentine’s lover. Remember yesterday!? The one from the arena incident? He’s also been making a lot of waves recently; including retrieving the body of the previous Saintess!"

Reuben’s stoic face went slightly wide eyed at that piece of news he hadn’t heard of.

The captain stared at Kurt as the memory finally jogged in his mind. "Ah! Yes, yes, I remember now. You’re... you’re Kurt Rossana! Commander Dominik’s friend!"

"Yes. That’s me."

"Forgive us! We had no idea you were conducting an operation with the duke and Ms. Herst!"

"It’s fine," Kurt waved his hand dismissively. "You guys were just doing your jobs. But since you’re here, you might as well take this trash’s confession. Go ahead, Dole. Tell the nice Captain what you and your dead friend were bragging about a few minutes ago."

Dole, realizing that no cult brotherhood was about to rescue him anytime soon, broke down into hysterical tears.

"I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!" Dole sobbed, clutching his wounded leg as the guards held him up.

"It was Tobias! Before he died, he put out a massive bounty to all the people in the slums! He promised us fortune if we brought him young children with blonde hair and blue eyes! We... we saw Rupee walking near her old house yesterday..."

Dole hung his head in utter shame, avoiding Rupee’s tear-filled gaze.

"We helped the Brotherhood ambush her house weeks ago... we were the ones who helped them murder her parents... and when we saw her back in the neighborhood, we grabbed her to collect the bounty..."

The Prefect Captain’s face hardened into a scowl of pure disgust. "Disgusting trash."

He turned to Reuben, Emelie, and Kurt. "I give you my absolute word, My Lord. This man and every surviving person in these slums will face immediate trial for treason, murder, and child trafficking. After doing a full sweep, the zealots branch in these slums will be officially dismantled as of today."

"Hm. See that it is done thoroughly," Reuben commanded smoothly.

"Understood! Men! Haul him away! Get a medic to plug that wound so he doesn’t bleed out before the magistrate sees him!"

The prefects quickly dragged the guilt-ridden Dole out of the warehouse, clearing the room of armored soldiers within moments.

Once the heavy boots faded into the distance, a small pair of arms suddenly wrapped tightly around Kurt’s waist.

Looking down, Rupee buried her wet face against his hip, holding onto him as if he were the only solid thing left in the world.

Kurt’s expression softened. He dropped to one knee on the dirty floor, reached out, and gently scooped the small girl up into his arms, pulling her close against his chest.

Rupee wrapped her small arms tightly around his neck, sniffing softly against his shoulder. "Uncle Kurt... is it true? Is Mom and Dad really gone? W-What about the adventure...?"

"I... I’m sorry, Rupee... I should’ve told you from the start..."

Rupee cried quietly into his shirt, but she didn’t pull away. She squeezed him tighter.

Emelie stepped up beside them, placing a comforting hand on Kurt’s shoulder. Reuben stood near the ruined doorway, his stoic gaze softening ever so slightly as he watched the quiet moment unfold.

"Come on." Kurt said softly. "Let’s get you back to the orphanage. Tristan is waiting for you, and he’s been worried sick."

Rupee rubbed her swollen blue eyes with her tiny fists, and gave a small, hesitant nod. "Okay..."

Safe in Kurt’s strong arms, flanked by Emelie and Reuben, the group stepped out of the gloomy warehouse and into the late afternoon sun.

It was time to return to the orphanage – where two heartbroken siblings could finally reconcile, heal, and face the difficult truth together.

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