Inverse System

The 4 entered one of the rooms in the inn. It was a regular-looking room, fairly small with a bed and a coat rack. There were also 2 chairs in the corner of the room, one of which Rein sat on, and the other, Zane. Chloe and Emria sat on the medium-sized bed in the middle of the room, readying themselves to attentively listen.

"So, was there a reason you wanted Emria and Chloe to come too?" Rein brought up before they began any discussion. "If you wanted to talk to me privately, this isn't very effective," he jokingly laughed.

"The truth is, I wanted both of them to hear what I have to say," Zane informed, to which Rein raised an eyebrow.

"Both of them? But you only just met Emria…" Rein uttered as Zane looked down in unease, followed by the same motion from Emria, who was stiffly sat straight next to Chloe.

"First, I want to formally apologize for what happened 6 years ago," Zane lowered his head even further than it was before. "If I understand correctly, it was actually the Orthlys soldiers who attacked the town and framed Econica. As the future ruler of the land you were born in, I apologize to you and the people of Lifah," he sincerely poured his heart out, trembling as he awaited a response from Rein.

"Back then, I was the one who wasn't thinking straight, and had I taken the time to explain the situation, a lot of things could've been avoided…" Rein said, to which Zane shook his head.

"No. Artus has been in partnership with the attackers all along. He was the one who manipulated me into giving a statement, and also the one who was feeding me lies. Anything you'd have told me back then, I wouldn't have believed it," Zane stated, to which Rein wore a wrinkled expression, but let out a sigh of serenity, calming himself down as his face remolded into a tranquil state.

"Ok then. What next?" Rein said.

"..." Zane looked at him with a gaze of apologeticness, then also sighed. "Next is—"

"Wait," Emria interrupted, making Zane go silent, along with Rein, their attention turning to her. "Let me tell them," Emria insisted, to which Zane furrowed his eyebrows in seriousness, then nodded sternly. 

"Tell them? Is it something I need to know too?" Chloe brought up, to which Emria nodded.

"Yes. Both of you need to hear this," she assured. "Hey, Rein. You remember my mother, right?" She asked.

"Of course. Granny Yaku was always friendly to me and treated everyone with kindness. I could never forget her," Rein remarked.

"Yes, my mother really was amazing. So do you think she would ever have an affair with a man other than the one she loved?" Emria unexpectedly asked, startling Rein and Chloe as the question caught them off guard.

"Huh? But, I don't even know your father… And you said that granny Yaku never talked about it either," Rein voiced, a confused hint in his voice as Chloe also sat there, bewildered.

"... You remember how my mother looked when she came to the village, right?"

"Yeah? A green-haired woman suddenly appeared from the northeast part of the continent. She looked tired and was pregnant. Leona took her to the village and we helped her out, and eventually, she gave birth to you, Emria," Rein recalled, to which Emria nodded, and Chloe's face suddenly dawned to a realization.

"W-wait… That story…" Chloe uttered in disbelief, Zane looking away in guilt.

"That's right, Chloe. It sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Emria's usually joyful voice was now completely drowned out by a serious one.

"The reason my mother was brought over from Draconica… Was because the previous queen had an affair with a royal guard…" Chloe began to recollect her thoughts, and as she spoke, Rein began making the connections. "Brother, that was your mother… and considering the timing, was she also your mother?" Chloe asked Emria, as the question was posed, the air in the room dampened as Rein broke out into a cold sweat.

Emria nodded with her eyes closed in sincerity, Zane sitting in his seat quietly.

"Yes. I'm the illegitimate child of the queen from 10 years ago. My mother was also Prince Zane's mother, making him my older brother," she revealed, widening Rein's eyes in shock, though he had already made the connection before she had said it.

The gaped mouths and shocked expressions lingered in the room for an elongated period, the silence weighing down on Emria and Zane, making them grow nervous. After Rein had collected his thoughts, he closed his mouth a released yet another breath of relief.

"I see. That is a pretty important revelation," Rein said out loud, to which Emria and Zane propped their heads to him in attentiveness.

"You're not mad?" Emria asked, making Rein break out into laughter.

"Why would I be mad?" He asked while chuckling, his humor making Chloe also lighten up, then scoff lightly.

"Yeah, this means that we're sisters! Very distantly, but still!" Chloe hugged her, to which Emria happily giggled.

"We don't actually share a single drop of blood, but okay!" Emria happily agreed to her statement as Zane scoffed, then noticed Rein looking at him, smiling, slightly confusing him.

"Well, anyways, if that's the case, there's a clear discrepancy in these series of events," Rein broke eye contact with Zane, then spoke.

"Yeah. Some things don't add up," Chloe resumed a serious expression as she and Emria broke away from their hug.

"Firstly, the reason your anger was accented that day, Zane. It was because you saw your mother among the dead bodies, is that correct?" Rein posed, to which Zane affirmed.

"I see.. Well, I can't blame you," Rein remarked as he put his fingers on his chin in a thinking position. "Secondly, the story the king gave to banish the royal guard along with the queen, that also seems to be a complete lie…"