Sorry for the long delay! This chapter was planned after I'm done with my break, except that I still had revision to be done then. After that hectic revision moment, I can finally work on this chapter! It might contain some typos and stuff since I'm writing it until past midnight, so yeah...

Anyways, enjoy!

Wishes, Dreams, and Memories

Chapter 16 – Reason of Attack

"The runes are… corrupted?" Lest asked as he stood in front of Arthur, who was sitting on his desk.

"Correct," Arthur answered with a nod before his eyes went back to the pages of an old book on his desk, "I haven't got the details of the cause, but it seems like the corruption had just started spreading a few days ago."

"I see…" Lest watched as the blond merchant went through the worn pages of the book, "Is that book related to this corrupted runes problem?"

"It is most likely," Arthur took out a piece of paper with some writings from his drawer and put it on top of the book, "Sadly, this book isn't fully translated yet. The capital is currently trying to look into it, but…"

"But…?"

"It is almost like my father is hiding something," Arthur's eyes never left the book and the paper as he continued, "I assume that it has something to do with the cause of the corruption itself, though I have no proof for that sort of claim."

"Excuse me," Arthur and Lest turned to the door, revealing the dragon knight as she entered the room, "The condition in town after the festival today wasn't as good as it should be."

"Wait, did something else happen here today?" Lest asked worriedly as he looked at Forte standing beside him.

"Yes, although it wasn't as bad as the previous incident," Forte replied in disappointment, "I managed to capture a couple of Sechs soldiers hanging around suspiciously and bothering a few tourists around the plaza. The one who attacked Porcoline has woken up, but he doesn't remember why he attacked him in the first place."

"I will have the two soldiers sent to the capital for questioning for now," The blond merchant closed the book and looked up at the two, "From what I've known, the people having corrupted runes still have their memories of what they do. If we can find out who told them to come here, we might be able to resolve this situation."

"But where does this corruption come from?" Forte asked, getting Arthur's attention, "Kiel never knew about this until he read the book you gave him."

"So this never happened here before?" Lest asked the two.

Arthur shook his head, "No, this is the first time for us. It might not be the first one for Selphia because there seems to be records about corrupted runes, though. The records for these cases are within the capital's archives, but all of them are quite old."

"I think we should ask that soldier for details, knowing that he's awake now…" Lest suggested and Arthur gave him a look before nodding.

"Very well. I will be hearing from you soon, Lest," Lest left the office, leaving the merchant and the dragon knight in the room.

"Arthur," Forte called out to the blond merchant, who turned to her in response, "What was the cause of the first occurrence of the corrupted runes?"

"I haven't translated that part, unfortunately," Arthur reopened the book and put his finger on the piece of paper inside the book, "If I put the translated parts of the book together, the reason for the corrupted runes is most likely because of a person's selfish desire."

"Selfish desire…"

The female Earthmate was standing by the clinic's bed while watching the recovering soldier gulping down the glass of water he was holding. He put the glass down on the table beside his bed before turning to the Earthmate with a satisfied look.

"Boy, that plain water was just so good when you're so thirsty!" The soldier leaned back on the pillow behind him, "So, you said that your name was Frey, young lady?"

Frey gave him a nod in response, "Yeah, are you feeling any better, Sir?"

"Other than the damage that knight caused, I feel as fine as always," The knight replied, "And call me Kane. You might remember me as Captain Kane of Sechs Empire."

"Captain… Kane…?" Frey paused for a moment to think before her lips curled into a frown, "Oh… that Captain Kane…"

Kane let out a nervous laugh, "Sorry if it brings up bad memories of that day. I thought that it's okay to reveal myself now that we're not invading Norad or any other countries."

"No, it's fine," Frey gave him a sad smile, "I don't really understand what happened that day anyway."

"Your eyes are telling otherwise," Kane looked at Frey with a serious look, but soon softened as he left out a sigh, "But I think you're not going to say anything about it, correct?" Her silence was the answer he had expected to get, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry on your private matters."

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know at first, so it's understandable if you asked," Frey replied with a shrug, "But it's a good thing that my brother Lest wasn't there to get caught up in it."

"Get caught up in what?"

Frey turned around in surprise, seeing Lest as he approached from behind the white curtain, "O-Oh, it's you, Lest."

Lest looked at Frey for a moment before turning towards Kane, "If that's okay, can I ask you some questions?"

"Be my guest," Kane fixed his position on his bed, "You're Lest, right? Call me Kane, okay?"

Lest nodded in response, "Kane, do you remember why you came here, to Selphia?"

"Well, now that's the thing," Kane replied, "I do remember being told to come here by the division head, but I don't know why. All I know is that's the order from the higher ups, so I don't have the right to ask for a reason. That's the rule."

"So… you're not allowed to ask why even if you're told to walk straight to a monster's nest?" Frey asked, shockingly getting a nod from Kane.

"As insane as it is, that's true," Kane replied with a shrug, "It's still the same extreme rules even after Lord Ethelberd's passing," Kane let out a sigh as he dropped his arms to his bed, "Although things should have changed now, assuming certain things work out well."

"Does that have to do with the person you wanted to help?" Frey turned to Lest in confusion as he had suddenly realized something.

Kane looked at Lest for a moment and smiled, "So that dragon knight told you about it," Kane let out a nod, "Yes, you are correct. I'm talking about the current emperor, Lord Ethelberd's son."

The twins looked at the injured soldier in shock before they both turned to look at each other. Kane looked at the twins suspiciously, noticing the surprised looks on their faces.

"There's no need to surprised," Kane broke the silence in the room, "Lord Ethelberd has a wife, a legitimate son, and possibly a few illegitimate children. He has a few mistresses, with one of them being rumored to be an Earthmate."

'She might be our mother…' Frey thought as she looked at Kane, "Do you know more about her? About that Earthmate?"

Kane gave her a shrug, "I don't really know about her, but I heard one of the maids talking that she might be related to this place."

"I… see…" Lest noticed as Frey turned to him before slightly pushing him behind her, "Maybe it's best that we'll leave you to get some more rest. Please get well soon."

"Uh… okay…" Kane replied in confusion as he saw the twins leaving the clinic. The soldier leaned back on the bed as he realized the Earthmates' reactions, 'That was a lie, wasn't it? Sechs soldiers must never reveal their names to their enemies no matter what, so you shouldn't have known my name, Earthmate Frey.'

Kane let out a sigh as he closed his eyes, imagining a figure in his head, 'So the rumors back then were true… Lord Ethelberd had two Earthmate children who ran away with Lady Sara, and hidden away from public by Norad…' Kane opened his eyes to look at the clinic's ceiling as he thought of the image of a woman with green hair, 'They were your children, weren't they, Lady Sara?'

Lest looked at Frey in a serious look as they both stood in front of the clinic. The male Earthmate knew that his twin was hiding something, but she didn't dare to say anything to him. The things they had found out from Kane were also making him feel doubtful whether the woman standing in front of him was truly his twin sister. Was he being lied to by a stranger who claimed herself to be a family of his? He had lost his memories, but seeing her didn't bring any of his past memories back. He was told everything about his childhood with her, but were those stories really part of his childhood?

"I'm sorry," A sudden apology coming from the female Earthmate surprised Lest, "There's something I promised our mother, but I can't say it right now," Frey didn't dare to look at least, "I know you have your doubts about me, so it's fine if you don't trust me."

Frey knew the whole truth, but she had to keep it from anyone else. She hoped that her twin brother never changed even with his memories gone so that he would forgive her when he knew the truth. She became more and more nervous as Lest kept silent, fearing that her brother would leave her again and called her a liar. Maybe it really was what she deserved in the end, especially after she left him behind many years ago for her mission as an Earthmate.

"I trust you," Lest's response was what Frey wanted, but it had confused her as well.

"B-But why?" Frey asked nervously, "I mean, you might be talking to a complete stranger who claimed to be the twin sister of a prince. I could be deceiving you and taking advantage of you for my own sake! I could-"

"Just because you could," Lest cut her off, "it doesn't mean you will do it," Lest gave her a smile, "You don't look like someone who would do such a thing."

Her lips slowly curled into a smile, "Lest…"

"I still my doubts, but I have the feeling that you're doing this for a good cause," Lest walked past his sister as he raised his hand, "I have some work to do, so I guess I'll see you again this evening!"

Frey let out a nod before waving him goodbye, "Good luck with your work, dear brother!"

Frey stood still until she saw that Lest was out of her sight before letting out a relieved sigh. Her brother hadn't changed at all, not even after losing his memories. He was still the same old Lest, the only blood relative she had ever since they had lost their mother right in front of them. Even with his memories gone, Frey knew that Lest still subconsciously remembered the things she had told him as children.

-Flashback-

A ten-year old Lest was standing in a kitchen along with a much older woman, who was looking quite upset. Lest would glance at the woman every few seconds, but the woman's glare had scared him enough that he had started crying. The woman let out an annoyed sigh before turning towards an empty basket on the kitchen counter and left the room.

His twin came into the kitchen as the woman left, knowing that Lest had stolen the vegetables from the basket. She patted his back, comforting him as he cried on her shoulder. When he had stopped crying, Frey took the opportunity to ask for his reason of taking the vegetables.

"I… I didn't eat them…" Lest confessed in a whisper.

"If you didn't eat them, then where did you take them?" Frey asked calmly, "I saw you take those vegetables from the basket when the landlady wasn't looking."

Lest didn't give her an answer and turned to hide his face away. He was afraid that he would get another scolding if he told her where he took the vegetables. After all, he knew that he had taken the vegetables somewhere his sister might not like.

"I won't tell the landlady, I promise. Knowing you, I have the feeling that you're doing it for something good," Frey's words had slightly given him some courage to turn and look at her.

"I gave them to the wooly in your room… He looked hungry so I fed him some of our vegetables…" Lest lowered his head in guilt, "I'm sorry Frey, I know you don't like monsters…"

"The wooly…?" Frey thought for a moment before she suddenly realized something, "Oh, you mean Mr. Wool! Sorry, he was so cute that I wanted to keep him in my room. Maybe we can surprise the landlady on her birthday with him!"

Lest looked at Frey in surprise, "Wouldn't the landlady get mad? We aren't allowed to keep any kind of monsters."

"I was planning on releasing him, though," Frey let out a disappointed sigh, "But forget what I said before. Just because we can surprise her, it doesn't mean that we'll actually do it."

-End of Flashback-