Chapter 162

Necrass stood up from her seat, a hint of pity on her face. "I thought her words were to protect you, but now it seems she really made an unimaginable decision."

"What do you mean? What do you mean by protecting me?"

The more Kurome listened, the more confused she became.

She felt that the woman in front of her was talking nonsense, but... she couldn't follow her reason and ignore it; instead, she wanted to keep listening.

"Why do you think I kept you here? Why do you think I untied you? Do you think I'm so bored that I would waste time talking to a prisoner?"

Kurome didn't think so, which is why she asked what it meant from the beginning.

"Let me tell you something first: Akame's departure from the Empire was at my behest."

Ignoring the sudden murderous intent that Kurome had unleashed, Necrass continued, "Her mission is to infiltrate the Revolutionary Army to gather intelligence on it for me, and to secretly protect those loyal individuals who can help the Empire continue to exist."

"..."

His Kurome furrowed his brow.

In other words, the older sister did not join the Revolutionary Army?

This news left her feeling lost.

The Revolutionary Army is the enemy of the Empire. From the moment she began her mission, Kurome has been fighting against the Revolutionary Army. Her companions, teachers, seniors, and juniors have all lost their lives in the battles against the Revolutionary Army.

After learning that Akame had defected and joined the Revolutionary Army, Kurome found it utterly incomprehensible.

That's the organization that caused the deaths of countless of their comrades! Even though my sister and her friends died because of the Revolutionary Army, why did she join that kind of organization?

She couldn't understand it, couldn't forgive it, but she loved her sister terribly. Even though her sister betrayed everyone, even her, she still loved her sister.

So she wanted to kill her sister and then make her her companion forever, so that she and everyone else could be together forever.

But... was the story about joining the Revolutionary Army a lie?

"No... no, my sister still betrayed the empire..."

Kurome felt extremely conflicted. She wanted to let go of her hatred, but she couldn't erase her long-held obsession with just a few words.

"How can you talk about betrayal when it's a dead country?"

Necrass said, "Is the country you're protecting the current empire? Or will any place with the name 'empire' do? Kurome, what exactly do you want to protect?"

Kurome hadn't thought about any of that.

Necrass walked up to Kurome and gently lifted the girl's eyes, which were covered by her hair. The movement was so gentle that Kurome, who was engrossed in thought, even forgot to be on guard for a moment.

"Akame wants to protect is not something that is difficult to understand. What she wants to protect is what her comrades are defending with their lives. That thing is not a certain place, but the hope that can make the country better. Until recently, it was like that."

"But the nation is dead, and what she wanted to protect no longer exists. Whether it is the high-ranking officials of the empire or the Revolutionary Army, they are now the targets of her revenge."

Hearing the whispers in his ear that seemed to erode his will, Kurome pursed his lips and remained silent.

Kurome couldn't discern the truth in everything the Dragon Woman said, but she desperately wanted to believe it was real.

Did her sister not betray them, but rather infiltrate them disguised as betrayals? This possibility, which her Kurome had never considered, has taken root in her heart.

Although she remembered their last meeting with perfect clarity, remembered Akame's expression with perfect clarity, and remembered Akame's seriousness with perfect clarity, perhaps... she really was mistaken? Perhaps it was hypnosis and obsession that made her distort her Remembrance of her sister's expression?

Surely Necrass couldn't be lying to her, right? After all, if Necrass needed her, turning her into a servant would be far easier to gain her power than telling these lies.

Could it be... that I really remembered it wrong?

Seeing Kurome's expression of wanting to believe but finding it hard to believe, yet forcing herself to believe, Necrass wasn't in a hurry. After all, it was unlikely that Kurohime would believe it on the spot.

However, I need to write a letter to Nadjeshda first so that Akame can check her testimony.

Chapter 18 The Revolutionary Army of the Slide Rail.

Kurome's reaction was not unexpected for Necrass. After letting Liver casually lead Kurome to a guest room in the mansion, she began to observe the situation of this Earl's territory.

Just as she had expected, these nobles who were close to the ministers were all incredibly wealthy, with gold and silver treasures filling the entire storeroom, and enough equipment and food to squander for a long time after a grand banquet.

This banquet was a must. After witnessing their battle with Esdeath, the soldiers' morale was high because of their victory, but this was only temporary. When they came to their senses, they would remember how thrilling their brush with death had been.

Necrass would numb their fears with money and food, making them accustomed to danger and profit going hand in hand.

Because of Esdeath's arrival, the soldiers didn't have a chance to show their skills. Although they were more frightened than in a real battle, it did not have the effect of tempering their fighting spirit.

With this in mind, Necrass decided that after calming down the soldiers, she would approach the former Earl of the Earl's territory who had not submitted to her, such as viscounts and barons.

However, four days later, after Abrahana had thoroughly sorted out her current property and settled the situation within her territory, she received a letter from Count Eugene, stating that several barons and viscounts had sent her urgent letters expressing their willingness to surrender unconditionally and hoping to receive preferential treatment from Abrahana.

Although it was a pity to miss a training opportunity, Necrass was open to any opportunity.

She didn't like those who fawned over her and wore their sycophancy on their sleeves, but there was no reason not to take these territories if she could do it without bloodshed.

As for how much of these sycophants are actually useful and trustworthy, that's not Necrass's responsibility. Times have changed; with many talented people now flocking to her, she no longer needs to do everything herself.

Their surrender wasn't really surprising, since Esdeath and Necrass's battle couldn't be hidden. It was a battle that seemed to sweep across the heavens and earth, capable of destroying a territory or city in the blink of an eye, and anyone who witnessed it would feel terrified.

These two were no longer considered human; they were natural Catastrophe beyond human control, beings that no human could resist.

The Revolutionary Army was also very excited about this, as if they could see their cause flourishing.

To be honest, their original idea was for them to take the top positions, but they knew that circumstances were beyond their control and sometimes they had no choice. Just because they wanted to fight the Empire and Necrass was also fighting the Empire didn't mean they should assume that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

In reality, they knew better than anyone that if any conflict arose between them and Necrass would prioritize cooperating with the Empire to kill them.

After all, for Necrass, the Revolutionary Army lurking in the shadows was far more irritating than the Empire in the open, and they were well aware of that.

Moreover, cooperating with the Empire doesn't mean they can't put in the effort; from Necrass's perspective, there's nothing wrong with cooperating with whomever they want to fight.

As for the Revolutionary Army and the Empire working together to deal with Necrass first... that's highly unlikely. Unlike Necrass, the deep-seated hatred between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire is irreconcilable. If the Revolutionary Army dared to say such a thing, those with aspirations would immediately start cursing and causing internal chaos.

Moreover... the possibility of the two sides stabbing each other in the back while cooperating... is unthinkable, they definitely will. They might be allied one second, only to find out the other side and Necrass have already allied first, or they might not even need to unite, they will automatically become flanked by each other.

Neither the Revolutionary Army nor the empire wanted to be the meat pie that got caught in the middle.

Therefore, the Revolutionary Army actually had no choice but to cooperate with Necrass.

Fortunately, through Nadjeshda's explanation, they understood that Necrass wanted the throne not because of power, but because the throne was already there.

That makes things much easier. You become the emperor, and we become your subjects. You don't care about power, but we do.

While Nadjeshda was subtly and overtly instilling in the Revolutionary Army the importance of Necrass and the idea that following Necrass was the right thing to do for several days, news came that Necrass had forced Esdeath to retreat and even left hostages behind.

Now, the Revolutionary Army had no reason to hesitate any longer.

Upon learning of Necrass's hint that she needed an elite combat squad, the Revolutionary Army unhesitatingly assigned the Night Raid to Necrass, since Nadjeshda had no objections and was even happy to facilitate the matter.

While the high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army were moved to tears by Nadjeshda's righteousness, they also sold Necrass Nadjeshda part of the package deal.

This behavior made Nadjeshda sneer.

As for the original mission of the Night Raid... from the current perspective of the Revolutionary Army, it is indeed unnecessary. Rather than assassinating some insignificant nobles, it would be better to strengthen Necrass's side and ensure that Necrass is safe and sound in the final battle.

Everything will be alright as long as Necrass wins.

Although she was still Revolutionary Army cadre and could still draw resources from the Revolutionary Army, her first priority had become ensuring that Necrass would not spread the Revolutionary Army around in the future.

They understood the saying "serving a ruler is like serving a tiger." Although following Necrass might bring them the benefit of a powerful ruler, there was also a considerable chance that Necrass would turn around and send them to join the Empire.

As for why they didn't take the position to get closer to Necrass, since proximity would be advantageous... they did have that thought, but they didn't have the opportunity, because Nadjeshda had the support of the entire Night Raid below her, and Necrass's nomination above her.

All they could do was send Chelsea, who was loyal to the Revolutionary Army, in to monitor whether Nadjeshda had any ulterior motives, while secretly winning over Necrass's favor towards the Revolutionary Army.

At this time, Night Raid was already on its way from the capital to the Earl.

Necrass, on the other hand, sat at the head of the table, casually eating her breakfast.

Kurome mind was filled with anxiety and complex emotions, had been struggling with the conflict between her left and right brains for four days. At first, she was not used to dining with Necrass, a stranger, but after spending several days together, she was no longer as reserved as she had been at the beginning.

After all, Necrass didn't mean her any harm, so she didn't need to be so tense.

Or rather, if there is real malice, her resistance would be futile.

She lived an unexpectedly free life in this mansion, except for not being allowed to possess weapons. There were no battles or missions, but the wooden weapons for practice did not restrict her, and she could use the training grounds normally.

But this leisurely time gave her more time to overthink, or rather, to hypnotize herself into believing a truth that was not entirely real, yet one she was more willing to believe.

"The medical team has developed a drug that targets the toxins in your body."

Necrass suddenly spoke up.

"Um..."

Kurome didn't react much to these words. She didn't care much about her own life. More than her life, she cared about how to completely hypnotize herself so that she could treat her sister the way she used to.

Just as she was thinking about this, Necrass's next words made her look up in a daze.

"Akame will probably come to this city tomorrow."

"... Huh?"

Chapter Nineteen: The Complex Thoughts Behind the Night Raid

My sister is coming? And she'll arrive tomorrow?

Caught completely off guard by the news, Kurome couldn't stay in her own world any longer. "Sister? Why?"

Only after she blurted it out did she realize she had asked a stupid question.

My sister is a subordinate of the princess of this empire. Although Kurome doesn't want to think about when my sister became her subordinate, she is at least now. And it's not hard to understand why she would call her subordinate over after just conquering a city.

Thinking of this, Kurome's surprise subsided slightly.

"Very good, it seems you haven't become a yes-man who only knows how to nod."

Necrass gracefully put the cut steak into her mouth, then turned her gaze to the complex Kurome on Kurohime's face. "The medication for the toxins in your body will be delivered to your room after breakfast, or you can pick it up directly from the Doctor's office."

"... Just bring it to my room."

Kurome has seen many strange people, but she has rarely seen anyone as strange as Möbius. Despite being a doctor, not Imperial Arms User or a combatant, he gave her a sense of danger second only to Esdeath and Necrass.

"Möbius, I'm reminding you, don't deliberately postpone your medical examination again, or she will come to ask you for it herself."

"...I see."

Necrass certainly didn't have the energy to multitask, which is why she borrowed a helper.

However, that doesn't matter. Here, Möbius is just the Doctor in charge of creating the antidote; he won't have any other work.

Kurome was actually a little unwilling, since a large part of her strength came from the medicine she had been taking. Although the toxins damaged her body and affected her lifespan, they were also an essential part of making her stronger.

But since she was under someone else's roof, she couldn't say anything.

After all, even the Imperial Arms weren't in her possession.

The air around them was still not very good, but the situation on the other side was actually the same.

In a carriage that wasn't particularly luxurious but was spacious, Akame, holding Akame in her arms, never imagined things would turn out this way.

Two or three days ago, Akame received a summons from the BOSS and received an extremely unexpected instruction from the letter in the BOSS's hand.

The letter detailed the battle, and specifically mentioned a prisoner named Kurome. In the letter, Necrass expressed her recognition of Kurome's strength and gave Akame a task that she had to complete.

'I still need her fighting strength. She still has room for growth and potential. Before it's completely beyond repair, you need to make her willingly serve me.'

This was the result of Akame's analysis, and at the same time, this order made her feel complicated.

In order to make sure she understood the situation, Necrass naturally recounted her revised version of the truth. In Necrass's words, although her actions had not changed and actually matched the current situation, it was completely different for Kurome.

One betrayed everyone, while the other infiltrated the opposing camp and, after realizing that the empire everyone had worked so hard to protect had been ravaged to death, sought revenge against the current empire.

Even Akame didn't expect her actions to be explained in this way.

Deceiving Kurome in this way didn't align with her true feelings. However, Akame knew very well that Necrass was not a kind or benevolent person. The reason why Night Raid was loyal to Nadjeshda instead of the Revolutionary Army was because there were too few leaders like Nadjeshda who would prioritize the opinions of their subordinates and strive for a win-win solution.

If this deception is simply considered a mission... Akame isn't necessarily incapable of accepting it, as she's done plenty of similar missions in the assassination squad; it's just that the target of the deception has changed to Kurome...

Thinking this, Akame felt increasingly conflicted.

"What's wrong? Akame, I rarely see you so distracted."

Inside the carriage, Tatsumi was discussing training with Brand when he noticed Akame's unusual behavior out of the corner of his eye.

His words finally quieted down the seemingly cheerful atmosphere inside the car.

Even Tatsumi noticed Akame's strange behavior, so how could her companions, who spent every day with her, be completely oblivious? It's just that none of them knew how to bring it up.

"... I'm sorry to have worried everyone."

Akame realized that her companions had noticed her situation, but... her feelings were indeed complicated, and she wasn't sure if she could tell them right now, after all...