On the life path of anyone, there were difficult situations and sometimes their outcome depended only on one thing - whether a person would lie or tell the truth.
Lying was a convenient tool, perhaps the most convenient of all that human beings have ever had. The art of lying had been honed over thousands of years, but there was always room for improvement.
Evan could lie, moreover, he could simply remain silent and say nothing about the prison. Even if Halvor or Klaus had told about the escape, there was no need to mention Aron, and there would be no problem.
However, lying had one serious disadvantage over the truth - sooner or later the hidden was revealed. Although, sometimes lies became eternal, this was not the case, so Evan simply decided not to delay the inevitable.
Moreover, it was better that Reine found out about it now in a situation where Evan was in control, rather than at some dangerous point in the future.
Whoooooooooooooosh.
Reine quickly made her way to Evan, using all her strength and speed, her footprints left on the soft ground.
She was not as strong as Halvor, for now, it was an unattainable level for her, however she was a mage. Even if her talent had only recently awakened, physically she was superior to most Knights.
"Bastard!"
Reine exclaimed, swinging her fist, and aiming directly at Evan's face.
Evan calmly took a step to the side. Reine's fist swept next to his face, then another and another.
This went on for a while until Reine was tired. She had practiced for a long time before, so she couldn't keep waving her fists more.
"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Reine was breathing heavily, but she didn't give up trying to hit Evan, who wasn't even dodging anymore. He was just standing still.
"Reine... That's enough, there's no point." Lana uttered, trying to quiet her new friend.
"SHUT UP!!! You don't even come close to understanding how I feel!" Reine roared, like a wild animal in agony, but not physically but mentally.
Lana stopped talking, took a step back, and pressed her palm to her chest. For some reason, her gaze darkened.
"I don't care that he killed the dark mage and saved me! None of that matters anymore!" Reine exclaimed furiously before raising her head and meeting Evan's gaze.
"Agh...?"
She froze, shocked by Evan's cold eyes. His eyes were calm and serene, yet just as infinitely cruel.
Then, Evan grabbed Reine by the hair and before she could realize anything, brought his knee down on her face.
Bam.
Again and again and again and again.
Reine's nose was broken and the bruises would take a while to heal, but of all the possible wounds, perhaps these were the most minor.
Evan threw Reine to the ground and stepped on her chest, towering over her. A shadow fell from his tall silhouette, and all Reine could see were his amethyst eyes shining like cold stars.
"I'll only say this once and won't repeat it again. If you want to fight me then go ahead, I can kill you right now if you want, or tomorrow or a year from now. I'll forgive your insolence now just because of your brother's words."
Reine's face changed as her eyes went wide.
"He asked me not to touch you, even though you were the one who attacked me, but let's not cling to words. He was a worthy opponent just doing his duty, if the situation had been a little different he wouldn't have had to die, that's for sure."
Then, Evan let go of Reine and headed towards the house.
"If you want revenge then go ahead, I understand your desire, but at least do it with dignity, not consumed by anger."
Reine's face was on fire because of her wounds, while blood gushed from her nose, but she didn't think about that. She felt her bright hate fading fast, even though she didn't want it to at all.
She knew what kind of man her brother was, and because of that, she realized that Evan's words were true, for such an outcome was the most realistic.
Unfortunately, or luckily, Evan was no longer a bloodthirsty slave killer who murdered the warden for pleasure, but a warrior who had faced her brother by fate. Either he or her brother, only one of them was destined to survive, and it was impossible to change reality.
'Well, well, I'm not sure what exactly he said, but it's unlikely that revenge will bring her as much pleasure now as it did a moment ago.'
Klaus, who had come out of the forest a while ago and had been watching the scene was pondering with a bag of berries in his hands.
...
Just as Evan had said, thirty minutes later he returned, and the food was ready.
Lana, Reine, and Halvor were silent, which made the atmosphere tense at first, but a few jokes from Klaus and the topics brought up quickly remedied the situation. He pretended not to know what had happened, not wanting to get more people involved.
"By the way, I was wondering what you were going to do next?" Halvor uttered, looking at Ruby, Lana, and Reine.
Halvor was hospitable and could let them stay at his place for a long time, but there was always the need to move on.
"I have nowhere to go back to..." Reby whispered with obvious sadness in her voice, "I'm from a village located near a mountain ridge. My parents died long ago, and I just worked in a tavern for a living..."
Lana nodded, "I have the same situation."
Reine sighed heavily, not wanting to say anything.
"I see..." Klaus said thoughtfully, "You were kidnapped on purpose since no one would come to rescue you. That dark mage acted quite calculating and careful. We're lucky that parasites are too chaotic creatures."
Halvor was about to say something when suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Hmm? Are you expecting guests?" Evan raised an eyebrow.
Halvor shook his head, "That's unlikely. Only a few people know how to get to my house, and they'd probably warn me about it."
Then, Halvor got up from the table and walked to the door, opening it.
To his surprise, a fox with blue fur and green eyes stood in front of the door. The fox had a collar around its neck with a scroll tied and an unusual blue stone with a rune carved.