Arthur liked to stay in control.
He had sufficient royal rights and ranking status to ensure this control. And the way he had taken countermeasures against Jason's planned or accidental revelation of demonic origins was also commendable.
However, Arthur underestimated Layos' infiltration into the event. It wasn't just participants. Almost half of the moderators sided with the kingdom of Layos. It included sleeper cells, people who were influenced or bought, and lastly, people who were not what they claimed to be-- deep assets.
Arthur's assumptions about the event were based on the premise that the kingdom of Edinburgh was infallible when it came to high-ranking entities. And it was true for the most part. However, the quantity was not everything– especially when it came to the game of double-crossing someone.
There was someone from the kingdom of Layos who had defected to the kingdom of Layos' side. Or it was just that they wanted to harm the kingdom just so that they could get away from the restrictions placed on them.
***
An isolated facility that was located at the top of a tower.
Sansara World's broadcasting was controlled here.
This facility was huge and dome-shaped. Clear blue skies could be seen through the translucent domain. The honey-comb pattern of the dome was nothing but various POVs of Sansara World getting shown in spectral form.
The operators working inside this highly secure facility could control the content of the feed generated inside Sansara World. These operators were supposed to work for as long as the graduation event was running.
Of course, Arthur was supposed to have been controlling this facility from within by employing his men to do the job. He had used his rights as a Duke to appoint his own men inside the broadcasting control tower just before the start of the event. This was supposed to allow Duke to control the information flow of the events happening in Sansara World however he wanted.
However, Arthur lacked his loyal hound. Oliver was used to keeping a close eye on Arthur's men until he was alive and active. But ever since the loyal hound died in Eren's hands, there was nobody to keep Arthur's private forces in check.
Furthermore, Arthur was busy with his own ranking practice before and after breaking into the Grandmaster rank. As a result, he was not aware that he had been raising snakes in his backyard.
Some of Arthur's men were also compromised. Rondo's deception was not an isolated incident. Arthur had another sleeper cell serving under him. Someone who had not shown his true colors until he saw the need to.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
Another scream. Another kill. A thick stench of death.
The broadcasting control room started reeking of blood and gore. The rankers operating on various arrays started getting attacked by unknown assailants who had infiltrated the control tower through some unknown means.
The odd thing about this ambush was that no security measures inside the control tower were triggered. Basically, it was an insider job. Someone from Arthur's men had allowed the infiltrators to get inside the highly secure tower.
"Jaime! You fucking backstabbing son of a bitch."
Linda cursed the golden-haired man in front of him. Her face expressed a mix of shock and anger. She could not digest Jaime's betrayal well. As a result, she too was caught off guard when Jaime showed his true nature to her.
If Eren was here, he would have recognized Lins right away despite her bloody face, missing arm, and overall sorry state. After all, it was her that guided him when it came to the element of time.
Linda had served under Jaime for quite some time. She had served as Jaime's team member even before the latter decided to join the Lionhearts Academy for Adventurers as a professor.
Linda served as an assistant professor in LA when Eren was in his first year. As her ranking status improved, she was promoted. She had been slow to climb the ladder of authority in LA. However, her progress had been steady and without major bottlenecks.
Jaime was Arthur's first man sent into Osan Woods to investigate the OWB case. Inside Osan Woods, he led his team to find anything and everything about the butcher. Of course, he had used Isaac Osan's death as an excuse to investigate the site. Therefore, officially, it was an academic investigation conducted by professors to learn more about their students' deaths.
Jaime was the one who had ordered Linda, Ronald, and Verna to do a grid search inside Osan Woods to find out more about the butcher. In a way, Eren had found out about the deeper conspiracy behind Reen's creation thanks to Arthur's team. That's because he luckily managed to eavesdrop on their conversation.
The same Jaime– who had been serving Arthur for so long and so diligently– had decided to kill his men who were loyal to him. To Linda, it felt like stuff from nightmares.
Ronald, Verna, and a bunch of other rankers who were truly working for Arthur were all dead. Jaime and his men had killed them in a surprise attack. Linda only survived the surprise attack because the side effect of uncalled-for time dilution took place just before the surprise attack, allowing her to take countermeasures against it.
Jaime looked at Linda with a hint of pity in his eyes. It was as if he was truly sorry for what had happened between them.
Jaime looked as dashing as he was in Eren's first academic year. His golden hair, blue eyes, and chiseled face gave him a distinct personality. Out of habit, he took out a bottle of potion and was about to drink it.
However, he stopped midway and raised the potion bottle in front of his face. He thought for a bit and pursed his lips before crushing the bottle in his hand and evaporating the contents within it with his red flames.
"*Sigh. I guess I don't need to use this anymore."
AN: Jaime and his party have been introduced in chapter 45. Chapter 46 highlights Jaime's habit of drinking the Polyjuice potion. He has been depicted drinking this potion every time he has made an appearance in the subsequent chapters as well.
Also, sorry for the late release. An unexpected but much-needed trip has kept me busy. ;)
Tomorrow will be spent riding through a rough mountain pass. So, I'll try to post the next couple of chapters in a few hours, or just before the ride. But expect a delay just in case.
