Chapter 119 Who Should Be Blamed
Candy gritted her teeth. "It must be that Anne, it must be her fault!"
Hanks finally snapped and spoke up, "Damn it, what's wrong with you? Why is everything always someone else's fault?"
Candy looked at Hanks in shock, "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying it's your own problem, so why are you blaming others!"
Hanks glared at Candy fiercely, "You were the one who insisted on breaking military orders and charging into the battlefield first, and you were the one who insisted on chasing those deserters!"
"And as a knight commander, as the commander of the Dawn Knight Order, you personally pushed your own knights off a cliff!"
At this point, Hanks's voice was choking up. He didn't consider himself a good person, but after spending so much time with his brothers, his feelings ran deep. "You knew perfectly well that when you kicked them like that, they would definitely fall off the cliff. Damn it, that Zotfort soldier even told you our rope was loose. He was tempting you, telling you that you could do it!"
"If you were an upright knight commander, or even one with any morals, if you had any sense of responsibility, you should understand that your knights followed you into battle to fight the enemy and gave everything for you. You also have a duty to protect their lives, but what did you do!?"
Candy's lips trembled, her face twisted with betrayal. "Hanks, you're my brother. Are you going to blame me too? Next time are you going to kneel down and hug that woman Anne's legs, lick her feet and say you're willing to follow her, and become a disgusting pair of adulterers!"
Hanks's eyes widened. He really couldn't understand how, when he was clearly talking about the soldiers, Candy was still sparing no effort to smear Anne over personal grudges, even forcing him and Anne together.
What about all those other times? How much of what Candy said was true, and how many vicious words had they spread for her, all for a woman like Candy who didn't deserve anyone treating her well!?
The captured knight beside them snapped too, speaking angrily, "Hanks is right. I'm truly ashamed that someone like you is our knight commander!"
"I make you feel ashamed? What about when you were getting military honors and saying you'd always support me? Why didn't you feel ashamed then?"
Candy looked around and laughed coldly, "Isn't it just because I'm down on my luck now, lost to Anne in the military camp, and am destined never to appear in the camp again, so you think it doesn't matter what you say to me?"
If his hands weren't tied, Hanks would have loved to slap Candy hard across the face. "You always have so many excuses. We're clearly talking about your duties as a knight commander. So tell me, you think you deserve support—on what basis? Based on you ignoring your knights' fear? Based on you kicking knights who trusted you off a cliff to save yourself? What gives you the right to do that? Don't you know their families are waiting for them to come home!?"
Candy's heart jolted. Hearing Hanks's questioning, she didn't know what to say for a moment. "I... I just didn't want him hanging all over me..."
Hanks laughed coldly, "If that's the case, why couldn't you comfort him first, then tell him to relax and not panic? It's not that you couldn't do it, you just didn't want to. You wanted to choose an easier way."
Seeing the other knights' cold stares, Candy's anger flared. She said bitterly, "We're captured now anyway, none of us will survive. I let them die first to spare them suffering—what's wrong with that? Even if we could eventually survive, you heard it too. The Zotfort people said only if two people fell would we be pulled up."
"Do you think I wanted to be the one to do it? But if no one fell, we'd have to keep hanging there, scared to death by the fear of falling at any moment, feeling like every gust of wind could kill us. I wanted to live. What's wrong with wanting to live!"
"Since you're all talking so righteously, then tell me, who do you think should be the two sacrifices? You? You? Or you? Or do you think I as knight commander should die first to let you all live? Could you guarantee you'd definitely survive then!?"
Hearing this, the other knights who had been quiet couldn't help but speak up. "Yes, you're so righteous, willing to make the choice. We survived thanks to your protection. But what about tomorrow? The day after? Will you kick one of us down every day until you're the last one alive, and you can still say with a clear conscience that this is to stay alive, everyone should do this?"
"You're the one who grabbed that kid and used him to threaten Frol. You made Frol back down by promising to spare the child, then broke your word."
"I asked you then if we should put him in a carriage and send him back to a safe area first. You said no. Now the Zotfort people have come for revenge, and we're all locked up here with you. This is all your fault!"
Candy had been knocked out earlier, but they hadn't been. They heard every word of Lady Manlis and Frol's conversation clearly. Now with Zotfort soldiers right outside, if they didn't speak loudly enough to let those people know everything was Candy's plan and had nothing to do with them, when the blade fell tomorrow, who knew whose life would be lost.
Candy naturally knew what they were scheming. She was so angry her eyes turned red, her face full of fury looking even more twisted because of the swollen handprint. "Now you blame me? Why didn't you say anything when you were planning to kidnap people? Besides, it's just a child. The battlefield is so cruel—if he dared appear near the battlefield, that's his family's fault for being irresponsible. He should have the courage to face death. Besides, he's just a bastard from an enemy country. So what if he's a noble? If I killed a Zotfort noble, wouldn't I get rewards and honors when I return to the capital? I wish I could kill more. Then what would Anne be? She'd still have to stand behind me!"
"I'm the first female knight commander of the Soth Empire. I'm the one who should get the rewards!"
"That bitch Anne, she's bewitched all of you. I should tie her to a stake and burn her to death. Once she's dead, you'll all wake up. Yes, once she's dead, everything will come back to me!"
Candy's twisted expression left Hanks and the others silent.
Whatever last bit of feeling they had for Candy was completely shattered by these words.
Trust, admiration—all gone.
They only wished they had never known Candy and had never served under her.