"You are under arrest."
Helena was speechless. The arrest happened faster than in her previous life. They were still several days away from Autumn. Her imprisonment only happened in her first life. Why did this happen again? Was this because she had not done any misdeed in this life?
Helena glanced at Ethel. She hid behind her father with a sly smirk on her face. That wench framed her again. Helena wished she could slap that woman right there. However, she must focus on
her survival. All she could do right now was play along. Helena must calm down and avoid being nervous. She would look suspicious otherwise.
"Excuse me, officer. I don't think I have done something bad. There must be a mistake."
The young officer scratched his head. "We received multiple testimonies that you are involved in a cult. There is a warrant to apprehend you."
"A cult?" Helena pretended to be surprised while feigning innocence. She hoped for her acting skills from her second life working. "We have such a thing in our kingdom?"
"Uh. We also received information you previously tried to find about it."
Helena slapped her forehead. How could she forget? Helena looked up about Paradise Star before learning anything about it. Now, Helena had lost the argument to defend herself.
"There-there must be a mistake!"
"I don't know. I'm just doing my job." The officer looked slumped. Helena did not blame them. Arresting a noble was not a good assignment. They had a high pride and refused to be apprehended. Their arrest always ended up in an argument or fight.
"Take her away."
"No! Mother, father!"
Helena shouted for help, but the officers blocked her parent. The memory of her past resurfaced in her mind. Once again, the shadow of a guillotine appeared before her. Helena bit her lip and stomped the guard's foot with her strength. The officer yelped and lost his grip. Helena used this opportunity to run away. Unfortunately, another guard jumped and managed to catch her.
"Let me go!"
"How can a noble lady have so much strength?" One of the officers without a hat yelled while trying to restrain her. The rest finally managed to subdue her after one hour of struggle.
They threw her at the jail after getting punched and kicked.
Helena stared at her new prison. It was worse than the one in the past. She buried her face on her knee. Tomorrow, she would go through a trial. Helena would receive a guilty verdict if everything worked like in the past. Only death would wait for her after that.
Her parent could not save her. Melvin Blackmoore tried to defend her in the first life, but it was futile. Her only hope was the Vermillion couple or the First Prince.
But what if they just used her?
Helena blew away the negative thought. The Vermillion and Prince Sapphire had no responsibility to help her. Her bearing toward Paradise Cult was the result of her investigation.
Helena sighed and pulled a pen from her pocket. It was the only thing she could bring amid chaos. Helena modified the writing tool in case of an emergency. Helena might not be able to use it in combat, but she was creative enough to use it for something else.
In her first life, Helena shared her cell with others. Right now, she was the only person in her prison. Maybe it was because she fought back during apprehension. Helena found it as a blessing. It gave her peace to do some thinking. The fact that the officer recognized Paradise Star as a cult meant the information had leaked. Perhaps everyone had learnt about the existence of the cult. Helena wondered about how Duchess Vermillion fared right now. She must be
irritated with the situation.
"I-I don't understand why I am in here..."
Helena heard a sniffle across her cell. A young woman around her age sat on the floor behind the bar. Tears fell from her downturned purple eyes. That brunette must be an aristocrat based on her clothes. Helena somehow felt like she had seen that woman, but Helena did not recognize her.
"Don't sweat it. I also don't understand why I am in here."
Helena turned her neck to the right. Next to the woman's cell was a young man dressed in a suit inside a jail. He lay down on his hard-cold prison bed. His black hair slicked back, showing his frowning forehead. His indigo eyes were staring at the dark ceiling of his prison. He wore the same colour of a suit as his eyes.
"Any competition?" The man sighed. "I am sure the one who put me in here is my damn brother. My father is going to choose me as the heir after all."
Helena became interested. "Oh? Sibling rivalry?"
"You guess it. A few servants and subordinates suddenly accused me out of nowhere."
He had a similar experience with her. Helena was not surprised. Everything went just like her first life. They mixed dirtbags with innocent people to make all of them look guilty. Some defendants did not even recognize who accused them.
"If it makes you feel better, my sister did the same thing. I'm not even fighting for a heiress spot. She hates me."
"Wow, sounds even worse than me. My name is Victor Navy. What is yours?"
"Helena Blackmoore."
"Wait, that Blackmoore? The Saint of Angle Street?" He stopped leaning against the bed. "They arrested you?"
"Guh!" Helena was embarrassed by the title but politely replied. "You are correct. People from Angles Street sometimes call me by that name."
"You're not related to the Paradise Star, are you?"
Helena rolled her eyes. "Are you?"
The man raised his hands. "My bad. We both are innocent."
The woman inside the cell in front of her was sobbing louder. "This is the worst! I found my fiancé cheated on me and went into dark times. After going through hard rehab, I finally could return to my daily life but got caught in this situation!"
"Rehab?" Helena tilted her head.
The woman sniffled. "When I was down because of my fiancé, a friend offered me a drink. It spiked with a drug from Paradise Star. I became addicted and almost turned to one of their merchandise. I'm just fortunate a mercenary saved me on time."
"Ah!" Helena almost shouted. She remembered that woman now. She was the brunette Helena and Adham saved in Noble Street. Her story suited the description of the incident.
Sir Navy raised his eyebrow. "That will make you the victim. Why did they even put you in here?"
The woman still wept. "I don't know! I was supposed to return home tomorrow, but they arrested me!"
Helena hesitated, but she spoke anyway. "Do you have anyone that has a grudge against you?"
"I am just a noble lady from a rural area. I barely know anyone in the capital." The young lady was thinking for a moment. "I don't think it's my cousin either. Rowena is good enough to save me from the drug's influence and help me recover."
Helena twitched when she heard the familiar name. "Rowena?"
"Ah, pardon me! I haven't introduced myself." The woman finally calmed down and stopped crying. "My name is Perra Lilac. My family is a branch of the Wisteria family in the capital."
"Rowena Wisteria is your cousin?"
"Do you know her?"
"I meet her several times in balls."
Did Lady Wisteria learn that Helena helped her cousin? That would explain her aid during the Royal Ballroom. How did she find out about it? Before Helena asked more questions, Sir Navy spoke to Lady Lilac.
"Was your fiancé named Richard Grey by any chance?"
She was surprised. "How did you know?"
"That man mentioned your name a few times. He bragged about his affairs to people he met. He always has a proper attitude in public, but he is a well-known rascal from behind. You are lucky your engagement broke off. That man is always up to no good."
Lady Lilac was stunned. A weak smile appeared on her face. "I guess you are right. He pours me with praises but never truly means it. I turn blind toward his lies, hoping he will change once he gets married. He will never cheat on me if he is a good man. Stupid, isn't it?"
Helena was listening in silence. She wondered whether she should tell Lady Lilac the truth or not. Richard Grey might relate to Paradise Star since he had access to their drug. However, Helena had no courage to speak the truth. Lady Lilac had gone through horrible experiences. Telling her the truth would make her spirit go down the drain.
Sir Navy returned to lay in his bed. He released a depressive breath. "What is going to happen to us?"
Helena touched her neck. In her first life, she had no idea what occurred to her. Helena spoke with people inside her cell and fell asleep due to exhaustion. She only woke up to a knight calling her name and escorting her for trial. Starving, tired and confused, Helena barely had the energy to think. She could not defend herself at all.
"I think we are going to get a trial."
Sir Navy surprised. "Trial? I don't even know Paradise Star that much!"
"It's nice knowing you all."
Lady Lilac was puzzled. "Lady Blackmoore. You speak as if you are going to die!"
"I don't want to die!" Sir Navy shouted from his cell. "I still want to punch my brother!"
Helena agreed with him. "I need to slap my sister, but I also want to sleep in my comfy bed. Anything you want, Lady Lilac?"
"Eh, me? Well..." She was thinking for a second. "I still want to ride my horse back in my home."
Sir Navy's face was brimming with shine. "Lady Lilac, do you like riding a horse, too?"
"Yes. I raised one since my childhood."
Lady Lilac and Sir Navy had a great conversation. Helena smiled and listened to them. She joined in if the topic was interesting. Lady Lilac sighed and pondered about their situation.
"If only we meet under better circumstances..."
Helena shrugged. "I don't think we will speak to each other if we meet at ball or some sort of gathering."
Sir Navy nodded. "True. We will pass each other without speaking."
Three of them stared at each other and laughed.
Helena smiled at them. "Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise."
"Speaking about blessing, I wonder why they separated us from other defendants..." Lady Lilac was thinking.
Helena replied to her question. "Did you guys attack the officer? I stomped at their foot."
"Eh, I'd done worse," answered Sir Navy. "I punched one in the face because of panic."
Lady Lilac was embarrassed. "I kicked one in the nut..."
Sir Navy winced in pain while Helena was laughing. Her heart felt lighter than before. In her first life, Helena dreaded about her life. She and her cellmates spent their time cowering in fear. In this life, Helena at least could laugh along with other inmates.
Helena told her new friends to rest and preserve their energy. The next day, a knight came and opened her cell.
"Lady Blackmoore. It's time for your trial."
Sir Navy and Lady Lilac were surprised that Helena's prediction come true. "What trial?"
The officer shook his head. "I am sorry. I have no idea about it. They only tell me to bring the defendant to the court."
Helena stood up and left her jail. She looked back at her friends and smiled. They stared at her with a sad expression on their face. Lady Lilac and Sir Navy were concerned about her fate. Helena did not have time to reassure them. She followed the knight and stepped to the court.
Helena must defend herself from the death.