Helena finally arrived at the church. They were lucky not to come across rebels during their journey. Helena reaped the good karma she had sowed before. The nuns and priests received her with open arms. Sister Mary was happy to see her well in such a dire situation.
"Lady Blackmoore, I am glad you are all right! Please come in!"
Helena's mother ran and hugged her in tears. Ethel did the same to her father. Both of them were worried about their families. Some servants in the church conversed with their fellow surviving employees and almost cried as well. They were relieved that their friends survived the ordeal.
Helena turned her head left and right. "Whitesmithe does not come back yet?"
Sister Mary shook her head. "I'm afraid yes."
Helena stopped talking about Adham. She hoped he was fine out there.
"This place is pretty crowded."
"People run here in for safety. Even the orphanage was full now. We are lucky the children assist us.
How considerate of them. They understand we need more hands."
"Should I help around here?"
"Oh, no! We could not bother you more than this!"
Helena giggled. "Don't be silly. I helped you out before."
Some servants joined Helena. They assisted around with chores and treatment. The situation in the church and orphanage was worse than Helena thought. Some were injured and required immediate treatment, while most sought shelter.
Sister Mary did not allow Helena to stay in the church in her second life. This was not out of malice but for her good. Helena dismissed the nun's words and entered the church. It was a horrible mistake. Everyone glared at her with hatred the moment she stepped in. Her evil misdeeds had brought many families to ruin. She would get killed if she remained in the church.
Helena had no choice but to dwell at her home during Bloody Riot. They had plenty of food but were worried about their safety. Helena heard from the servants that many people died from starvation, illness or... murder. Due to a lack of food and daily necessities, some people resorted to stealing. When the owner of the house discovered a thief in their home, the intruder resorted to violence. Helena worried the same thing might occur to the church.
Too many people gathered in one area. Their resource was lacking compared to the number of humans in there. People would fight each other over food sooner or later.
Helena was lost in thought and bumped into another person. "I am sorry. Are you all right?"
"I am good. How about... Wait, Helena Blackmoore?"
Helena recognised the man in front of her. "Lord Navy? Why are you in here?"
"It was a long story." He sighed while touching his forehead. "Some people broke into my house this morning. We managed to get the situation under control, but some of my knights were injured. We did not have enough material for treatment. The hospital and other facilities are full, so I come here."
Helena was stunned. "You too?"
Lord Navy stared at her. "Wait, what do you mean too?"
Helena told him about her experience this morning. The nobleman was speechless when he listened to her story. Lard Navy confirmed his opponents were non-combatant as well. They retreated because his knights were strong opponents. Unlike the Blackmoore, the Navy family was known to produce strong knights. They could fend themselves from intruders. Their conversation was cut off before Helena spoke about the details.
"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"
Helena and Lord Navy turned their heads to the source of distress. A man trembled in fear while holding his head. He wore a worn-out armband on his right arm.
"The rebels are going to kill us! We won't be able to survive. This is the King's fault!"
The silence turned into a murmur. Everyone had the same notion. The insurgents were outside destroying houses and hurting people in their path. Yet, he did not do anything to protect them.
"That's right... I almost got stabbed this morning."
"My husband was hurt from protecting me and my kids."
"They robbed my money..."
Helena was contemplating. "But is this truly the King's fault?"
The last sentence perplexed everyone. Everyone looked toward Helena.
A commoner was annoyed. "Well... you are not wrong, but what is our leader doing? He is supposed to protect us. I did not pay my taxes just to be neglected!"
One young girl raised her hand. "I heard the rebels talking before while hiding. They say the reason behind their rebellion is the Second Prince. He had been executed people in secret. Is it true?"
The murmur became loud. People now talked about the possibility. Prince Ruby's crime had caused a revolt. Helena could not refute that statement. There was no concrete proof of whether it was true or not.
"I don't know about the King, but something did not make sense." Helena's voice rang through the whole place. "I can understand nobles are their target. However, why do they also attack commoners? They have no reason to do that."
Helena's rationality made everyone silent. If the purpose of rebellion was to oppose royalty and nobles, why did they involve innocent people? Unless their objective was something else.
Lord Navy was impressed. Helena must have been a significant figure for people. The Man with the Armband was anxious. She just swayed people's opinions to her side.
"Hmmm, Lady Blackmoore has a point. We do not even know the Second Prince. Why did they attack us too?"
"Right? I was working when they broke into my shop!"
"Tell me about it! The man with the tattoo scared the shit out of me!"
That statement took her aback. She dashed and grabbed that man's arm. "Did he have a snake with a sword and star tattoo?"
The man stuttered. "Uh, yeah. I remember it because the tattoo is unique. How did you know?"
Helena was silent but furious. She assumed Paradise Star only gave the insurgents tools to revolt. She did not expect the cult to spark people's fear as well.
Lord Navy nudged her. "Did you figure something, Blackmoore?"
"I guess Paradise Star is more deeply related to these incidents."
The commoners overheard them. "Paradise Star? I think I heard that name before..."
"Isn't it the name of a cult? I read about it in the newspaper."
"Wait..." A man squinted his eyes at Helena. "A young noble lady, that long black hair, pale skin, grey eyes... Are you that Helena Blackmoore?"
"Hey! Didn't the nobleman call her Blackmoore before?"
The crowd surrounded her in a second. Helena almost forgot how popular she was. People asked multiple questions and invaded her personal space. Helena became dizzy from the overbearing attention.
"Lady Blackmoore!"
Sister Mary's voice was shrilly. She slipped between the crowd and pulled her arm. "I am sorry, everyone. Lady Blackmoore and I have something to discuss. Please allow me to speak to her."
They used this opportunity to leave. Helena followed the nun out of the church. She stroked her chest out of relief. "Thank you. I owe you my life."
The nun giggled. "Don't mention it.
Oh, right. The residents of Angles Street called you to the backyard. I hope they did not do anything weird like last Summer."
Helena chuckled. "But you gotta admit smacking people with fish is fun."
Sister Mary's expectation was shattered when they arrived in the backyard. She saw the Armband Man tied to a tree. "OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE YOU ALL DONE?"
Helena approved their action. "Good job!"
The Armband Man escaped when the crowd surrounded Helena. Before he fled away, someone grabbed his collar from behind. He turned around and saw Mr. Dean. The rest of Angles Street's residence stood behind him. Mr. Umber cracked his fist and knocked him out.
Ms. Elisa crossed her arms.
"He has been acting suspicious when he appeared in church. I learned he was shady."
"Well, he is not a residence of Angles Street." Mr. Umber leaned against the tree. "Even the people from the dark alley did not recognise him.
Maybe he's from a different street."
Helena stood in front of the tied man. "Who are you working with?"
That man shouted at her. "Is this how noble treat commoner? Wait until everyone hears this!"
She would not be able to get information through violence. Helena thought about a way to make him spill the truth. The rest of the Angles Street residents gave her horrendous ideas.
"Maybe we should drop some bugs on him."
"I have rotten dead fish."
"Let's hit him with stale bread!"
"Poison him."
Everyone turned their head at Mrs. Dorian. She had been standing silently watching them. The old lady smiled and pulled a mysterious vial from her pocket. "I have one."
Helena was scared. "No poison! He cannot speak if he dies."
"Aw..." Mrs. Dorian was disappointed and put the vial back in her pocket.
Helena decided to be straight to the point with the man. "Are you involved with Paradise Star?"
That man avoided her gaze. "I don't understand what you are talking about."
"Don't play dumb. Did the cult bribe you?"
He was startled when Helena mentioned those words. Helena hit the bullseye. She just needed more push. "You have failed your mission. They won't need you anymore. You know what happens to those people."
That man shuddered. He had already learnt about the notorious cult. Betrayer either went missing or was found dead. He should have refused the gold. However, he could not resist when he saw the pouch of coins. The greed pulled him. He only grasped his mistake when he came back to his home.
"Tell me everything. I can find you a safe place."
The Armband Man was hesitant. "How can I trust you?"
She spoke to Sister Mary. "Could you call Lord Navy? I hope he is still in the church."
Sister Mary nodded and returned with Lord Navy. He was surprised to see a man tied to the tree, but Helena told him everything. Lord Navy was thinking for a moment, then agreed.
"Well, I guess I can let him stay in my estate for two days."
That man was shocked. "Only two days?"
Helena scoffed at him. "You dare to negotiate when you accept Paradise Star's offer?"
That man had no choice. He gave up and told her the truth. "A man with a white mask gave me gold. He told me to spread rumours and made people doubt the royalty as much as I could. He would give me more coin if his plan succeeded."
"Are there any more men like you?"
That man hung his head. "Yes..."
Helena was frozen in her place. They flared chaos and blamed it on royalty on purpose. Did Paradise Star create Bloody Riot? Once again, the knowledge she had learnt before had changed. She returned to the church
and gathered with her family. They sat beside each other and chatted about their day in the shelter. Helena did not listen to their story at all. Her head throbbed for a whole day. Helena was overwhelmed by the new information.
Helena tossed her body left and right at night. She missed her comfy bed at home. Since she could not sleep, Helena took a short walk for fresh air.
Much to her surprise, Helena saw Adham walking past the orphanage.