137
I was locked in the prison cell in the basement of the guard headquarters. The cell was dark and gloomy. All my equipment had been taken away, so I was wearing only my pants.
Fortunately, my limbs are still attached. I don’t want to tell you how ugly it is to be locked up in solitary confinement with your limbs taken away.
‘You won’t kill me easily.’
I am a useful person in many ways. This is not arrogance, but an objective fact. If I were useless, my head would have been cut off long ago.
‘Heilas and Ivan joined hands.’
It was a partnership that far exceeded my expectations.
‘This gives Heilas a chance to win his gamble.’
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘The military and Ivan join hands to stage a coup.’
If successful, Ivan would become the emperor. The military and Custoria would be recognized for their efforts, avoiding a purge and maintaining power. Regardless of whether it was successful or not, it was not a bad plan.
‘A coup with the military is a gamble even for Ivan. Even if he becomes the emperor, he could be suppressed by the military and become a puppet emperor.’
As time goes by, Ivan will naturally become the emperor. I didn’t know he would use such bold means.
‘Do you want to oust your father and become emperor in a hurry, even at the risk of instability and danger in your rule?’
In my opinion, Ivan’s greed is excessive. If the coup fails, even the royal family will be finished. Even if he is lucky enough to survive, he will be stripped of his position as successor.
‘Heilas and Ivan also turned the tables.’
What was important was what the Emperor and Kinuan had left behind. Then I could see the overall picture clearly.
I got caught up in a mess of things, but I wasn’t even angry. My head just grew colder and colder.
‘I wonder if Giselle is okay.’
There was only one person I was worried about. Well, I guess I’ve become a romantic.
Giselle was captured and imprisoned by other guards. She would not be released until everything was over. The image of her worrying about me until the end remained vivid in my mind.
Crack, crack.
Footsteps were heard. Judging by the stride and the echo, it was Ivan Krachia.
“You made me laugh, Luca.”
Ivan spoke from beyond the metal door.
“I never thought of it as a joke. Assassinating Francis under those circumstances was not the right decision, especially for a ruler.”
Ivan approached and stood in front of the metal door. His face was visible through the narrow window.
“Are you asking me to discuss imperialism and politics?”
“Avoiding war is not a matter of debate; it is a matter of common sense.”
Ivan laughed beyond the door.
“Luka, you have less information than I do. Even if you infer with Archies Victima, you are only making judgments within the narrow scope of information. That is why the role of the watcher is not macroscopic judgment, but microscopic judgment. No matter how great your watcher is, in the end, you are just an animal crawling on the ground. You cannot see the world broadly without wings.”
“If war breaks out, we who crawl on the ground will be the ones who die. We don’t have wings, so we have nowhere to run like everyone else.”
Ivan smiled a charming smile that was almost bewitching.
“The reason I hate Kinuan is because I don’t know the subject. Luca, you end up acting like Kinuan. But I don’t give too much power to the watchers. My father and I are different.”
“Of course it would be different. You have less insight and patience than His Majesty the Emperor. I guess it’s because you haven’t experienced hardship since you were young.”
I wish Ivan would get angry. I don’t think he will.
People like Ivan and Kinuan are not swayed by my words. Dealing with such out-of-the-ordinary beings makes me miss those who fell for my childish provocations.
“You’re trying too hard to provoke me, Luca. Are you trying to draw out an emotional mistake from me? Heilas and I have reached a reasonable deal. I won’t kill you if you provoke me. Heilas seems to care about you quite a bit.”
Ivan’s pupils swirled with a rainbow of colors.
“Well, I hope you and Heilas succeed too. I guess that’s what’s ‘best’ for us anyway.”
I spoke honestly.
If Ivan and Kustoria’s coup succeeds, most of my goals will be achieved. The survival of Heilas and Kustoria. My chances of survival are a little precarious, but I don’t think I’ll die.
“Huh, honestly, I thought you’d be really upset. You’ve grown.”
“Because it’s a period of growth.”
Ivan burst out laughing.
“You were unlucky, Lucius Custoria. If all these events had happened a few years later… … you would have been in a much more important position and would have played a much better role.”
“Nothing in this world goes my way. I’m used to this.”
Ivan took a step back.
“It was fun, Luca. I won’t forget you, who almost became my watcher.”
I heard Ivan walk out. The door in the hallway opened and closed. Silence fell again.
… … And Heilas didn’t come to see me for three days.
* * *
The solitary cell in the dungeon naturally had no windows, but even with my keen senses I could sense that the storm was reaching its peak.
Rattling.
At set times, the ceiling of the solitary cell would open as wide as the palm of one’s hand, and food and water would fall.
Ugh.
I stored up my energy by chewing on hard bread.
Whoosh.
My fists were still nimble. I didn’t forget light gymnastics and training. It was hard to spend a week in a small cell, but I had to move somehow to keep my senses.
‘It’s not over yet.’
Clearly the tide is turning once more. That will be the last time I can intervene.
Another day passed in the solitary cell. It was past mealtime, but the water and food did not fall from the ceiling. It seemed that the time had come for whatever was to happen next.
I sat still, my senses pounding.
Kick, kkick, clank!
There was a sound of the door being forced open.
“Luca? Luca! Where are you!”
Damn, I frowned. It was none other than Giselle’s voice.
‘Giselle.’
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I wasn’t shaken even when I was captured by Haylas and Ivan. But now I couldn’t help but be shaken.
How did Giselle get here?
Giselle was coming this way, looking into each cell. In an instant, she was right in front of my cell.
“Stand back. I’m going to plant a bomb.”
I didn’t even have time to say hello.
Giselle said just that and carefully applied the gel along the door frame. It was a gel bomb from somewhere she didn’t know where she got it.
“Giselle, I’ll listen right away if you explain. I don’t know what the situation is, but we won’t have much time.”
I backed away and pressed myself up against the wall.
“I contacted Barbara and asked her to help me plan your escape. I changed the guards’ shifts and patrol routes, and the cameras are on dummy feeds. She also made sure you get the necessary equipment from the Royal Guard armory.”
“What’s the price?”
“date.”
It didn’t sound like a joke. Barbara would have been more than happy to do so. The witch would have taken a lot of risks to date Giselle.
“That’s fine, but sleeping with someone is prohibited. Not even if the person is a woman.”
“Is this the time to joke?”
Giselle opened her eyes. This time, I didn’t laugh either, but spoke firmly.
“I’m not joking.”
“You’re secretly jealous. This is not manly.”
“I’ve never really had anything of my own in my life. Please understand if I get a little attached.”
“It’s cowardly to appeal to someone with a poor upbringing. And since it’s your first time using a gel bomb, you’ll probably be a bit unskilled at controlling the dosage. Avoid it at your own risk.”
Giselle said, stepping aside.
Click.
Giselle also pressed the bomb switch impatiently. Her escape plan seemed to be extremely time-sensitive, considering how she was rushing without regard for safety.
Fijijijit!
The gel bombs exploded sequentially. The gel along the edges of the door exploded like a fuse. Each small explosion produced a series of thuds.
Too- Woong! Ting!
Metal debris bounced off the explosion and flew around the cell like bullets.
“Well, use it.”
I felt a chill from the iron scrap that passed over my neck. The debris bounced irregularly, making it difficult to avoid. If I wasn’t careful, I could have really fallen here.
“Lu, Luca? You’re not dead, are you? Miss, did you put on too much? Barbara said to do this much… … .”
Giselle muttered anxiously. She could also hear the sound of stamping feet.
Kuung!
The metal door frame was completely broken. The door creaked and fell down, facing into the cell.
“How many minutes are left?”
I walked out of the cell and pulled out the iron pin embedded in my left shoulder. The pin, about the size of a pinky finger, fell to the floor covered in blood.
“If Barbara’s plan is right, maybe 140 seconds? The shoulders… well, that should be fine. For a beginner, don’t you think you’ve set up the bomb well?”
“I appreciate you saving me, but the words ‘I’m okay’ should come out of my mouth. I feel pain too.”
I held the blasted metal piece to my shoulder and patted the punctured wound.
“Don’t joke around. I’ve been stabbed by bigger things than that.”
I flinched and checked Giselle’s condition. Fortunately, there were no wounds on her body, and I realized what she meant.
“Well, there’s nothing a noble lady can’t say.”
I grumbled. Meanwhile, Giselle took out her terminal and unfolded her jailbreak plan as a hologram.
‘Barbara… … .’
It was a meticulous plan. It was so meticulous that it was hard to believe it was hastily put together.
Barbara would have been well aware of the security vulnerabilities in the guard headquarters, so she could have come up with this plan on the spot.
We left the basement and went upstairs. Thanks to Barbara’s actions, there were no guards in sight.
‘I never thought I would receive this much help from Barbara in my life.’
Enemy and friend were ambiguous. The higher you went into the empire, the more this became true. It was impossible to tell who was enemy and who was friend. No, it was pointless to even try to distinguish them in the first place.
There is no enemy or friend. In other words, everyone is either enemy or friend.
‘Flexibly, so flexible that the brain melts and turns into liquid.’
As I was walking towards the corner of the hallway, I suddenly stopped and grabbed Giselle.
Boom!
I closed my eyes and flicked my tongue. Kinuan said that echolocation was ineffective. But I continued to train my hearing to enhance it.
Echolocation was a useful technique for me, as I am not a full-body prosthetic.
‘It’s not about hearing, it’s about seeing.’
The signal containing auditory information is processed in the occipital lobe, which is responsible for vision. The sense of incongruity that was felt as a vague intuition was clearly seen through echolocation.
… … Yeah, I thought it was strange.
No matter how much Barbara planned, Giselle saved me so smoothly.
‘If Haylas had planned to imprison Giselle and me from the beginning, then it would have been impossible.’
My limbs were still functioning well. Giselle was also able to communicate with the outside world.
There must have been more assistance from someone even Giselle didn’t know about. There was no need to think too far.
“You may come out, Pygon.”
There was a noise. The corner of the hallway swayed.
Pygon, who had been wearing a camouflage-colored cloak, revealed his face and upper body. The single-line goggles that replaced his eyes on Pygon’s face still glowed.
Pygon looked at me and nodded.
“It’s been a while, Young Master. You’ve grown up.”
I wanted to write one more joke.
“Because it’s a period of growth.”
“Hmm, I think you’ve lost your sense of humor.”
I think I made a mistake.
Pygon was looking at us with his dirty clothes on. He looked at Giselle behind me and nodded.
Giselle didn’t seem to know Pygon. How many times had Haylas told me things he kept hidden from his family…?
“You were the one who protected Giselle all this time.”
I said.
Pygon would have always protected Giselle from Barbara’s madness. Despite his shabby appearance, Pygon was an electronic warfare expert and a skilled hacker who could even control the human brain.
“You’re still smart. Anyway, take this first.”
Pygon pushed the bundle he was carrying on his back towards me. The bundle slid all the way in front of me.
widely!
I took the bundle with my feet and checked inside. It contained my equipment, including the Crucis.
“And Miss Giselle. My name is Pygon. I am a servant to Master Haylas. I don’t have much time, so I will convey the Master’s message first.”
Pygon greeted politely and raised his head.
