027
I must be completely crazy.
Right now I’m helping Ellie and Lillian Ramones escape. If the higher-ups find out about this, I’m dead.
“Illai, you’re a screw-free kid, so let’s say that’s true. Lillian, what the hell are you doing?”
I walked ahead and spoke. Ilay and I had been fighting at high speeds, so our bodies were quite hot. We had to move slowly while cooling down.
“Was your speech always that rude?”
“I’m like this all along. Do you expect me, a person of lower class origin, to speak with a refined tone? After all, I’m the one who annihilated your entire family. How dare you speak so calmly.”
I wondered about Lillian’s inner self. Her smiling face, even after seeing her family’s tragedy, kept lingering in my mind.
“… …Because I didn’t have a good relationship with my family.”
I laughed when I heard that. No matter how bad the relationship was, how could you laugh like that at the death of your own blood relative? That’s ridiculous.
But I didn’t bother to ask any further questions. To be exact, I didn’t have the time or the leisure to ask questions. There was something else that was important.
‘If we are discovered by other suppression forces, we are finished.’
We’re escorting Lillian Ramones. If the Imperials catch us like this, we’ll have no excuse.
“A teleportation device or something… … .”
I grumbled. Our plan was simple.
‘Activate the teleportation device on the lower level of the basement to get Lillian out. If you have time, Illei too… … .’
I glanced at Ilay.
Ilay was walking with a tired face. He looked very mentally exhausted. He didn’t even wipe the blood off his face and his hair that was hanging down.
“Ilay, just a moment. Let me wipe your face before the blood congeals.”
Lillian noticed my gaze, took out a handkerchief, and wiped Ilay’s face.
“If we are lucky enough to get out of here alive, why don’t we start a family together?”
I said sarcastically. Ilay smiled weakly with her face covered in blood.
“If Lillian has the heart to do so.”
Lillian flinched when she heard Ilay’s self-mockery. She felt indebted to Ilay. It was only natural for her to feel that way.
“Illai, I never thought you would go this far for me. I really never dreamed of that.”
“Because you are also my teacher who taught me about the outside world.”
I listened to their conversation in silence. Maybe this was their last conversation. They had a connection and bond that I didn’t know about.
“For just that reason?”
“It’s not just for me. It changed the way I see the world. Thanks to you, I was able to understand the source of my discontent and confusion. If it weren’t for you, I would have gone crazy long ago. I’m not strange, I’m just different.”
I frowned. From their conversation, I could get a general idea of the situation, even if I didn’t know the details.
‘Lillian is the woman who influenced Illei’s subversive thoughts.’
And now, when I think about my state, I can’t help but sigh.
Subversive thoughts are like an infectious disease. Once they are let loose, they spread through people, slowly eating away at the empire from within.
Lillian, Ilay, and me.
The subversive ideas are gradually spreading. If there are more people like us, the empire will weaken and collapse. No, before that, it will be destroyed by an attack from the Bellato Federation or the Holy Nation of Cora.
‘I am moving for Ilay now.’
But I don’t want the empire to fall. If Ilay wasn’t my friend, I would have killed her long ago.
‘I am not a subversive person.’
I pondered those words and took them deep into my heart.
‘It’s just that your priorities are wrong.’
He chose friendship with Illei over loyalty to the Empire, which is certainly a very subversive act.
“If we escape from here… … I’ll go to Border City. If we get separated, we’ll meet there. Luca, if you’re thinking of escaping from the Empire, you should go to Border City.”
“I have nothing to do.”
I said it bluntly.
I don’t really know what Border City is. I just know that it’s a city in the Bellato Federation.
“Border City… … .”
Ilay paused for a moment, wondering if she knew anything about Border City.
Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any rebels or imperial forces. No imperial forces had advanced ahead of us, and the rebels didn’t seem to have thought of descending this deep underground.
‘Perhaps only the Ramones family, and their immediate family, knew of the existence of the teleportation device.’
Those who were unaware of the existence of the teleportation device would have tried to get to the surface through another passage.
As we went deeper underground, we also had a chance to catch our breath. Lillian talked to Ilay and told him about her father.
“My father, Hugo Ramones, was an ambitious man. He used his personal wealth to obtain permission from the imperial family to conduct arcane research. However, everything was in the Emperor’s hands. The Emperor boldly took the initiative before my father could gain power. My father believed he could deceive and use the imperial family, but he was the one who was used.”
Lillian’s attitude was calm. From the tone of her voice, it seemed as if she was talking about a stranger, not her father.
‘I’m tired, by the way.’
Today was a long day. I pushed my mind and body to the limit several times. My sharp judgment was becoming clouded. Perhaps my decision to help Ilay was a misjudgment born of a clouded mind.
But I couldn’t rest my head. I had to be alert and alert to my surroundings. I also had to think about how I was going to report this when it was over.
‘The good news is that the captain of the guards looks upon me favorably. And I am the only one who can spy on Kinuan.’
I was confident that I wouldn’t be punished even if there was a little suspicion.
‘If you think about it, Illei and Lillian are just a cadet and a noblewoman at best. They are not great people. I won’t delve too deeply into them.’
These are not the mainstays of the rebellion. They are merely individual deviations.
After gathering my thoughts, I stared at the passage in front of me. There was a door at the end of the passage. There was no more way. This was the end.
“Illei, prepare yourself mentally. If there is no teleportation device here… … it’s over.”
I said it as if warning her. Ilay just nodded without answering.
Rattling.
The old door opened without resistance. From here on out, I felt something strange.
My nerves, relaxed from fatigue, quickly became tense, and my five senses opened wide as if absorbing the changes in my surroundings.
Luca, you must understand the cause of the anxiety I feel now. If you don’t understand this, I will die. This is a certainty bordering on premonition.
Kkiii-.
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The door opened a little. The interior was bright. There was nothing strange about it. All the lighting devices worked together with the fortress’s movement.
But the air was heterogeneous. I closed my eyes boldly and quickly discerned the smell.
The first thing that comes to mind is the strong smell of fresh blood, oil, and iron. No body odor is detected.
I bit my lower lip and opened my eyes. No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one conclusion.
“Ilay, it’s the guards.”
I whispered softly. Somehow, the guards had come down before us and were taking over the teleportation device.
Ilay would be shaken too. Right now, I didn’t have time to check Ilay’s reaction. The door opened completely, revealing the inside.
Wow!
The first thing you see is a circular capsule in the center of the room. The capsule is big enough to fit three or four people. If there is a teleportation device here, it would be that capsule.
Around the capsule stood four guards in crimson uniforms. The cloaks that covered half of their bodies were heavy and heavy.
The guards’ sharp gaze stopped on us.
To be honest, our plan was completely ruined. From now on, there is no way to save Lillian. If there is one guard without a full-body armor, they can squeeze out every bit of their strength and do something to Illei.
But there are four guards in front of you. There is no need to waste brain energy thinking about it. It is impossible to escape from them.
I had already assumed that Lillian would survive.
‘How can I save Ilay now?’
The worst outcome would be for the guards to capture Lillian instead of killing her. Lillian would not be able to endure the torture and interrogation and would confess everything. No matter how strong her heart is, she is just an ordinary person. She is not trained to ignore pain like we are.
The moment Lillian is captured, it means that my and Iley’s treasonous actions will be reported to the higher-ups.
If we think about it calmly, there is only one way left for us.
‘We kill Lillian now, with our own hands, without delay.’
Then, even if it raises a little suspicion, you can create an excuse that will convince your superiors.
But this is Lillian, whom Ilay had been trying to save so desperately. Will Ilay be able to maintain his sanity after seeing Lillian’s death right before his eyes? If the guy goes berserk and attacks the guards, it’s all over.
“… …Luka and Ileiro. They’re as good as I’ve heard. And they’ve come this far already.”
One of the guards recognized us and said, “There is no more time. If we hesitate, suspicion will grow. This is our last chance.
‘There is no way.’
I picked up the knife and tried to cut Lillian’s neck. When I turned around, my eyes opened wide.
‘Ilay?’
The gunshots rang out before I could take action.
Ta-Ang!
Illei had already pulled the trigger while aiming the gun between Lillian’s eyes. It was an immediate execution.
Srrrr.
Lillian was lying face down with a hole between her eyebrows. The sight seemed a little unreal to me. Maybe I was just briefly in the sweet fantasy that I could save her.
dump!
Lillian fell backwards, pink fluid seeping from the hole between her eyebrows.
Now come to your senses, Luca. It’s time to come back to reality. From the beginning, Lillian’s chances of survival were extremely slim.
I quickly checked Ilay’s condition. He couldn’t raise his face. I could sense his agitation without even looking at his expression. He managed to squeeze out words.
“My position feels more natural, Luca.”
Ilay was right. It was strange to anyone who saw me turn around to kill Lillian as I opened the door. It made sense for Ilay, who was by Lillian’s side, to execute her immediately.
But it just makes sense. I couldn’t help but be surprised. I never imagined that Illei would kill Lillian herself. I was even thinking of the worst case scenario, that Illei would go berserk.
“What was that gunshot just now?”
One of the guardsmen walked towards us and said, “We must not let them notice Ilay’s agitation.
I grabbed the dead Lillian by the hair and dragged her in front of the guards.
“The prisoners who had become useless were executed.”
I took out a cube-shaped arcane relic from Lillian’s arms. The guards’ eyes were immediately drawn to the relic.
The guards who had stepped back whispered among themselves. Finally, one of them stepped forward toward me.
chuck!
The guard stood up straight, looked down at me, and nodded.
“Report the situation so far, Luca.”
I put my hands together behind my back and began to report.
