Chapter 137
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 137
I was locked in a cell beneath the Imperial Guard headquarters. The solitary cell was a pit of darkness and gloom. All my gear had been confiscated, leaving me in nothing but a pair of pants.
If there was any consolation, it was that my limbs were still attached. I’d rather not describe how wretched a person becomes when they’re locked away without them.
They won’t kill me easily.
I was a highly useful asset, a fact I acknowledged not out of arrogance, but objectivity. If I were useless, they would have cut my throat long ago.
Heilas and Ivan have joined forces.
It was an alliance that went far beyond my expectations.
This gives Heilas's gamble a real chance of success.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The military and Ivan are collaborating on a coup.
If they succeeded, Ivan would become Emperor. The military and the Custoria family would be rewarded for their contributions, allowing them to avoid purges and keep their power. Setting aside the likelihood of success, it wasn’t a bad plan.
But a military coup is a gamble for Ivan, too. Even if he takes the throne, he risks being crushed by the very forces that put him there, reduced to a mere puppet.
In time, Ivan would have ascended the throne naturally. I hadn’t expected him to resort to such drastic measures.
Is his desire to oust his father and seize the throne so strong that he’d risk political instability and mortal danger?
From my perspective, his greed was excessive. If the coup failed, even his royal blood wouldn’t save him. In the best-case scenario, he’d survive, but he would be stripped of his status as successor.
Heilas and Ivan have revealed their cards.
What mattered now was what cards the Emperor and Kinuan had left to play. Only then could I see the whole picture.
I’d been captured because things went sideways, but I wasn’t angry. My mind was just growing colder, clearer.
Is Giselle okay?
There was only one person I was worried about. Look at me, turning into a romantic.
Giselle had been captured by other Imperial Guards and locked away. She wouldn't be able to leave until this was all over. The image of her, worrying about me until the very end, was etched vividly in my mind.
Clack, clack.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Judging by the stride and resonance, it was Ivan Cracia.
“You underestimated me, Luka.”
Ivan’s voice came from beyond the metal door.
“I never underestimated you,” I replied. “Assassinating Fransek was the wrong move in that situation—especially for a future ruler.”
He stepped closer, his face appearing in the narrow slit of the cell door.
“Are you trying to lecture me on politics and statecraft?”
“Avoiding war isn’t a matter of debate; it’s common sense.”
Ivan chuckled from the other side of the door.
“Luka, you possess far less information than I do. Deducing things with Akies Victima is just making judgments from a narrow perspective. That’s why a Watcher’s role is tactical, not strategic. No matter how exceptional you Watchers are, you’re ultimately just beasts crawling on the ground. You have no wings to see the world from above.”
“When war breaks out, it’s the ones crawling on the ground who die. We don’t have wings, so we have nowhere to fly, unlike some people.”
Ivan flashed a smile so charming it bordered on seductive.
“I dislike Kinuan because he doesn’t know his place. And you, Luka, are acting just like him. I, however, don’t grant excessive authority to Watchers. In that, my father and I are different.”
“Of course you are. You have less foresight and patience than His Majesty. I suppose that’s what happens when you grow up without a single hardship.”
I hoped he would lose his temper. Not that he ever would, of course.
People like Ivan and Kinuan weren’t easily shaken by mere words. Dealing with men like them made me almost miss the simpletons who used to fall for my childish provocations.
“You’re trying so hard to provoke me, Luka. Hoping to bait me into an emotional mistake? Heilas and I have already struck a rational deal. Your provocations won’t goad me into killing you. Besides, Heilas seems to cherish you quite a bit.”
Ivan’s pupils swirled with a kaleidoscope of colors.
“Well then, I hope you and Heilas succeed. After all, that seems to be the best outcome for all of us.”
I spoke with complete sincerity.
If Ivan and the Custoria family’s coup succeeded, most of my objectives would be met. Heilas and the Custoria family would survive. My own survival was less certain, but I doubted they would actually kill me.
“Hmm. Honestly, I thought you’d be furious. You’ve grown.”
“I’m still growing.”
Ivan burst into laughter.
“You have terrible timing, Lucaus Custoria. If all this had happened just a few years later… you would have played a much more vital role from a far more important position.”
“Nothing in this world ever goes as planned. I’m used to it.”
Ivan took a step back.
“This was fun, Luka. I won’t forget the man who almost became my Watcher.”
I listened to the sound of his footsteps fading away. The hallway door opened, then clicked shut. Silence returned.
…And even after three days, Heilas never came to see me.
* * *
Naturally, there wasn’t a single window in the subterranean cell. Yet, even with my senses dulled by confinement, I could feel the storm outside reaching its peak.
Clack.
At set times, a palm-sized hatch in the ceiling would slide open, dropping food and water.
Crunch.
I chewed on the stale bread, conserving my strength.
Whoosh.
My punches were still crisp. I kept up with light exercises, simple training to stay sharp. It was torture being stuck in a cramped cell for a week, but I had to keep moving to maintain my edge.
It’s not over yet. The tide will turn once more. That will be my last chance to intervene.
Another day passed. Mealtime came and went, but no food or water dropped from the ceiling. Whatever was coming, it seemed the time had finally arrived.
I sat in silence, sharpening my senses.
Creak, creak, clank!
The sound of a door being forced open echoed down the corridor.
“Luka? Luka! Where are you?!”
Dammit. I frowned. It was Giselle’s voice.
Giselle.
I hadn’t flinched when Heilas and Ivan captured me. But now, my composure shattered.
How in the world was she here?
Giselle was peering into each cell as she made her way down the hall. An instant later, she was standing right outside mine.
“Step back. I’m planting a bomb.”
There wasn’t even time for a proper greeting.
Giselle spoke quickly, meticulously smearing a gel-like substance along the edges of the door. A gel bomb. Where she’d gotten it was anyone’s guess.
“Giselle, I’m listening. I don’t know what’s happening, but I doubt we have much time.”
I backed away until my back hit the far wall.
“I contacted Barbara—she helped me draw up an escape plan. Guard schedules and patrol routes are all altered. The security cameras are on a loop. She even helped me get the gear from the Guard’s armory.”
“And the price?”
“A date.”
It didn’t sound like a joke. Barbara was more than capable of demanding that. That witch would gladly brave considerable danger just for a date with Giselle.
“That’s fine, but sleeping with her is off the table. I don’t care if she’s a woman.”
“Is this really the time for jokes?” Giselle glared at me.
This time, I didn’t smile. “I’m not joking,” I said with absolute gravity.
“You’re surprisingly jealous. How unmanly of you.”
“I’ve rarely had anything to call my own in life. Cut me some slack for being a little possessive.”
“Playing the tragic childhood card is a cheap move. Anyway, this is my first time with a gel bomb, so I might have used too much. Protect yourself.”
Giselle stepped aside as she spoke.
Click.
She pressed the detonator. Her frantic haste told me our escape window was incredibly narrow.
Sssssss!
The gel ignited like a fuse, a rapid series of sharp, metallic bangs erupting along the doorframe.
Clang! Ping!
Shrapnel ricocheted off the walls of the tiny cell like stray bullets.
“Tsk. Dammit.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine as a piece of metal grazed the back of my neck. The shrapnel bounced so erratically that dodging was a nightmare. A fraction of an inch closer, and I would have died right then and there.
“Lu-Luka? You’re… you’re not dead, right? Oh, god, did I use too much? Barbara told me to use this much…” Giselle muttered anxiously, her frantic pacing audible from outside.
Crash!
The door frame shattered completely. The heavy metal door groaned inward before collapsing onto the floor.
“How much time do we have?” I asked, stepping out of the cell and pulling a piece of shrapnel from my left shoulder. The pinky-sized metal shard clattered to the floor, slick with my blood.
“According to Barbara’s plan, about a hundred and forty seconds. Your shoulder… well, you’ll live. Didn’t I do a pretty good job with the bomb for a beginner?”
“I appreciate the rescue, but I’m the one who gets to decide if I’m okay. And for the record, it hurts.”
I picked up a piece of metal, still hot from the blast, and pressed it against my shoulder to cauterize the wound.
“Don’t be a baby. I’ve been pierced by things much bigger than that.”
I flinched and quickly scanned her for injuries. Fortunately, she was unharmed, and the double entendre of her words finally registered.
“My, my. The things that come out of a noble lady’s mouth,” I grumbled.
Meanwhile, Giselle pulled out her terminal, projecting the escape plan as a hologram.
Barbara…
It was an incredibly thorough plan—hard to believe it had been thrown together on such short notice. Barbara must have known the Imperial Guard headquarters’ security vulnerabilities inside and out. It was the only way she could have devised such a plan on the fly.
We made our way out of the basement and headed upstairs. Thanks to Barbara’s interference, there wasn’t a guard in sight.
Of all the things to happen in my life, I never thought I’d be saved by Barbara.
The line between ally and enemy was always blurry. The higher one climbed in the Empire's hierarchy, the blurrier it became. It was impossible to tell who was on your side. No, trying to make that distinction was a fool's errand to begin with.
There were no permanent enemies, no permanent allies. Everyone was both at the same time.
Be flexible. So flexible my brain melts.
As we approached a corner, I suddenly grabbed Giselle and pulled her to a halt. She shot me a questioning look.
I closed my eyes and clicked my tongue. Kinuan had claimed that echolocation was highly inefficient, but I had never stopped my auditory enhancement training. For someone like me, who didn’t possess a full-body prosthetic, it was an invaluable tool.
Don’t hear the sound. See it.
Auditory signals processed in my occipital lobe, the visual center of the brain. The faint, intuitive sense of incongruity I had felt was now rendered in sharp, clear detail.
…Yes, I had suspected something was off.
Even with Barbara’s plan, Giselle’s rescue had gone far too smoothly.
My limbs were still intact, and Giselle had been left with the means to contact the outside world. There had to be someone else helping us from the shadows—someone even Giselle didn’t know about. I didn’t have to think hard to guess who.
“You can come out now, Paigon.”
A presence stirred, and the air around the corner shimmered.
Paigon, clad in a camouflage cloak, deactivated his stealth, his face and upper body appearing first. The horizontal visor that served as his eyes glowed with a steady light.
He looked at me and gave a slight nod.
“It has been a while, Young Master. You have grown.”
I couldn’t resist reusing the joke.
“I’m still growing.”
“Hmm. It seems your sense of humor has deteriorated.”
Tough crowd.
Paigon, looking rather disheveled, stared at us. He shifted his gaze to Giselle behind me and gave her a polite nod.
She seemed to have no idea who he was. It made me realize just how many secrets Heilas had shared with me while keeping his own family in the dark…
“You were the one protecting Giselle all this time,” I said.
That meant Paigon must have been the one shielding Giselle from Barbara's… particular brand of madness. Despite his shabby appearance, he was an expert in electronic warfare, a hacker skilled enough to manipulate the human brain.
“As sharp as ever. At any rate, take this first.”
Paigon slid a bundle he had been carrying on his back toward me. It skittered across the floor, stopping at my feet.
Thud.
I stopped the bundle with my foot and checked the contents. It was all my gear, including Crucis.
“And Lady Giselle, my name is Paigon. I am Master Heilas’s retainer. We do not have much time, so I shall deliver my master’s message first.”
Paigon gave a crisp bow, then raised his head.