Chapter 148
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 148
Heilas wiped his hands, damp with alcohol, on his coat and sighed.
"I thought Giselle had grown strangely soft lately, but… still, that was a bold move. I never expected the two of you to form that kind of relationship."
"If you had paid Giselle just a little more attention, Captain, you would have noticed. It kept me on edge, too."
With Heilas's sharp insight, he could have easily figured out my relationship with Giselle. But he had been too preoccupied with other matters to pay attention to either of us.
"I did my best."
"Protecting her doesn't mean you fulfilled your duty as a father."
"No, I failed even at that. I couldn't protect Nikolaos. That’s when I truly realized my own limits—that I couldn’t win this way."
We spoke calmly.
I stared at the glass in front of me. In my auditory vision, the liquid was bizarre. Every time the alcohol sloshed, it looked like threads tangling and untangling.
"I didn't know you were the type to submit, Captain."
Heilas leaned back in his chair, looking utterly exhausted.
"Luka, this is your last chance. Drink this, then turn around and leave. Please, let me protect you."
Heilas had tried to kill me for disobeying his orders, yet his words about wanting to protect me were likely sincere. He had already given me multiple chances to turn back.
"I know too much. In this situation, there aren't many ways for me to survive. If I back down now, I'll die anyway."
"Are you deaf as well as blind? I just told you I would protect you. I have more influence with His Majesty than you think."
"Prince Fransek is on his way here. He's already drawn significant support from the public and the nobility. If you cooperate with him, Captain, your negotiating position will be much stronger. You could even save your own life."
The Emperor's Shadows were likely watching us with cold, eerie gazes, but I was in no position to mince words.
I honed my senses, ready for a fight at any moment. If Heilas fought with me, we might stand a chance against the eight Shadows.
"Do you have any idea what you're saying right now?"
Of course I did. A weakened Empire would become vulnerable to external threats. I voiced the thoughts I'd already organized.
"If Prince Fransek succeeds, His Majesty's authority will crumble and the ruling system will fracture… but I don't give a damn about that. What matters to me is that you survive, Heilas."
"I have already led my friends and subordinates to their deaths. Do you intend to make me a man without honor as well?"
"I'm sorry about Iskan and Paigon, but to me, they were merely acquaintances. They don't matter to me."
Heilas's shoulders shook as he laughed.
"So I'm important to you?"
"You're one of the people I want to see survive until the very end. Just as you tried to save me, time and again."
If Heilas had been utterly ruthless, I would have died long ago, no matter how talented I was.
"That soft heart of yours will be your undoing. No, it already is."
"If I were a calculating bastard who only cared about profit, you would have been the first to kill me, Captain. I'm still alive because I'm soft."
Now was the time to confess.
…My nature wasn't truly so wicked. I had only become cold and exclusive to protect myself from the world and survive.
An old memory surfaced. In the past, I had hesitated, unable to kill a Korain boy. It was Ilay who killed the boy in my place.
I remembered that day in vivid detail. With my sight gone, the mental image was even clearer.
"I never thought you'd see being soft as a strength."
"I don't know if it's a strength, but because of it, people help me. And you're not so different from me. The reason Iskan and Paigon willingly died for you wasn't just blind loyalty. It was because they liked Heilas, the man. It's the same reason I risked my life to come here."
Heilas and I were similar to Noel, yet different. And we were, without a doubt, completely different from Kinuan.
I should have realized this sooner. Heilas would have listened to me, and we could have found a better way.
'Heilas's emphasis on humanity wasn't just a tool to exploit me. Though that may have been part of his intention…'
I had been a fool to be swayed by Kinuan's words.
'…The reason he spoke of humanity so often was because he himself cherished it like a treasure. He was trying to teach me what was truly important.'
Kinuan had backed me into a psychological corner, making me doubt Heilas’s true intentions. That was why I couldn't tell him the truth until it was too late. If I had spoken up sooner, so much would have been different.
'I was completely played by Kinuan's psychological manipulation.'
Kinuan was a monster. It was absurd arrogance to think we were on the same level—he stood far above me.
I was an idiot who couldn't even read Ivan. Who was I to boast of understanding a man like Kinuan?
"I see, Luka. Are you saying there is important information on here?"
Heilas reached out and slid the chip toward himself.
"With your cybernetics, Captain, you should be able to review the main points without disconnecting your external senses."
As a full-body cyborg, Heilas didn't need a separate device. He could just insert the chip directly into the port at the back of his neck.
Crunch.
Heilas rolled the chip between his fingers. It didn’t just break—it crumbled to dust.
"I stand by my choice. The moment I view this chip, the agreement that guarantees my family's safety becomes void. I will not gamble with the lives of my household."
Though my auditory vision couldn't perceive it, the light in Heilas’s eyes must have been blazing.
I could feel it, too. The Emperor's Shadows were twitching. They would move at a moment's notice. I bit my lower lip, my brow furrowing.
"That was left behind by the founder, Agatha—!"
"Enough! Not another word."
Heilas’s shout drowned out my voice. He stood and scanned the room.
Click, click.
The eight Shadows drew their weapons. They were dark and cold presences, showing no hint of excitement even as they prepared for battle.
Clatter!
The silent generals and officers stirred. Men who had dreamed of revolution just yesterday were now at the mercy of the Emperor's blade.
They must have been dissidents handpicked by Heilas over a long period, luring only those who posed a true threat to the Imperial Family. In many ways, they were an offering perfectly suited to the Emperor's taste.
"You're doing the exact same thing Noel Mulrizka did in the past!" I screamed.
At the name Noel Mulrizka, the Shadows reacted. Their inorganic gazes locked onto me.
The eyes of the captured generals and officers widened. As members of the military's high command, they would know who Noel Mulrizka was.
"Luka! Stop!"
Heilas lowered his spear, trying to stop me even at the very end. The spearhead aimed for my neck.
Clang!
Crucis met the spear. The blade and spearhead scraped against each other with a long, piercing screech. Heilas seemed surprised by my swift response.
Thank goodness. The drug's effects were still potent. My thoughts remained cold and fast, allowing me to react even to Heilas's ferocious attacks.
"The Empire has used men like you time and again to gather its internal malcontents and wipe them out in one fell swoop! This isn't a choice you made, Father!"
One of the Empire's secrets spilled from my lips, followed by silent screams and death throes.
Crunch! Stab!
The Emperor's Shadows moved. They began executing the prisoners who had heard me. The words I spoke were a secret that could only be sealed with death. Everyone except Ivan was being cut down.
Once the executions were finished, their weapons would be aimed at me.
Heilas’s brow furrowed so deeply it looked like it would break.
"Whether it’s my will or not doesn't matter! This is the best path. I am performing my duty and taking responsibility. Luka, why can’t you just follow my decision for once?! At this crucial moment, of all times! I gave you so many chances!"
Heilas roared, his voice so loud it felt like it was shattering my auditory vision.
My head swam. There wasn't much time. The executions were almost complete.
"Because I hate it! People like you, who break their own spirits and submit, claiming they have no other choice! I hate every last thing about you! And it’s not just you, Heilas. Everyone who steps into this cesspool becomes the same! I was the same! I’m sick of it!"
At every decisive moment, I was always like this.
I couldn't shoot the Korain boy. I tried to help Ilay save Lillian Ramones. I chose to have my neck snapped rather than surrender to Rick Kaiser. I knew I would die if I sided with the Empire, but I rebelled against Rick and Kinuan anyway. I knew Prince Fransek's assassination by Ivan would benefit me, but I still stood in the way.
My actions, my emotions—they were all the same. I knew I shouldn't love Giselle, but I couldn't stop myself from reaching for her.
It was the same this time. I knew I should have just returned to the main family’s mansion and quietly saved my own skin… but I came here instead.
A rebel destined to choose ruin at the very end.
This is why I’m nothing but a lowborn. A world-class idiot who can’t seize the opportunity to climb even when it's handed to him. This is why I can never escape this bottom-tier life.
After clawing my way this far, I'm still just a dumb bastard who throws himself off a cliff on a red-hot impulse.
Creak!
Heilas’s grip tightened on his spear shaft. I had no idea where its tip would point next.
The Shadows bypassed Heilas and closed in on me. I might be able to handle two of them, but against eight, I stood no chance.
Crunch!
A spearhead erupted from the mouth of one of the Shadows. A spearhead erupting from the mouth probably isn’t the most useful function on a battlefield. Unless, of course, you’re trying to assassinate someone mid-kiss.
…Which meant the spear was Heilas’s. He had killed the Shadow.
Click, click.
The seven remaining Shadows scattered, flanking us to seize the advantage.
"Lucaus Custoria, you have put the entire family in danger. Therefore, I dismiss you from your position as acting Family Head. This is my final mercy. If things go wrong, you will be the first to die by my hand."
Heilas spoke rapidly, spinning his spear. His movements were as disciplined as ever—intuitive yet brutally efficient.
"I told Jupe to prepare for exile if we don't return in time."
"Exile? And you trust Jupe with that?" Heilas asked, genuinely baffled.
What a truly terrible father. No wonder his children were all so twisted.
"Jupe is an adult. He'll figure it out."