“You’re so diligent. You’re working hard every day, training your supernatural abilities.”
“Father? What brings you here?”
Christa turned around, pretending to be surprised.
His father, Duke Edgar Wassenberg, did not often visit the castle.
He, who spends most of his time at the Duke's residence in the capital...
Why did he appear here now?
"I came to cheer for my daughter."
“What? You’re busy, so...”
Edgar had a warm smile on his face, as always. So, for just a brief moment, Christa fell into the illusion that it was nothing serious.
However, literally, it was only for a very brief moment.
Only until his guard approached, holding a blood-soaked sack, pulled someone's severed head out of it, and threw it on the floor.
“Kyaaaak!”
Christa turned her head with her eyes covered. Her whole body vibrated pathologically. Tens of thousands of terrible images flashed through her mind.
"My father told me to kill him."
Already?
Is that Alex's neck?
This fast?
How on earth?
"Oh my, you ignorant fool. Doesn't the child get scared?"
“I am sorry, Duke. I am sorry, Miss.”
Through her fingers, she could see Edgar's face calmly scolding the guard.
Edgar approached and stroked his daughter's head, looking pitiful as she trembled with fear.
“It’s nothing. I’ve been so busy with work lately that I haven’t been paying attention to my nature, and as a result, the research institute’s security has become quite lax.”
“...”
"I merely held them accountable."
At those words, Christa instinctively knew.
Father.
Christa dropped the hand covering her eyes, turned her head with great difficulty, and examined the head lying on the ground.
The face of a man who couldn't even close his eyes.
It was familiar, as expected.
The man he met every time he visited the research institute regularly to manage his supernatural abilities.
A researcher who approached over several years gained trust and was eventually even granted access to the archives.
He didn't know anything.
The fact that Christa had intentionally become close to him, the fact that she stole archive data using his access card, and the fact that she leaked it to the outside.
Nothing at all.
Therefore, the father shouldn't have known either.
That researcher was someone who did not know the truth, leaving no room for betrayal, and he leaked the stolen data by making copies.
“To think the security was... lax... Was the data lost?”
Christa asked while holding back her urge to vomit.
"No."
"Sure?"
"It's just. I had a bad feeling about it."
“...”
Christa paused and let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Ha."
Then, soon, like a madman.
“Hahaha, hahahaha...”
Edgar looked at Christa and laughed along with her.
"You mean you just killed someone because... You had a bad feeling?"
“Christa.”
“...”
"The institute's data may be a weakness for those with supernatural abilities, but it is not a secret worth risking your life to protect."
Edgar affectionately wiped away the tears that had welled up in Christa's eyes from the shock.
“So what if they know our weaknesses? What can inferior humans do?”
“...”
“Just because they know your wrist is broken, do you think the ants can kill you? Or at least scratch you?”
Christa realized that her father was aware of the fact that she had been doing something foolish behind his back.
Whether that is a guess or a certainty.
"The reason he died is that he was stupid. If I let him live, he would just keep being used, and I can't just stand by and watch that happen."
Even the fact that she approached that researcher.
"Duke."
Just then, the guard who had been searching the surroundings thoroughly returned with something.
Christa's messenger bird, frozen in a paralyzed crash.
Edgar took the bird from the guard. He felt its stiff body here and there, then soon opened its beak.
Find the note, take it out, and open it.
X
A password written in bold red ink.
He won't be able to read anything.
But Edgar asked with a smile.
"Were you worried your younger sibling might die?"
“...”
Christa wasn't even surprised anymore.
Father must have deliberately let her know about the plan to eliminate Alex.
They do not know whether he genuinely intended to kill Alex. Therefore, even if Christa were to turn back time, she would have had no choice but to make the same choice.
It means they would have taken any measure for Alexander.
In other words, if Christa is sincere toward her half-brothers.
It was a trap that was bound to fall into from the start.
Oh.
“Father? What brings you here?”
Christa turned around, pretending to be surprised.
His father, Duke Edgar Wassenberg, did not often visit the castle.
He, who spends most of his time at the Duke's residence in the capital...
Why did he appear here now?
"I came to cheer for my daughter."
“What? You’re busy, so...”
Edgar had a warm smile on his face, as always. So, for just a brief moment, Christa fell into the illusion that it was nothing serious.
However, literally, it was only for a very brief moment.
Only until his guard approached, holding a blood-soaked sack, pulled someone's severed head out of it, and threw it on the floor.
“Kyaaaak!”
Christa turned her head with her eyes covered. Her whole body vibrated pathologically. Tens of thousands of terrible images flashed through her mind.
"My father told me to kill him."
Already?
Is that Alex's neck?
This fast?
How on earth?
"Oh my, you ignorant fool. Doesn't the child get scared?"
“I am sorry, Duke. I am sorry, Miss.”
Through her fingers, she could see Edgar's face calmly scolding the guard.
Edgar approached and stroked his daughter's head, looking pitiful as she trembled with fear.
“It’s nothing. I’ve been so busy with work lately that I haven’t been paying attention to my nature, and as a result, the research institute’s security has become quite lax.”
“...”
"I merely held them accountable."
At those words, Christa instinctively knew.
Got it.
Christa dropped the hand covering her eyes, turned her head with great difficulty, and examined the head lying on the ground.
The face of a man who couldn't even close his eyes.
It was familiar, as expected.
The man he met every time he visited the research institute regularly to manage his supernatural abilities.
A researcher who approached over several years gained trust and was eventually even granted access to the archives.
He didn't know anything.
The fact that Christa had intentionally become close to him, the fact that she stole archive data using his access card, and the fact that she leaked it to the outside.
Nothing at all.
Therefore, the father shouldn't have known either.
That researcher was someone who did not know the truth, leaving no room for betrayal, and he leaked the stolen data by making copies.
“To think the security was... lax... Was the data lost?”
Christa asked while holding back her urge to vomit.
"No."
"Sure?"
"It's just. I had a bad feeling about it."
“...”
Christa paused and let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Ha."
Then, soon, like a madman.
“Hahaha, hahahaha...”
Edgar looked at Christa and laughed along with her.
"You mean you just killed someone because... You had a bad feeling?"
“Christa.”
“...”
"The institute's data may be a weakness for those with supernatural abilities, but it is not a secret worth risking your life to protect."
Edgar affectionately wiped away the tears that had welled up in Christa's eyes from the shock.
“So what if they know our weaknesses? What can inferior humans do?”
“...”
“Just because they know your wrist is broken, do you think the ants can kill you? Or at least scratch you?”
Christa realized that her father was aware of the fact that she had been doing something foolish behind his back.
Whether that is a guess or a certainty.
"The reason he died is that he was stupid. If I let him live, he would just keep being used, and I can't just stand by and watch that happen."
Even the fact that she approached that researcher.
"Duke."
Just then, the guard who had been searching the surroundings thoroughly returned with something.
Christa's messenger bird, frozen in a paralyzed crash.
Edgar took the bird from the guard. He felt its stiff body here and there, then soon opened its beak.
Find the note, take it out, and open it.
X
A password written in bold red ink.
He won't be able to read anything.
But Edgar asked with a smile.
"Were you worried your younger sibling might die?"
“...”
Christa wasn't even surprised anymore.
Father must have deliberately let her know about the plan to eliminate Alex.
They do not know whether he genuinely intended to kill Alex. Therefore, even if Christa were to turn back time, she would have had no choice but to make the same choice.
It means they would have taken any measure for Alexander.
In other words, if Christa is sincere toward her half-brothers.
It was a trap that was bound to fall into from the start.
Oh.
Edgar approached and caught Christa, who was staggering as her legs gave way.
Supporting his daughter like a loving father, Edgar gave an order.
"Close down Christa's training grounds."
In effect, it was a confinement order placed on her.
I realized once again that my father is the kind of person who sits still and looks 10 or 20 moves ahead.
Unfortunately, having candidly admitted that I fell short of his intelligence, I had only one way to respond.
Since it is too overwhelming to keep up with my father's numbers, I just proceed by assuming the worst, even worse, even more worst possible outcome for everything.
By leaking the research data to Alex, Christa laid a great foundation that brought us together after being apart and allowed us to put our heads together.
Of course, my clever Krista wouldn't have just mindlessly stabbed her father in the back.
Judging by the way she secretly delivered the materials to Alex, it is expected that she meticulously planned and executed her actions so that an ordinary person could not even catch her.
But.
'If there is a problem, it is that my father is no ordinary person.'
So I am assuming the worst-case scenario that could occur after I make contact with Christa.
When I recall what I went through before the regression, it must have been a confinement order.
That is also the reason why I was trying to come meet Richard in a hurry.
Now that we have opened up about everything, he and I both have things to do for each other in our respective places.
"Take care of yourself, brother."
"Don't worry about me."
We decided to part ways right where we had been talking.
However, Richard kept hesitating, as if he couldn't bring himself to move.
“You said you’d return to the capital straight away.”
"Yes."
Richard, who had been looking at me with worried eyes, turned his gaze to Nike, who was standing beside me.
“...”
It seems like he doesn't trust him at all.
Why are the guards unarmed?
A stranger who has to send his younger sister off on a journey alone.
Actually, I didn't have enough time to tell Richard everything, and even if I had had time, I couldn't have told him anything more.
Nike's situation, going around in disguise as a member of a secret society, wasn't the kind of thing I could just blab about as I pleased.
And so, naturally, you ended up pretending to be my bodyguard... Prince of the Empire!
“Don’t worry, brother. This person is capable and trustworthy. He’s already been guarding me for a whole year.”
“What’s your name?”
Wait. Name?!
"It's James."
I rattled off a common name lying on the street in a second. I was even surprised by my own quick thinking.
"Yeah, James."
Richard nodded and reached for his back pocket. I wondered what he was doing all of a sudden, but his wallet came out.
'Huh? Wait!'
This looks ominous.
"Brother..."
"Please take good care of my younger sibling."
Richard, who had learned nothing but bad things, opened his wallet and took out a few checks before I could stop him, then stuffed them deep into Nike's shirt pocket.
Wow.
That's... shocking...
"Vania, see you again."
Richard, who had no idea what he had just done, looked at me with affectionate eyes and said goodbye.
“...Yeah. See you later, big brother.”
And so, Richard took the first step and left.
I apologized immediately as soon as I was alone with Nike.
"Sorry."
Nike glanced down at the wad of cash stuffed deep into his shirt pocket and let out a hollow laugh.
The Imperial Prince, who received a tip to escort the young lady well!
He even almost got stabbed in the neck earlier!
I felt embarrassed and sorry, so I covered my face and apologized once again.
“I, I’m really sorry...”
“No. Shall we go back now?”
I gently parted the fingers covering my eyes. Nike was smiling.
Fortunately, the generous Prince seemed willing to overlook the ignorant and arrogant noble prodigal son.
He took my hand, covering my face, and spoke.
"Let's buy something delicious to eat on the way."
“Ugh!”
Supporting his daughter like a loving father, Edgar gave an order.
"Close down Christa's training grounds."
In effect, it was a confinement order placed on her.
***
I realized once again that my father is the kind of person who sits still and looks 10 or 20 moves ahead.
Unfortunately, having candidly admitted that I fell short of his intelligence, I had only one way to respond.
Since it is too overwhelming to keep up with my father's numbers, I just proceed by assuming the worst, even worse, even more worst possible outcome for everything.
By leaking the research data to Alex, Christa laid a great foundation that brought us together after being apart and allowed us to put our heads together.
Of course, my clever Krista wouldn't have just mindlessly stabbed her father in the back.
Judging by the way she secretly delivered the materials to Alex, it is expected that she meticulously planned and executed her actions so that an ordinary person could not even catch her.
But.
'If there is a problem, it is that my father is no ordinary person.'
So I am assuming the worst-case scenario that could occur after I make contact with Christa.
When I recall what I went through before the regression, it must have been a confinement order.
That is also the reason why I was trying to come meet Richard in a hurry.
Now that we have opened up about everything, he and I both have things to do for each other in our respective places.
"Take care of yourself, brother."
"Don't worry about me."
We decided to part ways right where we had been talking.
However, Richard kept hesitating, as if he couldn't bring himself to move.
“You said you’d return to the capital straight away.”
"Yes."
Richard, who had been looking at me with worried eyes, turned his gaze to Nike, who was standing beside me.
“...”
It seems like he doesn't trust him at all.
Why are the guards unarmed?
A stranger who has to send his younger sister off on a journey alone.
Actually, I didn't have enough time to tell Richard everything, and even if I had had time, I couldn't have told him anything more.
Nike's situation, going around in disguise as a member of a secret society, wasn't the kind of thing I could just blab about as I pleased.
And so, naturally, you ended up pretending to be my bodyguard... Prince of the Empire!
“Don’t worry, brother. This person is capable and trustworthy. He’s already been guarding me for a whole year.”
“What’s your name?”
Wait. Name?!
"It's James."
I rattled off a common name lying on the street in a second. I was even surprised by my own quick thinking.
"Yeah, James."
Richard nodded and reached for his back pocket. I wondered what he was doing all of a sudden, but his wallet came out.
'Huh? Wait!'
This looks ominous.
"Brother..."
"Please take good care of my younger sibling."
Richard, who had learned nothing but bad things, opened his wallet and took out a few checks before I could stop him, then stuffed them deep into Nike's shirt pocket.
Wow.
That's... shocking...
"Vania, see you again."
Richard, who had no idea what he had just done, looked at me with affectionate eyes and said goodbye.
“...Yeah. See you later, big brother.”
And so, Richard took the first step and left.
I apologized immediately as soon as I was alone with Nike.
"Sorry."
Nike glanced down at the wad of cash stuffed deep into his shirt pocket and let out a hollow laugh.
The Imperial Prince, who received a tip to escort the young lady well!
He even almost got stabbed in the neck earlier!
I felt embarrassed and sorry, so I covered my face and apologized once again.
“I, I’m really sorry...”
“No. Shall we go back now?”
I gently parted the fingers covering my eyes. Nike was smiling.
Fortunately, the generous Prince seemed willing to overlook the ignorant and arrogant noble prodigal son.
He took my hand, covering my face, and spoke.
"Let's buy something delicious to eat on the way."
“Ugh!”
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment