Chapter 137
I was imprisoned in the underground cells of the Imperial Guard headquarters. The solitary confinent cell was dark and dreary. All my equipnt had been stripped away, leaving wearing nothing but a pair of pants.
If there was any silver lining, it was that my limbs were still intact. I didn’t want to put into words how pitiful a person looked when locked up in solitary after losing their arms and legs.
’They won’t kill so easily.’
I was soone with considerable value in many ways. That wasn’t arrogance, just an objective fact. If I were useless, they would have severed my head a long ti ago.
’Hemillas and Ivan have joined forces.’
Their collaboration had gone far beyond my expectations.
’This gives Hemillas a real chance at winning his gamble.’
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
’The military and Ivan are staging a coup.’
If they succeeded, Ivan would beco emperor. The military and the Custoria family would be credited for their contributions, avoiding purges and maintaining their power. Regardless of the outco, it wasn’t a bad plan.
’A coup with the military is a gamble for Ivan as well. Even if he becos emperor, he could end up as nothing more than a puppet under military control.’
Given ti, Ivan would naturally ascend to the throne. I hadn’t expected him to take such drastic asures.
’Is he really willing to risk instability and danger just to overthrow his father and rush to claim the throne?’
To , Ivan’s ambition seed excessive. If the coup failed, even a royal wouldn’t be spared. At best, he might escape with his life, but his position as heir would be revoked.
’Hemillas and Ivan have revealed all their cards.’
Now, what mattered was what cards the emperor and Kinuan still had left. Once I figured that out, I could see the full picture more clearly.
I had been captured due to an unexpected complication, yet I didn’t even feel anger. My mind was simply cooling, growing endlessly cold.
’Is Giselle alright?’
There was only one person I was worried about. Hah, I really had turned into a romantic.
Giselle had been captured and detained by the other Imperial Guards. She wouldn’t be released until everything was over. The last image of her, looking at with worry, was burned vividly into my mind.
Click, click.
Footsteps echoed. Judging by the stride and the sound, it was Ivan Accretia.
"You underestimated , Luka."
Ivan spoke from beyond the tal door.
"I never underestimated you. Assassinating Francec in that situation was not the right decision. Especially not for a ruler."
Ivan stepped closer, stopping in front of the tal door. His face appeared through the narrow window.
"You want to discuss imperial governance and politics with ?"
"Avoiding war isn’t a matter of debate—it’s just common sense."
Ivan chuckled from beyond the door.
"Luka, you have less information than I do. No matter how much you speculate using Akies Victima, you’re still making judgnts within a narrow scope. That’s why an Overseer’s role isn’t about making grand, strategic decisions but rather small, tactical ones. No matter how skilled you Overseers are, in the end, you’re just beasts crawling on the ground. Without wings, you can’t see the world from above."
"If war breaks out, it’s us crawling on the ground who will die first. Without wings, we have nowhere to escape—unlike so people."
Ivan flashed a smile so alluring it almost felt seductive.
"I despise Kinuan because he doesn’t know his place. Luka, you’re behaving just like him. But unlike my father, I won’t grant an Overseer excessive authority."
"Of course not. You’re far less knowledgeable and even more impatient than His Majesty. Probably because you’ve never had to struggle in your life."
I wished Ivan would get angry. Not that he ever would.
People like Ivan and Kinuan weren’t easily shaken by words. After dealing with these outliers for so long, I almost missed the ones who would fall for my childish provocations.
"You’re really trying hard to provoke , Luka. Are you hoping to make slip up emotionally? Too bad. Hemillas and I have already struck a rational deal. No matter how much you try, I won’t kill you over a few insults. Hemillas seems to have a certain fondness for you."
Ivan’s pupils swirled, shifting through a spectrum of iridescent colors.
"Well, I wish you and Hemillas success. After all, that does seem to be the ’best’ outco for all of us."
I spoke honestly.
If the coup led by Ivan and the Custoria family succeeded, most of my objectives would be achieved—ensuring the survival of both Hemillas and the Custoria line. My own survival was still uncertain, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t die.
"Huh. To be honest, I expected you to be much angrier. You’ve grown."
"I’m still growing."
Ivan burst into laughter.
"You just had bad luck, Lukaus Custoria. If all of this had happened a few years later... you would have played a much more important role."
"Nothing in this world ever goes the way we want. I’m used to it."
Ivan took a step back.
"This was fun, Luka. I’ll never forget the Overseer you almost beca."
I listened as Ivan walked away. The door at the end of the hallway opened, then closed. Silence returned.
...And three days passed, but Hemillas never ca to see .
999
As expected, the solitary confinent cell in the underground prison had no windows. But even without one, my heightened senses told that the storm outside was reaching its peak.
Clatter.
At set tis, a small opening in the ceiling would slide open just enough to let food and water drop through.
Crunch.
I bit into the hard bread, chewing as I conserved my strength.
Whoosh.
My punches were still light and precise. I hadn’t neglected my routine of light exercise and conditioning. Spending a week in this cramped cell was miserable, but if I wanted to keep my senses sharp, I had to keep moving.
’This isn’t over yet.’
The tides would shift at least once more. When they did, that would be my last chance to intervene.
Another day passed in the cell. al ti had co and gone, but no food or water fell from the ceiling. Whatever was about to happen, the ti had co.
I remained seated, senses on high alert.
Creak, creak, clang!
The door was being forced open.
“Luka? Luka! Where are you?!”
Damn it. I frowned. It was Giselle’s voice.
’Giselle.’
Not even when Hemillas and Ivan captured did I waver. But now, I couldn’t help it.
How the hell was Giselle here?
She was checking each solitary cell one by one, making her way toward . In an instant, she was standing right outside mine.
"Step back. I’m setting up explosives."
There was no ti for greetings.
Giselle spoke without hesitation as she carefully spread gel along the edges of the doorfra. I had no idea where she got the gel explosives, but that hardly mattered.
“Giselle, just give the short version. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m guessing we don’t have much ti.”
I stepped back until my back was pressed against the wall.
“I contacted Barbara and had her help plan your escape. She changed the guards’ shift schedules and patrol routes. The security caras are playing dummy footage. And she arranged for you to get equipnt from the Imperial Guard’s armory.”
“The price?”
“A date.”
It didn’t sound like a joke. If it was Barbara, she’d do sothing this reckless just for that. That witch must have taken quite a risk for a date with Giselle.
“That’s fine, but no sleeping together. I don’t care if it’s with a woman—absolutely not.”
“Is this really the ti for jokes?”
Giselle shot a sharp glare. But I didn’t laugh. I answered her with complete seriousness.
“I’m not joking.”
“...You’re surprisingly jealous. Not very manly of you.”
“I’ve never really had anything of my own in my life. If I get a little possessive, just let it slide.”
"Pleading with your tragic upbringing? That’s low. Also, this is my first ti using gel explosives, so I might have miscalculated the amount. Just make sure to stay clear."
Giselle stepped aside as she spoke.
Click.
She pressed the detonator hastily. If she was in such a rush that she was neglecting safety, then our escape plan must have been on an extrely tight schedule.
Fzzzzzt!
The gel explosives detonated in sequence. The gel lining the doorfra ignited like a fuse, triggering small explosions one after another. A series of dull, tallic clangs echoed through the cell.
Boom! Clang!
Fragnts of tal blasted off from the explosion, ricocheting around the cell like bullets.
"Hm. Tsk."
I felt a shiver run down my spine as a piece of shrapnel grazed the back of my neck. The debris bounced unpredictably, making it difficult to dodge. A little misstep, and I really could have died in here.
"L-Luka? You’re... you’re not dead, right? Damn it, did I use too much? Barbara said this much should be fine..."
Giselle mumbled anxiously. I could hear her shifting her weight, probably stomping her foot in frustration.
Thud!
The doorfra was completely destroyed. The tal door groaned before crashing inward, landing with a heavy thud inside the cell.
"How much ti do we have left?"
As I stepped out of the cell, I yanked a shard of tal out of my left shoulder. A finger-sized piece of shrapnel, slick with blood, dropped to the floor.
"If Barbara’s calculations were right, about 140 seconds? Your shoulder... well, it’s not too bad. Not bad for a first-ti demolition job, right?"
"I’m grateful you saved , but I’m the one who decides if I’m okay. I feel pain, too, you know."
I pressed a heated piece of tal against the wound, cauterizing it on the spot.
"Don’t be a baby. I’ve been stabbed with worse."
I flinched and quickly scanned Giselle for injuries. Luckily, she was unhard. Then, I understood what she ant.
"Damn, a noble lady sure has a mouth on her."
I muttered under my breath. anwhile, Giselle pulled out a terminal and projected the escape plan as a hologram.
’Barbara...’
The plan was ticulous. Hard to believe it had been put together on short notice.
Barbara must have been well-acquainted with the security weaknesses of the Imperial Guard headquarters. That was the only way she could draft such a precise plan on the fly.
We ascended from the underground prison. Thanks to Barbara’s interference, there were no guards in sight.
‘Of all things, I never thought I’d owe Barbara a favor.’
Enemies and allies were ambiguous. The higher one climbed within the empire, the more indistinct the line beca. There was no way to tell who was a friend and who was a foe. No—attempting to distinguish between them was aningless from the start.
There were no enemies or allies. Put another way, everyone was both an enemy and an ally.
’Stay flexible—so flexible that my brain lts into liquid.’
As I moved toward the corner of the hallway, I abruptly pulled Giselle back, stopping her in her tracks.
Beep!
I clicked my tongue as I closed my eyes. Kinuan had said echolocation wasn’t efficient. But I had persistently trained my auditory senses.
For soone without a fully cybernetic body, echolocation was an invaluable technique.
’Don’t listen—see.’
The auditory signals were processed in the occipital lobe, which handled vision. What once felt like a vague intuition beca a sharply defined image through echolocation.
...I had suspected sothing was off.
Even with Barbara’s plan, Giselle had rescued far too easily.
’If Hemillas had truly intended to imprison us, we wouldn’t have stood a chance.’
I still had all my limbs. Giselle had been able to contact soone outside.
Soone else had been assisting her, and she didn’t even realize it. I didn’t have to think too hard about who it might be.
“You can co out now, Paigon.”
There was movent. The air shimred at the corner of the hallway.
Paigon, wearing a cloaking mantle, gradually revealed himself from the head down. The slim, visor-like goggles covering his eyes still glowed faintly.
Paigon glanced at and gave a small nod.
"It has been a while, young master. You’ve grown."
I wanted to use my joke again.
"I’m still growing."
"Hm, but your sense of humor seems to have deteriorated."
Maybe that was a mistake.
Paigon regarded us with his usual unkempt appearance. He glanced at Giselle behind and nodded slightly.
Giselle didn’t seem to recognize him. Just how much had Hemillas confided in that even his own family remained in the dark?
"You were the one protecting Giselle all this ti."
I stated it as fact.
Paigon had likely shielded Giselle from Barbara’s madness. Despite his disheveled look, Paigon was an electronic warfare specialist and a hacker skilled enough to manipulate the human brain itself.
"As sharp as ever. But first, take this."
Paigon slid a bundle off his back and pushed it toward . It skidded across the floor until it reached my feet.
Thud.
I stopped it with my foot and checked inside. My equipnt was there, including Crucis.
"And Miss Giselle, my na is Paigon. I serve Master Hemillas. Ti is short, so I will deliver his ssage first."
Paigon gave a precise bow before lifting his head.
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