Bad Born Blood - Chapter 126



Only Noblemtl

126

“Ah, it hurts, ugh, it hurts so much. Bleeding, the bleeding won’t stop.”

Enrico whined on the sofa. Enrico’s woman brought an ice pack and placed it on Enrico’s cheek.

“Honey, are you okay?”

“I’m dying from pain. Oh my god, this, this is the first time it hurts like this. If I die like this, oh, what am I going to do?”

The plague is also ridiculous. Enrico’s woman also burst out laughing as she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“People don’t die like that. So don’t worry.”

Enrico’s woman embraced him with a thorough sense of professionalism. Enrico, held in her voluptuous chest, closed his eyes and breathed as if he had found comfort.

“Luka, you, really, even if you hit me like this… … you’ll be okay, right?”

Enrico habitually tried to threaten me, but then he realized the reality and his voice started to crawl.

“Enrico, I don’t know if you know this, but earlier you were in a situation where you could have been beaten to death by the crowd.”

I stared out the window with my arms crossed. Outside, crowds of people were milling about.

‘This is La Vie en Rose’s safe house.’

This was where Enrico and I were now. From the outside, it looked like a middle-class home. However, the cupboards were filled with medical supplies that were hard to find. It was enough to perform a minor surgery.

Because of Enrico, the crowd in the lower areas chased me as if they were carrying me. Then, Grace showed up and took Enrico and me to the safe house.

Enrico and I were catching our breath in the safe house, while Grace was outside cleaning up for us.

“Did you contact Grace?”

I told Enrico’s woman. As expected of a professional woman from La Vie en Rose, she called Grace as soon as the incident broke out.

“Oh, yes. In an emergency, if you press the pager, Grace will come running right away, like a prince in a fairy tale. We always carry it with us when we greet nobles in the lower areas.”

Her speech was different from when she was talking to Enrico. Her dumbfounded appearance was nowhere to be found. Up until now, she seemed to have been acting according to Enrico’s intellectual level.

“Well done.”

I muttered. It would have been difficult for me to make my way through the crowds without Grace.

“It feels strange to be praised by the famous Luca. You know you’re a hot topic right now, right?”

The woman spoke to me with a show of kindness.

“There are many distortions. I am a different person than what is known.”

Enrico, who was dying at my words, intervened.

“That’s right, that’s right. He’s the kind of guy who uses violence before talking! Who would say he’s from the lower classes? Look, he half-killed me.”

If I really intended to half-kill you, I would have already been a living corpse… … .

While we were talking, someone was walking outside the window. It was Grace, a blindfolded woman.

Damn it.

Grace pulled back her hood as she entered the safe house.

“I had a subordinate of similar build to Lord Luca lure the crowd. You should be able to move in about twenty minutes. And as for Lord Enrico, I will take you home safely.”

Grace finished her explanation as neatly as she could.

“Ugh, I won’t be coming down to the lower areas for a while! I’m sick of those savages.”

“Good idea, Enrico. If you want to live long, you’d better not come down.”

I said bluntly. But Enrico didn’t pull the trigger until the very end. He may be stupid and ignorant, but he wasn’t a villain.

I folded my arms and looked out the window, thinking I would move once the crowds had thinned out a bit.

“Luke, you are a bigger shot than I thought. No, should I say you have become a bigger shot?”

Grace said as she stood next to me. She leaned back against the wall and stared at me blankly. I could see a faint smile.

“Are you one of those people who get swept up in frivolous rumors?”

“There’s no smoke when there’s no smoke. You must have killed a few nobles, even if it’s not as rumored.”

It’s hard to deny. Even though I’m a rebel, I’m the one who dealt with the Ramones family. I’m the one who killed Bao Zakanaan.

“It was all a mission. I didn’t have any other intentions. I never wanted to be a hero of the lower classes in the first place.”

“But now you are moving like that. This incident has made you a hero who saved children from the tyranny of the nobles. Oh, Enrico. This is not a joke. You really must not come down for the time being. Even in La Vie en Rose, it is difficult to protect you.”

Grace emphasized to Enrico again.

“I’m not coming down!”

Enrico shouted.

“There must be someone in their right mind in the Lagann family, so they will issue a grounding order for Enrico.”

I also chimed in. Enrico frowned and turned his head away.

There was a moment of silence. Grace watched me as if spying on me. At this moment, she seemed to be irritated.

‘This time, I also moved as the public wanted.’

It was to symbolize the imperial family’s concern for the public sentiment of the lower classes.

‘They won’t be able to easily dispose of me, who is popular in the lower classes.’

The water’s already spilled. If it’s hard to hide me, it’s safer to reveal myself more.

‘Noel… … .’

I felt a chill in my liver.

Noel Mulizka, he must have also gained support and popularity from the lower classes like me. I wondered how similar my actions are to Noel’s now.

I need to find out about Noel’s movements and the history of the time. I need a detailed record, not a one-line summary.

‘There will be a record of that time on Agatha’s chip.’

I reached into my pocket and felt two chips, one of Agatha’s old chips, the other one with the data restored.

Grace’s single eye lit up for a moment. She was communicating with someone.

“… … Diva has a message for you. If there’s anything you need, La Vie en Rose will support you in any way possible. You seem like you’ll become quite important. It’s like investing in advance.”

I felt my stomach churning. In the midst of all this, Martina Diva was about to take a spoonful.

“Well, that’s good news to hear. I don’t know how much a low-level gangster can help.”

I said, licking one side of my lips. Grace, accustomed to my harsh words, didn’t even blink.

“It may be difficult to help you with force, but I can help you in other ways. I understand that you are sensitive, but there is no need to turn your allies into enemies with your irrational words and actions.”

It’s calm advice. Grace is too good a person to have in La Vie en Rose. There was a reason she was chosen for the Royal Guard.

“You should also moderate your actions and leave La Vie en Rose. This is like repaying the favor.”

“Whether or not I have repaid the favor is up to me, not others, to decide.”

Well, that’s true too.

I felt my head cooling down. I liked this aspect of talking to Grace. Reason comes first. Perhaps it’s because Grace maintains a rational attitude.

My emotions stopped. My rational thoughts started to roll quickly. I closed my eyes and opened them.

“Grace, how good is your shooting skill?”

“I’m more confident in shooting than close combat. I was top marksman when I was a cadet.”

It seemed that way. Usually, guys with calm personalities are good at shooting. Somewhat passionate guys are good at close combat.

Whirlwind.

I took out the shock pistol Ruina from inside my coat. Grace’s eyes widened. She must have noticed that it was an item from the Imperial Workshop.

“I’ll leave ‘Ruina’ to you for the time being. You’ll be able to help me at important times.”

I laid the groundwork through Grace. I don’t know if I will use this number later or not.

But now was the time to look far ahead and act. If I was going to fight the monsters, I had to look ahead with this much boldness.

“I’m not the type of person to covet other people’s lovers, but… … this is kind of cool.”

Grace took Ruina in and checked her specifications. She gently stroked Ruina and then took her into her arms.

Squeak.

After handing over my extra bullets, I opened the door and checked outside. It seemed like I could go out now.

“Do you think it’s wise to leave this up to me? I’m not Gabriel. You and Lavienrose are in a relationship of mutual benefit.”

Grace said as she watched me leave.

“I know. That’s why I’m leaving it to you, Grace, and not to La Vie en Rose.”

She flinched, as if speechless. I nodded softly and left the safe house.

I plan to use Grace’s feelings. Even if you think it’s bad, there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to use everything I can.

* * *

Three days have passed since the Enrico incident.

The way people looked at me changed. Even at the guard headquarters, there were more people gossiping about me.

‘The symbol of semi-nobility, Lucius Custoria.’

This was attached like a tag. If the atmosphere of the Royal Guard is like this, then the number of people in the general noble society who are wary of me will increase rapidly.

The Custoria family that embraces me will also be in a very difficult position.

‘Are you on our side?’

It seemed like people were looking at me that way.

‘If I wasn’t from the Custoria family… … I probably would have ended up in a bad way.’

It was thanks to the halo of the Custoria family that I was not directly insulted or questioned.

It would be difficult to question the adopted son of the Custoria family as a vanguard of the anti-noble faction. That would immediately raise suspicions about the Custoria family.

I was truly enjoying the glory of my family. Long live Heilas, long live Custoria.

… … I faced Ilay in the break room with my mind wandering.

“Hey, you’re the noble hunter. Hey, don’t stare at me. I’m scared.”

A joke as stupid as my own thought came out of Ilay’s mouth.

“What does everyone think of me when I’m not around?”

I got straight to the point. Illeido stopped joking and looked around.

“My colleagues and those close to you don’t really care. They know your personality well.”

“That’s good. What about the others?”

“The noble society took in an orphan from the lower class, but now they are cursing at them and treating them like drinking snacks, saying they don’t know how to be grateful. They act as if they have done you a favor.”

“Well, that’s as expected. If it’s just talk, then that’s better.”

“What on earth was His Majesty Francis thinking, putting you in this situation? Did you make a big mistake? The funny thing is, right after that, you saved His Majesty from an assassin, hmm.”

Illei is probably thinking fast, but it will be difficult to see the whole picture with insufficient information.

“Okay. More importantly, how is the atmosphere at your house?”

“There’s a lot of noise about the Catacomb Mine. Some of the elders in our family are happy because their pensions have increased… … .”

Ilay stared at me and trailed off. He must have known that the atmosphere in the military was strange. There were many high-ranking military personnel in the Kartika family.

“… …Luca. Wasn’t it the imperial will that the Catacomb Mine rights be transferred to the Disabled Veterans Fund?”

This isn’t a big secret. It’s something that all the key figures in the military know. It was something that could be inferred from the position of Iley, the next head of the military family.

“The military has acted in a subversive manner.”

“I used to think I was the only one who was being rebellious… … It’s funny. Now that I think about it, does the captain know about what we did at the Arcane Fortress?”

Ilay’s guesses had gone this far. I wish he hadn’t known.

“That’s right, he knew that too and let it slide. He said it was a waste to dispose of you and me over something like that. It was an acceptable deviation from the norm in the Royal Guard.”

Illei smiled darkly for a moment. The veins on his chin stood out beneath his twisted lips. His fingertips trembled.

“Ha, haha. Yeah, maybe Lillian… … .”

“Calm down, Ellie. It’s in the past. It was the best decision at the time.”

Illei quickly put down his emotions, making my words seem colorless. He clasped his hands together and erased the trembling in his hands.

“I know. It’s all in the past. Chaos will soon descend upon Akbaran. Do you think so too?”

“maybe.”

“This chaos is an opportunity for us. It’s a chance for you and me to advance.”

The word success came out of Ilay’s mouth. It was a word that would normally come out of my mouth.

In the past, I thought that Ilay would give up her subversive thoughts. However, when I saw Ilay, who seemed to have complied with the imperial order, I felt unfamiliar.

As if she understood the meaning of my gaze, Ilay leaned back against the railing and smiled.

“Don’t cry so much, Luca. I still think the Empire is strange. It’s a wrong society. But the only way to change that is to get promoted, right? For now, I’m still the Ile Kartika you remember.”

“I’ve never had luck, idiot.”

Illai smiled slyly. He jumped down the railing and waved at me.

“Whatever you do, take care, Luca.”

I watched Ilay disappear.

… … Then I thought it was time for me to go. Today, Kinuan called me. It seemed like it was time.