Bad Born Blood - Chapter 138



Only Noblemtl

138

“‘Return to the mansion and carry out your duties and responsibilities, Lucius Custoria,’ said the master.”

I put on my gear and listened to Pygon’s words.

“How much did you expect, Father?”

When I asked, Pygon smiled, the corners of his wrinkled lips lifting.

“Well, I don’t know.”

The older Pygon is, the more experienced he is. It’s hard to beat him in words.

“Is there a way to get back to the main mansion? Even the air vehicle can’t take off, right?”

“It’s not impossible to get there by land. It’s just that there are no roads connecting it to the island, but it’s not an island.”

I put on my coat. My Graken boots were out of place.

‘Iskan took the Graken Boots.’

Still, Crucis was on my waist. Having a weapon gave me a sense of security.

“What if I don’t go back to the mansion?”

Pygon looked up at me. His artificial eyes were replaced with straight-line goggles. Because of this, his pupils and eyes showed no emotional lines.

“The master is not pleased with your sudden actions. You have come to a place where you should not have come. For now, you must trust me and wait.”

I closed my eyes, opened them, and stared at the pygon.

‘… … If you look at the children of the nobility these days, there are many who believe that the world will work in their favor. It is an optimistic belief with no basis whatsoever.’

I remembered what Pygon had once said to me in praise.

“The world can’t be so kind to me that if I just wait around, the problem will be solved.”

I grabbed the hilt of the sword with my right hand. Pygon’s voice also became angry.

“Are you going to disobey your master’s orders twice? Do you not trust your father that much?”

… … Now I understand, what a mistake we all made.

“My father hid many things from me. I don’t blame him. I did the same thing. That’s why ‘Haylas’ and I couldn’t trust each other.”

This is the mistake Noel, Heilas, and I made.

I told Giselle everything. It doesn’t matter if the lies were well-intentioned or malicious. Who would believe the words of someone who doesn’t tell the truth?

If you want to be trusted, you must tell the truth.

Noel did not gain Agatha and Catherine’s trust because he did not tell them the truth. That led to everyone’s downfall, and Agatha never found true happiness until her death. Catherine hated Noel until her last moment.

Neither Haylas nor I fully trusted each other because we never told each other the truth. If either of us had been open with each other, things wouldn’t have been this complicated. There was definitely a bond between us, but there was no trust.

‘For my own safety and security, I must hide my weaknesses. It is always advantageous to my survival to have secrets.’

That is, if your only goal is survival.

My goal now is not simply survival. I have to overcome many problems that are in front of me. Since my goal has changed, it is natural that I should change my strategy. In order to create someone who can help me, I had to reveal my weaknesses and share my secrets.

Of course, revealing your weaknesses and whispering secrets is dangerous. But nothing in this world comes for free.

‘If I think about it, the reason Ilay and I became somewhat distant was because we started keeping secrets from each other. No, to be exact, it was because I started keeping many secrets from each other.’

When I was a cadet and knew nothing, Ilay and I shared everything. We knew even the smallest things about each other.

Even Ilay confided in me about his fatal weakness and secret, his ‘subversive thoughts’, because he believed I would not reveal them.

And as a way to repay Ilay’s trust and faith, I also accompanied him on the dangerous plan to rescue Lillian Ramones. If I had realized Ilay’s subversive thoughts on my own too late… … I would have felt betrayed and not helped him.

‘At some point, I stopped speaking honestly, so Iley stopped talking about herself.’

And then, little by little, a wall was built between us.

‘On the contrary… …Gabriel and I gradually became closer as we got to know each other.’

As my secrets were revealed, Gabriel and I grew closer. Gabriel would now be willing to take risks for me.

Tsk tsk tsk.

A pleasant white noise came from my ears. Knowledge and enlightenment stimulated my brain. The vaguely tangled threads began to unravel one by one.

“… … Miss Giselle, please come this way.”

Pygon muttered. His hands were inside his coat. I don’t know what kind of weapon he’ll find there.

Hold on.

Giselle shook her head, grabbing my skirt. Pygon’s single-lens goggles glowed red.

OMG.

I noticed the output from Pygon’s body increasing and sounded an alert.

“You’d better quit. Combat isn’t your specialty. You should guide us to your father.”

Pygon is quick-witted. And he is truly someone Haylas trusts. Whenever Haylas has an important, secret mission, he calls Pygon before his family.

“Your Majesty, then I will give you a question. If you answer it correctly, you will obey my orders.”

I nodded and waited for his next words.

“Do you know what your master’s next plan is?”

Pygon waited for my answer. My lips twitched.

My thinking is much faster than that of a normal person, having undergone neurochemical treatment. Pygon probably didn’t expect an obvious answer when he asked.

‘Noel’s misjudgment led to Agatha’s mistake.’

Agatha waited for Noel’s reincarnation. Because of her wrong obsession, she couldn’t see what was really important. She didn’t know that there was another Noel under her.

‘It’s not me who’s close to Noel… … It’s Heilas.’

Heilas possessed great insight and did not run away from responsibility and duty. Although he was not born at the bottom, he was born as the second son and won the position of head of the household. He continued to rise through the ranks in the military, and his connections and experience were no less than Noel’s.

… … And Heilas is capable of self-sacrifice. He doesn’t just throw his family and subordinates to the ground. He even uses himself, the head of the household and the captain of the guards, as bait for the sake of his family and the empire.

‘The best has long since disappeared, and the dilemma of having to choose between the lesser evil and the worst.’

In essence, Heilas was in the same situation as Noel. So he had only one option.

A coup is not his real goal!

‘He embraces all the flames and explodes.’

Heilas appeared to make the same choice as Noel. He would kill all the military generals who had plotted the rebellion together, and he would also cut off Ivan Kratsya’s head. It was a tribute to the emperor.

And then I will take my own life.

The Emperor will see to the intentions of Heilas’s tribute. Just as Noel’s sacrifice allowed Agatha to remain the progenitor of a powerful family, Heilas’ sacrifice will ensure the survival of House Custoria.

The only answer that fulfills both the responsibility as the head of the household and the duties of the captain of the guard.

‘Agatha, you should have told and shown everything to Heilas. Heilas, not me, should have seen Noel’s mistake and come up with a different answer.’

I bit my lower lip until it bled. It was all so sad. It was Haylas who had to see Noel’s memories, not me.

“His choice is sacrifice.”

Pygon let out a sigh. It was a sigh of relief or a sigh that he couldn’t tell. He slowly moved his lips.

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

Pygon’s arm twitched, and I didn’t hesitate.

bang!

I immediately drew my supply pistol and shot Pygon in the head. His head jerked back for a moment, but he did not die.

“So, I can’t, send it to you.”

I flinched as I tried to pull out the crucian car.

Click.

Pygon pressed something in his arms. His skin and body were glowing as if splitting apart. The overheated heat melted his artificial skin and set his clothes on fire.

‘Self-destruction.’

It was just before the explosion occurred.

… … You are faithful, Pygon.

I could see how deep the bond between Heilas and Pygon was. Pygon even respected the will of his master who chose sacrifice and tried to stop me with his death.

Whirl!

I grabbed Giselle by the back of her neck and hugged her with both arms. She didn’t really realize what was happening.

You’ll want to get out of the blast radius if possible, but it won’t be easy. No, it’s impossible.

Kkeeeeek!

I turned the corner, scraping the floor. Then I crouched down, wrapping my arms around Giselle, hoping that even if I died, she would at least survive.

“roo…….”

Giselle’s voice was drowned out by the explosion.

Kwaaaaang!

Flames from the explosion engulfed the hallway as it turned a corner. A serpent made of flame emerged and attacked Giselle.

* * *

My mind, which had been deeply sunken, barely managed to catch a sliver of light.

“… … Please, don’t die, Luca, don’t leave me.”

I hear a voice. I don’t have the strength to answer.

“You’re strong. You act like you wouldn’t die no matter what the situation was… … .”

Someone is dragging me. My body is dragging on the floor. I don’t know who is talking to me.

My consciousness was extremely confused. My condition was so bad that my cognitive abilities were impaired.

My current injury is probably serious, but I don’t feel any pain. Well, this is a sign that it’s more dangerous. It’s a problem that you don’t feel pain even when you’re seriously injured.

My name is Luca.

I spoke to myself.

Come to your senses. If your brain isn’t broken, try to bring your consciousness back to a point.

I gathered my consciousness, which I had worked so hard to squeeze out, into a sharp point. My self-consciousness, which had opened like a spear, repeatedly stabbed the curtain that led to reality.

Why did you roll around in your shit if you were just going to collapse here, you idiot?

He even cursed at himself. The curtain of reality was not easily broken through. Still, it seemed to have a small effect, and his external senses became more open.

Kwung, thump. Tsk tsk tsk.

I heard another sound besides voices. It was the sound of my body being dragged on the floor. And the damp wind felt faint.

“I won’t leave you to die here.”

Giselle, I can hear her voice clearly. She kept calling me. Thanks to her, my consciousness came a little closer to reality.

I wanted to sort things out, but it was impossible for me, given my impaired cognitive function.

Right now, I don’t know why I got injured… or why Giselle is dragging me. I just intuitively know that it’s dangerous.

Where is this place? It seemed like Giselle had been dragging me around for quite some time.

“What about you?”

It looks like Giselle is facing someone.

“The future I wanted to avoid has become a reality.”

I’m anxious. Please, move, move.

“Hey, Mr. Iskan, please. Treat Luca… … .”

Iskan, who was Iskan?

“I’m sorry, Giselle. You may not know it, but I can’t let Luca live. It’s the captain’s orders. I like him too, but before that, Heilas comes first for me. If you show up after the explosion… … Well, that’s okay. What difference will it make if I explain it here?”

The one called Iskan is approaching.

“If you want to kill Luca, you should deal with me first.”

“Dealing with you is easier than breaking a child’s wrist. Aren’t you smart? You’re just… … .”

“No. If you come one step closer, I will take my life.”

It’s dangerous. Giselle’s words are not empty boasts.

I tried to open my eyes, but my consciousness was blocked by numerous safety devices and could not reach reality.

When you suffer a fatal injury, your brain turns off unnecessary functions to help you survive. I had lost a lot of blood and didn’t have much energy to send to my brain. My body wasn’t going to let me use my brain when it needed to recover.

My brain and body worked together to sink my consciousness deep into the ground. Since you’ve suffered because of me, I guess this is the time to go on strike.

If you don’t come to your senses here, you’ll die! Everything is in vain! So listen to me, you fucking idiots!

I screamed.

Ugh!

My tongue felt cool as I chewed it. I opened my eyes.

Creak, creak.

I didn’t even have time to check my body condition. I didn’t even know if it was moving or not, but I sent a signal to the body and pulled out the crucian car.

Squeak!

I stood up, hitting the ground with my crucifix.

“I’ll wait until you come to your senses, considering the feelings we’ve had together so far.”

Iskan said. I stared at him with a gaze that seemed to be closing.

OMG.

My brain started thinking. It was going to explode. It felt like I was forcing myself to run a computer that was broken or on fire.

‘Senior Guard Iskan, Heilas’ confidant and friend.’

I recognized who Iskan was. He was standing there calmly.

‘Even Iskan, in case of Pygon’s failure… ‘

I disobeyed Heilas’ orders twice. I was the one who crawled up even though he gave me a way to survive. So you have no choice but to kill me.

“Giselle, step back.”

“Your current condition is… … .”

“Shut up and listen to me. Even if I die… … you live. I’m sorry about everything.”

The back of my hand tapped Giselle’s chin. Her pupils dimmed. I supported her and carefully set her down.

Soon, my vision and focus turned to Iskan.

“Thank you for waiting. And come on, Iskan.”

I extended my crucifix forward.

“You are a man after all.”

Iskan laughed heartily. He took the short sword from his waistband and swung it.

Kiririk! Bang!

As the single peak grew longer, it transformed into a spear, and a sharp blade protruded from its end.