Bad Born Blood - Chapter 86



Only Noblemtl

086

The aerial vehicle we were riding was returning to the island of Akbaran.

It took a while for Barbara to wake up and fully communicate with us.

Barbara was wearing someone else’s full body prosthesis. A normal person would not be able to move properly.

Creak, creak.

Barbara tried to fix her artificial eye by pushing it with her finger, but it quickly lost focus again. It wasn’t just focus that was the problem.

Errors continued to occur due to poor compatibility between Barbara’s brain and the prosthetic body.

“Bees, I’ve already reached my limit.”

Barbara muttered, leaning against the wall. Her limbs twitched intermittently as if out of control of her brain.

I crouched down in front of him, level with Barbara.

“Your body is there. For now, you’re still alive.”

I just extended my thumb back and pointed at the ‘Nether Along with Barbara’s Shell’, who was still passed out as if he was sleeping soundly.

“I, I can throw that away. The body we were born with… … is, is meant to be used and then thrown away.”

“Is there a fully-fledged body prepared separately?”

“You look even better than that, Luca, Luca. At first, I didn’t even recognize you.”

Barbara avoided answering the question and changed the subject, even with her hazy consciousness.

“Crossdressing is nothing compared to what you did.”

“Huh, huh. Are you praising me?”

The corners of Barbara’s mouth rose with difficulty.

“No, I despise you, body thief.”

“But is it okay for you to be restraining me like this…? You know my role, don’t you?

Barbara put her lips to my ear. The sound of her voice scratching my throat was horrible.

‘Barbara is a spy planted by the Empire in Nemesis. Ilay and Giselle must not know this.’

After the conversation, I have to release Barbara. Giselle and Ilay will be questioning this. I have to come up with a reasonable reason to release her in advance.

“It’s a deal, Barbara. Tell me about the people involved in the assassination of Nikolaos Custoria. Everything you know. Then I’ll let you go.”

Giselle and Ilay were surprised at the news that they would be sent. However, I quickly raised my hand to stop their doubts.

“Huh, huh huh huh, haha, really, that’s what it was? Is that what you were curious about? Oh, my goodness, you’ve tricked me quite well, noble ladies of Custoria.”

“I knew you were after Giselle.”

“So you used Giselle as bait? Look at this, my Giselle, Giselle, Giselle. Your family uses you as a tool too. So come to me. I can really cherish you. We were good friends.”

I didn’t look at Giselle’s expression and the situation. The trauma of Barbara is something she has to overcome on her own.

“Stop talking nonsense and just answer the questions.”

I grabbed Barbara’s chin and made her look at me.

“Okay, this time, I lost the game. I’ll admit it. Listen closely… … .”

Barbara whispered softly so only I could hear. I recorded her voice in my head.

After finishing her information delivery, Barbara let out a heavy breath and continued speaking.

“… … That’s all. You have to be prepared to dig and investigate.”

“That’s none of your concern. It’s not a lie, is it?”

“This situation is a personal matter for both of you. If you can end it like this, I welcome it. You can dispose of my living body as you see fit. It would be better to erase my identity at this point.”

I stood up from my seat.

“Okay, the deal is done, Barbara. I’ll drop you off wherever you want.”

“Hey, just drop it anywhere, anywhere in the scrapyard. It’ll find its way there.”

I did as Barbara requested.

On the outskirts of Akbaran, there were several abandoned and neglected scrapyards. They were not properly reclaimed, and they were a sight to behold.

Wheeing.

We placed the aerial vehicle at an appropriate height. The propulsion system fired at regular intervals to maintain the altitude.

I pushed Barbara, who was wrapped in a blanket, down. To anyone who saw her, it would look like I was leaving a piece of trash behind.

‘Continue your mission for the Empire, Barbara. But remember, if madness consumes your mission, I will be the one to end it.’

I looked down with cold eyes. Barbara appeared as a dot as she moved away.

With a dull thud, Barbara fell onto the scrap metal pile. That woman would somehow make it back to Nemesis alive.

I looked back. Giselle and Ilay were demanding an explanation from me.

“… … You may question why I sent Barbara, but it was the best I could do. Barbara is not the type of woman who would open her mouth through torture. She must have been hiding one or two hidden secrets. A deal was the only way.”

It didn’t matter whether Giselle and Ilay understood or not. We must not tell them Barbara’s true identity.

And what I said was somewhat true.

‘Barbara received considerable training and education to become a spy for the Empire.’

Manipulating another person’s entire body is not something that can be done with innate mental power alone. Barbara’s tolerance for pain must also be very high. If someone were to open their mouths through torture, the Empire would not have let them into Nemesis.

“Luka, so the mission was accomplished?”

Ilay put aside her complaints and only asked for the results.

I nodded and grabbed the makeup that was like makeup and ripped it off. The hardened gel was ripped off along the contours of my face, and my skin felt a tingle.

“Yes, it was a successful mission.”

As I said that, I looked at Giselle’s expression.

Giselle looked at me with a displeased expression. Unlike Ilay, who was a soldier, she was not convinced by my explanation alone. Do not try to know what your superiors have not told you. It is one of the important rules.

But I… …sometimes break that principle.

* * *

It’s been two days since the contact mission with Barbara ended.

I was now in Kustoria’s mansion, and was heading to the annex with Heilas. There is an annex in Kustoria’s mansion called Silver Moon Hall.

‘The residence of the family elders, Eunwol Gwan.’

Except for the head of the household, you cannot enter or leave freely. Even the people who serve you here are not people, but androids.

Around the time I was adopted, I visited Eunwol Gwan.

And this was my second visit. Since entering the Eunwol Hall was a special event, Jupé, who heard the news, was very jealous and wary of me.

I, too, have been feeling burdened by Jupe’s excessive jealousy lately, and have been reluctant to do anything that stands out. However, this time, I needed to talk about it only at Eunwol-gwan. It was a very important report.

Even Giselle, who had been on a mission with him, could not come to this place.

‘There are more and more secrets that only I and Heilas share.’

It’s still hard to tell whether this is good or bad.

‘It’s just that I know a lot of secrets… … .’

It also meant that I could keep the secret if I just disposed of it. I was always assuming the worst.

“What happened to Barbara’s body?”

I asked in the hall on the first floor of Eunwol Gwan.

“I disposed of it.”

“……okay.”

“By the way, I heard you killed Nether Along.”

“I know that too.”

Nether Along died trapped in Barbara’s body. I wanted to save him, but there was no other way.

We had to kill Nether Along to reduce unnecessary risk. There was no reason for us to risk keeping him alive.

Innocent Nether Along.

But he was weak.

That’s why he died.

You can blame me, but I’m in the same situation as you, Nether Along.

‘If I were worthless and weak, I would have been silenced long ago.’

If you exit the hallway on the left side of the first floor of Eunwolgwan, there is a reception room. It was hardly used, so the door didn’t even open properly.

Thud, thud.

Every time we walked, a cloud of dust rose up and swirled around us.

“Sit down. This story might be long.”

Heilas and I entered the reception room and sat across the table from each other. I opened my mouth as I adjusted to the musty air.

“We don’t know if Barbara has returned safely. If… … something happens to Barbara, we will have lost a valuable talent to the Empire.”

.

“Don’t worry about that. Nether Along’s full-body prosthesis was found this morning. The head was crushed, but we were able to identify it by its registration number. Anyway, Barbara seems to have returned. She must have prepared a full-body prosthesis to replace it with.”

I reported in detail what happened at the Autonovas exhibition.

“Giselle doesn’t know yet that Barbara is a spy for the Empire. Ileia might have figured it out, but she won’t tell anyone.”

“You completed the mission more neatly than I expected.”

“It was thanks to Barbara who provided the information more clearly than I thought.”

Heilas licked her lips and smiled faintly.

“Barbara is one of our people after all. She set a trap for natural contact. If we just make contact, she won’t be uncooperative with us.”

“Giselle’s obsession is a separate matter. In my view, it is quite dangerous. I think we should pay more attention to Giselle’s safety. It may be presumptuous, but… … I think we should warn Barbara through the higher-ups.”

“That’s none of your business, as you said. I’m aware of that.”

This time, I also boldly questioned it. I thought I had to point it out.

“If you act after being hit like Nicholas, it is too late. Like we are doing now.”

Heilas’ expression hardened for a moment.

“I didn’t know you’d bring up Nikolaos’ name here. I made it clear that I was aware of the situation. It’s not like it was with Nikolaos.”

Heilas tried to suppress me with her nervous tone. It meant that I should stop asking questions. If it were me, I would have kept my mouth shut after hearing that.

But not now.

“This is not a cadet of the Royal Guard… … I am speaking as a member of the Custoria family, as ‘Father’ said. I have seen Barbara’s obsession with my own eyes. I am certain that one day Barbara will approach Giselle. At that time, neither I nor Father will be by Giselle’s side.”

Heilas is a fair man. I believe so. If you look at it rationally, you won’t ignore it.

“… … I will say this right here and now on my name. As long as Giselle is in Akbaran, Barbara will never touch the child. Trust me. I have already taken precautions. Nothing like what happened with Nikolaos will happen again. Do you understand? Lucas Custoria.”

“Understood, Captain.”

I nodded, looking straight into Heila’s eyes. Honestly, my heart was pounding so hard that it almost made my liver shiver.

In common parlance, I was ‘beaten’ by Heilas.

Heilas also glared at me for a moment, as if he still had feelings for me, before sighing. He took out a flat portable flask from his bosom.

“Luka, by the way, Giselle, as well as Nicolaus and Jupe… … have never treated me like this. Don’t think I’m lenient because you’re my child.”

Heilas took a sip of his drink. He exhaled a breath that was tinged with the scent of the liquor and put the bottle away.

“… … Then I will ask you again. Are you sure that Bao Zakanaan is the one who planned the assassination of Nikolaos? It is not that I do not trust you. Examine your memories carefully. This is a very important matter.”

“According to Barbara, yes. There is no recording, but I can assure you that my memory is correct.”

There was a reason why Heilas asked carefully.

When I researched Bao Zakannan… …I even thought that maybe Barbara was playing a prank on me.

‘Bao Zakanaan.’

He was Nikolaos’s immediate superior.