Chapter 65
Three days had passed since the Ken Noma incident.
"You... you bastard, Luka...!"
I was listening to Gabriel’s drunken rambling. I wasn’t the affectionate type, but this was something I had to endure.
"I, I... Martina, ugh, do you even know what kind of humiliation I suffered there? Do you?!"
Gabriel grabbed my collar and shook me. I felt a surge of irritation, but just this once, I let it slide.
Thud.
Gabriel let go of my collar and sighed so heavily that his shoulders collapsed.
I glanced at Gabriel before taking a sip of my synthetic juice. Hmm, this one was apple-flavored. I had never eaten a real apple before, so I couldn’t say for sure if this was what it actually tasted like.
Last night, Gabriel had been dragged away by Grace like a pig to the slaughterhouse. Then, he had spent the night with the boss of La Vie en Rose. In other words, he had rolled around in bed with Martina the Diva.
"You... had a rough time."
Not knowing what else to say, I responded mechanically. Gabriel took a swig straight from the bottle and raised his voice, on the verge of tears.
"You should be grateful to me. Do you think I did all this just for the money, just for the damn money?! Damn it!"
"I do appreciate it, for many reasons."
I was getting tired of listening to his lamentations, so I replied coldly.
"Is that how a grateful bastard talks? You’re cold! So damn cold! Ugh! I’m freezing to death! Damn it!"
I almost scolded him for whining but managed to hold back. By my standards, an hour of listening was more than enough.
As cringeworthy as it was to admit... Gabriel wanted my friendship.
'But that’s not possible.'
I was someone who had to be prepared to 'use up' Gabriel. I had no intention of getting any closer to him. If we became too friendly, I wouldn’t be able to treat him as a tool.
'Kinuan thoroughly used and discarded Tora and Ken Noma.'
I had to become that kind of person too.
Gabriel kept drinking until he was completely wasted. He was loyal, but short-sighted and lacking in self-control.
Creak.
The door to our gang’s office opened. Since I was staying here tonight, I had dismissed the guards. That meant no one was supposed to come.
I fixed my gaze on the unexpected visitor.
A woman entered, her hood pulled deep over her head. The texture of her clothes was of remarkably high quality. She wasn’t from the lower districts.
The lower half of the face beneath the hood was obscured by a mask fitted with an air filter. Nobles often wore such masks when visiting the lower districts due to the poor air quality.
“Giselle?”
Even from a distance, I recognized her. An unexpected visitor.
Giselle Custoria.
She pulled back her hood and adjusted her mask. As the hydraulic cylinders along her jaw and ears moved, the mask lowered beneath her chin.
Giselle glanced around before slightly furrowing her delicate brow.
“Mm, it smells bad here.”
“Ah, that’s just this guy’s fart.”
I nudged Gabriel with my elbow as I spoke. Giselle took one look at Gabriel’s rough, menacing face, scrunched up her nose, and covered her mouth.
“L-Luka. W-Who is she?”
Gabriel stammered in surprise, his eyes wide as he stared at Giselle.
As I hesitated, wondering how to introduce her, Giselle spoke first.
“I am Luka’s younger sister.”
Her tone was polite yet indifferent.
“Y-Your younger sister? A sister?! Luka, you bastard! Why didn’t you ever tell me you had a sister?!”
Gabriel sprang to his feet as if to block my way, eyes widening in disbelief.
“Why would I need to tell you?”
“W-Well, that’s the kind of thing you share! With someone like me!”
He was definitely drunk—completely wasted, in fact.
I looked past Gabriel and met Giselle’s gaze. She subtly signaled with her eyes, asking me to get rid of him.
“Give us some space. If she came all the way here to find me, it must be something serious.”
I pushed Gabriel aside as I stood up. He grumbled under his breath but grabbed his bottle and staggered up to the second floor.
“That man won’t eavesdrop on our conversation, will he?”
Giselle sat down beside me as she asked.
“He’s not that kind of guy. His hearing isn’t that good, either.”
“You seem to trust him quite a bit.”
Trust, huh? In a way, you could say that. Gabriel never acts outside of my expectations. In that sense, he’s a subordinate I can rely on.
Click.
Giselle handed me a data chip.
“Father sent this for you. I don’t know what’s inside.”
I had a good idea of what it contained.
‘The final destination of the shell companies’ funds.’
Nikolaos died while investigating the flow of funds. No matter how sophisticated a network is, there are always security gaps. If a high-ranking imperial official is involved, one must be even more cautious when using the network.
Delivering it physically like this was the most secure method. And they sent their most trusted daughter as the courier.
‘Hemillas is exercising the utmost caution.’
No one knew exactly who was involved and to what extent in the mission I had taken on. Even Hemillas could only grasp a vague outline of it.
“I won’t ask why you’re staying in the lower district.”
Giselle was perceptive. She had no intention of prying into the situation.
“How’s the atmosphere at the main house?”
I shifted the topic of conversation. I was genuinely curious about the current state of the household. As an adopted son, there was no one who would kindly provide me with regular reports.
“With you gone for so long, Juppe has been having the time of his life.”
Giselle reached for a bottle of alcohol on the shelf. Her movement was so natural that I stared blankly before grabbing her wrist.
“That’s alcohol.”
“I know. I’m not planning to drink juice while having this kind of conversation. I’m not a kid.”
Brushing off my hand, Giselle glanced at the juice in front of me and smirked. For some reason, I felt a bit embarrassed.
“……Alcohol is a prohibited substance for Imperial Guard cadets.”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure it is. Wow, this tastes absolutely awful. Do people here really drink this and call it alcohol?”
After taking a sip from the glass, Giselle scrunched up her face. Yet, despite her complaints, she poured herself another.
Giselle and I talked about Juppe and the main house.
“Juppe is practically living at the main house these days. Since you and Father have been away for so long, everyone is clinging to him.”
“There’s nothing I can do about that. Unlike Juppe, who is practically unemployed, I have constant assignments. If you don’t like the situation, why don’t you check him yourself?”
“I’d like to, but I don’t have the power yet. I need to officially become an adult before I can do anything. Only then can I receive a domain and establish a business.”
I slowly closed and reopened my eyes.
“That just sounds like an excuse to me, Giselle.”
At my words, Giselle’s eyes turned sharp.
“I know you think you’re impressive, but don’t talk like that without understanding what I’m dealing with. What I want to do isn’t something that can be handled haphazardly. I need the legal authority of an adult.”
Giselle, worked up, began explaining things I hadn’t even asked about. She planned to start a business after graduating from the Royal Kracia Academy and becoming an adult, bringing along talented individuals she had scouted at school.
"……Operating cybernetic prosthetics wirelessly without a physical connection."
"It's possible even now, isn't it?"
"It's different. With current technology, direct nervous system connections are necessary; otherwise, responses are slow and only simple movements are possible. Complex motions or combat are out of the question. Brainwave signals alone can't accurately mimic nervous system signals."
I silently watched Giselle's profile as she chattered away. Whether it was the alcohol or the excitement of talking about her field of interest, her face was visibly animated.
"You compress nervous system signal patterns, transmit them via a sender, and reconstruct them with a receiver. It wouldn't be as efficient as a physical connection, but much better than what we have now……."
Even after hearing the theory, I didn't quite understand it. All I grasped was that it was groundbreaking technology that could attract an enormous amount of investment.
As she finished talking, Giselle tried to stand up.
Sway.
I caught her unsteady shoulder, supporting her. It seemed she had accidentally overindulged.
Thud!
Startled, Giselle slapped my hand away as she stood.
"I-I can stand on my own."
She staggered like a toddler taking their first steps. Seeing her in that state, I let out a sigh.
"……I'll walk you to where the patrol drones operate. Security gets worse at night."
"I'm fine. I brought a gun. My shooting scores are pretty good. If any suspicious guys show up…… I'll just, bam!"
She made a gesture as if drawing a handgun and aiming it forward.
Clack!
With a swift motion, I slid my hand past hers and removed the magazine from the gun. It took her a moment to realize what had happened, and when she did, her face flushed red.
"See that? Don't be reckless. A gun alone won’t guarantee your safety. If something happens to you, it becomes my problem too."
I reloaded her gun and handed it back to her.
We left the office. The lukewarm air, like half-cooled food, drifted through the alleys. As we walked, I pulled Giselle’s hood down over her head.
Step, step.
After a while, she seemed to sober up and hesitantly spoke.
"Sorry, Luka. I caused trouble. I originally planned to just drop off the chip and leave, but I got a bit carried away. Ah, it's just… I was excited to go out for the first time in a while. And it's my first time coming down to the lower district alone."
"You don't need to keep rambling. As long as you know you're sorry, that's enough."
I spoke indifferently. At some point, Giselle, who had been trailing behind me, adjusted her pace to match mine, walking side by side.
From time to time, screams and the sounds of fists landing came from the dark alleys beyond. Unreadable, chilling eyes swept over us.
Giselle flinched and grabbed onto my collar.
"You grew up in a place like this too?"
"I usually didn’t go out after dark either. There were kids who went out at night and never came back."
Every time I looked into the darkness of the lower district, I steeled myself. If I fell, the only place left for me was the abyss. I was different from the nobles.
As we walked a little further, the road widened, and the streets grew brighter. Patrol drones moved through the area. This was where those considered middle-class in the lower district lived.
"This is where we part."
I stopped in place. At my feet, light and darkness split the street into two.
"Luka……."
Giselle, who had started walking ahead, turned back and called out to me. I simply looked at her in silence.
"……Next time, can I come visit just for fun, not for an errand?"
Her eyes sparkled. I suppressed my emotions and gazed at her quietly. Startled by my heavy reaction, she shrank back.
"Get a grip. This isn't a place to visit for fun."
I responded coldly. Giselle's pupils quivered slightly. She bit her lower lip.
"I-I was just joking. I wouldn’t actually want to come hang out in a filthy place like this."
She tugged her hood forward as she spoke, turning her back to me and hiding her face.
I watched her retreating figure.
……I'm not a clueless fool. I cannot afford to become deeply involved with her. I am a member of the Custoria family. Even someone as exceptional as Ilay made mistakes because of a woman.
Right now, I am standing on a razor-thin edge. Even the smallest mistake could put me in danger. Relationships and emotions that cloud judgment and reason are unnecessary to me.
Once I confirmed that Giselle had disappeared from sight, I turned and left.
"You don't need to keep rambling. As long as you know you're sorry, that's enough."
I spoke indifferently. At some point, Giselle, who had been trailing behind me, adjusted her pace to match mine, walking side by side.
From time to time, screams and the sounds of fists landing came from the dark alleys beyond. Unreadable, chilling eyes swept over us.
Giselle flinched and grabbed onto my collar.
"You grew up in a place like this too?"
"I usually didn’t go out after dark either. There were kids who went out at night and never came back."
Every time I looked into the darkness of the lower district, I steeled myself. If I fell, the only place left for me was the abyss. I was different from the nobles.
As we walked a little further, the road widened, and the streets grew brighter. Patrol drones moved through the area. This was where those considered middle-class in the lower district lived.
"This is where we part."
I stopped in place. At my feet, light and darkness split the street into two.
"Luka……."
Giselle, who had started walking ahead, turned back and called out to me. I simply looked at her in silence.
"……Next time, can I come visit just for fun, not for an errand?"
Her eyes sparkled. I suppressed my emotions and gazed at her quietly. Startled by my heavy reaction, she shrank back.
"Get a grip. This isn't a place to visit for fun."
I responded coldly. Giselle's pupils quivered slightly. She bit her lower lip.
"I-I was just joking. I wouldn’t actually want to come hang out in a filthy place like this."
She tugged her hood forward as she spoke, turning her back to me and hiding her face.
I watched her retreating figure.
……I'm not a clueless fool. I cannot afford to become deeply involved with her. I am a member of the Custoria family. Even someone as exceptional as Ilay made mistakes because of a woman.
Right now, I am standing on a razor-thin edge. Even the smallest mistake could put me in danger. Relationships and emotions that cloud judgment and reason are unnecessary to me.
Once I confirmed that Giselle had disappeared from sight, I turned and left.