Chapter 38
Let’s summarize the situation so far, Detective Luka.
The main person who bullied Barbara was Kalesa Kanoda. And Kalesa was following Giselle’s orders—meaning Giselle was the one who instigated Barbara’s torment.
However, the very person Giselle feared was none other than Barbara.
‘……Based on the circumstances, Barbara wanted to be bullied.’
It was incomprehensible from a normal perspective.
‘Giselle Custoria is afraid of Barbara.’
Giselle was completely trapped, as if Barbara had some kind of hold over her.
‘This is slowly going beyond my discretion.’
That thought crossed my mind. If Giselle was being threatened, I needed to report it to the Commander of the Imperial Guard. If his daughter was in trouble, he would take action.
Through the holographic interface of my terminal, I reported everything that had happened so far to Commander of the Imperial Guard Haylas. After listening to my story, he responded without so much as a change in expression.
—Luka, continue to act based on your judgment. I’ll leave it to your discretion.
At first, I thought I had misheard. I wanted to question him immediately, but my military instincts locked my lips shut.
“……Understood.”
The moment I ended the communication, I frowned.
‘There was a reason he sent me to Kratia Academy. The same goes for having Giselle Custoria stay by my side. The Commander of the Imperial Guard was certain I would get caught up in Barbara’s curse.’
It wasn’t a coincidence that I had become so deeply involved in this case.
‘Why?’
A question arose in my mind.
If the Guard took direct action, they would uncover the truth of this case in no time. Unlike the Security Enforcement Division, the Guard had that level of authority. However, instead of getting involved directly, they were watching from a distance—using me as an intermediary.
‘And this case involves the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s daughter, no less…….’
I ran my palm down my face.
People were drawing a grand picture over my head, and I was nothing more than a pawn moving at their command. That was the role of a soldier, after all.
‘But it’s pissing me off.’
I opened my eyes between my fingers. I didn’t like this one bit.
‘Barbara’s curse…….’
My gut told me it was all an act. But so far, no one had found any evidence of an android rampage.
‘Investigator Jillian isn’t an idiot. From the way he handles his work, he’s quite capable. And like he said, a lower-class girl like Barbara would have a hard time manipulating an android.’
Based on the information I had gathered so far, I pieced together the puzzle. I had more information about Barbara’s curse than anyone else who had attempted to investigate it. No one had gotten closer to the truth than I had.
I accelerated my thoughts, fitting the pieces of the case together from multiple angles. I tested every possible assumption, eliminating the unlikely ones until only the most logical scenario remained.
As I repeated the process of deduction and elimination, the tangled thread began to unravel. When I finally reached a conclusion, my eyes widened.
“……Giselle and Barbara were accomplices in causing the android rampage.”
I let out a dry chuckle. If my deduction was correct, this was going to be a real headache.
Giselle was a member of the Custoria family. If she were exposed as the culprit behind the android rampage, the Custoria family’s reputation and honor would suffer a severe blow.
As I idly ran my fingers over my terminal, I contacted Enrico Lagan. He had a crush on Giselle.
* * *
There were a few secluded spots within Kratia Academy. Since noble students made up the majority, there had to be places where they could have private conversations. To protect student privacy, patrol drones and androids only monitored the main roads.
The garden where I stood now was quiet. The setting sun painted the space in a deep red hue. For someone with a sentimental nature, it was the kind of scene that could stir emotions.
Hidden behind a tree, I observed the situation in the garden.
“I-I like you, Lady Giselle Custoria.”
Enrico Lagan was courageously confessing his feelings. Standing in front of him was Giselle, who had come at his request.
She looked haggard, as if she hadn’t been sleeping well. With hollow eyes, she glared at Enrico.
“This ‘important thing’ you had to tell me… was just this?”
At Giselle’s sharp words, Enrico visibly flinched in shock. I felt a little guilty and closed my eyes for a moment.
I was the one who had encouraged him to confess to Giselle. I had told him that now was the perfect time, that he had a good chance of success.
“Ah, I, um…….”
It seemed Enrico hadn’t even considered the possibility of failure—he was at a complete loss for words.
“Well, since we’re alone, I’ll say this clearly, Enrico Lagan. I have no interest in you. No, it’s more than that—I find your very presence uncomfortable. I wish you’d stop hovering around me for no reason.”
Wow. I didn’t think she’d go that far.
Someday, if Enrico Lagan ever needed my help for something… I would gladly assist him. I did have a conscience, after all.
“Kh… khh… hngh.”
Enrico stood there, stunned, before his face crumpled as he fought back tears. Then, as if fleeing for his life, he ran out of the garden. Giselle, meanwhile, pressed a hand to her forehead, as if struck by a headache.
She, too, turned to leave. Once I was certain Enrico’s presence had completely vanished, I stepped out from my hiding spot.
“Giselle Custoria.”
At my sudden appearance, Giselle scowled.
“I had a feeling….”
She quickly grasped the context of the situation.
“I assumed you wouldn’t respond if I summoned you directly. And if you did come, it would be with Barbara. Maybe you’d even try using an android again.”
With Barbara by her side, there was no way to extract the truth from Giselle. From the way she reacted, her fear of Barbara was deeply embedded, like a thorn lodged in her skin.
“I won’t tolerate this any longer. I’ll inform my father about your disrespect—”
“It’s useless. I’ve already reported to the Commander of the Imperial Guard that you’re involved in this incident. He didn’t show much reaction. That leaves us with two possibilities. Either he doesn’t care about his daughter, or he already knows something about the truth of the situation. Maybe it’s both.”
Giselle staggered as if she’d been struck.
“You—you told my father? My father? You?”
Her reaction was far stronger than I had anticipated.
“It’s only natural for a subordinate to report to a superior.”
Giselle didn’t respond. Instead, she bit down hard on her thumbnail, grinding her teeth against it. Her glare at me was filled with venom, her face twisted so much that it nearly ruined her delicate features.
“My father knows? My father… Wh-what exactly did you tell him?”
“There’s no reason for me to tell you that. You’re not my superior, and besides, you’ve never been cooperative.”
Giselle spun in place, pacing in frantic circles. She was in a state of panic—unable to think properly.
Unfortunately for her, this was exactly what I had aimed for.
When people are anxious, they instinctively seek support. In extreme panic, even someone they dislike can seem like an anchor.
“If you speak now, I can still help you. Tell me everything you know.”
“This… this is all your fault. If you had never come here, none of this would have happened. It’s all because of you….”
Her words were becoming simpler. That was a sign her anxiety was eating away at her mind.
“I’m on your side. Remember, I’m a cadet of the Guard.”
As I stepped closer to Giselle, I spoke to her. At first, she tried to push me away, but eventually, she grabbed onto my collar, using me for support.
“I… I didn’t do anything wrong. I….”
“If you cooperate with me, I’ll help you.”
“You… you can’t help me. This is about my standing within my family. You’re just a mere cadet.”
I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“What if I become a member of the Custoria family?”
Giselle looked up at me with tearful eyes.
“W-what did you just say?”
“Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. I might become part of the Custoria family one day. No matter how you look at it, isn’t it odd that someone of your noble status has been assigned as my guide, despite me being just a cadet?”
I spoke calmly. There was no need to lie—it was the truth.
“You… becoming a member of the Custoria family?”
“If I continue building my career smoothly, it’s possible. Among the cadets, I’m considered a rare genius—someone who appears maybe once every few years. I even received a military medal recently. It wouldn’t be strange for a military family to recruit me. It might sound arrogant coming from me, but the Commander of the Imperial Guard seems to favor me quite a bit. If I were to become part of the Custoria family, my position wouldn’t be insignificant.”
I gently pushed Giselle back and met her gaze.
“A-are you serious?”
“Regardless of any blemishes you may have… I will support you. Resolving this incident properly will increase my chances of being accepted as the Commander of the Imperial Guard’s adopted son. When our interests align, trust naturally follows.”
I guided Giselle to sit on the bench. Staring at the ground, she finally spoke.
“I… I manipulated the androids. Barbara’s curse… I created it.”
From Giselle’s lips, the truth behind the curse and their twisted fate was revealed.
* * *
As I listened to Giselle’s story, I pieced everything together.
Barbara and Giselle’s connection began three years ago. They entered Kratia Academy in the same year.
Barbara had been admitted through Custoria’s sponsorship. Sponsored students were expected to serve their benefactor’s household or become vassals after graduation.
Giselle, knowing that Barbara would eventually become a Custoria vassal, tried to grow close to her. It would mean gaining another loyal supporter for herself in the future.
Since they had similar majors and interests, it wasn’t difficult for them to become friends. In fact, they bonded surprisingly fast—almost too fast.
“……To be honest, Barbara was practically my first real friend. Not just someone I knew, but someone I could truly call a friend for the first time.”
Giselle added her words with a lonely expression.
It was hard to imagine someone as cold and aggressive as Giselle genuinely being friends with a girl from the lower class. But perhaps… that noble demeanor of hers was just a mask. Her true nature was likely much softer and more delicate. I had caught a glimpse of it earlier when she was in a panic.
Barbara was sociable and always smiling. That natural brightness of hers drew Giselle in. Furthermore, Barbara had been admitted to Kratia Academy as a special exception due to Custoria’s sponsorship—she was a prodigy. Despite her lower-class origins, she was impressive in ways that made it difficult to believe she came from such a background.
“At the time, there was a boy who took an interest in Barbara. She was popular because of her bright personality and smile. I assumed she wouldn’t be interested in him. But then… she confessed to me that she liked him. But I… I didn’t want to lose my only friend to some boy. I was young back then.”
It had all started with a small, childish jealousy.
“At first, I just wanted to mess with him because I hated him. So, I built a fake android. A robot that only looked like one.”
Giselle had used the robot to intimidate the boy. She programmed it to play an audio file telling him to stay away from Barbara, and then had it chase him around at night.
But what had started as a mere prank quickly spiraled beyond her control.
“The boy fell and hit his head badly. The injury was severe enough that he had to drop out.”
Giselle dismantled and disposed of the robot. But since the incident had resulted in bodily harm, an investigation had begun.
“Barbara was the first to figure out that I was responsible. I had assembled robots in front of her several times before.”
At that moment, I realized that none of this had happened by coincidence.
‘Giselle fell into a trap.’
Things had escalated beyond what she had ever intended.
“Barbara said she had a solution. That if I became another victim, people wouldn’t suspect me.”
“If it was just an internal academy incident, the investigation wouldn’t have gone too deep. If you had just stayed put, it probably would’ve faded away on its own.”
I interjected, and Giselle clenched the fist resting on her thigh. The veins on her hand trembled.
“I was too young to realize that. I was just… terrified.”
“So, you willingly became the second victim of the so-called curse?”
Giselle nodded.
“I usually handle the maintenance of the academy’s androids. That’s when Barbara gave me a chip… I attached it to an android. Normally, external input shouldn’t be able to manipulate its AI, but somehow… after that, the android came looking for me, then malfunctioned and went berserk. That’s how I became the second victim.”
“So that’s when the rumors started spreading. That anyone who got close to Barbara would get caught up in an android rampage.”
Giselle bit down hard on her lower lip. Blood trickled down her chin, dripping onto the ground.
“Barbara started acting strange from that point on. She began making bizarre requests… saying that for a perfect crime, she needed to be isolated from the rest of the academy… that there needed to be a steady stream of victims…”
“She wasn’t acting strange. She was always that kind of person.”
“…Thinking back now, you’re right. I just wanted to graduate quietly. That’s why I genuinely hoped no one would approach Barbara.”
Her story raised a few questions. However, I doubted she was lying—this was likely all she knew.
Chhhkk.
A burst of static cut through the air. At first, I thought it was coming from my terminal.
—You… told our secret… to a man?
The noise came from Giselle’s terminal. Given that she was from a prestigious family, the security level of her device should have been exceptionally high. Yet, it had been hacked.
—…Traitor, Giselle. And yet, my lovely Giselle…
I listened carefully. The sound from the terminal wasn’t the only problem.
Whirrrr.
A faint propeller noise reached my ears. There was a drone nearby. I couldn’t pinpoint its exact location, but it was close.
Every instinct and sense within me screamed a warning. We had to get out of here.
“Lu—”
I threw myself to the side, pulling Giselle into my arms as we rolled across the ground.
Pfff!
The unmistakable thin crack of a silenced gunshot.
…Damn it. A sharp pain flared in my left side.
I looked down. A hole, big enough to fit a finger, had been punched into my side. Blood gushed out like an open faucet.
“Ugh.”
I didn’t make a fuss. Instead, I bit down on my sleeve and tore off a strip of fabric. Without hesitation, I wadded it up and shoved it roughly into the wound. This should slow the bleeding.
“D-do the Guards… not feel pain even when they get shot?”
Giselle stared at my stomach, asking a question so dumb that I nearly lost it. She must have been so panicked that her IQ had dropped.
“Of course, it hurts! What kind of question is that?!”
I snapped in irritation as my eyes darted around, scanning for the shooter.