Chapter 328

Chapter 328

Barbara clapped her hands and jumped in place.

“Luka, Luka, ah, Luka! You really are destined to die on the battlefield. It’s fate—because you can’t resist it, no matter how much you struggle. I just adore how stupid and foolish you are!”

Barbara giggled. She twirled around me like she was at a festival, her tone and movements full of excitement.

Whirr, click.

I ignored the fly-like Barbara as I attached my combat prosthetic leg and arm.

‘Peace.’

But I couldn’t settle into peace. I told myself it was because there were still things left for me to do.

‘But what if… what if Barbara’s right? What if I’m the kind of person who simply can’t endure peace?’

The boy I once was—Luka of the Accretia Academy—couldn’t stand peace. Back then, I ran into incidents chasing after stimulation and violence.

But people change.

…And I believed I wasn’t the same as that boy Luka anymore.

‘I can live without wrapping myself in violence.’

I had to believe that.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo, Luka.”

Barbara let out a cryptic laugh, as if to spoil my resolve. With her hands clasped behind her back, she tilted on one foot and spun as though she might fall.

Whoosh.

Regaining her balance, Barbara projected a hologram in front of me. Images and text about the Imperial Guard rolled across it.

“Looks like you’ve forgotten—you’re a former member of the Imperial Guard. Even after their prime, guards of the Empire usually stay in the military or take up other combat roles. Very few ever return to a normal life. One way or another, they end up tied to violence. You know exactly why.”

“You don’t need to spell it out.”

“You underwent training that only sharpened your innate violence, and the Empire chemically restructured your nervous system and even tampered with your hormonal secretions. To put it bluntly, they turned you into someone who’s not only numb to violence but feels pleasure from it. And they dressed it all up in the name of being an honorable soldier.”

I already knew all of that. I was well aware.

“Stop beating around the bush. Say what you want to say.”

“I know you’re going to leave Giselle, one way or another. Now that you’ve got her, isn’t it unbearable how boring she is? To you, ordinary sex must be such a dull thrill compared to killing. I’m not the only twisted one here. You’re just like me.”

I wanted to grab Barbara by the neck with my newly attached right hand and slam her against the wall—but, well, I held it in. Ahem. Good job.

“Sounds like you’re trying to paint me as a thrill-killer… but I’ll prove you wrong.”

“Luka, you can’t suppress your true nature.”

“But life is something we can choose. We don’t live solely by our nature. I may not have a best option in life, but I can still choose the lesser evil. That’s how it’s always been.”

“Then good luck with that. Convincing Giselle will be your first trial.”

Barbara stepped back as she spoke. I agreed with her on that point.

After all the hardship it took just to reunite, I now had to tell Giselle I was diving back into the flames.

…A wretched feeling indeed.

*         *         *

I returned to Giselle. She was cooking in the kitchen.

Shhh.

Leaning against the doorway, I watched her from behind.

She was humming softly, wearing a loose dress. The meat on the frying pan sizzled as it cooked.

“Did you go train or something this morning? I figured this peaceful life would start itching for you eventually…”

Giselle turned around with the plate of meat in her hands. But the moment she saw me, her eyes narrowed. The air felt like it froze over.

My arms and legs were back in combat prosthetics. Giselle knew exactly what that meant.

“Luka, what the hell are you doing?”

“I can’t just disappear like nothing ever happened.”

I spoke calmly. I wanted the conversation to end without raising our voices.

But of course, that was just my hope.

“I gave up my entire life trying to pull you out of that damned chaos and that cursed Empire! I betrayed my own people to do it! And now that I finally got you out, you want to crawl back in on your own? Are you out of your mind?”

Her voice ripped through the room. She threw the plate of meat at my face.

Splut!

The chunk of meat smacked me right in the face and slid down my chin.

“…The seasoning’s good.”

I wiped my mouth with my hand and tried joking. But it only made Giselle angrier.

Yeah, I should think more carefully before I open my mouth around my lover.

Giselle marched up to me and raised her hand high. At least it wasn’t a prosthetic—just flesh and bone.

Smack!

Her sharp slap struck my cheek and spun my head.

I didn’t need to touch it to know her handprint was burned into my face. It stung like hell.

“I can’t just leave Ilay alone. And I’m not going to end it getting taken out by Kinuan, either.”

I lifted my head and looked her in the eye. This time, she raised her other hand.

Smaaack!

That one hurt even more than the last.

“Luka, ignore everyone else for me. Throw away your pride. I did it willingly for you—so why the hell can’t you do the same for me?”

She grabbed me by the collar.

"…Because you and I are different people."

Giselle clenched her fist. This one was going to hurt. I bit down hard on my molars.

Thwack!

She must’ve taken up martial arts at some point—her punch was solid and precise.

My upper body reeled, and my head snapped sideways.

“If you crawl back to the Empire and die, then what happens to my life? What the hell does it all mean? Everything I’ve done until now—what was it all for…?”

I was tearing down the tower Giselle had built with her own hands.

“It does mean something. If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve died a long time ago. The moment I lost all leads on your whereabouts… I was ready to die. At any moment, I was prepared to put a gun to my own head.”

Even now, I could remember three or four clear times when I tried to end it. And each time, it was Giselle—who wasn’t even there—who dragged me back into life.

“And even so, you’re leaving me? Is this some kind of joke?”

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked at her. I felt a little awkward saying what came next.

“I’ve been thinking a lot. Turns out, I’m greedier than I thought. I don’t want to lose my lover, my friends, or anyone else around me. If there’s a role for me in this chaos—if there’s something I can do—I want to do it.”

I braced myself for another hit. But it didn’t come. Honestly, I was a little relieved.

“Every time I look at you, I can’t tell if you’re selfish or just kind…”

Giselle bit her lower lip. Her whole body trembled. Maybe her entire life was shaking.

“I just want closure. Barbara goes around calling me a violence-addicted brute, but I swear, that’s not why I’m going back to the Empire. I’ve learned how to control and choose my life. And I chose to be by your side.”

“No matter how you spin it, it’s still nonsense. Your choice is betrayal.”

Giselle gripped the hem of my clothes tightly. She didn’t cry. Even to the end, she tried to hold on to me.

But I didn’t budge. Her grasp began to slip.

No one can truly possess another person. We’re not objects. We’re not property.

“No matter what happens, I’ll come back. If things get too dangerous, I’ll pull out immediately.”

“…You’re lying. But if you’ve made your decision, there’s nothing I can do.”

Giselle sighed and muttered. Unease crept into me.

“You’re not coming with me.”

I preempted her. Giselle frowned—but for a different reason this time.

“What, do you think I’m as stupid as you? You think me tagging along would be anything but dead weight? I have zero intention of following you.”

She gave a bitter smile and walked into the bedroom. She rummaged through the table and pulled out a notebook.

Giselle took out the notebook, paused for a moment, then began writing down a list.

I stood behind her, catching my breath. Somehow, I’d made it through.

‘Both Giselle and I… we really have changed.’

She didn’t cry or cling to me.

‘The moment she realized she couldn’t change my mind, her attitude shifted.’

The emotional side was gone without a trace. In its place, a sharp, business-like rationality gleamed.

‘That cold, composed side… that’s a part of Giselle, too.’

And so was the Giselle who smiled at night, her eyes glowing with heat and mischief.

“I founded the early version of ‘The Empire’s Blade.’ Nobles and powerholders who resented the current emperor or the imperial family supported it anonymously. I’ve written down their codenames and contact methods. For reference, I went by the name ‘Leon.’ That was the alias I used.”

“Leon? You spelled Noel’s name backward.”

Flip the spelling of Noel and you get Leon. I gave a short laugh.

“It’s been nearly ten years, so I can’t guarantee these people are still hostile to the imperial family. You’ll have to figure out friend from foe on your own.”

Giselle transferred everything she knew into that notebook. Information that existed nowhere in digital form.

In a hyper-digitized society, we were still using analog methods—because digital data was too vulnerable.

No matter how advanced technology became, information as valuable as treasure still had to be passed by hand or mouth.

“Step out for a bit. I need to concentrate to recall the rest.”

Giselle tapped the table with her pen and fell into thought.

‘This is something I needed to close out anyway.’

More than anything, Kinuan still weighed on my mind. On nights when Giselle fell asleep first, waves of unease would suddenly surge through me.

I still didn’t know Kinuan’s true intentions. The Mind Transfer Device was, most likely… just one step in a larger plan for him.

It wouldn’t surprise me if one day, I opened the front door to find Kinuan standing there. He was that kind of man.

Creeeak.

Giselle came out of the bedroom and tossed the notebook to me.

“When are you leaving?”

I thought for a moment, then replied.

“Tomorrow.”

“Then hold me all night tonight.”

She pulled on my arm with the intensity of someone about to devour me.

*         *         *

‘The last Storm Era was chaos engineered by the imperial family. They used the confusion to eliminate nobles and figures like Hemillas who threatened imperial authority.’

But this time, the story was different.

The Accretia Empire had fallen into a chaos that even the imperial family hadn’t intended.

I went over the incidents that had occurred in the Empire over the past month.

From the outer reaches of the Empire, unrest began to break out—small-scale uprisings, both large and minor. Groups like Nemesis and The Empire’s Blade had started to act in small cells.

Terror attacks and guerrilla strikes weren’t anything new in the Empire. As long as things didn’t escalate, the local militias could suppress them easily. Normally, there was no need for central forces to get involved.

‘Back then, even the deployment of former Imperial Guards in small numbers across the Empire was mainly to ensure swift responses to regional disturbances.’

But this time, armed protests and terror incidents had erupted simultaneously all across the land.

‘And the number of Imperial Guards lost previously still hasn’t been replenished. It’s hard to respond flexibly like this.’

Even elite troops who had only been stationed in the capital, Akbaran, were now being sent out to the borderlands. Naturally, this created a power vacuum in the imperial court’s control.

…And so, the Crimson Prince who had been kept in confinement—Francec Accretia—was released.

‘It’s still just a rumor. Officially, the Empire maintains that Francec is still under house arrest.’

If Francec defied Ivan and claimed his right to legitimate imperial rule… things would escalate. Even the cowards who had remained neutral might throw their support behind him and take a gamble.

While I was lost in thought, someone was about to smack me on the head. I could have dodged it—my instincts caught it in advance—but I let it hit me.

Whap!

I barely suppressed a combat reflex. When I turned around, a man in a logistics company uniform was brushing off his hand.

“Hey, rookie. Don’t space out. Others can take breaks, but you work. I hired you because I figured you’d be good at it—with those mechanical arms and legs of yours.”

I slowly lifted my head.

“Oh-ho, look at you. Not even cracking a smile? What, sulking over getting smacked in the head? What, you gonna come after me with a knife next? Huh?”

The man raised his hand again, looking ready to hit me.

“Heh, heh.”

I forced a laugh. Well done, Luka.

I’d imagined breaking his arm and snapping his neck hundreds of times by now.

But in reality, I was lifting crates and loading them onto a truck.

…Right now, I was disguised as a logistics worker, traveling from Border City to Akbaran.

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