Bad Born Blood Chapter 205

205
I ran into Boyan in the hallway of the office building. He hesitated with a dark expression and then tried to talk to me.

“Hey, Mr. Luca… … .”

“I have something to do. I’ll talk to you later.”

I spoke as if blocking Boyan’s approach. It’s true that it’s difficult to talk to Boyan right now, but I have no intention of avoiding him if he approaches me first.

‘Just not now.’

It’s time to face Ilay.

My heartbeat was accelerating leisurely. Emotions that could not be defined as one were mixed and flowing out. The color of emotions was mostly red. Some were as red as fresh blood, some were crimson, and some were murky black. Emotions that were so dark that they had no redness were sticking to my inner walls.

Boyan nodded without further ado at my refusal.

Knock, knock.

I passed by, patting Boyan on the shoulder.

Border City is splendid at night. Human cities usually sleep at night. Even if there is a heated atmosphere at night, it is only for special circumstances and purposes.

However, there is no distinction between day and night in Border City. There are many nocturnal species, and facilities for them have bright signs.

‘This is a city without rest.’

Border City is always running forward. It doesn’t look back. It swallows up all knowledge and races as if it were a symbol of progress, ignoring minor problems and pains.

Thud, thud.

After leaving the office building, I walked down the street. I planned to walk to the meeting place. I didn’t want to create a record of my useless car trip.

‘Ilay Kartika.’

Ilay was now a hunting dog chasing Kinuan, meaning he had gained the trust or made a deal with Emperor Ivan Kratsia.

‘With a very high probability… …Fransec’s confinement is connected to Ilay.’

Francis is a man of the sun, but he is not a fool. He also has the podium and political power. He must have prepared several backgrounds to stand on equal footing with Ivan.

‘If Ilay took Ivan’s side and hit Francis on the back of the head, Francis would have been defeated without a fight.’

I went into the complex alleyways, choosing only those that were difficult to track and had few people on them.

‘Well, there won’t be any tracking, though.’

It’s my habit to assume the worst. Whenever I do something uncomfortable, I always assume that there will be a chase.

As I left the alley, the streets became lively. As I entered the downtown area, I saw people of all races coming and going. There were many races taller than humans, so I soon blended in with their crowd.

‘The furnace of the universe.’

I looked up at the bar sign. The bar sign was written in several languages. It was also quite large, with a three-story building extending from left to right as one business establishment.

“What the heck, you son of a bitch!”

“What are you?”

Near the entrance, a fistfight broke out between drunken men. I ignored them and went inside.

There was no music in the bar. No, there was no need for it. On the first floor alone, there were about a hundred customers talking so loudly that it was deafening. The confusion was further compounded by the fact that all sorts of languages ​​were being spoken.

Cigarette smoke was also floating around like fog. Although the ventilation system was running, it was not enough to swallow the thick smoke from the cigarettes and the colorful vapors from the drugs.

“Are we all going to drink and smoke together now?”

I said, standing behind Ilay at the bar. Smoke rose thickly around his face.

“It’s not cigarettes, it’s cigars. They’re popular among the imperial nobility these days.”

Illai said, looking back.

Through the smoke that was billowing, I could see Ilay’s face. He was a leisurely yet handsome young master. Looking at him like this, he didn’t seem like a heartless soldier.

“Since it’s a full-body prosthesis, there’s no need to worry about lung cancer.”

I said as I sat down next to him.

“I’ll buy it. What do you want to drink? Milk?”

Illai said with a playful smile.

“I like milk. Give me some.”

I snapped my fingers to signal the bartender. The human male bartender glanced at me and tilted his head crookedly at the word milk.

“Are you talking about milk?”

“If you don’t have milk, give me juice.”

“Well, it’s not that there isn’t any… … There’s no real milk, it’s just synthetic milk. Is that okay?”

I nodded. The bartender brought a glass of milk in front of me with a sheepish attitude.

“Hey, are you really drinking milk? Hey, Luca. How old are you?”

Ilay chuckled and elbowed me in the arm.

“If a fight breaks out here right now, the result could change because of the drink you just had.”

I said it calmly. Even if we were to assume a fight between us, Illei would just laugh.

“You’re still the same, Luca. You only assume the worst. You must have spent a month training and thinking about how to deal with me.”

That’s right on the mark. I took a sip of milk. The drink was sweet, as if it had been loaded with sugar.

“Why are you running?”

When I asked the bartender, he shrugged.

“I think it tastes like something a little childish to the customer.”

It was half a joke. What a wonderful way to treat guests.

“Well, that’s right. It’s sweet. Life is bitter, so even if you drink something, it has to be sweet.”

The bartender also laughed at my response.

Illei took a deep drag on his cigar and exhaled. The lung capacity of his high-performance suit caused an explosive cloud of smoke to spread between us.

Dalgrak.

Illai drank an unknown drink before the afterglow of the smoke faded.

Exactly.

Ilay snapped his fingers at the bartender and gestured. The bartender then handed us a bottle of liquor as if telling us to drink it ourselves and left the room. It seemed like he wasn’t going to listen to our story anymore.

“You’re familiar with Border City.”

Illai seemed to be a frequent visitor to this bar.

“I kept visiting for various reasons. Well, then I guess I should start by talking.”

“I know you well.”

I said, looking at the dartboard on the wall. I grabbed the darts stuck in the glass and threw them one by one. The darts hit the center. Then the next dart went into the butt of the darts that were stuck.

“A lot has happened since you fell into a coma. You’ll think I’m connected to, or rather, the cause of, Francesque’s confinement.”

“Then no?”

I stared at Ilay. He put down his cigar and met my gaze.

‘That’s pretty good, Ilay. You’ve blocked all emotional signals.’

It was a feat possible because it was a full-body prosthesis. Ilay looked like a dry android with a human face. With her inanimate attitude that didn’t even blink an eyelid, she looked like a mannequin.

Sigh.

Illai smiled immediately. He looked human again.

“Luka, your last prediction as you were dying in the storm was wrong. The balance between Francek and Ivan was quickly disrupted. As the days went by, I could see Francek being pushed back unilaterally. You can’t die on a sinking ship just because you’re loyal.”

“So you hit the back of Frances’ head?”

“Fransec also agreed. He asked me to give myself to Ivan. If I was going to lose anyway, I had to get something out of it.”

I quickly suppressed the inner turmoil.

‘Franseuk agreed? To sell himself to Ivan?’

This was unexpected. It was something I hadn’t expected.

“What did you gain by doing that?”

“future.”

Ilay looked at me with calm blue eyes. I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.

“Do you think that being imprisoned and surviving is the future?”

“Otherwise, he would have been pushed out so badly that he would have lost his chance. During the Storm, Francis made a deal with the nobles. That was a big flaw. Ivan, at the risk of weakening the imperial power, tried to persuade the nobles to join his side.”

“Why don’t you just confine them and not kill them?”

“Fransec’s presence has attracted a host of forces opposing Ivan. There have been several rescue attempts. Doesn’t this structure sound familiar? Of course, the position of Archiece Domini, the Watcher, is currently vacant. He could be somewhere I don’t know about.”

Francesca was a light. Her mere presence drew moths to her and killed them.

‘You’re still amazingly good at this. This is the Empire.’

Illei was deeply immersed in the darkness of the Empire, perhaps even deeper than I had been in the past.

“And Ivan was trying to get his hands on you. He must have found a clue to bring you back to reality, where you were helpless. But I have a feeling that it won’t be the normal way. It’ll be something with only a shell of memories, not the Luca I know. In order to get you out of the Empire… … I needed to divert Ivan’s attention for a moment. Francek was the perfect bait.”

I stared at the half-empty glass of milk. I tilted the bottle of liquor in front of me and filled half of the glass with liquor. It tasted bad, but I wasn’t going to drink it for the taste anyway.

Gulp, gulp.

My throat is moving roughly. The aftertaste of the alcohol is lingering. I know who will appear in the next story.

“You got me out through Giselle.”

“When you arrested Francec, Ivan’s power was concentrated there. Ivan wasn’t in a situation where he could just grab anyone and move around. In particular, it was hard to easily pursue Giselle, even though he knew she had smuggled you out. Giselle’s influence was quite large. Unlike other companies, G&G mainly released products for the lower class and common people. Since the daughter of the family that the noble hunter Luca belongs to releases products for the lower class and common people, support from the lower class is bound to be quite solid.”

“Even if he was Ivan, he couldn’t touch Giselle and the Custoria family when he had imprisoned Francesque, who was popular in the lower classes, no matter the name.”

“Actually, after Giselle went missing, the royal family’s reputation suffered considerably due to conspiracy theories. There were even a couple of riots, big and small.”

It seems that Ilay also did his best. I smiled bitterly. Ragnata’s words came to mind.

‘That sinister friend would have done anything for you.’

If what Ilay said is true, then he did his best to get me out of Ivan’s hands. As proof of his efforts, I am here, free from the Empire.

‘If only all this weren’t a lie.’

I have a bad habit of assuming the worst. That’s why I always keep my friends’ betrayal in mind.

‘It’s not that I don’t trust Ilay.’

If an unexpected battle breaks out here and Ilay loses consciousness, I will protect Ilay even at the risk of my life.

But apart from that, I always think of despair and the worst.

I will always think about Ilay’s betrayal and act accordingly. However, it is more harmful than before. In the past, I did not act with the possibility of betrayal in mind, but rather, I acted with the conviction that others were using me for bad intentions. That’s why I lost Heilas.

“Listen carefully, Luca. The unexpected problem was Giselle. Giselle, who took you out of the empire, hid information from me and acted unilaterally. She completely hid your whereabouts. For some reason, she didn’t trust me.”

“I was fooling you?”

“Luka, Giselle is the head of a corporation. She’s not the noble lady you remember. She killed many people to silence them. The dead don’t speak. Especially when their brains are crushed.”

“Lies… … No, keep talking, Ilay. I’ll keep my mouth shut and listen.”

I shook my head and gritted my teeth.