Bad Born Blood Chapter 206

206
A world where good and evil are clear would be wonderful.

A beautiful world where any kind of criticism, insult, or violence is allowed against beings defined as evil. Just thinking about it is incredibly convenient.

In such a dichotomous world, you don’t have to worry about much. Just get drunk on a cheap sense of justice that’s like a drug, find the villain, point your finger at him, and throw rocks at him.

… … Yes, this is a childish delusion.

In reality, the line between good and evil is not clear. To be precise, in most situations, the distinction between good and evil is so ambiguous that it is meaningless.

‘I am right, others are wrong.’

It’s such a shallow thought. But most people live with that kind of mindset. I’m no exception.

‘The only standard for righteousness is me.’

And by extension, I consider my family, acquaintances, and people around me as ‘right people’.

However, this standard is shallow and shallow. Whenever a conflict arises, we quickly divide people into good and evil and define ‘people who are slightly different from me’ as evil. If we continue to define ‘evil’ so lightly, before we know it, everyone in the world will become a villain.

… … The self-righteousness that can unhesitatingly define others as evil is the most terrible evil. It is the self-righteous who truly spit out the worst and most disgusting evil.

‘Giselle and Ilay.’

They are precious people to me. I didn’t want to define them as evil.

‘But there was a conflict between Giselle and Ilay. For some reason, Giselle didn’t trust Ilay. If you think about it carefully, it makes sense. Ilay isn’t someone who is always trustworthy.’

Both of them must have had their own reasons.

Which of these two is more wrong and evil?

If I define one of the two as evil, I will feel better. If I define Ilay as evil here and criticize her to my heart’s content, my psychological stability will increase. Because I can just blame Ilay for all these distortions.

But that is a way of thinking that is far from reality. Ilay and Giselle are not people living in a fairy tale world. They are real beings who pray countless times, hoping that their judgment is right in a complexly intertwined cause and effect.

“… … I tried to talk to Giselle, but I was rejected every time. Sometimes I tried to threaten her, but it didn’t work. It was really impossible to force her to open her mouth.”

Ilay summarized the story. He didn’t know where I was after he handed me over to Giselle.

“Giselle must have judged you to be one of the Emperor’s people.”

I said indifferently.

“If I were on Ivan’s side, you would have fallen into Ivan’s hands long ago.”

“At least that’s how it seemed to Giselle. Giselle is different from us. People like you, me, and Ivan are monsters to Giselle. It must have been hard to be sure that you were really on her side.”

At my words, Ilay put the cigar he had put down in his mouth. He twisted the corners of his lips bitterly.

“Luka, you’re still young. You’ve had a lot of downtime? How many years, really? You must have just recovered from your inability to recover. But if you’ve had several years, you’d know the whole story.”

Ilay dug in sharply.

‘Having blank periods is my fatal weakness.’

Even if my opponent was Ilay, I didn’t want to reveal my weakness first. But he was already found out.

“Don’t whine. If you have something to say, say it clearly.”

“Giselle sees us as monsters? If we are monsters, then Giselle is also a monster on the same level as us. I know your emotions are getting the better of you, but don’t lose your judgment. I’ll say it again, Giselle deceived me and even Ivan’s eyes to get you out. Shall I explain what this means?”

“No, it’s okay. I understand.”

I replied briefly. I have no intention of being rude.

Let’s admit that Giselle has changed. While I was wandering the riverside of the underworld, she went through hardships and moved forward. It’s strange that she hasn’t changed.

“That’s all I have to say for now. Luca, you tell me what happened.”

Ilay stopped giving information. It was almost as if he was being cunning, since he was ending Giselle’s story. But being cunning is not unfair.

“Well, that would be fair. I… … .”

I ran my fingertips along the rim of the glass and opened my mouth.

I told Ellie about how I woke up in Lazarus with Jafar’s support. I didn’t go into detail, but I did explain the general flow of things.

Ilay slowly closed his eyes. He was lost in thought, but then he opened his eyes along with his mouth.

“So that’s why I couldn’t find you. Lazarus isn’t a great medical institution. It’s more like a research institution. I didn’t know Giselle would put you there. If she wanted to treat you, there are many better options than Lazarus.”

“That’s why you put me in Lazarus. There were better options, but Giselle chose the bad option to fool you.”

“… … In that sense, it seems like there is a better option, but let’s put the story about Lazarus on hold for now. It is a fact that Giselle put you in Lazarus.”

Ilay questioned Giselle’s judgment and choices.

‘There must have been a big difference of opinion between Giselle and Ilay when discussing what was the best decision for me.’

I squinted my eyes. Ilay thought that Giselle’s judgment in putting me in Lazarus was wrong.

I too had many questions. However, these are questions that would be difficult to resolve until I met Giselle in person.

‘I don’t know what kind of person Giselle is now…’

I only know Giselle, discussed from the perspective and point of view of others.

“To sum up, you are tracking down Kinuan with the support of Company Jafar. What about extracting Valek’s memories? Surely you can do it, right? The great Luca?”

“Don’t provoke me. If you couldn’t do that, how could you have shown your face? And you made the same mistake as me. The one you killed wasn’t Balek. It was a vagrant who borrowed Balek’s body. You left a message expecting Kinuan to extract his memories.”

Illeido, this was an unexpected appearance.

“Balek killed two of my men and escaped. He was no ordinary man, so I took him out by surprise. I thought it was too easy… … .”

“It must have been intentional to show off his skills. He was calculating that he would attack without saying a word. Valek intentionally leaked information to those around him.”

“Akes Victima is annoying in many ways.”

Illai drank his drink, frowning.

The users of Akiess Victory are picky. That’s why I was qualified to track Kinuan. It’s hard for an outsider to understand the thinking of Akiess Victory users. Even if you can keep up with the speed of their thinking, there are differences in perspective and viewpoint.

“Do you know about Mushir Al-Kashra?”

Illei thought for a moment and shook her head. It seemed that he was not a famous person in the Empire. Well, if he was famous in the Empire, I would have known about him.

‘And one thing is certain. The Empire’s sophisticated surveillance system is closed. It cannot see the outside world in detail.’

The empire, or more precisely the royal family, uses the complex dynamics within the empire to govern. The imperial surveillance capacity is always directed inward.

The empire had no choice but to pursue an exclusive and closed foreign policy in order to maintain its extreme surveillance system.

‘The more frequent the exchange with the outside world, the more uncontrollable variables there are. No matter how great the imperial family’s capabilities are, they cannot grasp all the movements of forces outside the empire.’

The Empire viewed even nations that came from the same roots as humanity as enemies. It ferociously rejected alien races, and information about events outside the Empire was strictly controlled.

‘The reason Ivan couldn’t find me. The reason Giselle stayed in Border City for a long time. The reason Ilay could meet me and talk.’

All of this means that the imperial power does not extend far beyond the outside.

“Kinuan said that if you meet Mushir Al-Kashra, you will know his whereabouts. You take care of this, Ilay. I will go after the real Balek separately.”

“That’s not like you. Are you going to leave my main mission of tracking down Kinuan to me?”

I laughed.

“Kinuan would like me and Mushir Al-Kashra to meet. I have a feeling it. This is an arrangement for me. So you should go. We don’t have to move as he expects. My judgment may also be within the scope of his predictions, but at least it is not the best course of action according to his plans.”

I have to thwart Kinuan’s plans. I don’t think I can ruin his plans with just one judgment and choice.

However, even the most grand plans will be distorted if there is even a slight deviation from Kinuan’s prediction.

Ilay’s eyes widened when he heard what I said. He stroked his smooth chin and became lost in thought.

“That makes sense. I wouldn’t have thought of that. Cooperating with you makes sense, even from a mission perspective.”

I drank milk mixed with alcohol. As I drank it, it was somewhat edible.

“Ilay, what did Kinuan do during the storm?”

Even I, who asked the question, didn’t have any particular expectations.

“No one but Ivan knows the inside story. One thing is certain… … If we secure Kinuan, we can deal with Ivan on equal footing. There are other units chasing Kinuan besides me. Be careful not to run into them. They won’t let you down like I did.”

I swallowed the words that were on my lips.

‘Ilay Kartika, then what is your real purpose?’

Even if you ask, he won’t tell you. He’ll just pass over the question with a vague answer and a smile.

We exchanged additional information. We will maintain our cooperative relationship until we find Kinuan.

If I exchange information with Ilay who operates within the Empire, my field of vision and scope of activity will expand. If Ilay also receives my help, it will be easier to track down Kinuan.

“Ilay, have you tried contacting Gilda?”

“We’ve met a few times, but we haven’t had any significant results. Gilda doesn’t know much about this world. But I think he had some conflicts with Giselle.”

“Is it possible that Gilda was involved in Giselle’s disappearance?”

The Gilda I know would not harm Giselle. She was a kind and affectionate woman. But that was Gilda 12 years ago. You have to be open to all possibilities.

“It seemed like I didn’t notice. But it might be different for you. My observation skills are worse than yours.”

“Then let me ask you something else. After Giselle went missing, who benefited the most was Gilda?”

Illai stopped moving. He gathered information in his head and opened his mouth.

“That’s right. We were able to reorganize the company that was on the verge of splitting up, stop excessive business expansion, and solidify our foundation. For a company that started from the bottom, we’re in a solid position.”

I calmed my emotions down. Let’s examine the conflict of interest thoroughly.

Looking back at Gabriel’s testimony, Gilda was in a situation where she had to kick Giselle out. Even if Kinuan’s intentions were involved, it is possible that Gilda was the one who carried it out.

If we leave aside the human aspect, the prime suspect is obvious. The only one who would benefit from Giselle’s disappearance is Gilda.

“Illei, keep an eye on Gilda, and let me know when she comes out of the empire. Then I will come find her.”

“You want to meet Gilda in person? Can you trust her? Gilda could report your presence to the Empire.”

“You have to meet him and decide. If you don’t trust him… …then just cut him.”

Ilay stared at me. He smiled bitterly through the hazy smoke.

“Luka, you really have to do that. If Ivan finds out that I just ignored you… … I’ll be finished too. Once you’ve made up your mind, you have to kill Gilda for my sake. Don’t be lax this time. Anyway, I’ll keep an eye on Gilda. The company has grown so much that there will be times when she’ll go outside or outside the Empire.”

Illai glanced at the clock on the wall.

“I guess you have something to do.”

“I need a good excuse to stay in Border City. I took on a simple mission to squeeze in some time. Well, it was fun, Luca. I’ll pay for the drinks. Next time, you buy. I’m secretly underpaid, too.”

Ilay got up from his seat. I smirked and watched him leave.

We’ve decided what we’re going to do. I’m going to chase after Balek, who has disappeared. Ilay is going to find Mushir Al-Kashra.

Sssss.

I felt a shiver run down my spine. As my thoughts deepened, anxious thoughts would often invade me.

‘Probably, definitely, there will be conflict between Ilay and me… … .’

I know, this is a dangerous partnership. Ilay has other important goals.

Maybe Ilay… …is cooperating with me, risking her life, not for friendship, but for personal gain. I could be useful in finding Kinuan. My thoughts keep turning negative.

… … You still don’t trust anyone and only have bad thoughts, Luca.