By Zephyria Kenneth Weaver was originally a trainee, a recruit whose unit assignment had not yet been decided.
The central branch’s expedition to the peninsula was suddenly decided, and the number of expedition members in the 1st royal guard was woefully insufficient. In the process of organizing the personnel, two reserve personnel from the standby group and one person were filled without review, considering the unit assignment preference forms and specialties of the trainees.
One of the people selected in this process was Kenneth Weaver.
At the time of his enlistment evaluation, he had a mild disposition that disliked fighting, and he did not show any particular talent in the combat field. In his enlistment application, he also stated that he wanted to work in static fields that required concentration, such as internal affairs or smuggling and drug detection. However, in the unit assignment preference form submitted near the end of his training period, he wrote in his own handwriting that he hoped to be assigned to the 1st royal guard, especially Squad Leader 8.
Originally, since the 1st royal guard was composed entirely of combat personnel, Kenneth Weaver should have been disqualified from the assignment evaluation according to procedure. However, he happened to have a special skill that others did not, and thanks to that, he was considered in the expedition personnel formation. This was because one of Kenneth Weaver’s distant ancestors was a werewolf, a hybrid of human and beast born from black magic according to legend.
In the past, they were persecuted as monsters and seemed to be disappearing from the world, but as prominent Bermuda natives began to speak out against discrimination against other races, they too began to be recognized as members of society on the surface.
The few remaining descendants of werewolves either lived in hiding or severed ties with humans in order to shed the label of werewolf. According to providence, the strengths and habits of wolves had long since faded. So, in cases like Kenneth Weaver, where some senses were particularly developed, it was considered a rare talent today.
Considering these special conditions, the tight deadline, and the fact that the unit belonging to the 1st royal guard that was decided to be dispatched to the peninsula was a pursuit specialist squad. With the special permission of Emma Russell, the pursuit captain and Squad Leader 8, Kenneth was able to become a member of the 1st royal guard without the approval of the Legion Commander and Deputy Commander.
As Hugo retraced all of these processes, he could not deny that suspicion was spreading even to Squad Leader 8, even though he knew it couldn’t be.
As Meterion said, if coincidences continue, they are not coincidences. The fact that Squad Leader 8 was the only one in the 1st royal guard to participate in the subjugation was not only because he valued her tracking ability, but also because she was the first of the squad leaders to express her intention to go on the expedition.
Moreover, since she had the decision-making power to fill Kenneth Weaver as a squad member, he could not ignore the reality that she had contributed to the influx of internal collaborators with only faith in her subordinates.
But before the suspicion towards her deepened, fortunately or unfortunately, Kenneth brought up a shocking story.
“I’m probably not the only one who received these instructions.”
Hugo, who was examining the letter he had received, slowly rolled his eyes.
“Not one person?”
“Yes. In my estimation…”
“Do you have any basis for that?”
It was a surprising statement, but Hugo tried to maintain his composure. Kenneth, who was asked to sit back on the sofa again at his direction, recalled the classmates who had been with him during his training period.
“Well… it’s just my guess, but… there were people among the trainees who wanted internal affairs like me or who were far from combat. But suddenly, I remember quite a few people resubmitting their unit assignment preference forms saying they wanted to go to the 1st royal guard.”
“……”
“That was… not long after the Commander brought Blaine to the Council, so most people said that their longing and respect for the Commander had increased, and applications were pouring into the direct unit… but in my opinion, even considering that, there were many classmates who made unexpected choices. Each of them applied to different squads. I was probably one of them too.”
Hugo slowly rubbed his temples.
“…So, no matter which squad accompanied me on the peninsula, there would have been at least one person who would monitor Leonardo.”
“Yes, probably…”
Immediately after the central branch’s expedition to the peninsula was decided, anyone could have predicted that Leonardo would be included in the subjugation team. At the general meeting, it had already been decided that he would take responsibility for Leonardo, so it was within the expected range that some squads from the Legion Commander’s 1st royal guard would be dispatched.
They aimed for that point and began to plant eyes and ears intensively in the 1st royal guard, and at the same time, they gave instructions to the trainees, including Kenneth Weaver.
In other words, Kenneth Weaver was just one of many long-term pawns, and in fact, anyone could have become a surveillance agent as long as they entered the 1st royal guard.
The more Hugo organized the situation, the more numb the back of his neck and head became. To disguise the coincidence, he couldn’t even guess where and how many people with sinister purposes were mixed in.
“When you received this letter, were you promised anything in return?”
“……Yes.”
“What did they say they would give you?”
The letter only contained the name Leonardo Blaine and a specific location. The location was close to Kenneth’s hometown.
Kenneth had said that this was the person to be monitored and the location where the records had to be submitted. It seemed that they received a verbal offer without knowing who the person to be monitored was in advance, and only those who succeeded in infiltrating the 1st royal guard received specific items.
“Well… as you know, my family hasn’t had a good reputation since a long time ago, so we’re not very well off. But there are many family members, and many of them suffer from chronic diseases because they have to eat meat. So—”
“So they promised you financial compensation.”
It was an obvious but more humiliating answer than anything else. Kenneth affirmed with silence and closed his eyes tightly.
“If the story that went back and forth in this place is known to them, what will happen?”
It was a simple question, but Kenneth, who had turned pale, raised his head abruptly.
“C, Commander. Please, just that… When those guys came to my house, they told me very emphatically. If this matter is known to the outside world or reaches the Commander’s ears, they will kill me and destroy the evidence.”
“Kill me and destroy the evidence? Did they specifically mention me, saying that they would punish me if it reached my ears?”
“…Yes.”
“You accepted the offer even after hearing such threats? You don’t know what kind of people they are, or what else they will make you do.”
At Hugo’s fierce question, Kenneth’s eyes welled up with tears again. Even though he was big, he was still young and immature. Hugo sighed and handed him a handkerchief from the table.
“I… I know I was foolish. But at first, they said I just had to monitor someone… so I don’t think I felt the seriousness of it. And I needed money for my family, and they showed it to me right in front of my eyes. A huge sum of money that I would never be able to touch even if I saved up until I died…”
It was embarrassing, but he had no choice but to accept it at the time, Kenneth explained, sobbing.
Hugo knew to some extent that his father and older sister were hospitalized due to genetic diseases, and that his mother had been responsible for the family’s livelihood. This was because the overly honest content that Kenneth had applied to the Council in order to receive the organization’s medical benefits was also stated in his application.
At this point, he couldn’t just blame him anymore. Since they were the ones who said they would kill him and destroy the evidence, if he hadn’t accepted the offer on the spot, his whole family might have been harmed. If a member of the organization disappeared, the Council would conduct its own investigation, but those who were trying to plant internal collaborators in the 1st royal guard might have found it easy to disguise it as an accident.
“They wouldn’t have told you why they were trying to use you as a surveillance agent, even while offering you a large sum of money.”
“No…”
Hugo, who had a headache, slowly closed and opened his eyes. He couldn’t figure out the purpose at all.
And whether this was also related to Leonardo’s black choker, whether the Vampire who takes blood was behind it. Whether the royal guard that had been chasing them in Fidele was involved, it felt like more thread was being added to the tangled yarn.
“You must have been the one who gave Leonardo the cigarette in Fidele.”
“Yes? Ah, did you… know?”
Kenneth asked back with a flustered face. Hugo asked again instead of answering.
“Did you do a background check in advance to approach him? To win his favor and get closer to him.”
“……”
“Then why are you revealing the truth now? You prepared so thoroughly, and you could have received a large sum of money just by delivering this.”
Hugo lifted the stack of papers slightly and then dropped them with a thud, staring coldly at Kenneth. Kenneth clenched his fist on his thigh and moved his distorted lips with difficulty.
“Originally… I was going to…”
Kenneth’s trembling hand rubbed his tear-stained eyes roughly with a handkerchief.
“Blaine is such a good person, I didn’t think I should do that…”
Sobbing continued again. He hiccuped, trying to hold back his tears, and continued haltingly.
“Blaine has saved me several times… and I’m doing bad things… sob. And he looked so lonely. He probably didn’t want to come here… I shouldn’t do that, even if other people do.”
If it was the person who ordered him to monitor Leonardo, he must be a person who would harm him. Kenneth said that he had been tormented throughout the subjugation period, wondering if he should follow the orders of such a person and hover around Leonardo. He had been carrying a recorder as a habit, but after falling off the cliff together, he had grown fond of Leonardo and stopped recording.
“But I was also afraid that someone might be monitoring me or Blaine, and that my family would be harmed because my home address was already exposed. But I was so sorry to Blaine… because I was lying. So I couldn’t do this or that… sob, I’m sorry…”
Watching him confess while crying, Hugo was silent with a complicated feeling. This guy is even younger than Leonardo. How could he push a guy who made a hasty decision for his family any further than this?
After sobbing for a long time, Kenneth barely stopped crying after soaking the handkerchief. It was as if he didn’t think he deserved to cry, rather than being calmed down. He hiccuped and asked in a nasal voice.
“What… what will happen to me now?”
Hugo looked at him without a word. Of course, he should pay the price for his sins.
Since he revealed the truth first, there was room for consideration on his part, but he was currently burdened with various charges such as illegal solicitation and bribery, disclosure of official secrets, abuse of authority, and obstruction of business. Usually, even one of these would result in disciplinary action or demotion, but if a new member of the organization did this much, he would be subject to detention, not just expulsion.
But ultimately, Kenneth, who had accompanied him on the expedition to the peninsula, came to him of his own accord, saying that he would confess everything. The existence of an invisible force became certain. It also became clear that Leonardo’s wearing of old-fashioned handcuffs was someone’s intention.
Ironically, Kenneth’s agony was nothing short of good fortune. He didn’t believe in luck, but this was a strange luck that even the schemers couldn’t foresee.
To be exact, it was the luck that came to Leonardo, who always wanted to protect others.
Hugo wanted to hold on to this luck, even for his sake.
“I’ll ask you one more time. Do you really not know who gave you the instructions?”
Blue eyes stared intently as if to see through everything. Kenneth, blinking his eyes, answered in a barely audible voice.
“No…”
Hugo weighed the truth of the answer with narrowed eyes. He wanted to ask outright if he had any contact with the 3rd royal guard Commander.
Now that the opponent had reported being instigated by someone, it was better to refrain from making any statements that could be informative to this guy.
Looking into his eyes, which seemed even more transparent with moisture, Hugo opened his mouth quietly.
“The moment you came here, they would have already judged that the deal had been leaked. If you go outside now, it might really become dangerous.”
Kenneth raised his lowered eyelids. His face was pale, and there was a twitch under his eyes. Worries about his future and the safety of his family were tangled in his gaze.
Hugo offered him a suggestion in a calm tone.
“So, I’ll give you two options. It’s your freedom to choose either one.”