By Zephyria Kenneth, who had only been moving his lips, asked back at the unexpected story.
“Options…?”
Hugo quietly turned his gaze to the window with the rain, through the curtain that appeared like a thread.
“Yes. The first is to admit all your wrongdoings in this place now and be punished with a lawful judgment. Of course, you’ll be expelled from the Council, everyone will know this fact, and you’ll be detained by your colleagues.”
He deliberately maintained his composure as if it were nothing serious. Rather than intending to intimidate, he was merely listing the facts that would happen in the future.
“Of course, your safety and the safety of your family will be guaranteed by me and the Council. If you faithfully cooperate with the investigation during your imprisonment, you can become a special protection subject after your release and live safely with your family.”
“……”
“However, your charges are all serious crimes, so I can’t give you a definite answer on how many years it will take until your release. Also, you won’t be able to set foot in Central again, and it’s best not to think about being involved in national institutions in the future. A disgraceful label will be attached to your name and body, blocking your path wherever you go.”
It was the worst situation for the listener. Leonardo reflexively came to Kenneth’s mind.
He had dared to feel sympathy for him, but now he might have to walk the same path as him.
As Kenneth lowered his head with a dazed expression, Hugo added a word as if giving him medicine.
“Instead, I’ll try to help you get support from the governing territory until you settle down. It won’t be plentiful, but you won’t starve.”
It was the most principled and humane solution. To admit the crime, receive punishment for it, and then live under the protection of the institution.
Moreover, he would have nothing to say even if he was coldly kicked out, but he would be helped to receive support until he settled down. Even Kenneth, who didn’t know much about the world, could tell how generous this treatment was. Frankly, there was no reason to refuse in his current situation.
However, he was afraid that everyone would know his shameful true colors. He was also afraid of the criminal’s mark that would follow him and the glares of the people in the world. Above all, one unbearable problem was bothering him.
As Kenneth bit his lip tightly, Hugo, who was watching, continued.
“And the second.”
The clear eyes that had been facing the floor rose up. It looked like grape-like droplets would fall from his sore eyes at any moment.
“Keep this a secret from everyone and take the records to the place written in the letter.”
Kenneth, who had a blank face for a moment, opened his eyes wide.
“…Yes?”
Hugo, holding the dense paper in his hand, fluttered it lightly and explained again.
“It’s a request to become bait to reveal their identities. The information you’re carrying is high-level information that they’re desperately trying to obtain, even offering a large sum of money. They probably won’t be able to give up easily.”
Of course, it was not certain whether they would willingly pay the large sum they had offered. It would be fortunate if they only received the records and tried to escape as they were. Unlike the previous promise, they might end up seeing blood to destroy the evidence. However, considering their thorough cover-up, they wouldn’t want to escalate the situation either.
“It doesn’t mean I’m forgiving you. For Leonardo, who risked his life for you without knowing anything, I’m giving you a chance to atone that you can correct. Get persistently involved with them and somehow create an opportunity for contact. And don’t tell anyone about this until you die.”
“……”
“You can’t ask for help from your colleagues, your seniors, or anyone. It’s against the rules to ask about your mistakes. This problem must be borne only by you and me.”
Hugo pressured Kenneth and conveyed in a cold voice.
“If you choose the second option, you’ll have to live as a double agent, constantly suffering from the anxiety of being killed. Do you know what that means? It means that you pretend to faithfully carry out the work you’ve been doing and, conversely, pass information to me. Until we wipe out those formless bastards.”
His eyes were firm. Kenneth was even more speechless because of that.
He came here on his own feet because he wanted to escape from fear, but he had to go back into their clutches again. Moreover, he didn’t know how long he would have to continue it. He felt like he was drying up every day while working as a surveillance officer for the past few months, but if he had to face them as bait until the case was closed, he might have to live in constant fear.
“I’ll also take responsibility for the safety of your family. However, you’ll have to leave your hometown and secretly move to another place. You won’t be able to say goodbye to your neighbors, and you’ll have to pack only the bare minimum of your belongings and leave as if you were running away. They mustn’t notice.”
The safety of his family members is guaranteed in either case, but his whole family has to elope because of him. It’s not an easy decision after all.
Kenneth repeatedly closed and opened his eyes tightly. It was too big and heavy an issue for him to suddenly decide on his own.
However, it was none other than him who made his family and Leonardo face this heavy reality. If he had to take responsibility in the end, it was right for him to bear it.
Moreover, the two options were his superior’s generosity, and it was a crossroads, not a cliff. He only had to decide what to do, but he kept facing himself shrinking in front of the decision.
Kenneth repeatedly clenched and unclenched his wet hands. His head was so full of all sorts of assumptions that it felt like it would explode.
Hugo, who had been waiting for him to make a decision, checked his watch and opened his mouth for the last time.
“Kenneth Weaver, I don’t have much patience.”
Kenneth, startled, turned his head quickly.
“The 1st Division receives more valuable rewards and benefits than other divisions because there is danger lurking nearby. And it’s just as difficult to get in. Many people hope to belong to the 1st Division for various reasons, but they are frustrated by the wall of ability and talent and step back. So, the position you were lucky enough to take is a position that someone sincerely yearned for and wanted.”
It was a statement that dug into his conscience. It was a bitter reality that made the person who came to the 1st Division under instigation realize.
“Do you want to stay in the 1st Division even while protecting that position?”
Hugo, leaning back, lifted his chin slightly and looked down at him.
“I’m asking if you can be worth that much.”
Kenneth’s eyes, full of worries, shook confusedly. Fear, terror, guilt, and now the weight of conscience were added.
“That’s…”
It felt like his whole body was being crushed by a transparent rock. He wanted to throw these things off and run away to a place where no one knew him.
But if he did that, one thing would still bother him. Kenneth put aside his family’s thoughts for a moment and recalled the golden eyes that smiled brightly at him.
The gentle touch that wiped away his tears, the red lips that were beautifully curved.
‘You said you’d be good to me, right?’
‘Make sure you keep that promise.’
A pleasant voice flutters like the wind through the worries.
His lips, trembling slightly, were still struggling to move without catching the direction.
“…I―.”
After the two people’s private meeting ended, Kenneth could only go outside after taking off his clothes and being body searched. It was to check if he had any eavesdropping devices or other recorders. Fortunately, no suspicious devices were found other than what he had submitted.
Under Hugo’s instructions, Kenneth immediately took off his black uniform and returned to his hometown with two members of another squad, not the 8th Squad. It was to inform his family of the situation, even in fragments, and to pack his belongings. The two who accompanied him were Hugo’s hands and feet, attached as escorts and surveillance officers.
Tok, tok―
Hugo sat in front of his office desk and organized his thoughts. His eyes, staring blankly into the air, were much calmer.
The sound of his fingertips tapping on the desk and the sound of raindrops hitting the window created a dissonance.
Flynn, who was organizing the records that had been left out on the table, brought him a warm cup of tea as he became lost in thought.
“Why did you speak so harshly?”
Hugo’s unfocused blue eyes shifted to Flynn.
“Were you listening?”
“…I could hear the sound.”
“You must have been sticking to the door.”
Flynn, who had been caught off guard, gave an awkward smile. As soon as he came out of the Legion Commander’s office with Gabe, he asked if today was the day of the 3rd Division Commander’s expulsion, and they had put aside their work and concentrated with their ears attached side by side.
He had even used Magic Tool to clearly hear the mumbling conversation, so there was no room for excuses.
“I’m sorry…”
“If you weren’t someone I brought, you would also be subject to punishment.”
Flynn lowered his eyes, cowering as a fierce gaze shot at his face. Hugo stared at him with an unpleasant look, then turned his head back to the rainy window.
“Did you think my words were harsh?”
“…Yes? Ah, yes… You spoke more coldly than I thought.”
“……”
“He’s a pitiful friend. We need people to reveal the mastermind on this side, too. But it seemed like you were scaring him so much that it would be better to just be punished and guaranteed safety. You were actually thinking of protecting him no matter what choice he made, right?”
“……”
“Did you do that on purpose?”
“…Maybe.”
Kenneth Weaver eventually chose to stay in the 1st Division. He might have known what the consequences of his choice would be, even though he was ignorant of the harshness of the world.
But more than anything else, he said that he didn’t want Leonardo to know about his mistakes.
He said that he didn’t want to give the wound that there was a lie in the time he spent with him. Kenneth confessed that if he could, he wanted to bury the truth until his grave and meet Leonardo with a smiling face as always.
Hugo couldn’t continue speaking the moment he heard that. The biggest influence on Kenneth’s decision was none other than his relationship with Leonardo.
He knew that the two had become close due to some kind of incident, but it seemed that their bond was deeper than he thought.
As a result, Kenneth volunteered to become a bridgehead to reveal the forces behind the scenes instead of receiving absolution, so this side also had a useful card. Moreover, Leonardo, who is full of affection, doesn’t have to be hurt, so there couldn’t be a better ending than this.
That’s right. It must be a good thing.
Hugo felt as if he had pushed Kenneth with his own hands, and he felt a heaviness in one corner of his heart.
“It seems I needed absolution too.”
Flynn quietly looked at his lord at his mumbling that came out as if he was letting it slip.
He was worried that it was not an atmosphere to add more words, so he decided to naturally change the subject.
“Well…, then I should look into small territories where immigration permits can be issued first. There is still a lot of discrimination against the descendants of Werewolves, so the lords and managers don’t really welcome them. I think it would be good to give them a heads up in advance…”
Hugo, who had organized his thoughts at Flynn’s words, cooled the hot tea and took a sip. He quickly emptied half of it, and immediately got up from his seat and picked up his uniform jacket.
“Do you need a separate permit? Just provide them with a suitable residence.”
Flynn’s thoughts stopped for a moment at Hugo’s reaction, who spoke too easily. Then, belatedly understanding the meaning, he asked back as if it was an unexpected thing.
“Are you going to call them to the territory?”
“Flynn, postpone all my personal schedules for the time being, starting with today’s work. And you get ready to go out right now too.”
Hugo, who had affirmed by turning the words, put on his tie and dressed up. Flynn asked urgently at his hurried appearance.
“Where are you going?”
Hugo’s eyes, which were tidying up his appearance, shone eerily. After drinking all the remaining tea and wiping his mouth, he answered quietly.
“I’m going to see my enemy.”