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Chapter 198: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 198



The atmosphere in the conference room, with Luke seated in the center to investigate the experiments conducted during the Witch Weaponization Project, was solemn and heavy.


Someone addressed him.


“Luke Aegis. If you know anything about the Witch Weaponization Project, disclose everything. Even if you have a history of collaborating with the project and committing crimes, we will show leniency if you confess now, so don’t bother hiding anything.”


Upon hearing this, Luke let out a small sigh, whether out of pretense or sincerity, it was unclear.


Sylvia felt his gaze sweep across the room.


It lingered a little longer where Astra was seated.


Their eyes met, and she saw him let out a small sigh with a bitter smile.


Understanding his sentiments, Sylvia also let out a bitter smile inwardly.


Astra, who already knew quite a lot about the project, was present in this room.


If Luke tried to lie clumsily, it would inevitably clash with the information Astra knew.


It must be giving him quite a headache.


But given the situation, Sylvia could only hope that Luke would handle things wisely. And then, she saw Luke take a deep breath and begin to speak.


“...One day, at a college reunion, I met Sator, a former classmate. At the time, I was troubled by the limitations of saving people through medicine alone. When I consulted him about it, he said he was working on something that, once completed, would also achieve my goal. Back then, I was willing to do anything if it meant saving people, so I agreed to help him. That’s when I heard about the plan to create a weapon that could wield a witch’s power. I thought that with such a weapon, we could defeat the beasts without any human sacrifices, so I decided to participate in the project.”


Luke’s story began like that.


One by one, he started recounting the deeds committed to create weapons using witches as materials.


Experiments that were more akin to torture conducted on test subjects.


Sylvia saw the faces of the listeners gradually turn to shock as they heard his account.


The members of the Central Committee were mostly cowards who prioritized their own safety, but they weren’t fundamentally bad people.


Given their common ethical standards, the details of the experiments must have been shocking to them.


When he spoke of the homunculi who possessed emotions, some even turned pale and seemed to be on the verge of nausea.


However, despite this, no one outright looked at Luke as a criminal.


This was because Yoon Si-woo was confirming in real time that what Luke was saying was true.


The motivation behind Luke’s actions was purely to find a way to defeat the beasts without anyone getting hurt, so although his methods were wrong, it was difficult to simply condemn him.


“It was around the time we were discussing scrapping the tenth test subject and preparing the next one.”


Luke, who had been speaking continuously, paused briefly with those words.


Seeing him take a deep breath, Sylvia instinctively realized it.


This was where it all began.


For the first time since entering this conference room, Luke uttered a false statement.


“A large fire broke out at the facility where the experiments were being conducted. I don’t know what caused it, but it was so severe that all the test subjects and facilities were destroyed. With the most crucial material for the project, the witch’s source, gone, we couldn’t continue the experiments. I thought it was for the best. I was already having doubts about whether this was the right thing to do, so I took that incident as a reason to withdraw from the project and declared to Sator that I would no longer be involved.”


“It’s true.”


The false statement was transformed into truth by Yoon Si-woo.


But no one doubted Yoon Si-woo.


Rather, they couldn’t.


To doubt him would be to deny the innocence he had previously proven.


It was an advantageous situation, Sylvia thought.


Maybe, just maybe, they could get through this quietly without Scarlet’s identity being revealed. But just then, the First Elder, his eyes filled with suspicion, questioned Luke.


“...So, you’re saying that after that, you completely withdrew from the project? Sator, despite our orders to stop the project, resisted and claimed to have found what had gone missing. So we suspected that the test subject, thought to have been destroyed in the fire, had actually escaped. We believed that Sator was continuing the project independently, severing contact with us. Your cooperation would have been indispensable for his plan. Are you sure Sator just let you go? Don’t you know something more about him?”


Sylvia’s expression hardened at the persistent question.


They couldn’t just pass off the test subject as having been lost in the fire anymore.


Of course, it was understandable why the First Elder was so obsessed with finding Sator.


If he wanted to protect Astra’s honor any further, he would have to stop Sator from doing anything reckless.


Unaware that Sator had long been dead, he was anxiously worrying that Sator might cause a major incident.


Sylvia wished he would just keep quiet, but the First Elder’s actions were, in his position, an effort to protect Astra and himself, so she couldn’t stop him.


This meant that if things went wrong, Scarlet’s whereabouts could be revealed. As Sylvia was nervously contemplating this, Luke let out a bitter smile and opened his mouth.


“...Yes, you’re right. After I quit, Sator persistently called me. He believed that the test subject had escaped and wanted to find it to continue his experiments. I had no intention of helping him, so I kept refusing. But then, not long after, he called and said he had found the test subject and wanted to resume the experiments.”


“!! Is that true! Where is that bastard Sator! We need to find him immediately and stop those experiments!”


The usually calm First Elder now showed a rare urgency and excitement as he exclaimed.


Interrupting his words, Luke calmly murmured.


“There’s no need for that.”


“What do you mean! If Sator is conducting those experiments again—”


“I said, there’s no need. There’s no one left to conduct those experiments.”


Sylvia looked into Luke’s eyes as he murmured this.


It was an expression she felt she had seen somewhere before.


Just like the First Elder, who had earlier declared he was innocent with a look of defiance.


Seeing that expression, Sylvia suddenly felt like she knew what Luke was about to do.


So she closed her eyes tightly in resignation.


It was obvious what he was about to do.


“Sator is dead.”


He was trying to take all the blame,


“I killed him.”


On himself.


“...It’s true.”


Sylvia heard Yoon Si-woo’s trembling voice affirming the truth with difficulty.


What would it feel like to turn someone you knew into a murderer with just your words?


Yoon Si-woo probably didn’t want to do it.


But it was the choice Luke had made to protect Scarlet, so he had no choice but to speak.


It was heartbreaking from Sylvia’s perspective, knowing the circumstances, but those who were unaware were merely stunned by Luke’s confession of murder.


“...Did you just say you killed him?”


“Yes, I killed him. I didn’t think he would stop otherwise.”


“No, but murder is…”


People murmured in disbelief at the idea of resorting to murder.


Luke addressed them.


“I had no choice. Sator had crossed the line.”


“Crossed the line, you say…”


“Sator tried to create a beast. Using the witch’s source he had retrieved from the test subject and the magical energy.”


“Gasp—!”


People inhaled sharply in shock.


Because with that one statement, the severity of the situation had changed.


Despite numerous attempts, beasts had been found to be uncontrollable entities.


The private use of magical energy was considered a form of terrorism and could be met with immediate execution.


What if a powerful, uncontrollable being, enhanced with the witch’s source, were created?


It would be a catastrophe.


“Sator was completely mad from repeated failures. Like someone who had forgotten how to stop, he was desperately trying to produce some result by any means. I had no choice but to stop him in that way…”


Most of them now believed that Luke had done the right thing by stopping him, even if it meant killing him.


Sylvia had no choice but to acknowledge that blaming most of it on Sator was a fairly reasonable approach.


Even if Astra’s reputation would be slightly damaged, Luke had been considerate enough to frame it as the reckless actions of an individual.


It reminded her of Scarlet’s behavior, leaving her feeling bitter.


Though most agreed that his actions might have been necessary, there would always be a few who wouldn’t condone something as extreme as murder.


Diakonos, addressed Luke.


“Still, there was no need to kill him.”


“...Ha, and this is coming from Dolos. If it weren’t for Dolos, I wouldn’t have had to go that far. The magical energy Sator was going to use in his experiments was stored in your company’s containment unit. What were you thinking when you gave it to him?”


“I do recall approving a request for research purposes. I trusted him as someone from Astra and had no idea he intended to use it for such a purpose…”


Watching Diakonos’s expression harden, Sylvia realized that Luke’s story was a well-crafted lie, carefully constructed.


Not just for the sake of appearances, but for the political stance as well.


With that last statement, all three major families had become entangled in this affair, making it difficult to hold anyone accountable.


Everywhere, people seemed unable to speak, cautiously watching each other.


“What did you do with Sator’s body?”


“I burned it all, along with the experimental equipment.”


“Then, the witch’s source that Sator had retrieved…”


“I threw it into the sewers to prevent any further experiments. It rained heavily the next day, so I don’t know where it got washed away.”


“…I see. You did well.”


In the end, it was only the First Elder who asked Luke a few more questions.


After that, no one else had any more questions, and the meeting naturally came to an end.


“...Then, we will reconvene tomorrow to discuss the punishment and further investigation of those involved in this matter. Luke Aegis, and the First Elder of Astra, please follow me. For now, you’ll have to spend the day in custody.”


As soon as the meeting ended, both the First Elder and Luke were handcuffed.


They had committed crimes after all, so it seemed they would be held in solitary confinement until their sentences were decided.


Although they were being treated as criminals, neither the First Elder nor Luke seemed particularly displeased, judging by their expressions.


Murder, concealment of a corpse, participation in and abetment of illegal experiments.


Sylvia did not know what their sentences would be.


However, she did know that it would likely be less severe than the actual crimes warranted.


The only direct victim was Sator, and he was the one bearing the most responsibility for the incident.


Moreover, both of them were members of the three major families.


In any case, with this, there was almost no chance of suspicion falling on Scarlet. The objective had been achieved.


But there was no sense of accomplishment.


Sylvia quietly looked at Yoon Si-woo, who was sitting opposite her with a weary face.


Her own face probably looked the same.


Ironically, it was Luke, who was being taken away in handcuffs, who seemed to have the brightest expression among them.


Perhaps it was because he had resolved himself from the very beginning.


If she had realized this a little earlier, could she have changed his mind?


*


The next day, Luke was found dead in solitary confinement, as if he had simply fallen asleep.


The cause of death was a lethal pill he had hidden in his mouth beforehand.


A suicide note, apparently written the previous day, was found in his inside pocket, confirming it was suicide.


*


The suicide note contained the following:


He wrote that the guilt from the deeds he had committed during the experiments had always tormented him.


He felt responsible for not stopping his foolish friend and decided to take his punishment by following him.


And at the end of the note, he had written briefly:


“Brother, I’m sorry for being such a disgrace.”


“You... foolish child...”


Mark, reading the note, cursed his brother’s foolishness and wept for a long time.


*


“...”


Hearing about Luke’s death, Sylvia sat blankly for a long time.


It wasn’t because she wondered why he did it.


She had a rough idea of why he took such an action.


To make things certain.


To completely conceal Scarlet’s existence.


Further investigation was supposed to begin today.


Magic was a highly effective means for investigations.


Unlike psychometry, which loses the memory of a place over time, investigation magic could trace actions from several weeks ago as long as enough time and resources were invested.


However, there was one condition.


It only worked on living people.


“...”


There was no way to magically investigate the past actions of a dead person.


Necromancy had been abandoned long ago for ethical reasons.


So, to ensure that his actions would not be traced and Scarlet’s existence would not be revealed, Luke had chosen the most definitive method.


He had always harbored a tremendous sense of guilt towards Scarlet, so it wasn’t that she couldn’t understand his feelings.


She understood.


She understood, but she couldn’t accept it.


It was a way that showed no regard for the feelings of those left behind.


Would Scarlet have wanted you to sacrifice yourself like this?


Did he even realize that?


Feeling a deep sense of resentment, Sylvia muttered into the air.


“...Did you really have to go this far?”


Of course, there was no answer to her question.


As she sat there with a bitter expression, her phone suddenly vibrated.


When she checked it, she was shocked.


“...How is this possible?”


[The place where we met last time, under the desk drawer.]


A message like that had arrived from the number Luke had used to contact her.


Had a ghost sent it?


After a moment of confusion, Sylvia came to the only logical conclusion.


It was a scheduled message he had set to send at this time.


Coming to her senses, Sylvia quickly left the mansion.


If he said “where we met last time,” there was only one place that came to mind.


The abandoned building where she had gone for a consultation with Scarlet.


Rushing there in a single breath, Sylvia opened the firmly closed shutter and entered inside.


When she turned on the light, she saw a cellphone on the desk.


It was the phone he had used to contact her.


Ignoring it, she searched under the desk drawer as the message instructed and found a letter.


On the envelope, as if making a request to her, was written:


[Miss, could you give this letter to Scarlet?]


Sylvia’s face twisted as she read that.


What on earth was so admirable about someone who left like that, that she would grant their request?


With the thought that she would tear it up if it contained anything trivial, she opened the envelope.


"...Ha."


Sylvia let out a bitter laugh.


It seemed he had known.


Knowing everything, he had intended to do this from the start.


Judging by the fact that the first sentence began with an apology.


Reading the letter, Sylvia thought about how he must have felt as he wrote it.


She thought and thought and thought about it.


In the end, finally understanding him, Sylvia could only put the letter to her chest with a tearful expression.


“...Because I know you’re sorry, I’ll deliver it.”


Be happy.


That was the last sentence written in the letter.


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Comments

  1. How to destroy scarlet's emotional state 101

    ReplyDelete
  2. :P He may seems selfless, but leaving first is a very selfish thing in this regard.

    ReplyDelete

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