Chapter: 198
The atmosphere in the conference room, where Luke was seated in the middle for an investigation into the Witch Weaponization Project, was as solemn as a funeral.
Someone spoke to him.
“Luke Aegis. If you know anything about the Witch Weaponization Project, please divulge it all. Even if you have a history of collaborating and committing crimes in the plan, confessing here will earn you leniency, so don’t bother trying to hide anything.”
Upon hearing this, Luke let out a small sigh that was either a performance or genuine.
Sylvia felt his gaze sweep across the room.
Among them, a prolonged stare lingered on Astra, before their eyes met, and he gave a wry smile and let out a quiet sigh.
Understanding his feelings, Sylvia couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile of her own.
Astra, knowing quite a lot about the plan, was present at this moment.
Trying to deceive them poorly would undoubtedly clash with the information known by Astra.
That must be quite a headache.
However, given how things had unfolded, Sylvia thought inwardly that she could only hope he would handle the situation wisely, when she saw Luke finally take a deep breath and open his mouth.
“One day, at a university reunion, I met Sator, a former classmate. At the time, I was pondering the limits of saving people solely with medical skills. So I consulted Sator about it, and he told me that he was researching something that could help me achieve my goals if completed. I was desperate to save people and willing to do anything, so I agreed to help him. It was there that I heard about the plan to create a weapon capable of wielding the Power of the Witch. I thought that if such a weapon existed, we could defeat the demonic beasts without sacrificing lives, so I became involved in that plan.”
And thus, Luke’s story began.
One by one, he revealed the acts done in the name of creating a weapon from witches’ materials.
Experiments that bordered on torture conducted on test subjects.
Sylvia could see the faces of those listening to his tale gradually turning in shock.
Most of the Central Committee members were cowards focused on their own safety, but fundamentally, they weren’t that bad of people.
They had a common sense of ethics, so the contents of the experiment must have been shocking.
Some were even ashen-faced and slightly nauseated by the story of the emotional homunculi.
However, there was no one who viewed Luke as an outright criminal.
This was because Yoon Si-woo was communicating in real-time that his words were true.
His motive for committing such acts was solely to find a way to defeat the demonic beasts without harming people, so even if his methods were wrong, they couldn’t entirely blame him for that.
“And then, when we were discussing disposing of the tenth test subject and preparing for the next, something happened.”
With those words, Luke, who had been talking steadily, momentarily paused.
Taking a small deep breath, Sylvia instinctively realized.
This was probably the beginning of the real story.
And so, for the first time since entering the meeting room, Luke uttered a false testimony.
“A large fire broke out where the experiments were taking place. I don’t know the cause, but it was such a big fire that all the test subjects and facilities were lost. Since the most important material in the plan, the witch’s material, was gone, we couldn’t continue the experiments. I thought it was a good thing, really. I had been filled with doubts about whether this was really the right thing to do while continuing the experiments. So, using that incident as an opportunity, I declared to Sator that I would withdraw from the plan.”
“That’s the truth.”
The lie morphed into truth thanks to Yoon Si-woo.
However, no one had the thought to doubt Yoon Si-woo.
To be precise, they didn’t think to doubt him, they couldn’t afford to do so.
Suspecting him would amount to negating his own proven innocence.
It was an advantageous situation, Sylvia thought.
Just as she was hoping that Scarlett’s identity wouldn’t be revealed and everything would pass quietly, the First Elder raised a suspicious eyebrow and asked Luke.
“…So, you’re saying you completely withdrew from the plan after that? Sator displayed rebellious behavior when we told him to stop the plan. He claimed to have found something he thought lost. So we were considering if the test subject we assumed had been lost in the fire had actually escaped. We suspected that Sator had been trying to take back that test subject and was continuing the plan under the radar, cutting off contact with us. Your cooperation would have been essential to his plan. Are you sure Sator simply let you go? Don’t you know anything about him?”
Sylvia’s expression tightened at the relentless inquiry.
The previous claim that the test subject had been lost in the fire was now thrown into uncertainty by that question.
Of course, she understood why the First Elder was so fixated on Sator’s whereabouts.
To prevent further disgrace to Astra’s honor, Sator must be stopped from acting recklessly.
Not knowing that Sator had already died, he might have been anxiously fearing that he would make a massive mistake.
While Sylvia wished he would just keep quiet, she couldn’t stop him since he believed his actions were for Astra and himself.
At that moment, where one misstep could reveal Scarlett’s activities, Luke opened his mouth with a bitter smile.
“Yes, as you said. Stopped working with him, and Sator began obsessively calling me. He believed the test subject had escaped and wanted to find it to continue the experiments. I had no inclination to help him anymore and kept refusing. But not long after, he called again. He said he found the test subject, and we should resume the experiments.”
“!! Really? Where’s that bastard Sator? I have to go and make him stop that experiment right now-!”
The normally collected First Elder was now frantically yelling with a flushed face.
And cutting him off, Luke murmured in a calm voice.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“What do you mean! If Sator is conducting more experiments right now-!”
“That’s precisely why you don’t need to. There is no one left to conduct the experiments.”
Sylvia looked into Luke’s eyes as he muttered that.
Those eyes seemed familiar.
The First Elder, who had earlier claimed his own absence of wrongdoing, had shown precisely that kind of gaze.
Seeing those eyes, Sylvia suddenly felt she understood what he was trying to do.
So she squeezed her eyes shut, overwhelmed with despair.
She didn’t need to see what he was about to do; it was obvious.
“Sator is dead.”
All alone,
“I killed him.”
He was attempting to take the fall.
“…That’s the truth.”
Sylvia heard Yoon Si-woo’s trembling voice struggling to utter that he spoke the truth.
What kind of feeling was it to turn someone with whom you were once acquainted into a murderer with just a word?
Yoon Si-woo certainly didn’t want that.
However, it was a choice made by Luke to protect Scarlett, so he couldn’t help but say it.
While it was a regrettable situation for those in the know, those unaware could only stare dumbfounded at the assertion he had killed someone.
“…So, you’re saying you killed him?”
“Yes. I killed him. He wouldn’t stop, no matter what I said.”
“But even so, a murder…!”
Luke responded to those murmuring in disbelief.
“It was unavoidable. Sator crossed the line.”
“Crossed the line?”
“Sator was going to create a demonic beast using the witch’s material he retrieved from the miasma and the test subjects.”
“Gasp-!”
The others inhaled sharply in shock.
That one line changed the gravity of the situation.
Despite many attempts, it had been proven that demonic beasts were entities incapable of control.
This was why manipulation of miasma was regarded as a possible rationale for immediate execution.
If the witch’s material mixed with the demonic beasts gave rise to something uncontrollable and immensely powerful?
That could potentially lead to calamity.
“Sator had completely lost himself in a string of failures. He was like someone who had forgotten how to stop, trying to produce some result by any means. In order to stop him, that was the only way…”
Most would think it was right to have acted to stop such actions, even if it involved killing him.
Sylvia had no choice but to acknowledge that shifting most of the blame onto Sator was a somewhat rational approach.
It might stain Astra’s reputation a little, but Luke’s consideration that it would be seen as an individual’s reckless action was perhaps considerate of him.
Thinking about his willingness to take the blame for murder brought Scarlett’s actions to mind, leaving a bittersweet feeling.
Regardless of whether the majority would come to accept it, there would always be a minority of individuals that wouldn’t condone such extreme measures as murder.
Diakonos, the head of Dolos, spoke to Luke.
“Still, was killing him absolutely necessary?”
“…Huh, for someone from Dolos to say that. If it weren’t for Dolos, I probably wouldn’t have needed to go that far. The miasma Sator intended to use for his experiments was contained within your facility’s storage. What were you thinking when you handed it over?”
“I remember permitting the request for research purposes from our facility… I believed I was sending it to a person from Astra, but I had no idea it would be used for such a purpose…”
Seeing Diakonos’s face harden, Sylvia felt that this was a fabrication that Luke had concocted after significant deliberation.
It wasn’t just a rationale; he was considering the political ramifications as well.
That statement had now entangled all three major families in this incident, possibly making them hesitant to assign responsibility.
She could feel that many present were too afraid to voice their thoughts.
“What happened to Sator’s body?”
“I burned it along with all the experimental equipment.”
“So, what about that witch’s material Sator had recovered?”
“I disposed of it in the sewers, just to prevent any future experiments. After throwing it away, it rained heavily the next day, so I cannot confirm where it went.”
“…I see. Good job.”
In the end, only the First Elder asked a few more questions to Luke.
After that, no one had further questions, and the meeting naturally concluded.
“…Then let’s reconvene tomorrow to discuss the punishment for those involved in this incident and any further investigations. Luke Aegis and First Elder of Astra, please follow me. I believe you’ll need to spend today in jail.”
As soon as the meeting concluded, the First Elder and Luke amicably locked cuffs around their wrists.
Well, since they had committed crimes, it seemed they would be interned in solitary confinement until the sentence was decided.
Although they were treated like criminals, their expressions didn’t seem too negative, so both the First Elder and Luke didn’t appear to have significant grievances regarding their treatment.
Murder, concealment of a body, participating and aiding illegal experiments.
Sylvia had no idea what the verdict would be.
However, she could tell it would be significantly less than the actual crimes warranted.
After all, there was only one concrete victim, and he bore the largest responsibility in the case.
Moreover, they were both members of the three major families.
Regardless, it could be said that with this, there were almost no suspicions remaining about Scarlett, indicating that the objective had been achieved.
Yet, she felt none of the satisfaction of success.
Sylvia quietly gazed at Yoon Si-woo, who sat across from her looking weary.
Her face probably mirrored his.
Ironically, Luke, who was being apprehended, appeared the most cheerful among them.
Perhaps it seemed that way because he had already accepted everything from the very beginning.
If only she had picked up on that earlier, would she have been able to change his mind?
*
The next day, Luke, who was confined to solitary confinement, was found dead, seemingly in his sleep.
The cause of death was a poisonous pill that he seemed to have hidden in his mouth beforehand.
In his jacket pocket, a letter that looked like something he had pre-written was discovered, leading to a ruling of suicide.
*
The letter contained this message.
He had always been tormented by guilt over the things he had done during the experiments from the previous day.
He felt responsible for not being able to stop his foolish accomplice and said he would take the consequences by following him.
At the end of the letter, he had written briefly.
“I’m sorry for being a useless brother.”
“H-This foolish child…”
Mark, who read the letter, wept for a long time, blaming his brother’s foolishness.
*
“…….”
Upon hearing the news of Luke’s death, Sylvia sat dumbfounded for a long time.
It wasn’t from wondering why he had done such a thing.
In fact, she could somewhat guess why he had acted that way.
To make things certain.
To perfectly conceal Scarlett’s existence.
Originally, additional investigations were supposed to start today.
Magic was a fantastic tool for investigation.
Unlike psychometry, which fades the memory of a location over time, magic employed for investigation could trace back the past few weeks if sufficient time and resources were invested.
However, there was one condition.
It was only possible for living individuals.
“…….”
There was no way to magically dig up the past of someone already deceased.
Necromancy had been long abandoned due to ethical reasons.
And so, to eliminate even the slightest chance of his actions being tracked and Scarlett’s existence being exposed, Luke chose the most definitive method.
He had always held immense guilt regarding Scarlett, so understanding his feelings didn’t seem strange.
She understood.
She understood, yet she couldn’t come to terms with it.
It was a manner that didn’t consider the feelings of those left behind.
Did Scarlett want him to sacrifice himself like that?
Did he know that?
Feeling resentful toward that thought, Sylvia suddenly asked the void.
“……Did it really have to be this way?”
Of course, there was no reply to that question.
As she wore a bitter expression, her phone vibrated unexpectedly, causing Sylvia to check it in confusion.
“……How is this possible?”
A text came from the number Luke had used to contact her, stating:
[The place we met last time, under the desk drawer.]
Could it be a message from a ghost?
Surprised for a moment, Sylvia soon reached the conclusion that it simply couldn’t be.
There was only one explanation.
He had sent a scheduled message to arrive at this time.
Regaining her composure, Sylvia hurriedly left the mansion.
When he mentioned the place where they had last met, only one location came to mind.
The abandoned building where she had gone for counseling with Scarlett.
Rushing to that place, Sylvia opened the firmly shut shutters and entered inside.
Upon turning the lights on, she saw a mobile phone lying on the desk.
It was the phone he had used to contact her.
Ignoring it, she rummaged through the drawer as per the message and found a letter.
On the envelope’s exterior were the words suggesting a request to her.
[Miss, could you deliver this letter to Scarlett?]
Sylvia frowned upon seeing it.
What good would it do to fulfill a request from someone who had gone away?
And so, determining to tear it up if it contained trivial content, she opened the letter, and at that moment,
“……Ha.”
Sylvia could not help but let out a bitter laugh.
It seemed he had indeed known.
He had apparently intended this from the very start.
Starting from the first sentence, “I’m sorry,” made it clear.
Reading the letter, Sylvia thought about his emotional state while writing it.
After thinking and thinking, finally understanding him, she had no choice but to embrace the letter with teary eyes.
“……I’m delivering it because you felt sorry.”
“May you find happiness.”
That was the last sentence penned in the letter.
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