Chapter 108
The past I spent at the orphanage resurfaced.
Back then, I used to look up at the upper district through the tangled mess of dirty wires. I believed that if I tried hard enough, I could get there. The Empire promoted and taught that idea.
Then, during the selection test, I was deemed fit for the Imperial Guard. I clenched my fists and let out a silent scream.
The results of my efforts had finally come. I could escape this cesspool. I no longer had to tremble in fear of dying at someone’s whim.
‘But it’s the same here.’
The upper district and noble society were no different. The only difference was better clothing and finer food.
…We were all slaves to someone.
There were only miserable slaves and slaves who were slightly better off.
Even those noble families who once flaunted their power crumbled overnight.
More than a hundred Imperial Guards were gathered here. It was a considerable number.
The official full strength of the Imperial Guard was a thousand. But in reality, the number was always lower. At most, eight or nine hundred; in times of manpower shortage, five to six hundred.
Even in peacetime, Imperial Guards were deployed on missions across the Empire. To gather several hundred of them in one place required months of preparation. Even gathering a hundred in a single day was difficult.
‘The Corovus Family’s domain.’
We stood before it. At the center of the territory stood a peculiar structure—too unusual to be called a mansion.
It was a massive residential complex, modified from a colossal airship. I had heard that in the early days of settlement, it had been one of the Imperial immigrant ships that departed from Planet Arc. The ship’s captain was the progenitor of the Corovus Family.
“It’s an old family with a long history. At one point, they were even related to the Imperial family by marriage.”
Ilay, who was standing beside me, murmured. The cadets from my class were here as auxiliary troops for the Imperial Guard.
But there would be no battle today.
The presence of this many Imperial Guards was merely a show of force. If the Corovus Family wished to avoid annihilation, they would obediently admit their wrongdoing and surrender.
‘The Corovus Family tried to lay a hand on an Imperial Guard.’
The one who orchestrated the attack on Iskan and me was a member of the Corovus Family. One of their people had been a frequent guest of the torture facilities and had died at Iskan’s hands. Seeking revenge, they had come after us.
That information had been relayed to me through Kinuan, and I had reported it to Hemillas.
The Imperial Guard had entered negotiations with the Corovus Family. It seemed that discussions with the military’s upper echelon had already concluded, as Hemillas was now officially taking action.
Beep.
I stepped forward as I was summoned by Hemillas. The gazes of the Imperial Guards swept over me as if appraising me. By now, I had become a well-known figure within the Guard.
As I had wished in my childhood, I now stood at the threshold of success.
"The moment we presented the list you gave us, Corovus admitted to their crimes. They're begging to be spared from annihilation. Apparently, it was the work of a few fools among them. Just a handful of idiots managed to ruin an entire family."
Hemillas spoke as he stood beside me, the two of us positioned at the front.
"I'm glad it was useful. Things are progressing smoothly."
"If we make an official announcement, every relative connected to them will be executed. They should consider themselves lucky to get away with being reduced to minor nobility."
"I didn’t expect the Corovus Family to surrender without a fight."
"They haven’t produced a high-ranking official in over a century. They've been living comfortably off the foundations laid by their ancestors."
The Corovus Family appeared to be a textbook case of corrupt nobility. They were a landed family—one that owned highly profitable mines.
'The Catacomb Mine.'
It was a mine rich in high-quality minerals. Thanks to that, they had been able to maintain their family's prestige without ever producing high-ranking officials or military officers.
"Because they had so much, they never needed to try. Just selling mining rights was enough to sustain their wealth and luxury."
There was contempt in Hemillas’s voice.
Not long after, five nobles with their limbs severed were brought before us on an iron cart. They were the masterminds behind this incident.
'The ones who tried to kill Iskan and me...'
I didn’t even feel angry. No matter how deserving of death they were to some, they were still family to someone.
…And they were victims, too.
'The Empire wants to reclaim the rights to the Catacomb Mine.'
It had been nearly two hundred years since the Accretia Empire settled on Planet Novus.
The chaos of the settlement period had subsided, and the power structure had solidified. The Empire had entered a period of stability. There was no longer any need to distribute lucrative assets. Every time a justification like this arose, the Empire seized the opportunity to reclaim valuable holdings, further cementing its centralized rule.
This was a dangerous thought. My past self would have denied it.
But it was an undeniable truth. The Empire surely saw this as a convenient excuse.
'Even nobles never know when they’ll be purged.'
From today, the Corovus Family would walk the path of decline.
"Come with me, Luka. You need to learn how to negotiate."
Hemillas led me and five of his closest aides into the Corovus Family’s mansion. Among them was Iskan.
"We return the right to rule to the leader of the people and the guardian of the Empire. We, who are weak and insignificant, have merely borrowed this land…"
The head of the Corovus Family spoke while kneeling. His complexion was grim.
‘There was a fight here.’
Inside the Corovus mansion, traces of battle were evident. It seemed that factions had formed and clashed.
The Corovus Family had made a humiliating choice, but it was the only way to avoid annihilation.
"This matter is already settled… but instead of squandering the wealth from your lands on decadence and pleasure, you should have prepared for the future," Hemillas said.
"We are not fools, Hemillas Custoria. We tried to prepare and organize."
The Corovus patriarch spoke calmly. He said nothing more. It seemed he truly wasn’t a fool.
Hemillas narrowed his eyes slightly and stroked his chin. Then, he gave a small nod. The contempt he had held for the Corovus Family faded.
I, too, understood what the Corovus patriarch meant.
‘The Empire and the Imperial Family deliberately hindered the Corovus Family’s expansion and entry into high-ranking positions.’
The negotiations and administrative processes between the Corovus Family and the Imperial Guard proceeded as smoothly as if they had been prearranged. On the surface, the Corovus Family lost their lands and economic rights due to charges of mineral smuggling.
‘The funny thing is, the smuggling charges aren’t entirely false.’
I watched the holographic display on the table as information scrolled past. The Corovus Family had indeed smuggled minerals and traded with alien species to secure slush funds.
‘And the Empire won’t touch those hidden funds. At least for this generation, they’ll still be able to live as nobles. Or perhaps, that money will serve as capital for rebuilding their family in the future.’
This was the Corovus Family’s contingency plan—the condition for handing over their assets without resistance or conflict.
‘They knew they would eventually lose their holdings, so they steadily built up slush funds through smuggling in preparation for that day.’
The cause and effect had been reversed. But on the surface, it was still the Corovus Family’s wrongdoing.
‘If they refused to accept the smuggling charges… the Empire would reopen the investigation into the attack on Carthica Tower—officially labeled as a terrorist incident—and manipulate the findings to pin it on a Corovus family member.’
That would mean complete extermination. The Corovus Family wouldn’t just fall from nobility—they wouldn’t even be able to survive within the Empire.
That was why they had obediently admitted to smuggling—because it was a charge they could still plausibly deny to some extent.
‘Gradually tighten the pressure, secure the justification, and then quietly eliminate them.’
One by one, noble families that had outlived their usefulness disappeared in this manner. If the Empire had relied solely on military force, a rebellion would have broken out long ago.
Blink, blink.
I opened and closed my eyes several times.
…Damn it.
At first, I thought there was a malfunction in my cybernetic eye. But that wasn’t it.
‘A hallucination.’
In my vision, the head of the Corovus Family looked like Hemillas. Even though Hemillas would never grovel like that, their images kept overlapping.
Swish.
I squeezed my right eye shut. When I relied only on my left, my biological eye, the hallucination faded after a while. Stopping the use of my cybernetic eye significantly reduced the strain on my nervous system.
‘That damned Director Jin Gaw…’
His warning to watch out for hallucinations must have affected me more than I realized.
‘If I don’t act soon, will the Custoria Family end up like this too?’
While I was struggling with my thoughts, the negotiations continued.
"The mining rights and profits from the Catacomb Mine will be split evenly between the military and the Imperial Guard."
Hemillas spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. His aides murmured among themselves. His words were transmitted through communications, spreading to the other Imperial Guards.
To be clear, this was no secret deal. It was an official negotiation.
"Is this the military’s decision? No, the Empire’s decision?"
The Corovus patriarch looked genuinely taken aback. Hemillas, resting his arm on the chair’s armrest, responded calmly.
"The money that was wasted on indulgence and pleasure will now be repurposed into a fund for the Empire’s wounded soldiers."
I clenched my mouth shut, struggling to keep my front teeth and lips from trembling.
‘There’s no way the Imperial Family would allow this, Hemillas!’
This was a unilateral decision by Hemillas, Commander of the Imperial Guard, and the military. However, if they announced it as a fund for war veterans first, the Imperial Family might not be able to openly oppose it without losing face.
The real power struggle had begun.
Hemillas was fully aware that the Imperial Family intended to oust him.
‘This cunning bastard…’
Even I, who had been watching from up close, had failed to notice it until now. Stunned, I reopened my right eye. The remnants of the hallucination still lingered.
Sssss…
Hemillas’s hair and dark crimson uniform seemed to rise, twisting into the shapes of spears and swords, as if they would strike down anyone who dared to move against him.
* * *
I reunited with Director Jin Gaw sooner than I expected.
‘A hallucination.’
The hallucinations that had started in Corovus territory continued to plague me in small but persistent ways.
When I stared into the darkness, it sometimes felt as if a human figure was watching me. There were times when the statues and portraits of emperors seemed to move, their pupils shifting as if following me.
But more than anything, ever since that day, there had been many times when Hemillas no longer appeared normal to me. Whenever my mind wavered even slightly, he looked like a ferocious beast—his dark crimson form bristling, his sharp eyes filled with a menacing light.
‘A manifestation of anxiety.’
I tried to analyze my symptoms objectively.
‘So this is why users of Akies Victima or people with nervous system modifications go insane.’
If I let this state persist, it was clear that things would only get worse. Worse still, I wasn’t in a position to reduce the pressure or stress I was under.
I needed professional help. But if I went to the medical staff of the Imperial Guard or the military, my condition would be reported straight up the chain of command.
I walked through the stark white corridors of the 4th Research Institute. Beside me, a blond young man beamed with excitement.
"Are you sure it’s okay for me to come along too?"
Ilay spoke in a cheerful voice, as if we were out on a picnic.
"You’re already here. And it’s better this way. The director seems to like you quite a bit."
I had no idea what Jin Gaw might try to pull. Among the few people I could trust right now, Ilay was the only one capable of being an asset in a fight.
Click, hiss.
I stopped in front of the lab I had been directed to. The lock disengaged, revealing the interior.
"You’re here, Luka. I’ve already got everything prepared. Take a seat over there."
Dressed in a white coat, Jin Gaw pointed at a chair in the lab without any formalities. It was an ominous-looking seat, covered in all kinds of surgical tools and mechanical devices.
Even I flinched at the sight of it.
Whiiirrrr.
Jin Gaw repeatedly pulled and released the trigger of a sharp, motorized drill.
"Oh, and since you're an Imperial Guard, anesthesia isn’t necessary, right? You’ve been trained for this."
"I may be trained, but I can still feel pain."
Did this man even see me as human?
"Skipping anesthesia makes it easier to assess your symptoms."
So he never planned on using it in the first place.
"Luka, want me to hold your hand?"
Ilay smiled softly. I scowled and tossed my coat at his face.
Thud.
As soon as I sat in the chair, the restraints locked my arms and legs in place.
Whiiirrrr.
Jin Gaw brought the motorized drill up to my face. My eyes widened in alarm.
He wouldn’t… He’s not actually going to—
"Good, good. That’s a great reaction."
Jin Gaw smirked at my expression.
Bzzzzzt!
The drill made contact with my right cybernetic eye. I barely managed to hold back a scream.