Chapter 79
A vast amount of data traveled through the Empire’s networks at the speed of light. However, we conveyed important words from mouth to mouth, and information was passed from hand to hand.
Because networks were vulnerable to security breaches. No matter how much technology advanced, that fact remained unchanged.
Upon returning to the Imperial Guard, I handed the data chip to Hemillas. It contained the memories of a Nemesis contact.
Clink.
Hemillas took the data chip and dropped it into a glass filled with liquid.
Tssssss...
The chemicals coated on the data chip reacted with the liquid in the glass, neutralizing it.
‘So that’s the Custoria family's seal.’
Only the head of the family and a select few would know that chemical formula.
If someone connected the chip to a terminal without breaking the seal, it would end in disaster. Not only would the terminal malfunction, but the chip itself would be destroyed.
The data seal was one of the many security measures noble families used to protect their secrets. If they were forced to store classified information digitally, they would always add at least one layer of analog security. The Custoria family used a method that involved coating chips with a chemical compound.
‘If I had accessed the contents of that chip first… I would have been interrogated immediately.’
Hemillas hadn't given me any warning. He might have simply assumed I wouldn’t look, or maybe he had been testing me.
“Hm, that should do it. If it’s soaked for less than the required time, the seal won’t fully neutralize. Too long, and the chip gets damaged.”
Hemillas explained kindly. He dipped his fingers into the glass and retrieved the chip.
Click.
The lens of the terminal opened. The moment the chip was inserted, a bluish light swirled around the lens, and a holographic interface appeared.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
I said this to avoid seeing classified information.
“No, you have the right to watch. You carried out this mission with me.”
Hemillas’s trust often felt heavy. I knew far too many secrets and classified matters. Each one held enough weight to threaten my life.
Bzzzz.
Hemillas reached into the hologram and manipulated the data. Only after a tedious security process did the memory video begin to play.
Visualizing a person’s memories was an incredibly difficult task. Even now, the footage was merely a forced assembly of fragmented scenes. The low-resolution images were as dark as the deep sea, and the scattered sounds were so jarring that they hurt my ears. The voices of people, occasionally audible, were muddied as if distorted, and even then, they were frequently cut off.
Even after watching the holographic video, it was difficult to grasp the context or content. It felt like looking into the brain of a schizophrenic patient.
A sense of futility washed over me. Had a human really been "dismantled" just for this crude information?
‘Memories squeezed from a brain.’
Paigon must have wrung the contact’s brain dry like a rag, using it and discarding it. In reality, once all the information had been extracted, the person would be disposed of immediately.
Whether Hemillas noticed my disappointment or not, he continued explaining.
"Now, we’ll input this data into an AI that mimics human cognitive algorithms to accelerate processing. The video and audio will be degradation-corrected. Humans, too, reconstruct fragmented old memories on their own, filling in gaps to create ‘plausible recollections’ that make sense. This follows the same principle."
It was a method I had never heard of before.
"Wouldn’t memories corrected this way be inaccurate? By definition, it’s still degradation."
The older a human memory is, the more unreliable it becomes. That’s why cross-verification is necessary.
"But at least it will become clear enough to observe and understand. Accuracy doesn’t matter. What we need are traces to continue the pursuit."
At Hemillas’s gesture, the memory data in the hologram accelerated. With each replay, the arrangement of scenes shifted, and the audio changed.
It was as if a vague, skeletal story was being fleshed out through the mouth of a liar.
"-…deliver, and."
"-Carefully…"
"-Two days, blank."
I started to feel like I could grasp the context.
"Hmm, this complicates things. This man was a Mementori."
"A Mementori?"
It seemed I would be learning a lot today.
"Mementori—humans whose long-term memory function has been drastically impaired. They retain only fragments of their past while their current memory lasts anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. They make ideal contacts for delivering classified information."
Hemillas spoke casually, but I couldn’t stop myself from frowning.
"The fact that they have a specific designation and usage… Does that mean they were deliberately brain-damaged and turned into cripples?"
"Usually, yes. I haven’t seen one in a long time. It’s a security measure that’s almost extinct nowadays."
"Then we did something meaningless."
I spoke to Hemillas in a confrontational tone.
Ever since becoming part of the Custoria family, I had been getting more comfortable dealing with him. Damn it. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
Regardless of my poor attitude, Hemillas showed neither surprise nor displeasure and continued speaking.
"Even computers struggle to completely erase data. Complete memory loss in a human brain is nearly impossible. There must be some trace we can recognize."
Hemillas accelerated the memory video. Our pupils glowed as our brains began high-speed processing. We had to find a trace.
Blurry images and fragmented voices passed by repeatedly. It was just barely enough to grasp the context. Warm memories and horrific traumas surfaced alike.
A person’s entire life was being dismantled before our eyes. Even if it was just a heavily distorted video.
"-This time, important, shh, Cus, mine."
I sharpened my focus. This wasn’t the first mention of the Custoria family. But something about this part unsettled me.
Creak, creak.
Hemillas manipulated the holographic interface and replayed that section.
A woman was speaking in the video. That much was barely discernible. Her voice came through maybe one word in ten.
"Can’t we make it clearer?"
"If we enhance it any further, it’ll become completely different from reality. It would cross the line from falsehood into pure imagination. This is the limit."
"Then could you send just this part to my terminal? Something about it is bothering me, but I can’t quite figure out what."
"That’s easy enough."
Hemillas edited the holographic video. Before long, the footage was transmitted to my terminal via short-range communication.
"If you figure something out, come find me anytime. No need for prior permission. This isn’t Imperial Guard business—it’s family business."
I left Hemillas’s office.
"-This time, important, shh, Cus, mine."
I listened to the voice the entire way back to my quarters. Even when I lay down to rest, I kept replaying the video over and over. Eventually, even with my eyes closed, the short clip replayed in my mind, and the voice echoed like an auditory hallucination.
Another day passed. I felt like I was going insane with frustration. It was like trying to pick up an object that had fallen between iron bars—my fingernails could barely reach it, but I just couldn’t grasp it.
I wasn’t just blindly, stubbornly listening to the video. My intuition told me there was something there.
If I let this go unresolved, I felt like I would lose my mind.
Crunch, crunch.
I loosened up my body, moving not only my neck and waist but also each part of my prosthetics.
‘I’ll finish this today.’
I exhaled in steady intervals.
‘Meditation.’
I directed all my focus inward, shutting out external sensations completely. Right now, even if someone ambushed me, I wouldn’t be able to react. That was how much I had suppressed my awareness of the outside world.
Within my conscious world, I spread out the memory video frame by frame, laying it out in a long sequence. I examined each frame carefully, as if admiring a piece of art.
"-This, time, im-"
The faster I walked through my consciousness, the quicker the voice played. When I slowed down, the pronunciation stretched endlessly.
‘No matter how much I’ve mastered Akies Combat Techniques… I won’t catch something even Hemillas missed.’
Then I had to think about why I was so fixated on this video. This was the realm of intuition, something difficult to explain.
"-This time, important, shh, Cus, mine."
Intuition wasn’t a supernatural ability. Something from my experiences, memories, or knowledge had triggered it.
‘Something Hemillas doesn’t know, but I do.’
My thoughts deepened. As my mind accelerated, a headache flared up. It felt like my nervous system was burning.
Tzzt.
A sharp, grating noise rang inside my head. It lasted only a moment, but a name surfaced in my mind.
"…Barbara."
I muttered as I opened my eyes.
Hemillas had likely never met Barbara in person. And if he had, it would have been a long time ago. In contrast, I had met Barbara recently.
I overlaid my memory of Barbara onto the woman in the video.
There was no physical evidence. But I was certain—the woman in the memory video was Barbara.
It wasn’t strange for Barbara to appear in the contact’s memories. She was an Imperial spy embedded within Nemesis.
I checked the time to ensure Hemillas would be in his office and immediately went to see him.
"It’s Barbara."
I spoke briefly upon arrival. There was no need to justify my reasoning with circumstantial evidence or intuition. Hemillas didn’t require explanations like that. He was an exceptional superior who understood the abilities of his subordinates.
His pupils trembled faintly. Even I could tell he was contemplating something.
"Understood. Wait for further instructions."
* * *
Two more days passed after my report.
The evidence and connection found in the contact’s memory video pointed to "Witch Barbara."
Hemillas seemed to be hesitating on whether or not to contact Barbara. The Empire had spent a long time embedding her into Nemesis.
‘Barbara is monitoring Nemesis from the inside for the Empire.’
For an Imperial soldier to reach out to Barbara first was extremely dangerous. Which meant it was dangerous for Barbara.
‘She hasn’t been embedded in Nemesis for long. It’s not enough time to have earned complete trust. Even a slightly suspicious move could get her eliminated.’
For now, we had to wait until Barbara solidified her position within Nemesis. Reckless contact was out of the question.
But without contacting Barbara, there was no immediate way to dig into Nikolaos Custoria’s death.
‘Would Hemillas use the Empire’s resources for a personal matter?’
I had my doubts. The Hemillas I knew was a man who drew a strict line between duty and personal affairs. As an exemplary soldier, he wouldn’t cross that line.
And I was right.
"Luka, this is where it ends. Until we find more evidence or traces, focus on your duties as part of the Imperial Guard."
Hemillas and I were having this conversation in an aerial vehicle on our way to the Custoria estate. From time to time, we had meals at the estate before returning to our posts. As members of the family, we had to make appearances.
I didn’t respond right away, letting the silence stretch. Hemillas was watching me intently.
"…There may be a way to contact Barbara naturally."
After some thought, I finally spoke.
"A way?"
Hemillas’s gaze was sharp and heavy, as if scrutinizing me.
"If Giselle goes outside Akbaran… Barbara is highly likely to make the first move. From what I remember, Barbara was excessively obsessed with Giselle. That emotion wasn’t an act."
I wasn’t sure if Hemillas would accept this plan. It was a kind of loophole. In the end, we would be using bait to draw in Barbara, who was an Imperial asset.
I quickly added,
"Nemesis is also aware of Barbara’s obsession with Giselle. After all, they tried to kidnap Giselle at Barbara’s request. Even if Barbara makes an aggressive move toward her, they won’t find it suspicious."
"There’s a risk Giselle could get hurt. Are you suggesting we put her in danger?"
On the surface, his words could have sounded like an interrogation or anger. But Hemillas wasn’t the type to be overprotective of his children. He was simply asking about my intentions.
"You used Giselle as bait once before at the academy, Commander. And even if we don’t deceive her, if we explain the situation, she’ll willingly accept the role. It’s family business. Giselle has the sense of duty and responsibility to do it."
Hemillas fell silent, rubbing his chin. The aerial vehicle continued moving steadily.
It wasn’t until we were nearing the estate that he gave a slow nod.
Hemillas had given his approval—not as Commander of the Imperial Guard, but as the head of the family.