Bad Born Blood

Chapter 37

Investigator Gillian acted swiftly. Two days later, he contacted me.

On the other side of the terminal screen, I could see Gillian’s face. He was walking along a street, likely just finishing his investigation.

– I met Kalesa’s boyfriend. Or, to be precise, her ex-boyfriend. As you said, his background, personality, and abilities… he’s not the type of man who could stand up to Kalesa Kano.

That much was as I had anticipated. Kalesa had deliberately orchestrated a situation where her boyfriend would come into contact with Barbara. She needed a pretext to harass Barbara.

– Looks like you’re making progress. Choosing you was the right call.

“If I point out a suspect, can your investigative capacity ensure they’re properly investigated?”

– I can dig into one or two individuals, sure. But if it turns out to be a dead end, I’ll take a serious hit as well.

“Then I suppose there’s no real reason to push yourself too hard.”

I found myself questioning Investigator Gillian’s enthusiasm.

– Including your case, there have now been six incidents of android rampages. This time, there were fatalities. It’s obviously the work of a person. But because it happened within the Academy, we haven’t been able to conduct a proper investigation up until now.

“I didn’t realize you were so dedicated to justice.”

Gillian burst into laughter and shook his head.

– It’s not about justice. It’s because my personality’s all twisted. To think that someone could pull off something like this… fully confident there won’t be an investigation, or that they won’t get caught. I want to slap cuffs on the wrist of a culprit who’s that sure of themselves.

I felt a sense of camaraderie. If I were in his shoes, my mood would be just as warped. Even if it meant tearing myself apart, I would want to catch the perpetrator.

“Have you looked into Barbara?”

– Barbara? Do you think she’s the culprit?

Gillian raised a questioning brow.

“Assuming Barbara is the culprit, even I admit that her motive would be odd. Logically, it doesn’t make sense. She’s been isolating herself by targeting her own friends at the Academy. But for some reason, she’s been on my mind.”

– Barbara is from a lower-class background. She gained admission to Kracia Academy on special exemption due to her exceptional skills in robotics and AI engineering.

“That level of talent should be enough to manipulate an android, don’t you think?”

– According to experts, it’s practically impossible. Neither you nor I are well-versed in engineering, so trusting the experts seems appropriate. If Barbara had manipulated it…… it would mean a mere student bypassed the academy’s security. The academy’s androids operate on a closed network. To manipulate an android, one would first need to break through the academy’s security.

“How would a noble manipulate an android, then?”

– Nobles have the means to make it physically possible. They could intervene during the manufacturing or distribution process of the androids sent to the academy, pre-installing malicious programs or tampering with them. With enough power and money, bribery is always an option.

“That also doesn’t seem very plausible.”

– It’s still more credible than your assumption. Similar cases have actually occurred.

The mention of similar incidents left me without a rebuttal. They were the experts on crime, after all.

– Oh, and this might help…… Barbara’s patron is the Custoria family.

“……That could indeed be useful.”

After sharing this information with Jillian, I ended the communication.

‘It feels like things are connected, yet they aren’t.’

Everything was linked somehow. Yet, like stepping stones with gaps in between, the facts and motives didn’t fully align. The direction was clear, but the path wasn’t.

“Hmm.”

Leaning back in my chair, I stared at the ceiling.

‘Torture would be the most definitive method.’

Giselle and Barbara were merely outstanding students. They wouldn’t have undergone pain tolerance training or learned how to endure torture.

‘The problem is that it’s not an option.’

There was an easier way, but I had to take the roundabout route.

—

I sought out Giselle Custoria for the first time. Until now, she had always been the one to seek me out.

Whirr.

Giselle was practicing prosthetic maintenance. She stood by a workbench, where prosthetic legs and arms lay scattered. Her hands moved deftly over the tools, showing considerable skill. It seemed her enrollment at the Royal Kracia Academy wasn’t merely due to her family’s influence.

“Wait a moment, Luka.”

With that, Giselle returned to her work.

Standing at a distance, I surveyed the maintenance room. The students worked with serious expressions, entirely absorbed in their tasks. Nobles didn’t simply idle away their time.

‘Even noble society has its struggles.’

Inept nobles were weeded out. Those who failed to fulfill their roles within their families were treated like vermin. Even among the Imperial Guard trainees, children from prestigious families pushed themselves relentlessly, sometimes even risking their lives.

Giselle Custoria, proud as she was, still cared about her status and reputation within her family, which meant even someone like me, born as a commoner, was not beneath her notice.

“What brings you here?”

Giselle asked after finishing her work and taking a sip of water.

“I just wanted to see you.”

I replied indifferently. Giselle nearly spat out the water she was drinking.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Her face didn’t even flush. Instead, she looked at me with a mixture of contempt and disgust. It was clear she genuinely disliked me. That was a relief, in its own way.

“Just as you said, it seems I’ve developed a mental illness as a side effect of my high-performance prosthetics.”

“Your sarcasm is top-notch. Now tell me the real reason you’re here. I’m a busy person, after all.”

I glanced around. The break room was empty except for Giselle and me.

“From this moment on, I expect you to neither lie nor hide anything from me, Giselle Custoria.”

“I don’t appreciate the tone of your interrogation.”

“I have an official investigation request from the Security Forces.”

Giselle’s eyebrows twitched.

“Are you really planning to play detective?”

“A soldier simply follows orders. Even the Imperial Guard has asked for my cooperation, so I have no choice.”

At the mention of the Imperial Guard, Giselle couldn’t argue further.

“I hate to bring this up, but let me remind you once again that I am the daughter of the Captain of the Imperial Guard.”

It was a thinly veiled warning, a reminder that she had the power to cause me trouble if she chose to. But such threats had no effect on me.

I knew the Captain’s character well. He wasn’t the sort of person who would take his daughter’s word at face value and penalize me unjustly.

“Are you tormenting Barbara because you want her expelled from the academy? I looked into it, and it seems the Custoria family is sponsoring her. Is that related to this?”

I didn’t bother to be subtle. There was something between Giselle and Barbara. If I could understand the nature of their relationship, I might uncover a clue.

“You know I’m the second victim of the curse, don’t you? Isn’t that reason enough for me to dislike Barbara? We were friends before that.”

“If you were truly friends, you wouldn’t hate Barbara to this extent just because of what happened. You’d be trying to solve the curse together.”

I spoke as if accusing her.

“We weren’t close enough to go that far for each other.”

Giselle made a move to leave. She was definitely hiding something.

“The Security Forces consider the android rampage to have been a deliberate manipulation. Based on motive alone, Giselle Custoria, you are currently the prime suspect.”

I quickly spoke to stop Giselle from leaving.

“You think I did it? I’m a victim of Barbara’s curse too.”

“It’s a common alibi for a perpetrator to hide by posing as a victim. You’re from the Custoria family, and as an aspiring engineer, you have knowledge of androids. You possess the skills to manipulate them subtly.”

“You’ve completely lost it, Luka. Stay out of this.”

Giselle flared up, as expected. It was a natural reaction.

“I don’t actually think you manipulated the androids, Giselle. So, if you know anything, tell me everything. My gut tells me it’s probably…”

My intuition pointed to Barbara. I was about to say her name but held my tongue.

Chiik.

The door to the break room slid open. Standing there was Barbara, holding a lunchbox.

“Ah! Luka, I was looking for you. You weren’t in your usual spot.”

Barbara smiled brightly, but to me, it felt like she was mocking me. How had she found me? If she’d been following me, I would’ve noticed long ago.

I narrowed my eyes, unconsciously gritting my teeth.

I restrained myself. The urge to grab her by the neck and slam her against the wall surged through me. I wanted to tear through her facade, dragging out the truth with fear and pain. Violence tends to extract the purest truths.

“Don’t smile, Barbara. It’s annoying.”

I spoke through clenched lips, my irritation apparent. Barbara acted like she was above me, as if she had me under her thumb. She was nothing more than an ordinary civilian.

“L-Luka? Why are you speaking to me like… that?”

Barbara’s eyes widened in shock, her voice trembling. Soon, her eyes began to glisten with tears, as if she were the most pitiable person in the world.

‘A perpetrator posing as a victim.’

The phrase I had used earlier came to mind. It applied perfectly to Barbara as well.

‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing.’

Barbara wasn’t a sheep. She had fangs and claws.

‘My acquaintances have been attacked one after another, and I’ve endured two years of harassment.’

No one in their right mind would wear a bright smile in such a situation.

But I had no evidence. To accuse Barbara as the culprit, I needed proof.

‘Even if I have a talent for investigation… it’s not a good fit for me.’

Gathering evidence and pressing for answers wasn’t my way of doing things.

Locking the door and ten minutes would be enough—just ten minutes, and I could pull every truth from Barbara’s lips. But I had to suppress this urge. My specialty was breaking people.

“I-I like you, Luka. You saved me, after all. S-so if there’s a misunderstanding, I’d like to resolve it… with words.”

Hearing those words made me feel sick.

Bang!

I hurled a chair to the side, right next to Barbara. The metal chair crumpled as if it had been struck by a car.

“Luka! What do you think you’re doing?”

Giselle shouted, her voice sharp.

Releasing just a fragment of my anger, I stared calmly at Barbara. Slowly, the smile slipped from her face.

“So far, this has been your little game to pass the time, hasn’t it? But from now on, I’m serious, Barbara. You’ve underestimated me.”

Barbara didn’t scream or react; she simply stared at me with a vacant expression. That empty, emotionless look—this was her true face.

“Barbara doesn’t… know what you mean… oooooh—”

Barbara forced a smile by pushing up the corners of her mouth with her index fingers. Tilting her head to the side, she gazed at us. Her pupils, unfocused, seemed as if they were staring into the void.

“Ah…”

Giselle’s face froze solid, her expression stiff. Her shoulders noticeably trembled, her fear unmistakable. It coiled around her like a snake, constricting her movements.

Barbara walked toward the rigid Giselle, her steps sharp and deliberate.

“I’ll leave the lunchbox here. Enjoy it, Luka. And… Giselle, it was nice seeing you. Let’s meet again.”

Setting the lunchbox on the table, Barbara brushed her fingers lightly against the back of Giselle’s hand before stepping away. Giselle turned her head, avoiding Barbara’s gaze.

“Ha… ha…”

Seated, I let out a hollow laugh. Even I had been mistaken.

The power dynamics in this room were now crystal clear. Giselle was afraid of Barbara.

Clack, clack.

Barbara backed away, her gaze fixed on us until the very end, before vanishing beyond the doorway.

“Giselle.”

I called out her name. She was covering her face with both hands. What could possibly make the young lady of the Custoria family so frightened? Her father was the Captain of the Imperial Guard, after all.

“Don’t ask me anything. Just… spend some quiet time, and then leave the academy. Please, Luka.”

Giselle’s words lacked the hostility and contempt they once carried. Now, they were simply a pure, earnest plea.