Bad Born Blood

Chapter 229

When I closed my eyes, Lapis’s face surfaced in my mind.  

Lapis.  

I opened my eyes and took in reality. The lodging at Sonsu Industries came into view.  

Truthfully, I wanted to rush to the crash site of Lapis’s aerial vehicle immediately.  

But I suppressed that urge and remained at Sonsu Industries.  

Running to the crash site wouldn’t change anything. Whoever the culprit was, there would be traces of them here at Sonsu Industries.  

I stepped into the lodging and silently observed the empty room.  

This was the second suspect’s room.  

The room of the employee who had clashed with Lapis the most. Aside from what I had seen, I’d heard they had frequent disputes.  

There were signs that the occupant had hastily packed and left. Some drawers were partially open, and clothes were strewn about in a disorderly manner.  

Calming my roiling emotions, I began to investigate the room.  

Whirr, whirrrr.  

Son Seok-jae, who had completed his emergency treatment, appeared behind me. He had an exoskeletal walking aid attached to one leg to support his broken limb.  

"That was an electrifyingly brutal assault and interrogation. I really thought I was going to die. Also, it’s the first time since I was fifteen that I pissed myself."  

Standing beside me, Son Seok-jae spoke. His side, where he had been stabbed by Graken Vuth, was wrapped in bandages.  

He must have taken painkillers, but moving around with such injuries still required considerable resilience. Son Seok-jae wasn’t a soldier. He was likely sensitive to pain.  

"I'm not going to apologize. No matter who the culprit is, it happened within the premises of Sonsu Industries. Questioning you was a reasonable suspicion."  

Lapis Lazuli’s aerial vehicle had exploded. If a bomb had been planted, it must have happened while she was at Sonsu Industries.  

"It was understandable that I was a suspect. But if I’m not the culprit…"  

"One of your employees has disappeared. A prime suspect. If he’s the culprit, then the responsibility still falls on you and Sonsu Industries."  

"My subordinates do tend to ignore my orders and act on their own… yeah, that happens."  

Son Seok-jae sighed, seemingly unsure himself. Even after being pushed to the brink of death by me, he still stood by my side.  

If I had delayed my threats and interrogation against someone like him, it would have been much harder to discern his true intentions. Had I missed my timing, I would have kept suspecting Son Seok-jae.  

If he had time to regain his composure and was determined to deceive me, seeing through his facade wouldn’t have been easy.  

That’s why, the moment the incident occurred, I gave him no time to breathe. I applied immediate pressure, using violence to threaten him.  

Thanks to that, I was able to confirm right away that Son Seok-jae wasn’t the culprit.

"Hey, does anyone know where Deputy Manager Oh is? Has anyone seen him?"  

Son Seok-jae addressed three employees and his secretary. They seemed to be his close aides.  

Murmurs spread among them. Following Son Seok-jae’s instructions, they contacted various people, but no clear answer came back.  

"Hand over Oh’s personal information. I’ll track him down myself."  

"The Deputy Manager Oh I know wouldn’t do something like this. He may have a rough mouth, but deep down, he’s surprisingly soft—"  

I cut off Son Seok-jae’s words.  

"People don’t act according to the trust others place in them. Just because you believe that doesn’t guarantee that’s the kind of person he really is."  

However, to be honest, I didn’t think Oh was the culprit either. There had to be someone behind this.  

‘Perhaps the real culprit has already kidnapped and killed him.’  

If someone had attacked Lapis, it had to be because of Mushir al-Kashura’s data.  

"We’ll also look for Deputy Manager Oh on our end."  

Even after what I had put him through, Son Seok-jae didn’t show any resentment.  

‘Does he see me as that useful to him?’  

Son Seok-jae had already obtained Mushir al-Kashura’s remains through me.  

‘And yet, he’s still maintaining goodwill and courtesy. That means he expects to get more from me.’  

I narrowed my eyes.  

Beep.  

My terminal rang. It was a message from Jafa.  

…Soon, I would know whether Lapis was alive or not.  

*         *         *

Beep, beep, beep.  

The rhythmic sound of life-support monitors echoed intermittently through the hospital room.  

Through the glass window, I stared at Lapis lying on the hospital bed.  

She was wrapped in so many bandages that barely any of her blue skin was visible, and she had lost one arm and one leg.  

"She barely survived. Thanks to the Equessians. It seems they went to great lengths to protect her."  

Jafa spoke beside me. Her usual soft tone was gone, replaced by a hard, simmering anger.  

"For having protected her desperately, the Equessians sure seem fine."  

I shot a glare at the two Equessians who had been aboard with Lapis. They were standing—‘intact.’  

Of course, when I said ‘intact,’ I meant they were at least capable of walking.  

The Equessians were also severely injured. Bright red burn marks ran in long streaks across their bodies. By human standards, they had sustained serious injuries.  

Thanks to their high pain tolerance and remarkable vitality, Equessians could still function even with such wounds.

"I don’t understand what you’re implying. Luka, do they really look fine to you? The explosion just so happened to occur near Lapis’s seat. Tarfa, who has weaker physical durability, was caught directly in the blast—it would have been impossible for her to escape unscathed. It was unavoidable."  

"So you’re saying it just so happened that the explosion was close to where Lapis was sitting?"  

I spoke quietly, my gaze fixed on the hospital room. Lapis was in critical condition, barely clinging to life. If the respirator was removed, she would die.  

"…If you have something to say, you don’t need to go in circles."  

"It’s nothing special. I suspect everyone. That includes you, Jafa. If Lapis is taken out, you stand to gain something as well."  

"Gain? That’s an absurd accusation."  

Jafa’s displeasure was evident. Ignoring her emotions, I continued.  

"The aerial vehicle exploded right after leaving Sonsu Industries. Naturally, the moment I saw that, I suspected Sonsu Industries and Son Seok-jae. You know my personality—I tend to act aggressively. If I had decided Sonsu Industries was responsible, that would have been the best outcome for you. Even if I didn’t go that far, this incident would still drive a wedge between me and Sonsu Industries."  

Lapis’s accident could serve as a wedge between me and Sonsu Industries. If Jafa was behind it, that would have been her motive.  

"Are you seriously saying that I would put Lapis Lazuli in critical condition for something that petty? Do you really believe that?"  

"It’s just a possibility. If the data was the target, they would have used a more definitive method. In any case, Lapis survived, and the data will eventually fall into Jafa Trading Company’s hands. Ah, if the data was indeed the target, there could be further attacks. You should strengthen security and deploy En."  

"Security is my concern. And if you hadn’t allied with Sonsu Industries in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. I warned you that they were dangerous. Can you really be sure this wasn’t Son Seok-jae’s doing?"  

"At least from what I’ve seen, it wasn’t Son Seok-jae."  

I responded firmly.  

"Hah, how amusing, Luka. You’re certain it wasn’t Son Seok-jae, yet you suspect me?"  

Jafa took a step away from me.  

"You were the one who broke my trust first by hiding critical information, Jafa. So, when exactly do I get to see Paolo Kwan’s legacy? Let me make this clear in advance—Kinuan isn’t far. If you had cooperated properly, everything would have been much easier."

"You’re shifting from suspecting me straight into talking about Paolo Kwan’s legacy? I feel like pulling my brain out of my skull and showing it to you. You’re actually putting me on the list of suspects for this incident?"  

Jafa seemed deeply offended. But that, too, could just be an act.  

‘Son Seok-jae had no time to think—I was able to corner him before he could even process what was happening. But Jafa had plenty of time to gather her thoughts and shut me out. In Lapis’s case, I trust Jafa even less than I do Son Seok-jae.’  

It was a rational conclusion reached through the process of elimination.  

I was certain of Son Seok-jae’s innocence by intuition. And if I was wrong? Then I’d be the biggest fool in the world, and I’d be willing to bow my head and apologize to Jafa.  

"You’ve repeatedly hidden crucial information from me and tested me. And despite being their enemy, you backstabbed your own family and devoured them whole. Objectively speaking, you’re not a reliable patron. You’re someone who could turn on me at any moment. And in reality, you’ve already killed my predecessors."  

Emotionally, I felt drawn to Jafa. But I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the bond we had built over time or because I was being pulled in by Jafa the businesswoman’s charisma.  

‘If it’s her unique charisma that’s pulling me in, then I’ll end up being used by Jafa and discarded.’  

Jafa blinked her vertical pupils, then let out a slow breath. Calming herself, she absentmindedly clicked her nails together and flicked her tongue.  

"You have a point, Luka. It seems I’ve become too emotional because of Lapis. Let’s keep things rational from now on—both of us."  

I fought the urge to throw in a sarcastic remark. There was no reason to provoke Jafa any further here.  

"…Let’s sort this out, Jafa. If this was an attack targeting the data, there might be another attempt. Like I said before, tighten security."  

"I’ll deploy En."  

"This isn’t part of my original mission, but… I’m going to find the person who planted the bomb in that aerial vehicle. We’ll talk about Paolo Kwan’s legacy after that. Make sure it’s ready by then."  

"That’s good to hear. If we were to just let this matter drop and move on, our relationship would end up much more fractured than it is now."  

I’d been hearing creaking sounds between us for a while. A little bit of friction was fine. In fact, some looseness could even help restore balance and prevent a total breakdown.  

But if things were to twist too far, that would be a problem for me as well.  

"I suspected you because I don’t want to rule out any possibilities. I know the odds of you being the culprit are low. But since I confirmed with my own eyes that Son Seok-jae was innocent, I had to push you for answers."

I took a step back as if to show I was yielding. Jafa, too, seemed to accept my gesture of reconciliation, her demeanor noticeably softer.  

"I don’t entirely see the rough behavior you displayed today in a negative light. More than anything, seeing you act so decisively for Lapis puts me at ease. You… resemble Kinuan, but you’re a different person."  

I am different from Kinuan.  

That much is true. Yes, I am clearly different.  

Kinuan wouldn’t have moved in anger like this. He would have maintained a faint smile and acted to stir up even greater chaos. He would have made it even harder to distinguish friend from foe, and the more confusion there was, the more people would have come to rely on him.  

"Lapis is a highly skilled cybernetic engineer. I’d be hard-pressed to find someone of her caliber in Border City. She’s also the one who created my cybernetic implants. Her well-being is directly tied to my survival in battle. Of course, I’m going to find the culprit."  

I responded coldly.  

It was one of my bad habits. The compulsive belief that emotions like sympathy and compassion were weaknesses still ruled over me.  

I didn’t want others to see me as a kind person. I wanted to be regarded as rough and brutal… someone of that sort.  

At times, I found it easier to be hated than to be shown kindness. That was proof my mind wasn’t in a healthy state.  

I turned to leave.  

"Luka."  

Jafa flicked her tongue before calling out to me. I turned around, waiting for her words.  

"When you come into contact with Paolo Kwan’s legacy… you will know everything about me. I apologize for constantly testing you, and from that moment on, I will offer you my unwavering support and trust. When that time comes, I hope you will have no secrets from me either. In every sense."  

Hmm. If we’re talking about secrets, a few things immediately came to mind. Like my recent meeting with Kinuan or my regular contact with Ilay.  

"…I’ll try."  

"A lot has happened, but I believe you’re someone who knows honor. That’s why, as a person, I rather like you."  

For a brief moment, I felt a chill run down my spine.  

"That…"  

"…Hoyooot, don’t misunderstand. Not in that way, so you can rest easy. No one knows better than I do that you don’t see me as a woman."  

I felt my heart, which had jolted in alarm, settle back into place, and I let out a small sigh of relief.