Bad Born Blood-Chapter 160

Chapter 160

Jafa had arranged a room that was as cozy and tidy as a luxury hotel. The bed and chair were adjusted to human standards, fitting my body perfectly, while the wall monitor and table were linked to a computer, allowing immediate access to necessary information.

Sitting in the chair, I opened ten holographic screens. The first thing that appeared was the information Jafa had prepared.

I operated the terminal to connect to the Border City network, extracting external information as well.

Wuuuuung.

Bundles of data filled the gap in my knowledge, scrolling rapidly. Videos and texts flashed across the screens.

’There won’t be much information on the Accretia Empire. Even less about what happened during the Tempest Period.’

The first thing I checked was the empire and the Custoria family.

’The current emperor is Ivan Accretia.’

The emperor had not changed since the Tempest Period.

’The former emperor, Yuri Accretia, suddenly passed away due to old age.’

The official reason was, of course, far from the truth. Even the timing of Yuri Accretia’s death was significantly altered.

’Yuri Accretia died in the first week of the Tempest Period, but the empire’s officials withheld the news to prevent chaos caused by the emperor’s absence.’

As soon as I saw the next piece of information, my teeth clenched.

’Before his death, Yuri Accretia appointed a new successor. In response, Francec Accretia allied with the military and incited the public in an attempt to usurp the throne.’

’The next emperor, Ivan, launched a military campaign to suppress Francec and declared himself emperor. Since Francec had significant public support, it appears the two reconciled. From that point on, they effectively began a co-rule.’

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how many mouths had been silenced and how much information had been manipulated. The empire and the imperial family must have gone to extreme lengths.

They had also come up with a convenient explanation for why Emperor Yuri Accretia had changed his successor.

’It is presumed that Emperor Yuri Accretia and Crown Prince Francec frequently clashed due to differing policy directions. However, concerned about division and turmoil in the empire, the emperor did not revoke Francec’s designation as heir. But due to a sudden deterioration in his condition, he named his second son, Ivan Accretia, as his successor in his final will.’

A clever mix of truth and lies.

’It’s true that the emperor and Francec had different policy directions. Francec had a reformist inclination, different from previous emperors... Even if the emperor was secretly displeased with him, it wouldn’t be surprising.’

So they kept Francec as the nominal crown prince due to his popularity, only to ultimately install Ivan as emperor in the end... That explanation sounded plausible enough.

“Haha, what a convincing lie.”

Even just reviewing the official records up to this point made it clear—Francec had been devoured by Ivan.

‘Three years later, Francec was caught attempting to defect to the Holy Corite Alliance with imperial secrets and was subsequently imprisoned. No further public activity recorded after that.’

And around that time, I had been admitted to the Lazarus facility. It must have been an effort to protect me from Ivan’s grasp.

‘There must have been a lot of schemes and conspiracies during this period. As soon as his rule stabilized, Ivan moved to purge Francec.’

I had asked Ilay to prevent this from happening. I wanted to believe he had done his best.

‘The Imperial Guard has been reducing its training numbers each year for economic reasons.’

The Imperial Guard was fading away.

‘The Empire has disclosed the Imperial Guard training curriculum to private corporations and outsourced their training. However, Legion technology remains exclusively controlled by the imperial family, and soldiers trained by private companies appear to be of lower quality compared to traditional Imperial Guards.’

The original Imperial Guard had focused solely on producing the finest elite soldiers without regard for cost. But corporations would prioritize efficiency, producing soldiers only up to an adequate level.

‘A select few of the top graduates from private corporations are hired by the imperial family and integrated into a mercenary unit. These individuals do not hold military status, and recruits from established military families are intentionally excluded from hiring.’

A force was being formed to replace the Imperial Guard. Since they were mercenaries rather than soldiers, they would not remain in the military after their contracts ended. And because they weren’t from military families, they had even fewer ties to the armed forces.

The new personal guard was designed to have no connection to the military. What would happen far in the future was uncertain, but for now, they would function as separate factions keeping each other in check.

I had mixed feelings.

There had been no mass purging of the Imperial Guard. But it would wither away until it disappeared. The dissolution of the organization I had once belonged to left a bitter taste in my mouth.

‘And the Custoria family.’

Hemillas Custoria had openly denounced the emperor and attempted rebellion. With so many witnesses, it was nearly impossible to cover up the incident entirely.

“...Unbelievable.”

I stroked my chin as I read the records.

Posthumously, Hemillas Custoria had been awarded the 2nd-Class Cross Blade Medal of Military Merit. By order of Ivan Accretia.

The attack on the military generals and Hemillas was officially recorded as an "independent order from the emperor." According to the records, Yuri Accretia had died shortly after the storm began.

Regardless, they had awarded a medal to someone who opposed the imperial family. The circumstances behind it were undoubtedly complex.

—Commander of the Imperial Guard, Hemillas Custoria, was an honorable soldier who knew pride. His courage was justified, and the late emperor committed an unforgivable act against the Imperial Guard. Had I known this, I would have first attempted dialogue...

Ivan’s speech appeared on the records. He seemed more mature than I remembered—he looked like a young man now.

The imperial family had officially acknowledged its mistakes. The dehumanization project targeting the Imperial Guard was attributed to Yuri Accretia acting alone, and Ivan claimed ignorance due to his sudden succession. As if it had all been a tragic misunderstanding.

As an apology for past wrongdoings, Ivan awarded the military merit medal to Hemillas Custoria. Moreover, he granted special privileges to the Custoria family—privileges so significant that no one would dare call them a family of traitors.

‘Thinking about it, it’s not an illogical move. Hemillas’ influence was strong enough to shake even the Imperial Guard’s obsessive loyalty.’

The Imperial Guard had not yet disappeared. While its power was not what it used to be, it was still formidable. Eliminating it outright without a proper replacement would create a massive security gap.

Ivan wanted the Imperial Guard to fade away naturally, allowing the transition to a new personal guard. In a few decades, the Imperial Guard would become nothing more than a ceremonial unit with an impressive name but no real authority.

‘There’s no need to antagonize the remaining Imperial Guards by branding Hemillas as a traitor.’

Given their nature—deeply ingrained with obsessive loyalty—the members of the Imperial Guard would accept their decline and eventual disappearance. As long as they weren’t forcibly suppressed, they would fade on their own.

I quickly skimmed through the Custoria family records.

‘Juppe seems to be holding up reasonably well as the family head. Eva is still by his side, too.’

Lukaus Custoria, beyond recovery.

“Well, he acted all high and mighty—this outcome was inevitable.”

I sneered as I moved on to the next name.

‘Giselle Custoria, co-CEO of G&G Cybernetics.’

The workshop had evolved into a full-fledged company under the grand name of G&G Cybernetics.

‘Their independently developed Kinesis Chip has become an essential product for the lower class, generating massive revenue. Kinesis minimizes interference and errors between incompatible products, optimizing their functionality. Given the rampant illegal modifications and improper usage of prosthetics among the lower class, the chip provides a significant improvement in responsiveness.’

—We have a separate leader. Among our group, the best fighter is chosen as the Great Warrior. I get sent into battles that absolutely cannot be lost. Dueling culture is crucial to the Equessians. Anyway, stop changing the subject, human. You lost control over something trivial.

En pointed at me. Equessians had four fingers, each thick and powerful.

He had seen through my attempt to shift the conversation. Though he wasn’t particularly eloquent, he had sharp insight—he knew what truly mattered.

“It wasn’t trivial.”

—Losing control, no matter the reason, is always a bad sign.

“If I have to make excuses, just standing here right now is a miracle for me. A few abnormal reactions like this are nothing. I’ll handle my body, so stay out of it, Equessian. If you’re a mercenary, act like one and just do the job you were paid for.”

—Should’ve just ‘accidentally’ killed you.

En’s presence grew even more menacing.

At that moment, a sly laugh echoed from behind the door. Jafa had arrived. He entered the room, clicking his long claws together.

“Hoyot, hoyot! Let’s not fight, En. And Luka, my dear friend. As a peace-loving Tajirun, this sight truly breaks my heart.”

—Do we really need this guy?

“Of course we do. En, all you have to do is protect Luka like you just did. No need for personal opinions. Or should I report this to the boss?”

—...Fine.

Jafa was openly siding with me.

‘What the hell did Kinuan do to Jafa?’

Jafa’s obsession with finding Kinuan was extraordinary. Between my medical expenses and the destroyed androids, the losses he had suffered because of me were already massive.

‘That means finding Kinuan is so important that all these losses are insignificant in comparison.’

The Tajirun were known to be the greediest of all races. Jafa must have been convinced that keeping me around would benefit him, which was why he was treating me so favorably.

“I’ll guide you to another room. How do you like the new prosthetics?”

Jafa spoke as he walked down the hallway, his robe trailing along the floor like a snake’s tail.

“They’re excellent.”

“We poured the first half of Jafa & Co.’s annual revenue into their production. Not profits—revenue.”

“Oh, really?”

I replied indifferently. More than that, I was still shaken by the fact that I had lost control. If my consciousness blacked out like that in a critical moment, it would be a disaster. My true weapons were my rationality and insight. Without them, I was just another soldier who happened to be good at fighting.

“Hoyot! Such a cold reaction wounds me a little. If I were a chef at Jafa Pizza, I might have tossed you into the oven. Have you seen the Jafa Pizza commercial? Our exclusive idol sings the theme song—”

“I haven’t seen it, but I can already tell it’s awful.”

Jafa shoved his terminal screen in front of me.

—Snake, snake, snake! A whole snake as a topping—

I grabbed Jafa’s device and clenched my hand around it.

Crunch!

The components of the terminal crumbled and spilled from my palm.

—Snaaaake... snaaaake...

The voice distorted and then cut off.

Jafa looked at me as if the sky had fallen. I was starting to get a better grasp of Tajirun facial expressions.

“If you need my abilities, don’t interfere with my recovery. Leave me alone for the next 24 hours.”

With that warning, I stepped into my newly assigned room.