“Evidence? What kind?”
“Apparently operation files and contact records… It seems the Investigation Bureau hasn’t fully grasped the situation yet. For now, I’ve told Lieutenant Denver to go to the scene. He’s our joint investigation leader after all.”
“Well done.”
After hearing Lucas’s report, Iberis slumped into his chair as if deflated. After a moment of silence, he spoke with a subdued expression.
“…I guess former Lieutenant General Logan cut his losses?”
“Probably. It seems he felt threatened when he heard the money launderer was caught. He’s likely trying to end this by pinning it on the information team leader’s misconduct.”
Lucas agreed with Iberis’s assumption and shared his thoughts. Having investigated with Winfried for a long time, he immediately saw through Livio’s intentions when he heard the news.
“When something unfavorable happens, he creates a scapegoat to take all the blame while he slips away… Isn’t this former Lieutenant General Logan’s typical method?”
Lucas grumbled with a voice tinged with mild irritation. Always escaping like a loach no matter what happened – that was why Livio hadn’t fallen despite numerous suspicions.
“…That’s right.”
Iberis’s gray eyes wavered slightly at Lucas’s words. He had felt it before, but Lucas spoke as if he knew quite a lot about Livio. As if he had been watching him for a very long time.
What kind of grudge could it be?
Iberis pushed away the curiosity that arose in his mind and mulled over the name he had heard from Lucas. Now was not the time to be curious about such things.
“You say the deceased is ‘Isaac Miller’? I remember him. He used to be in the information team of the Ability Crime Investigation Bureau.”
“Did you know him?”
“We weren’t close, but we worked together often. Cooperation with the information team is essential for planning operations… He was kicked out when a scandal broke about allegations of manipulating and concealing various information to help former Lieutenant General Logan.”
“He must have had a grudge against you, Major.”
“Yes. But he wasn’t the type to act independently. He was little more than Logan’s puppet before. He was the kind of person who always said ‘yes, yes’ to whatever the Lieutenant General ordered. Thanks to that, he avoided prison because intentional misconduct couldn’t be proven.”
Iberis’s brow furrowed slightly as he recalled the past bad blood. He could understand why Livio had chosen Isaac as a scapegoat.
“Isaac must have been the one who requested the assassination from the villains and met with the money launderer and mediator.”
Iberis muttered as if it was obvious without even looking. There was no way the guild master Livio would have moved directly to recruit villains. If Isaac was responsible for the assassination operation, there would be enough evidence to frame him as the culprit.
“Um… Major.”
Just then, Brenda called Iberis with a perplexed voice after checking her phone.
“The Mars Guild just released a statement. They say they found out through an internal investigation that the information team leader, Isaac Miller, tried to harm you due to a personal grudge…”
“What?”
“They express deep regret for failing to prevent a guild member’s misconduct and want to formally apologize to you. They also say they’ll compensate the victims’ families at the guild level. News articles are pouring in right now.”
“Hah…”
We’ve been outmaneuvered. Iberis let out a hollow laugh after reading the Mars Guild’s statement and the flood of articles on Brenda’s phone. The all too well-crafted script filled his chest with both frustration and anger.
Gritting his teeth, Iberis returned the phone to Brenda. While this incident wouldn’t bring Livio down, he had secretly hoped it would at least deal him a meaningful blow.
However, as if mocking Iberis, Livio once again created an innocent victim and slipped away unscathed as always.
Am I letting him get away again?
Iberis couldn’t hide his resentful expression. After the trial ended so anticlimactically, he had spent powerless days burning with revenge against Livio.
The reality of the Defense Force, which he had believed to be just despite some corrupt parts, was completely different. Those who had mourned the deaths of their colleagues cursed Iberis as a traitor for his internal report, and the court turned a blind eye with absurd reasons despite clear evidence.
Even most of the people who approached Iberis offering help had ulterior motives rather than pure goodwill. Some media even sided with Livio.
So no matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t think of a way to take revenge justly. The only option was to kill him. But even that was impossible for now. Iberis had people he was responsible for. So he endured and endured, waiting for an opportunity that would come someday.
Then, due to Livio’s hasty actions, the time came. An opportunity to make him pay legally, as the late Ryan had wished.
Although Iberis thought he shouldn’t get his hopes up too quickly, he couldn’t help but feel excited. But now, that opportunity was disappearing into thin air right before his eyes.
“It’s a strategy of sacrificing flesh to save bone. They’ll face criticism for a while, but if it’s accepted as Isaac Miller’s sole action, they can escape the investigation net…”
Lucas clicked his tongue after checking the news articles on his own phone. With the Mars Guild voluntarily admitting fault and drawing a line as an individual guild member’s misconduct, it would be difficult to arrest Livio unless additional evidence proving his involvement was found.
Moreover, Livio had emphasized in the statement that he would actively cooperate with the investigation. Trying to implicate him without decisive evidence would likely backfire.
“I wanted to at least kick him out of his position as a Defense Force cooperative guild…”
Lucas showed disappointment at the situation not going as planned. His original plan was to continuously spread rumors about Livio through the media and drive Mars Guild out of the Defense Force.
While one incident might be overlooked, the chances of someone causing problems twice being reinstated in the military were slim. If Livio was expelled, even the conservative faction would no longer protect him.
After preventing Livio’s return to the military, Lucas had planned to gradually pressure him together with Winfried using the evidence they had gathered. But if the investigation ended here with Isaac Miller taking sole blame, it would all be for nothing.
Lucas suppressed a sigh at the sight of the deeply disheartened Iberis. He didn’t need to ask to know how Iberis felt. He too was greatly disappointed.
“Don’t clench so hard, you’ll hurt yourself.”
Lucas reached out and gently pressed his thumb on Iberis’s pale lips. Seeing how tightly Iberis was biting his lips, enough to drain all color, Lucas softly caressed the clenched flesh out of concern. Iberis’s shoulders flinched slightly at the touch.
“Don’t be too disappointed. This incident will at least keep former Lieutenant General Logan in check for a while.”
“Yeah…”
Despite Lucas’s consolation, Iberis’s expression didn’t easily soften. As Iberis’s lips parted slightly, Lucas moved his hand up to cup the pale cheek, gently caressing it as if to transfer warmth.
“Even if the military investigation bureau ends the investigation, we can move separately on our own, so cheer up.”
“Moving without investigative authority is illegal…”
“I’ll ask Lieutenant General Bismarck.”
“The Lieutenant General?”
“Yes. The intelligence team directly under him has internal investigation authority. We can say they detected criminal activity and investigated on their own. This isn’t illegal, so the investigation bureau can’t object.”
“Will he help us…?”
Iberis asked, half in doubt. He knew Winfried cared for Lucas and that he had influenced this joint investigation, but would he really mobilize his direct intelligence team?
Even with internal investigation authority, continuing a terminated investigation was tantamount to completely rejecting the investigation bureau. The protests would be significant. If mishandled, it could damage his political career.
“He will help. He wants former Lieutenant General Logan’s downfall as much as you and I do. So don’t worry.”
Lucas reassured Iberis as if telling him to relax. He didn’t remove his hand until some color returned to Iberis’s pale face.
* * *
“You’re ending the investigation here? Are you joking?”
– Whoa, calm down. What can we do when the culprit is dead? We have to end the investigation due to extinction of right to prosecute.
“Isaac Miller is just the tail. There’s a separate head that gave him orders. You must know that.”
– I know, I know very well. But there’s no evidence.
Winfried raised an eyebrow at the voice of the military investigation bureau chief trying to placate him.
– Unless we find evidence that Isaac Miller received orders from the guild master… We can’t arrest Guild Master Logan now. Why are you acting like this when you should know better?
“Who said to arrest him right away? We need to make him confess somehow during the witness interview.”
– Are you serious? Do you think that sly fox will simply confess, ‘Yes, I ordered it all’?
“…”
Momentarily at a loss for words, Winfried gripped his phone as if about to crush it. The investigation bureau chief was right. The Livio he knew wouldn’t fall for an investigator’s interrogation, but rather would toy with them. However, he didn’t want to admit this fact.
“Are you advertising the incompetence of the investigation bureau? Is this what the bureau chief should be saying?”
– Hey now, isn’t that a bit harsh? I tried my best too. I even accepted the joint investigation with N-0 unit at your request, and this is how you react? Besides, I just received a call from the Commander-in-Chief himself. He said to wrap this up nicely at this point.
