“I think I asked an unnecessary question. As I get older, I only grow more worried… If I’ve offended you, I apologize.”
“Not at all. It’s a perfectly understandable concern.”
Iberis smiled faintly, showing that he wasn’t offended at all. It was genuine. This conversation had made him like Winfried even more, as he could feel that he truly cared for Lucas.
“Major Hyun, Captain Illum… no, Lucas is like a child to me.”
Winfried’s smile faded as he continued with a more serious expression than usual.
“Nadia and Armand, Lucas’s parents, were close friends of mine since childhood. Somehow, all three of us ended up attending the military academy and becoming soldiers. As soon as they graduated and got married, they found out they were expecting a child and asked me to be the godfather.”
Winfried’s eyes grew distant as he recalled beautiful memories and missed loved ones.
“Of course, I happily accepted their request. Since that day, that boy has always been a precious son to me.”
His gaze, full of affection, turned towards Lucas. Having lost two dear friends at once, Winfried cherished and cared for the treasures they left behind.
Honestly, he had hoped Lucas wouldn’t walk the path of revenge. Knowing how arduous and painful that journey could be, he wanted him to let go of his anger and live an ordinary life like others. So, he had once tried to persuade Lucas to abandon his anger.
‘I’ll protect you and your sister so that no one can harm you. So, focus on recovering your body and mind and taking care of Regina.’
‘Why are you suddenly saying this? You said not long ago that you’d help me get revenge. You said we’d do it together…’
‘That… I wasn’t being mature that day.’
‘What…’
‘Lucas. I don’t want you to ruin your life obsessing over revenge. I’m sure Nadia and Armand would feel the same way.’
The boy who had been fiercely resisting hesitated when Winfried mentioned his parents.
‘Above all, you’re still young. Hating and pursuing someone is too much for a child to handle…’
‘Age doesn’t matter.’
‘It’s not just because of your age. Right now, you’re too fixated on the goal of finding the culprit and getting revenge. If this continues, you might lose yourself. That’s what I’m worried about.’
‘…’
‘I told you before, didn’t I? That I would find those who killed Nadia and Armand and make them pay for their crimes, no matter how long it takes. I’ll take your revenge for you. I’ll dedicate my life to it if I have to, so Lucas, you…’
‘No.’
‘What?’
‘I won’t leave it to you, Uncle. I’ll avenge my parents myself.’
‘Lucas.’
‘I’m their son, not you. So if anyone’s going to take revenge, it should be me!’
Lucas refused to back down despite Winfried’s opposition. He was prepared for the possibility of failure and that the end of his revenge might not be as satisfying as he expected.
‘If you won’t help me, I’ll do it alone.’
‘You…!’
‘Uncle Winfried. If I can’t catch the ones who killed my parents with my own hands, I’ll never be able to move on from that day. So please, don’t tell me to give up. Please…’
‘…Alright.’
Unable to persuade Lucas in the end, Winfried had no choice but to help him. He realized that opposing him would be futile.
He knew the Lucas he knew would definitely act on his own if he had to. If that was the case, it was better to watch over him, intervene occasionally to comfort him, and hold him back at the right moments to keep him from crossing the line. That’s how Winfried ended up on the same boat as Lucas.
Twelve years later, just as he had worried, Lucas became increasingly consumed by revenge, losing himself in the process.
No one enjoys clinging to a fruitless endeavor for a long time. Especially when it involves pursuing those who killed your parents.
Lucas thought he was fine, but in Winfried’s eyes, he could see him wearing down day by day. It was clear that he would crumble at some point if this continued. However, he couldn’t think of a way to restore Lucas’s heart, which had become as barren as a desert.
Then, he received a call from a doctor who was his military colleague and learned that Iberis was terminally ill. The doctor, who had served as a military physician for over ten years, felt like he was being watched after Iberis’s visit.
Whether it was Iberis trying to silence him or a journalist or errand boy investigating him, the doctor was terrified. Remembering the scandal from a few years ago, he judged that his life might be in danger. So he committed an act that violated professional ethics.
Valuing his life more than his conscience, the doctor requested protection from Winfried in exchange for informing him about Iberis’s condition. Although surprised by the sudden contact, he understood the doctor’s actions. Anyone who had served in the military with Livio knew his insidious nature.
After placing the doctor in a military protection program, he pondered ways to help Iberis. He couldn’t let such a talented individual slip away so pointlessly.
Moreover, Winfried owed Iberis a debt. So, following the doctor’s advice, he tried to find a suitable guide for him. However, the results were not good.
Including Lucas in the test subjects was just in case. S-class guides tend to show high compatibility rates with any esper, so he wanted to at least check.
The old men in the upper echelons might not like assigning an S-class guide exclusively to one person, but saving a life should come first, shouldn’t it?
So, after forcing the test, Lucas recorded the highest compatibility rate among the guides.
Winfried decided to send Lucas to Iberis as soon as he heard the report from his aide. He had a hunch that if things went well, the two would make good partners.
An outsider might scoff at making such a decision based on mere intuition, but he believed in his abilities. With intuition superior to others, he had used it to his advantage and succeeded time and time again.
Of course, there was also a political calculation underlying this decision. He thought that if Iberis owed him a life debt, he might be able to get information from him, and when it became certain that Livio was the culprit behind the incident 12 years ago, it might be possible to ask for forceful help.
That’s how Winfried sent Lucas to Iberis. Fortunately, their relationship developed much better than Winfried had expected. Every time he heard heartwarming news about the two, every time he detected a subtle emotion in Lucas’s voice when talking about Iberis, he confirmed that he had made an excellent decision.
Even now, he felt a thrilling shiver when he recalled the moment Lucas confessed that he had fallen in love with Iberis. His face, expressing the first love he had ever felt in his life, was so full of life it reminded Winfried of Lucas’s childhood. His eyes, filled with desire, sparkled like jewels. It was the first bright expression he had seen in 12 years.
“I’m truly… grateful to you, Major. You’re my benefactor.”
“Benefactor? That’s too much praise.”
Iberis wrinkled his nose bashfully at Winfried’s words of gratitude. He felt a bit embarrassed as he hadn’t done anything, yet everyone he had met in the past few days had been saying such things.
“If anything, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t sent the Captain to me, I would have long ago…”
“No, I don’t deserve your thanks. You know that I didn’t send Lucas to N-0 unit out of pure goodwill.”
“Even if you had other motives, your desire for my recovery was genuine, wasn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“Although it wasn’t the right route… as soon as you realized something was wrong with me, you immediately assigned the Captain as my guide, even causing friction with your superiors, to save me. You could have ignored me and not cared whether I lived or died.”
“Now, now, don’t say such things. How could I ignore it? You’re a treasure to our military.”
“Not a traitor who lowered the status of the defense force?”
Iberis asked with a bitter smile. He knew that even among the reformists, there were those who resented him. After all, the internal whistleblowing from a few years ago had dealt a critical blow to the defense force’s image, exacerbating issues like manpower shortages and financial problems.
It was a natural phenomenon for people to harbor complaints due to practical inconveniences, regardless of whether his actions were just.
While he held no particular regrets towards such people, it was also difficult to fully trust them. That’s why Iberis chose to hide rather than reveal the fact when he was diagnosed as terminally ill.
“Traitor? Nonsense. Those who say such things are despicable trash, don’t pay them any mind. You did the right thing.”
Winfried lowered his eyes guiltily at these pointed words. Did really no one know about Livio’s corruption until the late Ryan noticed it, until Iberis blew the whistle?
He didn’t think so.
Probably many people had subtly felt something was off. But none of them took direct action. Either because they didn’t want to get involved in troublesome matters or because they feared potential disadvantages.
Honestly, Winfried had nothing to say on this point. He had been so focused on finding evidence that could be linked to the incident 12 years ago that he failed to report Livio’s corruption even after catching wind of a few instances.
While lecturing Lucas not to be consumed by revenge, Winfried had also lost his way at some point. If Iberis hadn’t courageously blown the whistle, he would never have realized his own state.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
