Chapter 318

Jafa Industries' former headquarters had been half-destroyed and was undergoing reconstruction.

The current temporary headquarters was originally just a branch office, making it much smaller than the old building. At only seven stories tall, the rooftop offered a view of countless taller buildings densely packed together.

Step. Step.

I climbed onto the rooftop and gazed at the night sky. The moon, peeking out between the buildings, glowed a piercing blue. It looked as if it had been carved from ice.

"Haa."

As I exhaled, a white breath drifted into the air. The night wind carried a sharp, blade-like chill.

I took a deep breath of the cold air, and my lungs stung slightly. The weather had turned quite frigid.

Creak.

I pulled out my shock pistol, Ruina, and began preheating it. With the firepower of a shock round, there was no way anyone could survive by sheer luck alone.

"Alright, let's get started."

Leaning against the rooftop railing, I murmured to myself.

It wasn't just because it was night—the whole world felt pitch black. Even with Border City's lights glittering in the distance, everything still looked dark and hazy.

Well, to put it simply, I was feeling like absolute crap.

I took out the data chip that had been unsealed through chemical processing.

"Huuh..."

After a moment of hesitation, I inserted the data chip into the terminal.

Bzzzzzt—

The terminal’s holographic lens flickered, and a holographic screen lit up before my eyes.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, then opened them again, steeling myself.

I had no idea what Giselle had left behind. It could be a long message, or maybe a video letter. In the worst case, it might even be a suicide note.

Either my curiosity would be satisfied, or I would be crushed under unbearable despair. One of the two was about to happen.

Static. Crackle. Buzz.

The hologram flickered as if it were being torn apart. Letters began to appear, one by one.

- At the beginning, in that place.

That was all the holographic screen displayed. A cryptic phrase.

"Are you kidding me? That's it?"

I muttered in disbelief. The message was so brief that it made preheating Ruina feel unnecessary.

Of course, Giselle must have considered the possibility that the data chip she handed to Juppe could fall into someone else’s hands. It was up to me to decipher it.

The first thing that came to mind was the imperial capital, Akbaran.

‘Our first meeting.’

Giselle and I first met in an air vehicle at the Imperial Guard training facility's airstrip. After that, we had crossed paths multiple times at the Accretia Academy.

‘It’s definitely not just referring to the first place we met. And it’s not the Accretia Academy either.’

It had to be a place only the two of us knew. And even if someone else intercepted the data chip, they shouldn't be able to figure it out easily.

‘There’s a double meaning hidden in this.’

* * *

I blinked as I gazed up at the moon, still leaning against the railing.

‘The motel where we first slept together?’

A run-down place that was closer to a ruin than an actual motel came to mind. It was a strong possibility—the most likely location.

‘It’s definitely a place only Giselle and I would know. But…’

Giselle had gone to great lengths to get me out of the Empire.

If I were to return to the Empire, especially to the capital, Akbaran, it would be impossible to escape the Emperor’s surveillance. If hiding from him in Akbaran had been possible, I wouldn’t have struggled so much to reach Border City.

‘…Did Giselle want to pull me back into Akbaran?’

My thoughts accelerated. I went through my memories of Giselle one by one, trying to decipher the meaning behind her message.

Creak.

A noise snapped me out of my thoughts. The rooftop door opened.

"Hoit, hoit. Here you are. From the looks of it, you won’t be leaving right away, so I thought I’d have a chat with you."

Jafa approached, dragging a loose robe behind her. Her steps were oddly lopsided, and her movements were sluggish.

‘Still suffering from the aftereffects of her injuries.’

Jafa had been on the brink of death. If she hadn’t been a wealthy businesswoman who could afford full-body regenerative treatment, she would have died long ago.

"You're not moving like you used to, Jafa."

"When your body breaks down once, you can really feel the loss of vitality. I never thought about choosing a successor before, but lately, I’ve felt the need to start preparing for one."

"A successor? You don’t mean Anguis Regina, do you? She’s not suited for business."

"You're right. That girl has too much sentiment to run a corporation. She forms attachments to too many people. In that sense, she’s quite similar to you. And that very nature of yours is what helped you survive."

Jafa flicked her forked tongue with a sly smile. I frowned.

"Seems like every stray dog and cow thinks they know me these days."

"Hoit, hoit. If you put it like that, this Jafa might feel a little hurt. I’d like to think we’ve exchanged enough to know each other fairly well. And besides, I’m neither a dog nor a cow—I am a snake."

Jafa clicked her long nails together as she spoke.

I couldn’t deny that I had a deep connection with Jafa. Most of my time in Border City had involved her in one way or another.

"If I offended you, I apologize. My head’s not exactly in a peaceful place right now."

Jafa’s vertical pupils dilated.

"An immediate apology? The Luka I knew before would never have said such a thing. You’ve changed a lot."

Jafa let out her characteristic laugh before shifting the topic.

"Anyway, once this chaos settles, I plan to step away from the frontlines. I’ve had many conversations with Anguis Regina. She told me that my obsession with Kinuan would only bring me misery and ruin. She wasn’t wrong. And En… En was both my employee and my friend. Hearing that he had died hit me harder than I expected."

En had died by my hand.

I remained silent, simply watching Jafa. She likely already knew and didn’t hold it against me, but that didn’t mean I had any reason to bring it up myself.

She looked older than before. Not in terms of her face or appearance, but in the way she spoke and carried herself. It was a change that didn’t bode well for a businesswoman.

'She must have realized that her strength is fading, which is why she’s stepping down.'

Jafa and I talked briefly about the conflicts in Border City.

"My obsession with Kinuan blinded me, and that’s how I fell into Chairman Son’s trap. If it weren’t for Ragnata’s help… I wouldn’t still be in this world."

"Or you’d be taken hostage by Son Seok-jae and turned into a weakness for Anguis Regina."

"I’d rather be dead than be a burden to my child, hoyoot."

There was a rare brightness in her voice as she said that.

I narrowed my eyes slightly and let out a faint smile.

"Sounds like things are going well with Anguis Regina."

"They are. Sometimes it feels so surreal, like a dream. If I had known things would turn out this way, I would have tried to restore her memories much sooner."

"Why didn’t you?"

Jafa hesitated, flicking out her tongue before finally answering.

"Because I was afraid. Afraid that Anguis Regina—or rather, the real Elise with all her memories intact—wouldn’t love me, but hate me instead."

She had spoken Anguis Regina’s true name.

"You didn’t trust your daughter."

"I was weak. And yet, she risked everything she had to save me." Jafa let out a bitter laugh before continuing. "Ironically… the more love we receive, the more anxious we become. We fear losing it. If we had never been loved in the first place, at least we wouldn’t be crushed by the pain of someone’s change of heart."

I listened in silence, staring at Jafa.

It felt like a great bell had rung inside my head.

‘Change of heart.’

Emotions exist outside of rationality. Their movements and directions are beyond control.

That’s what makes a change of heart so terrifying.

‘Whether it’s someone else’s—or my own.’

Lost in thought, I ran a hand over my unshaven, rough jaw.

"Luka?"

Jafa tilted her head and called my name.

I didn’t answer. My consciousness and thoughts had been pulled deep inside myself.

Hallucinations were the product of my fears. I had seen Giselle’s illusion many times before.

‘My fear.’

I looked inward.

‘Giselle embraced me like she was binding me.’

At times, I could even feel her chains wrapping around my body.

‘Why… why do I see Giselle as a symbol of restraint?’

I asked myself. Let go of logic. Only an honest emotional answer would suffice.

‘Because my heart is changing.’

It had been a long time since I last saw Giselle.

And yet, I was still living. I had met many people and built new connections.

And, just like with Anguis Regina, another woman had appeared in my life who stirred my emotions.

Interactions, experiences, and time—these things change people.

I could feel my heart drifting away from Giselle. I even questioned whether I still loved her. The fear that I was searching for her out of nothing more than hollow obsession crept up on me.

‘If Giselle still loves me deeply, but my feelings alone change… what am I supposed to do?’

It hadn’t even been two years since I woke up in Border City. And in that short time, I was already afraid of my own change of heart.

Emotions are like formless matter. They shift depending on external influences. They cannot be maintained through sheer will alone.

Giselle wasn’t by my side. How could my feelings for her remain the same?

One day, I would find her presence suffocating. I would search for her out of obligation, out of a fading obsession rather than love.

‘Not even two years have passed, and my heart is already wavering this much.’

I flipped the perspective.

…Giselle had endured much longer than I had, all alone. I had never once stopped to consider the fear she must have felt.

‘You idiot, Luka. You always think you’re suffering more than anyone else in the world.’

I wanted to hit myself.

Giselle must have gone through the same thing. She must have felt that her emotions for me weren’t the same as before. She had orchestrated everything for my sake, fought desperately to bring me back—only to realize too late that her own feelings had faded.

What if she no longer loved the man named Luka?

‘Giselle must have been afraid of her own change of heart.’

When I awoke from cryosleep, I remembered my love for Giselle as if it had been just yesterday. But from her perspective, with a heart that had long since cooled, how could she possibly face me?

…Looking into my own reflection, I could finally understand Giselle.

‘Giselle…’

Giselle had entrusted the data chip to Juppe in case I woke up earlier than planned.

‘…So that we could live in the same time.’

Even if our feelings changed, she wanted us to be able to witness it firsthand and prepare ourselves for it.

- At the beginning, in that place.

Now, the riddle was simple.

I closed my eyes, gathering my scattered thoughts.

"Jafa, I need to go."

I opened my eyes and called her name, having reached my conclusion.

"You've remembered something."

It felt as if a brilliant white light was dancing in my mind. To put it simply, dopamine was surging.

I grabbed the rooftop railing and climbed up as if I were about to jump off. Jafa, startled, rushed toward me.

"It's thanks to you. If we hadn't had that conversation, it would’ve taken me much longer to realize. Damn it, why didn’t I think of this sooner!"

Overcome with excitement, I grabbed Jafa’s head and planted a kiss on her forehead. This much of a reward was warranted—I was in a fantastic mood!

"H-Ho, hooyot!"

Leaving a flustered Jafa behind, I let my body drop over the railing.

Whooosh!

The scenery blurred past me as I plummeted. At the right height, I kicked off the wall and spun midair.

Thud!

I landed with a force that made it seem like a bomb had just dropped, my knees bending to absorb the impact. Eyes turned toward me from all directions.

‘Lapis, you're incredible as always. You’re the best.’

Even in such a short time, my cybernetic body had been repaired perfectly. My half-destroyed left arm had been replaced with a standard prosthetic—it wasn’t as efficient, but it was usable.

With my destination clear, I moved without hesitation.

My destination was Lazarus, the extreme-treatment hospital—the place where I had awakened from cryosleep.

"Haha…"

Giselle hadn’t been kidnapped or killed.

To escape from the conflict between her emotions, she had stopped her own time.

In other words, she was in cryosleep.