Chapter 312

The T-shirt and pants in the third drawer fit Leonardo's body perfectly, as if they had been tailored for him. The material seemed to be cotton, with a soft texture, and the fit was comfortably loose, allowing for easy movement.

However, Leonardo's mind was so preoccupied with Nero's artifact that he had no time to appreciate the thoughtfulness of the person who had prepared the clothes. Only after thoroughly checking if there were any surveillance sensors in the room did he settle on the sofa, facing the door.

It was to prepare for someone suddenly entering.

"This stupid, crazy bastard. How could he leave this behind–"

While cursing the careless Nero with a grim expression, his hands channeled mana into the artifact. The red devil pattern, recognizing another owner, opened its mouth fiercely, revealing a space. Leonardo turned the artifact upside down and began to pull out the items inside.

Although Agrizendro had said he couldn't see the contents, it was dangerous to believe that at face value. He was afraid that something might spill out that could hint at Nero's identity. At that moment, a heavy silver ring fell with a thud on top of the messy odds and ends.

The color drained from Leonardo's face.

"What the..."

Without needing to examine it, the engraving 'NERO' was clearly visible on the inside of the ring. It was maddening to think why he had put this in here.

If someone else had opened it, wouldn't it have been game over from the start?

"What if this had been discovered, ha–"

Leonardo, his complexion pale, clutched the unwelcome token of Armsilver as if to hide it.

He chewed his lips, wondering what to do with this idiot. Just then, a note belatedly fell onto the back of his hand.

"...?"

The note was sealed with what looked like either red seal ink or a bloodstain fingerprint. That guy, though careless, wasn't the type to put something like this in for no reason. Leonardo picked up the suspicious note and hurriedly unfolded it.

As if written in a hurry, or rather, as if burned. Black scorch marks rippled across the paper.

[Don't worry]

Leonardo's eyelashes twitched for a moment.

Immediately scanning below, two simple lines followed.

[Take your medicine and

Meet me in front of Ian]

The brief note ended there. He checked the back just in case, but disappointingly, it was blank.

Looking at the front again, Leonardo absorbed the words with a blank expression. As if foreseeing this situation, the Nero of the past was comforting him. Although it didn't specify what not to worry about, he felt he understood the sentiment to some extent, as if telepathy had worked.

"...Really now."

Thanks to this, about half of the anxiety that had been creeping up on him earlier dissipated. And he became certain. This artifact was intentionally left behind by Nero.

'Then, is it true that Agrizendro couldn't see it?'

Although it seemed to have been left in a hurry before departing, he wouldn't have deliberately left behind his own possession with such a flimsy lock.

The guy often seemed like an idiot, but he was quite wise in moments of crisis. Just as he had saved Leonardo from falling twice and knew when to leave.

So this too must have been left behind with some calculation... He was always a pro at making people's hearts race, both then and now. Shouldn't he have considered Leonardo's position, receiving a comrade's artifact from the Commander of the Council?

"He's doing unnecessary things."

Leonardo twisted his lips, uttering words he didn't mean. Yet his fingertips kept touching the cold surface of the ring.

He was worried that the Commander might have become suspicious, but facing this unexpected trace of his comrade, the overwhelming feeling came first.

He thought he had mostly sorted out his longing for the guy, but actually encountering this on such a day made him miss him even more. Leonardo unconsciously pressed his lips to the back of his hand holding the ring. As if responding, the ring emitted a warm energy.

'By the way, take medicine?'

Mulling over the contents of the note with mixed feelings, he scanned the table and spotted a flat metal case with a red cross engraved on it among the clutter. As if entranced, he reached out and opened the lid, and a faint dry herb scent wafted out. The 'medicines' Nero had written about were neatly arranged, wrapped in strips.

They were similar in form to what the guy had forcibly fed him earlier in the peninsula. All of them were valuable, precious medicinal ingredients. Of course, he quickly closed the lid as nausea rose, but the guy's concern for him left a lasting impression.

"..."

Leonardo looked down at the lid of the metal case with a noticeably bitter expression. Then he turned his eyes back to the last phrase of the note.

Ian

He pressed his finger firmly on the rough handwriting. A choked voice escaped between his quivering lips.

"This brat, speaking informally to his brother."

It wasn't polite language at all, but it was full of affection. The eyes between his furrowed brows were clearly happy.

Leonardo read the scorched sentences over and over, and when he felt they were imprinted in his mind, he completely burned the note.

* * *

Jun/28/999

Went to tent early due to rain. B's spot is innermost.

Cold war atmosphere, hard to start conversation. Even had dinner completely separately. Went into tent.

B smokes, A says come back. Obedient, so worried? Sound of walking outside. Both are outside.

A smokes often these days.

B will reduce individual actions. A that's not what I

The last part of the sporadically written memo was cut off as if there had been an urgent matter.

Hugo knew better than anyone what words would follow. After all, they were his own words.

The faint voice coming from the speaker connected to the recorder vividly recreated that situation once again.

–You seem to be smoking often these days.

–I'll reduce individual actions if needed.

–That's not what I meant, Leonardo.

Static–

Listening to the voices occasionally obscured by the sound of rain, the indoor air suddenly became chilly. The recorder spat out noise as if it had been stuffed into a pocket, with fabric rubbing against it. The sound that followed was muffled as if buried somewhere, but it was heard from very close by.

–Um, excuse me.

–What is it?

–Ah... When I fell into the lake and lost consciousness...

As if he had been waiting to express his gratitude for being saved. Kenis had perfectly deceived both himself and Leonardo.

He had been monitoring their every move, taking notes and recording. And the main focus of the records was on the conversations between himself and Leonardo.

Hugo turned to look at Kenis with a terrifying expression. He was still kneeling, his head bowed low, his shoulders shaking as if sobbing. Cold blue eyes stared intently at him. With his hands, he alternately pressed the buttons of the large printer and the palm-sized recorder taken from the artifact.

Each time he played a recording, various moments of voices flowed from the speaker. Wondering if the period when Leonardo and Kenis had gone missing together might be included, Hugo kept pressing the button. But whether it hadn't been recorded or had been deliberately erased, the situation presumed to be from that time didn't play.

He flipped through the stack of papers several times, but the memos were also missing that period entirely.

Soon, the recorded voices came to a complete end, and along with it, the printer fell silent.

Silence returned to the Commander's office. Only Kenis's sobbing breaths were occasionally heard.

Hugo interlaced his fingers, lowered his head, and asked in a stern voice:

"Who ordered you?"

Kenis, tear-stained, flinched and raised his head as a low, cold wave swept through.

He blinked his reddened eyes and barely managed to move his lips before stopping. As the pause lengthened, Hugo asked again in a voice that seemed to be suppressing anger:

"I'm asking who it was."

"Well, that..."

Kenis, startled by the Commander's forceful voice, hiccupped and placed his hands on the carpet.

"You might not believe what I say. But."

After fidgeting as if about to grab Hugo's trouser hem, he knelt again in a proper posture.

"I, I don't really know either..."

With trembling hands gripping his own pants, he spoke with difficulty. Hugo's eyebrows rose sharply at the deflating answer.

Rubbing his brow, he seemed to decide this wouldn't do and stood up. At that moment, the already cool indoor temperature instantly became icy, and Kenis flinched, reflexively looking up.

Soon, his trembling breath stopped. It was like seeing the truth behind the rumors right before his eyes.

"Are you trying to have a battle of endurance with me?"

The Kazad of the Council, this man could probably kill someone with just his gaze. Feeling as if his skin was burning, Kenis waved his hands and explained:

"No, absolutely not! That's not it... I really don't know, that's why I came. To ask for your help, Commander."

"Help?"

"Yes, I know I've committed a mortal sin. But... Blaine-nim is innocent, so for his sake, and for my family's sake, I thought I should tell you."

Kenis, who had been stammering throughout due to his urgency, didn't cut his words this time. Hugo, who had been looking down at him with disgusted eyes, sensed something strange at the mention of 'family' and narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't really know who ordered me to do this. Really. The people who came to my house had their faces covered... and I received the order to monitor Blaine-nim by letter, I never met them face to face or heard it directly. But everything, I'll tell you everything I know. Just promise me one thing. Please keep the fact that I disclosed this a secret, even later–"

"Wait."

Hugo raised his hand in front of Kenis, who was spitting out words like a machine gun, about to run out of breath. Kenis, who had been rambling incoherently with an urgent look, closed his mouth with a snap.

After looking down at the densely written memos for a moment, Hugo turned his head again and asked:

"You said you were ordered to monitor Leonardo?"

"Pardon?"

"Not me and the 1st Battalion?"

Kenis, his eyes red from shedding chicken-drop-like tears, answered with a bewildered look, his eyes wide open:

"Ah... yes. Blaine-nim... no, to be precise, everything related to Blaine-nim..."

Hugo felt his mind go blank for a moment.

'Leonardo? Why?'

It didn't make sense given the circumstances.

If Kenis Weber was a spy from the 3rd Battalion sent by Meterion, it would make sense for him to monitor Hugo or the 1st Battalion's movements. That way, the illegal mining team could come and go inside and outside the peninsula avoiding his eyes, and Meterion himself could also act independently accordingly.

But the purpose was everything related to Leonardo?

He had been curious about why Leonardo took up such a large portion in all the recorded voices and memos. But he was the main force, and the main conversation partner was himself. So he had thought Leonardo had been caught up in the process of recording every little detail...

Hugo felt that he had been looking at only fragments from some point. The realization then spread into an unidentifiable anxiety, and he returned to the memo he had seen first.

The strangely jarring sentence, as if knowing the cigarettes Leonardo had been smoking for a long time. Applying Leonardo as the purpose to it neatly solved the question.

Hugo, gripping the paper tightly, stepped back and sat back down on the sofa.

His blue eyes wandered in the air for a moment.

"You, when did you join the 1st Battalion?"