Chapter 211

The story of how Asterique’s nanny came to be is simple.
I made a short list of possible past acquaintances and approached them in short bursts, hoping to find some of Asterique’s relatives.
Their response was uncharacteristically friendly.
A slightly stiff but kindly smile, a “yes, sir….” when you say something, and a sincere listening attitude. They were a rare breed in harsh times.
Apparently, the “help” on the mountain was very impressive.
“That’s how we live, helping each other.
Anyway.
Inevitably, I heard a lot of stories about Asterisk.
– Yes, of course I remember.
– There was once a branch of the Cartata lord’s family called Terias, which has since burned to the ground, and whose only daughter was Asterike…
– We’d occasionally run into each other at banquets, but it was more of a formal greeting. It’s not a big city, so if you’re the son of a powerful family, you’re pretty much in the know.
– Even if you don’t, I’m sure many of us remember it.
The knight of the Cartata said so, with a hint of annoyance.
– It was a rare event in this part of the world. House Terias was burned to the ground in a single night, with heavy casualties and no bodies left standing.
– The cause? Well, we don’t know.
– I don’t think the investigation will ever come to anything definitive, because it was all burned, so it was just circumstantial, and I think it was closed.
There was no evidence that Asterike was responsible.
But sometimes, context tells the whole truth.
– Asterike Therias’s innate spell of the Pyrothermal System was rather well known at the time, and naturally, everyone connected it to the incident and blamed it for the fire.
– The rest of the story is untold, except that the servant, who had somehow managed to avoid defecating because it was a holiday, and who quickly escaped from the manor, was summoned as a witness, but it didn’t matter.
– Asterique Terrias herself was nowhere to be found, and it was widely believed that she had perished in the mansion.
– What kind of investigation was possible when a key witness was missing?
The case concluded with “the unfortunate tragedy that befell the Terias family.
As the years passed, the incident became just a story. A tombstone without a body was erected on the site of the Terias mansion, and the conspiracy theorists moved on to other issues.
This was a behind-the-scenes setting that Kim was unaware of.
The only side story assigned to Ast is the search for a lost sword in Ulantz, and while it’s mentioned that she may have been a noblewoman or the equivalent, her past is never made clear.
“I still have my doubts.
If the placenta of the family tree was involved, it is likely that the Fire of Regeneration was triggered. If so, it would suggest that Asterike was severely wounded just before the fire broke out.
And the whole thing went down in ashes.
Unless Asterike remembers, it will never be revealed to the world.
“Whatever.
In the beginning, Kim was already focused on the present rather than the past.
– You mean the survivors of the Chapter? I see, unless you’ve left Cartata in the meantime, in which case I shouldn’t be able to find them…. Oh, you mean me. Oh, no. No offense, but….
So she brings in a nanny who used to work for the Terias family.
I forget his name, but it was a reunion made possible by a kind-hearted driver.
The next day.
“We talked a lot during the night, so much so that I can’t even remember what we said.”
In the morning, Kim woke up to Asterique with puffy eyes. She hadn’t left her room last night, so she must have spent the night talking to the nanny.
“I feel blessed to have a nanny, because without her, I wouldn’t have met Hyun.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was the nanny who let me out.”
The words were uncharacteristically slow. Kim drove on, listening, not pressing the issue. Asterike’s request was to go somewhere with her.
The distance to the destination was not very far.
“There it is.”
Asterike looked around at the rows of tombstones. The graves of the Terias family. The mansion was deserted after a decade of memories.
“I think I was probably having a nightmare that day.”
She started talking to herself.
“I only remember it in bits and pieces now. I woke up and everything around me was ashes. I didn’t know what had happened to me, to this place, and I was crying and looking for people.”
He closed his eyes, and a whiff of charcoal hit the tip of his nose.
“I had a nanny, who wrapped me in a blanket and said something with a determined look on her face.”
The human brain is a curious thing. Some things we forget in less than an hour, let alone a day, while other things remain vivid in our minds for years.
“Young lady, there are hard things ahead for you, you’re young, maybe you won’t make it through, it will get better one day, I dare not tell you….”
“That’s harsh.”
“I asked her last night, and she said she was afraid that I’d believe her empty words and live a life of misery, and that’s too much for a nanny to handle. It’s her weakness, in a way.”
Asterike smirked.
“The nanny was right, but it’s better, but still, no, that’s what makes this place feel so stifling, so guilty, so shameless that I thought I was going to get rid of it.”
The edges of my heart are burning. It’s a feeling you can’t forget and you can’t turn away from. Sin is sin, even if it’s unintentional, and the stigma doesn’t go away.
“So, um. I mean, I’m a real pain in the ass. I’m fine one minute, then I’m depressed, then I have nightmares, then I’m dragging strings and talking to myself, like right now.”
“At least he’s self-aware.”
“I don’t know if I can fix it. I can’t blame my personality for eating like this.”
Instead,” she spun around.
“I’m going to keep this short.”
A cheeky grin tugged at the corners of my mouth.
“Thanks as always, Hyun.”
* * *
Upon returning to Wangsheng, I heard from Kushan.
“Mr. What. I’d better get ready.”
“If we hurry, we’ll be there in a week. It’ll be quite a march, though.”
The good news is that we don’t have to worry about physical fitness. The agents should be able to withstand it, and the Bastitera personnel who will be accompanying them are all Pekatum.
Of course, we’re on a tight schedule.
“I’m going to have to get a helicopter.”
“We’ll probably stop in Shalem after the talks to pick up supplies. We have the option of returning home, but the conditions there are not favorable, so we will have to think carefully about our future.”
“That’s for you guys to discuss and decide.”
Whether it’s Dustborn or Celbrox Labs, there are tons of options. But it’s not something to think about right away. You’ll have plenty of time to think about it after the main episode is over.
Instead, we should focus on the summit that’s just around the corner.
“What about this time?
It’s different from the last time I attended as a security company from Kilikia. They don’t have time to stop by Kilikia, and they don’t know if Dustborn has any offers for protection.
“Well, let’s just say it’s a done deal that Bastitera is going to pay.
The point is influence.
There were a few things about attending as a bodyguard that were a little uncomfortable, because there were fewer restrictions, so it was easier to goof around, but as a representative of Dustborn, I couldn’t do anything.
‘I need to be the least vocal.
I was trying to think of a good excuse.
“Prefect. I have a proposition for you.”
“Why does that sound like something I’ve heard before?”
“…Hmmm. That might be more of a favor than a suggestion.”
Kushan gestured for an afterthought.
“As you know, there is no place for me in these talks. I am still the missing defendant from Shiran, and I must have someone represent the Rap on my behalf.”
“You haven’t decided yet?”
“I was originally going to leave it to my professor, but….”
He shook his head, remembering the professor’s recent behavior.
“You looked like you had a lot on your mind.”
ah.
Kim was convinced. The professor hadn’t yet answered whether or not he would regain his memory. He seemed more conflicted than she could have imagined, and she could only imagine how it must have seemed to Kushan.
“Honestly, I don’t believe it.
It wasn’t a good choice, in Kim’s opinion. There’s also the consideration that they don’t want to burden a professor who’s not doing well anyway.
“And Leila? She’s gotten quite a bit thicker lately, hasn’t she?”
“Leila is always on my mind, of course. She has expertise in what we’re working on in the lab, and most importantly, she has the trust of the agents. Depending on the circumstances, she might be a better leader than I am.”
“Oh. You said you were insecure before, that’s quite an assessment.”
“It’s refreshing to see it from the perspective of choosing the next lab director. I’m growing, and it’s a fun experience.”
However, Hagar Kushan turned the tables.
“What’s being asked for at this meeting is not really an expert opinion. We don’t know much about the rift in the first place, and it’s going to be more political than research.”
Definitely.
If the main topic is terrorism and rifts in Shiran, it’s a harsher tide than last time for Celbrox Labs. Leila doesn’t seem like the right fit. Kushan feels a bit out of place.
It requires shamelessness, so to speak.
“So, string, it’s you.”
“……Is that okay?”
“Any excuse will do. It doesn’t matter if you claim to be there as an honorary advisor to the Rap. There will be fewer people in the room who are unaware of Dustborn’s arrangement with the Rap.”
Kim crossed his arms and thought about it.
“It’s not like I’m actually running the lab, it’s a one-time thing.
I was desperate for something besides the title “President of Dustborn Corporation”. If rap was in the Chapter, he was guaranteed a say. I’m more willing to intervene than the royal family of Bastitera.
The conditions couldn’t be better.
There’s no reason not to accept it this time.
But before you accept, there are steps you can take in good conscience.
“Let me ask you a question just to be sure.”
“What is it?”
“You’re sure you’re okay, even with a guy like me standing on your face.”
For a moment, Kushan’s breath caught in his throat.
If I wrote it down, it would look like a lack of confidence, but it wasn’t. A slight upturn of the corners of his mouth. A gaze that’s calm as usual, yet somehow murderous.
That’s the look of someone who’s about to do something.
“Whoa, wait….”
Kushan closed his eyes tightly. Several scenarios began to play out in his mind. Most of them involved Kim Yi Hyun bullying his way in front of every powerful person on the continent.
In the past, I would have stopped here.
Once I started Xuran, there was no turning back.
Steeling himself for battle, he opened his eyes.
“Boo, please.”
“I can’t help it if you put it that way.”
The die is cast.