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Chapter 86
"What are you talking about?"
"All the mental experiments you attempted on me failed, didn't they? You said my ‌mental fortitude ‌‌was so overwhelming and my willpower ‌so formidable that you couldn't touch it at all."
Originally, The Organization had planned to make Cedric Loapi strong and then use him as a human weapon.
Cedric Loapi was an excellent test subject.
He endured and overcame any pain. Whenever they gave him instructions during the process, he followed them meticulously.
Thus Cedric Loapi grew stronger, but a problem emerged—he refused to move according to The Organization's desires.
[Come ‌‌now, ‌‌‌harbor rage toward the world. Don't you want to destroy everything? Every choice you made was the worst, wasn't it?]
First, they needed him to cultivate anger toward the world ‌‌‌‌and align his will with theirs, but that proved to be the initial obstacle.
[Listen carefully. Complaining about ‌‌‌things that won't be achieved no matter how hard you try, things beyond your control—that ‌‌‌‌helps no one in life. Instead of wasting time on that, you should devote yourself to ‌‌finding other methods within your ‌power. Do you understand? Steel your resolve.]
[Hey! I'm talking about you! Your instincts are terrible! Why are you lecturing me?]
The conclusion The Organization's experimental laboratory reached regarding Cedric Loapi was as follows:
An ethicist with clear eyes, a madman of principle.
His values were so unshakeable that even brainwashing barely took hold.
[Now, stop thinking. Surrender your will. If you entrust ‌‌everything to us, you'll find peace....]
[I cannot rely on the comfort given by others. Listen well. As long as I am human, I must never cease thinking. Only through ‌‌endless contemplation of what constitutes a ‌righteous life can I become the master of my own destiny.]
[This bastard's lecturing again, damn it!]
[Please don't curse. Profanity doesn't diminish the other person—it diminishes ‌‌‌‌your own dignity. If there's conflict, you must resolve it through dialogue first. Please rephrase that more civilly.]
Ultimately, the experimental team reached this conclusion:
[The test subject is so exceptional that we tried ‌to draw him to our side like the others, but... unless we touch his ‌mind, it won't work. But his ‌‌‌‌mind is unnecessarily resilient! Damn it!]
To touch Cedric Loapi's mind, he himself had to freely decide, "I ‌‌‌‌will willingly cooperate with them."
That was the surface reason the Masked Woman came to find Cedric Loapi directly.
"Why do you cling to my memories? Answer me." ‌‌‌
"Why should I tell you that?"
"I've told you so much about my daughter all this time."
"Who asked you to? You were just running your mouth on your own!"
That was when blood trickled from Cedric Loapi's lips. Before long, more blood gushed out.
"Don't worry."
Cedric Loapi, ‌having coughed up blood, spoke urgently.
"It's a side effect from the experiments—sometimes blood backs up like this. Usually happens about a month after the experiments. I feel a bit nauseous the day before it happens, but once the ‌‌‌blood comes out, I'm fine. It's nothing serious. In ‌‌‌‌fact, ‌as I expel the contaminated blood, I grow stronger."
"What are you saying? ‌‌‌I wasn't worried anyway."
"Then instead of not worrying, ‌‌tell me something else."
Cedric Loapi cried out desperately at the ‌‌woman's retreating figure.
"Namia Loapi... is she ‌‌‌doing well?"
"How far is the Capital from here? How would I know?"
The woman answered irritably without turning around. Then she added with exasperation.
"She's probably doing fine, whatever."
Her footsteps, which had paused, quickened again. The woman moved away from the Iron Cell. Then, so Cedric Loapi couldn't hear, she murmured softly to herself.
"...because I made sure of it."
As ‌‌the woman's footsteps faded into the distance, Cedric Loapi was left alone once more. ‌
Only then did he let out a groan, the pain from the restraints burning intensely.
Fifteen years confined like a beast in this ‌‌small Iron Cell.
"Namia...."
He ‌‌‌‌always felt on the verge of madness, but each time he would soothe himself.
"If I pretend not to notice, she won't come anymore, so I'm just playing ignorant...."
Just as he used to ‌explain the day's events to his young daughter, piece by piece.
"Your ‌‌mother really isn't naive, is she? Good heavens, she thinks I won't recognize her just because she wears a mask. It's already been fifteen years...."
6. Victor Awin's Circumstances
One day before the Saint Kairo Banquet.
The Scroll Department was extraordinarily busy. We had taken on the ‌‌‌core event of the banquet.
"Her Majesty the Empress is attending the banquet for the first time in a very long while."
I spoke kindly ‌to my department members.
"Once we successfully carry out this opening ‌ceremony, I'm sure everyone will see the Scroll Department in a different light."
Castle Kairo, symbolizing the love between mother and child.
The Empress and ‌Young Prince were to use scrolls together to create an extraordinary visual spectacle.
"You all know we requested cooperation from the ‌‌Ministry of Education because our personnel was insufficient, ‌‌‌right?"
But it was no simple matter. We needed the magical power ‌‌‌‌and cooperation of many people.
That was why we had requested cooperation from the Ministry of Education.
"About seven civil servants in their fifth year of service will be coming."
Using staff from other departments as assistants for someone else's ‌‌‌event. And fifth-year civil servants at that.
It was frankly an extremely rude request.
It wasn't ‌for nothing that the Minister of Education had come rushing over huffily a few days ago, or that Luca Class had offered worried advice.
But in the end, ‌‌‌the Minister of Education agreed to cooperate. So I personally selected seven civil servants to assist us.
'I haven't forgotten.'
On my first day as director, that exact group had mocked our department members at the Cafe. I personally distributed to my staff a list of 'tasks to assign to the Ministry of Education employees.'
"Feel free to order them around as you like."
"B-but... is ‌‌‌it really okay to ask them to do even this...?"
"Yes. ‌‌I'm planning ‌‌‌to support their dinner expenses from our budget, so don't hold back."
Everyone nodded at my firm response.
Though I didn't show it openly, my staff's faces clearly showed their satisfaction.
They too hadn't forgotten what happened before.
"Of course, I'll have them handle moving all the scrolls too. ‌‌They're decorative scrolls, so they're extremely heavy."
"D-didn't it take a lot of effort to make them?"
Anastasia asked with concern.
"Y-you made all that many by yourself, d-didn't you...."
I had created all the scrolls myself. I'd ‌‌‌‌had to pull a few all-nighters, but there was no help for it. I smiled faintly and answered.
"Well, it's fine."
Truth be told, my condition wasn't particularly fine. These past few days, my stomach had been oddly unsettled.
[You went ahead and did it, but now you're having second thoughts, aren't you? That's why your complexion looks so poor, right? Your expression clearly shows something's bothering you.]
Now that I think about it, Luca Class really ‌was perceptive. To discern from my complexion alone that something was wrong with me.
'I ‌must have overdone it. I'll need to rest once the banquet is over.'
As I steeled myself, Victor, who had been reviewing the report, ‌‌tilted ‌‌his head and asked.
"By the way, Minister. Do we really ‌‌‌not need to do a rehearsal? There's no rehearsal schedule listed."
"Ah... I wasn't able to create enough Scrolls ‌‌for a rehearsal. The Banquet Hall has been under continuous remodeling during all this time as well."
I answered with a wry smile.
"Besides, the Young Prince and the Empress have been practicing continuously in the office these past few days. I was too busy creating Scrolls for that to manage anything else. But I've calculated everything precisely, so it should be fine."
At that, Anastasia let out a heavy sigh.
"You... you... you've really overworked yourself, haven't you.... ‌We could have helped... you prepared almost everything by yourself...."
"Everyone was busy with ‌‌other matters anyway. It's fine."
I smiled wryly as if to convince them I was truly all right.
"All the office Scrolls that were in the green boxes have been moved to the Warehouse, so there's no reason for confusion. Still, please continue to check the blue boxes classified for ‌‌‌‌‌the event right up until the event begins. If they get mixed up, it would be a real disaster."
That was when my stomach churned again.
'What is this? This has never happened ‌before. Am I getting old?'
Even when I had stayed up for several nights writing Huan's reports, I had only felt tired—never any stomach discomfort.
And now I was eating better and sleeping better than back then.
'Well... it's not unbearable. If it continues after ‌‌‌I rest well following the banquet, I should visit Luca Class.'
In any case, I managed not to show ‌‌‌it.
"Then let me explain what you'll need to do during the banquet. First, Team Leaders, would you come into the Minister's Office?"
Anastasia and Victor nodded. As I entered the Minister's ‌‌Office first, Kibon followed quietly and spoke.
"Minister." ‌‌
"Yes?"
"Is something troubling you?"

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Brought to you by ‌‌‌Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please ‌‌read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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