Chapter 144 (1/2)
Chapter 144 Choice of Destiny (4)
—Stop s uishi+ng the perpetrator and the victim
“That should be easy enough”
While the case was all tangled up and convoluted, the roles were clear The information broker was the perpetrator while PAX and White Rose were the victims
—Why?
But Kim Hannah raised a question
—Who says Bok Jungsik is the victim of this case?
Was the leader of White Rose not a victim?
—Didn't Bok Jungsik say so hianization, they canceled their expedition plan right before departure
Seol Jihu nodded his head
—That ly abandon an expedition even before anything rong… Doesn't that mean they've already set their minds to take their losses before that point?
Ki out the implication that the expedition wasn't canceled because of the protests
She was right Seol Jihu stammered
“B-But”
—Yes And as a result, that foul-mouthed bitch forced the expedition I can definitely see her doing that
“Why? If the leader canceled the expedition, she shouldn't have gone, right?”
—That's what you think But that doormat is the ace of White Rose She's the real deal While Bok Jungsik is the guild urehead
[Our leader ossip behind my back]
[It's fine I'll start talking instead]
It was true Bok Jungsik definitely didn't seem very influential And he had seen her act unbridled However, Seol Jihu hadn't iurehead
—And all of this took place before PAX old coins for, and they've also confirmed the existence of the ruin But to suddenly overturn the expedition over afor months? It makes absolutely no sense
Kim Hannah's face drew closer in the crystal ball
—There's another thing I'm suspicious about
Her voice dropped to a whisper
—10 gold coins isn't a joke That's money worth 500 million Won And how much do you think the preparation cost the they've prepared in the trash What do you think went through the members' minds? Would you not have doubted the competence of the leader, too?
“What's your point?”
—Look at the bigger picture A bastard who is already in a precarious position sets up a situation where they must advance even if they can't profit off of it and then suddenly decides to pull out Looking at it after the situation exploded, don't you think everything was staged?
'After the situation exploded?'
Seol Jihu started
“Wait Then that means Miss Phi Sora is…”
—Screwed
Kim Hannah summed it up in one word
—The moment that doormat moved independently, all the responsibility fell on her And no matter how unfair White Rose thinks the situation is, the royal faht the information first Now, to wrap this up…
—If she dies there, everything ends Even if she somehow comes back alive, she'll still be drowned in controversies Meaning, whether or not the expedition succeeds, the final result has already been determined
Kiave a faint smile
—Excluding the broker, the one who'll profit the most is…? Who?
Seol Jihu blankly stared at the crystal
After the call, Seol Jihu leaned against the railing and looked outside
Kiain when she found definite proof, but like she said, the outcohts kept flowing in a strange direction
Tightly closing his eyes, the scene of Phi Sora hanging herself with a smile in a rundown room came to his mind
'The Choice of Destiny…'
[You see, but it's not]
Destiny was so inborn; an unavoidable fate
That's what Ian had told him
It was a fate to breathe as long as you were born a hu
This law of causality was an absolute 'invariant' Destiny ultie'
For example, the moment Phi Sora forced the expedition and created a 'cause', the 'result' of her hanging herself had to happen
This was an unavoidable fate, or as Ian put it, the acceptance of one's destiny
Then as the reason behind the inclusion of the word 'choice'?
It meant that there wasn't only one possible fate, but multiple
Seol Jihu could have forcibly stopped her froone and saved her right now
In the end, he didn't take any action, nor did he plan on doing so, but if he had decided on soht have met a different fate
If he did not take action, her breath would stop and she would undoubtedly die, but on the flip side, if he did, then her breath would not stop, preventing her fro
He could interfere by choosing between the two unavoidable fates
And thus was the 'Choice of Destiny'
[What are you thinking so hard about?]
Seol Jihu opened his eyes at the sound of a pleasant voice He could see a cloud of black s in front of him
“Did you have a good time?”
[Yep Just made a quick trip around the place I've already seen all that's there anyways]
He could hear a slightly bored tone in Flone's voice She stillScheherazade so early
Then again, she had been stuck inside her tomb for hundreds of years, so he understood why she was so curious about the outside world
“I've been thinking about the ancient emperor's villa”
[Why? You're not thinking of going, are you?]
In reply to the anxious voice, Seol Jihu shook his head
“No It's just that I heard someone I know is on her way there”
[Why would that person go…]
“Well, it's hu they're told not to do”
[I guess There were a lot of those blind idiots in my time too ]
“There were?”
[Yeah To be honest, it's not like I haven't entertained the thought of going there either My mind knows I shouldn't, but I can't help but be curious]
Seeing the black s, Seol Jihu suddenly re before
“Flone What was that villa used for when the emperor was alive? It didn't seem like it was simply used for recreational purposes”
[It had a political use and was also used as his personal safe]
“Political use? A safe?”
[To remove political enemies and store their wealth]
Flone let out a deep sigh
[Gorgonu, Rothschear, Rodrick, Rhetinhen, Monpansha, Baluark, Aluah, Angju… I don't kno many family heads were sacrificed in that villa]
The shocked Seol Jihu narrowed his eyes
“Wait By Rothschear, you mean…”
[You remembered]
Flone's official nanan La Rothschear
Meaning…
[You're right Our faets We were fae wealth]
[According to the imperial records in the Royal Library, she's listed as the beautiful youngest daughter of the forious but fallen family]
As Flone and Ian's words caether in his mind, Seol Jihu's mouth fell open
“Then because of that incident, your family fell apart, and you were…”
[…That's right]
Flone confirhts with a bitter voice
“But ould he do that? If he was an emperor of an entire empire, he must have had absolute power What could he have lacked…?”
[It was for money]
Flone replied bluntly
[That greedy e in war required extree amount of finances It was impossible even for the e dozens of years]
“Right”
[So after pondering about possible sources of money, he set his eyes on the assets of noble fah various excuses]
“Excuses?”
[If the emperor invites a person to his villa, do you think they can refuse?]
“Can't they just not go?”
[Then they'll face the cri a royal decree]
Seol Jihu made a face that said he still didn't understand
[No one knohat happened inside the villa But from what I've seen and heard, the erandfather died froation, the eh our family]
“And they confiscated the family's wealth in that process?”
[That's right]
Seol Jihu scoffed
“That's messed up”
[There was no one who didn't knoas all a plot Not even one]
Flone quietly spoke before closing her mouth
[But we didn't just take it quietly either]
Flone continued speaking after a brief moment of silence