HOASM~24

~Chapter 24~

“Do we… really need to see the team leader before leaving?”

I tilted my head while collecting the debris from the explosion.

“I’m not sure… I’m still thinking about it.”

I answered quietly, then straightened my bent knees. Even though I was wearing gloves, my fingers stiffened for no reason.

The investigation and handling of the site could soon be left to the incoming support team. For the rest of the headquarters personnel, submitting a simple report along with the supply requisition would be enough to leave.

Yet, even with the easy path ahead, my feet refused to move. The weight on me only grew heavier.

“Don’t be stubborn, Rose. It’s obvious you’re worried.”

Isid passed by me and stopped in front, then slowly turned back, sending me a sideways glance.

“So…”

“….”

“You’re coming with me, right?”

A gentle wind stirred around us. In the blink of an eye, it felt as if a storm had surged through me. My chest tightened, my body weakened, and my fingertips trembled.

Change always came in a split second.

“Yeah.”

I smiled faintly.

“I’ll go. Let’s go.”

There was no longer any reason not to.

Less than an hour had passed since I made that decision, but I was already a different person from who I had been before—less tense, less on edge.

Isid’s face brightened at my words. The joy he felt was plain to see.

“Good. Then let’s finish sorting this box. We’re almost done.”

“Take your time. Don’t spill it like last time.”

“Don’t worry. My first and last mistake was spilling the citrus perfume because I panicked over the grace period notice.”

“…That’s a proud achievement.”

Isid’s eyes curved into a sly smile. True to his word, he carefully arranged the remaining items, ticking off the list one by one. It would likely be finished in just a few minutes.

Leaning against the wall, I watched him, though my mind was elsewhere.

I kept thinking about the protective field that had appeared in the sky—the hexagonal, honeycomb-like shield.

I instinctively brushed my chin. I’d been so focused on Carlos that I’d forgotten an important fact. How could someone so overwhelmingly powerful fall into a rampage?

Even among security personnel, someone capable of both flawless offense and defense was rare. Lucky for me, I’d experienced a B+ ranked sub-protagonist in the capital region, but even the provincial security officers would have been stunned to see this.

And now, after the B+, we had a team leader with an S rank. Perhaps I’d simply gotten used to seeing top-tier talent.

‘With that level of ability… his internal system still became unstable?’

I couldn’t help but wonder. Carlos’s past had yet to be fully revealed. I suddenly realized that our conversation at the birthday banquet had been misleading.

‘He never actually told me.’

Looking back, all I had felt was resentment: the eyes full of madness and rage, the 10-year imprisonment imposed by his stepmother, the blame heaped upon him by the king who had ignored his son’s long-suffering pain, and the injustice of the world that had overlooked him.

All of it seemed like a valid grievance, yet there was one crucial thing missing: the specifics. The direct event that had shaped Carlos.

He had confessed his truth to me but withheld part of it.

“Isid.”

“Hm?”

I suddenly spoke, a thought forming urgently. If someone had done something to Carlos’s body…

The likely source… was probably—

“Do you know the History of Deloard in Blood written by Tobias César?”

“R-Rose! Wait—”

Isid reacted like a lightning strike, wrapping his arm around my neck and lowering his body.

“Ugh… what are you doing?”

“Shh. Rose… if you want to stay alive, keep your voice down. You’ve forgotten? This is a sacred workspace, supported by the Royal Security Bureau!”

Sacred, my foot. Staying alive wasn’t the point here.

The book had once been banned, but it had long since been released. No need for such theatrics.

“It’s fine. I don’t care—just tell me if you know it.”

“W-Wait. Even if you don’t know, I have to be careful…”

“It’s not banned anymore.”

“Oh… really?”

Isid’s shoulders twitched. He looked tense for a moment, a model employee to the bone.

I narrowed my eyes.

“So… do you know it or not?”

“Yes, I know it. But why are you asking now?”

I nearly jumped. His eyes, still cautious, scanned the surroundings. Thankfully, there seemed to be no one of danger nearby. His posture relaxed noticeably.

“That book was mandatory reading for all security personnel before team assignments. Even though the current queen had ordered it banned five years ago, it was buried away somewhere.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But I didn’t expect you to know about it.”

“I don’t, really.”

I shook my head, tapping the floor with my finger. Although I had brought it up first, I wasn’t entirely sure. My memory came from my past self, who had skimmed it out of curiosity but never read it fully.

It described the fight for the Deloard throne, a battle of blood and betrayal. That was all I remembered.

“You know… even someone highly ranked can be caught off guard by an enemy?”

Breaking my silence, I asked the one thing I wanted to know.

“Even with strong defense and attack bases, is it possible to let your guard down?”

Could Carlos have been a pawn sacrificed in the throne struggle? Could the second queen, Cherilane Lazzaro, have orchestrated it?

“If there’s an opening, yes.”

“An opening?”

“For example… age. There are more chances to exploit someone when their body is young.”

“…Huh?”

Isid hesitated but finally answered.

“Uh… in simple terms…”

He seemed unsure himself.

“You have to kill the body multiple times.”

“….”

“High-level operatives don’t die easily. Especially those with royal blood. That’s why it’s called History of Deloard in Blood. There’s a reason. From what I know, it often involved killing the body or administering drugs repeatedly until fatal damage was done.”

Ah… I had heard that the neighboring Kingdom of Croa smuggled special poisons. With four consecutive doses, it could devastate someone’s body.

“No matter how strong, no one is guaranteed safety. Killing the body multiple times wears down their life force, and it’s no joke. Truly extreme.”

Isid shook his head, his words cautious. I slid down to the floor, covering my mouth.

“R-Rose! Are you okay?”

“Ah…”

What had I just heard? My body went limp, my spine chilled, my fingers trembling.

At that moment, I finally understood what I had done to Carlos.

“Some say it’s all a matter of timing.”

No.

“If I were the one holding the opportunity… maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try once.”

If that were the case, then my suggestion to speak with Solio had been far too cruel.

‘Not once, but multiple times—done to the child of someone who had been killed repeatedly.’

I closed my trembling eyes. Past words, carelessly spoken as if our connection were trivial, returned like blades, piercing my chest.

They were words spoken without understanding, without knowledge of the deeper truth.

“They say once something has happened, it can’t be undone. But hidden within is the chance to make amends. Of course, if you miss that timing, it’s lost forever.”

I should have kept my mouth shut. Carlos’s childhood under Cherilane had been horrendous. His body, unable to control itself, regularly spiraled into rampages. If such a horrifying process had occurred, he might have truly hated Solio…

Regret washed over me. My mouth felt bitter.

If I had empathized more, noticed his pain, I could have spoken carefully. But I hadn’t.

This was my mistake—arising from the false belief that knowing the story meant fully understanding him.

“I was wrong…”

“What was that, Rose?”

I buried my face in my hands, lost in shame and hopelessness. The more I thought, the more I realized I had only grown more apologetic toward Carlos.