CH 488

Bouddarga’s expression hardened a bit. I could sense his nervousness. He said he would talk, but he still seemed a little hesitant. However, after taking a breath to compose himself, he began to speak slowly, as if he had made up his mind.

Your brother was trying to get evidence of corruption in the upper echelons of the Liberal Party. He was a brilliant man, as you know but he made a small mistake and obtained some pretty damning information. But the content of that information was bad.”

“I know that much. You assassinated my brother because you feared the disclosure of that information, didn’t you?”

“No, it would have been very inconvenient if he had been made public, but I was ready to cover it up, and I didn’t make the decision to assassinate him.”

“Then why! My brother is dead!”

“Your brother, realizing that this information was not enough to expose the corruption, went further and looked into it. There were secrets there that were never to be touched.”

“What secrets?”

“The biggest taboo of Rafishal……is the true identity of Raddle Vega.”

“What……brother has found out the true identity of Raddle Vega?”

Raddle Vega is a key figure known to all, but his true identity was considered a mystery. One theory is that he is royalty from some country, but the truth is unknown. Many people have tried to find out who he really is, but most of them have disappeared or died in accidents.

“I heard that it was an accident of miraculous proportions that your brother found out the identity of Raddle Vega, but an ordinary man would never have reached that point. An unfortunate consequence of being so brilliant.”

“Don’t be silly! What misfortune! I don’t care what he knew, they can’t just kill people for their own convenience!”

In response to my anger, Bouddarga became silent and then he said something unexpected.

“You’re right. That’s not a good reason to kill someone. I thought so, too but I couldn’t do anything. I defied the association and tried to stop the assassination plan, but my opinion was squashed as easily as crushing a louse. In the end, my family’s life was in jeopardy. So……I had no choice but to let your brother die…….”

Bouddarga admitted that was trying to save my brother. Normally, this might sound like an excuse to beg for his life but I know him and he would never beg for his life.

“I have one question, Bouddarga. Why did you try to connect with the Elysian Empire? If you are a member of such a powerful organization, why do you need to rely on other forces now?”

“I’ve had enough of this so I tried to break free from the shackles of the association and take on new powers but that is no longer the case. The Elysian Empire will give up on me. Abandoned by two great powers, I can no longer live on this continent.”

“Then I don’t mind taking that life.”

“I was ready to die when I found out that my plan had failed. You can kill me any way you like.”

“Who said you could die! Your life is in my hands. You are to be a pawn in the fight against the association under my direction. I will not allow you to die until I avenge my brother!”

“Jean, are you really going to fight against the association! Don’t do it or you will lose your life!”

“Bouddarga, do you see the crucial difference between me, you and my brother?”

“You mean the difference in our abilities? I admit that you are better than me, but you are still not strong enough to fight against the association.”

“You don’t understand, there is no difference between you and me. The difference is that I have friends I can trust to help me even if I have the whole continent against me.”

“You’ve decided to fight a huge organization by trusting your friends!?”

“I’m not going to lose no matter who I’m up against right now.”

“Damn……that’s fine. I might as well be your pawn rather than live as a dog of the association. It’s a life with no future anyway.”

The expression on Bouddarga’s face was not so gloomy.