"Why do you do these things?" When Tusha was drawing blood from Renner, he heard his patient say so.
"Well, buddy, that's a strange question. You should know that you shouldn't be asking me anything."
"That's Lawrence's saying."
"The rules set by Lawrence are the rules here."
"But you rarely follow them. When he's not around."
"Did Jorgen say something strange to you? Your mind isn't quite right."
"No."
"Believe what you want. If you weren't pre-committed to covering for him, Jorgen wouldn't tell you anything. That guy is like that, talks like he's doing business, and insists on making others lose."
"Do you know him too?"
"Barely." Tusha set down the test tube containing blood and sat against the wall, resting with his hands on the edge of the stool. Resting like this at regular intervals was his habit; otherwise, his wrists bearing the hanging shackles would be too burdensome. "Compared to him, you should be more careful with yourself. If today, standing in front of you wasn't a weak pregnant woman but a real warrior... it wouldn't be so easily resolved with a slight injury to the shoulder. Of course, I don't think you'd die, but at least the scene wouldn't look good."
"Jorgen said I've died once."
"He told you that? That's not good. Wait a minute, are you revealing his words to me just now? Just a moment ago, you said 'no.'"
"He asked me to keep it from Lawrence, but not from you. You probably won't tell Lawrence."
"That's right. In this world full of lies... you learn quickly. By the way, did that guy teach you any grand truths? Like love or something."
"No... but he asked me if I wanted to become a real person."
"I knew he would say that. Hehe."
"You're not going to answer my question? Why do you do these things? Although Lawrence only said 'to help you recover' in front of me, I know he has his own purposes. Galin also has a purpose; he wants me to fight for him. What about you?"
Tusha shook the iron chains, making them collide with each other. "Look at this. Should be enough to explain, right? Chain someone for three years, and you can make them do anything."
"I... don't believe it. You must not be completely unwilling. And you're very different from Lawrence. You never call me a 'failed creation,' and you often argue with him. Although I don't quite understand what you argue about, at least it shows that your thoughts and his are different."
"Don't think about it anymore. I'm just Lawrence's assistant. If you keep thinking like this, there's danger. You won't be able to hide it from Lawrence. Sooner or later, there will be a leak. Lawrence is also coming back soon... Before that, let me ask you again." Tusha approached Renner. "When facing that pregnant woman, what were you thinking? I mean before the hallucination occurred."
"I thought... she would die. Because I would attack, and she wouldn't be able to resist."
"Bro, it doesn't make sense. After all, you stopped. Did you have any thoughts, like you shouldn't kill a weak woman, or seeing her big belly made you hesitate?"
"No. Nothing that specific. I just stopped."
"Some people don't want to see you stop. Galin doesn't want it. Lawrence doesn't want it. You've disappointed them."
"What about you?"
"I'm not on the scene. If there's a bit of disappointment, it's that you got injured. Even with severe hallucinations, you shouldn't give up your ability to defend yourself. You can't resist the effects of hallucinations yet. If it weren't for those hallucinations, Lawrence could be cheering for victory now. Your hallucinations are troublesome. I need to think carefully about how to prevent them." Tusha paused for a moment and continued, "Let me tell you something, I once killed a pregnant woman. Of course, the situation was a bit different; she wasn't of the same race as you. Logically, I should be very disappointed in you because what I can do, you didn't. But if all this hard work to cultivate you is just to make you repeat our actions... that would be boring."
"Have you killed many people?"
"None of your business."
"I probably understand what Lawrence and Galin need me to do. But you... you haven't answered my previous question."
"You don't need to worry about my purpose at least for now. Let me tell you one thing: what I urgently want to solve right now is how to prevent you from having hallucinations."
"I don't want to see those things again. They... bother me a lot."
"Good, good... at least our short-term goals are consistent. To achieve this goal, you have to cooperate more. After this incident, I finally understand that you haven't been completely honest about the frequency and severity of hallucinations. Seeing your usual heroic appearance on the execution ground, we thought you had no problems at all. Now lie down and let me give you an injection. I heard Lawrence walking over here; you know how to behave, right? When you learn to deceive—let me borrow Jorgen's words reluctantly—then you're not far from becoming a person."
"It's just that things got serious after listening to Jorgen's words. I thought I would be fine."
"So what? Do you think he's the mastermind? Is he responsible for the spiders and maggots you saw? Without him, you wouldn't have let that woman, who couldn't even break a straw, hurt you?"
"No, I don't think that way. I just... don't understand."
"That's fine then. That guy Jorgen isn't a good person, but since you chose to trust him, listen to his grand truths. No harm in that."
When Galin entered the room, Jorgen noticed his expression. He frowned, and his eyes seemed to avoid contact with any real objects, as if there were needle points that would prick his eyeballs everywhere, but he couldn't close his eyes. His breathing was struggling, and he clenched his palms into fists, rubbing his thumbs against other fingers forcefully.
"Prince," Jorgen said, "what happened?"
"Nothing, nothing at all." Galin looked up, making a very awkward smile, as if a worm was crawling through the traces left in the mud. This short-lived smile lasted only half a second before sinking into the anger that Galin couldn't conceal.
Faced with this extremely awkward disguise, Jorgen was very uneasy. His subordinates had already told him that Galin had been in Crecyda's room earlier.
"You look very agitated. Maybe it's not the time to talk now..."
"Not the time? You called me, and you still talk about doing it as soon as possible." Galin interrupted Jorgen. "You hope a ruler of a kingdom can come at your beck and call and then dismiss casually. This is extremely rude. I have to say, since coming to Stromgarde, you've mostly been rude. What does it mean to give orders on the execution ground? Have you forgotten that you are just a guest? Even if you forget this point, you shouldn't forget who I am."
There was no doubt that he had just experienced a severe emotional upheaval. Jorgen didn't have an easy way to calm Galin down—once a person assumes a ruler's identity, it's challenging to measure their emotions by common standards. To avoid worsening the situation, Jorgen resisted the idea of prying into what had happened between Galin and Crecyda.
"I'm truly sorry; I completely understand your displeasure. Yes, I have very urgent matters to discuss with you, but it seems we lack an atmosphere for a calm conversation right now. I am willing to wholeheartedly make amends for my impoliteness, and we can put aside the current issue for the time being. But if you insist..."
"No need to put it off. If it can be done promptly, don't delay. Sit down, Jorgen." Galin sat on the sofa in the center of the room and took a sip of water. Jorgen also sat down, but the two did not immediately engage in conversation. Galin slightly lowered his head, clasping his hands on his knees, trying to steady his breathing.
"All right." Two minutes later, Galin lifted his head. "What's the important matter?"
"Unfortunately, it's bad news. For both of us."
"It doesn't matter. You haven't really told me any good news since you came here."
"I'd like to ask, where is Lawrence now?"
"He's conducting examinations with Tusha on individuals. Is this related to him?"
"Yes," Jorgen said. "We found that he's involved in seditious activities. He has at least three times passed crucial research data to people from Ravenholt through patrol riders, and at least once requested Ravenholt to be prepared to take him away. We found a household west of the wall; they've been secretly digging a tunnel slowly for several months, and it's estimated to connect to the outside in about three weeks. This family has admitted to receiving two hundred gold coins from Lawrence."
Galin's trembling fingers stopped, and his hands slowly parted. His eyes were filled with confusion, as if he thought the voyage was going smoothly but suddenly realized he had lost his way as a helmsman. This didn't mean he didn't understand Jorgen's words, only that he had never thought he would one day face such words.
Jorgen continued, "This is a problem that needs both of us to solve together, and it must be handled with extreme caution. But before that, I hope you can immediately order to control Lawrence. After all, we cannot guarantee that he does not have other seditious plans happening simultaneously."
"Sedi... tion?"
Jorgen understood that Galin's question was not directed at the word itself but at why it was being used for Lawrence.
"It should indeed be characterized as seditious activities. Although Ravenholt is not necessarily an enemy of both Seven Courts and Stromgarde, leaking such data to anyone is a severe detriment to our common interests. This is a two-way, unforgivable rebellion that harms both Stromgarde and Seven Courts. If organizations like Ravenholt obtain the technology to create individuals... I think no one can bear the possible consequences. Moreover, we all know that Lawrence briefly worked for Ravenholt, so this whole thing must have been planned for a long time. The worst estimate is: for Lawrence, cooperation between us is 'temporary'; he is using the resources we provide to achieve his goals. In fact, I personally do not want the situation to be so severe, but now we must consider all possibilities to respond effectively."
"How did this...?"
"I'll let the hero who thwarted Lawrence's conspiracy explain. Frankly, his identity will make his words more credible." Jorgen turned to one of his subordinates. "Bring Tony in."
"Tony?" Galin seemed to want to stand up, putting more strength into his knees. "Tony Romano?"
"Yes. You know about his relationship with Lawrence. This makes his investigation very difficult, but it also gives his words unquestionable credibility."