Free Web Novel“I found another document.”
After a careful search, Celicia once again picked up a damaged sheet of paper from a corner. More than half of it bore signs of being burned. It was likely something the researchers here had failed to properly dispose of in their panic.
“What is it about?”
“It’s about... the specific function of this laboratory.”
Celicia carefully read the characters that were still legible on the document. Since it had been left behind, it clearly wasn’t core or crucial information, but even so, the chill in her eyes deepened.
“Medicine. They were researching a kind of medicine.”
“Medicine?”
As if a certain keyword had been triggered, Muen suddenly turned his head.
“Yes. A medicine that can greatly stimulate a person’s potential, making them extremely powerful. Even ordinary people could, in a short time, rival well-trained soldiers.”
Stimulating potential.
Becoming stronger.
Light flickered in Muen’s eyes. So that was it.
“That really is impressive. From the sound of it, if there were enough of this medicine, pulling together an invincible army in a short time wouldn’t be a problem at all.”
“You know about this medicine?”
Celicia lifted her gaze from the hard-to-decipher document and looked at Muen. His tone gave her the feeling that he was very familiar with this drug.
“Of course I know. Because two days ago, I personally witnessed how terrifying this medicine can be.”
Muen recounted to Celicia the clash he had had two days earlier with Wood, who had once been one of Rat King Sam’s subordinates. Naturally, he emphasized the effects of the drug in particular. As someone who had fought it head-on, Muen understood better than anyone how powerful that medicine was.
“So that’s how it is. A medicine that can turn people into monsters—no wonder their strength increases so much. And no wonder... they needed to find so many people for human experimentation.”
As she unconsciously applied more force, the already-fragile document crumpled further in Celicia’s hand, spreading more crease lines. On the back of her fair hand, faintly bulging veins could be seen.
In the corner of her vision, the corpses of the experimental subjects from earlier had already been neatly arranged by Muen and covered with white cloth. Even so, the sight was still horrifying.
“But to hide it in a place like the Shadow of Belrand is one thing. It’s concealed enough. But where did they get so many experimental subjects for human trials...?”
Celicia propped her smooth chin with one hand while lightly tapping her elbow with the other, thinking rapidly.
Suddenly, her movements stopped.
Like a line of doubt that had troubled her for a long time finally finding a trace hidden in the darkness, Celicia froze in surprise for a moment. Then her delicate face instantly darkened even further.
“...So that’s how it is. I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“Those past disappearance cases in the Lower District, and... the question you just asked. The reason those people /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ from the Inner Council are so anxious to regain control of the Lower District!”
“......”
Muen’s movements as he was tidying up the bodies came to an abrupt halt. He stared into Celicia’s eyes, quietly waiting for her conclusion.
“Back during the Silent Moon incident, I already noticed that there were a large number of population disappearance cases in the Lower District,” Celicia said slowly.
“I know.”
Muen nodded.
After he had become the so-called “Dark Emperor,” one of the main reasons he set the rule forbidding human trafficking in the Lower District was precisely because he knew how rampant trafficking had once been there.
Many families had been shattered because of it. For Muen, who possessed memories of a previous life, there was no way—emotionally or morally—he could allow such behavior.
“At the time, I thought that most of the missing people had been sold to those cultists, becoming catalysts for the Silent Moon incident. But not long ago, I reorganized and reexamined those cases, and found that there were still a considerable number of disappearances that couldn’t be matched to what we had confirmed.”
“Not long ago?”
Muen raised an eyebrow, suddenly catching the key point.
Could it have been after my night raid?
Even though she said verbally not to interfere with me, she still went back and reorganized everything in the Lower District related to me afterward?
However, Muen also knew that now was not the time to tease a tsundere noble princess, so before that icy gaze pierced over, he quickly said,
“Please, continue.”
“The cases don’t match up. A significant number of trafficked people vanished without a trace. Tell me... since they weren’t taken by those cultists, then where would they... have gone?”
“Where?”
Muen let out a cold laugh.
Where else could they have gone?
This question didn’t need thinking about, nor did it need answering.
Because right now, they were standing inside that very answer.
“Yes. If nothing unexpected happened, those disappearance cases are the source of these victims of human experimentation. Then the reason those Inner Council members were so desperate to regain control of the Lower District—even at the cost of prematurely exposing this drug—becomes very clear.”
Celicia said each word distinctly,
“Their experiments are not finished. Not just the medicine—they still have some objective that hasn’t been achieved. So they need more human test subjects to complete their goal. And for that, they must regain control of the Lower District.”
In front of Celicia stood a special culture vessel.
It was slightly larger than the others, and the equipment connected to it looked far more precise.
More importantly, almost all of the culture vessels had been deliberately smashed, causing the experimental subjects inside to die on the spot.
But this single vessel was intact.
It was completely empty. Neither the emerald-green liquid nor the thing that should have been inside remained. Only a few thin, sharp tubes lay scattered at the bottom.
This meant that unlike the others, whatever had been in this vessel had been taken away.
Even in a situation where they had been willing to abandon the vast majority of the experimental subjects and let many results be completely lost in order to flee in panic, they had still taken the thing from here. That alone proved how important it was.
Muen also noticed this special culture vessel. Light flickered in his eyes, his thoughts tangled.
“Those people have been greedily entrenched in the Empire’s foundations for a long time. The wealth they control is astonishing. There’s no way they would risk everything just for profit. Therefore, their purpose can only be people—people used as experimental subjects!”
“And whether it’s obtaining trafficked residents from the Lower District, or smuggling people in from outside Belrand, the channels of the Lower District are indispensable! They cannot bypass them... so the only option is to try to regain control!”
Celicia slowly clenched her long, slender fingers.
The already-fragile documents finally could not withstand it any longer, crumbling into dust-like shards of ice and dissolving into the green solution covering the floor.
“......”
“Waaah—”
The cry of an infant suddenly shattered the silence after Celicia’s words. freewēbnoveℓ.com
An experimental subject that had been thought dead began to wail, releasing a sorrowful, agonized sound.
Muen lowered his head, once again took out the goddess statue, erased his pain, and then granted him release.
He had done this motion many times already. It was starting to feel familiar.
“I won’t let them succeed.”
Blood splattered onto his face, still burning hot. After the infant’s final cry faded, Muen spoke slowly,
“On the honor of the Campbell name—absolutely not.”
“...Let’s hope so.”
Reflected in Celicia’s eyes, which were as cold as a lake frozen solid, was the current Muen.
A beast silently sharpening its fangs and claws, suppressing its emotions—rational, and enraged.
“And what about you?”
Muen suddenly asked. freewebnoveℓ.com
“Me?”
“Yes. After seeing all this, Celicia—are you still choosing to stand by and watch?”
Muen stared into Celicia’s eyes, trying to capture a clear emotion from within that frozen lake of ice.
“...Me?”
But Celicia closed her eyes, hiding everything even deeper.
“Let me meet Father Emperor once... and then we’ll talk.”
