TCWGRF 32

To Isaac, this level of injury was actually nothing. After all, he already had worse wounds on his body. Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop Walter. Just as he had no authority to stop the master of this residence, a prisoner had no right to stop his adjutant.

As he applied more ointment to the spots where scabs were already beginning to form, Walter realized that this was the first time he had ever examined the prisoner’s face so closely or seen him from such a near distance.

Deep shadows clung beneath his eyes, his appearance was haggard, yet his gray eyes, which held a quality both provocative and poignant, were gazing at him calmly.

Not long ago, hadn’t he argued that there was no need to pity the prisoner, that he should be made to confess what he knew through torture, just like the other rebels?

However, the period of captivity had been longer than expected, and unfortunately, Walter had come to know the tone of voice with which the prisoner before him cried out to the absolute ruler.

With a face far from lewd, so plain it was almost detached, he would beg and moan to be spared almost every night, as if he were about to stop breathing.

Even to Walter, who had become accustomed to the disorderly sounds that echoed outside the residence, the prisoner’s cries felt fresh. A faint resistance born not of pleasure, but of a genuine desire to live. In a way, he was making his case for innocence with this shabby body.

“Uh, I’m sorry. I should have been here…”

In truth, the reason Walter had been away was partly because he was preoccupied with the search for someone and had no spare energy, but also because of his superior’s order not to concern himself with whatever happened in the residence.

It was to dispel external suspicions and divert attention. Following the command that the being held captive in the residence needed to be seen as a perfect private matter, he had deliberately lingered even after knowing Joas had arrived, only showing up late when the commotion started.

Walter, with a lingering sense of guilt, could only offer an awkward and bitter smile upon meeting the eyes of the other man, which were ashen and dead, feeling little pain or shame.

If he didn’t, he felt as if his conscience would burst from the feeling of having participated in the malicious torment of the weak.

“…It hurts, doesn’t it.”

“I’m fine.”

Was it because of his distracting thoughts? Walter’s hand didn’t know when to stop and spread the ointment haphazardly. Only when Isaac grabbed his wrist did his hand finally move away from the face.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“I’m really fine.”

Looking at Isaac who dissuaded him with a calm voice, Walter hastily gathered the ointment and medicines, handed them over in a bundle, and apologized once more for being away, promising it would never happen again before quickly leaving the room.

The rim of Walter’s ear, revealed through his neatly combed hair, was slightly flushed, but no one noticed.

It seemed that rumors about the Commissioner General’s new taste had already spread far and wide.

There were likely many who secretly wished to be voluntarily tied to him, but the fact that an unknown black-haired young man was living there in captivity was enough to become a topic of conversation.

The Commissioner General, upon learning belatedly that Joas had entered the residence without any hindrance, replaced a large number of the guards on duty. Those who had disobeyed orders by yielding to someone other than their superior would be dealt with mercilessly.

“…I have completed the deployment of entirely clean personnel.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Even without a direct warning from Gideon, it wasn’t difficult to predict that a mishap like this would occur sooner or later.

From cleaning to security personnel, there were as many opportunities for news to leak as there were people coming and going from the residence.

Although he had moved the prisoner from the cellar to the residence to avoid attention, it was natural for people to question the origin and background of the stranger who had suddenly taken a place by the Commissioner General’s side. So, a little commotion was needed to create a definite scandal.

Especially since the new Commissioner General took office, the executives had been trying to plant their own people in the Public Security Bureau. At the right time, with a suitable pretext, it was necessary to clean house as well.

“Um, Commissioner General.”

“…?”

Walter, having finished his report and the cleanup of today’s events, remained in his position without retreating. It seemed he still had something to say.

“Speak.”

“Since we have obtained all the necessary information, how about we dispose of the prisoner?”

It was safe to say that the prisoner was no longer of any use.

If they found ‘Asel,’ who was presumed to be Vincent’s son, there might be a slight confirmation process left to see if it was him or not, but it didn’t matter even if it wasn’t. They could just make it fit with the testimonies and evidence they had obtained so far.

In the end, this was all a process to capture Vincent and expel the entire rebel force within the city, not to grant the pitiful prisoner’s request to find his friend.

“Right. It is about time to dispose of him.”

Dragging out a scandal for too long would do no good. The time that could be bought by diverting eyes to a sordid private life was not long. It was best for it to end as a brief dalliance with a novel amusement before the gossip could become a pretext for some kind of attack.

Thus, Walter’s words were quite timely. If it weren’t for the strangely expectant look in his adjutant’s eyes, Samuel would have seriously considered the timing of the disposal.

“Then, what… should we do?”

Had he grown attached in the meantime? When you see and care for someone every day, it’s inevitable that you develop a sense of pity.

Moreover, this was a prisoner he met not in the cellar, where they died off on their own without needing to be touched, looking dreadful, but in a place where he could enjoy a little freedom. There had been many opportunities to observe him up close, so he must have unknowingly begun to believe in his innocence, little by little.

“Of course.”

“…?”

“He must be killed.”

“Ah, but.”

“Were you expecting some kind of touching ending?”

There was never going to be such an ending in the first place. Everything Samuel had said was just to make use of a useless prisoner somehow, and a whim to confirm his own intuition.

Surprisingly, it had fit together perfectly and brought in an unexpected big catch, and he had even enjoyed it in various ways, so wasn’t that enough? Thanks to his mercy, the prisoner had been spared a harsh fate and had savored the city’s abundance, so it could be considered a good ‘deal’ in its own way.

“You said you would spare him…”

“Not a chance.”

Samuel no longer had any curiosity about Isaac, nor anything more to gain from him. Disposing of him would be a bit of a shame for a while, but alternatives were abundant all around, even if he didn’t bother to reach out for them.

“I’ll take care of that one myself soon enough.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

At the very least, if he was going to be killed, wouldn’t it be right for him to do it with his own hands? That was the extent of the compassion Samuel considered.

“How is the search going?”

“We received a report that someone with a very similar appearance was seen in the back alleys of District 19. We plan to go and confirm it as soon as the sun rises tomorrow under the pretext of a crackdown, but… it seems almost certain.”

“I don’t care what he looks like, I just hope he’s still alive. He needs to be recognizable enough for his father.”

Walter once again realized how cold-hearted his superior was, smiling as he said such things, and how he harbored no human feelings for anyone. Of course, it was thanks to that that he had his position and his life today, so he had no questions about his actions.

It’s just that, for reasons he himself didn’t understand, he had, for a fleeting moment, hoped that the prisoner, bound in shackles, would be able to meet his friend, and that his life would be prolonged, even for a little while, due to his superior’s change of heart.

‘Dog’, ‘just a damn dog’.

The words Joas had spat out echoed in Isaac’s ears.

The all-powerful man of authority. The Commissioner General who held his life in his hands and had taken the lives of countless others was nothing more than a mere dog to the true masters of the city.

The story that he was an outsider was famous enough for even Isaac to have heard it once. But he had only guessed that he had risen to his current position by luck, catching the eye of someone important; he had never considered what kind of story might lie behind it.

Recalling the scars that covered his entire body, his life might not have been a smooth one. Had that person, with eyes that looked down on everything, also been beaten by someone? Had he trembled while enduring the threat of death? Had he cried his eyes out, wanting to live even while enduring contempt, disregard, and moments of humiliation?

But no matter how much he imagined it, it didn’t seem likely that the Commissioner General had experienced a moment as wretched and desperate as his own.

Weakness, tears, despair—placing such things alongside him felt extremely awkward. It suited him better to simply laugh it off as if it were nothing, to fight back with a smirk on his face, mocking people.

A sense of kinship, pity, understanding. The day Isaac felt such emotions from the Commissioner General would never come.

The two were people on parallel lines, in completely different positions and circumstances that could never draw closer. Nothing existed between them, and nothing ever could. They were simply a prisoner and a guard, the former surviving on the latter’s whim.

The visitor who had come here today might be different. He had called him ‘Samuel,’ casually using his name instead of his title as Commissioner General.

Even while holding the power to insult and trample the other, he had taken a step back because he didn’t want to be disliked by him. It was clear at a glance that he had special feelings for him.

The fierce emotions of another, inadvertently revealed, had caught on, making Isaac imagine the lovemaking scene between the two that had probably taken place in this space.

The glamorous beauty who knew how to express her dissatisfaction directly and ‘Samuel,’ whose thoughts were hard to guess, made a rather plausible pair.

He too might be an affectionate and passionate man to someone, one who reveals his feelings without reservation. One who looks at another with eyes full of love, and who knows how to sacrifice himself for his partner at a crucial moment.

‘…No way.’

The brief fantasy ended with Isaac, who had been squatting and waiting for the master’s return, shaking his head from side to side. That was the limit of his imagination when it came to the Commissioner General.

Just then, the residence door opened, and the Commissioner General, finished with his workday, stepped inside. As usual, he paid no mind to Isaac, who was standing there awkwardly to match his arrival time, and headed straight for the bathroom.

He had never offered a warm greeting or asked how his day was, but perhaps it was because of the commotion during the day. It was true that Isaac had been a little tense, wondering if he would ask or interrogate him about something.

He had even tried to formulate a few simple sentences to explain that he had done nothing wrong, that he hadn’t pushed him over or touched him first.

He was not given a chance to speak. But he couldn’t run away to the back room, to the small bed in his room either. He could only move after he had his permission.

As he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of falling water, the Commissioner General eventually pushed open the bathroom door and came out. He casually dried his hair and, with a towel wrapped around his lower body, walked past Isaac and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Come closer.”

He had called, so Isaac had to go. He stood in front of him, leaving about a step’s distance.

“Closer.”

At those words, he took another half step forward, approaching until his knees were just barely not touching, but it didn’t seem to satisfy the Commissioner General. He stood up abruptly and closed the remaining distance.

Not only did their knees touch, but his leg became entangled between the other’s knees. Feeling like he would lose his balance and fall backward, he tried to step back, but his waist was grabbed first, preventing him from moving recklessly.

“It doesn’t look like you’re seriously hurt.”

His free hand, the one not wrapped around his waist, gripped Isaac’s chin and turned it from side to side. The spot where he had been hit during the day had already subsided a lot. It wasn’t a major injury to begin with, and the medicine Walter had applied was effective.

“Does it hurt?”

“N-no. It doesn’t hurt…”

Could he be worried? As he told himself there was no way, he inadvertently looked up and saw a face where an unlikely beauty and indifference coexisted.

The Commissioner General was certainly like a person made by combining everyone’s ideal type. He had a quality that incited admiration and desire, to the point that Isaac thought he would have fallen in love at first sight if he hadn’t known anything.

So Isaac quickly lowered his gaze and avoided his eyes. He couldn’t help it, feeling that with just a moment of carelessness, he would be drawn in, that accepting him would feel joyful.

“Ah, I think you’ll be meeting your friend soon.”