Chapter 72 – Father (4)

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“W-What? Surely His Excellency doesn’t suspect me…!”

But Bones immediately shook his head.

“The one His Excellency suspects is me. Why would he suspect General Josef?”

“Ah. Of course, that must be it.”

Josef struggled to fix his gaze, which kept drifting toward Haydam despite himself, on Bones and continued.

“But I just never thought His Excellency would suspect you. It is not as if you could contract a hit on yourself, could you?”

Having barely answered with whatever words came to mind and composed his expression, Josef tilted his head as if it still made no sense even upon second thought.

“But why on earth does he suspect you? The one who almost died in this incident was you…”

“They say the Team 2 leader did not confess that it was an act ordered by Lieutenant General Max.”

“What?”

At the unexpected reply, Josef’s voice rose slightly.

To think he hadn’t confessed that Lieutenant General Max ordered it.

Then what on earth was the story about the confession that His Excellency, Haydam, and Plato supposedly heard?

“Then? Are you saying the contents of that confession were all fabricated?”

“The Team 2 leader’s real confession… no, his real testimony was.”

Haydam, who had been listening silently all along, suddenly blurted out, and while Josef stared at Haydam, Bones hung his head low as if he knew what words would come.

After glancing at Bones, Haydam continued.

“He said it all started when Bones and Lucas, in their stubbornness to build achievements, accidentally killed a team member. And that they murdered the other team members to cover up their mistake. That was the content originally heard from the Team 2 leader who was trapped in the crevasse. He also said he fell into the crevasse while running away.”

At those words, Josef’s eyes widened.

‘So he spoke as I ordered. In that case, the confession His Excellency heard… was it a fabrication?’

Since it was originally the line he had instructed the Team 2 leader to say, Josef naturally assumed the currently known version—the content that Lieutenant General Max instigated the murder—was the fabrication, yet he played innocent and asked back.

“No… then what are the contents of the confession known to the public?”

To that question, Bones answered instead of Haydam.

“I also found out because Lord Haydam told me. He said His Excellency suspected us, so he fabricated it to frame Lieutenant General Max and see our reactions.”

‘So…’

The Team 2 leader testified that it was Bones’s mutiny just as he had ordered, but the Commander fabricated the testimony to see if that testimony was true.

In that case, it was understandable why they had been delaying the disposition of Lieutenant General Max until now.

“But it really wasn’t me. That bastard Team 2 leader first told me himself that it was ordered by Lieutenant General Max! Lucas heard it too! Our seniors died because of what Lieutenant General Max ordered… and as if trying to kill me wasn’t enough, he is trying to pin the blame on me…!”

Bones was babbling on about something, but it did not register well in Josef’s ears.

‘To sum it up… Bones knows it as something ordered by Lieutenant General Max, but the dead colonel testified that it was Bones’s mutiny? Since the two statements don’t match, His Excellency detained Lieutenant General Max for now to observe Bones’s reaction. And because Lord Haydam believes in Bones, he brought the kid to visit me.’

At any rate, in this complex case, the culprit was either Max or Bones, and since his own name was not being brought up, Josef was relieved.

“If it really is something Lieutenant General Max did, the more I think about it, the more disgraceful it is. But why have you not testified until now?”

“The reason I haven’t testified all this time… is because no matter how much he tried to kill me, he is someone who bestowed grace upon me and someone I truly respected. But it is too unfair to leave things like this. Please help me so that I can testify, General Josef.”

With that, Bones got off the sofa entirely, knelt, and even pressed his forehead to the floor.

“H-Hey now.”

“Please, I beg of you.”

While acting troubled by Bones’s pleading, Josef quickly calculated in his head.

‘What should I do with this…’

Even if Bones ended up being framed as the culprit at this rate, it didn’t matter to Josef, but.

If they lost eight valuable soldiers including the colonel and still couldn’t deal any blow to Lieutenant General Max, it would just end up being a useless effort.

If so, it would be a better outcome for Josef to have Lieutenant General Max framed as the culprit and punished rather than Bones.

And this might be the last chance to score points with Haydam, the next successor of the zone.

When else would Haydam come seeking his help?

It wasn’t that he had to prove Bones’s innocence himself, he just had to believe in the newly appointed officer’s innocence.

If he could gain Haydam’s trust with this level of effort, it was an absolute win.

Having finished his calculations, Josef helped Bones up and firmly gripped his hand.

“Second Lieutenant Bones. I believe you. I shall accompany you when you testify.”

“Thank you so much, General…”

“Lord Haydam.”

Josef looked at Haydam and spoke with a resolute expression.

“Please leave this matter to me. This old man will watch over it until the end so that no one can distort Second Lieutenant Bones’s testimony.”

At those words, an incomprehensible smile hung on Haydam’s lips.

‘He seemed like a cold-headed person, but surprisingly, he takes immense care of his own people. Though thanks to that, my path to survival has also opened.’

Without dreaming that the colonel had actually accused Bones and Lucas of chasing him, only to confess under Haydam’s interrogation that he did it on Lieutenant General Max’s orders, Josef was merely pleased with the fact that he could make Haydam indebted to him.

And the day after he requested an emergency executives’ meeting for Bones’s testimony.

A bizarre rumor began to spread within the zone.

* * *

Josef was holed up in his office as usual, attending to his duties.

His role, in any case, was merely to set up a place for Bones to testify and protect him so he could finish his testimony safely.

Since it was Bones, that fellow, who had to testify at that place, there was actually no need for Josef to prepare anything.

‘Lord Haydam did not demand anything more than that, either.’

However, he was bothered by his adjutant, who had been fidgeting like a dog that needed to relieve itself for a while now.

Josef finished the document he was reviewing, then spoke toward the adjutant.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Oh, it is nothing.”

“Nothing? Have I watched you for only a day or two? What is the matter?”

“Well…”

As expected, it seemed he indeed had something to say, as the adjutant hesitated slightly before opening his mouth.

“Actually, it is a bit of a far-fetched story, so I do not know if I should tell you.”

“The introduction is too long. Just get to the point.”

“A strange rumor is circulating.”

“A strange rumor?”

“Colonel Sampson. Was it not announced that he committed suicide?”

That Colonel Sampson was ‘forced’ into suicide was something his adjutant also knew.

Even though they were the only two in the office, being careful with his words for fear of anyone listening was typical of his adjutant.

“He did. But what about it?”

“There are people who say they saw Colonel Sampson.”

“What?”

Josef frowned.

He felt he understood why the adjutant had hesitated to report to him directly.

“Is that bastard colonel walking around as a ghost or something?”

“It’s not that.”

The adjutant shook his head and said in a grave tone.

“A rumor is spreading that Colonel Sampson is alive.”

“A rumor that that bastard colonel is alive is circulating? Since when?”

“They say there are soldiers who saw Colonel Sampson getting into former General Anton’s vehicle a few days ago.”

“What on earth…”

“So, about that.”

The adjutant approached Josef and lowered his voice to the utmost.

“General, you and I only received the report that the colonel was dead, but we did not actually verify his death ourselves, did we? By any chance…”

“Are you suggesting the possibility that those guys did not do their job properly?”

‘Those guys’ referred to the soldiers ordered to disguise Colonel Sampson’s death as a suicide.

Some of the guarding soldiers lured the others out through a subordinate, and the remaining soldiers stated that they left after disguising Colonel Sampson’s death as suicide, and when they returned, he was hanging dead by his neck.

The adjutant’s words meant that there might have been a problem with those soldiers’ work.

“Those guys might not have received only our money, but someone else’s money as well. If former General Anton smuggled Colonel Sampson out to prove Lieutenant General Max’s innocence…”

‘It’s… not entirely implausible.’

Just as he had bribed the soldiers to kill the colonel.

Anton might have also bribed the soldiers and smuggled the bastard colonel out.

‘But it was officially announced that he committed suicide… If Anton smuggled Colonel Sampson out, there is no way His Excellency wouldn’t know. Though I also tried to disguise it as suicide, while the dead cannot speak, if he is alive, he would have caught His Excellency’s information network somehow. Besides, the sightings have spread to the point that even my adjutant heard the rumor.’

When he thought about why the Commander had left it alone.

There was only one conclusion.

‘Does His Excellency think Bones, and not Lieutenant General Max, is the culprit?’

He understood the reason Haydam had come to him instead of going to His Excellency.

“If Colonel Sampson is truly alive, it will be a disaster. The colonel will testify that Bones is the culprit, and if that happens, our position will become difficult. You decided to support Second Lieutenant Bones, General.”

Certainly, Colonel Sampson would testify that it was Bones’s mutiny.

If he said it was an act committed under Lieutenant General Max’s instigation, Colonel Sampson would also be unable to avoid punishment, but if it was Bones’s mutiny, Colonel Sampson would merely be a victim.

“Perhaps you should withdraw the executives’ meeting even now…”

“No, verifying whether Colonel Sampson is truly alive comes first.”

The premise of all these assumptions was that Colonel Sampson was alive, so the possibility of a false rumor could not be ruled out.

“Investigate focusing on the soldiers who said they saw him getting into Anton’s vehicle. If Anton has secured Colonel Sampson’s identity, we must hold a retired civilian accountable for smuggling a key witness at will.”

“Understood.”

“And bring ‘those guys’ before me too. I need to ask them directly how they handled the job.”

“Yes, General.”

Rumble…

Josef looked up at the sky, which was filled with thunderstorms once more.

Somehow, he had a bad feeling.

* * *

—General Josef has started moving. It is just as Lord Haydam expected.

“It has become clear that he is connected to the dead colonel.”

—But wouldn’t it be more certain to capture and interrogate the adjutant?

“Doing that will only make him a second Colonel Sampson. Leave him be until the executives’ meeting. My goal isn’t to uncover the real culprit anyway.”

—I have no idea what you are thinking if you aren’t trying to find the real culprit… Understood for now. We will keep watching.

“Right. Good work.”

As he hung up the receiver and turned around, Bones caught his eye, shaking his legs with an anxious expression.

Bones, his legs trembling, asked me.

“If you don’t reveal the real culprit, how will you prove Lieutenant General Max’s innocence?”

And to Bones’s question, I replied briefly.

“I’m not going to.”

“What?!”