Глава 16

I, what—

Drop the act!!

Who was it... who gave you the order?!

The mine boss—No, the Grand Duchess! She made us do it!

She cares about the miners here! Those in charge here get punished if the head count drops!

They always have to patch up the gap by buying some Infected with their own funds whenever one miner escapes—sometimes they get non-Infected to solve their problem, and it costs more.

But I have nothing to do with all that! Look, you already killed the actual bad guys!

I'm just a driver who listens to his boss... I'm the same as you, right...?

Infected, sir, please, let me go. I promise I'll desert the Patrol Unit, just pretend I died—

No, we're different, you and I.

None of us willingly became Infected... but you had a choice. You could have chosen not to stand on the same side as those murderers.

There's no reason I should forgive you.

Rankin, we're done organizing the food we found.

These Patrol Unit guys have it good. Tonight we can—

...Father?

...What?

...Ah...

Father? Is that really you?

Wonderful! Please, explain it to him! Tell him I'm not evil—My father's an Infected, how could I hate them?

Ganea... didn't you... go to Grypherburg...?

I did! I really did, I didn't lie to you!

But I needed money to stay alive, even in Grypherburg! They don't just hand out bread and mead—being a driver was the only option I had.

Father, please... save me... I'll never do this again...

Hawley...

He silently stares at the oblivious elderly miner, then gestures at Hawley with his head to look at the container.

I won't try to reform him, much less release him.

If he truly is your son...

Rankin throws a knife on the ground and walks away.

...Ah...

No... wait...

This, is not my boy, is it?

Father...?

Even the late autumn weather fails to prevent the corpses' rotting stench from spreading out into the air.

The old miner's gaze shifts between the mess of mangled limbs in the dark depths of the container and the tall young man before him...

Finally, he shakes his head incessantly, as if refusing to believe the truth.

My son wouldn't... wouldn't say such words. He wouldn't do something this disgraceful.

You're just... a damned bastard...

Why—Why do you wear my son's skin? Why do you live inside his body?!

Originally trembling, the old miner explodes into a rage, knocking the man down to the ground.

His fists rain like a storm, as if trying to drive something out of the body.

The man has no strength to resist.

Who are you? Who the hell are you?!

Oh, poor Ganea, his soul could have been saved! This isn't how it should have been! It was you, abomination, that left him with nowhere to go!

Just—

Die!!!