Ch.166161 – Three-Way Confrontation

“Ah, I’m suddenly feeling thirsty… Let me just go to the bathroom for a moment…”

Se-min was filled with the desperate need to escape this increasingly suffocating atmosphere.

No one bothered to point out his nonsensical excuse.

As Se-min temporarily exited the scene, NoName took his place.

She climbed onto the tall chair with her short legs, showing surprising skill.

NoName pulled the chair forward, then fidgeted with the mail on the table, contemplating how much to reveal. It was a delicate situation.

She decided to narrow things down step by step.

“Have you seen the contents?”

“I have, but I don’t really understand what it’s about.”

That made sense. After all, this was just a notification.

What exactly was the relationship between NoName and Se-min, and why had they requested a reinvestigation from the Seoul Major Crimes Investigation Office?

Professor Cheon’s piercing gaze demanded answers.

Finally, NoName spoke.

“It’s simple. It’s a request to reinvestigate the Banghwa Bridge bombing incident.”

Professor Cheon’s wrinkled eyes widened. His unspoken thought—”Why you?”—was clearly visible.

“Despite numerous requests from victims’ families, the case was concluded as a show-off terrorist attack with no real purpose. Actually, it wasn’t even properly concluded. Otherwise, return mail like this wouldn’t have arrived.”

There were still many gaps in NoName’s explanation.

Nevertheless, Professor Cheon decided to keep listening.

“Why were UN forces conducting joint training in Korea that day, and how were they able to arrive at the disaster site so quickly?”

Tick- Tick-

NoName kept tapping her finger on the table.

She bit her lip firmly, alternating glances between Professor Cheon and Se-min, who was peeking through the half-open bathroom door.

“We’ve been told that our military and UN forces immediately captured the terrorists and eliminated their hidden base, but I think it was actually the opposite.”

The incident from seven years ago, which should have faded from memory, resurfaced in Professor Cheon’s mind.

As if assembling the puzzle pieces wasn’t difficult at all, NoName’s finger finally stopped.

“The elimination operation had been underway for quite some time. The UN forces failed in their Walpurgis elimination operation, and as a result of the remnants escaping, the Banghwa Bridge collapsed…”

The sequence was reversed.

This was a conspiracy theory that had occasionally circulated online at the time.

But as news spread about how the UN forces had perfectly eradicated the terrorist organization from South Korea, those claims lost momentum and disappeared.

“I can see you still don’t understand why I’m suddenly bringing this up. Actually, I can explain everything in one sentence… I was planning to tell you someday, Professor Cheon… but now that I’m trying, it’s a bit difficult.”

“…It’s okay. I’ll keep waiting.”

NoName’s hands gripped her skirt tightly.

There was no turning back now.

“I was kidnapped by Walpurgis from birth, and I’m a survivor of that elimination operation.”

* * *

The beginning is always the hardest.

After that, NoName’s revelations came without hesitation.

“You may not believe this… but I was trapped in a remote capsule for seven years. Brother Se-min is the person who rescued me.”

“Se-min did?”

“You might know this if you follow the news. During the long hostage rescue operation, everyone was found dead in their capsules…”

Each word from the child’s mouth stabbed Professor Cheon’s heart like a dagger.

Seven years.

A full seven years.

In today’s world, with AI assistance, that’s enough time for someone to master a specific field.

“After finally coming out into the world after seven years… I wasn’t really a hostage. I wasn’t even Korean.”

This was something Professor Cheon had found strange when filling out NoName’s adoption papers.

At the time, NoName had no nationality, and due to Professor Cheon’s position, she was able to quickly obtain Korean citizenship through automated administrative procedures.

Professor Cheon had his reasons for not thinking much of it.

Since 2020, the Korean government had implemented policies rejecting war refugees flooding into the country, resulting in numerous illegal residents.

As a result, many people throughout Korea still lived without citizenship. This often extended to their children as well.

“Why…”

Professor Cheon was speechless. He couldn’t help it.

Even now, his head felt like it might explode from complexity.

And after all the questions and answers, they reached one conclusion.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner…”

Even Professor Cheon, who had unconsciously blurted this out, realized how cruel and irresponsible his words were to NoName.

But before he could withdraw his statement and apologize, NoName spoke faster.

“You never asked.”

“…”

Professor Cheon hadn’t expected that what he thought was consideration would come back to him like this.

And the thorns in her calm words hurt so much that his hands began to tremble slightly.

“If I said that, you wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, would you? Heh.”

But even this was dismissed with laughter by the seven-year-old girl.

As Professor Cheon raised his head again, NoName rested one arm on the table and propped her chin. Shortly after, her head slowly lowered until it touched the table.

Her gaze was fixed on the fruit basket.

She picked up a Shine Muscat grape, fiddled with it, and then put it in her mouth.

“I didn’t really want to talk about it. It’s a memory I want to forget quickly. The terrorists were all deported to their home countries and received the appropriate punishment of death. Most importantly, I like this house.”

NoName now found it deeply moving to have a life that was given to her without having to struggle or make an effort.

Like this fruit that had been repeatedly bred to have thin skin, no seeds, and high sweetness, she didn’t mind the comfortable life that came just by putting it in her mouth.

But that wasn’t NoName’s true feelings.

Bang-!

NoName stood up abruptly, hitting the table, and spoke with wide eyes.

“But honestly, it makes me angry! Do you know what kind of ridiculous things I had to do while trapped in that capsule for seven years?”

Recalling those days now made her laugh in disbelief.

“I couldn’t eat anything, couldn’t drink anything… my stomach was always growling… I tried to survive by buying and drinking potions…! Since mana could be transmitted anytime as long as there was an internet connection…”

This was something NoName had intentionally been reluctant to talk about.

She had considered hiding it from Professor Cheon too, but what was the point now?

“To earn money to buy that mana… I played games with my mom, whom I barely remember… Even though mom… sob… passed away… I had to keep living for her sake too, so I kept playing games to earn money…”

NoName’s eyes were now glistening with tears.

She tried wiping them with her sleeve, thinking she was being undisciplined, but in a child’s body, it was difficult to stop the flood of tears once it started.

“I’ve lived through such hardships… if there’s nothing I can do… something must be wrong…”

What if she hadn’t had memories of her past life?

The mother and daughter would have been destined to die together.

Logically, it’s stranger for a baby just past one year old to have basic knowledge about playing games.

And no one would remember them.

So NoName’s directionless anger was busy finding a target.

Before it festered and rotted in her heart, she needed to find someone to direct it toward.

Would exposing the truth change anything?

Those who covered up the operation might receive appropriate punishment, but the victims wouldn’t come back.

Still, NoName had to do it.

“Sob… if I don’t do it… hic… what becomes of my poor mom…”

The perfect memory ability she had since reincarnating as a princess was nothing short of a curse.

That curse had followed her through generations to this point.

Whenever memories from before her sense of self had properly formed surfaced, she would become so overwhelmingly sad that she couldn’t sleep many nights.

Despite the short time, Seol-ah’s unconditional love for NoName was an emotion she had never felt in any of her lives.

“Someone is still continuing to lie right now! Hic… lies… so…”

NoName’s vision was blurred by tears.

Suddenly, a shadow blocked the light, and as she was about to wipe her eyes, someone embraced and comforted her. It was Professor Cheon.

“I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry for not understanding…”

“Sob…”

“You’ve grown up so brave despite experiencing such a terrible ordeal… I promise to make sure NoName doesn’t have any more hardships from now on…”

“Honestly, I was a bit hurt that you never asked… just a little…”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

The words of comfort for this girl who had experienced unparalleled hardship were rough.

But sometimes such direct emotions resonated more deeply.

NoName closed her eyes and decided to continue indulging in the emotions of a seven-year-old child.

Perhaps if she didn’t have memories of her past life, she might have cried more freely.

* * *

“Huh, what’s gotten into you? Brother Byeong-ho calling me first. It’s been years since I heard your voice.”

“Prosecutor, that…!”

Prosecutor Cheon Jeong-ho gestured for his secretary to step back as she tried to stop his phone call.

Ignoring the woman who couldn’t say anything and lowered her head, he expressed deep curiosity about the fact that his brother had called him first.

“Ah… that happened. Haha, why? Did becoming a professor make you interested in politics? Planning to wear a ribbon and attend the upcoming memorial service?”

The secretary was puzzled to see a man who never smiled, even in private settings, suddenly laughing.

However, Prosecutor Cheon’s eyebrows rose strangely, and his expression became seriously contorted.

“You’re coming where?”

His emotional display was a sign that something major was about to happen.

The most recent example was when former Seoul Mayor Won Il-young’s arrest warrant was dismissed.

They say quiet people are scarier when they get angry.

That day, the prosecutor’s secretary had to listen to a barrage of verbal abuse until dawn and couldn’t leave until seven in the morning.

The woman recalled the difficult days ahead and quietly decided to take out the resignation letter she had been keeping to herself.

But contrary to expectations, Prosecutor Cheon calmly put down his phone.

What followed was even more remarkable.

“Secretary Kim… gather the security company on the 13th floor right now.”

“What…?”

“Security, don’t you know what security is? Those young kids with S1 or ADT Caps badges on their backs… anyway, gather all those loitering on the first floor.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Now!”

“Yes!”