SDIWD - Chapter 89
Chapter 89
Bai Zhen was no longer the little twelve-year-old girl she once was. So, in addition to the initial emotion Hua Mu's words had stirred in her, she now had a deeper understanding—of course she understood what the Young Lady meant.
However, understanding it rationally was one thing; feeling it emotionally was another.
Unlike before, after spending time with her classmates at the Tower, she had gradually come to understand that their curiosity about her wasn't malicious. She had also made many friends, people with whom she could even entrust her life.
She no longer loathed her appearance and identity as she had in the past.
What hadn't changed, however, was that she was still lost. She still felt like she didn't belong in the world, that everything about her was an aberration.
There was nothing wrong with being special, of course; the Young Lady's specialness, for instance, was unparalleled. But being an aberration was by no means a good thing, neither for herself nor for others.
A person needed an identity to live in this world, didn't they? But she didn't know hers. She had no origin, no roots. More terrifying than being an orphan was not even knowing what she was.
She once had the chance to learn the truth but had given it up out of cowardice. As long as she didn't know, she could continue to deceive herself.
She had no past, so could the Young Lady be her future? Did someone like her even have the right to have the Young Lady?
The Sentinel was unwilling to dwell on the question.
After Hua Mu fell asleep, Bai Zhen picked up the documents she had left by her side and opened them.
The cover was still bilingual, written in Spanish and the official script of the Sheng Chao Empire. A single line in the center starkly read: "Observation Report on Experimental Subject A431."
She truly never expected to encounter this project again, stranded in a place like this.
Bai Zhen had never shown much interest, but Hua Mu, having free time, had read quite a bit of it. They still couldn't determine how many people had originally been stranded on the island, or if the person who wrote these reports was among them.
What was certain, however, was that the two people communicating in the documents seemed to still possess a human conscience. As they watched the test subjects die one by one after enduring torment, the two began to discuss the project's justification and ethical problems with increasing frequency.
Bai Zhen flipped through a couple of pages, her hands already trembling uncontrollably.
Every word seemed so cold and cruel. The outcome for the individual codenamed A431 was summed up in two characters: Death.
Experiment failed.
This was something Bai Zhen had known all along. To this day, there had never been a successful case from any project beginning with the letter A.
She couldn't bear to read any more and placed the documents back beside Hua Mu.
Better to focus on finishing the house. Right now, nothing was more important.
More than three months had passed since Hua Ce declared the independence of Hezhou province, yet the empire had taken no military action beyond issuing strong condemnations. While Hezhou's military forces were no match for the entire empire, they were more than capable of threatening the civilian population.
The puppet government launched a so-called "popular referendum" in an attempt to gain international support. If the empire were to strike first with military force, it would inevitably be branded a dictatorship and accused of harming its own people.
Hua Ce had completely sealed off Hezhou. It was confirmed that he possessed weapons of mass destruction, and all the civilians within the province were his hostages.
The most effective, lowest-risk solution was for the Inner Tower to dispatch a special operations team to apprehend Hua Ce and secure the weapons.
The two sides had been at a stalemate for a long time, and Parliament was in an uproar. At this critical juncture, the first heir to the throne was gravely injured, the second was missing, three special operations teams had returned empty-handed, and the Leader was still refusing to undertake the mission.
Hailed as the most powerful Sentinel in history, even the members of Parliament who typically disliked her had to admit that if she were to act, the matter would undoubtedly be resolved.
But the Leader showed no intention of intervening. Instead, she repeatedly used protecting the Queen as an excuse to evade the task. The Queen, in turn, indulged the Leader, vetoing Parliament's proposal and sparking immense dissatisfaction. Some had even begun to whisper that the Queen was a coward, afraid for her own life.
"Absurd!" Hua Cu stared coldly at the prime minister, trembling with rage. "Whose proposal was this? What are their intentions, asking me to activate the emergency contingency plan under these circumstances?"
Prime Minister Hua Ming was not yet fifty. He was handsome and, despite his commoner origins, carried himself with the air of a true gentleman. He was arguably too young to be prime minister, a notoriously difficult position to hold in their dualistic constitutional monarchy. Yet, he had not only won the public's admiration but was also highly favored by the Queen.
Rumor had it that Hua Ming was one of the Queen's lovers.
"Your Majesty, the situation is urgent, and Parliament has grown dissatisfied with your actions. The Leader..." The prime minister glanced at the ghost-like Sentinel standing behind the Queen, a chill creeping into his heart. "It is, of course, understandable that she cannot personally undertake the mission in order to ensure your safety. But it is an indisputable fact that the line of succession is vacant. The Grand Duke's condition is unstable, Miss Hua Mu is missing, and Hua Ce is out of the question. The conditions to activate the emergency contingency plan have been met."
Hua Ming recited his piece, words he had rehearsed a hundred times in his mind. By the time he finished, his back was soaked through with sweat.
The Queen was certainly imposing, but having worked with Hua Cu for many years, he knew she was actually quite magnanimous and kind. The terrifying one wasn't the Queen, but the unfathomable, elusive, faceless figure behind her.
"My brother is recovering in the hospital, and my niece is merely traveling abroad. How does any of that meet the conditions for the contingency plan? Are you placing a curse on the royal family?"
Although the monarch's power had diminished, their position could never be subverted as long as they held firm control over the Inner Tower. This was the very foundation upon which the current system was maintained.
"Your Majesty, you know that is not my intention. Dissent is already stirring among the people. If we allow it to spread, the consequences will be unthinkable."
Hua Cu sneered. "And would my getting pregnant solve everything? Wouldn't that be a tacit admission that Jian and Mumu are in dire straits?"
"But..."
"Say no more. Go and cool your head for a couple of days. If you can't, then send someone else to speak with me."
Unlike the Heliopolis Empire, where even the royal family was working to transition toward a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the previous two monarchs of the Sheng Chao Empire had maintained an extremely tight grip on power. Only with Hua Cu's generation had things relaxed slightly.
Though the prime minister was the nominal head of government, the Queen still had the power to dismiss him—provided she had a suitable reason... or could fabricate one.
Hua Ming departed with a sigh, and the room, now holding only two people, fell silent.
The Leader stood as still as a statue, her very breath seemingly suppressed.
Finally, the Queen could no longer contain herself. "Don't you have anything to say?" she demanded.
"To what are you referring? Hua Ce's movements? The situation in Hezhou? Or the population of sapient life-forms?"
Infuriated by her feigned ignorance, Hua Cu ground out, "The matter Hua Ming brought up."
"Oh. I think it's a fine proposal. Much better than me having to carry out the mission."
"Hua Zheng, you bastard!"
Hua Cu shot to her feet and swung her hand at the Leader's face.
The white mask clattered to the floor, revealing the face the Leader had kept hidden for years.
It was a face so fair as to be almost translucent, the delicate veins visible beneath the skin. Her features were as exquisite as if they had been designed, bearing a moderate resemblance to Hua Cu, yet they were utterly devoid of expression.
As the mask fell, her pupils and long hair, which had appeared black, reverted to their true colors—the ghastly white of snow and the scarlet of blood.
No one would ever connect this person, who looked as fragile as a crystal doll, with the formidable Sentinel. Words like 'delicate' or 'pitifully lovely' were far more fitting.
If the Queen was an unattainable flower on a high peak, then the Leader was a narcissus in a mirror—ethereal, illusory, and untouched by the mortal world.
The Leader didn't flinch in the slightest. Her eyes, crimson from a lack of pigment, seemed to hold a hint of amusement.
"Your Majesty, that is a name I have long since abandoned."
Her lips were as vivid as poppies, their every movement a caress on the nerves. Her voice was as melodious as a nightingale's, each word a note in a song.
Hua Cu's heart churned, and she turned her head away in discomposure.
She had forgotten. She was no match for this person's face and voice.
"What in the world are you thinking? You refuse to search for Mumu, you won't go after Hua Ce, and now you want me to..."
The Leader bent down, picked up the mask, and placed it back on her face.
"My duty is to protect you. The Young Lady has Bai Zhen, and my subordinates will handle Hua Ce. You need not worry. As for an heir... I do think it's a good proposal. You suppressed the Young Lady's Guide abilities and allowed her to grow up carefree. Will you have the heart to expose her to all this in the future? Do not deceive yourself, Your Majesty. You are an indulgent parent. It would be far easier to bear a new child and groom them from birth than to try and correct the Young Lady now."
She had always known this bastard was heartless, but to hear her say such things still sent a chill down her spine.
"I will not give up on Mumu."
"By doing this, you wouldn't be abandoning her, but liberating her... and yourself. Just because something exists doesn't make it right. The very existence of some things defies reason. Especially when it comes to non-human things..."
"Shut your mouth."
Hua Cu never wanted to hear those two words from her lips.
The Leader lowered her head slightly. "I misspoke," she said apologetically. "But I still hope you will consider the proposal seriously. An additional heir would not be a bad thing. Furthermore, there is still no suitable candidate to be the next Leader. Won't you consider it for the Young Lady's sake? Just as your father the King did for you."
"Do not compare me to my father. And I would never use my own child as a tool—not Mumu... and not her brother or sister."
The eyes behind the mask narrowed slightly. "Of course. My benevolent and wise Queen."
It was the most sarcastic, and most melodious, compliment Hua Cu had ever heard.
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