# Chapter 54
I should have told him right then. That Hans was deceiving him. That he shouldn’t believe it. But I couldn’t open my mouth.
I couldn’t tell the truth. Because I found relief in his naivety.
I’m not a good person. But I unconsciously took comfort in being called one.
I know. This was a contradiction. The contradiction of knowing I’m not a good person yet being happy to be remembered as one.
“You said you wanted to continue believing in that person, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then believe. There’s nothing wrong with believing.”
That’s why I didn’t tell him the truth. It’s an ugly and dirty feeling. But isn’t that human—knowing something is selfish yet being unable to stop? I was the same. Though I knew it wasn’t right, these were the only words I could say.
But that didn’t mean I wanted Ben to regret it later.
“The bad ones are those who break that trust.”
I added these words to prevent him from blaming himself later. Even knowing that everything about Hans was a lie, Ben should only blame me.
Not himself for having believed until the end.
I spoke with sincerity. As if pondering, Ben’s downcast eyelashes lifted, and he formed a gentle smile.
“…I see.”
Though his answer was ambiguous, I could easily tell a direction had formed within it. The anxiety-filled eyes had become clear.
“Is that what you were so worried about?”
“Ah, more than that, he resigned shortly after going on vacation.”
Just when I thought our conversation was wrapping up, one word in Ben’s statement caught my attention.
“Resigned?”
That’s strange. I’m certain I only submitted a vacation form. I had planned to resign after rescuing Alice, so I had postponed it for a while. But then I died and never got to resign. So Ben’s claim that I resigned was hard to believe.
“Yes, from what I heard, he came and submitted his resignation letter in person.”
“He submitted it… in person?”
Moreover, submitting it in person. That’s even more impossible. I wondered if the real Hans had resigned, but Melia would have taken care of that. Even if he were alive, Hans couldn’t escape her abilities.
“…Is there a problem?”
“Ah, no. I just find it interesting that a real intruder might get caught.”
No matter how I thought about it, something was strange. But with Ben staring at me so intently, I couldn’t continue my train of thought. I waved my hands and deliberately changed the subject.
“That is strange. So was it just a coincidence after all?”
Fortunately, he didn’t question further. I carefully answered as Ben continued the conversation naturally.
“Don’t you think it’s best to believe what you want to believe, Ben-ssi?”
It was shameless for me, who knew the truth, to say such a thing, but it was all I could think of. If I said it was a coincidence, Ben’s suspicions might diminish somewhat.
However, it seemed I still had some conscience left. I couldn’t bring myself to say just that.
So all I could say was to trust the choice he had made.
It wasn’t really advice, but it must have helped Ben, as his voice came with firm determination.
“I… think I should believe. Until I meet him and learn everything, I’ll continue to believe.”
I couldn’t smile and say that’s good, though. Ben would never meet Hans. He was a phantom figure who no longer existed. So he would never be able to hear anything from Hans.
It felt somewhat bitter that I couldn’t say anything, even though the person he was looking for was right in front of him.
“…I hope your trust isn’t broken, Ben-ssi.”
But compared to Ben, who could never meet him no matter what he did, this was nothing.
When I was alive, I hoped my death would hold Boss back. But after dying and meeting those who remembered me, I realized it was better to remain a passing connection.
Especially since I knew I could never come back to life no matter what I did.
“Thank you, Kane. You’ve been a great help.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
If anything, I should be the one thanking him. It was difficult to face Ben’s pure smile. I lowered my gaze and bowed slightly.
I don’t know how many more times I’ll see Ben, but I hope he does well. If Ben doesn’t do well, my guilt would only grow.
Ben stood up and walked toward the door. Just before leaving, as he grabbed the doorknob, he left me with these words:
“By the way, I’m glad Kane seems brighter too. You looked so troubled before.”
With those final words, Ben closed the door. I stared blankly at the closed door. Brighter? I thought I had been as careful as possible.
It didn’t seem like he was suspicious, but saying I was different from before was a big problem. It meant I could be discovered at any time.
With Alice and Ben’s words already overwhelming my mind, trying to act on top of it made me feel like all the energy was being drained from my body. Acting really doesn’t suit me.
* * *
Zenon was currently displeased. He had been called by the researcher today, following yesterday.
“Why did you call me?”
He didn’t understand why she called him again when it seemed like she had said everything yesterday. She smiled enigmatically at him. It was a smile that seemed both amused and expectant.
“To tell you news that you’ll like.”
“What news?”
“About an executive of ‘Alice’.”
Zenon’s face, which had been ready to turn around and leave if it was useless talk, grew serious.
“Kay?”
If she was talking about an executive of ‘Alice,’ it could only be Kay. When Zenon hastily asked, the researcher nodded lightly.
“Ah, yes. That was his name.”
Zenon couldn’t hide his impatience in front of her leisurely attitude.
“Tell me quickly.”
When Zenon urged her answer in a low voice, the researcher put on a deliberately stern expression.
“How rude. You should learn to wait.”
“I told you to speak.”
Zenon’s voice grew even lower at her attitude, which was like treating a dog. His sharp gaze pierced through the researcher. Seeing his murderous look, she seemed to judge that dragging it out any further would be too much, and immediately revealed it.
“That executive, he’s alive.”
Unlike the casually dropped words, the content was far from light. Though he heard correctly, his mind wasn’t working. Zenon, finally coming to his senses in the midst of his slowly flowing consciousness, opened his mouth dazedly.
“What…?”
It’s impossible. Kay being alive? He was dead. Hadn’t he gone to ‘Alice’ to confirm it? The news that Kay had died. Nelaim, who had examined Kay, had revealed everything.
The fact that he had a terminal illness and that Kay knew about it. Hadn’t he felt a despair that made it difficult even to breathe at that fact? So Kay couldn’t be alive.
“I thought you’d be happy, but your reaction is underwhelming.”
Not knowing Zenon’s thoughts, she frowned with disappointment, saying his reaction was less exciting than expected. Ignoring the researcher’s words, Zenon spoke urgently.
“How do you know that?”
“Because he’s at Peace?”
She answered as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“Kay is at Peace?”
What was this now? It was hard enough to believe that Kay was alive, but it was even harder to believe that he was at Peace.
Was her statement true?
“Yes, to be precise, it’s an area managed by Peace.”
“Where is that?”
Seeing him looking ready to rush there immediately, her smile deepened.
“You’re curious, aren’t you?”
“Tell me.”
Everything was going according to plan. If she just delivered this, the plan would be successfully completed. She took a note from her pocket.
“Well, I called you to tell you. Here, take it.”
“This is…”
“Where Kay is.”
Despite her willingly providing the information, Zenon couldn’t shake off his suspicion.
“Why are you telling me this?”
She wasn’t that kind of person. There was definitely some scheme behind it.
“Because sometimes a carrot is necessary.”
Though she received his suspicious gaze, she smiled nonchalantly as she passed by Zenon.
Zenon reached out to call her again but soon had to withdraw his hand. Even if this was a trap, Zenon had to go. As long as there was even a slight possibility that Kay was alive, he couldn’t ignore this hope.
“Ah, and just so you know, even you can’t enter this place. You’d have to be at least the boss of ‘Alice’ to get in.”
But with her next words, Zenon’s thoughts began to shift slightly. He had clearly thought it was a trap meant to deal with him. But she said it was a place he couldn’t enter alone. It wasn’t the right kind of trap to kill him.
Then what they wanted wasn’t Zenon, but something else. Perhaps the boss she mentioned last.
The old him would have rushed there without thinking at the news that Kay was alive. But Kane and Alice’s words stopped him from doing that.
Among them, Alice had said she was the bait. If that bait was now, if they were using this to make him head to the organization?
His mind began to race quickly. After coldly continuing his thoughts, Zenon finally reached a conclusion.
This was the bait Alice had mentioned.
Though it was hard to believe this conclusion that extinguished a spark of hope, he had to believe it.
Because even Kay wouldn’t want him to make a wrong judgment because of his death.
