Contract of Submission with the Enemy - Chapter 13
* * *
Aster stood before a door, having been summoned by someone. After knocking and opening it, he saw a red-haired man in a military cap standing with his back to the window.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, you called for me, Lieutenant colonel Darren.”
Darren, who was once a captain, had now risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He glanced back at Aster and said, “You can probably guess why I called you.”
“Yes, it must be because of my contractee,” Aster replied calmly, a slight smile playing on his lips. But Darren’s face remained cold.
“Why didn’t you follow my orders?”
He was referring to the time Aster had spared Rité’s life. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Aster’s smile faded, and he adopted a serious expression.
Back then, Darren had directly ordered Aster to kill Rité. The sound of gunfire had led Darren to forget about the insignificant girl. That was until Aster introduced her as his contractee, now fully grown.
Khalid, who had used his memory scan ability to glimpse into their past, chose not to report it out of respect for Aster. But Darren recognized Rité immediately, realizing she was the girl from back then because of her surname matching the wild dog boy they had brought into the army.
Aster had advised Rité to tell no one about her brother, but Darren already knew her weakness.
“I apologize, Lieutenant colonel.”
Aster tried to gloss over the matter with a pleasant demeanor, but Darren pressed on.
“Don’t think you can get away with this. You were promoted at the unprecedented age of sixteen because of that incident. It was highly unusual.”
“Yes, thanks to you, Lieutenant colonel. But when have I ever been one to chase ranks?”
Darren’s eyes narrowed. “So, you’re saying it’s fine if I demote you right now?”
Aster, unfazed, replied calmly, “If you decide to, I will accept it. It’s true I disobeyed your orders.”
Darren scrutinized him before speaking again. “I called you here to hear your reason. You’ve never disobeyed orders before. Why did you spare that girl?”
Aster’s expression subtly shifted. “Why indeed…”
“Did you take a liking to her at a young age?”
Aster chuckled softly. “You could say that.”
He recalled the day he first met Rité. It was the first and only time he had spared someone. Normally, he had no hesitation in killing, regardless of age or gender. But her clear, sky-blue eyes filled with raw emotions had intrigued him. Unlike his own emotionless existence, her vibrant feelings were fascinating to him. Her eyes held a dynamic range of emotions—anger, despair, fear, guilt, love for her brother—that he found genuinely beautiful.
In deep thought, Aster finally responded, “I wanted to see those eyes again.”
Darren asked, “So you thought you’d see them again if you spared her?”
Aster answered straightforwardly, “Yes. She had a strong attachment to her brother and life. I believed she would survive against all odds, and we would meet again. I thought our next meeting would be the last.”
He had truly believed that. Since she was not an Awakened, he planned to destroy her without hesitation if they met again. But once more, she defied his expectations.
“You ended up sparing her again.”
“Life doesn’t always go as planned.”
Darren sighed at Aster’s easy going reply. “Let me ask you one more thing. Is what you feel for her ‘love’?”
“Do I seem like someone capable of feeling love?” Aster asked, finding the question amusing. Darren watched the peculiar light in Aster’s dark eyes.
Aster Cloud, the only Wilder in the military, was a perfect puppet and battle weapon, raised since childhood to kill without question. Could such a person feel love?
Darren shook his head. “No, it must be simple curiosity. Forget I asked that embarrassing question.”
“I understand why you asked. Love can be stronger than any ability, capable of destroying everything…” Aster said, his eyes softening.
Many Awakened fell in love, often losing their rationality and becoming emotional at crucial moments. They might abandon their missions to save a dying lover, disobey orders, or desert together. But Aster was different. As a Wilder, his role was to use his contractee as a weapon and shield, much like a parasite on its host. And Rité, with her dual abilities, fit that role perfectly.
Aster spoke coldly, “She is my prey. Just as predators feel no love for their prey, you needn’t worry about such things.”
Darren stared at him before speaking again. “I won’t demote you. You’re my most valued subordinate. But there must be consequences for disobeying orders. Train her and make her a proper weapon. Ensure she passes the final test.”
“Yes, I will.”
Though it was an order to train a new recruit, Aster complied readily. Partnering with a new Awakened required building a partnership and honing his own skills.
As Darren prepared to leave, he paused at the door. “And remember, unless given special orders, don’t leave survivors. It’s the best way to prevent raising threats against the military. Finish things cleanly if you don’t want to lose your toy.”
After Darren shut the door behind him, Aster chuckled and murmured, “A toy, huh…”
He pulled a military dagger from his waist—the same one the lieutenant general had thrown at Rité earlier. Twirling the dagger skillfully, he caught it and stared at the blade. His reflection on the sharp edge showed his lips curving into a slight, sardonic smile.
“And yet, you’re just a toy as well…”
* * *
In Rité’s dream, Nox appeared. She had never imagined what he would look like as a teenager, so in front of her stood a faceless, slightly taller boy. Ten years had passed since that day, and Nox was now sixteen, but in her memory, he remained perpetually six years old.
In the dark, empty space, rain was drizzling down. Unlike the last time, Nox didn’t play hide-and-seek. He just stood there, staring at her while getting drenched. His face was blurry, as if erased by a rubber, but Rité somehow felt he was smiling sadly at her.
Then, suddenly, it happened.
“…Sister, wake up.”
The moment her younger brother’s voice hit her ears, Rité’s eyes snapped open.
She awoke on a cold, dark concrete floor. The scene seemed like an extension of her dream, and she lay there in a daze, unable to understand her situation. She had no sense of when she fell asleep or how long she had been out. She distinctly remembered falling asleep on Aster’s office bed. So why was she here?
Rité soon noticed her wet clothes and the bindings on her hands behind her back. Even her ankles were tied. She struggled to her feet, stumbling as she rose. She was trapped in a barren, concrete box. Looking up, she saw water pouring from the ceiling, already up to her ankles.
For a moment, she thought the trainees from the mess hall were retaliating against her, but quickly dismissed the idea. They couldn’t have accessed Aster’s office so easily. Only one person could have brought her here.
“Aster! That bastard…!”
Looking back, it was clear he had spiked her food with a sedative. There was no other explanation for her deep, undisturbed sleep during the abduction. He must have added the sedative while she was distracted, ravenously eating her meal.
Aster was known for his strict adherence to military discipline. He punished wrongdoers appropriately, even if they were his partners. Had she unknowingly started thinking she was special to him?
Disgusted with herself for accepting his kindness without question, Rité shivered. The water kept rising, now up to her thighs as she sat. She desperately tried to untie the ropes, realizing there was only one reason he left her here: to test her escape skills.
Proof of this lay in the waterproof surveillance camera in the corner of the ceiling. The thought of him watching her struggle made her sick.
Quickly scanning the area for anything sharp, Rité suddenly remembered something and her eyes widened.
“For emergencies, I’d recommend carrying at least a fork. It’s always good to have a weapon on you on the battlefield.”