[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 175 - Political Affiliations

Freddy put on his practiced smile and pulled the door open. 

It took him a long moment to realize who was standing there. As he did, his pleasant smile instantly morphed into a bemused scowl. “Lucas!?”

Freddy quickly looked around the hallway to ensure that none of his expected guests were heading this way before whirling on Lucas. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Oh…” The man took a nervous step back. “Am I not allowed to be here?”

“Yes? No?” Freddy paused. “I actually don’t know. How did you get here, anyway?”

“I…” He awkwardly pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “I just asked one of the servants where you were and they took me here.”

“Oh. Okay then.” 

Perhaps the adjudicator had told the servants to take whoever was looking for Freddy to his room. Or maybe Lucas was on some sort of list of approved visitors? They weren’t close necessarily, not anymore, but Freddy’s friendship with the young man was widely known. 

At any rate, how he was here didn’t really matter. 

Some of the tension left Freddy’s shoulders as he fully exited the room and closed the door behind him. He would ask him to come in, but he preferred to get this over with as quickly as possible so he could go back to waiting for the rich kids. “So why are you here?”

Lucas tried to meet his gaze, but his confidence quickly withered. His head dropped slightly and he looked down at the ground.

Freddy crossed his arms and waited.

It took him a few seconds to gather himself, but before long, Lucas answered, “I wasn’t ready to lose her. I knew that she did something horrible and that forgiveness was never going to be an option, but… I wasn’t ready for something like that.” He bit his lip. “But it wasn’t right for me to blame you for everything.” Then he suddenly paled as he appeared to recall something. “Sophia made that abundantly clear when she broke both my arms and legs.”

Freddy broke into a sudden burst of laughter. “She what?” He coughed to gather himself. “Sorry, I had no idea she did that.”

“It’s fine. The breaks were clean and she healed me afterwards.”

“She healed you?” Freddy asked with a bit of panic. “How did she heal you?”

Lucas looked at him like he had two heads. “She… is a life-affinity user. You know that, right?”

“Oh. Yes. She certainly is.” He laughed. For a moment there, he thought Sophia gave her talent away. “Anyway, I’m sorry she went so far.”

“Don’t be. I deserved it.” Lucas hesitated again. “I was saying some pretty nasty things about you. I’m here to apologize for that.”

“Apology accepted,” Freddy said.

“Really? Just like that?” He scoffed. “Do you even know what I was saying about you?”

Freddy sighed and put a hand on Lucas’s shoulder. “Let me guess—I’m a murderous bastard who happily jumped at the opportunity to kill people when there was a better way of dealing with the traitors?”

“Yeah, that’s about right.”

“Do you still believe that?”

Lucas opened his mouth to respond, but his words failed him. He looked away instead.

Freddy snickered and shook his head. “I know I’ve already told you this, but I will say it again. If I hadn’t been there to turn things around, everyone in Valhalla would have suffered a fate worse than death. Everyone who had betrayed us had willingly contributed to that.”

Lucas’s jaw tightened, and he tensed as if he was about to retort, but before he could, Freddy cut him off, “Your mother was among the worst of the offenders.”

“She thought she was saving me,” Lucas blurted. 

“And she knew what she was doing to everyone else.”

The young man might have wanted to retort again, but it was clear that he knew there was nothing to say. 

Freddy sighed again. “I don’t think you’re ready to have this conversation.”

Lucas laughed darkly at that. “I never will be, Freddy. But there is a horde of monsters coming our way, and this might very well be my last chance to make things right.” He finally looked Freddy in the eye. “You once told me that everyone always has a choice. You had the choice to stop the executions. You had the power to give out some other punishment.

“And yes, I know that would have made things complicated, but all that means is that you took an easy way out of the situation. Now, I will never have the chance to help her. I’ll never hear her say sorry for all she’s done to me. When I have kids, they’ll never meet her.” Lucas was holding tears back. “Even if your choice was the best for everyone, it was at my expense. And I hate you for that.” 

Lucas finally ran out of steam and deflated a bit. “With that off my chest, I want to say that I understand why you made the choice you did. So I will stop saying bad things about you. That is all.”

Once Lucas was ready, Freddy burst into laughter. 

The young man looked incensed at his reaction, but Freddy waved him down. “Okay, first of all, you clearly have no idea what actually happened.” There was no remorse in Freddy’s words or behavior, but there was a hint of anger. “Valhalla’s leadership had a vote on how to deal with the traitors. Majority voted for public execution. Sure, I could have stepped in and said whatever, and nobody could have stopped me. 

“But that would have been the equivalent of declaring myself a dictator. Even if it was just for that one thing, it would have forever cemented me as the person with the final say on everything in this city. And the only thing I want to have a final say on is innocent people being hurt. Innocent people.”

He took an aggressive step towards Lucas and pressed a finger to his chest. “So don’t come at me with this kind of bullshit.” He pushed Lucas back. “Feel free to hate me. In fact, don’t let me stop you from telling others how you really feel. I’ll make sure Sophia never does anything like that again. Good luck with the defense.” And with that, he turned around and slammed the door shut. 

He shouted curses as he paced around the room. It took a lot of willpower to stop himself from breaking something. 

Back when he made the decision not to stop Valhalla, that had been but one of many extremely difficult choices he had to make to correct the situation in the city. 

And if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t actually know whether it had been the right choice. What he did know was that it still weighed on him. 

It made him think back on words Thor had given him what felt like a century ago. 

Do you feel like you did the right thing?

How do you feel, Freddy? Do you feel like a hero?

And, unfortunately, his answer was the same yet again. No. He didn’t feel like a hero. He felt like shit. But the worst part was that this was nothing like the time he’d killed Shawn. The lines were too blurry, and the outcome too uncertain. 

Reaching for the whiskey again, he had to stop himself from downing the whole bottle. He didn’t want to be dead drunk if one of his guests decided to pay him a visit. 

While he was curious about all the visitors, the person he wanted to talk to the most was undoubtedly Matt Canstone. He dreaded finding out what Madame wanted from him. It was highly unlikely to be anything good. 

The absolute best case scenario was that she wanted to interview him. 

And… Well… he wouldn’t hate that. 

After all, he could give her one hell of an interview after all he’d been through. 

There was a small problem, however. 

He might end up getting recognized by someone who was looking for the killer of Jacob Santorio. It was unlikely. But if the dude’s father wanted trouble, things could get heated. Ferddy had no desire to mess with four-stars. Especially not mega-rich four-stars.

He decided to take another gulp of whiskey to ease the sudden tension he felt.

And thus, he waited. He lounged, trying to do anything to get his mind off the conversation with Lucas. It was still early in the evening, but the time kept marching on. Before long, it was 8. p.m., and before he could blink, it was past midnight. 

He laughed at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. 

It was unlikely that anyone would come visit him at this hour. The anger still lingering within made his choice for him as he walked over to the door and locked it. 

They wanted to come in the middle of the night? They could kiss the door, then. He wouldn’t be taking any guests.

He tried to sleep. It wouldn’t come. Before he even realized what he was doing, a deeply ingrained habit he’d built throughout his time in the Century of Solitude took over, and his fist found the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

***

“Mr. Cliff?” A hand gently shook him. “Are you awake?” the servant asked while hanging above him.

Cracking an eye open, he caught sight of the man standing above him. “Huh?” Freddy sputtered as he rushed out of bed. 

The servant jumped back, paling at Freddy’s sudden reaction.

Freddy, for his part, eyed the servant with a scowl. “The fuck are you doing in my room? I’m pretty sure I locked it.”

The man took a step back and raised his hands defensively. “Adjudicator’s orders, Sir! It’s already past noon, and I was told to fetch you!”

Freddy deflated at that. He was a bit angry at the adjudicator for disrespecting his privacy like this, but he was hardly going to lash out at the innocent servant. He sat back on the bed and cradled the side of his head. “Okay. Tell him I’m coming.”

The man quickly bowed his head and rushed out of the room. 

Sighing, Freddy got himself dressed. He had expected his suit to look at least a little messy given that he’d just thrown it on the ground last night, but neither the shirt nor the jacket were even slightly rumpled. 

He appeared before the adjudicator looking almost the same as he had last night, sans the hairdo he’d need to have redone.

The adjudicator looked nervous once he spotted him enter. “Did anyone visit you last night?”

Freddy shook his head. “Nope. I waited pretty late too, but nobody… Right, except for Lucas Black, if you know who that is. I’m surprised he was even told where to find me.”

The man shrugged. “I have no intention of isolating you from your acquaintances. It’s up to you who you give your time to.” The man looked a bit conflicted. “So nobody came, huh?”

Freddy tensed. “What? What does that mean?”

“Hmm?” The adjudicator. 

“I mean… is that some kind of fancy high-society way to call me trash or like a way to signal I’m not worth their time?”

For the first time since Freddy had met the man, the adjudicator broke into a genuine fit of laughter. “What? No! It just means none of them felt like it!”

“Oh.” He felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. “I just thought… Well you looked a bit conflicted, that’s all.”

The man waved him off. “I was hoping you’d get at least one talk over with so I’d get a better idea how you handle stuff like this. But relax. This doesn’t mean anything.” The man clapped his hands and a servant came into the room. “Take Mr. Cliff to the stylists, please.”

The man nodded and gestured for Freddy to follow. 

Freddy sighed, feeling like he had a few long days ahead of him.

This time, he was done up a little differently. White suit instead of black, golden earring, slightly different hairdo. Then, before long, he was back in his room and waiting again. 

It took until the early evening for the first knock to arrive.

With another pang of anxiety, Freddy opened the door.

It was Sophia. 

He gave her a flat look and slammed the door in her face. 

She knocked harder, so he opened the door again. “I’m kind of in the middle of waiting for some extremely influential people so I can see what they want from me. I really don’t have the time, Sophia.” 

“Oh,” she muttered. “I was wondering why you’re dressed up like a sleazy real estate agent.”

Freddy chuckled and shook his head. “Okay, what is it? Please hurry.”

She shrugged. “I wanted to start getting ready for the incoming attack. I still have no idea where the hell I’m even supposed to be. All anyone told me was to talk to you.”

“Right.” Freddy snapped his fingers. “You will be coming with me. We’ll talk in a day or two after this politics bullshit is over with. Is that all?”

Sophia opened her mouth, but then shut it and made a dismissive gesture. “Nothing urgent. We’ll talk later, okay? And good luck.”

“Okay. See you later.” He closed the door and went back to sit on the couch. 

Not even twenty seconds later, the door knocked again. It appeared that Sophia wasn't done with him. He rolled his eyes and rushed to open the door. However, once he touched the handle, he froze. 

What if it’s someone else? 

The thought made him break into a cold sweat. He was this close to opening the door and shouting something not so nice. He collected himself and opened the door, ready to make a good impression. 

It was Sophia again. 

He groaned in frustration. “Okay, what the fuck is it!? Sophia, this is really fucking stressful and this is the last thing I need!”

Sophia looked mortified. “Uhm…” She pointed to her right. “This girl asked me to knock in her stead…”

Freddy froze. Then he turned his head, spotting the slightly apprehensive looking Peri Ostervald. It was a bit hard to recognize the teenager at first since she was no longer wearing her churchy robes. Instead, she was wearing a loose white shirt and jeans, and her chrome hair was down.

Fuuuuuuck. 

The wince that went through him felt like his body was trying to turn inside out. “Hello, Miss Ostervald…” He gestured at the room. “Please come in.”

Sophia, for her part, gave him a shit-eating grin as she backed away and waved them both goodbye. 

Freddy wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole.

Peri reluctantly walked in, clearly uncomfortable, and Freddy closed the door behind him. 

He gestured at the table while he rushed to the button that summoned the servants. 

They sat at the large table in an awkward silence. 

“I don’t usually talk to people like that,” Freddy rushed to explain. 

“Oh. Okay…” she said so quietly that Freddy wouldn’t have been able to hear it were he not a peak two-star. 

“That was just my friend,” he said with a casual wave. “She is a bit of an…” He groaned. “Sorry. I’ve just been very on edge with everything that’s happening. Let’s start from the beginning. Hi. Hello. Welcome.” He gave her an awkward wave. “What can I help you with?”

Peri straightened in her chair and silently collected herself for a few moments. “Hello,” she whispered. “I am unsure if the adjudicator informed you, but my original intent in coming here was actually because of a marriage proposal.”

Freddy froze in place. 

She is one of them!?

His mind raced as he looked for a polite way to refuse, but before he could even get a word out, she beat him to the punch, “But I think I might be forced to retract that offer.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Freddy sputtered before he even realized he was talking. He instantly panicked when he realized what he said. “Sorry, I mean… I’m not saying I’m not flattered to get such an offer, but I'm just not a marriage kind of guy, and also you are really young and I am not comfortable with that… at all…”

She gave him somewhat of an annoyed look. “I am 27 years old.”

He grimaced. “Right… Of course you are.” He took a deep breath to collect himself before he dug his grave any further. Taking a page out of her book, he remained silent for a few seconds to collect himself before he said, “I am flattered that you even considered it. Before I ask you why you are taking it back, I would like to say that I would have refused. This is not personal, I am just not willing to marry anyone. Not for a long time, at least. And I am deeply sorry if my words offended you in any way. It was a misunderstanding.”

She sighed. “It’s fine. People often mistake my age. I look exactly as I did when I was 14 because of Peter Pan Syndrome.”

Freddy winced as he heard that.

Peter Pan Syndrome was a psychological condition where people refused to grow up, in one way or another. Most commonly, it referred to men who refused to socially mature as they aged, but in the world of archhumans, it had a much more extreme way of manifesting itself. 

During ascension, people’s bodies transformed according to their deepest subconscious desires. This could be the desire to stand out, which can result in strange hair or eye colors, a desire to look a certain way, to be taller, or have a stronger chin and so on. 

But for some people, this deepest desire was to be a kid again. 

Perhaps they were the happiest back then, or they simply wanted to escape from the responsibilities of adulthood and return to a simpler time. 

Due to the extreme latent aura requirement for such a drastic transformation, this only affected prodigies who collected an absolute load of latent aura. In some circles, it was considered a bit of a flex, but for the most part it just kind of really sucked. Sure, some people wanted to go back to being a kid, but transforming into a kid didn’t make adulthood go away. It just made you look like a kid.

When Freddy first heard of this, he felt a bit smug. After all, it only affected extreme prodigies. People who usually grew up in rich families and had everything from day one. 

But when faced with a live example of someone suffering from the condition, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic. After all, it manifested from the desire to go back to being a kid. When they were happy. 

Thoughts of his adopted parents rushed into his mind at the thought. Even with his awful childhood, that had been the happiest time of his life. 

He gave the woman what he hoped was a sympathetic rather than a pitying smile. “I hope you reach the third star soon and you get an adult body back,” he said. 

She gave him a small smile. “Thank you.” 

The servants came in, arranging the table and setting all sorts of foods and drinks before them. They were quick, too, and before long, they were in silence again. 

Freddy really wanted to ask what the whole marriage thing was about, but the conversation had drifted away from that a bit, so he opted to wait for a chance to ask. Hopefully, she would bring it up herself.

Soon enough, his patience was rewarded. “My family owns one of the biggest infrastructure development companies in the empire. As you might be able to guess, we are the main reason why the wall could be erected so quickly. To avoid misunderstandings, I will immediately clarify that this help and the marriage proposal are unrelated.” 

“So… I assume that the help comes with certain caveats, then?”

She looked a bit offended at the suggestion. “No. We wouldn’t do something like that. It is simply something we do for almost every fledgling powerhouse if the opportunity presents itself. It’s a form of advertisement, you could say. Should you ever need our services in the future, well, now you know what to expect.”

Freddy had to be honest. That shit definitely worked. Of course, it would cost money next time, but if he ever needed something like this again, well… she said it. He knew what to expect. And they did good work.

He simply nodded at her and smiled. Frankly, hearing her say that drastically improved his mood. It was a pretty innocent motive, all things considered. Sure, they were ultimately doing it to make money, but he wouldn’t hate living in a world where companies could make more money by sometimes choosing to help people free of charge.

Deep down, the cynical part of him refused to expect the possibility of a massive company like this not being shady in some way. But it was refreshing not to be on the wrong side of such shadiness for once. 

Damn… I kind of like being a powerhouse.

“So then…” He coughed. “Given that you take the offer back, do we just forget about the whole marriage proposal thing and move on, or…?”

She was quiet for a few moments, and Freddy was afraid that he had insulted her somehow. But his fears were unfounded. “I suppose it would be fair of me to explain myself,” she said as she sighed. “Due to the nature of our work, we try to maintain relative political neutrality. As you might imagine, this creates a number of obstacles for us. 

“One of these problems is that our members can’t marry anyone with problematic political affiliations. From what we could tell in our research, you appeared to come from no background whatsoever. Although we couldn’t pinpoint exactly where you came from, your bizarre combination of abilities was something that you clearly weren’t taught in any kind of reputable academy.”

Freddy winced at that. He was aware that his style was unorthodox, but being told to his face that it was a dead giveaway that he was uneducated was a little bit of a bummer. 

“But my guess was ultimately wrong,” the woman said.

Freddy scowled. “Why do you think that?”

“Because you are clearly affiliated with Lady Narcisse Morleppe.”

He wanted to say… something. But he almost immediately realized that there was absolutely no point. 

Given what the girl had said, it didn’t matter whether his relationship with Madame was good or bad. The problem was that it existed in the first place. And with Matt showing up like this, it was obvious that she wanted something from him. Ergo, he had a problematic political affiliation.

Ergo, she couldn’t marry him. 

If anything, this was perfect. There was no need for him to grasp at straws to worm out of it. He had the perfect excuse to dodge a marriage proposal. Even though he had majorly fucked it up with his dreadful social skills.

Freddy didn’t argue her point. Instead, he just shrugged and dug into the steak on his plate. It was good stuff. 

After chatting about relatively mundane topics and sharing a few opinions about the incoming monster attack, she excused herself and left his room. 

He had to admit, the urgency in her steps stung a little. 

This was a very poor showing, even for him. He took a deep breath to calm himself and prepare for the next guest. He needed to be more careful. He got off easy with this one. 

Yet again, he found himself pacing around the room and trying to calm down as he waited for the next knock on his door. 

At one point, he was struck by a sudden idea. 

Why wouldn’t he visit their rooms first? 

As soon as the idea struck him, he immediately discarded it as completely moronic. The adjudicator would have told him to do so if that was a good idea. 

While in the middle of just barely considering taking the plunge to at least talk to Matt, another set of knocks came from his door. 

After taking a few minutes to settle himself, he approached the door with as much composure as he could muster. With a twist of the knob, he opened the door. 

“Oh, hello!” A man with a slightly serpentine gaze greeted him cheerfully. The man’s hair was a dark shade of black, and his face was attractive, yet tinged with a kind of casual cruelty. An amused smile hung on his face. 

Freddy instantly froze as soon as he spotted him. 

He knew this man. 

He recognized him.

All the way back in Pittersville, the day after the passage break, this man had knocked on his door. He had been looking for Bloodshed. 

And yet, Freddy’s attention only hung on the man’s face for a split second before he turned to look at the person standing before him. 

He wanted to deny it. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him, telling him that he could possibly be seeing what he was seeing. And yet still, despite having grown a beard and changed a little around the eyes, the wheat-blond personal trainer stood before him. 

It was Mark Afronte.