"It's that simple."
Russell frowned and was silent for a while, then slowly said, "I can't understand your choice, Miss Hitzfeld, but I want to say that I admire you very much."
"Why?" Hitzfeld narrowed his eyes at him.
"Just because you chose the law—and killed your relatives with your own hands?"
"No, this is different. The sins they committed are so great that no one can forgive them."
Russell shook his head.
"But it's true... you know, because of what I did, many people don't understand me and call me a monster in private, as if I am no longer worthy of being a human being because I can do such a thing."
"I thought about it for a long time, and finally came to the conclusion that no matter which choice I made, it would be the right one."
“Laws are rules made by humans.”
"We live under the constraints of rules, and if we break them we will be punished."
"When such rules and morality... or what you call conscience conflict, whether you choose to follow the rules and protect yourself, or choose to follow morality and defy the rules... you should not be blamed. They are both right."
"It's just that I admire people who choose morality more."
He stared into the girl's eyes and spoke softly.
"Because following the rules doesn't cost you anything...we usually call it 'adult choice'."
"But choosing morality will definitely come at a price."
“It takes courage.”
“So I admire you.”
"You are a brave man."
Chapter 10 New Teammates
"..." Xia Yibing opened her lips slightly and stared at the tall and thin man with glasses with a frown. She didn't quite understand what he meant by suddenly saying these things to Hitzfeld.
She has always been cautious, and immediately thought that it might be the person behind Russell - maybe even Alvin, who wanted to use Russell's mouth to make a statement and remind Hitzfeld that his identity was different now.
Yes, identity.
When he was in charge of the Balvik Phantom Case, Aisun Hitzfeld was basically a "personal detective."
Although she was an honorary member of the library, she was not affiliated with any official organization, nor did she live on a salary. Therefore, she could be more casual within a certain range, and the people in the library were willing to play around with her - it was harmless.
But now it's different.
After the Red Soil Incident, even if there was no such thing as the Natural Orb, her status, value and importance would definitely not be the same as before.
On the one hand, she once again proved that her blood was a very valuable strategic resource.
Her blood and Queen Sarah's blood contain the same ingredients. In fact, her blood has a better performance in awakening the efficacy and value of some ancient artifacts.
This alone can double her value, which is why Sixus said before that "without the Nature Sphere, she might not be able to be free."
Doctors don’t understand politics, but after being in the circle for a long time, they can more or less see through people’s hearts.
As for the other aspect, it is even more serious - that is, what Hitzfeld had previously proposed, she may be carrying a fate that will terrify all living beings: to drive the eternal night away from the heads of mankind.
Until now, the cause and source of the Eternal Night have been unobservable. Secret agencies in every country have been trying to uncover the mystery of the Eternal Night in the process of fighting against evildoers, but basically no progress has been made.
Most opinions are that the captured evildoers are not intentionally concealing the truth, but they themselves do not know and are not clear about the truth behind the mystery of the Eternal Night.
So... with this background, you can imagine how valuable their discovery of red soil is.
The fact that they were able to uncover the cause of Eternal Night was significant enough, not to mention that there was an agent involved who had proven that she could absorb and fuse the power of multiple Evil Eyes.
Based on the agent's oral records, they could directly guess that all the Eyes of Evil God were sealed in a different space similar to the Secret Realm of the God. They were difficult to find, and awakening them rashly might bring disaster.
But that's a possibility after all, isn't it?
If the Orb of Nature really identifies this carrier, then they will certainly try their best to squeeze out her value, which inevitably includes the possibility of "letting her look everywhere for the seal of the Evil Eye, and using the power of the Evil God itself to find the source of the Eternal Night."
Regarding this cruel status quo, even with her personal feelings for Hitzfeld involved, Xia Yibing couldn't say that it was unreasonable.
Because she knew that it was not intentional - Alwin's succession to the throne proved that Sarah was far from falling to that level. If there was really a way, she believed that many people would not be willing to force a young girl like this.
If they finally decided to do this after discussing it, then they must be... overwhelmed by the reality and there must be a reason why they have to do so.
Just like Xia Yibing herself, just like Ethan, just like Darent... just like everyone involved.
They have all made a lot of sacrifices and paid a lot of price to maintain this situation together.
Those rice fields, streets, shops, docks, factories...all filled with tired yet peaceful smiling faces.
Compared to things like this, compared to the peace and life that everyone is experiencing, a young girl's freedom...it's hard for her to say emotionally that the latter is more important than the former.
And I once had a little thought, hoping that this kind of life would continue forever.
Thinking of this, she felt even more ashamed.
I used to deceive myself...I deceived myself that it was for her good, but in fact I was just avoiding this conflict.
I just don't want to make the judgment that "they are right" and deliberately cover it up with willfulness.
"You're funny, Mr. Mechanic."
Suddenly, she heard Hitzfeld speak again.
Looking up, I saw a gray-haired girl wearing a loose and conservative hospital gown, her limbs and body tied tightly to the bed with belts. She just tilted her head to observe the man in the corner.
Hitzfeld didn't know that Xia Yibing had a lot of random thoughts in her mind in an instant. She had a completely different opinion of Russell.
Maybe it was... the trust in Alwin that came with some rules, and she didn't think of it as a warning from the royal family.
She simply treated this as Russell's personal consultation.
In other words, it is his defense against what others said.
At first she also thought that Russell was troubled by what he had done because he "sacrificed his own relatives for the sake of justice"... From the example of Ferdinand, we can see that people do respect such people, but they will not have much good feelings towards them.
But she soon realized that what Russell called "the conflict between justice and law" did not apply to what he had done.
The Igor family secretly supports the hidden descendants of the old king in an attempt to fundamentally subvert the kingdom. Even if we do not look at this matter from the perspective of the ruling class, the crimes they have committed and the consequences, once made public, will not be enough to appease the public anger unless they are killed.
In other words, whether from the perspective of justice or from the perspective of law, they deserved it.
Then he wouldn't have to endure this kind of conflict... the rigid adherence to rules, the belief in rules and the pursuit of justice and conscience - the conflict between these two aspects, that kind of torment, he shouldn't have to endure much.
So he didn't quite understand why he had to endure that controversy when he had done nothing wrong.
It is with this in mind that Hitzfeld says he is "interesting."
Interesting indeed.
What he did was no different from Ferdinand, both chose to kill their loved ones to protect more people. The difference is that Ferdinand was aware of his fate, and that seemingly inhuman guy actually understood human nature the best.
And Russell Iger.
This person.
He's like a young, immature, confused version of Ferdinand.
He never thought he was wrong, so he felt puzzled. And he was too disdainful to argue for himself, so he tried to find ways to seek comfort from himself.
Perhaps he had privately considered what choices he would make if faced with that kind of conflict.
Maybe he has the answer... maybe not.
But he said he liked her choice and even "admired her courage to break the rules and take a risk."
Hitzfeld's understanding of this is that he sees what he has done as breaking the rules in another sense.
Also a possibility……
If there is not enough evidence to collect to try the Igor family, that is, if he is forced to face that conflict, he also hopes to make a similar choice.
I quickly went through these thoughts in my mind, and it only took a few breaths for them to be reflected in reality.
"So I admire you, Mr. Mechanic."
“…I don’t deserve the praise.”
The man with glasses was stunned at first, then looked at her deeply.
"Although many people may have said this, I still have to emphasize that you are indeed an excellent detective."
"...???"
The two of them were playing guessing games, and Xia Yibing pursed her lips and sat restlessly.
She wasn't jealous... She could see that the two of them had no such feelings for each other, but she...
She found she couldn't quite understand their conversation.
"Oh... Actually, it's nothing. He just has some troubles in life and wants to find some sense of identity."
Hitzfeld noticed that she was frowning and explained it to her considerately.
"and……"
She changed the subject and continued to stare at the mechanic.
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have another mission in Red Soil."
"How did you know that?" Russell raised his eyebrows.
"If there is no need for follow-up contact, people with your personality will not take the initiative to get to know others... So I guess you will stay in Red Earth for a while. Maybe they want you to protect my safety?"
"Yes or no."
Russell shook his head.
"It is simply that there is a great movement at Talignan."
"If the artifact can be separated successfully, they want me to go with you."
Chapter 11: The Past of Conte-Sixus
"Are they willing to let me go?" Hitzfeld was a little surprised.
She thought that after she took the initiative to propose that idea, she would no longer have that kind of freedom.
At that time, she was indeed preparing for the worst when she said that, because if she was treated as an evil eye collector, at least she could move around under heavy supervision and would not be locked in one place for the rest of her life. This was a relatively better choice.
But now it seems that Sarah doesn't have that intention?
Is it because what I said hasn’t been passed back yet?
"I've heard Dr. Sixus report on your recent condition, and I must tell you that they have been discussing the hypothesis you proposed for some time." Russell raised a finger.
"But the result is that it is temporarily shelved because most people, including most importantly His Majesty, believe that the situation is not yet so serious and we are not willing to take such a risk."
risk.
That's right... this kind of thing also comes with huge risks.
The ideal situation, of course, is that Hitzfeld can perfectly absorb all the sealed evil eyes.
But what if she screws up.
These eyes are very strange. One of them can turn the night into eternal night. If a few of them escape, will the number of days of eternal night increase in a week?
No one can say what the consequences of doing this will be, even Alvin cannot bear the responsibility.
From this perspective, putting it on hold for the time being is the best option. Hitzfeld finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
"But how are you going to deal with the things wrapped around me?" Then she thought of a new problem, "I have been kept in Red Soil for such a long time as a key care target by you. If I am suddenly released, then some people..."
She didn't say it very clearly, but considering that a senior member of the review team had just been bribed to do something against her, her meaning was clear.
"So it is based on the condition that the artifact is successfully separated." Russell emphasized again, "We need to have an excuse - we don't need everyone to believe it, but there must be something there to tell them that your value has been stripped away."
"This is also a form of protection for you." He nodded. "It seems that you understand it very well now... I am glad that I don't have to waste my words to explain anything further."
"Tell? How?" But Hitzfeld wanted to know more details. "Are you planning to announce the news about the Nature Orb? Can you use this level of intelligence to fish?"
"Of course it's impossible, but the information from the Apis Cube is possible."
"Are you planning to expose the existence of the Apis Cube and use the energy it absorbs as a cover?"
Xia Yibing interrupted and nodded as she analyzed the situation: "Well... this is indeed a good idea."
